I'm up to my ears in Rebel Belle, so I can't be all insightful today (I know, I know, when am I ever insightful? I mean, unless we're talking about Xanadu.)
HOWEVER. I got this awesome NaNoWriMo email today written by Philip Pullman, and like everything else he writes, it is made of awesome, so I decided to share it with y'all. Apparently books change locks on Philip Pullman, too! Please to enjoy!
Dear NaNoWriMo author,
You've started a long journey. Congratulations on your resolution and ambition! And the first thing you need to remember is that a long journey can't be treated like a sprint. Take your time.
The second thing you need to remember is that if you want to finish this journey you've begun, you have to keep going. One of the hardest things to do with a novel is to stop writing it for a while, do something else, fulfill this engagement or that commitment or whatever, and pick it up exactly where you left it and carry on as if nothing had happened. You will have changed; the story will have drifted off course, like a sh ip when the engines stop and there's no anchor to keep it in place; when you get back on board, you have to warm the engines up, start the great bulk of the ship moving through the water again, work out your position, check the compass bearing, steer carefully to bring it back on track ... all that energy wasted on doing something that wouldn't have been necessary at all if you'd just kept going!
But once you've established a daily rhythm of work, you'll find it energising and sustaining in itself. Even when it's not going well. This is a strange thing, but I've noticed it many times: a bad day's work is a lot better than no day's work at all. At least if you've written 500 words, or 1000 words, or whatever you discover is your most comfortable daily rate of production, the words are there to work on later. And when you do visit them in a month's time, or whenever it i s, you often find that they're not so bad after all.
The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And we all find a way of answering which we hope isn't arrogant or discouraging. What I usually say is "I don't know where they come from, but I know where they come to: they come to my desk, and if I'm not there, they go away again." That's just another way of emphasising the importance of regular work.
You know which page of a novel is the most difficult to write? It's page 70. The first page is easy: it's exciting, it's new, a whole world lies in front of you. The last page is easy: you've got there at last, you know what's going to happen, all you have to do is find a resonant closing sentence. But page 70 is where the misery strikes. All the initial excitement has drained away; you've begun to see all the hideous problems you've set yourself; you are horribly aware of the minute size of your own talent compared to the colossal proportions of the task you've undertaken. That's when you'll want to give up. When I hit page 70 with my very first novel, I thought: I'm never going to finish this. I'll never make it. But then stubbornness set in, and I thought: well, if I reach page 100, that'll be something. If I get there, I reckon I can make it to the end, wherever that is. And 100 is only 30 pages away, and if I write 3 pages every day, I can get there in ten days ... why don't I just try to do that? So I did. It was a terrible novel, but I finished it.
The last thing I'd say to anyo ne who wants to write a novel is not actually a piece of advice, but a question. It's this: are you a reader? Every novelist I know—every novelist I've ever heard of—is, or was, a passionate reader. I don't doubt that someone with determination and energy, but who didn't read for pleasure, who only read for information, could actually write a whole novel if they set their mind to
it and followed a few rules and guidelines; but would it be worth reading? Would it give any pleasure beyond a mechanically c alculated sort? I doubt it. Novels that last and please readers are written because the novelist is intoxicated by the delight and the endlessly renewable joy that comes from engaging with imaginary characters—with story; and that engagement always begins with reading; and if it catches you, it never lets go. Write a novel if you want to win a competition, or impress your friends, or possibly make some money—do so by all means. But if you're not a lover of stories, a passionate and devoted reader, don't expect your novel to please many readers.
On the other hand, if you do love reading, if you cannot imagine going on a journey without a book in your pocket or your bag, if you fret and fidget and become uncomfortable if you're kept away from your reading for too long, if your worst nightmare is to be marooned on a desert island without a book—then take heart: there are plenty of us like you. And if you tell a story that really engages you, we are all potential readers.
Good luck!
