~~~Lara Zielin~~~

We have more winners! Thanks to everyone who left a comment on Jon Yang’s awesome post. I enlisted the help of my neatoreato friend Brandon to choose the winners and they are: Grace and Elena! Congratulations!

Next week is *gulp* the actual launch week of DONUT DAYS and I’ll have not one but two more guest posts and contests. On Monday, Rhonda Stapleton, author of STUPID CUPID, will stop by. And on August 6, the book’s actual debut date, the amazing Melissa Schorr will be posting, which is a huge honor and totally perfect because her book, GOY CRAZY, was totally inspiring to me.

So much great stuff! So little time! Aaaaaa!

I lurve Jon Yang. And not just because he’s cute and funny and smart. I lurve him because he somehow managed to create the absolute girliest character I’ve read in a long time in his book, EXCLUSIVELY CHLOE. And no, I’m not mixing up my pronouns here. Jon is a guy. Who likes basketball. And video games. So I had to ask Jon … how did you do it? Jon has some great things to say about finding the voice in your book that’s right for you, even if it seems like it shouldn’t be. Leave a comment to be eligible to win a signed copy of EXCLUSIVELY CHLOE, as well as a $10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card. Two prizes today! Woot!

Without further ado, I give you the fabulous and wonderful Jon Yang!

“You’re writing what?!”  That was pretty much the reaction from everyone when they found out I was writing a book about a teenage girl, from her perspective no less.  “What do you know about being a teen girl?”  Cue laughter.  On the surface, they had a point.  How does one find the voice of a teenage girl when you’ve never been one? 

That was the challenge I faced writing Exclusively Chloe.  It wasn’t just about thinking like a teen girl, but sounding like one.  And it wasn’t just all “like’s” and “umm’s” and “ohmigod’s,” despite popular opinion.

My fallback answer defending my tween girlness was that I’d grown up with a twin sister.  Through her, I was exposed to teen girls of all types.  I watched my sister’s favorite television shows, read her library of books, flipped through her magazines, and sometimes (when she wasn’t too embarassed), I met her friends.  Growing up, I was surrounded by girls.

And the thing people tend to forget is that teen boys are always, always, studying teen girls.  In fact, teen boys probably know more about teen girls from an observational standpoint than anyone else because they’re constantly mystified and intrigued.  I just happened to have the benefit of some insider knowledge since I could ask my sister, “So, when girls get together and whisper in a huddle, what are you talking about?”  Plus maybe I broke into her diary once or twice.  

Maybe.

Translating all that knowledge and experience into a fictional creation however, was a bit tougher.  In preparation for creating a world of teenage girls, I consumed as much teen media as I could — excepting books.  I went out and watched High School Musicals, ran through a couple Disney channel marathons, followed Mia Thermopolis through all her big screen adventures, and immersed myself in what teens today were into.  Then I went back and went through my generation’s classics, with “Clueless” being a key touchstone.  I left out reading teen books, because, well, I didn’t know that much about them at the time.  It was only after I was close to completing Exclusively Chloe that I started reading a lot of YA fiction.  Tragic, I know.

Through it all, I paid careful attention to how teenage girls interacted with each other.  Truth be told, it wasn’t that different than how women in general interacted with each other.  They got excited, they told stories, they said supportive things at the right times, they took each other’s problems into their hearts.  And of course sometimes they sniped at each other, got emotionally distant, love/hated/loved, and oftentimes felt misunderstood.  But wait, boys feel this way too!  As a card carrying member of the boy community, I can safely say that boys go through almost exactly the same things girls do, they just express them differently.  As in, sometimes they can’t express it at all, or they do so poorly.

What a relief then, to write as a teen girl and be able to express things, to start one paragraph with an introspective question, work through five possible answers, and then end up back at the original question with no solutions but feeling like a step forward was taken.  

I had initially thought I would have to put on the role of a teenage girl, complete with dialogue, physical action, poignant voiceovers, and foreign motivations.  But as it turned out, I didn’t have to remove myself from the equation.

I mean, I had first hand knowledge of the things Chloe-Grace struggled with.  Questions of identity, friendship, family, and individuality have touched everyone right?  If I wanted Chloe-Grace to sound truthful and authentic, I found it best to just write as me.  Sure, she might be more into shopping and boys but at the end of the day, we related and connected and it felt a lot more honest to allow her personality to express herself through me, as opposed to trying to eliminate my own voice altogether.

