REVAMPED HOLLY SCHINDLER'S MIDDLES

I've revamped my site for young readers, Holly Schindler's Middles.  The idea for Holly Schindler's Middles came from the fact that I loved being able to interact directly with my YA readers (usually via Facebook, Twitter, or the book blogging community).  Being able to interact with readers, actually, was my favorite part of becoming a published author.  But I didn't really have a place online where I could interact with MG readers...so I had to create one! 

Click to visit Holly Schindler's Middles

Parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians: Get your young readers ready!  I'm most excited about the page I'll be devoting to reader reviews...I can't wait to hear what they all have to say...

THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY: NEW TEASER TRAILER + SNEEK PEAK

Just in time for Christmas, I'm offering two new vids as "gifts" to readers.

The first is a new teaser trailer for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY:




In the second video, I discuss the importance and purpose of metaphor in developing a distinctive voice for my main character, Auggie.  I also highlight my favorite "Auggie-isms," or metaphorical passages, providing a sneak peek into the novel:

CRISSA-JEAN CHAPPELL'S MORE THAN GOOD ENOUGH (+ GIVEAWAY)

The fabulous Crissa-Jean Chappell's got a new book releasing January 8 (just two days before my birthday...what a good present, hint-hint).

Half native. Half white.
One hundred percent nothing.

My mom doesn’t want me. My dad just got out of jail. They want me to go live with him on the reservation, in the Everglades. Trouble is, everybody there just ignores me.

At least I get to work with Pippa on my film project at school. We used to be friends when we were like twelve. Now that we’re hanging out again it’s like old times—except she’s way cuter.

The thing is, I don’t belong anywhere. I don’t fit in on the rez, and I suck at school. My dad thinks I’m an idiot, but Pippa thinks I’m all good.

I don’t know what to think. Am I bad news or am I more than good enough?

 Praise:
“Powerful and satisfying.”—Geoff Herbach, author Nothing Special, winner of the 2013 Minnesota Book Award for Young People’s Literature

"[C]ompelling and emotionally nuanced."—Kirkus Reviews

Crissa's also doing a giveaway for the pub date.  Here's the 411:


Want to win a signed copy of the book? It's easy!  Double-click to like the final teaser trailer on Instagram:

Retweet the trailer (or tweet Crissa @crissachappell).

Use the hashtag #MoreThanGoodEnough

Add the title More Than Good Enough on Goodreads.

On the book's birthday (1/8/2014) Crissa will pick three winners.

THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY - KIRKUS REVIEWS

The notoriously tough folks at Kirkus had this to say about THE JUNCTION:

"...a heartwarming and uplifting story...[that] shines...with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve."

How's that for an early Christmas present?

BOOK REC: WALK ME HOME BY CATHERINE RYAN HYDE

Purchase on Amazon.

I’m a sucker for a good setup.  So much of a novel, I think, hinges on the opening pages.  If you can haul readers in, make them invest in the beginning, I think they’re with you until the end.  (I rarely, as a reader, give up completely on a book; I do, however, quit reading hard and start skimming when I can’t connect personally.  If I’m really invested at the beginning, though, I continue to read hard—even if I feel the book begins to take a few unrealistic turns.)

Catherine Ryan Hyde’s WALK ME HOME has maybe one of the best setups of all time.  You can't help but care about young Jen and Carly as they attempt to hike across the Southwest to California.  Hyde puts in all the details that make you fear for the girls’ safety (without overkilling it on sensory description—a lesson I took to heart), and just enough backstory sprinkled in to propel you forward.  

WALK ME HOME is a compelling read from beginning to end.  (This is in no way a book you're going to want to skim.  This is a book you settle into for the long haul.  A book that makes you feel as though you're taking the journey alongside these sisters.)  But I always wind up feeling as though I’ve learned something new about writing each time I pick up a Catherine Ryan Hyde book.  And it’s the setup of WALK ME HOME that will stay with me, each time I start a new novel of my own…

Since their mother’s sudden death, sixteen-year-old Carly and her eleven-year-old sister, Jen, have been walking and hitchhiking across the Southwest trying to find Teddy, the closest thing they have to a family. Carly desperately hopes Teddy will take them in and save them from going into foster care—and forgive them for the lies told by their mother.

