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MOVING DAY!

I've decided to merge "Writer on the Side" with my Author Website. Henceforth, the main page of my author site will be the home of my blog posts. Until I've managed to move the archives, this site will stay up as a resource for book reviews and other old content. But there's going to be lots of FRESH, NEW FUN over at www.stasiawardkehoe.com, so...

CLICK ON OVER!

And thanks!

Oppressive Regimes in YA Literature

We could all write papers on commonalities shared by the "governments" depicted in these series:

• THE HUNGER GAMES
• DIVERGENT
• LEGEND
• THE GIVER

They all practice deception and manipulation of the populace. They all divide citizens into castes of some type, each receiving entitlements or suffering inhuman burdens. They all exist in the context of some type of post-war or post-apocalyptic earth. They are all, ultimately, something to resist, to decry, to fight.

That's the short-form and I'm sure you could create a longer, more detailed list of similarities. You might also add more series titles, perhaps THE MAZE RUNNER or ENDER'S GAME, to fit into this category. But, what I want to discuss (to wonder) here is...

WHY DOES THE NOTION OF A TEEN EXPOSING AND ESCAPING THE CLUTCHES OF A TOTALITARIAN REGIME STRIKE A CHORD WITH THE YA-READING POPULATION?

Is this phenomenon similar to the "orphan" motif in kidlit? From Oliver Twist to Anne of Green Gables, and from Jane Eyre to Harry Potter, taking away the "security blanket" of parents gives young protagonists both vulnerability and a unique and appealing sense of agency. Is an external oppressor, such as a terrible regime, just a different way to create a similarly disenfranchised yet compellingly independent main character while also letting them have siblings or parents about whom they can care?

Or is the repressive regime an indicator of something else happening in our actual world culture? Like the workhouses and abusive guardians of kidlit yore which, although extreme, might have been somehow feasible to readers of past centuries, perhaps today's YA consumers see elements of totalitarianism all around them. Suzanne Collins cited reality television as one of her inspirations for her stories of Katniss Everdeen. Marie Lu published the first LEGEND title in the wake of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, WikiLeaks, the massive Haitian earthquake of 2010, and the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"--all situations in which the actions of those in power, including their actions with respect to when and how they informed the public, were under constant scrutiny.

We might even stretch this thesis to incorporate the sub-category of government interference in love relationships in series such as Allie Condie's MATCHED, Lauren Oliver's DELIRIUM and Kira Cass's THE SELECTION. Do sites like eHarmony and, actually, Match, make people feel more hopeful or more vulnerable about love and the possibility that it can be explained by algorithm?

Today, as situations like the tragic events in Ferguson and the assassination of two police officers in Brooklyn fill our media feeds, is it any wonder that the literature being read by the Twitter and Instagram generation features a frightening subtext of "who can we trust"? The fictional "near-future" of DIVERGENT seems plausible to them and Tris's questioning of authority feels just and heroic.

I began writing this post after finishing reading Legend and while writing a contemporary YA manuscript which, like my previous books, does not contain dystopian or futuristic elements. I was wondering whether I was being stubborn by refusing to write in the spirit of our current zeitgeist. To this question, I still do not have an answer. Perhaps the truth is that I don't like looking at or world as a place where even democracies hover on the brink of becoming something less free.

Is that what you see?

January MOVIE BOOK FUN

Here come two debut titles whose covers are already tagged SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE. One will star Taylor Lautner and the other will be headlined by Elle Fanning. Can you guess which is which by the book covers?

TRACERS  and ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES both look like great reads, too!

New Year's Blah Blah Blah

2014 was a bumpy year in authorville. The second book is doing well but I'm struggling to get a third off the ground. I've been all over the place in terms of characters, plot, form, bouncing from one idea to another. I wrote an entire ms that's not quite right, along with giant chunks of two others. Maybe I wrote too much. You know, sometimes you ought to tell yourself to change out of the sweats and look up from the keyboard because this sh** isn't going anywhere.

Thankfully, I had an epiphany on Thursday, December 18th. Sorry for waiting to tell you about it :)

The afternoon began with 90 of minutes helping 100 kids (grades K & 3) make "Candy Trains," which are very messy gingerbread house type dealies. I left covered in frosting.

Isn't he darling?

From there, my third-grader and I raced to a local Panera Bread Bakery,
went inside, ordered fast, and met with a high school senior I am tutoring in writing. I ordered something delicious but full of onions. Translation: Bad breath to go with the eau-de-frosting I already had going on.

