Caroline Richmond, YA Author

Saturday Six

1.) Justin went to Boston for the weekend, leaving me all alone in windy, windy Maryland. *Insert sad face* As cheesy as it sounds, he is my best friend in the whole world. I miss him terribly when he's gone.

2.) Speaking of Justin, he said the nicest thing to me the other day! A little background info: Justin reads mostly non-fiction. His bookshelf is filled to the brim with tomes on foreign affairs, public policy, and Very Serious History books.

And so, I asked him with a little bit of trepidation if he'd like to read my new YA work-in-progress. It's fiction. It's young adult. It's has a very teen sort of voice. But...Justin simply looked at me and said, "Of course. I'll read anything you write, honey."

Awww.

3.) I think I might NEED to go to Anthropologie tomorrow. I haven't been in nearly two months! What is the world coming to?!

4.) Since my YA dystopian is on hold, I've been working on a new WIP that I'm really loving so far. It's a YA alternate history and I've hesitantly titled it "For The Revolution" because I can't think of anything better.

I've written 40K in about three weeks and I hope to finish it by mid-March. I've never written a book this fast before! My other drafts have taken at least a year to write and so I'm kind of freaking out that I'll hit a major road block at some point. Fingers crossed that won't happen!

5.) On Thursday night, I had dinner with my agent-sisters Jessica Spotswood and Robin Talley. We went to a "chocolate lounge" in DC---and it was simply divine. I ordered this strawberry shortcake for dessert. The basil whipped cream was amazing! Nom nom nom.

6.) I finally registered for my regional SCBWI conference in March! If you're in the DC area, you should definitely think about coming! And let me know if you sign up so we can have lunch together or something!

Lessons Learned From American Idol

Is anyone here a fan of American Idol?

I am! I am! Although the past few seasons have been kind of meh, I'm loving the new judges this year. (J.Lo is very down to earth and Steven Tyler is just so wacky!)

So on Wednesday night, I had American Idol flipped on in the background as I pounded away on my new WIP. I'd write a few paragraphs, then listen in on the auditions. Then I'd write some more, then listen in again.

As the night went on, I couldn't help but notice that the pursuit to becoming a singer with a record deal strangely mirrors the struggle to become a published author. Here are a few similarities I gleaned that night:

1.) Sometimes the timing isn't right.
At the start of the season, a Texan rancher named John Wayne Schulz made a big splash at his audition. But alas, John got the boot last night. I guess the final 24 contestants had too many country singers in the mix, which meant John was sent home.

This same thing goes with books, I believe. Just last week, I decided to shelve my YA dystopian for the time being because the market is simply too saturated. I still believe in this book---and I will work on it again---but my timing is off at this point. Two years ago, dystopians were hot and I think my book (maybe) could have stood out from the crowd. But now? It seems like everyone I talk to has a dystopian in the works or on submission. Alas. Timing can be everything sometimes.

2.) Sometimes you're just not ready.
One of the biggest underdogs this season has been fifteen-year-old Jacee Badeaux. Look at him! Doesn't he look like he's twelve?!

Jacee definitely garnered a lot of fans during Group Night (he was unceremoniously booted out of his first group so he had to scramble to find another) but he didn't make the Final 24. I just don't think the judges thought he was ready. Ultimately, Jacee got cut because he needs a couple more years to development his talents and find his voice.

Again, I think this applies to writing. In early 2009, I finished my MG novel and promptly started querying. Nobody had read my novel or query letter but I knew in my heart that the book was publishable. Ha! Twenty rejections later, I realized my book needed more revisions. And twenty rejections after that, I realized the entire first third of my manuscript needed to be redone.

My book wasn't ready to get an agent at that point. And I don't think I was really ready either. I needed more time to learn how to revise and how to take a critique without becoming a slobbery crying mess. Like Jacee, I needed to develop my skills and talents before I could play with the big girls.

3.) Be unique. Offer something different.
Okay, my favorite contestant this year---hands down---is Paul McDonald. *Fans self* When he started to sing the Beatles' "Blackbird" on Wednesday night, I immediately lost my train of thought and gaped at the television screen.

He was just so different! I had spent most of the night listening to country singers, rocker bad boys, and Christina Aguilera wannabes---so Paul really stood out.

And this applies to writing too! I've read dozens of dozens of YA novels in the past three years and there are times when I start a new book only to get a sense of deja vu. Haven't I seen this plot before? Haven't I gotten to know this protagonist already?

