BOOK REC: THIN SPACE BY JODY CASELLA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SACRED BOOK TRAILER

As I've said before, I've been eyebrow-deep in revisions this summer.  In the days leading up to sending a revision off to one of my editors, I tend to pull back from my online life a bit, focus only on my pages. 

After hitting "send" this morning, I headed out into the YA blogosphere to discover that Elana K. Arnold's book trailer for her debut YA, SACRED, has just gone live.

I love this one...simple, beautifully filmed, and it manages to accomplish what is so tricky about a trailer: boiling the book down into images that only last a minute, offering just enough info that you're intrigued, but not so much that (unlike movie trailers) you get the feeling you now know everything just by watching the video.

To learn more, visit Elana's website.  Pre-order on Amazon.

INTERVIEW WITH DEBUT YA AUTHOR, ELANA K. ARNOLD

All writers start out being enormous book nuts.  And once you're bitten with the love of the written word, that love never dies.  I'm always on the lookout for a new author to love...And I'm waiting with bated breath for Elana K. Arnold's debut YA, SACRED, which releases this November! 

Elana's stopped by to tell us more about her forthcoming novel, and to shine some light on her own journey toward publication:

Congrats on your forthcoming debut!  Please tell us about SACRED.

         

Thank you, Holly! I am so proud of SACRED. Here’s the low-down:

         

Growing up on Catalina Island, off the California coast, Scarlett Wenderoth has led a fairly isolated life. After her brother dies, her isolation deepens as she withdraws into herself, shutting out her friends and boyfriend. Her parents, shattered by their own sorrow, fail to notice Scarlett's pain and sudden alarming thinness. Scarlett finds pleasure only on her horse, escaping to the heart of the island on long, solitary rides. One day, as she races around a bend, Scarlett is startled by a boy who raises his hand in warning and says one word: "Stop."

The boy—intense, beautiful—is Will Cohen, a newcomer to the island. For reasons he can't or won't explain, he's drawn to Scarlett and feels compelled to keep her safe. His meddling irritates Scarlett, though she can't deny her attraction to him. As their relationship blossoms into love, Scarlett's body slowly awakens at Will's touch. But just when her grief begins to ebb, she makes a startling discovery about Will, a discovery he's been grappling with himself. A discovery that threatens to force them apart. And if it does, Scarlett fears she will unravel all over again.

As a writer, I love to hear about those exciting ah-ha! moments.  What was the germ of inspiration?  How did the idea come to you?

I can’t take full credit for the creation of SACRED. My good friend Amy Antoine was preparing to move to Colorado, and I was helping her pack up her youngest daughter’s bedroom. Amy and I were sitting together on the floor, folding up little pairs of socks and putting them in a box, when Amy, in her characteristically “I-have-the-answers-to-the-universe” way, said, “I know what you should do. You should write a book about a superhero.” Almost instantly, I had an image—of a girl, on a horse, racing along a trail, and a boy—a stranger—blocking her path. Why was he there? What did he want? What did he know about this girl that I hadn’t yet discovered myself?  I had to know. That was the birth of SACRED.

My books always go through complete overhauls between first draft and published version.  How did SACRED change as you sought representation (and publication)?

Actually, SACRED didn’t change drastically. I had a system as I wrote that worked pretty well for this book: before I began a new chapter, I’d reread and revise the chapter before, and sometimes I’d even have to go further back in the story to make changes and check for consistency. So by the time I finished the draft, every chapter had been tweaked already. Really, the process was different than anything I’d experienced before as a writer; the story came to me almost fully formed. This was true all the way until copy editing, when the amazing people at Random House pointed out to me my writing tics—words I tended to overuse, dialogue tags that didn’t quite work, and this cool thing called “roller coastering” that you don’t really want to do.

Did you always want to write?  How did you come to writing as a career?