So finding your writing voice?  Well, I say look inside and there’s a good chance it’s there already, you just have to let it out.  Like, ohmigod.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: This wedding video has mostly made the rounds on the interwebz, but I don’t care. I love it so, so much. It is pure joy and happiness.

Hey look, I’m in the paper! This really sweet (no donut pun intended) article just ran in the Ann Arbor Observer. I like the text, but the photo totally had me at hello! Great freakin’ hair day if I do say so myself.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: I’m still in vacation mode, so I vote for this sangria recipe, which I lurve, and which is perfect for summer. If you’re reading this and not 21, please make the virgin version.

I’ve been off the blog for a while because we went to Block Island for a vacation with our good friends John and Colleen. We sat in the sun, drank and ate yummy things, shopped, biked, and generally did whatever we felt like for an entire week. It was bliss.

Needless to say, I feel like my head is back to being screwed on straight, and I feel not just ready but totally pumped for DONUT DAYS to launch in just over a week. This Wednesday, July 29, I have a “Teen Ink” workshop at the Waterfod Public Library if any of you can come. The focus will be explaining to teens how to take the first steps to seeing their writing in print. And I’ll be doing a DONUT DAYS reading and signing as well.

Also this week, the “Six Writers, Six Weeks” contest will continue in full force. So be on the lookout for more giveaways!

Onward ho!

Rebekah Murray! Congratulations on winning a $10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card just by leaving a comment on larawrites.com! Yay! I know where you work (a-hem) so I’ll get you the card asap.

Thanks so much everyone who left a comment on Peter’s awesome post yesterday. Next week we’ll feature the fabulous and amazing Jon Yang, author of EXCLUSIVELY CHLOE, who is also offering up a signed copy of his book as a prize, in addition to another $10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card.

Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth.

Like many writers do today, Peter Jurich and I found each other on the interwebz. I immediately liked how real he was. Like, really real. His blog talks about his life’s journey recovering from strokes at a young age, which is also chronicled in his book, TYPING WITH ONE HAND.

After I started reading about Peter’s life and publishing process I had a lot of questions, and Peter was kind enough to let me e-interview him. Read on for the full interview below and, as always, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a $10 gift card from Dunkin Donuts! Woot!

When did you first begin to write your memoir? How long did it take you?

First of all, thank you for hosting me on my blog book tour. It’s great having an alternative when you can’t afford to travel for a real one.

I began writing “Typing With One Hand” in October 2005 and wrapped it up about two years later in August 2007. It would have taken me a shorter amount of time, but I’m an extremely undisciplined person and would take naps during the time that I set aside for writing.

Have you shopped your memoir around to agents and editors? What finally made you decide to self-publish?

I did shop my work around, but that did not prove as successful as I’d hoped. I’m not sure how much of that was due to the quality of my work so much as I’m a no name 23-year-old with virtually no credentials.

I had no plans to self-publish; only to keep sending out queries. My friend Luke (www.lukejduncan.com) had another idea, however, after he’d noticed my face became particularly gaunt. He suggested that I post the manuscript online for free using a Blogspot account. At first I was against it, but eventually swallowed my pride a bit.

The website, www.typingwithonehand.com, made all the difference. Suddenly, people from around the world were reading my work and emailing me suggestions. Because I was so open about my personal life, total strangers were opening up to me about theirs like I was their cybertherapist. The website gave me my confidence back and one reader told me he would gladly buy the book should it ever become available. That’s when I decided to look into self-publishing and print-on-demand services.

What has the process of self-publishing been like for you?

The process has been entirely rewarding. By having a physical product, I’ve met some very invaluable people. The income does not only come through book sales either: In August last year, I sold an article to Writer’s Digest Magazine about posting your work online for free; and the University of Michigan-Dearborn paid me to give a speech on the same topic. It’s been a wild ride.

Another asset comes in having control over the product. I’ve heard horror stories from both authors and journalists about editors who chop up their writing so much, it doesn’t even feel like they wrote it. While anybody’s work can benefit from an editor, at least I know that every word is mine and that the cover and title stay the same because I want them to. There is a great deal of pride in that comes with doing everything by yourself and with close friends — and still being exceedingly happy with the final product.

Authors like William P. Young (THE SHACK) and James Redfield (THE CELESTINE PROPHECY) have found great success with their self-published books. What lessons have you gleaned, if any, from the way they’ve broken into the market?

