It's Official!

We lined up an awesome program for seven 11th grade English classes. We found six YA authors who graciously gave their time to make this program a success by chatting online with the students. We also have one email interview set up with a New York editor. How cool is that!

Want to know who we got? Check out the list:

Margo Lipschultz
Editor, HQN

Julie A. Harford
Author, If You Could Only Choose Your Mother

Bev Katz Rosenbaum
Author, I Was A Teenage Popsicle & Beyond Cool

Jenny Han
Author, Shug

Judy Gregerson
Author, Bad Girls Club

Jay Asher
Author, Thirteen Reasons Why

Greg Neri
Author, Chess Rumble & Yummy

The chats will be taking place next week and the week after. I'll be posting feedback from the authors. Stop by and see what they had to say about their chats.

What we've been up to...

We've been a bit AWOL it seems, so we thought we'd catch you up with what's happening. After the chat we arranged for Adelle Laudan (see post below), we were contacted by a high school teacher in Louisiana about arranging chats for her five 11th grade English classes. Your YACWW moderators have been busy tracking down authors, editors and passing out invites.

In doing so, we found this website called classof2k7.com that is very cool. It showcases debut YA authors whose books are coming out in 2007. There is a terrific lineup. It's worth scrolling down the list of authors located on the righthand sidebar. Quite a few books are not only edgy but deal with real tough subjects like suicide, abuse, gangs and mental illness. Way cool to see authors not shy away from hard topics.

Once authors get back to me and we have a list, we'll be posting names and their websites so you all can see who they are and what their stories are about. When it's over we hope to have feedback to post on the blog. Cross your fingers that this event goes off successfully.

The Laughs Never End with Author Rhonda Stapleton

I'm so pleased to bring an interview to you with author Rhonda Stapleton. Her book Stripped is a chick lit that has gotten great reviews. Currently, she is actively marketing her YA manuscript and hopes to break into the YA chick lit market with Nibbling Nirvana. We certainly wish her success and hope to hear good news on that front soon. And if you want to get to know Rhonda's wicked sense of humor better, visit her blog.

1. First off, tell us a little about yourself. How did you get into writing YA and why chick lit?

I have two kids and a fiance who keep me busy at home. LOL. I have a Master's degree in English and a Bachelor's degree in English, creative writing. I actually started out as an adult writer--I have an adult chick lit novel and an adult chick lit short story published through Freya's Bower. I started that adult novel as a romantic comedy, then realized chick lit was a better fit for my voice and decided to run with it. A writer friend of mine, Erin McCarthy said I should try writing YA. And she was right--I fell in love with the genre instantly!

2. You write chick lit for adults and for teens. What are the similarities and differences writing for these two markets?

Great question. The similarities for me is the chick lit angle. I tend to have a very conversational tone in my writing, which carries well into both adult and YA. But YA presents its own challenges--writing tight, and channeling how things are for the modern-day teen. It sure ain't Sweet Valley High anymore! :D

3. What is your YA story Nibbling Nirvana about? What are your plans for this novel?

This story is about a flaky, self-centered girl who dies while eating a pulled pork sandwich. So, she becomes a ghost and has to accomplish some good deeds in order to cross over. The idea came about because I choked on a pulled pork sandwich one time--NOT fun. My agent is currently submitting the novel to publishers as we speak! *gulp*

4. Briefly describe, Stupid Cupid, which sounds like a hoot, by the way. In what stage of completion is it?

This story is about a teen who becomes cupid for her school. Of course, she's pretty bad at matchmaking, and some crazy stuff happens. The story is completed and going through revisions right now, and then I'll send it to my agent to see what she thinks.

5. What is it you hope readers take away from your stories?

For me, I hope they feel like they just came away from a funny conversation with a close friend. I like the intimate, close feel of writing. I also write a lot of funny--I just like writing goofy stuff!

6. Do you find it harder or easier to write novels for teens as opposed to adults? Why or why not?

Wow, good question. In a way, I actually find it harder to write for adults. Maybe I'm just a teenager trapped in a woman's body. LOL. But the teen voice just felt right to me.

7. On your website you have "Romance, Fun and lots of Laughter." Is that a principle you live by? How do you not let things get to you?

Oh, absolutely. Doesn't mean I don't flub up and get down sometimes, but I think life is too short to feel bad. I hope when I get really old, I have tons of laugh lines around my eyes and mouth. To me, that's REAL character, you know? Having great memories of laughing so hard, tears pour out of the sides of my eyes. But when I get too down to laugh off my problems, I run right to the Reese's peanut butter cups. My pants hate me for it, though. haha

8. What YA books have you read recently that you loved? Who are some of the YA writers that you like?

I've read several that I loved: Lois Lowry writes some FABULOUS YA stuff--I read The Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger. Her stuff is so simplistic, but beautiful. I also read a great book called The Heavenward Path by Kara Dalkey. Great read--go get it if you love reading about ancient Japan! Hmmmm--I also read Now and Zen, which is set in modern Japan, by Linda Gerber. There are tons in my to-be-read pile, too, including Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I like reading all kinds of YA--historical, funny, serious, etc.

