INTERVIEW WITH BRENDA VICARS, AUTHOR OF POLARITY IN MOTION

I'm delighted to share my chat with Brenda Vicars, author of the recently released POLARITY IN MOTION.

About POLARITY:

Fifteen-year-old Polarity Weeks just wants to live a normal life, but with a mother diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, that’s rarely easy. Her life gets exponentially more disastrous when her sixth-period history classmates start ogling a nude picture of her on the Internet. Polarity would never have struck such a shameless pose, but the photo is definitely of her, and she’s at a complete loss to explain its existence.

Child Protective Services yanks her from her home, suspecting her parents. The kids at school mock her, assuming she took it herself. And Ethan, the boy she was really starting to like, backpedals and joins the taunting chorus. Surrounded by disbelief and derision on all sides, Polarity desperately seeks the truth among her friends. Only then does she learn that everyone has dark secrets, and no one’s life is anywhere near normal.

~

Holly: I love the name Polarity—it instantly gave me the image of a girl being pulled in two different directions. Which came first—the idea for the story or your character’s name?

Brenda: The idea for the story sprang forth fairly well developed, and as I slipped into the mind of the mother, she proclaimed that Polarity was the name of her daughter. I agree with your reaction—Polarity labels the struggle she has.

 

Holly: Polarity’s not in a great place—she’s new to school, her home environment’s not great…Nude pictures are swirling online, and Child Protective Services get involved. Have you known or worked with a teen who found themselves in the midst of so much trouble all at once? How did that affect building Polarity’s character?

Brenda: I’ve never worked with a teen whose nude picture was on the Internet, but I have worked with lots of students in tough situations, and I’ve been awed at how courageous young people can be—how they can work through awful situations and come out stronger.  I wanted Polarity to show the resiliency that real kids have.

 

Holly: You and I have dealt with many of the same issues in our work. You describe Ethan as being the one black guy in the class. My debut MG featured an African-American protagonist. #weneeddiversebooks is such a predominate discussion, especially among writers and readers of juvenile lit. What role do you believe writers should play in depicting characters of differing races and ethnicity? Do you find it especially challenging to write about characters who are of a different background than you are? Why or why not?

Brenda: My first connection with young adults was as their teacher, rather than as an author. I am haunted by the times I took my students to the library and found that the vast majority of the fiction on the shelves featured white characters.  How were my diverse students to develop a love for reading when there were so few books that depicted their races and cultures?  And what message did the omission send? 

I feel as a YA author, I would be negligent to focus only on my own race—white.  That said, I do worry about depicting diverse characters appropriately, and I often ask friends of other races and cultures to read segments and give me feedback.  I also immerse myself in YA books by authors from other races and cultures.

Holly: Another issue we’ve both tackled is a mother with mental illness—Polarity’s mom has a borderline personality disorder. How has Polarity’s mother’s mental illness shaped Polarity’s character? How does it impact the decisions she makes throughout the book?

Brenda: Like any child of an unstable parent, Polarity must navigate the minefield of tripwires embedded in her relationship with ever-unraveling Mom. Polarity, like Aura, doesn’t get to be the child.  Instead, Polarity constantly gauges every move to make sure that she doesn’t set off her mother.  Worse, Polarity, like Aura, is haunted with doubt: Is she like her mother—destined for the same fate?

Holly: I love Emily Dickinson—are you a fan, too? (Polarity references her.)

Brenda: Yes, a lifelong fan.  And Dickinson was the perfect poet for Polarity to love.  Polarity is shocked when she learns that Dickinson said she hated the Irish—wishing that they could be scientifically exterminated.  Dickinson’s poetry and life experience helped Polarity to learn that even brilliant, insightful people can be blind to their own biases—can fail to see their own way of seeing.

Holly: Polarity forgives Tracey. Do you feel forgiveness is an important component in maintaining a healthy existence?

Brenda: Forgiveness is essential for Polarity to move forward. She would have been justified to hate Tracey, but that hatred would not have bothered Tracey in the least. Instead, that hatred would have been a burden for Polarity. 

Holly: My own path to publication was long and winding—what was yours like? How did you sell POLARITY IN MOTION?

