Thanks, Nebraska! And thanks, my dear writing group!

Hi, everyone!

I'm going to squeeze in a post here before I go to my NIA class in 20 minutes. (NIA is a dance fusion thing with dance moves from different cultures, along with elements of yoga, tai chi, martial arts, you name it... it's the only organized form of exercise I'll do, since it involves cool music and feels more like dancing than exercise.)


So, first I want to thank the kids/teens of Nebraska, who nominated RED GLASS to the Golden Sower Award! It's one of ten nominated books, and they'll be gathering votes later this year and early next year. Last year's winner was Twilight... wouldn't it be cool if RED GLASS won the same award as Twilight?!

Last night my writing group-- Old Town Writers Group-- did a reading at Old Firehouse Books for Independents' Day, to encourage people to support their local indie bookstores. We had a blast! I cannot tell you how incredibly brilliant and fun the women in my group are, but I will attempt to here:



This is Sarah Ryan (on the right), who, in her spare time, flies (as in, she's a pilot!) little planes in places like the wilds of Alaska and Africa... she wrote a fabulous camping guide to Colorado, and now she has a hilarious, touching, insightful, juicy memoir represented by a great agent. She read an excerpt from it last night (about a revelation she had upon discovering a stash of Glamour mags from the eighties when she was about thirteen). She had the audience in stitches.

Kimberly Fields is on the left, and she read a very funny piece set in a coffee shop about trying to feel better about herself after a breakup... she should be a standup comedian, I've decided. AND she's great at writing about serious stuff, too-- like her experience with surviving leukemia last year. I'd link to a beautiful This I Believe essay she wrote, but the website is having issues. (Go to thisibelieve.org, and then do an author search).


Above is Carrie Visintainer, who's always hopping off to some cool locale, whether it be a pirate ship off the coast of Turkey or the used car lot scene in Thermopolis, Wyoming or a monastary filled with black-hooded monks in middle-of-nowhere, New Mexico. She's done a bunch of travel writing (she read a side-splitting piece about her experience in German sauna last night). Ever the adventurer, she's now embarking on writing a beautiful novel.


Above is Leslie Patterson, and she's published her delightfully bizzare historical fiction pieces and witty, deep personal essays in many literary journals. Now she's working on a dark and twisted novel loosely based on some really weird historical stuff involving body-snatching in 19th century London.


Molly Reid came on the scene after I took these pics (in a pizzeria after our reading last night), so I'll offer an illustration from an ancient bestiary in lieu of her photo. She's blond and pretty and always wears interesting jewelry, oftentimes featuring birds. She wore hummingbird earrings last night to fit with her sensual, haunting story involving hummingbirds. She's working on a bestiary of sorts-- a collection of short (often very short) stories in which animals reflect human emotions and relationships. So intriguing.


This is moi, who should be working right now on her/my latest revision of The Ruby Notebook. I'm on a tight deadline. Real quick, I'll tell you that last night I read a fun travel piece called "Naked in Oaxaca", which was published a few years ago in a Lonely Planet anthology.


If you came to our reading last night, THANK YOU! Having a super-enthusiastic audience made the event so much fun for us!

Okay, no more dilly-dallying for me! Off to my trailer to revise!

xoxo
Laura

The Winner and the Foreign Body

And the winner of the Red Glass creative letter-writing contest is…

Emily, age 12! Congratulations, Emily!!!! Enjoy your prize… a signed copy of the audiobook of Red Glass!!!


I loved Emily's letter—it was written from Sophie to Pablo, a year after the book ends. She fills him in on what's been going on in her and Angel's and Dika's and Mr. Lorenzo's lives—and let me tell you, there is a BIG surprise. I'll wait to post the letter until I get official permission from Emily to do so. (If you weren't aware of the contest, you can see the fun and travel section of my website for details. I'll be posting a new contest sometime soon.)