I have always been a writer, but I spent many years telling myself that I was a short story writer. Funny, though, when it came to reading, it had always been the novel I reached for—not the collection of stories. Deep down, I wanted to be a novelist, but my fear of taking on a full-length book seemed insurmountable. I don’t know what shifted inside of me, but when I started writing SACRED I just knew that I would complete it, unlike the many other unfinished projects I’d abandoned. Suddenly I was a novelist—I was obsessed with my story, and for the first time I understood what people meant when they said their characters came alive on the page. Until SACRED I always thought people were lying when they said stuff like that. For me, writing had been like moving a couple of Barbie dolls around, forcing them to bend to my will, not really caring about them past the moment I closed my computer. But Scarlett and Will and Lily and Andy and Delilah—I couldn’t get these characters out of my head! I was in love with all of them. The book was written in eleven weeks.

My publishing journey was quite long—it took seven and a half years of full-time effort just to land the first deal!  What was your own journey like?  How many manuscripts, rejections, years, etc. did it take to find your agent and editor?

Even though it only took eleven weeks to write the first draft of SACRED, it took me more than eleven years to get to the place that I could write it. Actually, it seems that it took twice that long. Years ago, I wrote a collection of short stories that I showed to a literary agent. She told me that if I could turn it into a novel, she’d be interested in representing me. Fear stymied me, and I never managed to do it. And I kicked myself for this time after time, sure that I’d blown my one chance at publication. But then I wrote SACRED, and the magic energy that carried me through its creation somehow didn’t dissipate when the manuscript was finished. Finding my agent, Rubin Pfeffer, was magical, too. I had sent queries to about six other agents, several of whom had rejected SACRED, when one night, at about 10 o’clock, I sent a query letter and the first three chapters of SACRED to Rubin, sort of on a whim. When I checked my email then next morning, there was a message from Rubin asking for the full manuscript. Two days later—Sunday night—he wrote again (I’d been checking my email about every two minutes ever since his first message arrived). He told me he wanted to talk.

How did you get the "yes"?  How did you learn your book had been accepted?

This is my favorite part of my story. It was Valentine’s Day. I was hanging out with my husband and my two kids when my phone rang. And there was his name on the screen—Rubin Pfeffer. I looked up at my husband, my heart absolutely still. “It’s Rubin Pfeffer,” I half-whispered, half-choked. “Rubin Pfeffer doesn’t just call.” And I was right. He had news. Random House/Delacorte loved SACRED—and they wanted to publish not only SACRED but its yet-unwritten sequel, SPLENDOR, for which I’d sent a synopsis. My husband, my kids, me—we were all out of our minds excited, jumping up and down, screaming, laughing.

Best. Valentine’s Day. Ever.

What do you now know that you most wish you could tell your unpublished self?

You are a novelist. Somewhere, somehow, there is a book out there with your name on it. You haven’t seen it yet; you haven’t even met the characters. But it’s out there, waiting for you. Don’t freak out. Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t feel like a failure because you haven’t written it yet. It’s out there. 

What's been the biggest surprise about having your first book in development?  What's been the most rewarding aspect of the process?

There haven’t really been any surprises yet, probably because I dreamed about this happening for so long and had read so many interviews of other writers. I went to graduate school for creative writing, too, so I understood the process of publication and all the backstage stuff. But the most rewarding part of the process has been watching all these amazing experts—Rubin Pfeffer, Francoise Bui (my editor at Random House/Delacorte), the design team, the copy editors—watching all these people touch SACRED and help me make it better has been so amazing. Usually writing feels like a pretty lonely endeavor, but the editing and production process has felt like I am part of a team.

Probably the most thrilling moment—aside from the day Rubin asked to represent me and that amazing Valentine’s Day phone call—was when I first saw the cover of SACRED. I had had no idea what they were planning for the cover, and I didn’t have any image in my head about what I wanted the book to look like. But when I saw the cover—beautiful, evocative, somehow mystical—I loved it instantly. It was perfect.

What’s next from Elana K. Arnold?

Writing SACRED was a transformative experience in so many ways. Once I wrote it, once I saw myself as a novelist, suddenly stories were everywhere, banging on my door, demanding to be written. So I wrote one of them. And guess what? Random House/Delacorte picked it up, too!

