Inside the Writer's Studio with Monika Schröder

Today for Inside the Writer’s Studio we have with us Monika Schroder, author of The Dog in the Wood, Saraswati’s Way, and the newly released My Brother’s Shadow. I was introduced to Monika by the irrepressible Kirsten Cappy, the brain behind Curious City. Shortly thereafter, Monika was working on a piece for Hunger Mountain about the writing of My Brother’s Shadow. It is an honor to have her with us today to dig into her process and her keen insights into human nature.

Welcome,  Monika. And let us all welcome My Brother’s Shadow to the shelves.

A bit about the book:

From the publisher, FSG

As World War I draws to a close in 1918, German citizens are starving and suffering under a repressive regime. Sixteen-year-old Moritz is torn. His father died in the war and his older brother still risks his life in the trenches, but his mother does not support the patriotic cause and attends subversive socialist meetings. While his mother participates in the revolution to sweep away the monarchy, Moritz falls in love with a Jewish girl who also is a socialist. When Moritz’s brother returns home a bitter, maimed war veteran, ready to blame Germany’s defeat on everything but the old order, Moritz must choose between his allegiance to his dangerously radicalized brother and those who usher in the new democracy.

And though out only one day, the reviews are in and they are outstanding!

“A good choice for sharing across the curriculum, this is a novel readers will want to discuss.” --Booklist

"In this nuanced and realistic work of historical fiction, Schröder (Saraswati’s Way) immerses readers in her setting with meticulous details and dynamic characters that contribute to a palpable sense of tension. Moritz’s intimate narration captures the conflicts, divided loyalties, and everyday horrors of the period." --Publishers Weekly

" 'War gives meaning to some men's lives. For other men, the experience of war extinguishes all meaning in life,' says a man who becomes Moritz's mentor; Schröder makes this sad and ever-timely lesson all too clear."--Kirkus Reviews

“The sorrow and the pity of World War I haunt every page of this unsparing coming-of-age story set in Berlin during the war’s final days. Monika Schröder skillfully sketches in the fractured political background of a disintegrating imperial Germany. She doesn’t miss a beat in her fast-paced first-person narrative as sixteen-year-old Moritz copes with his family’s misfortunes, finds his calling, and discovers love…This is a memorable and instructive novel.”—Russell Freedman, Newbery-award winning author of The War to End All Wars: World War I

Now on to the interview!

Monika, how do you stay inspired to face the dreaded blank page? Is it something you dread? Look forward to? Share a bit about your writing process.

I dread writing the first draft. I am not good at tapping into the “white heat” some writers describe that lets them write pages and pages of unedited text in one swoop. My “inner editor” is always on and I experience a constant struggle between the part of my brain that thinks about structure and function of a scene or a chapter and the part that just feels what needs to happen next. So probably like every writer I dread the blank page, but over time I have learned that sitting and staring is part of the process. When I talk to kids I tell them that one secret of writing is to just “keep your butt in the chair.” I don’t have a rule about minimum amount of pages per day, but I am very disciplined when it comes to just spending time in front of that page, be it empty or partially filled, and waiting until I can write the next sentence.

I much prefer revising to composing a first draft. Once there is something to shape it is easier to get into the flow.

Name a writer whose work and/or career you admire. And why do you admire them?

I like the books by Avi, since I enjoy the way he makes place and time come alive. And I also admire Jennifer Holm who writes always with a strong voice and has a gift of creating lively characters in historical fiction.

Theme can be seen as a dirty word but as writers I believe we all have something to say, something we want to share with the world. What is that something for you?

I think that one theme I have investigated in my writing is how war and political transitions affect regular people and children in particular.

I have always been interested in history. Germany, my home country, has started two World Wars in the last century. Both wars not only brought death and terror to large parts of Europe but also ended in defeat followed by fundamental changes of the political system. I have tried to imagine how regular people dealt with these changes. I find it fascinating that a German person born at the beginning of the 20^th century could have experienced a monarchy, a failed democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a socialist totalitarian regime and then again a democracy, just within one life span. 

