The Gold Medal goes to…

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books, Life, relationships, teenagers, writing

J.D. Salinger averaged 20 words a day to finish his 73,000-word classic The Catcher in the Rye over a 10-year span. My novel took six years to get from a legal pad into a binding.

Much of that time was spent sitting alone in front of my computer. On good days, I wondered how a book could be so easy to write. On other days, I struggled – week by agonizing week – wondering if it was worth the fight. Every book has its journey, which may take a month, a year, or even a lifetime.

Probably because they spend so much time alone, authors value recognition from their peers. At the Florida Authors and Publishers Association 2017 President’s Book Awards ceremony, the goodwill was palpable. Winners had been notified that we were finalists in the competition, so when the bronze medal in the Young Adult category was announced, I prepared to stand. I did the same when the silver medal was announced. That’s when I began to fear I’d been notified in error. (I didn’t even hear my name called as the gold medal was announced.) Fortunately, I DID see a six-foot picture of my book cover flash on stage, so I stood and walked toward it.

Turns out that E. B. White, author of Charlotte’s Web, was quite right when he said, “It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in front of a lot of people.”

A Book is Born

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books, ebook, Humor, read, school, teenagers, writing

Publishing a book is a lot like giving birth to a child: You stare at the object in your hands, hoping it looks a bit like what you imagined it would. After laboring over it (in this case, for six years,) the literary bundle finally arrives in all its glossy glory!

I’m thrilled to announce “The Anchor Clankers” is now available for pre-sale at SYP Publishing. Please visit their website and use Coupon Code “ANCHOR” for a $3 discount!

 

Meeting “The Anchor Clankers”

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books, Florida, Humor, teenagers, writing, Young Adult

“Whoa. A real G.I. Joe, that captain,” Tim Russell muttered quietly to Bill Moore as the Captain marched down the front portico steps.

Then he noticed the man speaking to a woman and a girl with white blonde hair that was almost as long as her tanned legs.

“Who are they?”

Bill glanced outside.

“They would be the Captain’s wife and daughter,” Bill answered.

The Captain got into his car, but the women lingered in the grass with a small silver Schnauzer. Tim headed towards them.

“That’s not much of a dog,” Tim said, coming down the front steps. “You must be Mrs. LeBlanc. Hi, I’m Tim Russell.”

“Hey there, you look like a real sea dog,” he said, softly, bending to scratch the mascot’s ears.

Suzette stared at him. The guy was a hunk. Streaked blond hair and super tan, he must be a surfer or a water-skier, especially with that body. She could feel the sweat starting at the waistband of her shorts and trickling down the back of her thighs.

“Yes, and this is my daughter, Suzette,” Mom answered. “The dog’s name is Skipper.”

Tim looked up from the dog and squinted at the girl.

“You’re obviously not going to school, here. Will you be at Sanford High School?”

Suzette was glad the sun was behind her. That way he couldn’t see that her face was beet red from the heat (or because she was blushing.) Not to mention five new pimples were probably forming under the sweat.

“No, my parents chose a Catholic high school in Orlando. I’ll be going there.”

Of course, her education would occur elsewhere. She figured that people who send their sons to military school want structure and a strong male influence for their children.

They did not, however, want girls.

Tim nodded. “That’s probably better for you. I’m not sure the guys at Sanford High would even speak to a girl who lives with the anchor clankers. In case you haven’t heard, that’s what they call us, here.”

 

– Excerpt from “The Anchor Clankers,” a novel set at The Sanford Naval Academy in Florida

The first thing you see

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anchor clankers, author, books, inspiration, teenagers, writing, Young Adult

Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover?

I received this email from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing: “We’re setting up a phone call conference with artist Elizabeth Babski to talk about the cover design.”
Suddenly, I’m terrified.

I think of all the books that I’ve picked up in libraries and book stores. Occasionally, a glance at the cover was all it took for me to put it back on the shelf. I understand how important cover design can be in luring readers inside a book.

Admittedly, I’m not an artist. I paint pictures with words rather than brushes. But I know that an amazing cover can capture a reader’s interest even before they see the first sentence.

Creating the right cover is an art form, which involves evaluating the book’s content and understanding exactly what will resonate with my Young Adult readers. Regrettably, Elizabeth had not been given my manuscript to read, nor had I seen samples of her art or her website. So, we chatted and I gave her the “Cliff Note” version of “THE ANCHOR CLANKERS.”

They say that you can’t judge a book by its cover. They are wrong!

I’m anxious to see her suggestions.