Philip Pullman
Showing posts with label Writers Who Are Awesome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writers Who Are Awesome. Show all posts
Friday, November 7, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Book Lust Part I
It shouldn't come as a surprise that I love to read. I mean, you can't be a book-hating writer, after all! But here lately, I've really been reading, like, 3 or 4 books a week. I think the sudden increase has to do with the fact that we didn't have TV for a long time (okay, like a week or two, but still!) right after we moved, so The Husband and I just sorta got over it. So now we're book-binging (although, The Husband, being a Science Guy ala Bill Nye, is always reading these big, scary books about how the world is going to end while I'm gorging on YA. The contrast between the books on our nightstands is kind of hilarious.)
This week, I read Cassandra King's The Same Sweet Girls, which was FABULOUS and made me cry like a little girl. And I hardly ever cry during books, with the notable exceptions of Bridge to Terabithia and Where the Red Fern Grows, 'cause DAMN. Oh, and at the end of Libba Bray's The Sweet Far Thing. I cried so hard during that book that The Husband still makes fun of me about it.
I also, after much struggle, got to read Lauren Myracle's Bliss, which was SOOOO good, and I'm not just saying that because she commented on this here little blog, making me squee quite loudly. ;) But seriously, Bliss was worth the wait. Creepy as hell, a really interesting portrait of the South in the 60s (y'all know I love my Southern books!), AND it had one of the most likable and realistic heroines I've read in YA in awhile. Not to mention the OMGWTF? most messed up "villain" ever. *Shudder* So go read it! Hopefully, your local bookstore is not as evil as mine!
But today, I don't just want to talk about books I've been reading, but books I can't WAIT to read. I don't know about you, but I get as excited over upcoming books as some people do upcoming movies. And so I now proudly present my list of Books Rachel Wishes Were In Her Face (No, Not Her Hands, Her Face, That's How Excited She Is) Right Now.
1) City of Glass, Cassandra Clare
This is the 3rd book in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments Trilogy. The first 2 are City of Bones and City of Ashes, and you should all run out and buy them RIGHT NOW. They are so highly enjoyable. They're about Clary Fray (great name!) who gets mixed up in the world of Shadowhunters, who are basically kick-ass demon hunters. And then there are werewolves, and vampires, and a whole hidden country where the Shadowhunters live... oh, it is awesome.
My favorite thing about these books is that they are totally over the top, but in the best possible way, if that makes any sense. Like, people actually have conversations that go something like, "I love you! But we can never be together. NEVER! And yet, we MUST!" and it doesn't feel silly or melodramatic. You're right there with them like, "I know! You TOTALLY SHOULD! But you CAN'T! AGGHH!"
The pace is breakneck, the plot twists are genuinely surprising, and the level of action/violence is ridiculously high, and therefore, great. Also, these books contain probably the angstiest couple in all of YA right now, Jace and Clary (see above conversation. See? So, so angsty!) I'm a sucker for forbidden love (as you'll all see when Demonglass comes out!), and MAN is their love forbidden. Like, really, really wrong. And I love it. Although I have a suspicion that they will get the forbidden-ness removed in this last book. Just... go read them, okay? You'll see what I mean!
This book comes out in March, so I have awhile to wait. But March is going to be a very fun reading month for me because that's also when...
2) As Shadows Fade, Colleen Gleason
comes out! This is the 5th and last book in her Gardella Vampire Chronicles, a series of books that I have inhaled like they were crack-coated candy. Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy is a vampire hunter, or Venator, who also happens to be a "proper" Regency miss. This series has been called Pride and Prejudice meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it is that, but it's also a lot more. I've been burned by series before- I'm sure most of you have- where it feels like every book is the same, just with different villains or quests or whatever, but this series is most definitely not like this. It's just one big story that's told over the course of 5 books. And if The Mortal Instruments has the angstiest couple ever, then the Gardella books have one of the best love triangles ever. The annoying thing about a lot of love triangles is that either the heroine bounces around between the guys forever, or that the two guys are totally interchangable and nothing is sacrificed or gained in picking one over the other. Not the case here. In fact, this love triangle was so well done that I've kept it in the back of my mind as I work on Demonglass 2: Electric Boogaloo-never stopping that joke, sorry!-as Sophie has two guys to handle (not like that! Mind out of the gutter! Well... okay. KIND OF like that. ;) )in Book 2.