Brenda: “Long and winding” is an apt description of mine as well!  I worked about 20 years in education—teacher, principal, director of support services—before attempting to write a novel.  Novel number one is in a drawer.  It’s an adult literary fiction I call THIS HOUR’S TERM—took seven years to write.  POLARITY IN MOTION is novel number two.  It took about a year and a half to write, and I was able to get a literary agent pretty early—Charlotte Sheedy.  However after a year of representation, she said that none of the acquisition editors she worked with were interested in the manuscript, and she recommended that I self-publish. Her words were, “Just get it out there.”  I was considering self-publishing, but friends recommended submitting to Red Adept Publishing.  And here we are!

Holly: What were your reading preferences as a teen? How does that reading experience influence what you write now? Do you write with potential teen readers / audience in mind, or do you find that distracting?

Brenda: I’m not sure why—maybe it was just chance, but as a teen I was totally disinterested in YA literature.  I hungered for fiction about adults—only. I mostly read the classics—Hemmingway, Steinbeck, Dostoyevsky, Dickens, Bronte. I especially loved THE GOOD EARTH and tried to read all of Pearl S. Buck’s books. I loved Maya Angelou’s memoir I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS. Now, as an adult, I spend more of my reading time immersed in YA.

I do think about teens and people who care about teens when I write.  I think about the students I’ve known and the experiences that were important to them.

Holly: What are your favorite writing tricks?

Brenda: I love to have those days when I can start writing first thing in the morning—still in PJs, and get in several hours before taking care of all the interfering necessities of life!  When writing a novel, I do a lot of editing as I go.  I find that if I edit the work from the day before, I’m ready to flow right into the new segment.

Holly: What are you working on now?

POLARITY IN LOVE.  By the time I finished POLARITY IN MOTION, Ethan and Polarity had matured and their needs had deepened.  They are ready for greater risks!  Ethan has a larger role in POLARITY IN LOVE.

~ 

Brenda Vicars (brendavicars.com) has worked in Texas public education for many years. Her jobs have included teaching, serving as a principal, and directing student support programs. For three years, she also taught college English to prison inmates.

She entered education because she felt called to teach, but her students taught her the biggest lesson: the playing field is not even for all kids. Through her work, she became increasingly compelled to bring their unheard voices to the page. The heartbeat of her fiction emanates from the courage and resiliency of her students.

Brenda’s hobbies include reading, making things out of re-purposed wood, pulling weeds in the garden, and going to Zumba classes.

Brenda's giving two copies of POLARITY IN MOTION! Two winners will be randomly chosen on March 26.

Giveaway:

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INTERVIEW WITH JENNIFER SALVATO DOKTORSKI, AUTHOR OF THE SUMMER AFTER YOU & ME

Jennifer Doktorski and I both blog over at YA Outside the Lines; I was thrilled to get a sneak peek at her forthcoming perfect-for-the-beach read, THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME...so much so, I wanted to chat directly with her about the book:

I love the title. I can see fifteen-year-old me grabbing this right off the shelf. When you write, do you visualize your reader—or do you find thinking of your potential audience distracting as you draft a book?

When I write a first draft, I’m mostly thinking about the story I want to tell and the plot. I read one interview with Meg Cabot in which she said she thinks about what she’d like to have happen to her. That always stuck with me, especially when I write romantic scenes. Once I’ve got the first draft down, I think more about the potential audience on revision. My critique partners are very good about pointing out aspects of the characters or plot that wouldn’t ring true for teens.

In the traditional publishing world, the author usually isn’t in on the development of their cover. This cover is so striking, I have to ask—did you have input at any stage? Was it a surprise?

My editor, Annette Pollert, asked me what I envisioned for the cover. This is the second time I’m working with her. She edited HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES and she asked for my vision of the cover then too. Both times I was surprised by how absolutely perfect the covers were. The first time I saw the cover for THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME, I thought: “That’s Lucy and that’s the Jersey shore!” I love how it captures the mood of the book perfectly.

How do you write: Plotter? Pantser? Combo?

