Peter Pan and Edinburgh

A few months ago, my husband and I traveled to Scotland and England. In anticipation of this, I decided to revisit a few classics written by English and Scottish authors.

I started with PETER PAN by J.M. Barrie.

Barrie was born in Scotland and attended the University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh is a delightfully literary city and includes a Writers Museum and a Poets Museum as well as an impressive monument to Sir Walter Scott (IVANHOE).

Sir Walter Scott Monument

University of Edinburgh

But alas, no monument or marker commemorating the creator of Peter Pan. So, the best I could do was take a picture of the University of Edinburgh. By the way, one of Barrie’s classmates at the university was Arthur Conan Doyle – but I’ll save that for another post.

Like most Americans, my familiarity with Peter Pan comes from the image on the peanut butter jar, or the Disney animation, then later influenced by Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman. I also remember attending a Lyric Theater production back in high school. Had I ever actually read the book?

Sadly, I had to answer no. Time to remedy that.

Though the story itself was quite familiar, one element really surprised me: point of view. From the title,

I would assume that this is Peter’s story, so it would be told from his point of view. Or maybe Wendy – a girl on the verge of being a teen who encounters a boy refusing to grow up. But no, the story is told entirely by an omniscient narrator who never delves too deeply into the minds of any character. But then, maybe that is part of the magic of the story. Consider this passage:

Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter when she was tidying up her children's minds. It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can't) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight. When you wake in the morning, the naughtinesses and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind; and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on.

Barrie even uses direct address in the form of second person “you” to speak directly to the reader. It is as if he is assuring us, don’t take this too seriously. The story you are about to hear is all in fun, no need to be worried, but do hold on tight because we are about to embark on a marvelous adventure.

Yes, Peter Pan is a great adventure story and if you haven’t ever taken the time, I urge you to visit Barrie’s original.

Interview with BIG BOUFFANT author Kate Hosford

This week, we're talking with debut author and recent Vermont College grad Kate Hosford about her new book, BIG BOUFFANT, which comes out in March. The book tells the story of Annabelle who dares to try something different with her hair. The delightful story is filled with fun and reinforces the idea that it is okay to be yourself.

Q: Big Bouffant is so fresh - yet, it harkens back to something that was popular a long time ago - can you tell us more about the genesis of the idea. Did you come across a picture of your mom with a bouffant?
Is any element of Big Bouffant autobiographical? Have you ever worn a bouffant?

Kate: Thank you, Gayleen. I guess fashion is cyclical, so it was only a matter of time before the bouffant had its day. I have never worn a bouffant, but I did have big feathered hair in the eighties. My mother went through a stage in the sixties where she wore a bouffanti-ish wig when she went skiing. However, that was not really the inspiration for the story. Basically, my immediate family liked the sound of the word 'bouffant'. We would tell each other that we had bouffants when some family member's hair was looking particularly big. My younger son started saying 'big bouffant' and then I thought up the phrase, "All I really want is a big bouffant." Unfortunately, it took me five years to figure out that the story should be in rhyme, even though the phrase was in rhyme! I wrote many versions in prose, until someone suggested that I write the story like I was singing it. Then it came together pretty quickly.

Q: The underlying message here is that it's okay to be different and have a positive attitude about things - can you tell us if these ideas have personal importance to you?

Kate: I believe a strong sense of self is one of the most important qualities a child can have. In this story, Annabelle doesn't care when everyone else laughs at her bouffant, and when she believes that she is stylish, soon others do as well. They are really reacting to her strong character more than the hairdo itself.

Q: Will there be more stories with Annabelle?

Kate: The sequel, BIG BIRTHDAY, will come out in spring 2012 from Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing. Annabelle will get herself into even more outrageous situations in that book. Stay tuned!

Q: A lot of people mistakenly think picture books are easy because fewer words end up on the page - but it seems to me in a lot of ways they are much harder - each word counts for so much. Can you tell us a little about your process? I bet you do a lot of revising. Has your process changed as a result of Vermont College?

Kate: Yes, picture books present a unique challenge in terms of form. You usually have to make it work in a thirty-two page format. That having been said, I actually find the parameters of the picture book comforting. In novel writing, the writer has to search in a different way for the edges of her story.

I wrote the three stories I am publishing before Vermont College, but I probably worked on about twenty picture books during my time there, and they are in all different stages of revision. The nice thing about picture books is that I don't have to be emotionally invested in only one big project, which I think can be difficult.