Oh, and guy readers, do not let all this talk of luuurve triangles and Regency period turn you off these books. They ARE in the romance section, but they're much more action-adventure-y/fantasy to my way of thinking. There just happens to be a romance subplot. But Victoria definitely spends more time kicking vampire ass than making out with dudes. That's actually another thing I love about these books; vamps= totally the bad guys. No sexy, souful Angel types. I'm kind of over vamps as romantic heroes these days, yes, even Sparkly Edward.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part II of Books Rachel Wishes Were In Her Face (No, Not Her Hands, Her Face, That's How Excited She Is) RIGHT NOW. And hey, let me know if there are any books any of you are wanting in your face!
This week, I read Cassandra King's The Same Sweet Girls, which was FABULOUS and made me cry like a little girl. And I hardly ever cry during books, with the notable exceptions of Bridge to Terabithia and Where the Red Fern Grows, 'cause DAMN. Oh, and at the end of Libba Bray's The Sweet Far Thing. I cried so hard during that book that The Husband still makes fun of me about it.
I also, after much struggle, got to read Lauren Myracle's Bliss, which was SOOOO good, and I'm not just saying that because she commented on this here little blog, making me squee quite loudly. ;) But seriously, Bliss was worth the wait. Creepy as hell, a really interesting portrait of the South in the 60s (y'all know I love my Southern books!), AND it had one of the most likable and realistic heroines I've read in YA in awhile. Not to mention the OMGWTF? most messed up "villain" ever. *Shudder* So go read it! Hopefully, your local bookstore is not as evil as mine!
But today, I don't just want to talk about books I've been reading, but books I can't WAIT to read. I don't know about you, but I get as excited over upcoming books as some people do upcoming movies. And so I now proudly present my list of Books Rachel Wishes Were In Her Face (No, Not Her Hands, Her Face, That's How Excited She Is) Right Now.
1) City of Glass, Cassandra Clare
This is the 3rd book in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments Trilogy. The first 2 are City of Bones and City of Ashes, and you should all run out and buy them RIGHT NOW. They are so highly enjoyable. They're about Clary Fray (great name!) who gets mixed up in the world of Shadowhunters, who are basically kick-ass demon hunters. And then there are werewolves, and vampires, and a whole hidden country where the Shadowhunters live... oh, it is awesome.
My favorite thing about these books is that they are totally over the top, but in the best possible way, if that makes any sense. Like, people actually have conversations that go something like, "I love you! But we can never be together. NEVER! And yet, we MUST!" and it doesn't feel silly or melodramatic. You're right there with them like, "I know! You TOTALLY SHOULD! But you CAN'T! AGGHH!"
The pace is breakneck, the plot twists are genuinely surprising, and the level of action/violence is ridiculously high, and therefore, great. Also, these books contain probably the angstiest couple in all of YA right now, Jace and Clary (see above conversation. See? So, so angsty!) I'm a sucker for forbidden love (as you'll all see when Demonglass comes out!), and MAN is their love forbidden. Like, really, really wrong. And I love it. Although I have a suspicion that they will get the forbidden-ness removed in this last book. Just... go read them, okay? You'll see what I mean!
This book comes out in March, so I have awhile to wait. But March is going to be a very fun reading month for me because that's also when...