This book—BURNING—will be published in June of 2013, before the publication of SPLENDOR. It’s totally unrelated to the other two books, and I love love love it. Here’s the 411:

Ben: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It’s good timing, since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky; he’s headed to San Diego, where he’s got a track scholarship at the University of California. His best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, aren’t as fortunate; they don’t have college to look forward to. So to make his friends happy during their last days in town, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447.

Lala: She and her Gypsy family make money the way her people have been earning it for centuries—by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash—especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala’s been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben’s cards is the day everything changes for her . . . and for him.

Told from alternating points of view, BURNING brims with the passion of its two protagonists, both at crossroads in their lives, and both forever altered by a moment in time.

Once you put Elana's SACRED on your TBR list (copies can be ordered from Amazon, Powell's, or Random House), be sure to follow her on Twitter and Facebook; keep up with all the happenings on her new website.

INTERVIEW WITH MG AUTHOR AUGUSTA SCATTERGOOD

She has the coolest name of any author I've met recently, not to mention a fantastic new MG book on shelves now: Augusta Scattergood (some of you may remember her recent interview featured on Smack Dab in the Middle) has kindly dropped by my blog, as well, to discuss writing for kids, Southern storytelling, and junk poker (a game I'm bound and determined to take up myself)...

For those of you who haven't yet read the book (which features a strong young protagonist and some lovely, detailed writing), the synopsis:

As much as Gloriana June Hemphill, or Glory as everyone knows her, wants to turn twelve, there are times when Glory wishes she could turn back the clock a year. Jesslyn, her sister and former confidante, no longer has the time of day for her now that she’ll be entering high school. Then there’s her best friend, Frankie. Things have always been so easy with Frankie, and now suddenly they aren’t. Maybe it’s the new girl from the North that’s got everyone out of sorts. Or maybe it’s the debate about whether or not the town should keep the segregated public pool open.

Augusta Scattergood has drawn on real-life events to create a memorable novel about family, friendship, and choices that aren’t always easy.

My conversation with Augusta Scattergood:

I love that GLORY BE is based on two kinds of history, really—the history of the Civil Rights Movement, and your own personal history. What made you decide that now was the right time for this story?

Oh, dear. I wish I could say that I decided now was the right time. Truthfully, I started writing the story in 2001, about the time I decided to leave my school library position to write full time. GLORY BE started as a short story for grownups. Then it tried to be a novel for kids titled Junk Poker. Pretty soon, fortunately, that title got tossed out the window! I submitted it way too soon. I tucked it into the proverbial bottom drawer. But I loved the story a lot, so I never gave up.

What was the most rewarding part of writing a book based, in part, on things that actually happened—both in your own life, and in history? What was the hardest?

The hardest was getting it right. I struggled with telling a story about a place I knew so well. I found details from my own life and from talking a lot to contemporaries. I researched. But then I had to turn it into something kids would actually want to read. Not just a memoir or a Moment in Time. That was also hard.

The most rewarding part? When I found a terrific agent who loved the voice, the story, the characters, I was over the moon. Then an important and highly regarded publisher and editor praised it—no loved it!—and I knew those ten years of struggling had been so worth it.

You state in the Author’s Note that you didn’t realize the importance of the events of the 60s. What was the first moment in your life when you were aware of the historical significance of what was playing out around you?

When I was Glory's age, our world in small Southern towns was very insulated. By the time I was in college and certainly right after that, a lot was being written about Mississippi, the Deep South, the entire country's involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Word may not have traveled as fast and as far as it does today, but specific events sure made the news. So I was probably in college, in what was known as a hotbed of liberal thinkers!-- Chapel Hill, North Carolina—and I think I realized that historical significance pretty quickly.

How is the South of your youth like the South of GLORY BE? Different?

Much of the "Southerness" in the book is just like I lived it! Lazy summer days, playing at the park with friends, swimming pools, bossy big sisters like Jesslyn (oh, wait, that was ME and that's not just Southerners!). The pimento cheese and peach pie, biscuits and bacon- all part of my growing up.