In my first novel, THE DOG IN THE WOOD, I wrote about the end of World War II and how people in a small village in east Germany experienced the arrival of the red Army. My new novel, MY BROTHER’S SHADOW, is set in 1918, another important transition time in German history. I tried to imagine what it might have been like for a young man who had grown up under the Kaiser to see the monarchy disappear and be confronted with socialist ideas and women’s emancipation. The defeat in the war led to a socialist revolution in Germany. The split between those who considered this a hopeful event and those who thought of it as treason foreshadowed the conflicts to come during the Weimar Republic.

What do you feel is your strength as a craftsperson? How do you turn your weaknesses into strengths?

I hope that my strength lies in pacing and characterization. I believe my weakness is voice. I hope to have tackled this weakness by writing MY BROTHER’S SHADOW in first person. The book I am currently working in is also told in first person. And I have another work-in-progress that I am trying to tell in two alternating voices.

How does “place” come through in your writing? How important is place in this current novel/picture book? Is it tied to a place you once lived or are familiar with or is it a new world entirely?

I think place is very important in my books. I have written two novels set in Germany and one set in contemporary India, and I hope that readers feel transported to those locations while reading the books.

MY BROTHER’S SHADOW is set in Berlin, my favorite city. I have lived in Berlin in the late 1980 and early 1990s and was always fascinated with the city’s history. When I wrote the book, which takes place in the year 1918, it was easy to imagine what Berlin looked like at the time. Also, there are a lot of photographs and even early film reels available to help an author see the setting.

Currently, I am working on a book set in the 1830s. The story starts in Boston and the character takes a boat to Calcutta. I have visited both cities but the historical time period requires a lot more research for me to depict it authentically.

How do you balance the internal and external arc in the story? Which comes to you first—the external action or what is emotionally at stake? How do you weave the two together? 

I seem to develop the external plot structure first. For THE DOG IN THE WOOD I had to slowly create a character that this story could happen to. Akash, the main character of SARASWATI’S WAY, was fleshed out in my mind early on and I knew that his internal journey would be connected to his relationship to his gods and how he defines fate. I knew the story’s arc would take him from his village to the train station in New Delhi, but I didn’t learn about the obstacles along his way until I wrote the book. 

When I started to write MY BROTHER’S SHADOW I knew it would be a story about disillusionment, about how the main character, Moritz, deals with the loss of what once was and adjusts to a completely new world. I knew that Moritz’s brother would return from the war and join the reactionary forces in Germany, opposing his mother’s involvement with the socialist movement. But the details of his journey and the emotional development that he went through I had to discover through the process.

Which literary character, yours or another author’s, do you most relate to? And why?

In my own work I can relate to Akash. He is a math wizard (I used to be very good in math), he has a burning desire to fulfill his dream and the stamina to pursue it, but he has to learn patience (I still haven’t learned to be patient).

Inspired by the Actors Studio, what sound do you love? What sound do you hate?

I love silence. When my husband and I spend the summers at our cabin in Northern 

Michigan I enjoy the absolute silence at night. Having lived in big, noisy cities for the last 15 years probably has made me crave silence even more. We have now left New Delhi, a noisy city of over 17 million, and moved to the mountains of North Carolina, where it is more silent.

But if you ask me about my least favorite ones I might name a few: I don’t like the sound of chain saws or loud machines but I also have some quirky dislikes: I don’t like hearing someone clipping his nails or cracking his knuckles or the sound of people jingling coins in their pockets. (I know this is weird.)

Be brave. Share a paragraph from a WIP. 

                As I passed the reverend’s room I noticed that the door stood ajar. I peeked inside and found his chamber empty. I gave the door a light push and it opened without the familiar squeak. The reverend must have fixed it himself as I noticed a dark oil stain around the hinges. I entered the room where the bag stood on the bed. Next to it a large map was spread out on the cover.  I recognized the almost triangular outline of India, as I had read about the country in Uncle Ezra’s magazine. On the left bottom of the map was written: “A New Map of Hindoostan by Major James Rennell, Surveyor General to the Honorable East India Company.” I stepped next to the bed to study the tiny names of cities and rivers. A circle was drawn in red pencil around a city in the northern part of the country. Leaning closer I tried to decipher the name. Dehly. I wondered if this was the location of the reverend’s brother’s mission.  Looking at the bag I contemplated a quick search for the heavy object that caused the clanging sound earlier but I didn’t dare to touch it. When I heard footsteps on the stairs I quickly hurried from the room. I had just reached the hallway when the reverend appeared on the landing, wearing his coat and hat. “You are still awake, Caleb?” he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
                “I’m just about to go to bed,” I said, glad the loud banging of my heart was inaudible to him, and that I could slip into my room without another word.