2) As Shadows Fade, Colleen Gleason
comes out! This is the 5th and last book in her Gardella Vampire Chronicles, a series of books that I have inhaled like they were crack-coated candy. Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy is a vampire hunter, or Venator, who also happens to be a "proper" Regency miss. This series has been called Pride and Prejudice meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it is that, but it's also a lot more. I've been burned by series before- I'm sure most of you have- where it feels like every book is the same, just with different villains or quests or whatever, but this series is most definitely not like this. It's just one big story that's told over the course of 5 books. And if The Mortal Instruments has the angstiest couple ever, then the Gardella books have one of the best love triangles ever. The annoying thing about a lot of love triangles is that either the heroine bounces around between the guys forever, or that the two guys are totally interchangable and nothing is sacrificed or gained in picking one over the other. Not the case here. In fact, this love triangle was so well done that I've kept it in the back of my mind as I work on Demonglass 2: Electric Boogaloo-never stopping that joke, sorry!-as Sophie has two guys to handle (not like that! Mind out of the gutter! Well... okay. KIND OF like that. ;) )in Book 2.
Oh, and guy readers, do not let all this talk of luuurve triangles and Regency period turn you off these books. They ARE in the romance section, but they're much more action-adventure-y/fantasy to my way of thinking. There just happens to be a romance subplot. But Victoria definitely spends more time kicking vampire ass than making out with dudes. That's actually another thing I love about these books; vamps= totally the bad guys. No sexy, souful Angel types. I'm kind of over vamps as romantic heroes these days, yes, even Sparkly Edward.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part II of Books Rachel Wishes Were In Her Face (No, Not Her Hands, Her Face, That's How Excited She Is) RIGHT NOW. And hey, let me know if there are any books any of you are wanting in your face!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Free People Read Freely. And Awesomely.
Hooray! It's Banned Books Week! Oh, how I love Banned Books Week. I'm wearing my "I Read Banned Books" shirt, and I have a stack of Frequently Challenged books on my desk for consumption this week.
I love Banned Books Weeks SO much that back when I worked at the Black Hole of Suck, I actually got into a "fight" (that was conducted solely by email, so, you know, as far as epic battles go, it was kinda lame) with the Evil Nazi Librarian who worked there. I asked her to come talk to my kids about BBW, and she flat out refused, saying that she "didn't want to bring attention to that kind of literature." You know, like Of Mice and Men or To Kill a Mockingbird, both frequently challenged books, and both on the state curriculum for English. Yeah. I ended up getting my friend, Not At All Evil or Nazi-ish, But Awesome Librarian Who Worked At Another School, to come talk to the kids instead.
(However, Evil Nazi Librarian DID frequently bring the LOLs. An example: She wouldn't let kids bring backpacks into the library, due to her general Evil And Nazi ways. Well, one time, one of my kids forgot this rule and brought his backpack into the library when we went in there to work on research papers. THE HORROR.
So she chewed him out like he'd brought a gun in there, and I sent him back to the room to drop off his bag. ENL scurried up to me and said, "The principal doesn't want backpacks in here." And I humored her and said, "Right, because the kids might take stuff." I mean, that seemed to be the most logical reason for the no backpack rule, right? WRONG. She shook her head gravely and said, "There was a student in Florida who tripped over a backpack in the library and broke his neck against a table. And died."
So yeah. No backpacks in the library because the kids MIGHT DIE. I swear, you can't make that stuff up. It's right up there with Duck Language Girl in terms of WTF-ness.)
Anyway, if you've never checked out the ALA's list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books and prepare to have your mouth drop open as you see such titles as Harry Potter, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Golden Compass, The Color Purple, Huckleberry Finn, and the above mentioned Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Notice most of these books are challenged due to sexual content and/or bad language. As I used to tell my kids when we discussed Banned Books Week, if you read Of Mice and Men, and all you take away from it are the curse words, then I feel really sorry for you. Likewise, if you read The Color Purple, and all you get out if it is the sexual aspect, then I say, "Um... what the hell?"
