Back to School, Back to Blogging

So, today was back to school day here in Austin. And, I figured that was a good time to get back to blogging. I meant to only be away for a month (Sorry, those who have interviews scheduled with me. I shall be posting them soon!) and I had pre-blogged. 

I was in Maui for much of June and early July. Rough, right? I know. My fiancé had a conference he was hosting at one of the area hotels and we stayed there for two weeks and then spent two weeks in Paia, this funky little hippy town. While there I let myself decompress from the work-a-day world and made my transition into the write-a-day world. I kept up with my editorial duties at Hunger Mountain, and with the work of my one-on-one students, but I took time to breathe again. 

To be Bethany again. 

To explore. To laze on the beach. 

To sip cocktails and read, read, read and write, write, write.

Each day new words found me. I jotted them all down. A week before leaving I had 40 pages down and usually that is the time I take those pages, those mountains of words, and I hit delete. I had found my characters a bit and now I could start again. I could begin.

 Strangely, or not so strangely really, two days before leaving Maui I realized the manuscript I was writing would be a beach book. A summer vacation story which would bring my two MCs to Maui the summer’s after Sophomore year, Junior year, and Senior year. I have always loved beach books and walking through airports have purchased Dorthea Benton Frank and Elin Hildebrand for years (though I can’t read a Nicolas Sparks book I can partake of the movies made from them). I never—never—thought I would write my own beach book.  Those that know me well know that I hate summer. Since I was a kid I felt like summer fun is prescribed and is supposed to be a prescription for all that has ailed ye all year long. Summer fun by definition is giddy and outdoorsy. I am not giddy or outdoorsy. Maui opened me up to see another side of summer—and another side of me. The sunsets, the sunrises, the people, the tropical flowers and afternoon showers all created this opening in me. An opening to do what I wanted—write, watch locals collect seaweed, walk on the beach, hear music, play with kids in the water—splashing and doing tricks. It took me away from myself. From my year round concerns and healed the overworked, treadmill part of me. 

When I arrived back in Austin, about a month ago now, I didn’t find it hard to write but I did find myself resisting blogging. I love to blog. I do. But I needed time for my story to come first. I am now at 100 pages in my RD and feel grounded in where I may be headed. I have been missing blogging. Missing adding my voice to the kid lit conversation. Missing trumpeting the horn of my fellow writers and all their accomplishments. I have missed the in-depth interviews and have some fabulous ones I shall be posting in the weeks to come. I now miss the outer world as much as I missed my inner world before my time away. So, thanks for having me back! 

Next week I will begin a month (or more long) series on Adventures While Teaching, using thoughts I garnered from reading Roger Rosenblatt’s Unless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing.

In Hunger Mountain news:

Look for, later this week, the In Defense of YA Round-Up that was promised to readers back when the whole WSJ brouhaha began in June, as well as a Toolbox piece by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and a sneak-peak into her new novel, Jefferson’s Sons. 

We are still accepting fiction for the fall issue: The Art & Insanity of Creativity. See here to submit and to see guidelines: http://www.hungermtn.org/submit/

The Katherine Paterson Prize has closed (though there is always next year so start polishing those submissions) and the judging is going on now. Who will NBA winner Kimberly Willis Holt choose as the 1k winner??? Keep a look out. 

2012 Winter and Spring Themes to be announced soon as well as those pieces from 2011 that have been selected to be a part of the annual print edition, which will be on sale in bookstores and sent to Hunger Mountain subscribers.

In Awesome Austin, a round up of the summer awesomeness.

Since I last posted two incredible Austin authors have welcomed wee ones (and this time I mean babies—not books). Congrats to Varian and Crystal Johnson on the arrival of Savannah Parker and to Mari Mancussi Beach and Jacob Beach on the arrival of Avalon. 

Get ready for Chronal Engine by Greg Leitich Smith. I have seen some of the cover art and interiors for his 2012 release and this time-traveling dinosaur book is going to knock you out. 