In ode to Maebelle, the main character in my new book Truth with a Capital T, who keeps a book of little known facts about just about everything, please share a wacky piece of trivia that has stuck with you or please share a little known fact about YOU.

I only drink three kinds of beverages: water, red wine (preferably Merlot from South America) and high end second flush Darjeeling tea.

Thank you to Monika for being with us. I will always have water, red wine and Darjeeling tea on tap for you! 

Inside the Writer's Studio with Tommy Greenwald

It is my pleasure to welcome funny man Tommy Greenwald to Inside the Writer’s Studio today. Tommy, a life-long reader, who as his day job creates ads for Broadway (Not a bad day job. There is a fun pic of him and Kelsey Grammar and teen heartthrob Corbin Blue on his website—go here to check it out!) of course has three boys who would give their lives NOT to be readers. Hence, Charlie Joe Jackson’s (His three son’s names? Charlie, Joe, and Jackson, of course.) Guide To Not Reading was born. Though the title may be tongue and cheek Charlie Joe Jackson’s plight is not.  From the publisher (Roaringbrook): 

Charlie Joe Jackson may be the most reluctant reader ever born. And so far, he’s managed to get through life without ever reading an entire book from cover to cover. But now that he’s in middle school, avoiding reading isn’t as easy as it used to be. And when his friend Timmy McGibney decides that he’s tired of covering for him, Charlie Joe finds himself resorting to desperate measures to keep his perfect record intact. 

Know any reluctant readers out there? Then, this book is for them. Take my word—and the word of these accolades—they won’t be reluctant for long. 

“In author Tommy Greenwald’s raucous debut…this comedy of comeuppance shows its true colors, and, irony of ironies, is impossible to put down!” --Disney's Family Fun

 “This is a fun, fast-moving look at middle-school life through the eyes of a kid who would rather clean his room than pick up a book. Reluctant readers will be pleased.” --SLJ

"Kids who do peruse the book will enjoy Charlie Joe’s chuckleworthy tips on keeping reading at bay, even if they take exception to his list of “helpful oxymorons: 1. good book, 2. happy reader, 3. important author, 4. nice library, 5. favorite bookstore.” --BCCB

"Charlie Joe’s insider knowledge of the inner machinations of middle-school cliques will make younger readers smile in anticipation, and his direct address to readers makes make him feel like an older buddy showing the way…Slackers everywhere have a new, likable hero in Charlie Joe Jackson.” -- Kirkus Reviews

"Hilarious...This debut is filled with passages that beg to be shared...With its subversive humor and contemporary details drawn straight from kids’ worlds, this clever title should attract a wide following.” --Booklist, STARRED review

Thank you Tommy for being with us today. Let the laughs begin! On to the interview.

Is there a story behind Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading that you wish to share? (Ie: the ah-ha or lightning moment where the story inspiration struck)

I have three sons, Charlie, Joe and Jack. (Charlie Joe Jackson? Get it?) They’re teenagers now, but when they were middle-schoolers they hated to read. HATED it. They would rather stare at the wall than read. I could never get them to read a book. So one day on my train commute, I had the idea to write a book about a boy who hates to read. The first draft was a picture book, called THE BOY WHO HATED READING. I sent it to my friend Michele Rubin, who’s an agent at Writers’ House. She loved the idea but thought I should turn it into a middle-grade novel. I hit on the idea of Charlie Joe Jackson, and that was that.

How do you stay inspired to face the dreaded blank page? Is it something you dread? Look forward to? Share a bit about your writing process.