The important difference is that living in a small town where everybody knew me, I didn't have the courage to speak out like Glory did.

What is it about the South that seems to grow storytellers?

In the past it may have been front porches and cool drinks. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and her friends. I was a fill-in Canasta player for her group and oh could they talk! I was a good listener. Southern preachers, teachers, so any of them were great storytellers. I wish I knew why. I wonder if it's still happening around Sunday dinner tables and card games.

I love the “furniture” of GLORY BE—the items the family uses (Jesslyn’s makeup, etc.) that really give the piece a 60s feel. What items do you miss from your own youth?

My plaster of Paris Elvis statue that my mother "misplaced" when I left home for college. I never saw it or my Elvis scrapbook, post-high school. She claimed no credit for disposing of it. But I'm not bitter.

One of my favorite details in the book is Junk Poker. Tell me more—how did it come about? What was in your junk box?

When I first started this story, it was really about the game of Junk Poker. I consulted my younger sister for details. She had no memory of our making this game up! Isn't that how families are though? The more I described it to her, the better she remembered. Most of our junk was literally that. Mismatched earrings from our dress-ups, postcards, Crackerjacks prizes.

As I got older, secret boxes became more important. I hid my diaries in mine.

I now have a Junk Poker box, exactly like my childhood shoe box. I show it to students when I visit their schools. They are fascinated.

My niece gave me a new, tinier Elvis statue. He has cool sunglasses, a crown, a lei. In my box, I also have an old skate key, and pecans in the shell, because many kids outside the South have never seen a real pecan, right off a tree like the one that grew in Glory's backyard.

Most kids like the Elvis statue best.

Many thanks to Augusta for dropping by! Be sure to grab yourselves a copy of GLORY BE, and catch up with Augusta on her website.

COVER PARTY: TIFFANY TRUITT'S CHOSEN ONES

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?

INTERVIEW WITH MEDEIA SHARIF, AUTHOR OF BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER.

I’m so excited about this forthcoming title, I had to post the interview with the author right away. Fellow Flux-er, Medeia Sharif, will release her debut BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. in the summer of '11. (And those of you as hungry as I am for a new POV in the YA genre will surely put this title at the top of your TBR list…)

Medeia’s here today to share a few insights on her novel in development…


Congrats on selling your debut novel to Flux! Tell us a bit about BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER.

Almira Abdul, a Middle Eastern mutt of Syrian and Iranian origins, is fifteen going on sixteen and she’s fasting for Ramadan for the first time ever. Coinciding with the holy month is her first major crush with a boy named Peter, whom her best friend Lisa also is in love with. She also has a new enemy at school, catty Shakira Malik, a fellow Muslim who trades barbs with everyone. Her dentist father proclaims that she needs braces. Along with the hectic month her grandfather, who knocks down mailboxes and garbage cans when parking, is teaching her how to drive in his tank-like car.

What was the inspiration?

At first I was going to write a children’s or MG book about a boy’s experience with Ramadan, but then the idea of a teenage girl took hold of me. Almira’s voice became loud and clear.

The YA genre as a whole seems to be so heavily populated with white females. I love that your book features a "Middle Eastern mutt." I think I speak for many fans of YA when I say I'm so hungry for a different POV! Did you ever think your main character's ethnicity would help or hurt in your search to find a publisher? How so? Did you write BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. because you saw a hole that you could help fill in the YA genre or because it was the story you felt compelled to tell?

I believe it fills a hole, and I was fairly positive that the novel would garner attention. My main character and premise is unique, but at the same time I worried that people might not relate. I felt compelled to write the novel because a) I truly adored my story idea and b) I wanted to contribute to multicultural literature.

Why Flux?

I knew about Flux before getting agent representation. I admired the covers and titles I saw on their website. Also, I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few of their books.

How'd you snare the deal? Agent? Slush?

I have a wonderful agent who got me the deal, Marlene Stringer of The Stringer Literary Agency.

