Holly Schindler

PLAYING HURT - NEARLY ONE YEAR OLD!

2012-01-27T08:01:00.003-06:00

It's beyond hard to believe, but it's true: this March, PLAYING HURT will be a year old! Get ready to celebrate with me by snagging yourself a copy, if you haven't already done so.

If you've been a bit reluctant to read PLAYING HURT, perhaps because you're not usually a romance reader, this vlog is for you! (Or, if you've got a reading pal who's been reluctant for the same reason, pass them the link to this post!) Thanks to some lyrical writing and heavy subplots, PLAYING HURT is, as I explain here, more than just a simple summer love story:

For those of you with e-copies: get your books signed through Kindlegraph!

And be sure to check out my latest interview with the incredible Catherine Ryan Hyde for a chance to win a PLAYING HURT swag pack!

THE SCARIEST FIRST EVER (WHY I ALSO WRITE MG)

2012-01-23T08:15:00.005-06:00

While many of the firsts in my own life carried with them a swirl of different emotions—excitement and joy and uncertainty and confusion and elation—one first has the power, even as I think back on it today, to bring back only one emotion: pure, 100% terror.

The first day of junior high.

Sure, it can sound a little goofy, now, to call it one of my all-time most frightening experiences. And, to be fair, I certainly faced firsts, as I grew older, during which I had more to risk, had more at stake, than I did facing my first day of junior high. But I’ve never been quite as frightened by anything. Never.

In some respects, I shouldn’t have been scared at all—my junior high was actually an extension of my elementary school. I was going to the same building where I’d been a student for seven years by the time I started junior high. But…my closest friend had moved away the summer before; we’d been friends since the second grade, and of course I felt a bit lost going into junior high without her. I was also just incredibly shy, and my heart would race at the mere idea of being in the midst of so many new faces, strangers, in such a new environment—sure, the building was the same, but lockers? Fighting hallway traffic every hour? Changing clothes for PE? It was all uncharted territory.

Gonna Party Like It's 1987:

Far right: me (in the penguin T-shirt) and my closest elementary-school friend (in the pink shorts) at my brother's birthday party.

Thinking back on it, I can still feel the nervous sweat breaking out and my legs going weak as I rounded the corner to East Hall that first morning, toward the science classes (my first class was biology). I remember what I was wearing (purple shirt, vest, shorts), and how I literally thought I would faint before I got to that classroom.

Long story short, I made it. No fainting. I even made it through lunch.

Surviving junior high is just one example of a first that makes me certain, as an adult, that I’ll figure my way out of tough or scary situations. Back when I was twelve, though, I didn’t have that certainty. I hadn’t maneuvered on my own enough to know that I could trust myself. And that’s what made that first day so frightening.

It takes serious guts to be the kids we write for. Because every single day, one of them is facing some first that terrifies them the same way the first day of junior high terrified me. And they don’t have enough triumphs in their lives yet to know for sure they’ll figure their way out. They’re just taking the plunge…

I so admire those kids. And that's a big part of the reason why, in addition to YA, I also write for the MG crowd. And I just feel so privileged to be writing for such an incredibly brave bunch.

VLOG OUTTAKE (ON WIFE-BEATERS...)

2012-01-20T07:44:00.003-06:00

Filming vlogs is a blast...but I'm not sure if my usually-serious finished products (interviews, writing tips, etc.) have ever revealed how much fun I really do have filming them.

...I'm pretty sure, though, that this silly outtake from a vlog I filmed this week does a good job of showing what a joy they can be...

TOO OLD NOW TO...

2012-01-12T08:00:00.002-06:00

I turned 35 this week. I’m really not quite sure how this happened. At first, seeing this age next to my name was a bit like those instances when you get your credit card bill and say, “Hey, there’s no way I spent this much money this month,” only you know, even before you get out that fine-toothed comb, that you really have. Somehow, I’ve raced through 35 years’ worth of time.

Some cool stuff I got:

* A Kindle cover. Now, I get to retire that sheet of Bubble Wrap I was using to protect it inside my purse. Nobody’ll snicker at me when I haul the thing out in public to read.

*A giant silver piggy bank (he’s so cute, I’m gonna wanna feed him). I named him Ponzi.

* The realization that I am right now in the very place I would have given my eye teeth to be, four years ago.

It’s so easy (for me, at least) to always be looking at some distant prize, dancing on the horizon somewhere. This week, though, I was reminded that four years ago, I had yet to land any sort of deal with anyone—publisher, agent, etc. Although I did have a fabulous hole in the drywall, where I’d been knocking my head against the office wall…

Which brings me to the coolest gift of all, which arrived in droves:

* Happy Birthday wishes, from readers and fans via Twitter, Facebook, my website, and my various email addresses. I always say the best gift is just a, “Happy Birthday.” And I got so many this year, it brought a tear to the eye…Thanks, guys. Seriously.

I wound the day down with a performance from my favorite musician, Will Hoge, on Kimmel. Get this—he sang “Too Old to Die Young.” Come on. How perfect is that?

YA TO A

2012-01-05T09:05:00.000-06:00

My own second YA, PLAYING HURT, features slightly older characters, for the genre: Chelsea's already graduated from high school and Clint has finished his first year of college when the two meet and embark on their love story. One of the reasons I chose protagonists of that age is because I love stories that focus on characters who are in the midst of one of life's times of transition—a rocky, scary, thrilling new beginning. The kind of beginning that finds us at the end of our school days, or as we set out to establish ourselves in "the real world," etc.

That's a big part of why I love this video; I can't help it—I smile every single time I watch it. I really appreciate the transition Ms. Swift is making here; this is the first time I've ever viewed her in an adult capacity...Plus, as PLAYING HURT also illustrates, I'm just a sucker for a sweet love story:

Speaking of PLAYING HURT, I absolutely loved bumping into Best-of-'11 lists throughout the blogophere late in December that featured the book. I wanted to highlight a few here, from Reading Angel, Book Goonie, and Magnet 4 Books.

I'd also like to know: how do you prefer your characters in YA? Older? Younger? Weigh in below!

...And with that, I officially kick of '12 here at the blog! I can't help it—I just have this fabulous feeling about '12. Life is good...

CONFETTI & SHEER HAPPINESS...

2011-12-31T08:38:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

Here's to 2012!

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

2011-12-23T08:38:00.005-06:00

I just want to take a moment at the end of 2011 to thank all my friends and followers here at the blog for such an incredible year. 2011 saw the release of my second YA, PLAYING HURT, and it was because of the support I received from bloggers during the successful PLAYING HURT Blog Tour that the book got into the right hands. (Thanks to my fabulous readers, discussion of the novel lit up the blogosphere...)

I'm so glad that I got a chance to meet so many new readers and fans throughout the year, and can't wait to find out what's just around the bend in '12...It's bound to be a fantastic year, and I'm thrilled I'll get to share it with all of you!

For now, though, I'll wish you all a very happy holiday season. (The card below is one that I drew many years ago, for my parents to send out. Now, I'm sending it to all of you!)

Season's greetings!

COVER PARTY: TIFFANY TRUITT'S CHOSEN ONES

2011-12-22T07:28:00.000-06:00

Hey, all! I'm happy to participate today in the big cover reveal for Tiffany Truitt's CHOSEN ONES, set to release with Entangled in April 2012. Here's the lovely cover:

And here's the jacket copy:

What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the day she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

...What do you guys think?

A HOLIDAY GIFT: A BLUE SO DARK FOR 99 CENTS!

2011-12-19T08:39:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited about this: right now, for just .99, you can grab yourselves a Kindle copy of A BLUE SO DARK! And, to accompany this fantastic offer, I will sign your Kindle copy through Kindlegraph!

Spread the word, my lovely bloggers...

PUKE

2011-12-16T08:06:00.000-06:00

Okay, so not the classiest of titles for a blog post. But that's what I've been doing lately. I'm not sick...I'm just drafting new work. And I've decided that's actually the most accurate, vivid way to depict the drafting process. I mean, a first draft isn't supposed to be pretty. It's just supposed to come out. Just like, well...

I've also discovered a fantastic new way to get through the ~~puking~~ drafting process. I call it Give Credit Where Credit's Due. So often, at the end of the day, a writer can look at the number of words (or pages) and feel a little rotten about how skimpy it seems. Really, though, it's so much better for a writer's mental health to take stock of what really happened during the drafting process that day. If you figured out a plotting problem or made a breakthrough with backstory, that's worth far more than the sheer number of words typed that day. Always remember to take stock of what you accomplished, not what you think you should have accomplished.

Speaking of word count, though, I've also started giving myself credit for all the words I write during the drafting process...even notes to self, scrawled down the margins of notebook paper. I find that if I give myself credit for the words written outside of the story, I allow myself to go on tangents, to explore aspects of the story that might not ever have been addressed (at least, not in the earliest stages of writing the book).

All of this makes drafting infinitely more enjoyable. And that's definitely important, for someone who far prefers revising to drafting. Drafting's now so much more enjoyable, in fact, that I'm celebrating all WIPs at my house—even the WIP belonging to my dog, as this snazzy new sign illustrates! (More on Jake's WIP here.)

Happy ~~puking~~ drafting, everyone!

#FF FUN

2011-12-09T08:49:00.006-06:00

I'm back for the Follow Friday fun, courtesy of Parajunkee...I just couldn't resist this week's question:

Keeping with the Spirit of Giving this season, what book do you think EVERYONE should read and if you could, you would buy it for all of your family and friends?

Well...

New followers, please leave a comment so I can check out your own blogs!

IDEA. JUNKIE.

2011-12-08T07:53:00.002-06:00

I've said it before: I’m an idea junkie. It’s a bit of a disease, actually. I get two, three chapters into a new project when I'm suddenly bowled over by the concept for yet another book.

When I first began the pursuit of publication, those new ideas would sometimes get me sidetracked. I learned I need to keep a spiral-bound notebook where I can jot down the basics of a new plot, then get back to the project at hand.

Being the idea junkie I am, I recently found myself with a backlog of projects I wanted to get out of outline form…I reorganized my office, getting all my materials in order so that I could move straight from one project to the next, throughout 2012. Ten in all. Yeah. I know. Ten new books. I’ve got the list of books (written in the order in which I'll tackle them) thumbtacked to the wall above my computer, in my office.

My true goal for 2012, though? Not to get all the way through the list.

Writers know the scenario well: you get about halfway through drafting a new book when your editor sends you the revision notes for a book you’ve already got in development. You have to put your current project aside, to work on revisions.

Right now, my agent’s shopping several new books...and I have to admit, my Christmas wish is that my agent will sell those projects, and I’ll be interrupted all through 2012, as the revision notes for those books come in from editors…

At this point, I’ve quit just crossing my fingers. I now have my toes crossed, my eyes crossed, the strands in my ponytail crossed…A little bit of praying doesn't hurt anything, either:

Until then, I’ll be plugging away at the first project on my list!

OLD DOG, NEW TRICK

2011-12-01T08:01:00.001-06:00

About a year ago, Jake discovered he could dig. Yeah, I know—most dogs get hip to this discovery fairly early in life, but Jake’s funny about what touches his feet (don’t even get me started on the recent boot fiasco), so it took him a while to finally get his—ah—paws dirty.

Now, though? He’s got one hole he’s been working on for some time (kind of like the sweater I’ve been knitting since ’07)… He’s incredibly proud of it, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a bit that I’m showing it off here:

But the thing is, even though he’s obviously proud of his creation, he actually prefers to do his digging when he thinks nobody’s looking. And then he shows up at the back door looking like this:

That nose will give you away every time, buddy…

GRATITUDE & HAPPY THANKS

2011-11-22T08:02:00.009-06:00

This year, I'm just really into the Thanksgiving vibe. For those of you who follow my MG and YA author blogs, you know that both are featuring "gratitude" as the theme of the month.

Gratitude, it seems, is a little like these flowers I just found in my front yard—at this time of year, my yard's a giant patch of brown. But once I noticed these little spots of purple, it was suddenly all I saw. Start focusing on what you're grateful for, and all the brown, scraggly annoyances in life fade away, too.

This month, I've been rerunning the below post everywhere I can. Originally written for Tracy Barrett's Goodbye day job! blog, it turned out to be my favorite guest post of all time, because it gave me a chance to talk about all the insanely incredible support I've received while working to get my writing career off the ground.

I'm definitely lucky, as the post explains...but as I find myself saying a lot lately, we're all lucky, in our own ways. Here's to focusing on the bright spot of purple, wherever it happens to pop up in your own life!

ON GRAND DELUSIONS AND UNENDING SUPPORT:

When I got my master’s in ’01, my mom invited me to stay home and devote my full-time efforts to getting a writing career off the ground (my lifelong dream). I figured it’d take a year or so to write a novel, then it’d sell (I was lucky enough to have placed poetry, short fiction, and literary critique in journals when I was in college, and was under the grand delusion that selling a manuscript would be a breeze for me), and in oh, two years or so, I’d have money in the bank, and I’d be off and running.

Okay, seriously. You can stop laughing now.

The truth is that it took seven and a half years just to get my first acceptance. In that time, my friends from college finished up PhDs, started teaching, doing research, became professionals. I often felt like all I had was a deep gash in the drywall where I’d spent months upon months banging my head against it.

And, let’s face it: I had guilt.

I cringe at the stereotypical portrait of the kid who’s living at home: the slacker who lies on the couch, playing video games, letting Mom do laundry, mooching, no sense of direction to speak of. That certainly has never been my life. I feel that your family is your family, regardless of what it consists of: your spouse and your children, or your siblings and parents. I participated in everything going on in my home: the upkeep, the repairs, the lawn, the floor-laying, the painting, the grocery shopping, the meal-planning…My office butts up against the laundry room, and, yes, I’ve always done my fair share of the laundry, as well.

Still, though: the guilt. You aren’t a responsible adult without feeling the sting of not contributing financially (I did teach piano and guitar lessons, and everything I made went to paying off what few bills I had—I got out of college with no student loans). Still, though, no matter how much I contributed, I often felt it wasn’t enough. I butted heads with my mom about finding work out of the house (she always talked me out of it). Instead, I worked, as we’d agreed, on my manuscripts: I created a floor-to-ceiling stack of them in those seven and a half years.