So it pays to be different! For instance, my good friend Ellen Oh recently landed a three-book deal with HarperCollins. The premise of her book? A demon hunter in ancient Korea will stop at nothing to protect her cousin, the young prince, even from the reincarnation of evil itself. How cool is that?! I've never read a book like this before, much less one set in Korea. Thus, I'm not surprised at all that Ellen's book got picked up so quickly.

Anyway, I've just blabbered on for way too many words. Do you of you guys watch American Idol? Who are you rooting for? And any fun plans for this weekend? Justin is going out-of-town so I'm trying to figure out what I should...

"After The Call": Interview with Author Jay Kristoff

A few months ago, I bumped into Jay Kristoff on Absolute Write and I've been a big fan of his blog ever since. Here are a few things you should know about Jay:

1.) He lives in Australia. (I desperately want to visit Australia!)

2.) He received four offers of representation a few months ago and he recently sold his Asian steampunk novel to St. Martin's Press AT AUCTION. (So cool!)

2.) And he is effing hilarious! Seriously. If you don't believe me, here is a snippet of his query letter that he posted on his blog:

My first 50 pages are enclosed. Unfortunately I was unable to include a SASE – I live in Australia and our postal system is run by muppets. I apologize for the inconvenience this will surely cause. Hopefully one day my great sun burnt country will enjoy a postal system not reliant on horse and carriage or koala bears. I hear rumor that we’re getting running water installed next year, which I’m quite looking forward to.

LOL!

I asked Jay if he would do an interview for my blog about how he chose his agent and he graciously agreed. Yay! So without further adieu, here is my interview with Jay!

1.) First off, MEGA CONGRATS on selling your novel at auction! Holy bejesus! Can you tell us about the book that landed you your agent and editor?

STORMDANCER is a dystopian fantasy novel set in steampunk feudal Japan. It was sold in by my superpowered agent, Matt Bialer at SJGA. It’s being published in Spring 2012 by St Martin’s Press (US) Tor UK (UK) and Pan Macmillan (OZ).

Tremble before my 50-word elevator pitch:

The Shōgunate of Shima is verging on environmental collapse; decimated by clockwork mechanization and toxic pollution. Befriending the last griffin alive on the island, a teenaged girl pits herself against the authorities in the hope of seeing her homeland saved, her family freed and the crippled griffin fly again.

2.) Um, wow, your book sounds amazing! An Asian steampunk novel? I'm totally sold! What was your querying process like for this novel?

The process: Research agent on Agent Query/Query Tracker/Absolute Write. Google-fu for interviews. Stalk agent on Twitter. Avoid going through agent’s garbage/breaking into their apartment. Send out query. Check email every five minutes to see if they responded yet. OMG REPLY! (happyface) OH S#!T, REJECTION. (sadface). *insert alcohol here* Rinse. Repeat.

I started querying in early August 2010. According my Spreadsheet of Doom™, I sent a total of 65 queries over 76 days. Funny thing is, I ended up signing with one of the four agents I queried in my very first batch.

At the time I accepted representation, I had 12 Fulls out by request. I ended up getting four offers of representation, resulting in four different hangovers.

3.) "Spreadsheet of Doom"! Hahaha. See guys? I told you Jay was hilarious! Anyway...what sort of sage advice can you offer us peons about the querying process?

Please, please, please don’t query until you’re ready. Believe me, I know the level of excitement you feel when you finish writing a book – you LOVE IT and just want to get it out there. But don’t do it until your query is worthy of Shakespeare and your MS is so polished you can see your face in it.

I didn’t follow this advice.

My first query letter was average, and at the time I sent it out, my manuscript was only 98% there. 2% may not sound like much, but it’s actually the difference between a lapdance and adultery.

So, I sent out an average query, and my sample chapters that still needed that final bit of polish. The results? Most of my first queries got rejections. I realized something was wrong, went back and fixed it, but by that time, I’d already blown my chance with many of my “top picks”. The only reason I landed the awesome agent that I did? Because my first email got lost in the ether and I re-queried with a better letter and a polished MS two months later.

I actually did a big blog post about this a couple of months back: http://misterkristoff.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/thirteen-steps-to-fun-and-profittm/

4.) So you get your first offer...what was your reaction? Scream in elation? Jump for joy? Faint? :)

Air guitar. *Recheck email to make sure I read it right* More air guitar. *Insert alcohol here*

5.) Air guitar + Alcohol = Awesome way to celebrate! So how did the agents offer rep? Via email? Or a cold call?