Vermont College showed me that writing is a marathon, and one has to be in it for the long haul. We can hone our craft skills and court our creative muses, but we can't foresee the path that a particular story or novel will take. For instance, it is now obvious to me that BIG BOUFFANT should have been in rhyme all along, but it was not obvious for the first four and a half years. E.L. Doctorow says "Writing is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

Q: I noticed your illustrator is English. Have you met her and did you have any input on the look or feel of the book?

I have not met Holly Clifton-Brown yet, but I hope to meet her at some point. My editor was nice enough to show me Holly's sketches before she started work on the final art. I had some specific comments, but the feel of the book was really up to Holly. I think she did a wonderful job creating illustrations that are filled with interesting patterning, layers, textures, and sense of joyousness. Even now, when I read the book, I notice new things that I haven't seen before. I think that is the sign of a sophisticated illustrator --someone who can seamlessly integrate all sorts of information into a visual image. Then the reader can 'unwrap' the image, like a present.

Q: You have a background as an illustrator, don't you? Do you think that helps you to visualize your text in terms of illustratable moments?

Kate: I was an illustrator, but I think I make the same mistakes that all writers make when I write picture books. Even though we all know that the picture book is a visual form, it's easy to write a story that just doesn't have enough illustratable moments.
I've written more than a few 'picture books' that weren't visual enough. Stories that are heavy in dialogue, for instance, usually do not work well, because the illustrator will simply be drawing people who are standing around talking to each other. My teachers at Vermont College really recommended story boarding for all potential picture books. It's important to see if your story has enough illustratable moments.

Q: Do you have any signings or school visits planned?

Kate: So far, I've only read the book to four classes, and they all seemed to love it. When I read to a second grade class, I heard some of the children whisper "It's in rhyme!" We talked about how stories have to have problems, otherwise they are pretty boring. The children were then able to list all the problems that Annabelle encounters in the book. One boy suggested that I write a sequel about Annabelle's brother called Mini-Mohawk. I was particularly pleased by the boys' enthusiasm. I don't see this as a book just for girls. I think it's a book for everyone. We followed up with a discussion about what makes Annabelle special, and the students then wrote about qualities that make them special.
In a fourth grade class, we talked about the book in terms of writing process. We agreed that stories are like a puzzle, and you just have to keep playing around with it until all the pieces fit. One girl talked about a metaphor that her third grade writing teacher used; 'stories are like a meal, and you can't draw the fork out too quickly, you have to give the reader time to taste the food.' We also talked about how we are influenced by the writers we read. One boy wanted to know whether I was influenced by Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. (Yes, and yes!)
I also read to two different kindergarten classes. When I asked the first class if they had any questions about how a book is made, they asked: "How do they make the paper shiny?" "How do they make the binding flat? How do they make the cover hard?" Note to self: kindergartners are concrete. Next time, I will choose my words more carefully for that particular question!


The official launch date for the book is March 28th, but the BIG BOUFFANT launch party will be at Books of Wonder in New York CIty on March 4th. So far, over a hundred people have said they are coming! We are going to do crazy hair styles for everyone. It should be a lot of fun.


In March I will do some events in San Francisco and the surrounding area. I will list all of this on my website, http://www.khosford.com/.

Big Bouffant is published by Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing, and was edited by Anna Cavallo. Kate is represented by Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.  

Enjoy a trailer of Big Bouffant here.

The Rock and the River

With everything that has happened in Egypt the past few weeks, it seems like a very appropriate time to talk about a fabulous book I read last month, The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon.
I had a long delay in the Detroit airport, but I hardly noticed because I was so eager to find out what would happen in this story.

Kekla is a graduate of Vermont College and was a grad assistant at the January residency.

The Rock and the River was Kekla's debut novel and it received many honors, including the Coretta Scott King award from the American Library Association.

The story is fictional, but the characters are so well drawn and the historical details so authentic, that I was convinced Sam Childs was the son of a 1960s civil rights leader. Not until I reached the author's note at the end did I realize Kekla had invented him.
Sam is torn between taking his father's route of non-violent protest or fighting back against the corrupt system that constantly oppresses those in his neighborhood - based solely on their skin color. The choice moves right into the Childs' home when Sam's older brother joins the Black Panther Party. The story prompts the reader to wonder - what would I do in that situation? What is the right answer?

Here is an interview with Kekla talking about the book.


Publisher: Aladdin: Simon & schuster
Editor: Kate Angelella
Agent: Michelle Humphrey of International Creative Management

Kekla has a new book out called Camo Girl. I look forward to reading it soon.

Blessed

With the recent snow days, I had grand plans of getting lots of things accomplished: writing, cleaning house, organizing files. But I made one critical mistake -

I picked up Cynthia Leitich Smith's new release, Blessed.