During those years, I learned to balance my writing with the comings and goings of a household. I can fix a lawnmower with one hand and outline a novel with another. I also learned that my greatest first reader is also the same person who insisted I stay home to write in the first place (Mom’s a great titler, too—she was the first to suggest the titles for both my published books). And when the triumphs finally arrived—selling a book, seeing my first book on a store shelf, getting the starred review, receiving a few lit prizes—my mom and brother, who had been my support, my sounding board for project ideas, my first set of eyes, took pride in it, too. They had a hand in it.

Come on—getting started is beyond rough. Everybody has to have some sort of help when they set out to forge a writing career. Now, when I step inside a library or a bookstore, I think there’s not just one person behind each of those titles, but a whole group of them—in addition to the writer, there’s some combination of parent, sibling, partner, spouse, etc., who supported that writer as they got started. It’s pretty incredible, when you stop to think about it…

LOOKING UP (FOR INSPIRATION)

2011-11-16T08:06:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I've said it time and time again: the skies here in SW Missouri are gorgeous. I even sing the praises of our skies on Twitter and Facebook...Last spring, one of my followers who also lives in the area tweeted about what a lovely day we were having, saying, "These are the skies Holly Schindler's always talking about!"

To prove to you just how beautiful our skies are, I've put together a short video. Just promise that when you watch you won't get too jealous!

LOVE-CRINGE TO LOVE-LOVE (ON ARCS)

2011-11-10T08:04:00.006-06:00

Confession: I've had a bit of a love-cringe relationship with ARCs (advance reader copies) ever since my second book, PLAYING HURT, was in development.

My first book, A BLUE SO DARK, only saw significant changes to two scenes in-between the book’s acquisition and publication. That’s it. So the ARC was also very close to the final copy, with the exception of just a few phrases or typos. PLAYING HURT, though, was revised globally after acquisition (most of the changes were focused on Clint’s chapters), and even after the ARCs were printed, I continued to tweak passages—primarily, I was working on the steamier chapters, trying to find the perfect balance between staying true to the feelings of young love and remaining tasteful.

While PLAYING HURT was in development, I’d stumble across reviews every once in a while of others’ books (like a lot of readers, I also learn about new authors via the blogosphere) in which the reviewer would say something along the lines of, “Great premise. Really awkward writing style.” And the author in me would think, “But you had an ARC,” because I was truly learning just how much can actually change between ARC and final copy.

Also, at the time, I kept running into ARCs in a local used bookstore. I actually bought Laura Lippman and Mary E. Pearson ARCs, mostly to get them off the shelves. (Do local readers truly know what they're getting with an ARC? I wondered.) ARCs are more like ads, I thought. Something to encourage people to buy the final copy. It’s not something that should be read as though it is the final copy.

Ever since, I’ve always wondered how bloggers approach reviewing ARCs. I realize that a blogger’s at a bit of a disadvantage. The publisher (or author) has given out an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The blogger can’t suddenly become a mind reader and know exactly what’s changed. They have to review what’s in front of them.

Curious, I went straight to the source. And I have to say, yet again, bloggers showed what a smart bunch they are.

In a nutshell, here’s how bloggers told me they handle ARCs:

Indicate in the review that their copy is an ARC.
Recognize an ARC is in a “semi-raw” state (I love that phrase).
Make allowances for typos, grammar, misspellings.
Realize that larger changes can often take place—to scenes, etc.
Write a review based on plot, characters, and overall writing style (rather than picking apart smaller details).
Make sure that they post a review in a timely manner. (One blogger even stated that they purchase a final copy if they don’t get the review done before the book releases. Gold star for that one…)
Make sure not to put out too many spoilers.
Still stay true to themselves by giving an honest reaction to a book—its premise, its characters, its general writing style—no matter where the book originated. (ARCs from authors or publishers are reviewed every bit as honestly as books from bookstores.)
In addition, many bloggers pointed out that they're not out to slam the books they didn't personally enjoy. Instead, their goal is to make sure the books they love get the most attention possible.

Seriously. How truly cool is that? I do believe I can now say I’ve gone from a love-cringe relationship to love-love. Thank you, bloggers…

LIL' MISS METAPHOR + ARC QUESTION

2011-11-07T08:05:00.002-06:00

I just can't quit coming up with them—metaphors to describe the way I sound when I cough, that is. But thanks to the absolute coolness of social networking, mention that you have a chest cold, and helpful suggestions pour in. Elderberry syrup and tea with ginger have been my biggest saving graces...

While I recoup, I've been thinking quite a bit about a blog post I've wanted to write for a while now...and in order to do it, I need some feedback from bloggers. Basically, what I'd like to know is if you review an ARC any differently than you review a finished copy.

To make responding easier, I've created a handy dandy little form (below). Fill 'er out, and I'll put up the post as soon as the responses stop coming in...and as soon as I take another spoonful of elderberry syrup!

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2011-10-31T08:21:00.000-05:00

Yes, oh, yes: I'm donning my Raggedy Ann garb to get in the spirit of the best holiday going.

Never to be outdone, though, Jake decided he wanted to wear the wig, too...and of course, he looks far cuter in it...

Happy Halloween—from both of us! May you all have the goriest, ooziest, gooiest Halloween yet!

PLAYING HURT TRAILER

2011-10-27T09:27:00.004-05:00

Okay, it’s official: book trailers are addictive. I’ve talked about it before on the blog—wanting to get some practice in before doing the trailer for my MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY. Before, I’d been a bit hesitant to do a book trailer, worrying that the images chosen might be a bit of a distraction for bloggers (in the same way that a music video can occasionally be an intrusion into a song).

But now that I’ve finished the trailers for both of my published YAs, I don’t think I’ll ever have that worry again…

Below is the trailer for my second YA, PLAYING HURT. Feel free to share online—and don’t forget to “like” my Facebook author page. Once I hit 200 fans, I’m doing swag giveaways!

TELL ME A SECRET AUDIOBOOK

2011-10-26T09:22:00.004-05:00

I've always been an enormous fan of literature...I've never quite been able to get enough of the written word. Even when I was small enough to ride inside a shopping cart, I could never allow my mom leave the grocery store without first letting me grab a Little Golden Book.

The busier I get, though, the more intrigued I get by audiobooks. There's something kind of...old-school about getting your stories told to you. Kind of makes me think of families gathered around radios, in the pre-TV era.

So I was delighted when a copy of TELL ME A SECRET arrived, straight from the author herself. (Holly Cupala and I both released our debut novels in '10, and it was a joy to share all the nervous energy and the triumphs with her as our books moved through development.)

I already knew I loved TELL ME A SECRET; I read the novel when it released in '10. But the audiobook, which I listened to this past weekend, is a pleasure in itself. Just holding the audiobook gives you the same tactile pleasure that holding a new book provides—it's packaged beautifully. And there's something just so...delicious, really, about slowing a book down. Face it—most of us bookworms have learned to read on warp speed. But when a book is read aloud, the phrases get a chance to permeate in a completely new way. And Jenna Lamia, who narrates, is especially good with dialogue; the dialogue is acted, rather than simply read.

If you get a chance to get your hands on a copy of Cupala's TELL ME A SECRET audiobook, you absolutely should...and don't forget to mark your calendars for Cupala's sophomore novel, DON'T BREATHE A WORD, due out in January!

As for me, the listening experience was so enjoyable, I'm going to gravitate toward more audiobooks in the future.

...How about you? What's your experience with audiobooks? How do you think they stack up to the printed page?

CATHERINE RYAN HYDE IS BACK

2011-10-20T09:09:00.011-05:00

It's absolutely no secret what a fan I am of Catherine Ryan Hyde. I've loved her work for years, and was beyond-words flattered when she blurbed my debut novel, A BLUE SO DARK. She's also one of my all-time favorite authors to interact with, and I'm always inspired by the way she reaches out to and connects with her readership.

That being said, I'm sure my fellow Catherine Ryan Hyde fans will delight in knowing that she has returned to the adult market! Catherine recently put up a post on her own blog that serves as an open letter to her US adult readers, but I'm so excited about this development, I had to shout it from the rooftops, too: Catherine has just released two previously UK-only adult titles here in the US; they're available as e-books for an incredible price ($2.99). Click the links below to head straight to their Amazon pages...Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got books to order!

Second Hand Heart

When I Found You

MY FAVORITE DISTRACTION

2011-10-17T08:06:00.000-05:00

I'm eyebrow-deep in yet another revision. And I'm so keen on getting this one whipped out, I'm not letting myself listen to my new Pistol Annies CD until I'm done (it's become the dangling carrot that absolutely makes my mouth water...)

In the midst of my self-inflicted music diet, though, new music finds me, anyway. I've recently discovered Will Hoge, and he's quickly become one of my favorite singers...I swear, his voice gives me goosebumps. And his song "Even If It Breaks Your Heart" has become one of my all-time favorite tunes, as well.

Really...doesn't this song sum up how we all feel about writing?

A BLUE SO DARK TRAILER

2011-10-06T08:28:00.000-05:00

I've decided, with my first MG in the works, to get in on the book trailer scene...and in order to prepare for doing the trailer for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, I've decided to get my feet wet by doing trailers for both of my published YAs: A BLUE SO DARK and PLAYING HURT.

I really love the finished product for A BLUE SO DARK...I also loved getting a chance to celebrate my debut novel. If you love the trailer as much as I do, head over to my author page on Facebook, and become a fan! And spread the word, because as soon as I hit 200 fans, I'll be doing some giveaways of quickly-dwindling author swag!

Also, if you're a blogger who would like to be on my mailing list (in order to get news and promotional opportunities sent straight to your inbox), fill out the form here!

Without further ado...A BLUE SO DARK:

DOUBLE WHEW! (REVISIONS + SARAH OCKLER’S VISIT)

2011-10-03T10:56:00.014-05:00

As I said before on the blog, September was a crazy-busy month of revisions. We’re talking global revisions, for my forthcoming MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY. For some reason, the tech world decided to conspire against me during the rewrite—first my computer completely melted down, and I wound up with a new-to-me tower which, to be honest, drives me no less crazy than Frank, my previous computer. (Yep, Frank. I spend so much time with these gadgets, talking right to them when they get cranky, I figure might as well go all the way and give each of them a name. For the new tower? Clarice.) As soon as I finally got the new tower up and running (printer installation alone took two hours with HP tech support), lightning struck a utility pole near my house—and it wasn’t even raining!

Yeah. I know.

But for every loss of electricity, there is, in fact, a bright spot. No Internet also means no distractions. I spent hours upon hours on the back porch with my pages and my NEO (so many that a “Because You’ve Been Working So Hard” bouquet made its way to my kitchen table).

I have to say that I’m really proud of the end result.

Long story short, revisions are sent—on time, despite our little difficulties. (Whew #1.)

Also, last weekend, Sarah Ockler, the author of the Republic-banned TWENTY BOY SUMMER, came to Springfield for some events during Banned Books Week. Which, let’s face it, took guts. No one knew if any naysayers or protesters were going to show up for the events, or what the overall response was going to be. Thankfully, though, Sarah got a really warm reception from the side of the Ozarks I have always known and loved. (Whew #2.)

Though I was working like the dickens (literary pun intended) trying to wrap up my revisions, I was thrilled to be able to meet Sarah at the Library Center. Sarah is every bit as lovely in person as she is on the page, and she wrote a really beautiful inscription in my own copy of TWENTY BOY SUMMER (an inscription that officially moved the book from the “Favorites” shelf in my bookcase over to the “Prized Possessions” shelf):

“For Holly, a fellow YA writer and book lover who knows the importance of telling honest, difficult stories! Keep writing your truths, and keep searching for the red piece…”

See what I mean? Just beautiful…

BATTLING MYSELF

2011-09-29T08:45:00.001-05:00

Most writers would agree that conflict—or confrontation—can often be the most fun part of writing a book. On the page, conflict is where the story really takes off.

But because I’ve been hard at work, all month, on the revisions for my forthcoming debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, I’m also reminded of another type of conflict that occurs in the process of getting a book on store shelves—between a writer and him or herself.

Every writer is protective of their book. In a lot of respects, you have to be. That need to protect is what gets you through multiple rounds of submission and rejection. It’s also, I’d argue, what gets a book written in the first place.

So many writers refer to or think of our books as babies. (Online, release dates are celebrated as “book birthdays.”) Often, I’ve heard writing a book likened to giving birth. Actually, I think it’s more like being home with a newborn. When a baby comes home, your world becomes about the baby—your entire life revolves around caring for and protecting that baby. When inspiration strikes, you have to treat your book the same way. You have to say, “I couldn’t possibly go to the movies [or out to dinner or away for the weekend, etc.], I’ve got a book to write!” The same way that you’d never leave a baby home alone, in order to get some guacamole. You’re responsible for getting those ideas on paper, every bit as much as you’re responsible for the well-being of a newborn.

That might sound like hyperbole, but really, I’m not exaggerating at all. Protecting your idea, your novel, really is that important—as important as caring for a newborn. If it’s not, believe me, the world encroaches, and the book never gets written.

The conflict that I’m referring to, though, actually happens after the book is written. After the book has been accepted. After you ink the deal, and all your hard work has paid off…

And you get your editorial letter. Asking you to make global changes.

At this point, that ultra-protective writer inside you—the same protective writer who cared for your concept like a newborn—butts heads with the ultra-critical editor inside you.

And that’s where the magic happens.

I love the global revisions that take place after a book’s acquisition, because inevitably, something really beautiful always comes from that internal conflict: my protective self wanting to stay true to the initial concept, and my critical self seeing my editor’s points and wanting to implement changes. Characters are reinvented, subplots revamped, events placed in a different order. The book becomes three dimensional at this point. It has skin.

So do I ever avoid this confrontation with myself? Never. Once I get that editorial letter, I jump straight into it, heart racing with excitement…

Below: a "greatest-hit" moment, as I unveil the official title of my MG! (The book features a young artist, and nothing reminds me of the art projects of my youth quite like construction paper. All that's missing from the vid are a few pipe cleaners...)