Dashed to my son's baseball clinic and thought about calling it a day. That was where my delightful husband turned up and said he'd take the boy home and I should go into Seattle for the SCBWI Holiday Meeting & Cookie Competition. I don't know why I went, but I'm so glad.

• Even though it took 90 minutes of driving in the pouring rain to get there.
• Even though I really smelled interesting.
• Even though my cookies didn't win.

It was wonderful to connect with my tribe, to hear stories of success and frustration, to admit things you can only admit to other writers. Then Martha Brockenbrough gave an inspiring presentation about the writing life in which the vital point was that THE ACT OF WRITING HAS VALUE even if a given work doesn't find its way into a binding. There was lots more but here's my take away.

1. Yes, it's worth doing what I'm doing.
2. (And this was more of an indirect lesson) I HAVEN'T BEEN WORKING HARD ENOUGH.

I've gotten cocky. A few nice reviews, and a couple of award noms (no wins) made me think I could send something imperfect to an editor. I've realized that, for whatever reason (and I know some people can sell books on a three-sentence pitch and a promise), I need to stop rushing, stop waiting for gratification because it "feels like time" to have another book in the pipeline.

I NEED TO WORK HARDER.  I NEED TO TAKE TIME. AND I NEED TO BE OKAY WITH IT.

I think, finally, I am.

PS: My friend Dawn won the Best Tasting Cookie Prize!

Happy, Happy Holidays!

Here's a present from me to you...

My 14yo photographing "his mountain."

I took up skiing as an adult. It has been a struggle to conquer fear, to develop discipline and technique, to not give up. Remind you of anything...?

WRITE ON

Fearlessly

With focus and determination

Do not stop

Go head. Go sit at the computer today! You're welcome ;)

Blogging from the ABYSS

Here we are at December again. The culminating month of the year and a time for both contemplation and celebration.

This year saw the publication of my second verse novel, THE SOUND OF LETTING GO, which has received some lovely critical notices including a star from PW and selection by the Junior Library Guild. Recently, I was delighted to learn that it's been shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Book Awards. Can I take any credit for this? Well, I did write the book, of course but, in terms of promotion, I have done far less than I did for AUDITION.

This is a photo of salmon swimming upstream,
taken near my home this fall.
Read to the end of the post and you'll get it :)

Why?

1.  MOTHERHOOD. This year my youngest started at a new elementary school, my eight-grader has been applying to different high schools, my senior is applying to college and my eldest is a college sophomore. Can you say complex family logistics and massive needs for "mom time"? Yep, I've been busy with the kids.

2. FACING FACTS. After coordinating a cross-country bookstore tour AND an epic blog tour for AUDITION, I have concluded that as a fledgling author who is not also a reality television star, chef, or dog trainer, there is little I can do to push unit sales of my books in any cost-and-time-effective way. (CAVEAT: The AUDITION book tour, called Stages on Pages, regardless of organization, time and travel costs, was an opportunity to make amazing writer friends I have to this day so it was worth it all the same and I'd recommend authors try it at least once.)

3. LIMITS. Without massive effort, constant giveaways and the generation of a great deal of newly-written content, my blog, FB and Twitter follow stats have pretty well plateaued (sp?). At this point, I feel a strong need to conserve my writing energy for a number of fiction projects that are exciting me beyond belief. I AM WRITING STORIES. In support of this decision, you can search the webs for articles about blogger burnout, the pros and cons of social media for authors, and agents reminding writers to focus on producing their very best work.

Yet, I continue to blog, albeit less than before, because I love keeping this online account of my writing journey and occasionally celebrating the work of other writers. I hope some folks out there in the virtual abyss stumble onto my blog and find it useful. I suppose what I most want to convey here is the VALUE of this writing life, no matter the financial outcome, no matter that sometimes we hunch over the keyboard feeling like we're accomplishing little more than salmon struggling upstream. Readers, however you got here, please know that the stories you tell MATTER and that IN YOUR belief in the act of writing as a vital component of the act of living, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

ALL I WANT...A HOLIDAY WISH LIST

Here's the post where I pimp the books of strangers and friends, plus a few non-bookish things I'd also like in case my husband reads this post ;)

These Mountain Hardwear incredibly fuzzy Pyxis fleece pants. Seriously. Beyond fuzzy! Size small, please!

These LL Bean suede driving moccasins. Yes, in RED (it's Christmas). Size 8, medium (and they're on sale)!

And a girl needs her jewels, right? (In support of public television, I'm opting for these glitzy Aurora Borealis earrings from the Signals catalog.

NOW FOR THE BOOKS...