All offers came in via email. We spoke on the phone afterwards. This may have something to do with the fact that I live in Australia, and most people think we all live like the folk in Mad Max II: The Road Warrior.

6.) Well, yes, this is true. We Americans tend to think that all Aussies have a pet kangaroo and carry around a Crocodile Dundee knife. Heh. :)

Back to the agents! What sort of questions did you ask the offering agents? Which questions did you find to be the most helpful in making a final decision?

I actually had a Big Sheet of Questions printed out to use during the phonecalls, but honestly just ended up chatting. They didn’t feel like business calls, really. But the important questions you need to ask:

· What changes are you proposing? aka, “Don’t touch my babeeeeeeee”

· Where do you plan to try and sell it?

· Are you an editorial agent, or just a numbers person?

· Is this a one book fling, or a career relationship?

Honestly, you just want to chat. You need to click with the agent you sign with. There needs to be a “vibe”. You’ll know it when you feel it. Listen to your instincts.

7.) How did you end up choosing only one agent? Sales record? Client referrals? Phone conversation?

Sales records were all good, and the chats on the phone all went well, so it was very difficult.

Honestly, I think it came down to a conversation I had with Patrick Rothfuss, (NYT bestselling fantasy author, one of Matt’s clients). I’d asked Matt for Patrick’s details because I knew Pat had been under some personal and deadline pressure, and I wanted to hear from someone who had seen Matt working in a situation where things weren’t 100% smooth sailing. We chatted on the phone for about an hour (this was the day before The Wise Man’s Fear was due to his editor btw - Patrick Rothfuss is a legend) and Pat spoke so highly of Matt that I simply couldn’t ignore it. I also spoke to Diana Rowland, who had a hellish journey along the road to publication, and she sang Matt’s praises too.

8.) Yes, I agree 100%! When I was weighing offers, talking to the agents' clients totally helped me to cement my decision as well. (See? Another reason why Jay is brilliant. He agrees with me!)

Looking back now, what sort of advice do you have for writers who find themselves with multiple offers? What should they do? What shouldn't they do?

You should:

· Speak to the agent’s clients. Preferably ones who have been through hard times. Bear in mind that nobody is going to actually badmouth their agent to a stranger, but you’ll be able to pick up on a vibe between people who are “super-happy” and “meh”.

· Get word out to the other agents who have samples by request ASAP. You want to give them as much time as possible to get back to you, but at the same time, you can’t’ keep the agents offering representation waiting. Balancing act here.

· Listen to your instincts. You will know.

You should not:

· Rush your decision. Agents will push you for an answer – this is natural. They want to sign you now, before someone else comes along and woos you away from them. But this is a monumental decision you are making. A decision that can define your career. A decision that needs just as much consideration as “Who am I going to marry?” Treat it with the gravitas it deserves.

· Go with the biggest shop, just because they are the biggest shop. There needs to be something more at play than just numbers.

· Forget to thank all of the agents who offered you representation, especially the ones you didn’t go with. Publishing is a small industry, word travels fast, and being polite, professional and sincere will go a long way towards softening the blow when you tell them you’re signing with someone else.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, Jay! I simply can't wait to read STORMDANCER!

Book Covers That Make Me Go, "WOW."

I'm pretty much one of those people who is embarrassingly attracted to Bright Shiny Objects. Like pretty shoes. Or shiny old cars. Or even that lovely fruit tart just begging to be eaten. Damn those window displays!

My fascination with pretty things certainly extends to book covers as well. Lately, I've noticed quite a few books coming out soon that I'm absolutely drooling over.

Exhibit A: Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

This is a modern retelling of Tristan and Isolde (how cool is that?!) and this cover is making me melt. ZOMG! So beautiful!

Exhibit B: Huntress by Malindo Lo
This book looks all sorts of kick ass. I love how the sword obscures the girl's face and how her hair is blowing in the wind.

Exhibit C: The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

I. Want. This. Dress. (Seriously, where can I get it?!) I can't wait to get my hands on this book since 1.) it sounds awesome and 2.) Saundra is also repped by Jim. Go DGLM clients!

Exhibit D: Blood & Flowers by Penny Blubaugh
I normally don't gravitate to covers with a big face on the front (I think it's a bit overdone) but I simply can't staring at this one. First, the title is really cool and makes me wonder what the book is about. Second, the colors! Vibrant and lovely.