9. If you could be any character from any movie or book, who would you choose to be and why?

This is a cool question. I don't think anyone has asked me that before. SO many people to choose! I'd say someone like Angela Lansbury and investigate crazy happenings (and solve them!!), but it would stink to have people be afraid of you--every time she goes somewhere, someone kicks off. So, maybe Nancy Drew is a better answer. :D

10. When you were growing up, did you dream of becoming a writer? What did you want to be?

Actually, I had about 42,000 different careers I wanted to try, including opera singer (until I went from soprano to alto), deep-sea diver (until I learned about the bends, which freaked me out), a cartoon animator (until my mom made me pass on an art scholarship to a college because it was in another state--wah!), psychologist (until I got preggers and didn't have time to finish all that schooling), and teacher (until I realized I hated the school's education program, haha). I decided on English, finally, because it was a core interest of mine forever. And what I love about writing is that I can be all of these! I can research them, make characters live these roles, and that way, I don't have to pick just one career. Which is great for my other personalities. haha

11. Five years from now, where do you hope to be in your writing career?

I hope to have many YAs written and sold! I'd love to keep moving up, get my books out there, continue growing in my writing and expanding. I think writers need to take an active interest in their own careers, and I plan to do so.

4th Graders Chat with Tween Author Adelle Laudan

On Friday, March 31st, we invited Canadian tween author Adelle Laudan to chat with fourth graders from a Long Island, NY elementary school. Adelle's first book Dee Days will be released in June 2007. She also has started up a website called Tween Time that is dedicated to encouraging young people to write (just like this blog!)

This was our first attempt at bringing together students and an author and I want to share with you the experience. Adelle gives us some feedback from her end, while on the classroom side YA moderator, Sasha, talks about the perspective from the classroom. Despite the glitches, this is a program we would love to continue and expand. Let's hope we can.

Adelle's comments:
1) Did you have any expectations before going into the chat about what the children might ask you? What were they?

I really didn't have any expectations as I've never done anything like this before. Since I have 4 kids of my own, I knew to be prepared for anything when it comes to kids lol

2) Which question impressed you the most?

I think it was the one where they asked me if I ever got writers block and if so, how do I get rid of it lol I guess it's a universal ailment that doesn't JUST affect adult writers.

3) Was there anything not asked or discussed that you wish had been?

All of the questions were great. Of course going over the transcript I wished I have of answered a couple things differently but that's what happens in live chats lol

4) How did this chat format work for you? Would you have liked to have seen anything done differently?

The chat function was very easy to use from my end. I did wish several times that I could see the kids. Maybe a webcam in the future might be an idea.

5) What did you take away from this chat forum?

I must say the think that struck me the most is the questions the kids asked weren't all that different from the quesitons adults ask. I was impressed with the level of maturity of kids so young. I will remember that in my writing when I'm second guessing if my readers will 'get' certain things in my stories.

6) This was the first time for us to do this. I'm really interested in your impressions in order to determine whether we should pursue doing this with other schools (or maybe libraries) and other authors. I'm not sure how feasible it will be, but I think the ability to bring authors together with children is a wonderful way to encourage them in both reading and writing.

I am very dedicated to encouraging the artistic minds in children. How different my life might have been if that were the case in my own childhood. If there is any way I can help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask.
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YA Moderator Sasha organized this event. She worked with the teacher and school to set up the event and was in the classroom when the chat took place on the classroom computer. She has a great deal to share from her perspective. Here is what she has to say:

The teacher and I only told the kids about the chat the day before becuase we didn't want to disappoint them if the author didn't come or we couldn't get the computer equipment to work. So, they didn't have time to prepare. They just winged all of the questions.

For the past months the students had been working on writing a story and publishing it in cute bounded books. They learned about story building, outlining (or story mountains), grammar, drafting, and editing and finally putting it into final format in a book complete with cover and dedication. They finished the books this week.

They did get excited about speaking with an author because they had a lot of questions about what a real author does to prepare and write a story. Sort of like a way to relate all the hard work they had done themselves and then talk to someone who actually did it in the real world. Seemed to validate all their hard work.

The chat didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped because the computer connections were slow and went down half way through. The kids became impatient but once they realized we'd lost connection they settled down. They wanted to talk to Adelle really badly and were into her sending back answers to their questions. Most of the kids were familiar with IM'ing or emails.

Adelle was a great sport. She was patient and answered all of the kids questions. They loved the fact that she had a pot-bellied pig named Jenny and lived in another country. If they could they would have asked a zillion more questions but we ran out of time. Unfortunately, one hour is not enough, especially since we lost about 20 minutes with technical difficulties and the equipment arriving late.

After it was over, I did a quick survey and asked what the kids thought. They all liked it. Thought it was cool and fun. The teacher was impressed and said I could come back anytime, which was really nice. Since it was the last day before spring break it was a nice way to incorporate academics and fun.

I would like to do more in the future but it seems to be a lot of red tape to deal with in schools. I have offered the same program to 4 different teachers and was turned down in one school by the principal but she said to try next year. The other 2 never responded back and the 4th one finally bit. So it is hit or miss. Still, I will keep trying because I think kids really could benefit from it. In a few weeks I'll contact the teacher and ask if she would write a recommendation letter for the program.
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So there you have it. If there are any teachers out there who would be interested in putting on this type of program in the classroom or authors who would enjoy particpating, please contact Sasha.