I always dread writing. But I guess I dread not writing more. The guilt kills me. I’ve been a professional copywriter and creative director for twenty years, so I’m good with creating stuff that lasts about 30 seconds. I also wrote a couple of screenplays that were optioned, and one musical called JOHN & JEN that ran off-Broadway and still gets produced around the country. So even though I do have a few legit writing credentials, the act of writing itself is always a challenge for me. I’m lazy, and would rather be reading the paper or a book or watching TV. I will say that attacking Charlie Joe was a bit different, though, because once I found his voice, I really enjoyed becoming him. I actually looked forward to writing, which was definitely a first for me. As for the actual writing process, I commute from Connecticut to New York, which is about an hour train ride each way, so I do a lot of writing on the train. On weekends I’ll go to Barnes and Noble, grab a frozen lemonade from the café and start writing.

Theme can be seen as a dirty word but as writers I believe we all have something to say, something we want to share with the world. What is that something for you?

Sometimes I think I should write something deeper and more meaningful, and my musical was much more intense, but I think it turns out that as a children’s book writer my job is to be funny, entertaining and hopefully write characters that kids can relate to. Charlie Joe Jackson is a kid who’s smart but a bit lazy, and would rather spend his energy figuring out how to get out of doing work, rather than doing the work itself. It’s a sport for him, which will be expanded upon later in the series. (Right now we’re hoping for at least three or four books in the Charlie Joe Jackson series.) So I guess what I want to share with the world is that part of letting kids be kids is letting them do a bit of scheming and conniving – it’s a great way for them to use their imaginations, and can be just as much a harbinger of future success as straight A’s.

Is there anything that you are afraid/worried/concerned of tackling in your work? Genre-wise? Audience-wise? Topic-wise?

Not really. CHARLIE JOE JACKSON’S GUIDE TO NOT READING has obvious appeal to reluctant readers, especially boy reluctant readers, but I’m hopeful that everyone – boys, girls, readers and non-readers alike – will find something to enjoy in his adventures.

What were some of the challenges you encountered when working on this novel/picture book? How did you overcome those challenges?

Well, when your main character is someone who hates to read, you get a little nervous about biting the hand that feeds you. Would any publisher publish a book in which the goal of the main character is to help everyone else avoid books? Would the booksellers be mad? How about the librarians? But then I realized, this is who Charlie Joe Jackson is. While encouraging other kids how to avoid reading, he’s actually getting kids who hate books to read a book! So I decided to embrace Charlie Joe’s subversiveness all the way.

How important is voice in your work? How does “voice” come to you?

Voice is everything. I haven’t had any formal training as any kind of writer, much less as a children’s book writer, so the only thing I really feel confident tackling is trying to write the way a middle-grade boy might speak. If I can nail that, than hopefully things like character, plot and pacing will fall in line. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t – but if you can get the voice right, the other things are a lot easier, believe me. I think I got the voice of Charlie Joe by raising three boys. There are definitely parts of Charlie, Joe and Jack in Charlie Joe Jackson.

I once heard Deb Caletti say when asked how her life has changed since becoming a published author that she feels she is living the life she is meant to live. How has your life changed since you became a published author? Has it? What lessons have you learned that you’d care to share since becoming published?

Well, my book has just come out so my life hasn’t really changed much in any external ways. You can bet I’m hoping to supplement my income with a few bucks from Charlie Joe, which would sure help put three kids through college! But enough about that… internally, I do feel great about being published, for sure, but I also feel a lot of pressure. Writing the next books in the Charlie Joe Jackson series will be a daunting task, not because it will take forever, but because whenever I start again, I have a deep flash of insecurity. Will it be as good as the last one? Will I be a one-book wonder? Can I do it again? It can get to you if you let it. And also, with my full-time job, trying to churn out book after book is freakin’ tiring. I think I’m more tired than I’ve ever been in my life.

Writers love books; we love reading. What book do you turn to over and over again and why do you love it?

I’m not one who reads books over and over again. Too many new books to read. And becoming a writer has really cut into my reading, believe it or not. But there are certain authors I turn to over and over again, knowing that they’ll deliver the goods: Carl Hiaasen, Curtis Sittenfeld, Thomas Hardy come to mind.

Which character of yours do you hope your readers most relate to? And why?

Well, for the boys it’s definitely Charlie Joe Jackson, because he’s my main guy, and if readers don’t relate to him, I’m sunk! But hopefully his sense of humor, creativity and inherent laziness will appeal to the typical middle-school male. As for girls, I’m hoping Katie Friedman jumps out as someone whose intelligence and warmth make her the type of girl other girls would want to be friends with.