But when the starving girls get caught stealing food on a Native American reservation, their journey gets put on hold. While the girls work off their debt, Carly becomes determined to travel onward—until Jen confesses a terrible secret that leaves both sisters wondering if they can ever trust again.

Set against the backdrop of the American Southwest, Walk Me Home and its resilient heroines will inspire readers and renew their faith in recovery and redemption.

GRATITUDE: THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY IN PW

On this Thanksgivukah Eve, I'm feeling grateful that THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY has been featured in this week's issue of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

This is my first-ever appearance in PW; the review insists: "Axioms like 'One man's trash is another man's treasure' and 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' come gracefully to life in Schindler's tale about the value of hard work and the power of community."

I was also thrilled that the reviewer fell in love with my girl Auggie, stating, "Auggie's enthusiasm and unbridled creativity are infections, and likeminded readers will envy her creative partnership with [her grandfather] Gus."

SHEER CUTENESS + BIG NEWS FOR FERAL (MY NEXT YA)

Big news: my next YA, FERAL, has been sent to copyediting!  We're getting close, folks. I can't wait to share the cover, official release date, etc.

When I emerged from the cave (ahem, office) after the last round of rewrites, I got to enjoy a new round of fall cuteness:

It's a great mug my pooch has, but I still say the cutest part of a Peke is the tail / rump:

(Am I the only gal out there who thinks her dog's rump is cute???)

Seriously, though...stay tuned.  More info on FERAL to come soon!

THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY TRAILER!

Here 'tis: the trailer for my debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY! 

Enjoy...and by all means, feel free to link to or embed the trailer in your own blogs...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween from the

...and Jake I-am-so-above-this Schindler:

...As always, a pic session turned into a kiss-fest:

BOOK REC: THIN SPACE BY JODY CASELLA

Ever since the car accident that killed his twin brother, Marshall Windsor has been consumed with guilt and crippled by secrets of that fateful night. He has only one chance to make amends, to right his wrongs and set things right. He must find a Thin Space—a mythical point where the barrier between this world and the next is thin enough for a person to step through to the other side.

But, when a new girl moves into the house next door, the same house Marsh is sure holds a thin space, she may be the key—or the unraveling of all his secrets.

As they get closer to finding a thin space—and closer to each other—Marsh must decide once and for all how far he’s willing to go to right the wrongs of the living…and the dead.

When I plunged into THIN SPACE, it immediately turned into one of those quick reads I’m always in awe of…Even though I was trying to slow down, enjoy it, I would still fly through the chapters.  (I could think I’d read five pages, then glance at the page number and be shocked I’d read thirty.)  

I love that quote from Hawthorne—the one about easy reading being damn hard writing.  (So, soooo true.)  I admire books that’re easy for me to plow through, because I know firsthand how much work the author put into it.  

About halfway through the book, though, the pace absolutely exploded.  The last half of this book is absolutely gripping.  It was one of those books you close and say, “Now, that was cool.”

Great premise, great debut.  Eagerly anticipating Casella’s next book. 

REVISION SKIES

Why is it that I pay so much more attention to sunsets when I hit the revision stage of my WIPs?

Hmmm...

SIGNS OF FALL

New sweater!

First Halloween decoration!

DIGGIN' IN

We were removing a stump from the yard last week when my dog Jake said, "Hang on just a MINUTE!  I'll show you how to dig!"  He then jumped in the hole and showed us how it's done.

(Off camera, we were all struggling not to laugh...Jake's so serious about his digging!)

I love the way he just plunges in, though...There's a lesson in that, I think...

HAPPY BANNED BOOKS WEEK!

Love this image celebrating banned books...Reminds me of my girl Auggie (the MC from THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY):

I Read Banned Books by Oak Park Public Library, via Flickr

EARLY STOPS - THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY TOUR

You never saw a girl more anxious to spread the word of her latest book...THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY doesn't release until February, but I'm already beginning to organize an online tour! 

Click on the page I recently created to learn more about the tour, and to view the stops already I've already planned. 

How many more days until February????