TO LOOK OR NOT TO LOOK: BLOG REVIEWS

2011-09-22T08:05:00.002-05:00

I always compare it to meeting up with a shadowy figure at the end of an alley—reading blog reviews, that is. You never do know, when you first start to read a review, if that blogger is about to become your newest ally, or someone who just wants to tear your work to shreds. John Claude Bemis wrote a post last month (at my MG author blog, Smack Dab in the Middle) about some of the horrors of dealing with less-than-positive online reviews. Like John, I had to figure out what, exactly, to do with online reviews of my work when my first book released—a quandary for all current writers. I know some authors ultimately decide not to look—not at reviews on individual blogs, or on Amazon, or Goodreads. I decided early on to set up Google Alerts on my name and my book titles, and to read it all.

Now, with two books under my belt, I’ve got a few pointers for those about to face blog reviews for the first time:

1. Cut the umbilical cord. Your book is your baby; you raised it up from the tiniest germ of an idea into a complete, finished product. Like a proud parent, every writer does—and should—feel protective of their work, as well. This desire to be protective is often what carries you through rejection and multiple rounds of revision. But once that book hits the printer, you need to separate yourself just enough to grab a little objectivity. You should always love your book, and always feel proud of it. But a bit of distance is important when the book releases.

2. Accept that you’ll get some horrible blog reviews. It’s inevitable. Within the industry—among editors, agents, and reviewers for trade journals—there tends to be some similarity of thought. But once the book hits the public, there is absolutely no consensus. None. Somebody out there’s going to say, “Yuck.”

3. Don’t expect to glean much from negative blog reviews. When a reader doesn’t connect with a book on any level, their comments aren’t particularly constructive. But because you’ve cut the cord, and have gone into reading reviews knowing that you’ll get some negative comments, a one-star review won’t cut your heart out, either. You won’t dwell on it. You’ll be able to move on fairly gracefully to the next review.

4. Let bloggers tell you what you can do better. Even in the midst of a positive review, you’ll still hear, “The book would have been better if…” For instance, a blogger who reviewed—and loved—my first book, A BLUE SO DARK, noted that Aura, the protagonist, used figurative, poetic language throughout…and also swore quite a bit. The blogger wasn’t opposed to the swearing (which was used to help illustrate Aura’s desperation), but asked, If Aura speaks in such a unique, figurative way, shouldn’t she also swear in a unique, figurative way, too, rather than just dropping F-bombs? I found that to be an extremely insightful, thoughtful comment. But I don’t think this comment ever would have permeated if I was still being 100% protective of my work and not yet willing to listen.

I realize that, once a book is released, it’s done. There’s no changing that specific work. But as a writer, I know I’ll be writing more similar kinds of books—I’ll be releasing more YA, more literary work, etc. And as much as I write for acceptance from the industry—editors, trade reviewers, etc.—I primarily write to touch the audience: readers who buy my books. Without readers…well…

Constructive criticism goes into the back of my head, and it does, I would argue, help as I draft my next works…every bit as much as constructive criticism from my agent and editors also help.

Just a few years ago, a writer’s audience discussed books in private—in reading circles, over coffee, in living rooms—and the writer never got a chance to know what his or her audience was saying. I feel incredibly lucky to be writing at a time in which I do get to eavesdrop on the discussions of my books.

REVISIONS, REVISIONS, REVISIONS...

2011-09-16T08:02:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's where I've been all week...and where I'll be for the rest of the month. Hard at work on revisions for my MG, due out in '12: THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY.

Revisions are actually my favorite part of the entire process. It's where I see the book start to take on its final form. Where I can start to picture it as a finished product.

And there's nothing quite like seeing (and holding!) that finished product for the first time. As proof, check out this greatest hit: the smile I flash as I rip into my author copies of PLAYING HURT (which arrived on my doorstep early last March...)

PLAYING HURT ON THE KINDLE

2011-09-09T10:19:00.005-05:00

I'm in the midst of putting my life back together after a massive computer meltdown, and am popping in for an exciting update:

If you have been waiting to grab PLAYING HURT on the Kindle, today is your lucky day!

Click here to download....

MY MUSE, GRISELDA

2011-08-31T08:08:00.000-05:00

Yup, here she is: Griselda, my muse, who has occupied my office for the past ten years. (Anytime somebody says "muse," I instantly get this picture in my head: black hair, tambourine and all...)

I'm eyebrow-deep in yet another project right now; good ol' Griselda's been working overtime this summer...

YOU CAN "LIKE" ME, REALLY "LIKE" ME

2011-08-29T08:20:00.004-05:00

Yup, it's true...I just created my own "fan" page at Facebook!

Be sure to head on over to the page and give 'er the old thumbs up:

Holly Schindler on Facebook

TV SERIES PITCH

2011-08-25T07:54:00.001-05:00

School starts here in Springfield today...and in honor of the new school year, I'd like to vote that we develop a sitcom set in a grade school that stars all of the "teachers" in the current Target ads (my fave is the music teacher).

Come on...don't these ads make you giggle every single time they air?

FOLLOW FRIDAY #5

2011-08-19T10:39:00.004-05:00

I'm back for another Follow Friday! Love this meme...

This week, the question is basically, "Which book would you write yourself into and what role would you play in that book?"

Weeeell...I sort of already did.

Both of my published books (A BLUE SO DARK and PLAYING HURT) are 100% fictitious. The events and characters are complete figments of my own imagination.

...But there's just something about writing in first person. Bits of myself naturally leak out. My humor, my observations, drips of my own personality become part of my characters. And it doesn't matter how unlike me my characters might seem at first. I even see bits of myself in Clint, the male protagonist from PLAYING HURT.

So in a way, I feel as though I am very much a part of both of my books. (I don't think I'm the only writer who feels this way, either. I think this is part of the reason why written work always feels so very personal to the author...)

New followers, please leave a comment so I can head on over to your blog! (Also, be sure to check out my last post...we're looking for fabulous topics at my YA group author blog, YA Outside the Lines!)

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST Qs

2011-08-17T08:22:00.001-05:00

I know I've mentioned this previously (the idea of sending me your topics for September blog posts for my YA group blog, YA Outside the Lines). But I also just filmed a short vid about using your topics for our posts, and I had to share...

We're getting some really great suggestions in, but I'd love to have more! Slapstick funny or deadpan serious...it's up to you! Go ahead and leave any ideas in the comments to this post.

Thanks in advance for your fabulous suggestions!

FOLLOW FRIDAY: MY RETURN

2011-08-12T08:59:00.004-05:00

It's been so long since I participated in Parajunkee's Follow Friday! I love this week's question, which is basically, "How have your reading habits changed since you were a teen?"

To answer, I'm counting college as part of my teen years...after all, I was a lit major when I was 18-19 years old.

College taught me how to read with a pencil. To scour the books, underlining, making constant notes in the margins as I searched for potential test material or quotes for term papers. When I got out of school, finally, as a 24-year-old with a newly-minted master's degree, I still read with a pencil, looking to find out how successful, published authors got their stories on the page (I had to learn to write all over again following graduation; I sincerely believe there's a difference between academic fiction and mainstream / trade publishing fiction, but that's a post for another day).

Bloggers, though? Bloggers read with their gut. Bloggers respond to books on an emotional level, not just an intellectual level. They view characters as people they either connect with, want to befriend, or punch in the face.

I can't turn off the writer in me; I can't completely silence the margin-note-taker. But more and more, I find myself letting my emotions come into play now when I read, too...And that's definitely allowing me to continue to grow as a writer...

New followers, post comments below so I can head straight over to your own blogs!

REDEFINING "TORTURE"

2011-08-08T08:06:00.000-05:00

As a writer, I spend more than my fair share of time thinking about the shades and meanings of words. This summer, it seems my old home state of MO is providing a brand-new definition of "torture," as this video explains:

YA OUTSIDE THE LINES: CALLING ALL QUESTIONS

2011-08-04T08:04:00.001-05:00

I recently took over administrative duties at my YA group blog, YA Outside the Lines. (Don't worry; the blog's previous administrator, the fabulous Jennifer Echols, is continuing to blog at YAOTL, too...)

Like my MG blog, Smack Dab in the Middle, everybody at YA Outside the Lines blogs about one theme per month...And for our September posts, we'd like to hear from you guys! Send us your questions: the kookier and quirkier, the better! Don't be shy! Head over to YAOTL, check out who's blogging there, follow along, and shoot some funky q's to writehollyschindler (at) yahoo (dot) com...even leave a few questions in the comments below! Nothing's off limits.

Can't wait to hear from you!

HANGING MY HEAD IN SHAME (THE 20 BOY SUMMER BAN)

2011-07-26T07:54:00.008-05:00

Back when the story broke about Republic, Missouri resident Wesley Scroggins's attempt to ban three books from Republic schools, I wrote a post for Sarah Ockler's blog which defended my home state. Scroggins isn't representative of Missouri, I insisted. Missouri itself doesn't stand for banning. When I wrote the post, I honestly thought the whole situation was basically over. The school board wouldn't actually ban Ockler's TWENTY BOY SUMMER, or Anderson's SPEAK, or Vonnegut's SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. I mean, really...SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE? What decade is this?

Only...they did.

I woke up this morning to a headline in my local paper (THE NEWS-LEADER) indicating that two of Scroggins's targeted titles had been pulled: Vonnegut's and Ockler's.

And I'm completely, totally mortified by the decision. I'm even embarrassed that the headline is on page one of the paper, not shunted to some little paragraph deep inside, hanging its own head in shame.

The truth is, anybody with a book on the shelves can be banned. Anybody. And while "numerous individuals," as superintendent Vern Minor put it, claim to have read the three books in question, I wonder if they've read any other contemporary YAs. I contend that if those individuals were to start reading YA authors whose last names begin with "A" and work their way through the alphabet, the shelves would be empty.

And that's the last place on earth I want to be: a world with empty bookshelves. The slippery-slope is terrifying.

To Sarah, a YA author I so admire, all I can say is this: There are many, many important books out there that have never been banned. But I can't think of a single banned book that is not important.

A NEW WRITING TIP!

2011-07-18T09:33:00.002-05:00

It's been forever since I posted a vlog writing tip! (But only because I was so wrapped up in the super-fun vlog interviews and posts associated with my PLAYING HURT Blog Tour...)

I just recorded a new tip, which gives a few pointers on what to do with hazy, unclear bursts of inspiration! (Love doing these tips...so, so fun...)

I'm also anxious to get back into my blog series Breaking In (in which I answer any questions you might have on the business aspects of publishing, as opposed to craft), and want to remind everyone that the authors at my MG blog, Smack Dab in the Middle, are also open to answering any questions you might have about writing for kids!

Feel free to post any new questions you might have as a comment to this post! I look forward to hearing from you...

ON FINDING A NEW AUTHOR TO LOVE (+GIVEAWAY OF MY OWN)

2011-07-14T08:13:00.000-05:00

I'd never read an Anne Lamott book before picking up CROOKED LITTLE HEART. Actually, if you want to get technical about it, I haven't read CROOKED LITTLE HEART, either...not completely, anyway. I'm about fifty pages in.

And I have to say it: I'm so in love with this book.

I've heard wonderful things abut Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD, and found out about this book through an interview printed in the back of another book I was enjoying; the author of that book recommended CROOKED LITTLE HEART. And as an author with a book out myself that's already over a year old, I sort of feel the need to wave the flag for backlisted titles. So I bought this book...and have found an author I so, so admire.

My admiration runs so deep, in fact, that I had to put up a post about this book before I'm even finished. But every single time I pick up CROOKED LITTLE HEART, I think, "I'm going to read everything this woman's ever written."

Now, that's a good feeling, indeed...

Also, a new guest post of my own just went live, and includes a chance to win a swag pack! Check out the details at Snowdrop Dreams of Books!

FAVORITE GUEST POST OF ALL TIME

2011-07-06T08:36:00.003-05:00

I got a chance to "meet" fellow author Tracy Barrett online, when I asked her to take part in my MG blog, Smack Dab in the Middle (the blog is growing in leaps and bounds; we're now offering writing tips, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways, which excites me to no end).

I soon learned Tracy's taking the (let's face it: thrilling and scary) plunge into being a full-time author...She's even blogging about the experience at Goodbye, day job!

She asked me to blog about my own experiences as a full-time author...and the post, in which I recognize my family's incredible financial support, is now officially my favorite guest post of all time. Not kidding. All time. Find out why at Goodbye, day job!

A TYPICAL ATYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE

2011-06-28T13:06:00.000-05:00

Aislynn at Knit-Purl-Stitch... asked me to share what a typical day in my life looks like. In all honesty, though, a typical day in my life looks just about as exciting as watching your toenails grow: eight to twelve hours of writing. Period.

So I filmed a short vid about that one day a week that's a bit different from the others...that day I'm out and about, catching up on life beyond the computer screen.

A BLUE SO DARK WINS SILVER AWARD IN FOREWORD MAG'S BOOK OF THE YEAR!

2011-06-27T07:53:00.005-05:00

Yep, it's true: A BLUE SO DARK took the silver award in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards!

(Developments like these make the strangest noises come out of my mouth...My dog cocks his head to the side like he wonders if I'm all right...)

WRITING FUEL

2011-06-24T09:04:00.004-05:00

Yes, oh, yes...the word count madness around here continues as I dive headfirst into a brand-new YA novel. This isn't a rewrite from my floor-to-ceiling stack, either. This is a never-before-drafted YA. Startin' from scratch, here...

Which means I'll need plenty of fuel:

Oh, yeah...

MY FIRST RADIO INTERVIEW

2011-06-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

My first radio interview went live yesterday morning! I really loved getting a chance to discuss PLAYING HURT on air...the questions were fabulous, and I swear it was the fastest twenty minutes on record.

The interview, in which I talk about the revision process, how I got started writing YA, and the inspiration behind PLAYING HURT, is available for download. You can grab 'er here.

ME & MY IPPY!

2011-06-13T08:38:00.000-05:00

Seriously—does anyone else have a dog who just has to get in on picture taking? I swear, every single time we grab the camera (video or still), Jake comes running. Sometimes, I think he really does know he's getting his photo snapped...what a camera hog...

Anyway, the reason for getting the old camera out is that my gold medal from the IPPYs arrived! (And it absolutely made me feel like some sort of Olympic athlete...)