 

Inspired by the Actor’s  Studio, what sound do you love? What sound do you hate?

I love white noise at night to help me sleep. But I HATE the sound of the alarm clock in the morning.

Describe your main characters favorite meal? And why do they love it?

Charlie Joe Jackson is definitely a cheeseburger, fries and shake kind of kid. And also, sugary cereal for any occasion!

Be brave. Share a paragraph from a WIP. 

Here is the very beginning of the next book in the series, CHARLIE JOE JACKSON’S GUIDE TO EXTRA CREDIT.

How I ended up trying out for the school play is actually a pretty funny story.

Because if you know anything about me at all, you know I’m not exactly a

‘school play’ kind of guy.

In fact, I’m the exact opposite of a ‘school play’ kind of guy.

Which made the fact that I was standing there on the stage of our middle school auditorium, singing a song about paper towels, all the more ridiculous.

In ode to Maebelle, the main character in my latest novel Truth with a Capital T, who keeps a book of little known facts about just about everything, please share a wacky piece of trivia that has stuck with you or please share a little known fact about YOU.

In my professional life I’m known as Tom Greenwald. But my family and friends outside of work have called me Tommy all my life. So when I became an author, I decided that since it was a very personal project, my name should reflect that. Thus, Tommy Greenwald.

Check out the book trailer.

 Thanks Tommy for being here! And, please comment and list your top tip for NOT reading to win an ARC of Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading. TWO winners will be drawn on October 3rd.

Today for Inside the Writer’s Studio we celebrate an ode to an American Musical tradition—fiddling—by West Virginia author Sarah Sullivan. Passing the Music Down, written by Sarah and illustrated by Barry Root is a thing of beauty. I was lucky enough to hear Sarah read from the then manuscript when she was a visiting alumna at a VCFA Special Day. And, I was lucky enough to secure Sarah as a contributor to Hunger Mountain. Her essay, Walking the Songlines, depicts how much care, effort, and skill it takes to be at the top of picture book form (as Sarah is). Sarah is the author of Root Beer and Banana, Dear Baby: Letters from Your Big Brother, and Once Upon a Baby Brother. She is a graduate of VCFA (we were in the same graduating class!) and she speaks to adults and children across the country.

A bit about the Passing the Music Down from the publisher (Candlewick Press)

A warmhearted ode to an American musical tradition and to generational ties, told in lyrical free verse with atmospheric illustrations

A young boy travels to the hills of Appalachia to meet the old-time fiddle player whose music he has admired, and so sparks a friendship that will forge a bond between generations. The boy develops under the man’s care and instruction, just as seedlings grow with spring rain and summer sun. From playing on the front porch to performing at folk festivals, the two carry on the tradition of passing the music down. This touching, lyrical story, inspired by the lives of renowned fiddlers Melvin Wine and Jake Krack, includes an author’s note and suggested resources for learning about the musicians and the music they love.

 

Thanks Sarah for being with us! I am such a fan of the way you use language, create story, and share your process.

Is there a story behind the story that you wish to share? (Ie: the ah-ha or lightning moment where the story inspiration struck)

Passing the Music Down is inspired by the lives of two real people, an old-time fiddle player named Melvin Wine and his student, Jake Krack.  Melvin won multiple awards, including the NEA's National Heritage Fellowship, the U.S.'s highest award for traditional musicians and artists.  Jake was a young fiddle student in Indiana when he first heard recordings of Melvin's music.  His teacher told him he ought to go to a festival called Clifftop in West Virginia so he could hear the old-time fiddle players, people like Melvin Wine and  Lester McCumber, because their music had been passed down by oral tradition and, when they died, their music would die with them.  So, Jake did just that.  At Clifftop, he met Melvin Wine.  They became friends and Jake's family ended up moving to West Virginia so that Jake could study with Melvin and Lester McCumber and a younger man named Bobby Taylor.  For years I heard Melvin and Jake play at the Vandalia Gathering in Charleston and at other festivals and fairs, including once, an appearance at my local independent bookstore, Taylor Books.  When I read an article in the New York Times about Jake being formally apprenticed to old-time musicians, I realized it was not just me who had a fascination with this story.  There was indeed something universal about it and I wanted to capture that in a picture book.  It seemed like a story that needed to be told, particularly after 9/11 when many of us were wondering about the future and what endures.