A literary love-fest

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BEA, Book Expo. author, books, Brad Meltzer, interviews, James Patterson, literature

Author Brad Meltzer chats with me at Book Expo America.

NEW YORK – More than 20,000 publishers, authors, agents, bookstore owners and librarians roamed through Book Expo America 2014 (BEA) at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
I was surprised to learn that the state of Florida was well-represented.
Author Brad Meltzer left his wife and three children in Ft. Lauderdale to spend two days at the event.
“I get to come and say thank you to everyone who is a part of this,” Meltzer explains. “There may be one name on the cover, but only a fool thinks producing a book is a one-person show.”
He slid into a chair in the Hachette Book Group booth shortly before heading out to autograph copies of his new picture book biography, “I Am Rosa Parks.” It joins “I Am Amelia Earhart” and “I Am Abraham Lincoln” in his best-selling series that introduces kids to everyday heroes.
“I noticed my kids calling loud-mouthed sports figures heroes,” says Meltzer, who also hosts and writes “Brad Meltzer’s Decoded” series on The History Channel. “I say being famous is different from being a hero.
“I’ve written fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and comic books,“ he adds. “All of them have one thing in common – my core belief that ordinary people can change the world.”
Meltzer is a seasoned veteran of the trade show, but first-time appearances at BEA can be daunting – even for those experienced in being in the public eye.
For example, Orlando lawyer J. Cheney Mason (best known as Casey Anthony‘s defense attorney) is the author of a new book, “Justice in America.” He arrived at BEA with his wife, Shirley, following an interview at CNN.
“I don’t have any illusions about people coming to see me,” Mason said, eyeing the crowds in the Javits Center. “I’d like to see James Patterson or Frederick Forsyth, myself.”
However, Mason was pleasantly surprised by a line of folks waiting for the 300-page book that he hopes will be used “to educate politicians, judges, lawyers and more importantly, citizens as to what happens in the judicial system.”
“The true story of what happened has never been told,” Mason adds. “I felt other books written about the trial fell substantially short. I started working on mine one year after the verdict [in 2011] but it wasn’t a priority.”
When Mason arrived in the book-signing area, a CNN cameraman turned on lights and began filming the action. Voila – another star was born.
That sort of enthusiasm permeates the convention – an event whose original purpose was partly to give bookstores the chance to order books for the fall season. It has evolved into something equally old-fashioned: a huge gathering for the book industry to talk up titles, showcase high-profile authors and try to build elusive buzz for promising books.
One day, I hope that my book is one of them.

The home library

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Architecture, books, Build, decorating, environment, Home, Houses, interior design, library

The home library links us with the past, present, and future in a way that is portable, affordable and aesthetically pleasing.

If you want to understand someone’s true personality, take a look at his or her library. Just as a peek into a person’s medicine cabinet can reveal a great deal about their medical history, the books that they read offer a psychological profile of their tastes, interests and values. Book-centered rooms are the ultimate escape on a winter’s day, the place to head for to think and read, regenerate your spirit and ideas.

· The library is a room of secrets. Add a hidden compartment to your bookcase, something Mr. Holmes would approve of.

· Books you love to read, plan to reread or need for reference, should never be out of reach.

· Standing on chairs or beds is no substitute for a sturdy, stable library ladder.

· Two comfortable chairs and good lighting are the most important elements of a well-stocked library.

Excerpted from “Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof!”available on amazon.com

Readers won’t do “half hazard work”

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books, literature, shades of grey

For several weeks each year, I work for a company that buys used textbooks. I must evaluate the condition of each book and frequently find papers tucked inside its pages. Based on the assignments that slip into my lap (as well as the nearly-new condition of the English literature and composition books that I buy) I’ve come to the conclusion that few students actually read.

As a result, they often have hilarious notions of how the written language represents what they hear.

One young man wrote an essay on being charged with a “mister meaner.” Another blamed “inclimate weather” for moving to Florida from a northern state.

The professor must have requested a personal evaluation, because I read a student’s admission of “half hazard work” and his belief that he wasn’t smart enough to go to an “Ivory League school.”

Relationships also appear to be popular essay subjects: A young woman resented being “taken for granite” by her boyfriend. Another student (possibly her boyfriend?) wrote of his policy of keeping relationships “strictly plutonic.”

I hear many of my young customers express relief at being finished with English classes. But as I purchase their books, I confess that I worry about the future of written language.

Will novels like “Fifty Shades of Grey” get these kids reading again?

Or will success elude them in their “doggy-dog world?”