Exhibit E: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin.
This image is so incredibly haunting: the dark water, the flowy white dress, the boy pulling the girl down. Definitely whets my appetite to read the first pages of the book!

Did any of these covers catch your eye as well? Which one is your favorite? And what books have tickled your fancy as of late?

After The Call: Dealing With Envy

"After the Call" is a new feature on my blog! It chronicles what happens after an agent offers you representation: how to choose the right agent, how to communicate with your new agent, what the revision process is like, etc. For previous posts in this series, please see the "After The Call" sidebar to the right.

When I was knee-deep in the query trenches, I often lurked on the blogs of other writers who were knee-deep in querying as well. I'd poke my head in from time to time (okay, every day) to check out how they were doing. Did they get any requests? Any rejections? Any offers of representation?

I'm not proud to say this, but I'd get a serious case of the envies whenever these writers landed an agent. Sure, I was happy for them too--after all, many of them had worked very hard for a very long time to get representation. But that didn't stop the green-eyed monster from perching itself on my shoulder.

I often thought to myself, "Man, if I ever get an agent, I promise myself that I won't feel envious anymore. That's all I want. An agent! I just want someone in the industry who believes in me."

Fast forward a year...

Um, yeah. That didn't happen. When I finally did get myself an agent, I was elated and excited and ecstatic. (Had to think for a minute for another "e" word!) But, of course, the feelings of envy started to trickle in eventually. People went on submission before me. People got interest before me. People got book deals for me. Harumph. Now all I could think was, "Man, if I ever get a book deal, I really won't feel envious again. That's all I want! A book deal!"

It has taken me awhile but I've finally realized that envy is simply part of the writing process. There will always be someone who gets more agent offers than you. There will always be someone who sells more books than you. And there will always be someone who makes a whole lot more money than you. This is an extremely competitive industry. It's inevitable that we'll compare ourselves to others, even when you have a great agent on your side.

But envy doesn't have to rule our lives! Here are three steps that I've taken to help combat envy:

1.) Be grateful.
Some writers get book deals in a matter of weeks. Or days. And some of these writers get deals for lots and lots of money. I am incredibly envious of these people!

Whenever this feeling trickles into my bones, I try to focus on the good things I have on my side: a supportive husband, great friends who push me along, and a fantastic agent who's enthusiastic about my work. Sometimes, I replay the moment in my mind when I signed my contract with DGLM. I was so giddy that day! Giggly, happy, joyful. Whether or not my book sells, I got a great agent out of it. That's something to be grateful for, right?

2.) Get to know the writers you envy.
There are some writers who seem to have it so easy: they land an agent in a matter of weeks, they get a book deal in a matter of days. *Envy Alert! Envy Alert!* It's really easy to become jealous of them, isn't it?

Whenever I start feeling envious of a particular writer, I try to read her blog and to follow her on Twitter. Once I get to know this writer a little more, I often realize that she is so nice and so funny and so willing to help others. *Envy Alert Subsides* How can I be envious of someone who truly deserves all of her successes? (This is when I start to feel guilty, a known side effect of the envies.)

3.) Take a break.
Sometimes envy mixes with a little bit depression. Maybe your agent doesn't dig your second manuscript. Or maybe you have to finally shelve your book on submission. Either way, this is a very bad combo.

There have been a couple times when I've felt this way and I only know of one good remedy: STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER. Take a break. No internet, no writing. Just enjoy your life. (Sometimes I wonder: Do I even have a life outside of writing?!) Cook a nice dinner. Watch a movie with someone you love. Basically, regenerate!

I can't believe I'm saying this but here goes... Writing isn't everything. There are times when I think it is---when I'm willing to trade my left arm in order to sell my book---but writing isn't everything. I love writing, but I love my husband more. I love writing, but I love my mental health more. So if writing is turning you into a depressed green-eyed monster, take a break for a few days. Or weeks. Or months. You can't be a good writer when you're not taking care of yourself.

So there you have it! Don't be envious! Beat that green-eyed monster with a stick!

Have a great weekend!

An Award! An Award!

My little blog has been given a Stylish Blogger Award! Ohhhh, shiny...

