Check This Out: Charlotte Cuts It Out

Yes, today is the day that I reveal the winners of The Lost Celt. (Click here, if you’re totally confused by that sentence.) But first, please help me greet the still fabulous Kelly Barson, who is back on the blog to talk about her latest contemporary young adult novel, Charlotte Cuts It Out. This book was published by Viking this past April. If you are a regular follower of this blog, you might remember Kelly from this interview a few years ago when her first novel debuted.

 

Kelly is represented by Sara Crowe. Click here to read a synopsis of Charlotte Cuts It Out. We’ll wait till you return. You’re back? Just in time to hear some good news. One of you will win a copy of this book. Now, let’s talk to Kelly.

El Space: Four quick facts about yourself?
Kelly: 1. I’m a grandmother.
2. I—well, my family really—collect antique steam tractors.
3. I’m left-handed and can write in mirror image, like Leonardo Da Vinci.

4. I’m an INFJ who married an ESTP six months and one day after our first date.

El Space: I don’t think I’ve seen a book recently where a teen pursues a vocation. Very refreshing! So, what inspired you to write Charlotte Cuts It Out? I couldn’t help thinking of someone I know who participated in the cosmetology program of her high school. She’s out of high school now and working at a salon in my area.
Kelly: My daughter was a high school cos student. She’s now working as a stylist. Out of my four kids, only one went to college. The other three work in the trades, and each of them got their training while still in high school. Trades are viable career options, and they’re often misrepresented, if presented at all.

El Space: What were the challenges and joys of creating a character like Charlotte, who really seems to know her own mind?
Kelly: Charlotte was both fun and challenging to write. Her sass was fun to write, but the annoying parts of her often mirror my own nature, so that was weird/interesting. The hard part was allowing her to be herself while still trying to present her as somewhat likeable, so readers care. Was I successful? That depends on the reader, I guess. My critical thesis at VCFA was on unlikeable protagonists, but that didn’t make writing one any easier.

El Space: If Charlotte had to create a style palate for Michelle Obama, what would she do first and why?
Kelly: This is hard because Michelle Obama doesn’t really need style help. She is already fierce and awesome. Charlotte (and I) would love to see her hair in its natural curl. She typically has it straightened with a flat iron, and it always looks fabulous, but she could mix it up a bit by going natural now and then. As for colors, she looks amazing in bright jewel tones. She and Barack are a stunning couple who can light up a room. No need to hide that. Her makeup is usually understated and accentuates her beautiful features, which is perfect for her. Oh, man, I’m going to miss her in the White House!

El Space: If you had a chance to name a nail polish color, what name would you choose?
Kelly: This is easy. I did this in Charlotte: Iridescent Iris!

 

El Space: What’s the best writing tip you’ve heard recently?
Kelly: This tip is from the prolific Cori McCarthy (AKA Cori McAwesome): Plot, but then don’t be beholden to it. Cori plots out her books, but isn’t afraid to let the story evolve how it needs to and change the outline as needed. She is fearless.

El Space: What are you working on next?
Kelly: I have several works-in-progress. One is another YA project about a girl and her sister who live with their hoarding grandmother. Another is a dual-POV story that takes place in 1976 and explores affirmative action. I worked on this at VCFA with Rita [Williams-Garcia]. I’m also working on a MG Christmas story. Then there are the stories that are still marinating in my brain space.

Good to have you as my guest, Kelly!

You can find Kelly at her website, Twitter, and Facebook. Charlotte Cuts It Out can be found here:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indiebound

Do you know someone who pursued a trade, rather than attending a liberal arts college? Comment below to be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Charlotte Cuts It Out. (Please comment, even if you don’t know someone.)

Now let’s get to the winners of The Lost Celt by A. E. Conran.

    

Those winners are

Andy of City Jackdaw

and . . .

and . . .

and . . .

Penny of Life on the Cutoff!

Congrats to the winners. Please comment below to confirm. The winner of Charlotte Cuts It Out will be announced on June 13.