Pretty much everything else had to wait until I'd finished reading the whole thing.

The book is the third set in an alternative universe that includes vampires, angels, werewolves and other shape shifters - including werearmadillos and wereoppossums. The first, Tantalize, focused on Quincie, a teen coping with running an Austin restaurant while being wooed by a charismatic vampire. But what she really wants is to find romance with longtime friend (and half werewolf) Kieren.

In the second installment, Eternal, Guardian Angel Zachary tries to save the lovely Miranda from losing her soul to the Vampire King - in Chicago. In Blessed, the casts of the two books are united against an even greater evil.

At this point, you are probably thinking, "just what we need, another teen vampire novel." But these books are about a lot more than just fangs and fondling.

Smith doesn't pull any punches in tackling gender power issues, religion and the idea of differences uniting or dividing us. She also openly acknowledges Bram Stoker, the original creator of vampires, as well as literary and pop culture references appealing to a diverse group of readers.

At its core, Blessed is the story of second chances and going on when all seems lost. I found the story inspiring and I bet you will too.

Here is the trailer for Blessed.

Blessed was published by Candlewick.

Edited by Deborah Wayshak.

Cynthia Leitich Smith is represented by Ginger Knowlton of Curtis Brown.

Neuroscience and Reading

What happens in our brains when we read? I found that question very intriguing and it became the foundation for my graduate lecture from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
I used brief clips from a BBC documentary, Why Reading Matters. I've pasted links to the entire program below and I'd love to continue the conversation about it through blog comments.

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdwFFFBCPzw
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt4_czM-UuM&feature=related
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFlTV_OPh1I&feature=related
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0WDLsIZuZg&feature=related
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuCtHUDW4fw&feature=related
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owdqz8y98-0&feature=related

An excellent book on the topic is Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf.

New Year's Plans and Goals

Happy New Year!
Normally, I don't make New Year's Resolutions - I figure that if whatever it is really needs changing, then I shouldn't wait for January 1.
But, this year things are a little different.
In less than three weeks, I will recive my MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. I've been working on that for the past two years and in many ways it has become a major focus of my time and attention. As part of the program, I've read 200 books, written two mystery novels and even tried my hand at picture books. I've also gotten to know some incredible writers from across the country and I look forward to deepening and continuing those friendships.
So, on to the resolutions.
First, I plan to post on this blog at least once a week. After all, I have 200 books I could potentially talk about, plus my own writing, plus what my friends and classmates have coming out this year, plus the writing events I'll be attending. Yes, there is plenty to blog about!
Second, I have those two mysteries and a couple of picture books that need to be revised, then sent out to agents and editors. I'm looking forward to applying the skills I've learned at Vermont College to complete the projects I've started.
Third, in conjunction with the last item, I have plans to attend the spring SCBWI Oklahoma Conference in Tulsa. I've signed up for a critique and I've got to get the opening of my manuscript in the mail by Feb. 1. That is also the deadline for the Oklahoma Writers' Federation Contest. Those awards aren't given until the conference the first weekend in May and I plan to be there too - it is always a great place to network and make contacts.
So, here's hoping to see more of all of you in the coming year!

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Vol. I & II

Taking a lesson from my former Vermont College advisor and writing hero Cynthia Leitich Smith who told me to be brave and talk to other writers, I emailed MT Anderson to ask if he had any advice for aspiring authors. And whaddya know? He emailed me back! I've pasted his response below.
Gayleen: Is there one piece of advice you might have to share with aspiring writers?

MT Anderson: Hmmm ... Well, I'd suggest two things, I guess. One is to read as widely
as possible and as eccentrically as possible. I mean reading not just what
you're trying to write, but also ancient hymns and nineteenth century
novels and medieval mystery-plays and Harlequin romances and technical
manuals for VHS recorders ... Anything and everything. Denaturalize your
sense of language and try to always remind yourself of the thrilling
varieties of approach to language and story-telling that people have had
around the globe and throughout the ages.



Then the second thing I'd say -- completely unconnected -- is DON'T BE
AFRAID to take time off of a project between drafts! Give yourself a month
or two at least, and you'd be surprised what insights you have when you
return to the project!


And I guess also, keep working and good luck!

Isn't that cool? I'm pretty ecstatic that a National Book Award winner emailed me.
And I have a challenge for all of you - take a step out of your comfort zone. Whether it is commenting on a kidlit blog, emailing an author you admire or writing something different.

And, I'm off to take my own advice as I attend the Oklahoma Writers Federation Conference. My goal is to meet at least ten new people this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.