How do you stay inspired to face the dreaded blank page? Is it something you dread? Look forward to? Share a bit about your writing process.

I try to trick myself by pretending I'm writing a letter and relating a story to a friend.  If I can do that, the negative inner voice goes silent, at least for a few minutes.  Friends are forgiving.  They don't demand perfect prose.  They just want to hear from you.  

I dread writing the first draft of a brand new scene that is only a concept in my head.  What helps is to find one line which belongs in that scene.  It can be a line of dialogue or of narration.  That doesn't matter.  What IS important is that, it feel like the line "fits."

 

I love, love, LOVE editing and revising!

How important is community in keeping you inspired? What authors are a part of your virtual and/or hometown community? How do they keep you inspired?

Community is so important to lifting flagging spirits during the long slog that revising a manuscript can be.  My writing community is almost entirely virtual.  That's a large part of the reason I went to Vermont College.  The writing friends I made there are my writing community today.  A certain writer named Bethany Hegedus has been a daily inspiration, especially during our first years after completing the program.  We had "virtual" coffee chats each workday morning and they were really important to me!  (Thanks, Bethany!)  (Awww—thanks Sarah! I miss our virtual morning cups of coffee.)

And a dear friend and fellow writer, Leda Schubert, who is now a faculty member at Vermont College provided invaluable support, encouragement and critical input during the writing of Passing the Music Down.  In fact, I don't know that I would even have had the courage to send that manuscript to my now-editor if not for Leda's enthusiasm about it.  Ironically, it turns out that Leda – who plays fiddle music herself, had not only heard of Melvin Wine. She had actually taken a class from him at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia.  When I read my manuscript out loud to a small group of fellow writers at a retreat in Vermont, we shared one of those small world moments when she told me about studying fiddle tunes at Augusta.  Leda continues to provide that kind of encouragement and critical  support.  I'm quite sure I would never have made it this far without friends like Leda and Bethany and so many others, including my whole class at Vermont College, the "Wild Things – Class of Winter 2005" and newer writing friends, like Fran Slayton who lives in Charlottesville and visits West Virginia from time to time.  They are all very dear to me.

Is there a favorite quote you turn to when the rejection blues get to you?

"It's all copy."  Nora Ephron attributes this quote to her mother, the screenwriter Phoebe Ephron.  It means, if something bad happens, don't get upset about it.  Think about how to use it in a story.If you get rear-ended at a stoplight, it's all copy. If you get chigger bites in embarrassing places during a hike in the woods, it's all copy. That quote has helped me through a lot of aggravating moments!

Name a writer whose work and/or career you admire. And why do you admire them?

There are so many, but one of my favorites is Eudora Welty.  Her work is so drenched in place, not only Mississippi, but there's a section from One Writer's Beginnings where she writes about her grandparents' farm in West Virginia, not far from where I live.  You can almost smell the iron in the water being drawn up from the well in that piece.  

I also love the way she writes with such compassion and charity about very flawed human beings.  Take the narrator of Why I Live at the P.O.,  for example, a young woman consumed by resentment of her sister.  And yet as readers, we feel sympathy for her.  On top of that, the whole time we're experiencing those conflicting feelings, Welty is making us laugh.  How does she do that?

How important is voice in your work? How does voice come to you?

Voice, on those rare occasions when I find it, is the opiate that keeps me hooked on writing. It's magic when some character's voice begins channeling through my thoughts.  If only I could figure out how to summon voice at will.  But, alas, it doesn't seem to happen that way.  Voice has mysterious origins that are perhaps best left unquestioned.  I don't want to do anything that would make the magic go away.

How does “place” come through in your writing? How important is place in this current novel/picture book?

A sense of place is absolutely critical to Passing the Music Down.  Ironically, or perhaps logically, I don't know, if I feel like if I've achieved the proper sense of place in that book, it makes the story feel universal.  I think it's because putting characters in their proper setting make a story feel authentic.  It's part of the challenge of making a story true.  If a writer can make something true enough, it will be universal.  And stories can only be true if they are set in the proper place. 