What's the development process been like so far? What's been the highest point?

Each step is different to me and draws out better things from both me and my manuscript. I don’t know if I’m at the highest point yet, because something new keeps popping up. Right now I think the highest point will be when I see my cover since this doesn’t seem real to me yet.

What's been the biggest surprise since you sold your book?

I’m surprised that people are reaching out to me. The YA community is warm and generous. I’ve had established authors visit my blog, tweet at me, and email me when I used to believe that authors were inaccessible. Complete strangers approach me to ask about my debut novel. This is a delightful and welcome surprise

Are you working on anything new right now?

I’m working on a sequel to BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. Also, I take breaks from it to work on a new, unrelated work-in-progress.

How has the acquisitions and development process changed the way you read?

I find myself questioning the publishing journey of the novels I read: how long did the authors take to write them and what kind of feedback did they receive to fine-tune the work? These intrusive thoughts thankfully don’t get in the way of me comprehending the text.

How has the acquisitions and development process changed the way you write? Do you think you'll pay more or less attention to the market as you draft new work?

I’m a more patient writer. With previous works I did revisions in a rush, within a few weeks with poor results. Ever since I had hope brewing in me that BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. might be the novel that gets my foot in the door of the publishing world, I spent months revising it. Even with my current projects, I take my time on revisions. I’m better at utilizing feedback and putting a manuscript away and taking it back out to view with fresh eyes. Also, after my book deal, I tested the waters with a few critique groups and finally found one that I’m comfortable with. If I’m stuck on BESTEST or another project, they give me great advice.

As for the marketability of my work, I don’t really pay attention to trends, but I do ask myself if my new projects would be of interest to people. I’m a voracious reader, so I wonder if someone else were to write my story idea, would I be compelled to read it? If I look deep inside of myself and the answer is no, then I save the idea for later and instinctually pick another one.

What are you most looking forward to as your book nears publication?

I’m curious to see people’s reactions to my novel. I hope I strike a positive chord in my future readers, whether I entertain them or teach them something.

You can continue to check in with Medeia as her novel nears publication at her website and blog. Congrats again, Medeia—can’t wait to get a peek at the cover art!

NEW AUTHOR ALERT: STEPHANIE BLAKE

I'm ecstatic to help spread the news: Stephanie Blake recently sold her debut middle grade novel, THE MARBLE QUEEN, to Marshall Cavendish (the novel is set for a 2012 release)! Stephanie was kind enough to give us the scoop on how she broke into the market...




Congrats on the sale of your first novel—what an incredible accomplishment! Give us a synopsis, whet our appetites.

THE MARBLE QUEEN is a historical middle grade novel about a 9-year old girl named Freedom Jane McKenzie who longs to enter and win a local marble-shooting competition, even though she is told by everyone around her, including her difficult mama, that marbles are for boys.

What's your background? (Did you study lit in college? Were you a journalist, etc.? What brought you to the writing profession and to fiction specifically?)

I wrote sappy love poetry as a teenager, and my favorite classes were English and creative writing. I had a great English teacher in high school who really encouraged me. As a senior, I worked for the local newspaper as a cub reporter. I thought I wanted to be a journalist. I have a B.A. in English, but my minor is in technical writing. I had a couple of poems published. I worked for several years in telecom, writing employee handbooks and policies & procedures, but I’ve always written creatively on the side.

Why middle grade?

Middle grade is such an amazing time for kids. Most kids are dorks. They love their parents. They still sleep with stuffed animals. They get scared of the dark and of lightening. They worry about getting boobs and armpit hair. For some reason, I am really in touch with that. I was always the new kid because we moved around a lot. I didn’t make friends very easily, so I got lost in books. I loved to read about regular kids doing regular things. I think most kids are curious about other kid’s lives. It’s those years from about age nine to twelve that really define how a person will turn out. High school is all about fitting in, but in middle grade one can really explore things without worrying too much about what other kids think.

Growing up, my favorite authors were Beverly Cleary, Lois Lenski, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Judy Blume. I just loved Ramona and her way of thinking. In some ways, my character, Freedom, is a lot like Ramona.