So, last Sunday, I was in a bad mood. I'd just gotten Lasik surgery (24 years in contacts was enough for me) and was assured that I would probably have a "foreign body sensation" in my eyes for a few hours after the surgery. Things were going well with my eyes for a few days, until Sunday morning, when I felt a major foreign body sensation in my eye—it felt like a giant piece of fuzz. I doused my eyeball with drops and ointments, but the feeling wouldn't go away. I was told not to touch or rub my eyes at all, and I practically had to sit on my hands to keep from doing so.

I felt too grumpy to do much-- (did I mention I had a whole big long list of owies including bashing my head on a steel jungle gym bar while playing with my son?) -- so I messed around with the Gimp (free version of Photoshop) and Windows movie maker (even though staring at the computer screen for hours is not recommended for people who've just had Lasik, and was probably not helping my foreign body sensation.)

Anyway, here is my extremely amateur book trailer for The Indigo Notebook. Please, please be forgiving! When I showed an earlier version to Ian (hubbie), he said, "Cool," and tried to leave halfway through.

"Wait!" I commanded/whined, and he watched the second minute, sighing and rolling his eyes.

"So, what do you think?" I asked afterward.

Short pause. "Cool." And he headed to the door.

I chased him outside. "Really? Any more specific feedback?"

"Well, actually, I was trying to be diplomatic, but, how shall we say this, your video might have the opposite effect to what you intend."

"You mean it would make people NOT want to read the book?!"

"Um, it's kind of boring."

I swallowed my urge to threaten to omit him from acknowledgments in future books (I've used that threat so many times he knows I'm bluffing), and told him his feedback would promptly get him kicked out of any writing group. Then I explained that he first must find some positive thing to say about my trailer before giving specific constructive feedback.

After thinking very hard, he said, "Well, the pictures are nice. And maybe you could speed it up a little."

So I went back inside and cut it down to a minute and did a few other maneuvers, and here it is. At least it's short.

(And remember, all book trailers are, as a rule, very cheesy… even the professionally produced ones, I've noticed.)

One of the things I like about my book trailer is that it doesn't have depressing and/or ominous music like many of the other YA book trailers I've seen. (I'm sorry if your book trailer has depressing and/or ominous music—I don't mean to offend you— please rest assured that overall, your trailer probably has LOTS more going for it than mine.) The music was performed by my friend Tino, whose extended family is featured in the images (that I oh-so-deftly photo-shopped). Um, anyway, enjoy the trailer, and remember, if you don't like it, join Ian's club. (And Ian really likes the actual book, so be sure not to judge the book by its trailer…)

Okay, here it is!




Giant Piece of Fuzz story continued…

Wouldn't you know it, I woke up on Monday with that same foreign body feeling in my eye. I was about to phone the eye doc and schedule an appointment because I was sure something was terribly wrong. I examined my eyeball in the mirror once more, and this time, the angle of the morning sunlight was just right, and I'll be darned—There WAS a big piece of fuzz in my eye, so big that I could pluck it out without touching my eyeball. Ah, sweet relief…

Thanks for reading!

Laura

Star in the Forest ARCS!

It's SO much fun to be clickety clacking away in my trailer and hear the UPS truck pull up in front of my house… and to see the driver emerge with a padded manila envelope. Today, when that happened, I slipped on my flip flops over my socks (my feet were cold this morning) and (feeling a little embarrassed at my footwear) ran outside to greet him. I tore open the package (leaving little bits of cardboard padding dust everywhere—I never learn) and I was greeted with two beautiful little ARCS (advanced review copies) of STAR IN THE FOREST! (I say little because they're actually slightly smaller than my other books, in length, width, and height.) And two shiny book jackets to boot! So exciting. This UPS surprise made it impossible to follow my rule of no break-taking until I revised to pg 100 on my next manuscript (The Ruby Notebook).

Um... just turn your head counter-clockwise for this picture. Note the packaging fuzz spilled out everywhere.
The little monster is from Oaxaca, and I just stuck him in the picture on a whim.

This is my first book with B/W illustrations in it—they're kind of old fashioned looking, as is the cover illustration itself… well, maybe classic is more the word I'm looking for. The illustrations remind me of books I loved as a kid, and I feel ridiculously pleased to feel part of this tradition now. I think the dog illustrations really help show his personality.