I guess the main thing that bugs is that it's one thing if you don't want your child to read a book. I mean, I'm a parent, so I get that. You get to make that call for your kid if you want to. But don't try to take a book away from my child just because you don't like it. And don't reduce a masterpiece of American literature like Of Mice and Men to a book about a bunch of guys who say "goddamn" and "son of a bitch." I mean, come on.
The other thing I hate about trying to take books out of libraries is that it really belittles kids, who are so much smarter and more discerning than many adults want to give them credit for. Book banners seem convinced that some of this literature is dangerous to kids, like if they read about sex, they'll just wanna run right out and get them some of that.
To which I say: Whatevs.
When I was around 12 or 13, I ran out of YA books to read. Back in the early 90s, there wasn't much in the way of YA anyway, so once I'd exhausted the Sweet Valley Highs, and Babysitters' Clubs, and Lois Duncans ( to whom people should really give more love. Lois Duncan was da bomb, what with the families trapped in time, and the astral projections, and the schools for psychics... good stuff!), I turned to the adult section of Walden Books, and I turned to romances in particular. Over the summer between my 7th and 8th grade years, I read everything Jude Deveraux had ever written, and some of her earlier stuff was very Old Skool Romance. For those of you who've never read Old Skool Romance, the plots go something like this:
HERO (who is totally hawt knight/duke/king): Hello, young virginal lass. You are quite beautiful and have boobs which I shall now fondle even though we just met and that is completely inappropriate behavior.
HEROINE (who IS young and virginal and beautiful, and so naive, she borders on mentally challenged): Wow. You are totally hawt and all this boob touchage has awakened naughty feelings within me.
HERO: Let's get married so that I might see you naked.
HEROINE: 'Kay.
Day before the wedding, HERO spies HEROINE hugging some dude who eventually turns out to be her brother/cousin/old family friend who is a eunuch.
HERO: OMGWTFSLUT!!! I am betrayed!
Wedding Night
HERO: I now know that you are NOT innocent and virginal, but a damnable wenchy ho-bag! And now I shall have rough sex with you that borders on rape!
HEROINE: Oh noes!
HERO: *rapes*
HEROINE: *kinda likes it*
200 more pages of angst and angry sex.
HERO: Oh, my love, I am sorry that I thought you were a damnable wenchy ho-bag after I saw you hugging your brother/cousin/family friend who is a eunuch. I totes love you now, and I see the error of my ways. Let us never be apart!
HEROINE: Oh, it's okay. I mean, sure I ended up imprisoned in a nunnery, and my house burned down, and I nearly dies of pneumonia, and I was sold into prostitution, and one of your men killed my brother/cousin/family friend who is...was... a eunuch, and all of this happened because you couldn't be bothered to just be like, "So, hey, who was that guy you were hugging?" You are hawt and give me multiple orgasms and I love you too!"
THE END
Books like that? All I read from the ages of 13 to about 18. And did I ever once think to myself, "You know, I HAVE to get me one of these biplor semi-rapist guys! CLEARLY, this is what adult relationships are like!"
Have I ever now, as an adult, asked The Husband, "How come you never rip my bodice? I have all these bodices, just sitting here on my body, totally unripped."
No. Because I am not a total dumbass.
And did these books cause me to turn into some sort of crazed nympho who couldn't even be bothered to go to school as she was always on the hunt of hawt men?
Um...no. I continued being a nerdy, bookish kid whose love of romance novels gave her a huge vocabulary, which led to her winning totally nerdy things like English Tournament trophies (SHUT UP!) and getting a high ACT score, which led to getting into a good college and getting an English degree, which led to becoming a perfectly respectable English teacher, and then to becoming a (so far!) succecssful writer.
So yeah. Naughty books? Not really all that bad for you!