The art of photography in a YA contemp

from Justina Chen. So...yes!

This just looks beautiful. Letters to lost artists--musicians and actors who died too young--are at the core of DellAira's glowingly reviewed debut.

The highly-lauded, less-read debut

by Gone Girl's Gillian Flynn.

How many people have to recommend a book

before you have to buy it? 

Hit it twice over for Marie Lu's latest!

The follow-up to Zadoff's 

first awesome Assassin novel,

which I could not put down!

The threat of love separated by college

geography? Been there with my sons--

plus it's a Perkins romance, right?

 Can't seem to get any more pix to upload for this post, but just two more titles: Jenna Fox author Mary E. Pearson's KISS OF DECEPTION and SCBWI-maven extraordinaire Laurie Thompson's great nonfiction contribution to teen libraries, BE A CHANGEMAKER.

HOPE YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING INCLUDES TONS OF BOOKS!

The Pros and Cons of NaNoWriMo

A few years ago, I completed a NaNoWriMo novel. While the product remains (rightfully) in a file
drawer, it was an intense month and an exhilarating experience to pass that 50k word mark in 30 days. I learned lot about myself as a writer. Since then, I've published two novels with Viking, been battered around a bit by the industry, and continue to work with other writers who have books in the pipeline. And I've got a few thoughts and tips to share about the NaNo experience.

CRAFT-WISE
1. NaNo is like boot. It's amazing to move your muscles way more than usual, learn your limits, your aptitudes and your optimal style of exercising/drafting.

2. NaNo forces you to avoid line-edits, ignore your inner critic and write with a wonderful amount of freedom.

3. NaNo, like an intense gym work-out, can leave your manuscript (like your muscles) a little sore, imperfect and longing for a slower, more measured pace of work.

4. Please stick the manuscript in a drawer for at least a week (or possible until New Year's) and allow your brain to rest and regain some perspective. While it's marinating, search the web for your favorite 10 (or more) "How to Revise Your NaNo Novel" articles. Print them out. If it's gonna take time, print out your novel, too, so it's ready to read on whatever date you have selected.

CAREER-WISE
5. Trust me. Your NaNo manuscript is not a finished product and does not represent your best work. It may have great potential but SEE #s 3 & 4 above. Do not send this unrevised baby to an agent or editor.

6. Seriously, don't.

7. Be aware that agents and editors get thousands and pages of NaNo novel submissions in December, just before they take a holiday vacation. (Heard any good "Editor walks into a NaNo Write-In... jokes?) They do not enjoy this and it nearly assures your work a nap in the slush pile.

8. Waiting to have a truly ready-to-submit manuscript probably won't slow down your path to publication. Submitting a weak, unedited manuscript will very probably slow down your path to publication. (Not gonna say definitely. I mean, we all know crap gets published sometimes.)

NOW...GOGOGOGOGO and get all you can out of this writing adventure.

It's like broccoli--good for you and someday you may like it!

Rewarding Courage with a Long Nap

Following up on my previous CHICKEN-HEART post, I am happy to report that last night, after many days of angsting, rereading and tweaking, I sent my completed ms, along with a synopsis and opening chapters of something new, to my editor with the note: 

"Yes, you can read this now." 

This morning, I woke up early, made breakfast for the kids, packed lunches, loaded the dishwasher and...went back to bed for an hour. 

It was a delightful treat and a necessary break from thinking about the fact that I have again let pages fly out into the universe which I find awfully stressful. I am not alone. Scrolling through the social media portals of writers, you will find... 

• laments over weight gained while revising
• opuses on the struggle to stay physically active while committing to daily word counts
• worries about giving up paying jobs to take a risk on one's own fiction
• panic Tweets about being out on sub
• and general musings on the tension between writer-life and, well, life.

Being a writer takes courage, people.

In sum, I'm just saying I think I earned my nap. And it was faaaantastic.

CHICKEN-HEART, C'EST MOI

Do you know what I did this week?

Sent a manuscript to my agent. Threw up. Emailed her not to read it. Printed it out (again). 

All 356 pages now sit on my kitchen table waiting for me to feel ready to give it one more read and find the courage to email Catherine again to say "go ahead."

Have I mentioned I've done this before with other manuscripts? It's kind of getting to be a pattern.

Any amateur shrinks out there have any thoughts on this? Comments always open.

2014 YA Contemporary Scavenger Hunt: MEET ANGIE STANTON!

WELCOME TO THE 2014 YA CONTEMPORARY SCAVENGER HUNT!