Here's the medal (and A BLUE SO DARK, which won the award) at the Flux booth at BEA:

THE RELATIONSHIP I NEVER THOUGHT I'D HAVE

2011-06-08T08:22:00.002-05:00

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing, and I can’t think of a moment growing up when I didn’t dream of being a full-time author. I just always imagined myself making money doing the one thing I loved more than any…

But I never imagined, in all those years of dreaming, that I’d ever have a relationship with my readers. I mean, come on, writers aren’t rock stars—they don’t fill auditoriums with throngs of screaming fans who pass out at the mere thought of breathing the same air.

Sure, I figured I might sign a few books here and there. Shake a hand once or twice. But never did I ever think I’d ever know any of my readers by name.

Imagine my utter thrill, then, to find the book blogosphere. (I honestly didn’t know it existed before I sold my debut, A BLUE SO DARK, to Flux in early ’09.) Not only do I know many of my readers, but my readers are also some of my very best publicists! (Whoulda thunk?)

Throughout the PLAYING HURT Blog Tour, my readers posted reviews and book recommendations, passed copies of PLAYING HURT on to their friends, and hosted giveaways.

So I might not be a rock star, but my readers rock…

To find out just how much my readers rock, check out my video below (during which I run the “credits” for my PLAYING HURT Blog Tour)…

CONVERSATION WITH A BALL PLAYER

2011-06-01T08:14:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's more than well documented at this point that though I've written about ball players, I'm definitely not an athlete myself.

Imagine my thrill, then, when a ball player signed up for the PLAYING HURT Blog Tour! Yes—a book nut and an athlete, all rolled into one! I was absolutely delighted to get a chance to interact with Caitlin at Scarrlet Reader, to discuss PLAYING HURT and athletics in YA literature.

HS: Hi, Caitlin! Can you tell us a bit about yourself—and your sports history?

C: Hey Holly! Thanks so much for having me here. Now, a bit about myself? Well, I’m a 15 (almost 16!) year old sophomore in high school. I’m a very active and competitive person and I have a great love for reading. My sports history goes all the way back to when I was about 6 years old when I started playing soccer, but now a day, I’m a strictly softball only player. It really is a passion of mine. I’ve played from my town recreation team for seven years to a tournament 16U travel team. While reading Playing Hurt, I was wondering if it was a love of playing a sport that helped inspired the book.

HS: Oh, if you only knew…I’m really, really not an athlete. I’m a bit of a klutz, actually. (I swear I can fall around corners!) I’m really flattered, though, that the depiction of sports felt authentic enough to you that you wondered if I played / loved sports.

I definitely have a much stronger appreciation of athletics now that I’m older—I realize now just how mental sports are. I can’t imagine what it must be like trying to come back to the game after an injury—or even after surgery, as is often the case with athletes who have overused their bodies.

I believe you’ve had some experience with a sports-related injury yourself. Can you tell us about that?

C: Well, I’d first like to thank God that I have never had as severe injury like Chelsea (*knocks on wood*), but I have definitely had my fair share of sports injury in my years. One of my most serious injuries from over the years happened when I was pitching for softball. It was just a regular game while I was pitching. A girl comes up to hit, I pitched the ball, and it all happened really fast. The ball had hit off the bat and came straight back at me, towards my face. I had enough reflexes to try and bring my mitt up to block the ball, but I was only able to reflect it a bit and it hit me on the side of my face right next to my left eye. I remember hearing the gasp from the people in the stands and the pain on the side of my face. I was kind of in shock and just fell to a knee. My coach ran out and they took me off the field. I was examined and ice packed. I honestly just like to shake these kinds of things off but people love to make a bigger situation out of things then needed and they didn’t let me play for the rest of the game. I ended up coming out of it with minor scars, but I did have a giant, nasty purple bruise on my face for two week (not fun, lots of cover up).

It just shows how easily you can be hurt and how suddenly. I’ve had teammates with broken legs, strained wrist and angles, and even a few knocked out teeth and, it’s scary thinking about all the possibilities of injuries that could happen. I’ve been hit by pitches (once really bad in the head, but thank Lord for helmets), ground balls, aching shoulders from pitching too much. I’m use to those pains, but a permanent pain like with Chelsea’s hip is something that I’m not sure I could deal with. Which leads me into asking – Why was it a hip injury you chose to have happen to Chelsea? I know with basketball players sprained ankles or wrist would be pretty severe too, so a hip injury was something I wasn’t expecting.

HS: First of all, I’m so sorry to hear of your accident. Though I’m a bit of a klutz, I’ve never broken a bone…I can’t imagine how much your injury must have hurt…

When I came up with the sports subplot (which didn’t come about until the very last rewrite…about five years after I wrote the first draft!), I immediately imagined Chelsea as a workaholic. Somebody who lived basketball—who felt guilty when she wasn’t working out, or practicing, or engaged in visualization techniques…

I also knew I wanted to show the scene of Chelsea’s accident, and wanted a dramatic impact—I tried to picture scenarios of Chelsea falling, and what it might look like from the stands—or from the screen of Chelsea’s bedroom TV, as she watched the DVD of her last game over and over…

Of all the scenarios I imagined, none seemed quite as dramatic as Chelsea coming down from a jump, into the splits—and breaking her already-stress-fractured hip.

What kind of impact has being injured had on your ability to play? Do you find yourself hesitant now in a way you weren’t before? What’s the mental healing process been like?

C: Well, being physically hurt, believe it or not, causes me more mental pain then being in actual physical pain sometimes. There have been times where my shoulders are killing me or my elbow feels like it’s got to burst, but I never like to let it on so it’s always a mental battle with myself to push past the annoying pains. There have been times where injuries have affected my playing, like when I sometimes twist my ankle the wrong way and can’t run as fast as I want or my shoulder starts to hurt and I can’t pitch as consistently, but I would say I have never been hesitant towards going right back into it (unless for some reason I’m really nervous about playing a certain team!)

Though, it was actually just a few days away during my softball practice that I was hitting off the machine when one of the balls I hit spun weird and hit me in my leg. It stung real bad so I had to sit down, and as I was doing so I was thinking about how funny it was that I was talking to you about the injuries I’ve gotten from sports and how often they happen. Though, I have to say that I haven’t really experienced any emotional injuries relating to sports like Clint or Chelsea did.

So, I was wondering if you thought that emotional injuries (like with Clint’s past and Chelsea’s loss of basketball) have a stronger impact then physical injuries?

HS: I think the mind is the toughest “muscle” to heal. Once you know the pain of an injury—emotional or physical—it’s got to be really hard to put yourself in line to be hurt again. I really admire athletes who get back in the game after an injury.

I do understand why athletes would want to get back out there, though…In order to write Chelsea, I just imagined that she felt the same way about sports that I felt about my writing. If something happened to me that made it impossible for me to continue writing, I’d be devastated. My sense of self would be shattered. It’d change my life completely.

What are your thoughts on sports in literature? Do you find, as an athlete, that they’re presented accurately? Do you see holes that you’d like filled—even holes you hope to fill yourself (if you have any interests in pursuing writing)?

C: I must say that if an author uses sports in literature well, it can really capture reader’s attention, especially younger readers and boys. Sports are a huge part of the world today and if used correctly it can broaden your reader audience.

Though I must say that there are sometimes I’ll read a book and the author will use a sport in a negative way and it will really get on my nerves. Let’s just take the universally unrated sport, cheerleading. I’ve read dozens of books where the cheerleaders are the stupid, clueless girls who don’t know how to add or the super bitchy girls that are weak sluts. Whoa, hold on a minute, have you ever even tried to cheerlead? Do you know how much upper and lower body strength you need? How much hand-eye coordination you have to have? And let’s not get into how flexible you need to be. Just think about it. If an author writes for young adults you are writing for teenagers who do these sports you are insulting. You are possibly losing an entire category of readers by insulting one’s sport. I know I would not feel friendly towards a book that insulted softball.
Getting off my rant, there are really great books that accurately represent sports (Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and Deadline by Chris Crutcher, Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs, and, of course, Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler). All these books bring feeling into the sports they talk about and I feel like any sports lover would enjoy then. As for holes I see in the writing of sports, I’m really no expert on all sports I read about (except for maybe softball ^^). I’m not sure that if I did pursue writing that I would write about sports. Softball is something that I do out of enjoyment and for myself. If I ever were to pursue writing, it’d probably be fantasy and I’d invent my own sport, haha.

I loved talking about my love of sports with you Holly and just from reading Playing Hurt I could tell you took great care into reading about Chelsea and Clint’s sport history. You think you’ll write a book with sports in it again?

HS: I love what you just said about cheerleading. That’s so incredibly spot-on—both about the amount of strength and focus it takes in order to cheerlead, and about the way a negative depiction can limit an author’s readership…Very intuitive…

As for my own writing, I’d love, love love to write more physically-oriented books. Not necessarily just about sports, either…

What I mean is, what comes easiest for me as an author is the internal dialogue and metaphorical, poetic writing that filled much of my debut, A BLUE SO DARK…In fact, when PLAYING HURT was in development, my editor sent me a copy of the manuscript with all the metaphors highlighted, telling me I HAD to prune some of it back!

What’s tough is to write something physical as it’s happening—and make the scene feel real. I so admire authors of genre fiction—mystery, adventure, horror—who can write dramatic scenes that you can see, hear, smell, feel.

…That’s what I’d love to do more of, as an author: dramatic, physical writing.

How’s your softball season been this year?

C: Sadly my school season has ended. We had our last game this week. The seasons go by so fast that I barely felt like we played all the games! It was a pretty good season, but now I can concentrate on my travel team I'm on for the summer. I play for a 16U tournament team that goes through the end of July. It really a wonderful thing to be a part of if you're really into the sport. I know I have a great time with my teammates over the summer playing in different places. I've also had a great time talking with you, Holly, about your book and softball. Thank so much for having me on my blog and thank you all for reading!

Thanks so much, Caitlin, for taking the time to talk about sports, and for your insights and love of literature…Best of luck this summer—and be safe on the field!

ANNOUNCING THE TITLE OF MY DEBUT MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL

2011-05-30T10:59:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I might have already posted the big announcement on my MG blog, Smack Dab in the Middle, but I had, had, had to post here, too: after all, this is the title of my debut middle grade!

And since the book depicts one girl's journey toward becoming an artist, I also just had to make the announcement of the title on a few sheets of construction paper. I swear, nothing reminds me of the art projects of my youth quite like construction paper...Now all I need are a few pipe cleaners...

And as the PLAYING HURT Blog Tour begins to wind down, some fabulous posts went live last week: you can find interviews at The Grammarian's Reviews, Christi The Teen Librarian, Under a Star Studded Sky, and The Reading Housewives of Indiana. Book Soulmates hosted an interview and a giveaway, Valerie Storey hosted a guest post and giveaway, and Margo at Book Trends posted our incredible conversation about edgy teen content.

CONVERSATION WITH A TEACHER: EDGY CONTENT

2011-05-24T08:06:00.001-05:00

When Margo of Book Trends signed up for the PLAYING HURT Tour, I warned her: "This book is steamy," I said. "Meant for older readers," I said. After all, Margo's a middle school teacher. Didn't want her to get into any hot water with any parents.

But I quickly realized that Margo was a teacher I wanted to have a back-and-forth conversation with (rather than a straight interview). I wanted to find out what she, as an instructor and book blogger, thought about books with edgier content (let's face it...A BLUE SO DARK isn't exactly without its edgier moments, either...)

The following is a conversation Margo and I had about books, writing, and the impact of literature. I think you'll find, as I did, that Margo is incredible...exactly the kind of educator our kids need. Her students are so, so lucky to have her...

Our convo:

HS: Hi, Margo! Can you tell us a bit about yourself—your work, how you got interested in blogging?

MN: Hi! I am a middle school teacher and mother of a 16-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter. I have been teaching 6th grade language arts & social science for 19 years, and for the past 3 years, my focus has been on gifted students. As far as blogging goes, I kind of fell into it. It’s a little bit of a story, but a good one nonetheless. My brother has been blogging for quite some time on his family of omnimystery sites. Although he has a wide range of sites, the one that inspired me was mysteriousreviews – where he writes reviews of mystery books. Well, our mother fell ill several years back, and we came close to losing her. As she was recovering, she struggled with some depression, but my brother found a solution. She was looking for a good book to read, and he offered her one – but it had a catch. She had to write a review. Reluctantly, she agreed, and since then has published countless reviews for him.

It was amazing to see what writing something that was read and appreciated by so many people did for my mother, which made me think, “How can I use this with kids?” So, I approached my brother about having my students write reviews for his children’s mystery site – firstclues. It was such a hit that we started receiving non-mystery books in the mail for review. I had a choice to make, ignore the non-mystery books or start my own blog. The choice was clear – and as a result, BookTrends was born! Since then my students and I have written hundreds of reviews. Honestly, being able to provide middle school students an opportunity to write something that is more meaningful than the standard essay, which is written for a real audience, is – priceless!

After reading a great book like PLAYING HURT, it’s always exciting to find out a little about the author that made the characters come to life. Please tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

HS: First, I have to admit, I really admire what you’re doing in the classroom, Margo. I love the fact that you’re actively seeking new reading material for your students, and introducing them to real-world discussions of literature…You are absolutely creating lifelong readers with a passion for literature…The book blogging community is a powerful place for both young readers and writers!

That having been said, I’ve been a writer since I could hold a pen. I was an extremely shy little kid, and sometimes, I think I started writing almost as a way to have a “voice.” I wrote through high school, majored in literature and creative writing in college—undergrad and grad. When I obtained my master’s, my mom invited me to nix the idea of a full-time job in favor of writing. She offered to feed me while I sought publication, got my writing career off the ground. Even though I didn’t have any financial concerns, the first deal did not come easy—took seven and a half years to ink the first contract!

But not only did I have financial support, I also had someone who was cheering me on, as four, five, six years passed with not a single acceptance. Someone who kept insisting I’d get there, if I’d persist just a little longer…

As an author, my first concern is my readership. Both of my books—PLAYING HURT and my debut, A BLUE SO DARK—are pretty honest. I try not to sugarcoat anything, or to shy away from any content. But I wonder—especially with a novel like PLAYING HURT, which has both sensual and sexual content—how librarians and teachers like yourself approach or deal with that edgier content. (I still remember when my sophomore year high school English teacher had to offer us all another book to read, if we were afraid that OF MICE AND MEN would be too offensive!)