First, I must thank the funny and fabulous Rick Lipman of Coffee. Life. Love. for gifting my blog with this award! Rick and I have been chatting on Twitter for the past few weeks and his tweets are always hilarious and entertaining. (Do you follow Rick on Twitter? You should!) And Rick even lives in the DC area! One of these days, I'm gonna have to meet him in person so we can talk books and writing and his adventures in training kids for the circus. :)

Anyway, there are certain rules in receiving this award and they are as follows:

* Thank and link back to the person that gave you the award. (Check!)
* Share seven things about yourself. (See below.)
* Pass the award to ten bloggers that you think deserve it. (See below as well.)
* Lastly, contact all of the bloggers. (Will do.)

Seven Things About Me
1.) I am an unabashed mega fan of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." I have seen every episode multiple times and I even visited the "Star Trek Experience" in Las Vegas. Beam me up, Chief O'Brien!

2.) As stated in my blog bio, I abhor pancakes and waffles and French toast. So weird, right? I just never developed a taste for maple syrup.

3.) I am Chinese, but I'm mistaken for Korean all the time. Korean people often come up to me and start talking to me in Korean. I'm not kidding!

4.) My high school choir sang in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is one of the fondest memories of my life.

5.) ~~When I worked at the Smithsonian, I once walked around my office for an entire day~~ ~~with a big stain on my ass. This is certainly not one of my fondest memories.~~

ETA: My husband says the above information is too gross. I'm sorry if this is the case. I have no filter. Ha!

6.) My little sister is nine years younger than I am, but we're super close. My husband calls us the "Giggle Twins" because we act like we're pre-teens whenever we hang out.

7.) I am a champion sleeper. A few years ago, I slept for twenty hours straight!

And now, I would like to bequeath the Stylish Blogger Award on ten unsuspecting people!

1.) Erin Bowman
2.) Lynn Colt
3.) Tracey Nethercott
4.) Lisa Tingey
5.) Jeff Hirsch
6.) Marquita Hockaday & Pam Harris (They share a blog!)
7.) Amparo Ortiz
8.) Ian Bontems
9.) Corinne Duyvis
10.) Lindsay Currie

Yay!

The Worst Valentine's Day Ever

For a long, long time, I hated Valentine's Day.

See, I was kind of awkward-looking in middle school, high school, and college (oh man, I totally gained the Freshman 15 and then the Sophomore 15...) so I was always Valentine-less on Valentine's Day. Whenever this holiday rolled around, I'd often duck into the library to study or lock myself in my room for a pity party. What fun it was!

During my senior year in college, I found myself without a boyfriend yet again---and most of my roommates found themselves single as well. Huzzah! At least we could suffer through Valentine's Day together, right?

So on that fateful Valentine's Day in 2004, we ordered a pizza and sat around in our living room to talk about 1.) how much we hated boys, and 2.) how much we hated our roommate Christina*. Christina, you see, was the CRAZIEST ROOMMATE on the planet. She was passive aggressive. She was a total martyr. And she loved playing the whole "My life is so hard because I can't get into the musical theater program" card. In short, we all wanted to strangle her.

But as fate would have it, Christina had managed to convince a boy to become her boyfriend, which meant even she had plans for Valentine's Day! My roommates and I---who were perfectly sane and not the least bitter---thought this was a terrible injustice.

So there we were---sitting on the couch and lamenting about boys and berating ourselves for not coming up with a better plan for V-Day. (Apparently, we thought ordering pizza would be enough.) About halfway into our conversation, another roommate of ours joined in on our pity party and we proceeded to talk about literature, which made sense since most of us were English majors or minors.

And this is when our Valentine's Day became the Worst Valentine's Day Ever.

One of my roommates, Emmy*, started talking about the novel 1984 and how it made her feel uncomfortable. (Emmy was the lone non-English major of the bunch.) The rest of us were a little taken back. 1984? Really? So we prodded Emmy a little further. Why didn't she like 1984? What was it that made her uncomfortable? We went on the offensive. Emmy got a little defensive. And finally, Emmy admitted that...

She did not think 1984 was appropriate for a high school audience.

Jaws dropped. Emotions spiked. Teeth were gnashed. We told Emmy that 1984 was a classic and she was simply too sensitive. Eventually, Emmy started crying. (Not our most shining of moments.)

That night, we all went to bed grumpy and miffed and still hating boys.

It was, seriously, the weirdest Valentine's Day experience of my life. And I don't even like 1984 that much!

So what's your worst/weirdest Valentine's Day experience? And do you have any fun plans for today? Justin and I are going to watch the King's Speech and trying out a new restaurant in Bethesda. We shall not talk about George Orwell. :)

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent. (Although "Christina" is far from innocent. She's still a crazy bitch in my book!)