My journalism professor recently looked over my resume and noticed that I included my “self-published memoir.” He emphasized self-published and told me to get rid of it. “That’s like the kiss of death,” he said. Why would he say that? Isn’t the fact that I’ve authored a book reputable enough?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. With so many means of production and distribution today, literally anyone with a little computer savvy can become a published author. That means there is a lot of bad material out there. As unfortunate as it sounds, it heavily outweighs the good stuff. Last year, a popular self-publisher — I believe it was iUniverse — estimated that about 40% of its book sales were its authors buying their own work. Self-published books rarely gets noticed.

What anyone can take away from the success stories of Young and Redfield is that good writing can transcend that stigma. Print-on-Demand service is becoming more and more popular these days, increasing about 30% per year, which mean it is that much more important to write something that will really stand out. Young and Redford may have at one point taken the path less travelled, but since then, it has been trampled through much more than expected.

In fact, I heard the Department of Transportation has plans to pave it.

What’s next for you? (Are you writing something else or focusing on promoting TYPING?)

The fun — and exhausting — thing about being a writer is that there is ALWAYS something next. Oftentimes, whether you like it or not. There’s a story everywhere!

But to more accurately answer your question, yes, I am working on another project that, for now, is titled “Amsterdam.” This one is fiction and it takes place in Southeast Michigan. Seeing as Detroit is kind of on everybody’s radar these days for any number of reasons — the saga of Kwame Kilpatrick, the declining auto industy, shotty education system, the diva City Council President who finally stepped down on bribery charges — I figure it is the perfect landscape for a novel. I don’t have all of the details worked out, but I’m pretty sure it will include a little bit of all of those reasons.

In fact, when you order a copy of “Typing” from my website, www.typingwithonehand.com, the book comes with the first chapter of “Amsterdam” at the end!

The promotion is something I am doing now because I haven’t had the chance to in the last year. School had stolen much of my energy. I’m trying to use my time off until September as much as possible.

What advice would you give to other self-published authors out there?

There is absolutely no shame in self-publishing. More and more beginning authors are finding comfort in services provided by companies like Lulu, and that’s not because their manuscripts are bad. Part of it is because consumers are buying less books due to the current economic crisis. To counter this, publishing houses are accepting fewer manuscripts these days — only the ones that they anticipate will be hugely successful (which is a feather in your cap, Lara).

But that in no way means you should lower your expectations for your work. Even though print-on-demand services have little-to-no standards for the work they publish, that’s no excuse for bad writing, especially when the opportunity to be picked up by a publishing house still very much exists.

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who left a comment on Sarah’s awesome post yesterday! Everyone’s thoughts about big cities versus little cities, as well as ideas about “hometown,” were awesome. A random drawing this morning (with the help of a work colleague) has revealed that …. (drum roll please) ….

Ann Johnson is the winner!

And it’s fitting because she lives in Minnesota! Hooray!!

Ann, I’ll get the $10 Dunkin’ Donuts card in the mail to you  asap, and everyone else please stay tuned for another blog contest next Thursday.

Yay!

Welcome to the second installment of the “six writers, six weeks, until August sixth” series. The lovely and talented Sarah Quigley, author of TMI, has stopped by to talk to us about redefining the exotic. Think you need to live in New York or Paris or London to pen something fabulous? Think again. After reading, be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a $10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card! Take it away, Sarah!

Litchfield, Minnesota, population 5,904, is my hometown. It’s about seventy miles directly west of the Twin Cities, or, as Susan Sarandon said in Thelma and Louise, “Not in the middle of nowhere, but we can see it from here.” It’s safe and quiet and a nice enough place to grow up, but I often dreamed of living somewhere more glamorous. Exciting. Exotic.

Like the Twin Cities.

I got my chance for a life of exotic, exciting glamour after college when I moved to Minneapolis. “Look at the little girl from Litchfield,” I thought as I rode the city bus. I felt incredibly cosmopolitan the first time I ordered a cosmopolitan at the Loring Bar. I smiled with smug satisfaction I sat on the patio of Uncommon Grounds sipping a cappuccino discussing Shakespeare with my boyfriend.

I couldn’t believe how cool I was.

After four years in Minneapolis, my boyfriend (who had since become my husband) and I decided it was time for a new adventure, so we moved to San Francisco. The bar for what I considered glamorous, exciting, and exotic was raised significantly. My “mild salsa only” Minnesotan taste buds developed a tolerance for spicy Burmese curries. I lost 35 pounds climbing the hills and bought a pair of leather pants to wear to my favorite gay bar in the Castro. My husband and I bought fancy local cheeses and ate them atop the hills of the Marin Headlands.

Oh, I was living the life.