Did you ever feel your background helped / hurt as you sought publication? In what way?

My college classes definitely helped. Also, I am a researcher by nature. When you go for publication without an agent, you have to figure things out on your own. Also, I am kind of stubborn. I don’t like to hear the word no. That college grammar class I had to take twice is coming in handy, too.

How long did it take to get to the first acceptance?

It took almost exactly four years, three novels, working with three agents, and over 200 rejections on various things before I sold THE MARBLE QUEEN, which got thirteen passes.

How many manuscripts did you write before drafting THE MARBLE QUEEN?

I wrote several short stories in the years after college. I wrote a couple of plays. I started a bad romance novel, but lost interest. I wrote articles for YourHub.com. And about four years ago, I wrote this horribly clichéd women’s fiction (think Nicholas Sparks) and sent it around to a couple of editors. It had some lovely moments, but was really not ready.

THE MARBLE QUEEN is the 3rd middle grade manuscript I’ve written. It is also my favorite thing I’ve ever done.

How many times did you rewrite THE MARBLE QUEEN before selling it?

THE MARBLE QUEEN has been through about five revisions. I did two revisions for an editor at FSG. They passed, but those revisions definitely made the book stronger. I did another revision for Robin before she offered to buy it.

How'd you do it—agent or editor (slush pile)?

THE MARBLE QUEEN is a slush baby. It actually languished in the slush for over 10 months before my editor, Robin Benjamin, emailed to ask if it was still available. She said it needed some revisions before she could take it to acquisitions and asked if I was interested. She sent me some notes, I worked on it and sent it back. It took 13 months all together from submission to offer.

Why do you think your submission stood out in the mountains of slush?

Marshall Cavendish accepts full manuscripts, so I printed it out, put a nice cover letter on top, addressed it to Robin Benjamn, and sent it out in a plain old brown envelope. One of my kids kissed it before I dropped it in the mailbox. I don’t think I included an SASE. Then, I waited. About 6 months later, I put it on the “no response means no” list. Was it luck? Yes.

What was the best part of the acquisitions process? Scariest?

The day of THE CALL was the best day ever. I cried, I hollered, and we celebrated with champagne. Telling my father I was being published was wonderful. Signing the contract was pretty cool, too. The scariest was waiting for Robin to get back to me after I had sent revisions to her. I waited about six weeks, and I doubted myself the whole time.

Why Marshall Cavendish?

Marshall Cavendish puts out some beautiful, meaningful books. I had studied their lists, read some of their books, and I knew from research that Robin likes historical fiction. Actually, she rejected my first novel in 2006, but wrote a very nice personal comment about my writing on the bottom of the form, so she went on my “to query again” list. Also, they take unagented material—bonus!

What was the one thing that helped you snare that first deal more than anything else? (This could be anything—attending a conference, or maybe establishing an online presence or joining a writer's group...it might even be a personality trait.)

Persistence. I am really involved on the blue boards, I have a blog and a website. I am a member of Publisher Marketplace, and I have gone to three big SCBWI conferences. I had an agent for my 2nd manuscript. I have met tons of great people, other authors and editors and agents, but none of that matters. It is about the work. You have to be willing to revise. You have to get your butt in the chair and write. And rewrite. And after all that you have to target your submissions, which means finding out everything you can about the editor or agent your are submitting to.

If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing as you began your journey toward publication, what would that be?

I would tell myself two things. First, slow down and second, spell check is not the same as revision.

...When I'm not in front of the computer, which is nearly always, I can be found in my backyard with my dog, my husband and my three boys in Parker, Colorado. If I wasn’t a writer, I’d be a country singer. you can find out more about me on my blog. stephaniejblake.blogspot.com.



Hear that, guys? Three agents later, Stephanie sold her manuscript on her own. (As a slush pile success story, I love to hear about authors forging their own way!)



I, for one, have THE MARBLE QUEEN on my 2012 TBR list...Thanks for stopping by, Stephanie!