The Writing Meltdown Explained

I've always been a big proponent of writing what you love.

When I started drafting my first novel, I didn't worry too much that most editors weren't looking for space operas. I just wrote what I loved---namely, aliens and spaceships and intergalactic battles---and I was fortunate enough to find an agent who loved my book as well.

I used this same mantra to tackle my next project, a YA dystopian. Now, I recognized that this genre was very trendy due to the popularity of The Hunger Games, but I decided to write my novel anyway. Why would I do such a crazy thing? Because I loved the book's premise and because the story itself was bursting to be written.

But a few days ago, I got some sobering news that really shook my confidence in my novel. It ain't easy to sell a YA dystopian these days---I knew that---but I suppose this sentiment didn't really sink into my heart until this past Tuesday afternoon.

So I panicked. And I fretted. Should I scrap the book I loved due to market saturation? I was confused and frustrated and sad. I had poured so much of myself into this book---specifically, my angst about becoming a mother and my issues with my religion---and I was nearly finished with the first draft. The thought of throwing it away made me want to cry.

After a few days of contemplation though, I think I've decided what I need to do. I'm going to finish my book and then assess it. If I feel it can stand out from the crowd, then I'm going to edit the shit out of the book and send it to my agent. But if I feel that it falls flat, then I'm going to shelve the novel for now and work on my new WIP.

Shelving this manuscript will be tough, of course, but I'll do what I have to do. After all, publishing is a business and my books are my products. The last thing I want is a product that won't sell, right?

Does that sound really cynical? Gosh, I hope not. At the end of the day, I consider myself a ridiculously optimistic and hopeful person. And I still believe strongly that you have to write what you love.

But now, I'd add a caveat to that: you gotta write what you love AND you gotta keep trends in mind.

On that happy note, I'm going to have myself a bowl of ice cream!

Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the ballet flat giveaway is...

LISA!

Yay! My Gap flats have found a new home! I'll email you so I can get your address. :)

Thank you to all those who entered!

Writing Meltdown? Retail Therapy to the Rescue!

My shoe giveaway is still open! If you'd like to win a free pair of Gap ballet flats (size 8), please leave a comment here!

I had a writing meltdown yesterday. Okay, it was more of a mini-meltdown. No wailing or gnashing of teeth. But a few tears? Yeah.

Whenever I get down, there's one thing that always makes me feel better.

Shopping!

Shoes, bags, cute sweaters, adorable dresses. I might not buy anything, but the act of shopping makes me forget my woes. At least for little while.

So last night, I decided to do some online perusing of purses. I've been meaning to get a new bag for a few weeks now so I had a lot of fun poking around different websites.

Purse #1
I've really been hankering for spring to arrive and I think this would be a great purse for warmer weather. Lovely color! Although I worry that I'd get it dirty...

Purse #2
I don't have a brown purse and I think this is was adorable. Love the pattern in the leather!

Purse #3
I love the splash of bright orange on this purse. Fun!

Purse #4
I've been eying this purse for awhile now--I love bows!--but I worry if it would match the clothing in my wardrobe.

Which one do you like the most? And what are you hankering to buy these days?

The Best Book I Read in January

January was a travelin' month for me (Hawaii and Indiana) and so I had plenty of time to read on my flights. This may sound weird, but I get giddy whenever I pack books for trips. (Books to devour! Nom nom!) I truly can't imagine a good vacation without a few great books to read.

Okay, enough rambling... I read eight books in January and they are as follows:

1.) The Aquariums of Pyongyang by Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre Rigoulot (Memoir)
2.) The Wave by Susan Casey (Non-fiction, Science)
3.) Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford (YA contemporary)
4.) The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (Historical fiction)
5.) Across the Universe by Beth Revis (YA science fiction)
6.) Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready (YA urban fantasy)
7.) The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy (YA contemporary)
8.) Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook (YA contemporary)

There are some fantastic books in the above list---for instance, I loved learning about rogue giant waves in The Wave---but there was one book that I simply devoured because it was so deliciously written. Without further adieu, the best book I read in January was...Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters!

Here's the product description from Amazon:

The Sullivan sisters have a big problem. On Christmas Day their rich and imperious grandmother gathers the family and announces that she will soon die . . .and has cut the entire family out of her will. Since she is the source of almost all their income, this means they will soon be penniless.