Author photo by Hal Folk. Book covers from Goodreads. Michelle Obama photo from africancelebs.com. Iris image from clisawrite.files.wordpress.com. Nail polish photo from Pinterest. Da Vinci mirror writing image from imgarcade.com. Cosmetology student photo from sites.google.com.

Much Ado About Middle Grade Books

A really helpful blog post by my good friend Sharon Van Zandt—“Hemingway’s Way”—and my recent review of several manuscripts for a venue I cannot name at this time prompted this post. You can get to Sharon’s post by clicking on the post’s title. Sharon mentions a tool I used to check my WIP. But I’ll talk more about that later.

First, let me ask you this: When you think of the primary audience of a middle grade book, what age group comes to mind? (If you’re an adult like me who reads middle grade books, maybe you think of yourself. Ha ha! If so, you and I should have ice cream together someday.) Do you think of middle graders—sixth through eighth grade? Makes sense, right? Middle graders—middle grade books.

Here’s where life throws a curve. Middle grade books are for kids in third through sixth grade—kids 8-12. Yes, some middle graders read middle grade books. But young adult books are geared toward middle grade to high school-aged kids—a wide range of readers.

Remember the books you loved as a kid? Middle grade books are typically shorter than young adult books—around 30,000—50,000 words (longer for fantasy books). There are some exceptions, as you’ll quickly note if you’ve read the books in the following list.

Some Middle Grade Books
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

• Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
• The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
• The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

   

• Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
• Kinda Like Brothers by Coe Booth

• Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson
• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• Hope Is a Ferris Wheel by Robin Herrera
• Under the Mermaid Angel by Martha Moore

And many, many others. There are some exceptions to the rules. The Harry Potter series is an exception, because it evolved over time. Its audience spans from children to adults. But this series started off middle grade.

I’m writing a middle grade book with an eleven-year-old protagonist who is about to turn twelve. I don’t pretend to be an expert on middle grade books, so I seek help whenever I can. The tool Sharon’s post mentioned provided one kind of help. It assesses the grade level when you copy into the tool an excerpt from your work.

When I copied several of my paragraphs into the tool, they were assessed at the third and fourth grade levels, which is fitting for a middle grade book. (Whew!)

Another help: the Flesch-Kincaid readability tests, which gauge the ease or difficulty of a passage read in English. Because of these tests, many periodicals and books have been assessed at a sixth grade level. Many middle grade books have a lower readability level than that. Again, there are some exceptions. Classic stories, crossover stories, some fantasy stories, and other stories meant for family reading might score higher.

Recently I read a few middle grade manuscripts with a high vocabulary (around the eighth grade level) that included F-bombs and other profanity, romantic relationships (including the desire for sex), and long passages of introspection. The inclusion of these items shows a lack of understanding about what’s considered appropriate for a middle grade book.

I don’t make the rules. But I’m tasked with enforcing them. And what became apparent to me very quickly was that these authors probably had not read many (or any) books geared toward the age level for which they claimed to write.

Do you know any musicians who never or only seldom listen to the music of others? Sounds ludicrous, right? Yet writing is a discipline that some feel they’ve mastered simply because they’ve written a story, all the while claiming they “don’t have time” to read books. (Or they don’t need to read, since “everyone” can write.)

Want to write a middle grade book? You might start by reading middle grade books—as many as you can get your hands on. Study the pacing, characterization, rhythms of dialogue, and the plots. Check online for the requirements for middle grade books, particularly word count and subject matter. Just because your favorite author could get away with a 90,000-word middle grade book that doesn’t mean you automatically can! And don’t forget that kids like to read about kids older than them, but still close in age. So though your protagonist might be 11 or 12, your core reader might be 8 or 9.

Click here for an excellent post by Marie Lamba on the difference between middle grade books and young adult books. Another good post is by Malinda Lo (click here for it) and this one by Judith Rosen. The latter mentions a bookstore that delineates middle grade fiction books as books for middle graders. 🙂

Click here for a great reading analysis post by Shane Snow.