Writers love books; we love reading. What book do you turn to over and over again to study craft and why do you love it?

There are so many.  The Great Gatsby.  Because of Winn-Dixie.  Walk Two Moons.  Goodbye My Brother –short story by John Cheever.  To Kill A Mockingbird.  

What these books have in common is voice.  And there is a bit of poetry in the voices of each of these books.  I think the intimacy a writer achieves with his or her reader in a strong voice is a large part of what makes a book compelling to me.  It's what draws me back to the book over and over again.  Read the first page of The Great Gatsby.  Are you not drawn in immediately?  And the poetry of it!  I want music in the words and Gatsby has that in spades.   

Inspired by the Actor’s Studio, what sound do you love? What sound do you hate?

Love – the birdsong of a Bob White

Hate – Leaf blowers

In ode to Maebelle, the main character in my new book Truth with a Capital T, who keeps a book of little known facts about just about everything, please share a wacky piece of trivia that has stuck with you or please share a little known fact about YOU.

Sophia Tolstoy, (aka Mrs. Leo Tolstoy) hand-copied the manuscript of War and Peace from beginning to end 7 times. 

Would you do that for the significant other in your life or, would you ask him or her to do that for you?

Oh, Maebelle would love that little known fact and she may just ask Isaac to transcribe her notebook 7 times from beginning to end right after learning it. Isaac though wouldn’t go for 7 but I bet he’d type it up once for her.

Sarah, thank you for being with us. Congrats on Passing the Music Down and keeping the history of fiddle music alive and kicking!

Inside the Writer's Studio with Liz Gallagher

Today at Inside the Writer’s Studio we welcome friend and VCFA alumna Liz Gallagher. While in grad school I would often run into Liz in downtown Montpelier at one coffee shop or another. I’d pull up a chair and we’d talk shop and share our thoughts over cups of strong coffee. Liz lives in Seattle and if there is one thing aside from the craft of YA that she knows it is where to get a good cup of Joe.

About the book (from the publisher, Wendy Lamb Books)

My Not So Still Life

Vanessa is wise beyond her years. She's never really fit in at school, where all the kids act and dress the same. She's an artist who expresses her talent in the wacky colors she dyes her hair, her makeup and clothes. She's working on her biggest art project, and counting the days until she's grown up and can really start living. That adult world seems closer when Vanessa gets her dream job at the art supply store, Palette, where she worships the couple who runs it, Oscar and Maye. And she's drawn to a mysterious guy named James, who leads her into new, sometimes risky situations. Is she ready for this world, or not.

Thanks for being with us today Liz. I nabbed an ARC of My Not So Still Life at TLA and I absolutely adore the cover and can’t wait to dig into what I know will be a fine, fine read. Now, on the interview..

How important is community in keeping you inspired? What authors are a part of your virtual and/or hometown community? How do they keep you inspired? How do you inspire them?

Community is a huge part of keeping me inspired! I'm fortunate to have the Vermont College community, which is mostly virtual for me now. Also virtually and via cross-country phone calls when we get a second, I often lean on Lara Zeises to talk out the writing life. 

I'm so lucky to live in Seattle, where lots of other YA and kids' writers also live. I met Kevin Emerson  a few years ago at the coffee shop where we both write. I literally tapped him on the shoulder because the barista told me he wrote for kids too. Ever since, he's been someone I love to bounce ideas back and forth with. Heather Davis and I are close friends. We get together on the weekends to have writing dates, where we work and talk. I have a teen librarian friend, Jackie Parker, who's also fabulous for book chat. Plus, the Seattle chapter of SCBWI is bursting with talented writers who I adore. The Readergirlz Divas and former Divas are a great support for me too. My Not-So-Still Life wouldn't have a name without my writer friends! I literally had Heather, Lara and Jackie stewing on ideas.

Theme can be seen as a dirty word but as writers I believe we all have something to say, something we want to share with the world. What is that something for you?