If you're so inclined (or want a free copy of THE SOUND OF LETTING GO), pop on over to Jenny Hubbard's site to read my thoughts about murky line between fiction and nonfiction. Meanwhile, I'm thrilled to be hosting the delightful Angie Stanton to get the "Scavenger Scoop" on her new novel, ROYALLY LOST, including some personal "facts" that find their way into her amazing books. And, if you want to win a copy of Angie's book, just leave a message in the comments below (North America only)!

WotS: Royally Lost is set in Europe. Have you been to Europe? 

ANGIE STANTON: Yes! In fact, I took the exact trip that Becca takes including the side trip to Prague. Most everything in the book I saw first hand. Except the chapter where they swim in their underwear.

WotS: Describe Royally Lost in 10 words or less. 

AS: American girl, dashing prince, on the run from the world. (That was hard!)

WotS: How has the writing process changed for you between writing your first novel and your most recent one? 

AS: I’m much more organized and do more research Writing is no longer a hobby, writing is my life. I can finish a book much faster than when I started.

WotS: Is there any other genre that you'd ever consider writing in? 

AS: Time travel. I’m not sure what genre that would be.

WotS: What do you like to do when you're not reading or writing? 

AS: I’m a reality TV show junkie. I love Survivor, Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol. My DVR is busy.

About Royally Lost...Dragged on a family trip to Europe’s ancient cities, Becca wants nothing more than to go home. Trapped with her emotionally distant father, over-eager stepmother, and a brother who only wants to hook up with European hotties, Becca is miserable. Then she meets Nikolai.

Nikolai has everything a guy could ask for--he's crown prince, heir to the throne, and girls adore him. But the one thing he doesn't have...is freedom. Staging a coup, he flees his kingdom and goes undercover on his own European tour.

When Nikolai and Becca meet, it’s their differences that draw them together. Sparks fly as they share a whirlwind of adventures, all the while dodging his royal guard. But Becca's family vacation ends in a matter of days. Will Nikolai and Becca be forced to say goodbye, will his destiny catch up to him, or will they change history forever?

About the Author... Angie Stanton never planned on writing books, she wanted to be a Rockette. However, growing up in a rural setting with her brothers' 4-H pigs as pets, dance didn't work out. Instead she became an avid daydreamer. After years of perfecting stories in her head she began to write them down and the rest is history.

BUILDING MY OCTOBER READING LIST WITH SOME PSYCHIC STORIES

Just in time for Halloween, I'm adding this to my TBR because a friend told me I'd love it if I was a fan of Laini Taylor (um, yeah!). In INVISIBLE, the second in Dawn Metcalf's Twixt series, mc Joy Malone must decide whether having the power of The Sight comes at too high a cost for everyone she holds dear. The novel has been described as both "romantic" and "creepy" and that sounds intriguing and awesome to me! If you want to learn more, I'm sure Dawn would love to hear from you @dawnmetcalf on Twitter!

And I'm looking forward to finishing this one while sitting by the fire this rainy weekend. Family issues, a hot boyfriend, the fascinating art of architecture and mc Rebecca's psychic ability (a perilous gift shared by the women of her family) have made for a great start. Have you read RETURN TO ME? Do you love tree houses and authors who write about them? Then you'll want to Twitter follow @JustinaYChen

Praise for THE SOUND OF LETTING GO & READY, SET, SCAVENGER HUNT

Since I'm absolutely mired in revisions on one manuscript and trying something new (a mystery) via research/long proposal/outline, I decided to be naughty and, you know, check my Amazon stats (gah!) and Google search myself. Oh, come on, admit it, you've done it once or twice!

Anyhow, I came across these lovelies to brighten my super-stressed-out Thursday night. Thanks to...

READER WRITER CRITIC
“Daisy was…quite possibly the most realistic, normal and most understandable/relatable character's I've read in a long time.”  ...and...
YA BOOKS AND MORE  "Kehoe writes about this emotional stage of life from all perspectives while being able to fluidly create a centrifugal force that isn't Steven, but is Daisy's life, before, during and after. This is a novel unlike any other and one that should be on YA shelves."

Check back here first thing Saturday morning for my contribution to the 

2014 CONTEMPORARY YA SCAVENGER HUNT!

Creating Content

One of the oddest parts of the "author" job is writing content designed to SHARE the books you've already written. At this moment, I'm writing a presentation for a school visit, a guest feature for a blogger event, a proposal to present at a conference and, er, this post.