What are some of your favorite middle grade books?

Book covers from Goodreads and Pinterest. Ice cream from smartcanucks.ca.

Children’s Book Week: Spread the Joy of Reading

Hope the Fourth was with you and you had a pleasant Cinco de Mayo! This week is special in still another way. May 4–10 was officially designated Children’s Book Week by the Children’s Book Council. You can read more about this literacy effort here.

Children’s Book Week poster illustrated by the awesome Grace Lee

I love the idea of a week dedicated to promoting books for kids. After all, A Wrinkle in Time, a book written for kids by Madeleine L’Engle, is what started me on the path to becoming a writer. I was eight years old when I read it, because of the significant adults in my life. My parents were, and still are, readers. They read to fairy tales to me at night and provided books by Dr. Seuss and P. D. Eastman to encourage my brothers and me as we learned to read.

 

Caring librarians also were stalwart champions of books. My elementary school librarian introduced me to Madeleine L’Engle’s books and many others. Also, the children’s librarians at the branch library I frequented in Chicago helped me come home with armloads of books (like Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White).

As I think of such an abundance of books, I can’t help thinking of a scene in the 1996 movie adaptation of Matilda by Roald Dahl (I read the book too), when Matilda discovered the joy of checking books out of the library. She brought home wagonloads. I didn’t have a wagon, but I usually brought home quite a few books each week.

Mara Wilson as Matilda

I love recommending books to kids and teens. So I can’t help feeling sad when kids tell me they don’t read books at all. Some are so swamped at school, they have little downtime at home. Others are nonreaders by choice now, though an occasional book series like the Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling), the Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), or Divergent (Veronica Roth) captured their attention for a little while. Still, I remain an advocate of books in their lives, even if they are content to avoid them.

Book cover by the equally awesome Kazu Kibuishi, who has a wonderful graphic novel series—Amulet. See cover at the end of this post.

This week—or any week—you can be a children’s book champion. Even if you don’t have an opportunity to recommend a book to a kid, you can pick one up for yourself. Connect with a book that makes your inner child sing.

Even supervillains read.

Great books to introduce to a kid:

 

What was your favorite book when you were a kid? What book, if any, would you consider to have been very influential in your life? Why?

Children’s Book Week from usatoday.com. Mara Wilson as Matilda from hellogiggles.com. Most book covers from Goodreads. Harry Potter cover from unademagiaporfavor.blogspot.com. Stacks of books from blogs.hpedsb.on.ca.

Check This Out: 45 Pounds

With me on the blog today is the fabulous Kelly Barson, whose young adult novel, 45 Pounds (More or Less), debuts today, people! Exciting times! And yes, if you’re curious, I know Kelly from VCFA!

  

Kelly is represented by Sara Crowe at Harvey Kilinger, Inc. Her publisher is Viking/Penguin.

Here is a synopsis of 45 Pounds (More or Less):

Here are the numbers of Ann Galardi’s life:

She is 16.
And a size 17.
Her perfect mother is a size 6.
Her aunt Jackie is getting married in 10 weeks and wants Ann to be the bridesmaid.

So Ann makes up her mind:
Time to lose 45 pounds (more or less)
in two and a half months. 

Welcome to the world of infomercial diet plans, endless wedding dance lessons, embarrassing run-ins with the cutest guy Ann’s ever seen—and some surprises about her not-so-perfect mother. 

And don’t forget the last part of the equation: It’s all about feeling comfortable in your own skin—no matter how you add it up!

To celebrate, I’m giving away one copy to a random commenter. More on that later. Let’s talk to Kelly right now!

El Space: Happy Release Day! Please share four quick facts about yourself.
Kelly: I have four dogs and four kids. I love bright colors. I’ve lived in Jackson my whole life—Jackson, Michigan for most of it, except for sixth and part of seventh grade, when I lived in Jackson, Mississippi. I’m both introverted and extraverted, in equal parts.