MN: Well, Holly, I’d say your mom is a gem. You definitely have a gift, and I’m sure countless readers are thrilled you had the support to get through those early years! “Honest” is a great way to describe your writing. PLAYING HURT is an outstanding book – mainly because of that honesty. But you’re right, that edgier content can be questionable for some readers. I remember when FOREVER by Judy Blume was the “must read” book with girls hiding them in their book bags hoping Mom never found it! But, right or wrong, times have certainly changed since then. With so much exposure on public television, I’m sure FOREVER would never get the fevered attention today!

That being said, as both a parent and an educator, I definitely have to think about the appropriateness of the edgier content. Clearly PLAYING HURT is intended for an audience much older than my 6th grade students, but I do think it is every bit appropriate for late high school students. There is an excellent storyline that goes much deeper than the sensual content. However, it is very important for parents and educators to be aware of what their children are reading. Back when I read FOREVER, I remember my mother asking to read it too. Although I was a little horrified at first, in the end I did not mind at all. In fact now that I have children of my own, I highly respect her decision. Teens are going to be faced with “adult” decisions. What’s most important is giving them the support and core values to help them make the best decisions. Nothing - no books, movies, television shows, etc. - can ever replace the valuable conversations parents have with their children that help them grow and develop in their understanding of themselves and the world.

So, when it comes to books like PLAYING HURT, I would say – go ahead READ! But, parents need to be aware. Read PLAYING HURT too, but most importantly TALK. If more parents and teens really talked (and listened), a lot of problems might very well be avoided. I admire the honesty in your writing, and look forward to sharing your books with my daughter in a few years! Hopefully by then there will be more Holly Schindler books on the market!

HS: Love that you referenced FOREVER, Margo! (Didn’t we all love that book growing up?) And you’ve so succinctly summed up exactly how I feel about edgier content, as well—that it can absolutely be used as a springboard for an open dialogue!

I do absolutely love the blogosphere for so many reasons…One thing I love about the blogosphere is that bloggers also engage in just that kind of dialogue…Bloggers don’t just discuss the literary merits of a book, they also discuss a character’s actions and behaviors, and whether or not they agree with them…

With PLAYING HURT, there’s been a lot of discussion about the cheating subplot…some bloggers take the black and white view that cheating is wrong, and Chelsea and Clint’s relationship never should have happened, and other readers have really empathized with Chelsea’s situation, and have put themselves in her shoes, trying to figure out, “What would I have done?”

As a literature major (who has for years focused her reading on literary merits), I love that the blogosphere has such a guttural reaction to books…I find that reading blog reviews has made my own reading more emotional. How has blogging changed your own reading? How do you hope it changes your students’ reading?

MN: The blogosphere is an exciting, emotional world that has most definitely changed the act of “reading” for anyone who has experienced it. For myself, I find I am reading very differently. I don’t merely read for overall plot enjoyment, but my mind delves deeper – looking for the elements that make a review. I find myself armed with Post-It notes to mark those thought-provoking moments, good quotes, subtle inconsistencies, etc. But, amazingly, it doesn’t remove the enjoyment one bit. In fact, it deepens it. I am enjoying books on a different level today.

This depth of enjoyment is exactly what I hope for my students as well. When I was in school studying literature, the over-analysis nearly pushed me to detest reading. If another teacher asked, “Why do you think the author wrote it that way?” I might have pulled my hair out! But, writing reviews and blogging encourages that thought in a far more purposeful and enjoyable way. Once the review is out there, the anonymity of a blog allows people to express their thoughts in a comfortable forum. I’ve loved reading the comments my students have received. Granted they’re not all thought-provoking, but they are finding that what they write is being read and valued – not by Mom or Dad, and not by a teacher, but instead by real people looking for books. I see them engage far more intensely in literature discussions than I have in the past because they know how to review literature – and they do it well. Knowing that someone out there around the world is going to read their writing, and that their writing will evoke opinions and emotions in the readers, really pushes kids to think about the literature in a much different way. I even see their books riddled with Post-It notes!

But, most importantly, let’s face it, kid book-talk groups aren’t exactly seen as super cool, but a blog provides a safe forum to let out that “inner geek” and really talk about books – and how books shape and change the lives of their readers. What a wonderful concept – kids analyzing books and having fun at the same time! I imagine as an author, you’d also hope that readers don’t merely fly through the pages and then let the book collect dust, but instead they find themselves reading & discussing your books in such a way that an impact is made on the reader so that thirty years from now (as is nearly the case for my reading of FOREVER), someone, somewhere will be telling people about PLAYING HURT, the incredible, inspiring book they read as a teen and the impact it made on them as a person.

...See what I mean? Incredible, right? Be sure to keep up with Margo at Book Trends.

WHERE I AM

2011-05-23T08:32:00.004-05:00

Yep, this is me right now: plugging away at my current WIP, trying to get her completely wrapped up. (Doesn't coming to the end of a project just make you want to sprint for the finish line?)

I'm really very lucky to be able to wake up and get to my current WIP this morning, too...Brutal storms all but destroyed Joplin last night...No debris in my own yard, though I've heard that residents near in the Springfield area are finding business records, X-rays, etc. on their property...If that storm had veered just a tad off its path, we would have been hit.

Just breaks my heart to see the footage of Joplin right now...

...To recap, here are last week's Playing Hurt Blog Tour Stops:

Interviews at Fiction Folio, YA Book Nuts, and Book Chic. The old lit major in me also wrote a guest post on the classics for Jez's Bookcase.

THE REACHOUT INTERVIEW

2011-05-20T11:15:00.003-05:00

Okay, so sometimes, technical difficulties aren't such a bad thing after all. When the audio refused to cooperate for my USTREAM chat with ReachOut Reads, I suggested gathering up the questions from ReachOut, along with additional questions from readers via Twitter, then filming the answers in a not-so-live video. I'm really pleased with the results, and hope you are too:

AUTHOR VISIT AT THE LIBRARY CENTER

2011-05-16T08:23:00.004-05:00

I had an incredible time at The Library Center here in Springfield on Saturday...I got a chance to interact with a group of teens who were avid readers and writers; some of them had even begun the submission process themselves! Enjoy the snippets from the visit, which I've put into a video:

And be sure to check out these fab stops on the PLAYING HURT Tour: Reviews at Palm Books Journal, Anna Reads, Gone with the Words, and Between the Pages; interviews at Makeshift Bookmark, Supernatural Snark, Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks, I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, and Readers Unite (Readers Unite is also hosting a giveaway of PLAYING HURT...and maybe even a giveaway of A BLUE SO DARK...so head on over and show some follower love)!

IPPY + VOYA REVIEW

2011-05-10T08:33:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I screamed about it all day on Twitter yesterday...and I'll shout about it here, too: A BLUE SO DARK has won a Gold Medal in the IPPY Awards!

Never to be outdone by her older sibling, though, my second born, PLAYING HURT, received an incredible review from VOYA! I loved it so much, I'm putting it all in full, below:

"The last thing that ex-star basketball player Chelsea Keyes has on her mind when she arrives at Camp Lake in the Woods is a summer of training. She is miserable, reliving the awful accident on the court that ended her college-ball-bound career, not to mention her relationship with her father and her standing at school. No longer Chelsea 'Nitro' Keyes, pride of Fair Grove, she is bitter about her loss and the metal plate holding together her hip. Scared of reinjuring herself, she refuses to participate in even the slightest activities, thus complicating matters when her father hires a trainer for her for their summer vacation at the camp. Chelsea tries to resist Clint and his attempts to rehabilitate her, but the former sports star is drawn to the mysterious ex-hockey player. He, too, knows the agony of playing hurt and the difficulties of letting go. Playing Hurt chronicles a summer of healing for two teens who help one another work through personal tragedy. Told through alternating narratives, Schindler's novel reads like a summer afternoon. Both heartbreaking and thrilling, the emotional journey that Clint and Chelsea embark on together is more than a heady romance; the characters are realistically drawn, and the book does not shy away from the reality of the characters' experiences: anger and grief mixed with desire and yearning. The book speaks to personal struggles and triumphs and the ability of the human spirit to heal. Playing Hurt is a good read." Reviewer: Courtney Huse Wika

TOTAL. OBSCENITY.

2011-05-09T09:10:00.011-05:00

Catherine Ryan Hyde recently put up a post about Jake and his favorite toy of all time, 'Roo. Not that he's (ahem, cough) spoiled or anything, but I felt compelled to show you guys the full picture of Jake's toy collection...Here's Jake (toys in background)...

Here's a close-up of the ever-expanding pile...

...But has there ever been a better toy than a TP tube???

...Of course, Catherine's Ella's got her fair share of toys, too! Looks like Catherine and I are both guilty of picking up a new plaything every time we go to the store:

And the great toy-off is on! Who do you think has the biggest collection: Jake or Ella?

The week in review at the PLAYING HURT Blog Tour:

Reviews at Bringing The Epic, Preturnatural Primer, Fragments of Life (where you can also enter to win a copy of PLAYING HURT), and Dreaming in Books; interviews at Melody's Reading Corner, Snowdrop Dreams of Books, Things Liz Loves, Books by Their Cover, The Bookshelf Detective, My Overstuffed Bookshelf, and Cafe Saturday.

Also, be sure to check out the full 4-1-1 of Fiction Folio's PLAYING HURT Tour!

ANYBODY ELSE OBSESSED?

2011-05-02T09:06:00.003-05:00

Do all writers become obsessed with the outdoors? Do we all get so glued to our screens, our laptops, our keyboards, our notebooks, our kitchen tables, that we all just wind up aching for fresh air and green trees?

...All I know is that I'm becoming obsessed. Seriously. I can't get enough of getting outside lately.

Of course, getting outside means getting drenched, too, these days. These pics are of the park out by the completely swollen Finley River, which is my favorite place to take my pup, Jake...

...Jake and I are both itching for the park to dry out and the tape to come off that bridge!

CHATS 'N HATS...

2011-04-29T08:13:00.008-05:00

I had the absolute best time last night...at my very first live author chat! Thanks to Read. Chat. Love, I got a chance to connect with my readers in real time...The thirty-minute scheduled talk about PLAYING HURT was incredible...then became an informal chat during which we dished on everything...Including our collective love of hats, in honor of the Royal Wedding!

(Yep, I've been up since three watching the wedding festivities. What can I say? I'm a girl...Love the dresses. Love the hats. Wish I had my own "fascinator.")

Thanks much to the readers who attended the chat...and hung out for more than an hour and a half, from start to finish!

...In addition to the chat, I've been all over the place online this week. I'm really not joking. Check it all out:

Interview at MarjoleinBookBlog; Emilie's Book World interview and PLAYING HURT review; guest post on "safe" college degrees at Lucid Conspiracy; a guest post on revision at Tina's Book Reviews; and PLAYING HURT reviews went live at Midnight Bloom Reads and Fragments of Life. You can also check out the full info on Fiction Folio's PLAYING HURT Tour, and review the entire Read. Chat. Love Event, with an author interview, letters to and from Clint, a guest post on how Project Runway can make us all better authors, and a convo with Clint himself!

My favorite post this week, though, is at Catherine Ryan Hyde's blog...she's got my buddy Jake and his 'Roo...

And while you're at it, don't forget to check out my very first post at my MG Author Blog, Smack Dab in the Middle!

IN MY EASTER BONNET

2011-04-23T09:33:00.004-05:00

For some reason, I just can't get enough of spring this year. Seriously. And I'm not the only Schindler who feels this way...I'm pretty sure we've planted just about every flower known to man around the house...

Today? I'm listening to the rain on the window of my office, and am working up the remainder of the posts for my PLAYING HURT Blog Tour...and generally just feeling pastel-tinted and spring-like inside, because of the beautiful support I've received from my bloggers. I can't tell you guys enough how important you are to me.

...A full run-down of the week's posts are below.

Happy, happy Easter, everyone! May you get lots of chocolate bunnies...

PLAYING HURT Tour:

Princess Bookie,

Confessions of a Bookaholic,

Crazy Bookworm,

A Life Bound by Books: interview and review,

The Book Sp(l)ot,

and (as part of the Philippine Tour) One More Page

READING NOW VS. THEN: CATHERINE RYAN HYDE’S JUMPSTART THE WORLD

2011-04-18T13:30:00.005-05:00

I’ve been so wrapped up in the release of PLAYING HURT—and the super-fun corresponding blog tours—I haven’t had much time to blog about anything else! (I can’t even begin to describe how truly cool bloggers have been about the release of PLAYING HURT. I’m not joking. My readers? The best. I’m so, so lucky…)

I’ve been wanting to write a post for some time about Catherine Ryan Hyde’s JUMPSTART THE WORLD. Thing is, every single time I start to write it, I get a woosh of all sorts of images: me sitting in the movie theater when I was in grad school, watching PAY IT FORWARD (I was already a fan of Catherine’s)…I remember the insanely exciting, scary, stressful months leading up to the release of A BLUE SO DARK, and the hope and—okay, intimidation—I felt approaching Catherine for a blurb. I think of all the exchanges I’ve had with Catherine via email and online in the months—good grief, A BLUE SO DARK is actually nearly a year old!—since she sent her incredibly encouraging blurb…

As for JUMPSTART, I loved it—as I absolutely knew I would. Some novels (I’m thinking of Anderson’s WINTERGIRLS or Suzanne Phillips’s BURN) you read because they instantly put an off-kilter feeling in your gut. You’re propelled forward to find out how the protagonist’s knotted-up mess will finally untangle. Although the storyline is equally as compelling, JUMPSTART has a vulnerability about it, a more gentle tug that draws the reader on to its conclusion. The sweetness is what I wanted to return to, each time I had to put the book down.

As for me, anytime I cracked the cover of JUMPSTART, I also thought about Catherine. I saw her hand in the pages…

Before I began writing full-time myself, authors were truly distant, almost sacred creatures. I saw novels as objects—as things. As I was growing up, and as I entered adulthood, authors seemed, for the most part, somewhat unapproachable. Not Catherine, though. And because of that, as I read JUMPSTART, I truly felt that the novel was living. Breathing.

I don’t think I’ll ever pick up a book again and think of it as a thing…

Thank you, Catherine…

How about you? Has meeting an author online or in person changed how you read?