So when these people who try to ban books assume that all kids are complete morons who are going to run out and do something just because they read it in a book, it really pisses me off. It underestimates teenagers, and if there's one thing teaching taught me, it's that you should never do that. Let kids read what they want, or they'll end up turning away from reading for good. And as an author who REALLY wants kids to buy her book, we can't let that happen! ;)
Now, all that said, I am SO hoping that Demonglass gets challenged at some point, because that would make me edgy, and there's nothing this WASP-y, private school-educated, Xanadu listening-to girl would love more than to be edgy.
Of course, there isn't much naughty language in Demonglass. Or drugs. Or sex. BUT STILL. It does have the word "demon" in the title. That has to be worth something, right?
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Cafe Press to have a shirt made up that says, "I Write Banned Books."
Never hurts to be prepared!
I love Banned Books Weeks SO much that back when I worked at the Black Hole of Suck, I actually got into a "fight" (that was conducted solely by email, so, you know, as far as epic battles go, it was kinda lame) with the Evil Nazi Librarian who worked there. I asked her to come talk to my kids about BBW, and she flat out refused, saying that she "didn't want to bring attention to that kind of literature." You know, like Of Mice and Men or To Kill a Mockingbird, both frequently challenged books, and both on the state curriculum for English. Yeah. I ended up getting my friend, Not At All Evil or Nazi-ish, But Awesome Librarian Who Worked At Another School, to come talk to the kids instead.
(However, Evil Nazi Librarian DID frequently bring the LOLs. An example: She wouldn't let kids bring backpacks into the library, due to her general Evil And Nazi ways. Well, one time, one of my kids forgot this rule and brought his backpack into the library when we went in there to work on research papers. THE HORROR.
So she chewed him out like he'd brought a gun in there, and I sent him back to the room to drop off his bag. ENL scurried up to me and said, "The principal doesn't want backpacks in here." And I humored her and said, "Right, because the kids might take stuff." I mean, that seemed to be the most logical reason for the no backpack rule, right? WRONG. She shook her head gravely and said, "There was a student in Florida who tripped over a backpack in the library and broke his neck against a table. And died."
So yeah. No backpacks in the library because the kids MIGHT DIE. I swear, you can't make that stuff up. It's right up there with Duck Language Girl in terms of WTF-ness.)
Anyway, if you've never checked out the ALA's list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books and prepare to have your mouth drop open as you see such titles as Harry Potter, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Golden Compass, The Color Purple, Huckleberry Finn, and the above mentioned Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Notice most of these books are challenged due to sexual content and/or bad language. As I used to tell my kids when we discussed Banned Books Week, if you read Of Mice and Men, and all you take away from it are the curse words, then I feel really sorry for you. Likewise, if you read The Color Purple, and all you get out if it is the sexual aspect, then I say, "Um... what the hell?"
I guess the main thing that bugs is that it's one thing if you don't want your child to read a book. I mean, I'm a parent, so I get that. You get to make that call for your kid if you want to. But don't try to take a book away from my child just because you don't like it. And don't reduce a masterpiece of American literature like Of Mice and Men to a book about a bunch of guys who say "goddamn" and "son of a bitch." I mean, come on.
The other thing I hate about trying to take books out of libraries is that it really belittles kids, who are so much smarter and more discerning than many adults want to give them credit for. Book banners seem convinced that some of this literature is dangerous to kids, like if they read about sex, they'll just wanna run right out and get them some of that.
To which I say: Whatevs.
When I was around 12 or 13, I ran out of YA books to read. Back in the early 90s, there wasn't much in the way of YA anyway, so once I'd exhausted the Sweet Valley Highs, and Babysitters' Clubs, and Lois Duncans ( to whom people should really give more love. Lois Duncan was da bomb, what with the families trapped in time, and the astral projections, and the schools for psychics... good stuff!), I turned to the adult section of Walden Books, and I turned to romances in particular. Over the summer between my 7th and 8th grade years, I read everything Jude Deveraux had ever written, and some of her earlier stuff was very Old Skool Romance. For those of you who've never read Old Skool Romance, the plots go something like this:
HERO (who is totally hawt knight/duke/king): Hello, young virginal lass. You are quite beautiful and have boobs which I shall now fondle even though we just met and that is completely inappropriate behavior.