Someone in the family has offended her deeply. If that person comes forward with a confession of her (or his) crime, submitted in writing to her lawyer by New Year's Day, she will reinstate the family in her will. Or at least consider it.

And so the confessions begin....

The book is broken into three main parts in which each of the Sullivan sisters confess their sins to their Grandmother. Norrie, the oldest, confesses how she meets an older guy who makes her want to throw her cautious nature out the window. Jane, the middle sister, confesses that she started a blog, MyEvilFamily.com, to chronicle the sins and transgressions of her family. And Sassy, the youngest sister, confesses that she may have super-powers and that she has been hiding a terrible secret.

This novel could have easily fallen into trap of certain YA contemporary novels---too slick, too unrealistic, and too shallow. But Confessions is none of these things. This book is clever and funny and wonderfully written to capture the rich-yet-eccentric lives of the Sullivan family. The pacing moves along steadily and I simply had to find out who had offended Almighty. (Everyone in the family addresses the grandmother as "Almighty." Ha! Isn't that great?)

A fun and fantastic read!

I want DC. He wants Montana. Where the HELL will we live?!

My husband and I agree on a lot of things.

A deep love of books, for instance.
A passion for travel.
The number of kids we'd like to have.
Creme brulee. (We both agree it is very delicious.)
Politics. (Well, mostly agree.)

Of course, there are a lot of things we disagree on as well.

What types of books we read. (Me = Fiction. Him = Non-fiction)
What sort of TV shows we like.
And where we should settle down.

See, Justin grew up in rural Indiana (AKA The Boondocks) so he loves wide open spaces and lots of land that sprawls outward for acres upon acres. On the other hand, I grew up right outside of Washington, DC (AKA Awesomeness) and so I love metropolitan areas with yummy ethnic restaurants, plenty of things to do, and a healthy minority population so I don't feel like an Asian freak.

Due to our very different upbringings, Justin and I have had a really hard time figuring out where we should eventually settle down and raise our large brood of two children. He wants Montana or New Mexico. I want Maryland or Virginia or DC. We. Cannot. Agree.

But we can try to compromise, right? And so, we've been brainstorming ideas on where we should live. We think Denver could be a good compromise.

Or Portland, Oregon.

Maybe I could grow to love the mountains and open spaces and the West? Hmm... As long as there's good restaurants and an Anthropologie!

Of course, the best case scenario would be for me to sell my book for a million dollars so we can spend half the year in Old Town Alexandria (the cutest city ever just south of DC) and half the year in western Montana. Now THAT would be pure awesomeness.

Old Town!

Beautiful Missoula!

So where would you settle down if money wasn't a factor? And where do you think Justin and I should live? :)

Giveaway: Who Wants a Free Pair of Ballet Flats?

I was rummaging through my closet last night when I happened across an adorable pair of Gap ballet flats. (As seen above.) I frowned when I saw these shoes and let out a sigh.

"You are so cute!" I said to them wistfully. "But you're too small for me. Alas!"

Then, the shoes looked up at me with their sad eyes and said, "Indeed we are cute and adorable---and it's not our fault your toes are so long! We're wasting our potential here. The world needs to see our cuteness!"

Such rude shoes! But they were right. They're wasting away in my closet and thus preventing the world from cooing at their cuteness.

So I decided to give them away on my blog! For free! All you have to do to enter are these two simple things:

1.) Follow my blog!

2.) Leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you in case you win!

Bonus: You'll get an extra entry for each time you spread the word about the contest. Twitter, blogging, Facebook, etc. Just let me know in the comments! (Unfortunately, this contest is only open to people living in the U.S.)

This contest will be open until Wednesday, February 9th, at 11:59PM!

Here are the details:

Brand: Gap
Size: 8
Color: Evergreen
Condition: Like new. I wore these shoes a grand total of...two times!

As a disclaimer, these shoes run a tad small. I think they will fit nicely if you're a 7.5 or a true 8, but they'll be uncomfortable if your feet are any larger. (Damn it! I love these shoes!)

Please give these adorable shoes a good new home!

"After The Call": That Pesky Thing Called a Referral

After The Call is a series on my blog that chronicles what happens after you get an offer of representation from a literary agent. I aim to answer questions concerning multiple offers, communication, revisions, and even how to break up with an agent. For previous posts in this series, please check out the "After The Call" sidebar.

Referrals = Referring someone to your agent.

As in: "Dear Agent Jim, Please read my friend's butterfly-werewolf-fairy novel! She is awesome and so is her book!"