(Aaaand...because the PLAYING HURT Tour is still rolling: Check out the interview at Yay! Reads. I'm also in the midst of a couple of international PLAYING HURT Tours...Check out my guest post on world building and the review posted at Amaterasu Reads (as part of the Philippine Tour). And, as part of the Canadian Tour, check out the interview and review at YA Booklover, as well as my guest post on Clint, my last-minute addition, and the review at Moonlight Gleam...)

STORY SIREN VLOG INTERVIEW + REVIEW + GIVEAWAY

2011-04-13T08:20:00.003-05:00

Seriously: who doesn't absolutely adore The Story Siren? She's just posted my vlog interview (which you can also view below), along with a chance to win PLAYING HURT...and a message I wrote to bloggers, thanking them for spreading word about my books.

I honestly can't begin to tell you all how much it's meant to me...

Don't forget to check out The Story Siren's PLAYING HURT reivew!

ONE OF MY MOST ANTICIPATED READS + BLOG HOPPIN'

2011-04-11T13:51:00.002-05:00

I cannot wait to dig into Medeia Sharif's debut, BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. As a fellow Flux-er, I feel I've gotten to know her a bit over the past several months. She's been an incredible supporter of my books, and just one of those people I'm soooooo glad to have bumped into in the blogosphere. I'm telling you, if the book is half as cool as the author, I'm going to have BER on my shelves of all-time favorites!

Speaking of Medeia, she's got a super-fun interview up on her blog today, which includes a PLAYING HURT playlist...

And speaking of cool people I've met online, I had to recap last week's festivities at Bookgoonie. She spent the entire week highlighting PLAYING HURT! I'm not joking. Check it all out:

Music Monday,

Teaser Tuesday,

Words of Wisdom (Wednesday)

Book Review (Thursday),

Hot Guy Friday

And two great reviews have also just gone live: Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks and The Crazy Bookworm.

BLOGGERS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

2011-04-06T08:57:00.005-05:00

I know a lot of bloggers feel like they've been taking some heat lately...Hearing they have no impact on sales, don't help promote novels... I'm one author who absolutely believes in the power of the blogosphere. 100%. The blogosphere is connecting my books with the appropriate readership...and is allowing me to have the kind of relationships with my readers I never thought, when I sold A BLUE SO DARK, would actually be possible (I didn't know the YA Book Blogging Community existed when I sold BLUE).

One example of a blogger helping to promote my books (and a reader I'm glad to have gotten to know) is Gabrielle at The Mod Podge Bookshelf. She's running my latest interview, in which I dish on my first job and where I'd love to be today, if not for writing (but...really. Come on. Who am I kidding? Like I wouldn't be writing. Holly not writing is like Holly not eating...)

And stay tuned for my interview at The Story Siren next week, in which I'll do some weighing in on the positive impact I see bloggers making on my work...

COFFEE BREAK WITH THE NAUGHTY BOOK KITTIES

2011-04-04T10:16:00.002-05:00

Ahhhh...yet another fantastic stop on the PLAYING HURT Blog Tour...A coffee break with Brent at The Naughty Book Kitties, one of my favorite bloggers!

LOVIN' MY BLOGGERS (INTERVIEW + FIRST TWITTERVIEW!)

2011-04-03T11:17:00.004-05:00

Yes, oh, yes, more interviews! (I can't even begin to truly describe how much I adore my bloggers...)

The first interview for my Canadian Tour has gone live at YA Booklover Blog...

And my first Twitterview has gone live at Stacked (along with a giveaway)!

KICKIN' OFF THE PLAYING HURT TOUR!

2011-03-31T08:42:00.002-05:00

Who better to start off the next leg of the PLAYING HURT Tour than Angela at Reading Angel? She's been one of my absolute biggest supporters...And she's got some super-fun questions...

Head on over to Reading Angel to find out about my multiple run-ins with fame (aka Brad Pitt). Who's the biggest star you've ever bumped into?

SNOW IN SPRING

2011-03-28T14:25:00.004-05:00

Okay, so the backyard didn't look quite this snow-covered this morning...this is a winter pic. It really did snow quite a bit last night, though...sigh...

But to make up for the fact that winter came roaring back like an ex on a social networking site, a great interview went live today at The Ending Unplanned. Remember that Amazon review I received for PLAYING HURT that I was raving about? Rachel at The Ending Unplanned wrote it. Love her. Really. You can check out her full review and the interview.

...And, while we're talking reviews, check out what Liza Wiemer said at Goodreads!

NEW BLOG + NEW TOUR

2011-03-26T11:56:00.004-05:00

I'm so incredibly thrilled and flattered by all the positive attention PLAYING HURT'S been getting! (And also incredibly sad that the tour at Teen Book Scene's coming to a close...) Right now, you can check out my guest post + contest at A Good Addiction, and Shut Up! I'm Reading's just posted a review of my firstborn, A BLUE SO DARK...

Also, Kayla at Midnight Twilight's Book Blog is running a character interview with Clint himself, for all you Clint junkies out there...

In the midst of all the PLAYING HURT excitement, I'm also looking forward to the release of my next novel, which is a (yet untitled) middle grade, due out from Dial in '12. In fact, I just put together a new blog with a group of super-cool fellow MG authors, called Smack Dab in the Middle. We're actively looking for followers (hint, hint, nudge, nudge). Here's the first post, a vlog, which explains what we're all about:

I'm also in the midst of organizing dates for my own PLAYING HURT Tour, so stay tuned!

SUPER COOL REVIEW + SNEAK PEEKIN' (PLAYING HURT)

2011-03-24T09:30:00.004-05:00

I just got one of the coolest reviews of all time on Amazon. Seriously. Check out this last paragraph in the review for PLAYING HURT:

“In the book, Chelsea and Clint vow to "never live timidly," and to never take the coward's way out again. As a storyteller, Holly follows her character's advice. She doesn't hold anything back, whether it's exploring sexuality, living with regret and pain, or hurting the ones you love the most and dealing with the fallout. Her characters live and breathe, and in the end, become a part of you.”
—R. Harris

Really. How incredible is that?

I’m also proud to announce I’ve got my PLAYING HURT reading finished!

You have no idea what I had to go through to get this reading. Really. No idea. Every time I opened my mouth, kids started screaming in the street. Construction trucks parked outside and honked. My dog started snoring.

I honestly expected some of Dr. Seuss’s tanktookas and bambloozas to start blaring!

But here she is, finally: my reading of PLAYING HURT…

Those of you who’d like to read more (especially from Clint) can check out the sneak peek at The Serpentine Library!

JANNY SPEAKS + AUTHOR INTERVIEW, PLAYING HURT REVIEW

2011-03-23T09:06:00.003-05:00

The fabulous Candace has a fantastic author interview at Candace's Book Blog...and she's giving away a copy of either A BLUE SO DARK or PLAYING HURT (winner's choice)! I'll also be sending a signed bookplate to the winner. Contest ends April 12!

Blkosiner's Book Blog also posted a character interview with Janny, Aura's best friend from A BLUE SO DARK (of all the character interviews I've done, this just might be my fave).

And a sweet review of PLAYING HURT's gone live at I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!

FALLING AROUND CORNERS...

2011-03-22T07:56:00.002-05:00

Said it before, I'll say it again: I'm no athlete. I'm pretty sure I can fall around corners. Not exactly the portrait of physical grace.

And if you'd told me, two or three years ago, that my second book would feature a couple of athletes, I would have laughed in your face.

So why did I choose to write about athletes? Check it out at Potter, Percy & I!

ON BOOK COVERS + 2 GREAT REVIEWS, GIVEAWAYS

2011-03-18T08:48:00.004-05:00

Wow-zahs, the reviews are so positive for PLAYING HURT! Addicted 2 Novels has posted a great review (and, I believe she's also the first to mention Brandon, Chelsea's brother), as has Stuck in Books; at SIB, Valerie's also got a PLAYING HURT giveaway!

Mindful Musings is also featuring my guest post on the covers for A BLUE SO DARK and PLAYING HURT, and why I love PLAYING HURT's cover even more than BLUE.

What do you guys think? Do you like covers to feature metaphorical, poetic interpretations of a book's content (like A BLUE SO DARK), or do you prefer more literal interpretations (like PLAYING HURT)?

KISS ME, I'M A WEE BIT IRISH

2011-03-17T08:37:00.002-05:00

…And I’m wearing my green blouse and shamrock pin, so no virtual pinching!

Speaking of kissing, though, I’ve been feeling the love around the blogosophere. Angela at Reading Angel (who has been so, so, so supportive) has just posted a wonderful review for PLAYING HURT. (The book is also her recommendation for March!)

If you haven’t dropped in on Angela yet, do it now. She’s truly just one of the absolute best bloggers out there. Seriously. Authors needing a review or interview should definitely shoot her an email.

Also, Jessica at Shut Up! I’m Reading has an excerpt (from a chapter in Clint’s POV, for those of you who have been hearing that Clint is swoon-worthy)…You can also check out her review here.

FINALIST FOR FOREWORD MAG'S BOOK OF THE YEAR

2011-03-16T08:25:00.003-05:00

Yes, we take a break from our regularly-scheduled PLAYING HURT programming, for this incredible announcement:

A BLUE SO DARK is a finalist for ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year! Check 'er out here.

ROCKIN' READERS #2 + AUTHOR & CHARACTER INTERVIEWS

2011-03-15T09:03:00.004-05:00

I repeat: my readers ROCK! Patty at Yay! Reads posted this cool pic of the moment PLAYING HURT (and my letter filled with illegible serial-killer-style chicken scratches) appeared:

Check out her post here—and be sure to follow! Patty’s incredible.

Also, Alisia Leavitt’s got a brand spankin’ new author interview, and Andye at Reading Teen’s got an interview with none other than Clint Morgan himself, one of the dual protagonists in PLAYING HURT! (I really love the character interviews. Seriously. Love.)

…In the meantime, I’m on a mad rewrite. Hoping to get this thing cranked out by the end of the week and bounced back to my agent. Send me good writing vibes!

MY READERS ROCK

2011-03-14T10:31:00.003-05:00

I'm totally serious. My readers are the best. First of all, Amaterasu Reads is hosting a Philippine Tour for PLAYING HURT...and even put together this super-cool banner to advertise:

And...speaking of tours, Readers Unite is also hosting a Canadian Tour...

And this hit my inbox over the weekend—an incredible fan letter from Jessica in NY; Jessica graciously allowed me to share her words:

"Hello holly! My name is Jessica, and I'm a freshman in highschool. I went to the book store wednesday and picked up a copy of playing hurt, and I instantly wanted to buy it! I finished it yesterday! I just wanted to tell you that it was by far the best book I have read! I'm going back to read your other novel too!! I'm so excited to get that one started!! I can't wait till you come out with more books!!-much love! Jessica"

What author's not going to get excited over that?

...Of course, Aura would be a bit peeved if I didn't mention a fantastic review of A BLUE SO DARK went live at Lost For Words, along with a giveaway of the book!

COUNTDOWN WIDGET: THE NEW CHRISTMAS TREE (+ PLAYING HURT SNEAK PEEK & GIVEAWAY!)

2011-03-11T08:24:00.003-06:00

I'm seriously beginning to think the post-release countdown widget is a little bit like the post-Christmas Day tree. I had such an incredible time (excitement running amok) looking forward to PLAYING HURT's release, it pains me a little to take my widget down.

...I know I must, though. So...know it's with a little sadness that I'm removing it from my sidebar...

But: Cool stuff abounds: Mundie Moms is hosting a giveaway (and a top-10 list of some of my favorite love songs)! And, you can catch a sneak peek of PLAYING HURT at Only Sexy Books Allowed!

PLAYING HURT REVIEW

2011-03-10T08:46:00.004-06:00

And the Teen Book Scene Tour rolls on...Kari at A Good Addiction just posted her own review of PLAYING HURT this morning...a lovely review...

And by "lovely," I mean both positive and beautifully written. You should absolutely check it out.

PLAYING HURT B-DAY PARTY, A BLUE SO DARK GIVEAWAY, + SELLING YOUR BOOK

2011-03-09T08:39:00.008-06:00

My kitchen smells like flowers and there’s a song in my heart. Yep, PLAYING HURT’s release has been incredible—how cool was yesterday’s Twitter book birthday?

Also: don’t hesitate to check out my guest post, “Costumes, Glitter, and Blank Checks: What it Takes to Sell Your Book” at the Parking Lot Confessional.

And, my firstborn, Aura, stopped by Lost for Words for a character interview…Be sure to get in on the A BLUE SO DARK giveaway!

Also, check out my post on the Writer’s Digest Blog (“5 Ways Writers Kid Themselves,”) which includes a chance to win a copy of A BLUE SO DARK and PLAYING HURT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PLAYING HURT!

2011-03-08T10:15:00.003-06:00

It’s here, it’s here, it’s here! PLAYING HURT’s official birthday!

To celebrate, I’m hopping all over the web today. You can check out the story of my path to publication and tips for children’s writers at One Writer’s Journey. Or, if you’re itching for some swag, you can enter to win a PLAYING HURT button (and a personalized note from the author) at Adventures in Children’s Publishing.

…And: be sure to check out the excerpt of PLAYING HURT, which has just gone live at the Flux website!

I also had to share this, in my post at YA Outside the Lines: the moment my author copies arrived! (Excitement ran amok…)

GUEST POST, INTERVIEW, REVIEW (ON THE EVE OF A BIRTHDAY)

2011-03-07T16:09:00.005-06:00

I've got another book birthday coming up...tomorrow, in fact! Yep, March 8, PLAYING HURT will be officially "born."

Of course, this means that I spent the weekend sending out 200 mailers (and more emails), while organizing distribution of author copies of PLAYING HURT, putting together posts for my own PLAYING HURT Blog Tour, and juggling revisions of a yet-to-be-acquired novel.

I’m telling you, in all seriousness, anyone who thinks writing is a leisurely occupation is (as we say here in the Ozarks), a stark-raving idgit.

…But you know who makes it all worth it? You guys. My incredible bloggers. I just want to give you all enormous bear hugs.

…Speaking of: A guest post went live today at Reclusive Bibliophile, in which I comment on how hard it is to write a publishable novel before you’ve gone through the development process yourself.

Flux, my publisher, also put up a hot-off-my-computer interview.