HEROINE (who IS young and virginal and beautiful, and so naive, she borders on mentally challenged): Wow. You are totally hawt and all this boob touchage has awakened naughty feelings within me.
HERO: Let's get married so that I might see you naked.
HEROINE: 'Kay.
Day before the wedding, HERO spies HEROINE hugging some dude who eventually turns out to be her brother/cousin/old family friend who is a eunuch.
HERO: OMGWTFSLUT!!! I am betrayed!
Wedding Night
HERO: I now know that you are NOT innocent and virginal, but a damnable wenchy ho-bag! And now I shall have rough sex with you that borders on rape!
HEROINE: Oh noes!
HERO: *rapes*
HEROINE: *kinda likes it*
200 more pages of angst and angry sex.
HERO: Oh, my love, I am sorry that I thought you were a damnable wenchy ho-bag after I saw you hugging your brother/cousin/family friend who is a eunuch. I totes love you now, and I see the error of my ways. Let us never be apart!
HEROINE: Oh, it's okay. I mean, sure I ended up imprisoned in a nunnery, and my house burned down, and I nearly dies of pneumonia, and I was sold into prostitution, and one of your men killed my brother/cousin/family friend who is...was... a eunuch, and all of this happened because you couldn't be bothered to just be like, "So, hey, who was that guy you were hugging?" You are hawt and give me multiple orgasms and I love you too!"
THE END
Books like that? All I read from the ages of 13 to about 18. And did I ever once think to myself, "You know, I HAVE to get me one of these biplor semi-rapist guys! CLEARLY, this is what adult relationships are like!"
Have I ever now, as an adult, asked The Husband, "How come you never rip my bodice? I have all these bodices, just sitting here on my body, totally unripped."
No. Because I am not a total dumbass.
And did these books cause me to turn into some sort of crazed nympho who couldn't even be bothered to go to school as she was always on the hunt of hawt men?
Um...no. I continued being a nerdy, bookish kid whose love of romance novels gave her a huge vocabulary, which led to her winning totally nerdy things like English Tournament trophies (SHUT UP!) and getting a high ACT score, which led to getting into a good college and getting an English degree, which led to becoming a perfectly respectable English teacher, and then to becoming a (so far!) succecssful writer.
So yeah. Naughty books? Not really all that bad for you!
So when these people who try to ban books assume that all kids are complete morons who are going to run out and do something just because they read it in a book, it really pisses me off. It underestimates teenagers, and if there's one thing teaching taught me, it's that you should never do that. Let kids read what they want, or they'll end up turning away from reading for good. And as an author who REALLY wants kids to buy her book, we can't let that happen! ;)
Now, all that said, I am SO hoping that Demonglass gets challenged at some point, because that would make me edgy, and there's nothing this WASP-y, private school-educated, Xanadu listening-to girl would love more than to be edgy.
Of course, there isn't much naughty language in Demonglass. Or drugs. Or sex. BUT STILL. It does have the word "demon" in the title. That has to be worth something, right?
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Cafe Press to have a shirt made up that says, "I Write Banned Books."
Never hurts to be prepared!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Rachel Gets Political! Oh Noes!