I agree, I think we all have some idea we're chewing on. For me, it's to do with how every person feels unsure of themselves at some point. And how that's okay. I write about kids whose lives haven't been touched by any major issues, kids who are just going about their lives in a basically happy, well-adjusted way. Yet, these kids still have problems. They aren't sure where they fit in. They feel out of sorts. They might have low self-esteem. Publishers Weekly recently reviewed My Not-So-Still Life and I think they hit the nail on the head when they talked about my main character, Vanessa:

For all the trappings of the outsider indie artist that Vanessa flaunts … she's actually quite insecure, naïve, and--gasp--normal underneath. That is perhaps where Gallagher's story is most successful: demonstrating that even the most outwardly confident teens often still have a lot of growing up to do.

My theme is the universal ways in which growing up isn't easy and isn't something you can rush.

How important is voice in your work? How does “voice” come to you?

Voice is very important to me in my own work and in the work I enjoy. When I see a movie, I might not even be able to tell you the plot points a week later—but I'll be able to tell you how I felt, the mood. And I think the mood of a book is so closely connected to voice. I almost always write in first person. I think that's because I need to hear my character talking in order to know what she's feeling. I want the reader to feel close to her too, so I tend to use the voice reveal my character. 

The voice of Vanessa, the main character in My Not-So-Still Life, came to me when I was writing The Opposite of Invisible. In that book, she's a (semi-)minor character. We only get her voice through dialogue because the story is told in another character's first person narration. So when I started writing MNSSL, I read through everything Vanessa said in the first book. It was tricky because the voice had to get much more intimate for her to narrate her own story. I think having to decode what was going on in her mind when she was talking is how I got to know her as her own strong character. What came out was a lot of short, declarative sentences because she's a confident girl who thinks she knows what she's doing all the time, even when she falters. 

How does “place” come through in your writing? How important is place in this current novel/picture book? Is it tied to a place you once lived or are familiar with or is it a new world entirely?

I want to set all of my stories in real places. Still, I know that the world of the book will be different from the real world. Part of the magic of fiction is making the reader feel as if they've been somewhere specific. I'm definitely inspired by Seattle, where I live. My two published novels are both set here.

I wanted the first book to feel cozy because the main character is in a cocoon of a best friendship. To me, the Seattle rain makes a great stage for that. She's always burrowing into sweatshirt hoods, she's getting warm lattes at real coffee shops, she's curling up under blankets.

I like to think I present a different Seattle in My Not-So-Still Life. It's spring in this book, and the setting is the Ballard neighborhood, where Opposite is set in Fremont. Ballard is very connected to the water, so I made water a favorite thing of Vanessa's family. Her grandfather spends a lot of time in the garden too, which connects to the theme of growth. Vanessa's happy that it's warm enough to wear fishnets instead of tights. Throughout the story, she's looking for cherry blossoms to bloom. She's got an outward vibe where Alice, in Opposite, has an inward one, and I think the two views of Seattle support each character's mood.

Do you have a favorite craft book? If so, what is it? And what is your favorite take away? 

Yes, I do! My favorite craft book is Robert Olen Butler's From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction. I often think about how he says that writing is part of the sensual experience. I think that's where I get a lot of the ideas about setting that I mentioned here. 

Describe your main characters favorite meal? And why do they love it?

Vanessa and her best friend Nick eat a lot of microwave burritos. I think she loves them because she can make them herself, quickly. She wants to be self-sufficient. At a late point in the book, she makes pancakes for her family and that's a big step toward making an effort to be at home in her life rather than to try and grow up to fast and leave the nest.

Be brave. Share a paragraph from a WIP. 

When she wakes up in the night, Livvy shivers. Her blanket is all the protection she has against nightmares and it's not enough. She pulls it up to her nose, but breathing is hard. So she reveals her entire face to whatever unseen things might be in the room. She continues to shiver.

In ode to Maebelle, the main character in my new book Truth with a Capital T, who keeps a book of little known facts about just about everything, please share a wacky piece of trivia that has stuck with you or please share a little known fact about YOU.

Little known fact about me: My mom and I have matching tattoos, the same rose with another little bud. I wanted to get it in honor of her because her middle name is Rose. She decided to get one too, so we went together. I couldn't believe how calm she was! 

Thanks for having me, Bethany! You're definitely part of my virtual community of writers.

Thanks for being here Liz. Aside from devouring your latest book I now want to devour a microwave burrito!