El Space: When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
Kelly: I don’t remember ever not wanting to write, but I decided to commit to it seriously in 2004, when I was 34. Before that, I thought it was a pie-in-the-sky kind of dream, like being a pro basketball player or an astronaut. It wasn’t until I’d met several other author/friends that I realized that not everyone is Judy Blume or J. K. Rowling, but lots of people are writers, and I could be, too.

El Space: Which authors inspire you? Why?
Kelly: Authors like Rita Williams-Garcia and Cynthia Leitich Smith inspire me because even though they’re accomplished and talented and extremely busy, they always make time to encourage other writers. Children’s lit writers, overall, are a lot more encouraging to their peers than other professions. We focus on camaraderie, rather than competition. I like that. That’s the kind of author I want to be.

 

El Space: What inspired you to write this book? Were the conflicting messages in the media about beauty a help or a hindrance?
Kelly: Both the media and prevailing perceptions of people made it hard. I think overall people are against discrimination on any level, yet when it comes to obesity, there are a lot of misconceptions. I wanted to show that overweight people aren’t lazy or unaware, and that they do care about their health. I wanted to show that the issue isn’t as simple as going on a diet, losing weight, and becoming happy.

El Space: What strengths do you have in common with Ann? How is she different from you?
Kelly: I’m like Ann because when I decide to do something, I commit wholeheartedly. She and I also share the tendency to procrastinate. Our family lives are different, though. My parents never divorced, so I’ve never had step-parents or step-siblings. I did have a kooky grandma, though, who called people “fat ass,” but just like Gram, she wasn’t mean-spirited about it.

El Space: What would you say to teen you if you could?
Kelly: I would tell teen Kelly to lighten up. I took everything too seriously and worried too much what people thought—more like, what I thought they thought. I wish I could invent a magical mirror that showed teen girls how people really see them. Maybe then they could appreciate all they have going for them. Most every teen girl I’ve ever met is prettier than she realizes.

El Space: Ann’s goal is to lose weight for a wedding. Why do you think weddings are such a catalyst for change for those attending (other than the bride and groom)?
Kelly: It’s a tangible goal. A ticking clock is more likely to motivate than a vague idea of “someday.” Besides, wedding pictures last forever, sometimes longer than the marriages themselves, unfortunately. Everyone wants to look their best in them.

El Space: You’re married, but have you ever been a bridesmaid? If so, what was the most fun aspect of that experience?
Kelly: I was a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding, about a year after my wedding. We picked out floral dresses that I imagined I could wear again someday. Don’t we say that a lot? Who ever really wears them again, aside from maybe Halloween? I loved that we also bought the matching hats. I loved that hat. Why, I don’t know. I’ve never worn it since.

El Space: I haven’t worn any of mine either! So, what are you working on now?
Kelly: I’m working on another YA contemporary, again for Viking (Penguin). It’s about a high school cosmetology student who thinks she has her whole life planned and under control, until everything falls apart.

El Space: Cool! What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
Kelly: If you find that subbing to agents and editors isn’t going where you’d like it to, take a break from submitting to really work on craft. Go to workshops. The Highlights Foundation has great ones. There are many others, too. Read tons and tons of great books and not just in your genre. Study them. What makes them great? Never give up writing, and never give up submitting totally. Be bold. You go from unpublished to published in a moment, and you never know when that moment will be.

Thanks, Kelly, for being such an awesome guest today!

Thanks to all who stopped by. You can find Kelly at her website or on Twitter. Also, you can get 45 Pounds (More or Less) here:

Indiebound.org
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Powell’s Books
Anderson’s Bookshop

If you order from Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor, Michigan, you can get it autographed or, for one week only, personalized. For autographed or personalized autograph, please specify in the comments section at checkout.

One of YOU will get a free copy simply by commenting below! This offer is good TODAY only. The drawing is NOT limited to the U.S. Winner to be announced on Sunday.

Author photo by by Hal Folk. Book covers other than 45 Pounds are from Goodreads.