I wish I could be a plotter. I’m told by authors who have converted from being pantsers to plotters that it IS easier, but I still consider myself a pantser on first draft. It’s usually upon revision that I make notecards (large, colorful ones) or some other visual mockup of the all scenes—in order—and take a look at what’s working and what’s not.

Let’s talk local color / book settings. I’m a lifelong Ozarkian—but I’ve written of different locations (Minnesota, New York…) The setting (the Jersey Shore) factors predominantly in TSAYAM. Is the Jersey Shore a place you’ve spent time yourself? Were you or your family affected by Sandy? What moved you to choose this location?

I’ve spent time at the Jersey shore nearly every summer of my life. I lived there until I was nine, and then my family moved to northern New Jersey. But we continued to spend summers at the shore. I love the Jersey shore. I’ve traveled a lot but it’s still one of my favorite places on the planet. I chose this location for two reasons. I wanted to show people what the real Jersey shore is like because I feel it has been misrepresented. I also wanted to write about the shore’s recovery efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Like everyone else in New Jersey, my family was affected by Sandy. In my hometown, which is about 30 miles from the coast, schools closed for nine days. We also have a place at the shore, which thankfully was unscathed by the hurricane, but we witnessed firsthand the devastating losses many people and businesses endured. Recovery became the theme for this novel.

Did your own past influence this book? Do you have special memories of summers at the beach? Was there a Connor in your teen years?

My past very much influences this book. I have many special memories of summers at the beach, beginning from the time I was four. Most of the places mentioned in THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME are real locations that people who frequent the area will recognize—Lucky Leo’s arcade, The Sundae Times, Marucas pizza. I went to some of these places as a kid, and am now creating new memories there with my family. Sadly, there wasn’t a Connor in my teen years, but I always wished there had been. That’s where Meg Cabot’s advice comes into play! Connor is the kind of boy I wanted to date back then, and Andrew is the type I wanted to marry.

Love the name “Breakwater Burrito.” Did you ever have a job “feeding the Bennies”?

Breakwater Burrito was inspired by one of my favorite places to eat in the summer, Surf Taco. That was actually the working title for this novel. I never had a job “feeding the Bennies.” By the time I hit my teen years, I technically was a Benny!

One of my favorite recurring tidbits in the book are the short excerpts from Lucy’s thesis, “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” Such a clever way to get us further into Lucy’s mind. How’d you come up with it? Was it a happy accident? At what point did the excerpts make their way into the book—first draft? Later on?

The excerpts made their way into the book on the second and third drafts. At first Lucy was working on a more traditional high school English paper involving famous, tragic lovers, like Romeo and Juliet and Tristan and Iseult. She was also keeping notes about animal life in a field journal. My critique partner, Jennifer Ann Mann (she writes the Sunny Sweet middle grade series), and agent Kerry Sparks get the credit for suggesting I merge these ideas and make the excerpts reflect Lucy’s interest in science and her desire to become a marine biologist.

Do you feel too many times that we settle for an Andrew rather than hold out for a Connor?

Hmm. Well, growing up I always talked about the concept of “big love.” My sister gave a lovely toast at my wedding telling all 250 guests how I was never the type to settle. That being said, I think you can have big love with a Connor or an Andrew, it all depends on the girl and the timing.

What’s your writing schedule—early bird / night owl? To music? Need silence? Any tricks (lucky hats, special pens, four-legged writing partners) that help you power through a draft?

I used to be a night owl, but now that I’m a mom, I’m an early bird. I get most of my writing done in the morning and early afternoon, while school is in session. For my YA novels, I make playlists that I either listen to while writing or running. Music inspires my scenes. Right now, I’m working on a middle grade series and for that I’ve noticed that I prefer to write in silence or with some kind of white noise, like the running of the dishwasher. Buffy, our fox terrier, is my writing partner. Or at least she thinks she is. She shows up every morning to sit beside me. She’s a bit bossy though, so now she has her own chair.

What are you working on now?

I’m finishing up the first book in my middle grade series and then it will be on to the next YA, which I’ve been calling a post-dystopic novel. You know, when everything is back to normal?