So here I sit, wracking my brain for funny, punny, insightful and intellectual turns of phrase, hoping my efforts will keep my latest novel above Amazon dumpster-rankings and maybe yield a paperback edition (or at least sales figures sufficient to keep me in the business).  Meanwhile my w-i-p and shiny-new-idea sit, forlorn, in unopened files AND my agent keeps asking when she'll see the new book.

The irony...

Happy Book Birthday to THE ALMOST PERFECT GUIDE TO IMPERFECT BOYS

I've been a Barbara Dee fan pretty much forever. From SOLVING ZOE to TRAUMA QUEEN, I adore the way she captures that middle grade girl vibe. So, I am thrilled to be celebrating the arrival of her latest...

Do you have a tweenage girl in your world? Then you'll definitely want to order your copy now!

It's Banned Books Week!

Banned Books Week celebrates "the freedom to read" but also, for me as a writer, it celebrates the freedom to speak, to communicate, to lift up your voice. When a book is banned, it means the writer of that book is diminished--his or her voice is judged by others as a voice that should not be heard. This thought makes me feel frustrated, angry and simply saddened, not just for those whose opinions are devalued but by those who appoint themselves judge and jury of ideas and think that they are somehow winning.

Why do those who ban CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS make me both sigh and laugh? As the mother of three teenagers, I am quite certain that things that are banned hold a certain tantalizing appeal for young adults (read THE BOOK THIEF and you'll see what I mean). I have long stopped admiring myself for parenting my eldest because it turns out he was just an easy kid. When I said "we don't go to R-rated movies," he was fine with it so WE didn't.  When I told my next son "we don't..." he nodded, smiled and snuck into one with his friends. So, yeah.

What about school? Well, if your kids watch the bizarre weirdness of Dora the Explorer and Thomas the Tank Engine (that sh** it creepy), I really think they can handle THE HUNGER GAMES and LOOKING FOR ALASKA. And if they don't find those titles in their school library, be assured teens are more than capable of getting their hands on a copy of a book--it's even easier than getting beer for the party they're going to when they tell you they're spending Friday night at their church youth group.

So, here's my suggestion for what to to do instead of being a book-banning bully:

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FACT AND FICTION.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO STAND UP FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS RIGHT AND GOOD.

TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT WHAT YOU READ (including in the newspaper which we might all agree is useful reading and is loaded with horrible stories about radical militants and diseases and tragedies and advertisements for all kinds of materialistic things we shouldn't covet) and ASK THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE READING to MODEL THE VALUE OF THOUGHTFUL CONSIDERATION OF MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS.

And then let 'em read whatever they want to read.

THAT FALLOW TIME...

Just an awesome close-up
of a squirrel...
for no reason at all.

Despite my good intentions, writing has been on the back burner this month as I've worked to acclimate my youngest to his new school, mail everything my eldest forgot to take with him to college, encourage my high school senior as he wrestles with the Common App, and drive my busy eighth-grader all over the east side.

I tell myself these are the reasons I haven't been writing but the truth is more complicated. I've grown somehow frightened of my manuscript. I am uncertain whether I have the strength and skill to fix the pacing problem I see or finish all the research required to get certain elements right. When I think of the careful reread I need to give the piece--and the outline I should probably make at this juncture--I yearn to both sleep and cry.

Lately, though, there have been moments--mostly while I am driving carpools or washing my hair--when I feel that connection to my characters somehow re-electrifying. I've started scribbling notes again, looking for the courage I need instead of just hiding behind my to-do list of laundry and shopping.

I feel like this odd, fallow period may yet yield something worth putting on the page. At least, I hope it will.

September, here we go!

As of today, all four of my boys are back at school. I'm feeling rather queasy about my 8yo's classroom placement and nervous about getting my high school senior through the college application process. I'm mired in two manuscripts and trying to figure out a new fall writing routing (that leaves a little room for exercise)--fast!

On a bright note, over the last few weeks, I've done a bit of living. Visited New Hampshire where I kayaked on a beautiful lake and toured some serene gardens. Hit Seattle's Bumbershoot festival for the first time with my 13yo--it was awesome, especially Punchline Comedy and a live performance of The Moth radio hour. Went to the Evergreen State Fair in WA with hubs and the boys where, beyond the gut-punchingly delicious fair food and Ferris wheel traditions, the highlight for me was holding the MOST ADORABLE four-month-old bunny.

Holding a teeny brown frog
(bunny photo coming soon)

In fact, catching rays and getting with nature were two nice themes of late summer. Here's hoping they lead to some good words by the light of my keyboard this month!

What's up with your back-to-school routines?