And—just so my first baby doesn’t get too jealous of all the attention my newborn is soaking up, a review of A BLUE SO DARK can be found at The Serpentine Library.

...See you guys tomorrow: On PLAYING HURT's birthday!

ON MY VIRTUAL TOUR...AND PLAYING HURT GIVEAWAY!

2011-03-04T08:15:00.002-06:00

On a pretty (yet, slightly windy) day last September, I hopped in the car with the idea of taking my readers on a tour of some of the landmarks that show up in both A BLUE SO DARK and PLAYING HURT. The result is the fun video below:

Read Sam, Read! is hosting both my guest post on the subject of book trailers (anybody else think a trailer can run the risk of outshining a book—the same way that, say, a video can sometimes outshine a song?), and she’s hosting a giveaway!

Get yourselves on over there; check out the post and enter to win!

ADVICE ON REJECTION, MAJORING IN ENGLISH...AND...A PLAYING HURT SNEAK PEEK!

2011-03-03T07:54:00.004-06:00

Several super-cool guest posts are live right now…Katie at Call Me Crazy is running my advice to those of you who wonder if you’re wasting your time majoring in English (you’re not)…Check out that fantastic blog header at Call Me Crazy—great quote there from somebody who wrote a book called A BLUE SO DARK.

Donna at Bites is also running my advice on getting through rejection (and I know plenty about rejection—7 ½ years of it)…

And—drum roll, please—as part of the Teen Book Scene tour, Books Complete Me is now running a sneak peek of PLAYING HURT!

Thanks to Donna, Katie, and Cindy for having me over at their incredible blogs…

PLAYING HURT GRATITUDE

2011-03-02T08:48:00.003-06:00

Guys, guys, guys, guys, GUYS! Expecting a package from Amazon to hit your doorstep? You’re not the only one…

This morning, Amazon listed PLAYING HURT as having only 7 more copies in stock (more on the way, of course). PLAYING HURT doesn’t even “officially” release until March 8!

Who’s responsible for this incredible turn of events? You. My bloggers. I can’t begin to tell you how much I truly appreciate and love you guys…

RABBIT, RABBIT! (+ INTERVIEW AT I JUST WANNA SIT HERE AND READ)

2011-03-01T09:01:00.005-06:00

I repeat: "Rabbit, rabbit!" (supposed to bring you luck in March, you know)...And we all know I've got reason to want to be lucky in March! PLAYING HURT's official release date is one week away (but is already "in stock" at Amazon)!

This is such a fun interview: I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read is hosting an interview with Chelsea, one of the protagonists in PLAYING HURT. I loved this interview...gave me a chance to get back in Chelsea's head. It felt incredible to get to hang out with her again.

BLURB PLAYING HURT

2011-02-28T11:00:00.004-06:00

In of the start of the blog tour hosted through Teen Book Scene, and in honor of the impending official release of PLAYING HURT (which is March 8…the book is actually in stock at Amazon right now, though!), I’m putting out a call for blurbs!

I was so, so, thrilled and honored by the fabulous blurbs I received from you all for A BLUE SO DARK (so much so, I decided to build a new page on my website called “Praise” to show them all off), I had to repeat the process for PLAYING HURT!

The link will stay live (I’ll be putting it on the sidebar, just as I’ve kept the call for BLUE blurbs on the sidebar), but I’m so excited, I wanted to start spreading word now…

As soon as you gobble PLAYING HURT, you can blurb it here! Thanks in advance…can’t wait to read ‘em!

READY, SET, GO: ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A SIGNED COPY OF PLAYING HURT

2011-02-26T09:09:00.008-06:00

I so loved the Local Leg of the PLAYING HURT Blog Tour! I got a chance to stop at all my fantastic local bloggers’ blogs...and I got to chat a bit with the incredible Sarah Ockler...what a trip.

And now that I’ve made all five stops, the contest is officially underway—you can now enter to win a signed copy of PLAYING HURT!

The entire tour is recapped below. Make your own stops to each post. While you’re there, leave comments and link to your favorite post(s) from Twitter, Facebook, etc. Then fill out this form; he (or she) who racks up the most links and comments will win a signed copy of PLAYING HURT—this is the first giveaway signed copy of my second novel!

Local Leg:

GreenBeanTeenQueen,
The Juniper Breeze,
One Sparkling Star,
Another Book Junkie,
Sarah Ockler.

You can enter to win here. The contest will officially close March 5!

SARAH OCKLER: COOLEST, THICKEST-SKINNED AUTHOR (AND PLAYING HURT LOCALS #5)

2011-02-25T08:16:00.000-06:00

We all say it, as authors. Jokingly, of course: how we’d love to get a book banned. Under the header of “No Publicity is Bad Publicity,” we talk about how our sales would spike. We’d get to be notorious (which is every bit as good, if not better, than just plain famous).

Until, of course, it actually happens. Or—someone attempts to make it happen. As Sarah Ockler knows.

Yes, oh, yes, those of you in the Missouri area know I’m talking about the great Scroggins debacle. The attempt of one narrow-minded individual to ban the books of two incredible YA authors (Laurie Halse Anderson, whom I greatly admire, was also in his quest to ban).

No author can stand idly by, quietly, and just be glad they missed the bullet when the subject of banning rears its head. Because the bare truth is, we could all be banned. Every single one of us with a book in print. If you can type it, it can be twisted, taken out of context, misinterpreted and misrepresented.

I love and admire Sarah for exhibiting such grace during such a difficult time. To show our continued support, we ought to all order a copy of TWENTY BOY SUMMER and FIXING DELILAH now—even if we already own a copy. Buy one for a girl you love. Introduce her to a woman to admire.

…I’m thrilled to wrap up my Local Leg of the PLAYING HURT Blog Tour at Sarah’s blog. (You can get over to Sarah's blog, leave a comment, post links, and officially start filling out the contest entry form for the PLAYING HURT signed-copy contest)...I stand with the vast majority of my fellow Missourians when I say I do not support book banning, as I relate in the post which also appears today on Sarah’s blog:

Barefoot in the Bible Belt

Wull, gaaaw-lee, shore is a might cold ‘round these here parts. It’s Feb’rary, after all. Where’m I gon’ get a little heat? Think I’ll jes’ burn these here books. Ain’t nothin’ but a bunch ‘a smut in ‘em, anyhowse.

Come on—that’s the picture you get, isn’t it? All I have to say is “Midwest” or “Ozarks,” and you get that image: a barefoot hillbilly who’s never used a be-verb correctly in his entire life.

And as soon as I think of that stereotype, I get a full-body cringe.

I’m a lifer myself—born and raised in Springfield, Missouri. And when the Scroggins debacle ensued in the fall of 2010, and the works of Sarah Ockler and Laurie Halse Anderson were unfairly targeted in one man’s narrow-minded banning attempt, all I could think was, “Here we go again.”

But I’m not talking about banning—not entirely. I’m also talking about that ridiculous, awful, barefoot hillbilly stereotype. Because in addition to attacking the work of two incredible young adult authors, I feared Scroggins’s complaint was also about to add to the unfair stereotyping of Missouri.

In the months since the story broke, the headline continues to pop up here and there in the blogosphere. And just as I feared, instead of identifying Scroggins as the source of the banning attempt…Yep, you guessed it—the headlines or quotes or discussions that pop up indicate MISSOURI wants to ban books. MISSOURI stands for censorship.

Actually, the majority of us don’t.

I could go blue in the face pointing to a myriad of dry facts proving my point. I could talk about the slew of local bloggers who put up posts expressing disdain for Scroggins’ attempt. I could talk about the fact that MSU students convened to protest book banning.

…But more important than these overt, published examples of fellow Ozarkers’ disgust over book banning is that which can’t be quoted or measured or recorded. It’s the open-mindedness that has lived in the blood of so many Ozarkers for generations. A traits that stands in direct opposition to the goals of Wesley Scroggins.

Just as much as I feel the work of my fellow YA authors was completely miscategorized, I also feel that much of my own Missouri’s opinions have been unfairly categorized. And just as an author’s work can’t be judged by lifting a stray line out of context, neither should an entire region be judged by one man—or even one school district—that attempts to pull a book from library shelves.

To me, Missouri has always been a place of strength—and, yes, of open-mindedness. A place that I’m proud to call my home—and to showcase in my writing…

ANOTHER BOOK JUNKIE: PLAYING HURT LOCAL #4

2011-02-24T08:33:00.000-06:00

The love for the locals continues with Amanda at Another Book Junkie! Today, I’m offering a list of Springfield faves.

Funny but true: You don’t know how acclimated you get to the tastes of a particular region until you leave. When my old college friends come back into town, they all have their own favorite haunts where they insist we do our catching up.

If I were to leave this area for an extended period of time, I know I’d miss my Mexican Villa. Two beef enchiladas and a Coke. Now, that’s livin’…

Be sure to head on over to Amanda’s blog, comment and link for the PLAYING HURT signed-copy contest!

Favorite Things About Springfield

Having lived in Springfield, Missouri my entire life, I’ve racked up a lifetime worth of favorites…

Do you think our cashew chicken is nationwide fame worthy?

Do I. In fact, I specifically requested Lucy’s Cashew Chicken for my last birthday dinner.

Where was your favorite place to hang out as a teenager?

The mall. Back when the mall had movie theaters—and record stores—and an arcade! If I could find an 80’s-vintage mall, I STILL think it’d be a good time…

Have you ever visited Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield?

Oh, yes. Field trips in school, Civil War reenactments…I’d have to say I personally prefer it to, say, The Nature Center.

Do you support any local sports teams?

I’m funny about sports—I get involved in individual players, rather than teams. Got to be a Greinke fan when he played for the Royals…Now that he’s been traded, it looks like I’m going to be following the Brewers.

Are the Fantastic Cavers really that “fantastic”?

In the picture taken of me at Fantastic Caverns, I have my new Cabbage Patch doll with me (oh, how that dates me)…It’s been a long time, but I do remember thinking it was cool.

What towns in the area are you particularly fond of?

I have family ties to the Fair Grove area…there’s a town near Fair Grove—tiny little thing—called Bassville. My great grandmother’s first husband was a Bass. I swear, if it happened in the Ozarks, I’m tied to it somehow…

Favorite thing to do in Branson?

Honestly, I haven’t had a vacation since the summer of 1999. And the only complete day off I’ve taken since ’01 was May 1, 2010—A BLUE SO DARK’s release date. I’m dying to take a weekend—rent a cabin on the lake. I’m hoping to get there this summer. Fingers crossed.

Any particular restaurants in the area that you would recommend?

Mexican Villa. Two beef enchiladas and a Coke. I think I could write a sonnet about Mexican Villa beef enchiladas, actually.

If someone were to come to Springfield, MO for one day only, what specific Springfield attraction would you recommend?

Our skies. It’s a simple answer, but I swear, we have the most beautiful skies in the Ozarks…

What’s your favorite thing about Springfield, Missouri?

In short? It’s home. You know that feeling you get when you’ve been away from your house for a while? That it’s-so-good-to-be-back feeling? How fantastic it feels to sleep in your own bed after you’ve been gone? That’s Springfield for me.

ONE SPARKLING STAR: PLAYING HURT LOCAL #3

2011-02-23T08:05:00.000-06:00

…As promised, stop #3 in the tour features yet another fabulous local blogger and writer, Sam at One Sparkling Star! (Don’t forget those comments and links to win the author-signed copy!)

How the Ozarks Inspire My Writing

Did you ever try to study in a section of your school that’s really high traffic? Say, maybe a student convocation center? The kind of place where you feel completely self-conscious? Or did you ever grab a chair in the library in order to catch up on those last few chapters of Bio reading, at the same time hoping you’d accidentally “bump into” your crush, who just happens to work in the library after school? Ever try to do your math homework on the bus, while dreading the fact that you’re going home because you had a horrendous fight with your parents or sibling over breakfast that morning?

Yeah. Doesn’t work, does it? If your mind is occupied, the words in the textbook in front of you blur, don’t they?

Let me ask you something else: Have you ever tried to write a term paper in a room without any heat? Have you ever tried to read a novel for English sitting in the rain? Have you ever tried doing a science experiment wearing a lab coat so small that it cinched you in like a corset, and you couldn’t breathe?

Now you’re shaking your head. “That’s dumb,” you’re saying. “I’d never try to do that.”

And the reason you’d never try it is because it’d be impossible. Nobody can work when they’re uncomfortable. Nobody.

Writing’s a lot like schoolwork, in that it takes an inordinate amount of mental alertness and focus. And with any mental task, you have to be comfortable to be productive. Period.

Comfort, in my book, can be either physical or mental. The physical stuff’s fairly easy to remedy, most times. Too cold? Put on another pair of socks. Hungry? Grab a granola bar. The mental comfort is a bit trickier to obtain. Going back to my original examples, when your mind is elsewhere—on what others might think of you, or your crush, or a previous fight—you can’t focus on the task at hand. If you’re plagued by chronic worries, you’re not comfortable—and worry really isn’t something you can just turn off.

But for me, the Ozarks really are comfortable. The Ozarks give me peace of mind and peace of being…Stuff you can’t easily obtain just anywhere. Springfield’s like that old pair of favorite jeans you always gravitate toward. My mind is quiet here, so I get to work full-bore…and that’s why, for me, the Ozarks can be such a fantastic place to write in.

THE JUNIPER BREEZE: PLAYING HURT LOCAL #2

2011-02-22T07:23:00.000-06:00

I really envy teen bloggers. Writers just seemed so distant when I was a teen. I can’t tell you how many times I labored over a fan letter and got—well—a whole lotta nothin’, frankly.

While I didn’t get to be part of the blogosphere as a teen, at least I get to be part of it with some incredible teens…fellow writer and Missourian Maggie at The Juniper Breeze, for example.

Maggie and Sam (One Sparkling Star—stay tuned for tomorrow’s post) have just been incredible…It was a joy to see their faces at all my Springfield-based author events when A BLUE SO DARK was released…

I’m including my guest post for The Juniper Breeze below, but don’t forget to comment and link to Maggie’s blog for a chance to win a copy of PLAYING HURT!

My Missouri Roots

My roots in Missouri run deep—six generations deep. My great-great-great grandparents were some of the first settlers in Southwest Missouri. A family cemetery exists not far from Springfield, where many of my Civil-War-era relatives are buried.