Here's a summary of Star in the Forest, which is for middle/upper elementary ages and up:

Zitlally feels so alone. Papa isn't there anymore to whisper to her in star language. Mama is always on the phone, worried. And her sisters are just as scared as she is. Everyone is thinking about that day.
The day Papa was pulled over for speeding.
The day the police found out that Papa was an immigrant without papers.
The day her family discovered that Papa would be deported.
Zitlally seeks comfort in the forest of rusty car parts behind her trailer. There, she finds a dirty, skinny dog with a star-shaped mark on his neck. Soon, she realizes that Star is no ordinary dog. He's like the magical animals in the stories Papa told her. His fate is connected to a human's fate.
To Papa's fate.
If Zitlally can keep Star safe, Papa will stay safe, too.
When Star disappears one day, it's up to Zitlally and her new friend, Crystal, to find him… and save him. Only then can Zitlally be sure that Papa, too, will make his way back home—and they'll be a family once again.

So, on a different note, in case you're wondering what I'm up to in my trailer these days… no, I'm not dozing on the comfy futon all day long (as Ian accuses me of doing). I'm revising The Ruby Notebook (formerly known as The Cerise Notebook, Fall 2010 release). I'm not going to reveal the cover yet, but I'll show you this picture of a ruby red vintage circus performer's outfit that I have hanging in my trailer for inspiration.

My master plan is to have the outfit altered into a dress or top or some article of clothing to wear for the book release party (good motivation to actually finish the book)! I found this dazzling garment for cheap at a shop in Boulder, and I fell in love with it (although it definitely needs altering—it must have been designed in the days of corsets when women's torsos had unearthly proportions.)

Oh, and another early review of The Indigo Notebook came in—this one by Sarah Miller (who is both a fabulous book reviewer and YA author)! "... multi-textured characters... a dash of the mystical... unique plot..." You should check out all Sarah's reviews, as a matter of fact-- they're fun to read.


Off to do more revising in my trailer, which I recently adorned with flowers and butterflies and a flamingo I found hanging from the ceiling of our garage!

Thanks for reading!

Laura

After the rain and hail...

Fiona and me

Hello, hello, hello!

I'm in my trailer in the cozy aftermath of a spring storm. I love the sound of the rain and hail pelting the tin roof (it's thrilling and a little scary somehow-- so loud!) I spent the morning and early afternoon listening to wild French music and writing away, trying to get The Ruby Notebook in shape (which, incidentally, is the new name for the book formerly referred to as The Cerise Notebook.)

Thank you to everyone who gave me comments on the title Cerise! I emailed my editor, Stephanie, about it, and we decided that Cerise could be a challenge to locate online or in a bookstore if you have no clue how to spell it. I do like Ruby a lot, though, even more now that we've made this decision. Although it's not a French word, it's nearly the same in French-- Rubis-- which sounds pretty much the same-- you don't pronounce the s. So, you francophiles out there can feel free to murmur it with a throaty, sexy French accent... Another good thing about the new title: I've ended up having fun including some ruby-ish images in the book (there actually already were quite a few...), so I think all's well that ends well. (Plus, ruby's my birthstone, so it's a stone close to my heart.)

Me and Allison-- librarian extraordinaire!

I had a great time at my Red Glass paperback release event at Old Firehouse Books on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. It was so much fun talking with everyone afterward-- that's my favorite part of these readings! I was grateful and humbled that a few people drove all the way from Denver and Greeley in the rain to be at the reading. (Thank you, Kim and Allison and Alice!)

So here is the almost-final cover for Star in the Forest, which is my middle grade novel coming out in Spring 2010. I like the soft, magical lighting (remember, I'm really into sunlight through leaves...) and how Star's fluffy white fur melts into the grass.

cute dog, huh?!