Referrals are a great way to bring quality manuscripts to your agent's attention. Plus, it's a nice way to help out your fellow writers---if your critique partner has written something totally AMAZE-BALLS then a referral from you could be her foot in the door. Huzzah!

Sounds so easy, right? Well...not so easy for me. See, I languished over this whole referral thing when I initially signed with Jim. First of all, I was a new client and I didn't want to bother him too much. Second, I wasn't sure how to make a referral without hurting someone's feelings. I'm in critique groups. What if I referred one member but not the others? Wouldn't they feel slighted? And third, what if I referred a book to Jim and he didn't like it and then he thought my taste in books was awful?! Eeek!

Ha! Melodrama. It rules my life.

And so, I decided that I wouldn't make any referrals for the time being. I'd wait until I established a longer-term relationship with my agent before sending any manuscripts his way.

But then something happened. A writer sent me an email to ask a few questions about Jim. Did I like working with him? What sort of books was he seeking at the moment? Did I think the writer should send Jim a query? I shot off a quick response and said something like, "Yeah, you should query Jim if you want to! I think he reps what you write."

A few weeks thereafter, I got another email from this writer. He let me know that Jim had requested his full manuscript and he thanked me profusely for referring him to my agent. My jaw dropped. My stomach churned. I wanted to stick my head inside my laptop and shout: "Dear Lord Baby Jesus! I didn't refer you to Jim! Gah!"

I emailed Jim and apologized. I was so worried! And mad! But Jim told me not to worry and that this sort of thing happens more often than not. Phew! Relief set in. Then, I rounded my shoulders and sent another email to Jim, telling him that I would give him a heads-up in the future if I was sending any referrals in his direction. This way, he could be sure if I was really referring someone or not.

Concerning referrals... Learn from my mistakes!

1.) Talk to your agent about her referral policy. If you decide to make a referral, how should you let your agent know about it? What are her preferences in this regard?

2.) Tell your agent that you will email him if you are referring another writer. This will help your agent discern between a real referral and a made-up one.

3.) Don't be afraid to be direct. Looking back now, I realize that I could've been more direct with the writer who asked me questions about Jim. I could've said something like, "You are more than welcome to send Jim a query, but please know that I am unable to make any referrals at the moment." It could have saved me a lot of grief.

Any questions out there? If you have an agent, what is your policy concerning referrals?

Let's Talk About Teen Sex, Baby

So I wrote this post a few months ago but I never posted it for some reason! I think it's an interesting topic though so I decided to pluck it out of my Drafts folder.

According to the Kinsey Institute, about 65% of teens have sex by the time they are 18.

Whoa. Sixty-five percent? That's nearly two thirds! (I wonder what percentage of my high school class was sexually active? Perhaps higher than people were letting on.)

I've been thinking about teen sex today because I just finished Kody Keplinger's THE DUFF. If you haven't heard about this snarky/engaging/thought-provoking novel, then you might want to check it out.

THE DUFF follows seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper as her life goes down the crapper. Her parents are splitting up. Her dad is drinking again. And Bianca just needs an escape. So she starts a fling with her school's resident man-whore, Wesley, to forget about her troubles. (Even though Wesley initially dubs Bianca "The Duff": The Designated Ugly Fat Friend.)

And, yes indeed, there are quite a few sex scenes in this book. The novel doesn't get too graphic in its details (disclaimer: I've read numerous trashy romance novels so it takes a lot for me to blush!) but it still deals with the topic of sex very openly.

For Bianca, sex is complicated.
Sometimes it makes her feel dirty.
Sometimes it makes her feel free and alive.
And sometimes it makes her feel all of these things--free and wonderful and dirty--all at the same time.

Now that I've finished the book, I give big props to Keplinger for weaving sex into her story yet refraining from attaching an overt message to it. There's no "Sex is SO empowering!" or "Sex is SO bad!" stuff. Which I found really refreshing. Sex is a part of Bianca's life--just as it's a part of millions of teenagers' lives. Simple as that.

But some people disagree. After perusing the reviews on Amazon, I noticed a few readers thought that the sex was gratuitous in THE DUFF and not quite suitable for the YA audience. Certainly, this novel has stirred a lot of emotions and opinions in its readers!

So what do you guys think?
What are the boundaries when it comes to sex in YA?
Are there any boundaries?
Do YA authors have a responsibility over their readers in regards to sex? (For instance, Bianca and Wesley always practice safe sex in THE DUFF.)