Page-to-Screen

Well, the casting of Katniss Everdeen made the last week a pretty big one for the books-to-movies world. 

For Suzanne Collins' take on the big announcement, author Lisa McMann's thoughts on Miley Cyrus's attachment to the Wake movie, and more, hop on over to A Year of Auditions!

Back-to-Business: Facebook Fun and Twittequette for Dancers & Novelists

Seven months from my pub date, I'm trying to accomplish a virtual-marketing task each week.  Last week, I explored Amazon Author Central.  I even added my blog to my author page after learning how to find my blog's rss feed (a handy how-to for that can be found here) and was feeling pretty geektastic!

This week, inspired by this enlightening post by Nathan Bransford, I played around with my Facebook "like" page, "Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe" (you can find it here if you're curious).  I learned how to "like" things as my "like" page instead of my ordinary "me" page (how's that for an awful sentence?). Still alot to do here, but it's a start.

I am still loving Twitter and am amazed at the great writer and dancer folks with whom I've connected in forty characters or less.  Since my novelist hands pound the keyboard while my feet still often point toward the ballet world, I was fascinated to read this Wall Street Journal article discussing the New York City Ballet's concerns over its dancers' Twitter practices.  This reminds me of the ongoing discussions in the writer-blogosphere about reviewing versus critiquing, and respect for the power of the virtual pen. 

Do you think writer-tweeters and dancer-tweeters need to follow different guidelines?

For my part, I think that on Twitter, as in life, the Golden Rule still applies and, honestly, it works pretty well!

The Sparkly Shannon Whitney Messenger...

...is spilling casting secrets

over at A Year of Auditions.

And if the lovely headshot above isn't enough to tempt you,
her story has something to do with this:

Go say hi!

Bookanistas: THE MOCKINGBIRDS by Daisy Whitney

Plot without spoilers:  Daisy Whitney's THE MOCKINGBIRDS tells the story of Alex, a musical prodigy in her junior year at prestigious Themis Academy where the administration can't imagine any student doing harm to another.  So, where can Alex turn when she is date raped?  To the unique form of justice administered by The Mockingbirds.

Literary highlights: In writer circles, there's a great deal of discussion about WHEN a novel should begin (e.g., a little bit before the inciting event to establish a sense of normalcy).  THE MOCKINGBIRDS breaks the mold by opening with an incredible, dramatic, right-into-it-we-go scene that totally works.  And, of course, the artful tie-in of themes and language from the Harper Lee classic To Kill a Mockingbird give this novel a cool literary twist.

Finally, just gotta say: Alex's evolving recollections of that lost night, her moments of uncertainty when she must grapple with her own actions, and her honest struggle with the consequences of pursuing justice are all authentically depicted.  This book feels very realistic and brave--something teen girls should definitely read.

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