More about Star later... I've got lots to say about it, but right now I want to post some pics of my ESL students and me at our recognition ceremony. This is the last ESL class I'll be teaching for a while... *sniff sniff*... I started teaching ESL eleven years ago. Last year, I started to feel overwhelmed after the arrival of Baby, but I stubbornly hung on to my last class, since I love it so much. (Teaching ESL is like traveling around the world-- complete with the music, dancing, food (we LOVE parties...) Many years ago, my students were the ones who first taught me cumbia... and a few years later, salsa... and this past year, Jo from Brazil tried to teach me samba, but I can't seem to move my hips that fast. ;) One of these days...

Me, Jo, and Wendy

Anyway, I finally admitted that it's too stressful for me to teach two nights a week while writing several books under deadlines AND spending time with Toddler (AND catching a cold from him every other week-- I'm currently recovering from yet another one) AND managing to have a conversation with Hubbie here and there AND having time to just sit and stare at sunlight through leaves (which, I must admit, is a priority for me.)

Jose Luis and me

I feel so, so grateful to all the students I've had over the past eleven years. I don't think I could have written any of my books so far without them. Many characters and scenes from Red Glass, What the Moon Saw, and Star in the Forest were inspired by my wonderful, warm, fascinating, enthusiastic, smart, funny students, and I can't thank them enough. And my book coming up in Spring 2011-- The Queen of Water-- was co-written with Maria Virginia Farinango, who I met at the school (the next classroom over)! When I was in Ecuador doing research for our book, I stumbled across stories and people that ended up inspiring The Indigo Notebook... so that's *five* books that grew out of my ESL teaching in one way or another. Thank you, beloved students!!! Gracias, queridos alumnos!!! Obrigado!!!

Me and Fernando

May is officially over, which means that my month of fame and glory with the readergirlz is over... such a great time! I'm hooked, and I'll definitely be dropping into the site to chat and comment and read about the other books they're featuring this year. They've archived all the discussion threads, including the live chat (plus the interview, book club party ideas, etc) so if you have time, check it out! Minnie at Athena's YA Book Review did an awesome job of listing the highlights of the chat in her blog-- thanks, Minnie!
Being involved with readergirlz last month had the added bonus of making me aware of all the amazing author/reader blogs out there... I could spend all day wandering around their words of wisdom (but I don't because I unplug my wireless for a few hours every day so I can get some writing done!) I discovered Laini Taylor's blog, which has fantastic essays about the writing process (plus it's got cool artwork that she did herself.) I love her metaphor for the "exploratory" draft of a novel: you've seen the jungle from above and taken notes on it from a big-picture bird's-eye view, but during the exploratory draft, you're down on the ground with your machete, sweating and chopping a path through the underbrush, feeling lost and scared and just hoping you'll survive. I recently finished that phase of The Ruby Notebook, and having survived that (thankfully!), I am now revising, which feels much less scary...

Okay, thanks for reading!

xoxo
Laura

Steamboat Springs trip!

Hey everyone!

I just got back from a gorgeous weekend in Steamboat Springs, Colorado-- a lil hot-spring-laden-mountain town three and a half hours by car from our house-- just head west down a winding canyon road along the rushing Poudre River and over pine-covered mountain passes. I went there with Hubbie and Toddler for a vacation/bookstore signing. We stayed at the groovy Rabbit Ears Motel in a room with a balcony overlooking the Yampah river.

The signing was at Epilogue, an extremely adorable bookstore on the main street. If I owned a bookstore, I'd want it to look something like this. Notice all the charming features.

*atmospheric lighting* (one quirk of mine is that I'm super-sensitive to lighting-- infuriatingly so, according to my husband, who has tried in vain to have us switch to all fluorescent lights, but that's one sacrifice I just can't make...)

Lovely, golden quote on the wall

tea and cupcakes!

Pat, the events coordinator, me, and Erica, the owner-- I could've stayed on that cozy couch talking to them all afternoon...

Several of these girls are writing their own BOOKS at the moment! So impressive!

Mary and I got lost in a fun conversation about one of our favorite topics... OAXACA!

soaking in the hot springs... ahhhh....

Hubbie striking a pose at Creekside restaurant, where we ate a yummy brunch accompanied by guitar music on Sunday (Epilogue's gracious treat!)