Greg, Vanessa Lee and Jenny Moss pour over a Chronal Engine slideshow

Congrats to Jeannette Larson’s Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore of the Americas illustrated by Adrienne Yorinks being chosen to represent Texas in the National Book Festival. 

 

Three cheers for Tantalize: Kieren’s Story, a new graphic novel by Cynthia Leitich Smith and illustrated by Ming Doyle which releases tomorrow. To get a peak into Cynthia’s process of turning her best-selling novel into a graphic novel with new content see her Hunger Mountain article Going Graphic.  

The Austin Statesman this weekend featured a review of Calli by Jessica Lee Anderson, calling the book: “finely wrought, with emotional twists that will absorb your teen reader.” (14 and up) To see an interview with Jessica, head on over to Carmen Oliver’s blog  and read their in-depth Calli chat. To read a chapter from Jessica’s work-in-progress, check out the Hunger Mountain archives and read Finding Bigfoot.

A big whoo-hoo for the Writer’s League of Texas 2011 Children’s Book Award Finalists:  

Shark Vs. Train by Chris Barton, A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata, Holler Loudly by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy, Betti on the High Wire by Lisa Railsback, and Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber.

And triple woo-hoos for Austinites Cynthia Leitich Smith, Lisa Railsback, and Chris Barton. 

E. Kristin Anderson, Jennifer Ziegler, moi, and Holly Green

I attended the Keep Austen Weird celebration for Austin author Jennifer Ziegler’s new release Sass & Serendipity. Plenty of fun was had by all and with my long gown I won the award as the Most Serendipitous. And for all you Jennifer Ziegler fans go vote for Sass & Serendipity at Justine magazine as your favorite summer read. Vote here. Or read her Hunger Mountain essay, Let There Be Light on the writing of the novel and how Jane Austen influenced her and her work. 

Big rah-rahs for Austinites Shelli Cornelison and Donna Bowman Bratton for signing with Red Fox Literary. See Kathy Teman’s wonderful interview with the folks at Red Fox.

Solstice, the new e-book, by PJ Hoover continues to sizzle this summer. Check out:

 and

I may have missed someone’s accolade (sorry if I did) so don’t miss the Austin SCBWI website where Debbie Gonzales is always celebrating the Austin kid lit writing community’s successes. 

For the Calendar 

Don't miss the Austin Teen Book Festival, Oct. 1st. 

or The Texas Book Festival Oct. 22-23rd.

Latest Content over at Hunger Mountain Young Adults and Chilren's.

Today my Hawaiian vacation comes to an end but the work over at Hunger Mountain never ceases. This week we bring you some powerhouse pieces. Content just officially went live and our first feature by Ellen Levine has already wracked up 30 comments so far.

Here is info from my Welcome From the Editor letter.

This week The Varying Shade of Shadows adds two more features. The first, When, Along with her Characters, an Author Gets In Trouble by Ellen Levine, whose career is varied with award-winning nonfiction and fiction alike, describes running into a wall of silence with her latest book, In Trouble.

The second, The Monster in Us All, by Dr. Ilsa J. Bick is a precursor to Hunger Mountain’s In Defense of YA, which will feature a round up of voices from teen readers, authors, publishers, and parents discussing their reactions to the Wall Street Journal pieces by Megan Cox Gurdon, asking is “Darkness Too Visible?”  We chose to spotlight Ilsa J. Bick’s thoughtful but cutting response  now as she not only disagrees with Megan Cox Gurdon—she also agrees, with certain points, that is. As always, please feel free to weigh in in the comments section of each piece.

For What My Last Book Taught Me, Monika Schröder advises us to Learn to Drive in the Dark as she takes a trip back to discover what her latest novel, My Brother’s Shadow, taught her as a writer.

Lastly, as all the world is a stage, we offer Jest A Minute, which pokes fun at all the dark/light publishing hullabaloo, with a list of Ten Classics Revamped to Capitalize on the Dark  YA Trend (created by none other than moi) and a second list–of Ten New Titles to Please All by author and humorist K. A. Holt.  Read, respond, enjoy!