~ 

You had me at "post-dystopic." Seriously. Catch up with Jen at her site, snag a copy of THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME, or add the book to your Goodreads shelf. And DON'T FORGET TO ENTER JEN'S COUNTDOWN TO SUMMER GIVEAWAY!

BLUESTEM & THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY

I got some lovely news yesterday: THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY has made the 2016 Bluestem Award master list.

Yay, Auggie!

INSPIRING BLOGGER AWARD - LEARNING HOW BLOGGERS READ

I was recently nominated for the Inspiring Blogger Award by the always-lovely Susan over at TheArtofNotGettingPublished.

I'm inspired myself--by all the bloggers who take the time to write thoughtful reviews.

Just as my books are my work, I view a blogger's review as his or her work, as well. I take them seriously, I respect them, and I listen. I've been reading blog reviews long enough now that I've begun to learn how readers--well--read.

I was writing at my own mini-rolltop desk when I was little more than six years old. I think I've always read as a writer. Always tried to dig into the nuts and bolts of a piece, figure out how, exactly, a writer pulled a book together. I remember mining books in elementary school for techniques I could put in my own short stories (totally serious).

Bloggers (especially bloggers who read as readers only, not as writer / readers) have taught me, over the past few years, that it's not about literary bells and whistles--it's the story, stupid. It's a compelling plotline. It's (maybe more importantly) about connection: connection between the characters on the page and between the characters and the reader. It's about providing something fresh--not obtuse, fresh. A fresh take on a standard trope. A never-before-seen quirky protagonist.

Over the past few months, I've been taking those lessons into revisions. Both the rewrites for my next YA and the edits for my first indie book (an NA rom-com to release in the next few weeks) have been a completely different process because of the insights I've gained reading blog reviews.

So thank you, bloggers, for your hard work. Thanks for your honesty, for your thoughtfulness. Thanks for pushing me, every step of the way, to be better. You are, as I said earlier, as inspiring as it gets...

KILLING MY DARLINGS

Last week, I turned in the revision of my next YA. This was by far the most extensive rewrite I've ever done. I mentioned it before at the blog, but what started out being a 75K-word manuscript became, in the course of about two days after receiving my editorial letter, a 30K-word manuscript.

I've learned more about writing in the past year than any other year on record (thank you, bloggers). And more than I've been leaning on the power of the pen lately, I've been relying on the almighty scissors. I did turn in a 62K-word manuscript, but this rewrite would have been much different had I been hesitant to cut so much of the original draft from the get-go.

...It looks as though I've finally embraced the old killing your darlings lesson. Man, that was a hard one to get through my skull...

SCHOLASTIC AND THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY

I just received some cool news while in the midst of my YA rewrite: Scholastic has purchased the paperback book club rights for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY! It should publish in April.

THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS

Before Christmas, my brother and I started brainstorming what our pro-fighter (boxing, wrestling, etc.) names would be. (This was one of those car-ride conversations...) I decided mine would be Lightning Bolt Larry. (Got a nice ring eh?)

...So my brother took it upon himself to make me a shirt bearing my fighting name. To wear, of course, when I need to attack some new writing job.

Right now, I'm attacking my editor's notes for my forthcoming YA. And man, do I mean attack. I've already slashed 30K words out of it. Ouch.

Back to work!

CUTTING MANUSCRIPTS: DIALOGUE TAGS

Back when I first started writing full-length novels, 30K words was often a struggle. Now, the opposite is true: as I recently began revising my first indie release, an NA rom com, what started out as a 104K-word project quickly ballooned to 122K (and that was after I'd cut six chapters).

I didn't think I could cut another full chapter, so I asked via social media for authors' fave cutting techniques.

One suggested attacking unnecessary dialogue tags. It's turned out to be the absolute best (and simplest) revising technique I've discovered in years. Along with an unnecessary tag often comes unnecessary exposition. Whole paragraphs were deleted as I attacked the manuscript; conversations are now short and snappy and to the point (a plus, I think, when reading an e-book). Putting my focus on those unnecessary tags has brought the manuscript back down to the original 104K words.

I know I'm never going to read another book now without zeroing in on those tags (they'll bug me every bit as much as small talk in dialogue, and that can make me literally hurl a book across a room).