Still snow in the mountains!

So now that I'm back in Fort Collins, I've been revising The Cerise Notebook, which is actually pretty fun. The hardest part was getting that first draft done. It's much smoother sailing now that I know (and love) the characters and setting and story and everything.

The ARCs of The Indigo Notebook are floating around out there (hopefully being read and enjoyed)-- and I just got an early review (most reviews won't come out til this fall.) I'm relieved and overjoyed that it's a good one! Voila:

***** Five out of five stars!!! "This amazing book blends coming of age, romance, mystery, and a little mysticism to build an enticing story. The characters become real and I hated to turn the last page and leave them."--Diana Tixier Herald, genrefluent (a fiction review website) & goodreads

I can't wait until it's out there for everyone to read-- it's so hard to have patience during this in-between time...

Please join me for a live chat on readergirlz tomorrow (Wednesday, May 20) at 6 p.m. Pacific time/9 p.m. Eastern (which means if you're in Colorado, like me, it wil be at a convenient 7 p.m.) It's really, really easy to join in the discussion, and I hope you do!!!

Thanks for reading! And please sign up for my every-other-month newsletter if you haven't already-- a new installment is coming soon...

xoxo,
Laura

Lots of old, pretty chandeliers in my life lately... this one's in Epilogue.

New York Trip!

Hey everyone!

It's a gorgeous spring day in Colorado. Got back from NYC last night (where it rained nearly every day, but I didn't mind-- I love the smell of rain on pavement... and it was fun to use my pink umbrella, since I hardly ever get to use it here.)

view from my hotel window

Before I forget, here's some good news about The Indigo Notebook (to be released in October.) It's been nominated as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults-- hooray! I'm so grateful to whoever nominated it and absolutely thrilled that it was deemed a worthy read!

Okay, so my NYC trip--

My main objective was to visit my editor, Stephanie, and my publicist, Emily, and all the other people at Delacorte/Random House involved in my books (turns out there are so many more people than I realized, and they're all magnificent!)


The Random House offices occupy the first 23 floors or so of this building. Stephanie and Emily brought me to a bunch of different offices to meet people, which involved taking two separate elevators. A Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- style elevator would've come in handy...

I had a wonderful afternoon hanging out at Random House. Stephanie and Emily and I had yummy Greek food for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Then we went to the RH offices and I met many people (whose names I've failed to keep straight!) It was touching and a little overwhelming (in a good way) to meet these people who've been so excited about my books and have worked so hard behind the scenes to promote them.

Here's the lobby of Random House-- the walls are lined with old classics they've published-- a very exciting atmosphere!

I did short readings from Red Glass and The Indigo Notebook for a lovely crowd of RH people, signed books, and then went upstairs to record a podcast interview. I got to see the final version of the interior illustrations for Star in the Forest.... wow! Thank you, Gary Blythe! (That's who illustrated them so beautifully.) I can't wait til the book is out in the wide world and you all can see them!

a funny antique toy from a Williamsburg flea market store

Over the weekend, my dear old friend Amanda, who lives in Williamsburg (neighborhood in Brooklyn), showed me around.


Amanda and me at an old Italian restaurant-- Bufanti's-- where a shoot-out scene for the Sopranos was apparently filmed.


My favorite two restaurants both had pink walls and funky chandeliers and cool portraits.

This one was called something like the Hotel DelMonte-- it featured an old-fashioned American atmostphere-- early 1900s.

The waiters wore cute suspenders.

In front of the MOMA (modern museum of art) restaurant (seems like I have something mysterious hiding under my shawl, doesn't it...?)

On my last day, I was happy to meet an Ecuadorian named Marco-- he was my cab driver to the airport, and was enthusiastic about my upcoming books set in Ecuador (The Queen of Water and The Indigo Notebook). Gracias, Marco, por la buena compania y conversacion!!


On a different note, be sure to check out the readergirlz website periodically all month long. There are ongoing conversations about topics related to Red Glass. Join us!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo
Laura