While my parents both grew up in the Kansas City area, I am myself a lifelong Springfieldian. Born and raised on Cashew Chicken and Tent Theater. Attended SMSU for undergrad and grad school. (It will always be SMS to me, no matter how many years away we are from the official name change). Bottom line? I’m Springfield through-and-through.

It wasn’t really by design that I’ve lived here forever. But as far as my writing is concerned, I’m glad I have…

In some respects, a book needs to be universal. In order for readers to fall in love with your main character, they need to “get” your main character. She (or he) needs to be somebody that your readers feel like they could walk out of their front door and run into. You don’t really want to craft a character who would only make sense in one geographical location…
But—you do want your work to have a sense of place, a local color. Place, in short, is more than just a two-dimensional backdrop.

Take THE BLUE BISTRO, by Elin Hilderbrand. Okay, so that’s not YA, but it is a romance, like PLAYING HURT. That book has such a vibrant, breathing sense of place that I’d argue the location (Nantucket, and more specifically, the bistro located in Nantucket) is actually one of the main characters. When the bistro closed toward the end of the novel, I found myself mourning more than I did when the restaurant’s owner, Fee, died. I can’t imagine that book taking place in another area of the country—just wouldn’t have worked.

I’ve lived here so long, I find Missouri (or, by extension, the Ozarks) becoming a part of my work without a conscious effort on my part. And I don’t mean I can toss in a few names of intersecting streets to give it “authenticity.” Local color isn’t something that can be achieved with proper nouns.

If you’ve lived in a certain area long enough, local color becomes part of your characters. In PLAYING HURT, when Chelsea and her family leave Missouri and head to Minnesota for vacation, I think they take Missouri with them: I see it in Brandon’s refusal to let his sister be dishonest about her relationship with Clint. I see it in Chelsea’s refusal to let the object of her desire slide by. In my debut, A BLUE SO DARK, I see the Ozarks in Aura’s straightforward, blunt style of narration. The Ozarks I know is full of (emotionally and physically) strong people. And I love building novels around that kind of character…

PLAYING HURT: THE LOCALS!

2011-02-21T08:58:00.007-06:00

It's here! It's here! The first leg of my PLAYING HURT Blog Tour.

I’m thrilled to kick this leg off with GreenBeanTeenQueen, who just happens to also be my local teen librarian. (I just heard that collective sigh of envy out there…)

I adore Sarah; we all know how lucky I am to have her in town.

I’m cross-posting our interview below in full; be sure to comment and link to the post at GreenBeanTeenQueen for a chance to win the very first signed copy of PLAYING HURT. (Check out the entry form here.)

…And be sure to follow along at GreenBeanTeenQueen, if you haven’t already. Sarah’s incredible.

What’s the best thing about Missouri?

I’m a lifelong, sixth generation Missouri resident. So when you ask me what I love about Missouri, I feel as though you’ve asked me what I like most about my favorite room in my childhood home. Missouri’s just mine, in the same way my family is mine. The sweet, the rugged, the frigid, the sweltering, all of it—it’s mine.

What myths of Southwest Missouri would you like to prove wrong?

The thing is, you never do know who you’re talking to. That old guy in a pair of overalls at the convenience store in some no-stoplight town in the middle of nowhere has probably had more life experiences, been more places, done more, seen more, understands far more than any of us could ever expect…probably lived far more life than any of us ever will.

In some respects, I kind of think Missouri gets seen as that old guy in a pair of overalls. But if anybody’d stop to really get to know Missouri, they’d find out there’s a lot going on underneath those Carhartts.

In A BLUE SO DARK, Aura lives in Springfield. In PLAYING HURT, the characters are in Minnesota. Was it hard to change locations for the setting?

Not so much. The older I get, the more I enjoy my time outside. When I think of my most frequented haunts right now, many of them are outdoors: riverbanks and lakesides. When I’ve been cooped up writing too long, I don’t usually want to go to an indoor public area—restaurant, movies, etc. I usually want to get outside. In my passages about Minnesota, I was able to express my love of fresh air and wildflowers, quiet lakes and sunshine.

What’s the best thing about being a writer? And what’s the worst (or hardest)?

The best is seeing my lifelong dream coming to fruition. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was little. But it’s been a long, rough, winding road…

Basically, after getting my master’s from MSU, I devoted myself full-time to my writing. Took seven and a half years to get to the first acceptance at Flux books. Sticking with a dream even when the dream is beating you up is beyond rough—so I’d have to say the waiting and the rejection and the incredible amount of time it took to just get started was the hardest part. But getting my writing career off the ground is an incredible feeling.

Seriously, what is the deal with Cashew Chicken?

Ahhh, Cashew Chicken. Sprinfield’s own faux Chinese Food. I grew up on the stuff—and have a special love for it. I even requested it for my last birthday dinner! There’s just something so homey about it. It’s the ultimate comfort food for me…the food of my youth that I still love.

BOOKLIST REVIEW: PLAYING HURT

2011-02-18T10:16:00.001-06:00

The first print review is in for PLAYING HURT! (In short? Bloggers aren’t the only ones loving this book…)

Booklist claims readers will enjoy every detail of Chelsea and Clint’s passionate romance!

An excerpt: “With no slick, happily-ever-after ending, this novel will capture teens with the characts’ guilt, anger, and especially, the intensity of the young people’s connection.”
—Booklist

WHERE TO BUY AUTHOR SWAG

2011-02-17T09:04:00.003-06:00

Before I sold my debut, A BLUE SO DARK, I thought swag and promo items were necessities of bands, not authors.

Yeah. I did. Stop laughing.

We all know the benefits of author swag, but figuring out where to obtain bookmarks, buttons, bookplates, posters, etc., can sometimes be a daunting process (especially for the not-quite-so-techie among us).

For those of you who have not yet visited Ninth Moon, you need to get over there pronto. Laron’s promotional items are reasonably priced and so beautifully, tastefully designed. Ninth Moon also offers additional graphic design services to spruce up your website / blog / social networking pages.

Ninth Moon has quickly become one of my all-time favorite sites for authors; I’m sure I’m one of many, many authors who’s bookmarked the site.

PLAYING HURT BLOG TOUR: THE LOCALS

2011-02-16T08:55:00.007-06:00

…Now that I’ve got you all psyched up for the PLAYING HURT Tour, courtesy of Teen Book Scene, I’ve got another exciting announcement:

I’m launching a leg of my own PLAYING HURT Tour, which will take place the week before the Teen Scene tour!

Four bloggers from my own Missouri home base will be participating:

GreenBeanTeenQueen: Feb. 21
The Juniper Breeze: Feb. 22
One Sparkling Star: Feb 23
Another Book Junkie: Feb. 24

...as will fellow YA author, Sarah Ockler: Feb. 25 (Sarah's latest, FIXING DELILAH, is now available).

Get ready and revved for the tour, because a prize will be given at the end of the week.

A prize, you say? Yup, so get out there and post comments, tweet about the tour, post links to the posts from your own blog or Facebook page, because she (or he) who racks up the most comments, tweets, and links, will win the very first signed giveaway copy of PLAYING HURT!

(Though I ask you wait until the end of the tour to enter for the giveaway, you can go ahead and view it here.)

Good luck and thanks in advance to my Locals!

WRITING: THE WAITING GAME

2011-02-15T06:30:00.002-06:00

Whether you’ve published ten books or are waiting to snag that first publishing deal, if you’ve ever submitted anything, you know writing is a waiting game.

You wait…and often wait…and wait…for response from an agent or editor after you send off that query. You wait for the thumbs-up to announce book deals or glowing reviews. You wait. You wait.

Right now, I’m waiting for the official release of my second novel, PLAYING HURT. The video below allows you a glimpse into my life as I await that release date…

All you writers out there: What are you waiting on? And how are you passing the time?

TEEN BOOK SCENE: THE PLAYING HURT TOUR

2011-02-14T08:15:00.008-06:00

For those of you who might not be aware, Kari, the uber cool blogger at A Good Addiction, also runs a book tour site at The Teen Book Scene...

And I was so incredibly thrilled and flattered when she contacted me last fall about a tour for PLAYING HURT!

The tour will feature author interviews, guest posts, as well as character interviews, and giveaways of swag and signed copies of both PLAYING HURT and A BLUE SO DARK!

...You'll also get four—count 'em—four sneak peeks into PLAYING HURT.

The tour begins at the end of February, and will run throughout March. You can find the complete list of stops here.

Said it 1,895,097,954 times, I'll say it again: I don't know where I'd be without my incredible bloggers. Seriously.

ROMANCE WEEK: MY FIRST VLOG INTERVIEW

2011-02-12T08:37:00.006-06:00

Haaaaaappy Valentine’s Day (a couple of days early)! With a romance about to release, needless to say, I’m knee-deep in candy hearts this year.

(Which is why I had to include one my brother’s pics as a Valentine to all my fantastic followers…)

…I’m also thrilled to be participating in Romance Week, an event hosted by Snowdrop Dreams of Books and Knit, Purl, Stitch…Read and Cook!

I’ve been itching to post this, my first vlog interview…And I’m excited to reveal a sneak-peek-ish little tidbit about PLAYING HURT.

As I explain in the video below, PLAYING HURT initially featured only one narrator. The story was, throughout the first few drafts, only told from Chelsea’s POV.

After selling A BLUE SO DARK, though, I had an epiphany about what was missing from PLAYING HURT…and an enormous part of that something was Clint.

It wasn’t the easiest revision in the world, bringing Clint in (my first male protagonist)! In fact, it was like writing a completely new book. I had to work on Clint’s own voice, his backstory…

But that just goes to show you what revision can bring, when you don’t shy away from the challenge…I can’t imagine PLAYING HURT without Clint’s voice in it…

NOVEL ANECDOTES ON THE KINDLE

2011-02-11T08:33:00.008-06:00

Yes, you can now read my blog, Novel Anecdotes, on the Kindle!

This is an absolutely exciting new venture…in many ways. Because I’m offering Novel Anecdotes on the Kindle, I’m also going to be upping the ante as far as blog content is concerned. I’ll be posting two to five days a week, on developments in my own career, and on the books being released by my own fantastic fellow authors. I’ll also be offering tons of writing tips to keep you productive and growing as an artist, as well as practical tips on the business—whether you’re trying to break in and snag your first deal, or are looking to grow your readership. The ongoing conversation will explode here at Novel Anecdotes, as I’ll be featuring interviews with authors and publishing enthusiasts and highlighting new bloggers who continue to add to this incredible, incredible community.

…I’m committed to my vlog posts (to add to the content here on the web), but each vlog post will also include substantial supplemental text, to keep Kindle subscribers entertained and in-the-know.

So get in on the fun! Subscribe to Novel Anecdotes on the Kindle…

BREAKING IN: IS AN AGENT A MUST?

2011-02-10T10:58:00.005-06:00

Truth time: I did permanent damage to my right foot trying to squeeze my toe into the tiny crack in the door of the publishing world. Took seven and a half years of full-time effort to get to that first publishing contract, after all.

…But how did I snag that deal? How did I manage to see my book on store shelves? Was it through the tireless efforts of an agent? Do you have to have an agent to get that toe in the door?

Okay—here’s the deal. When I got my master’s, in the spring of ’01, I decided to throw myself into my writing full-bore. I had no other job than to write and submit (thanks to financial support from my family). And write and submit I did…

Back then, the advice I was reading was that you really didn’t need to try for an agent until you’d published a novel…so my initial submissions were to editors only.

Over time, my rejections stopped being form letters and became long-winded explanations as to why my submitted novel was not quite ready to be published. Editors were inviting me to resubmit after revisions took place.

…As the years went by, the going advice to writers trying to break in was that you shouldn’t seek an agent unless you’d written a novel—far different advice than I’d read after first graduating.

Still, though, I was getting so close to publication with those editors—I could practically taste it!—that I continued submitting straight to them. And resubmitting. And submitting again.

…Around the beginning of 2008, I decided to take the leap and start submitting to agents as well. (I wondered if a push from an agent wouldn’t be the special-something that finally did seal a deal.)

But I didn’t quit submitting to editors, either. I sold A BLUE SO DARK myself, to Flux, in early 2009 (I also sold PLAYING HURT to Flux shortly thereafter).

And under the heading of, “When Your Luck Changes, Man, Does It Change,” I also signed with an agent in 2009. She sold my first middle grade to Dial (to be released in ’12).

Do I adore my agent? YES. 100%. But my debut novel proves that it’s still absolutely possible to sell a novel on your own. The thing is, the path to publication is as unique as the novel you write. No one can really tell you how to find the right path to publication, because your novel will have its own journey. That’s the gritch and the beauty of it.

…So the worst thing I think a burgeoning writer can do is explore only one avenue, one path to publication. Try anything and everything. The only thing that’s certain when you’re attempting to snag your first deal is that you never know where that first deal will come from.

…Today’s post comes from a question courtesy of Kate Higgins.

CALLING ALL QUESTIONS FOR BREAKING IN

2011-02-09T08:32:00.007-06:00

As a supplement to my Writing Tips Blog Series, I'm going to be putting up additional posts for an ongoing series I'm going to refer to simply as Breaking In, which will focus more on the business aspects of publishing (as opposed to craft)...

I have a feeling the two series might intersect occasionally...But I think that might also make things really interesting...

Okay. Here's how it works: You shoot me questions. (In the comment box to this post, or, if you'd prefer to send questions privately, email them to writehollyschindler (at) yahoo (dot) com. You can remain anonymous, if you'd like, or allow me to link back to your own blog...) To answer, I'll write a post. As an author with one book on the shelf, one about to release, and yet another in development, I can provide personal experience tidbits...But I also won't hesitate to ask my fellow authors for input as well...

Basically, as I was starting out (and as the rejection slips started to pile up), I was just certain there was a trick to getting in...And I desperately wished that I'd had someone to tell me the straight skinny. The beautiful thing about this blogging community is that burgeoning writers in no way have to feel isolated in their attempts to break in...

So shoot me a question! I can't wait to start in on the first post...

FIRST POST AT YA OUTSIDE THE LINES

2011-02-08T08:40:00.003-06:00

Yes, oh, yes, my first post has just gone live at YA Outside the Lines. You'd better head right on over (and watch a clip from my favorite movie of all time)...