What are your own favorite manuscript-trimming techniques?

BLEARY-EYED

Okay, I'll admit I'm a bit late in posting my own bleary-eyed, it's-too-early-for-a-real-hairdo Christmas-morning photo (FB and Twitter were full of 'em last week)...

We've had our own ugly sweater contest at the Schindler abode for the past few Christmases; the winner is in possession of the trophy all year long. This year, we went for decorating sweaters (or in my case, a sweatshirt) in some way that represented a carol. Mine was silver bells; I didn't even come close to winning. But, hey, I got a book to write. ;)

Hope you're all in the midst of a fantastic holiday!

More soon...

My '14 Christmas tree; I'm done with traditional trees. Obviously.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I'm off to plunge into a holiday week full of people, projects, and activities that fill my heart with nothing but joy...And I'm wishing the same for all the readers and bloggers who've been the highlight of '14.

Happy holidays!

READER EMPATHY / LIKABLE NARRATORS

I struggle with the idea of the likable narrator all the time.  As I stated in this post at my YA group author blog, YA Outside the Lines, I feel like part of my job is to present a character's unvarnished truth.  (We're inside a character's head, after all--we should get a glimpse into all their thoughts, not just those of the more PC variety.) 

I recently got this incredible bit of advice on the subject from a fellow author and had to share...

This author insisted that the focus shouldn't be on creating simply a likable narrator, but in creating reader empathy.  To create empathy, a writer should pick two of the following:

1. Make the main character a victim of undeserved misfortune.
2. Put the main character in jeopardy.
3. Make the main character likable.
4. Make the main character funny.
5. Make the main character powerful or good at what they do.

This makes so much sense to me.  Right now, in my NA-in-progress, both of my main characters are actually 3, 4, and 5 (the female is more 4 than the male), with a little of 2 sprinkled in.  (Jackpot!)  But I love the idea of focusing on empathy rather than likability (likability is only one option in the list for creating empathy).

Any other additions you might put on this list to create empathy--or to get a reader invested in a character's journey?

GIFTING (SIGNED BOOKPLATES)

For anyone who plans to give one of my books as a gift this holiday season, I'm sweetening the deal a bit:

Email your mailing address to: hollyschindlerbooks (at) gmail (dot) com, and I'll shoot you a signed bookplate to go with the gift.  (The earlier you send your address, the better chance you have of getting it in time to put it inside the book before wrapping.)

A Christmas card I drew years ago for my parents to send out.

Happy holidays!

WHORUBLOG HOLIDAY #READATHON

I'm delighted to participate this year in the Holiday #Readathon, hosted by WhoRuBlog.  Technically, I'm up to my eyebrows in global edits for my first indie release (an NA rom com), and won't be able to hit my own TBR pile (man, that thing's getting enormous), but I am delighted to announce that I'll be hosting my own Holiday #Readathon giveaway.

My '14 releases (THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY and FERAL) feature smart protagonists who don't see the world as it is, in a literal sense.  They're both wildly imaginative--they're out-of-the-box thinkers.  So for my giveaway, I'm asking readers to tell me:  

What's the most out-of-the-box, non-traditional thing you ever did that gave you a sense of the Christmas spirit or put you in a holiday mood?

Tweet your answer to @holly_schindler (or leave your response in the comments) to enter.  One winner will receive his or her choice of  a signed copy of THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY or FERAL.

Giveaway runs through December 7; US only.

More on the books up for giveaway:

THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY (Contemporary MG) 

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” meets Because of Winn Dixie in this inspiring story of hope.

Auggie Jones lives with her grandpa Gus, a trash hauler, in a poor part of town.  So when her wealthy classmate’s father starts the House Beautification Committee, it’s homes like Auggie’s that are deemed “in violation.”  But Auggie is determined to prove that there’s more to her—and to her house—than meets the eye.

What starts out as a home renovation project quickly becomes much more as Auggie and her grandpa discover a talent they never knew they had—and redefine a whole town’s perception of beauty, one recycled sculpture at a time.

Holly Schindler’s feel-good story about the power one voice can have will inspire readers to speak from their hearts.

FERAL (YA Psychological Thriller)

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.