New Book Update: Book That Is Not A Demonglass Book is now up to 6,000 words! Yay! I have to say, it's been a really interesting experience to write my second book. As I've talked about...um... a lot, Demonglass was the first thing I was ever able to finish, so there was a lot of pressure writing it, wondering if this was finally going to be the book I saw all the way through to then end. Now that I've proven to myself that A) I can write a whole book, and B) people will actually pay me money for it and let that be, like, my job, I've had a lot more fun writing this new book (tentatively titled- 'cause I suuu-uhhhh-UCK at coming up with titles- Rebel Belle.) It may also be easier because Demonglass had a lot more characters and a more complex mythology to work with, and Rebel Belle is a little simpler thus far. Or I could still be in the honeymoon stage with this book. Talk to me again in a month and we'll see! But for now, all is flowers and sausages (TM Most Hilarious Kid Ever on Trading Spouses) in the world of New Book. It's been a total blast to write. If Demonglass is Harry Potter Meets Mean Girls, then Rebel Belle is Legally Blonde Meets The Terminator. Have I mentioned that my brain is a weird place?
Okay, now on to the politics. First off, let me say that I'm pretty much never going to discuss politics again on my blog (except a little next week during Banned Books week, since woo-boy, do I strongly dislike me some book banners, and there might be an alleged book banner on a major party ticket. Allegedly. And her name might- allegedly- rhyme with Bear A Sailin'. Or so I've heard.) For one thing, this blog is solely for my self-indulgent rants about books and Xanadu, as I think has been well-established, and there are lots of super-awesome politcal blogs already out there if you want that sort of thing. Also, Jen Lancaster said on her blog that she doesn't get into politics there because her blog is like her living room, and she wants everyone to feel welcome no matter what their beliefs. So, you know, what she said. ;)
Besides, I may be a very "blue" person, but I live in a VERY "red" state, so a lot of my friends are Republicans, and I believe the main thing is caring about your country and being civic-minded, no matter what party you belong to.
Okay, now that that caveat is out of the way, I just had to point out 2 Links O'Awesome if you happen to enjoy being both YA and being "blue."
One is from John Green(who wrote the AMAZING Looking For Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines. Run out and get yourself a copy! They're even on sale right now because he has a new book coming out in October!) It's his post on how his Christianity affects his Liberal beliefs (and vice versa) and it's one of the best things I've read about politics and faith.
Then, if you're a fan and/or writer of YA who is all about some Obama, please come join me (and John Green, and Libba Bray, and Holly Black, and Maureen Johnson, AND Judy "The Goddess" Blume, who wrote the first post) at YA for Obama. It is made of awesome and covered in awesome sauce.
Whew! Only political blog finished!
Expect a return to Witches, and coffee, and Small Son next time!
Okay, now on to the politics. First off, let me say that I'm pretty much never going to discuss politics again on my blog (except a little next week during Banned Books week, since woo-boy, do I strongly dislike me some book banners, and there might be an alleged book banner on a major party ticket. Allegedly. And her name might- allegedly- rhyme with Bear A Sailin'. Or so I've heard.) For one thing, this blog is solely for my self-indulgent rants about books and Xanadu, as I think has been well-established, and there are lots of super-awesome politcal blogs already out there if you want that sort of thing. Also, Jen Lancaster said on her blog that she doesn't get into politics there because her blog is like her living room, and she wants everyone to feel welcome no matter what their beliefs. So, you know, what she said. ;)
Besides, I may be a very "blue" person, but I live in a VERY "red" state, so a lot of my friends are Republicans, and I believe the main thing is caring about your country and being civic-minded, no matter what party you belong to.
Okay, now that that caveat is out of the way, I just had to point out 2 Links O'Awesome if you happen to enjoy being both YA and being "blue."
One is from John Green(who wrote the AMAZING Looking For Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines. Run out and get yourself a copy! They're even on sale right now because he has a new book coming out in October!) It's his post on how his Christianity affects his Liberal beliefs (and vice versa) and it's one of the best things I've read about politics and faith.
Then, if you're a fan and/or writer of YA who is all about some Obama, please come join me (and John Green, and Libba Bray, and Holly Black, and Maureen Johnson, AND Judy "The Goddess" Blume, who wrote the first post) at YA for Obama. It is made of awesome and covered in awesome sauce.
Whew! Only political blog finished!
Expect a return to Witches, and coffee, and Small Son next time!
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