TWO SEASONS

Summer and autumn seem to both be here at the same time in the Ozarks.  It's blazing hot, but yellow leaves are starting to fall, too. 

Flip-flop-shaped sarong clip holding a fallen leaf...

That's pretty much where I am with my work right now, too.  I'm organizing blog tours, promos, etc. for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY while writing my next MG.  It's kind of a funny place to be, half my head dealing with a finished product while the other half is focused on the basics of plot outline and character development.

That's life as a writer, though; juggling projects in various stages of development makes you feel like you always seem to be dealing with two "seasons" at the same time...

THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY ONLINE TOUR!

We're still a good five months away from the release of my debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY.  But I'm already thinking about a tour!

Right now, I'm gathering the names of those who are interested in participating and what their ideas or interests are.  I haven't been on a blog tour since the release of my last YA, PLAYING HURT, in '11...and I've never been on an online tour for a middle grade novel before.  In many ways, this is all brand new to me.

So I need your help: fill out the form at the end of this post to let me know if and how you'd like to participate.  If you know you want to take part, but aren't quite sure how yet, tell me that, too!  By signing up, you'll be put on my mailing list; I'll be corresponding with everyone on my list to bounce ideas as we get closer to the book's actual release. 

I had a blast on my last online tour, and think this tour could be even more fun.  I can't wait to get some ideas rolling.

To learn more about THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, visit my author site or the site I created just for young readers.
 
Thanks in advance for your interest and your hard work...I can't tell you how much I adore my incredible bloggers!

If you have trouble viewing the form below, click here.  You can also feel free to leave a comment or email writehollyschindler (at) yahoo (dot) com.

CHILDREN'S AUTHOR BLOG HOP

The kind and talented Naomi Kinsman invited me to participate in a children’s blog hop.  I love both Naomi and the questions, so of course I jumped right in!

What are you working on right now?

A new middle grade novel.  Earlier this summer, I turned in the copyedits for my debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY (which is set to release on February 6, 2014).  I’m honestly having a blast writing the new MG, but I have to admit, I also really miss Auggie (the protagonist of THE JUNCTION).  I initially drafted that book in ’05, and it’s hard to let such a sweet character go.

How does it differ from other works in the genre?

Right now, the MG genre as a whole seems pretty keenly focused on magical or fantasy-oriented books.  Books that feel like or play with the conventions of fairy tales.  THE JUNCTION is contemporary realistic fiction, no magic, no fairies.  Just a girl and her own smarts, talent, and moxie.

Why do you write what you do?

When I got my MA in ’01, I dove headfirst into my writing.  To pay the bills, I started teaching music lessons out of the house.  It was the perfect setup: I’d write all day, then start teaching in the afternoons when the kids got out of school.

I was really surprised to find that the kids were just so…familiar.  The technology and fashion had changed, but the struggles hadn’t!  I tried my hand at writing in the juvenile market—my first two published books were YAs, and I have a third YA forthcoming with HarperCollins. 

I thought those music lessons were going to give me a little extra cash—I never knew they’d actually give me career direction!  Just goes to show that living your life is as important as putting your fingers to the keyboard.

What is the hardest part about writing?

For me, the hardest thing is reining in my metaphorical / descriptive writing.  I’m a junkie for literary writing, descriptive writing.  As I’m drafting, I often don’t realize how much description I’m piling on.  I’m really forcing myself lately to cut it back.  So often, less is more.  I don’t want to turn so many authorial tricks that I keep my readers from connecting with my work. 

...It's not a blog hop if you don't tag other authors!  I've invited Darlene Beck-Jacobson, a writer I met through my own blog; she sent me fun prompts for a flash fiction challenge some time ago.  Her own MG, a piece of historical fiction titled WHEELS OF CHANGE, will be out with Creston Books in '14.  

I also tagged the fabulous Jody Casella, whose debut YA, THIN SPACE, releases this month!  I adore Jody, and literally cannot wait to get my hands on THIN SPACE.  I've already got my copy pre-ordered.  

Aaaand, because one of the best part of blogging is meeting new people, I put out a call for participants on Facebook, and was happy to meet Jennifer Anne Davis.  I'm looking forward to getting to know her more...