Two years later, my husband was accepted to a graduate program at Columbia University, so we moved to New York City. I had many more “Hey! It’s small-town me in the big, bad city!” moments. I learned to navigate the subway system like a pro. I jogged through Central Park on crisp autumn mornings feeling very much like Charlotte from Sex and the City. My friends and I became regulars on burlesque nights at the Slipper Room in the East Village. And even though money was tight now that my husband was a student, we occasionally went out for cocktails at the Flatiron Lounge, whose art deco interior and gin flights were decidedly glamorous.

This little girl from Litchfield had finally arrived.

But there were problems. For one, New York stressed me out. People were abrasive and direct, which didn’t sit well with my sensitive, midwestern temperament. And despite its glamorous culture of museums, stores, and restaurants, New York is unbelievably dirty and smelly. I was shocked by how often I felt physically uncomfortable there. Most of the time, I longed to be curled up on the couch in my pajamas. I did that a lot, partly because I wanted to but also because I got sick a lot. Despite religious applications of Purell, New York infected me with more colds and stomach bugs than I’d ever had before in my life.

For the first time since I went away to college, I missed Litchfield.

I missed its slow pace, its friendly faces, and its clean air. It was refreshing to walk down the street and not get a big whiff of stale human urine or garbage rotting in the summer sun. I knew there was no chance I’d ever move back to Litchfield, but I finally began to enjoy going home. I stopped resenting the fact that I was at least fifty miles from Indian takeout. I looked forward to receiving my hometown newspaper in the mail every week, offering me a sliver of rural escape.

It was while I was in New York that I was approached by an editor at Dutton Children’s Books about writing a young adult novel. This was at the height of my homesickness for Minnesota, and I didn’t consider setting my story anywhere else. After all of my years in so-called exotic cities, I recognized that Minnesota is exotic in its own right.

I just needed to redefine exotic.

Sure, San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge, but Darwin, Minnesota, has the largest ball of twine made by one person. New York may have Broadway shows, but if you want to see a good tractor pull or demolition derby, you’ll have to book a flight to the Midwest. And yes, I can get about fifty world cuisines delivered to my door here in the Richmond district, but I have to go to the Minnesota State Fair for deep-fried Twinkies and chocolate-covered bacon.

It wasn’t until I wrote TMI that I truly recognized what a rich, interesting culture I come from. The book is set in Pine Prairie, a little town that bears a striking resemblance to Litchfield. Becca, the heroine, spends a lot of time wishing she could escape her boring life there. However, I predict that someday, after Becca has been out in the world for a while, she’ll come to the same conclusion that I have: every place has culture, and all cultures have value.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: The self-ascribed most powerful donut-finding blog ever. I heart this blog bad.

So, guess who else will be stopping by my blog as part of the “six authors for six weeks” contest? Here’s a hint: her name starts with Melissa and ends with Schorr. That’s right, one of my fave authors evah, who penned the awesome book GOY CRAZY, will be part of the blog spotlight! Yay!

And if that wasn’t enough, we’ll be rounding the whole thing out with the amazing Sarah Quigley, author of TMI. She and I share some crazy coincidences that tie our books — and lives — together inextricably.

So when is the next post, you ask? This Thursday, peeps. Only two days away! Stay tuned for more prizes and fabulous contributions by great authors!

Is it just me, or is it hilarious that SIX people left comments for the first “six writers, six weeks, August six” contest?

 And we have a winner! Congratulations LARA NELSON (another Lara! yay!) — you win a $10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card!

As if that weren’t exciting enough, there’s more news to share. Kirkus reviewed DONUT DAYS and, even though Kirkus is historically kinda harsh on writers, they loved the book! I’m sharing the review below — oh, and jumping for joy in the living room. YAYAYAY!!

In this spirited—and, in an offbeat, somewhat irreverent way, spiritual—offering, readers meet Emma, who, despite the fact that both her parents are ministers at an evangelical church, finds her desire to feel the power of God in a direct and immediate way continually frustrated. Emma’s relationship with God becomes even more troubled when a wealthy church member challenges Emma’s mother’s right to preach based on her gender. Add to this the terrible fight that Emma has had with her best friend Nat, her budding relationship with the son of the man who instigated the church trouble and her attempt to get around her parents’ decision that she attend a Christian college by winning a scholarship contest for the best article on the Crispy Dream donut camp, and complications abound. The whimsical plot stretches credulity in places, as does the virtuousness of Emma’s crush, Jake, who never flinches in his loyalty to Emma, but Zielin’s lighthearted yet substantive portrayals of Emma’s struggles with God, family and friendship ring absolutely true. (Fiction. YA)