And for all content, peruse the entire issue, with more pieces yet to come!

Last week The Varying Shade of Shadows invited you into This Writer’s Life: The Politics of Story by Neesha Meminger author of Shine, Coconut Moon and Jazz in Love. Neesha explored and argued, with great clarity, how writing fiction is and always will be a political act. In our Industry Insider we hosted a Q & A with Anita Silvey, author, children’s literature scholar and the creator of the popular Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac.  We also added to our growing list of new fiction with Quarry, a short story by Kevin Waltman that captured the delight and danger in a trip to a forbidden place.


Don’t miss earlier content: a timely FlipSide, The Light and the Dark of It, highlighting Jennifer Ziegler’s Let There Be Light and Clare Dunkle’s On the Dark Side. Both authors had their pieces well in the works before the June 4th Wall Street Journal article by Meghan Cox Gurdon asked the question: Is Darkness Too Visible?.  Also be sure to check out new fiction: Stone Field, a re-imagining of Wuthering Heights, by Christy Lenzi;  Starcatcher, a unique fantasy by Penny Blublaugh author of Blood & Flowers;  Monsters, a surprising and raw read by Jennifer Hubbard;  The Proposal, fiction by Lindsey Lane that dives deep into the hiddenness of our human natures and our desires to be both safe and loved. You can also read earlier features: an exploration of self and sisterhood by Janet Gurtler in Embracing Shadows;  also  In the Half-Light, an essay detailing the shadowy subconscious that aided Hunger Mountain Sneak Peek author Joe Lunievicz in creating his debut novel, Open Wounds (WestSide Books, 2011); the wickedly smart investigation into the use of elision by Janet Fox in The Shadowy Landscape of Dreams Where Reader and Writer Meet. Our Industry Insider Column offers an interview with Elena Mechlin and Joan Slattery in New Faces at Pippin Properties. Be sure to check out the instructive Toolbox piece, Where the Teens Are: 5 Ways to Freshen Up YA Fiction’s Favorite Places from Deborah Halverson, author of the newly released, Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies, and the In Response essay to the Passion for the Picture Book special feature by the outstanding author Liz Garton Scanlon.

So, please stop back often.  Read, respond, share your thoughts, delight in the darkness and luxuriate in the light. They both offer respite and reward. Go ahead, see for yourselves.

Best,
Bethany Hegedus, Editor
Please note: submissions are still open for The Art & Insanity of Creativity issue for fall 2011, and we welcome submissions through our Submissions Manager.  Look for 2012 themes to be announced this fall.

Hunger Mountain: Varying Shade of Shadows--FlipSide and More

Welcome from the Editor (June 12, 2011)

New content at Hunger Mountain is now LIVE. I am enjoying the every two week addition of new material. Aren't you?

This week The Varying Shade of Shadows introduces a timely FlipSide, The Light and the Dark of It, highlighting Jennifer Ziegler’s Let There Be Light and Clare Dunkle’s On the Dark Side. Both authors had their pieces well in the works before the June 4th Wall Street Journal article by Meghan Cox Gurdon asked the question: Is Darkness Too Visible?

While Ziegler and Dunkle do not comment directly on the WSJ article, their essays touch on what draws an author to the lighter side or the darker side–one influenced by Jane Austen, one by Emily Brontë, and each writing true to the way she views the world. That does not mean to say that Hunger Mountain isn’t interested in adding our voice to the conversation sparked by Gurdon’s article. Look for In Defense of YA a report and round-up of authors, teens, librarians, and booksellers who have something to say In Defense of YA coming to Hunger Mountain in early August.

We also welcome two new fiction pieces. Stone Field by Christy Lenzi draws some darker material from Wuthering Heights but contains a uniquely Western setting all its own. Starcatcher, a unique fantasy adds to the canon of works by Penny Blublaugh author of Blood & Flowers.