Category Archives: Writing

by | July 17, 2012 · 3:39 pm

(Re-)Discovering the Magic of YA Novels


I used to avoid YA novels on principal. Many moons ago, when I was a teenager, the Young Adult novel market was a small one and many of the books I came across were romance, which were great until I realized real life doesn’t work that way and in my disappointment, turned to fantasy – still my favorite genre – which hadn’t yet exploded onto the YA scene. (One author I discovered who DID write YA fantasy even back then, who I still read today, was/is Mercedes Lackey.) So I deliberately avoided the YA section in bookstores.

Then four years ago, I heard about this phenomenon called “Twilight.” The movie posters interested me – yes, I’m just that shallow – and I’d seen the first three novels fly off the shelves at my local Barnes and Noble and wondered what all the hype was about. This was a Young Adult novel. I didn’t think it held any magic for me.

I read the book anyway. And then I read the next one, and the third and the fourth. After seeing the movie, I reread the entire series. Then re-watched the movie. Several times. I’ve watched every sequel – own them, in fact – and greatly anticipate the final film – come on November! My cadre of writer acquaintances for the most part view Stephanie Meyers as a red-headed step-child of the writing market. And after writing my own novel – which took me two years instead of Meyer’s reported three months – I concede that they may have a point. But the woman is making big bucks on her series, not to mention the royalties she earns on the movies and all the movie merch.

I remained skeptical, however, of YA novels in general, despite the recurring recommendations of my best friend, a fellow writer. When one of my mentors suggested that my debut novel might be a good fit for the YA market, I adamantly refused to consider the possibility.

Last year I began seeing articles and cast announcements about The Hunger Games movie, a full year before its theatrical release. I held out on reading the novel until February of this year – not only was it YA, but also post-apocalyptic dystopian (try saying that fast!), a sub-genre I’d never been a fan of. The Hunger Games only lasted three days. By the end of one week, I’d completely absorbed the trilogy. Those three novels grabbed hold of me, shook and slapped me around, and evoked emotions I rarely feel even reading adult sci/fi fantasy novels. I laughed, cried, snickered and yelled at the characters. I wanted to BE Katniss Everdeen – another state of emotion I rarely feel with my beloved adult sci/fi fantasy novels. And experiencing the movie only drew me deeper into the disturbing magic of The Hunger Games.

In the last five months, I’ve deliberately haunted the YA sections of bookstores and scooped up every novel that attracted my attention – as finances have allowed. I’m trying my hand at writing reviews – some of which will appear in this blog – to share my love for these novels, to increase my writing/reviewer creds, and to increase my reading-as-a-writer acuity…And I’ve slowly thawed to the idea that my novel might be a good fit for this  market.

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by | May 10, 2012 · 9:20 am

(Fantasy) Research – Part I


If you want people to read what you write, you have to make it believable. Even in fantasy, your story has to be plausible, even if only within the realms of your readers’ imaginations. If they can suspend their belief for the time it takes them to read about your wild magic, supernatural creatures, zombies or vampires, then you’ll be successful.

To that end, if your fantasy takes place in a specific time and place in history – as mine does – then research becomes a big part of your writing process. And fortunately for me, and my story, I LOVE research!

Though I’m writing a Jewish medieval fantasy (currently writing the second book in a series), the events take place in a world that actually existed – Eastern Europe – so research was necessary. My protagonist’s story starts out in the second half of the 11th century in Silesia, Poland. She and her companions travel to Kievan Rus (modern day Russia) via modern day Ukraine, which was at that time divided between Poland and Kievan Rus. Since Silesia doesn’t exist as such anymore, and Ukraine is now an independent country, I had to research period maps to be sure that where I chose to place my characters was an actual land mass within Poland or Kievan Rus.

I had the opportunity in the summer of 2010 to travel to Eastern Europe to follow this path. Even though it’s almost a millennium later, research of the medieval landscape in those areas led me to believe that it’s not extremely different today – at least not in the rural areas or the heritage sites. So while very few medieval settlements still exist as anything other than well-preserved ruins, I was able to “get a feel” for the people and their environments, simply by visiting the countries in their modern incarnation.

Since my protagonist is not only Jewish, but a healer and archer facing annihilation of her home, my research extended into medieval Judaic practices, mysticism, medieval medicine, Eastern European medieval clothing, and medieval warfare.

The most difficult of these to track down were the medieval Judaic practices and daily life as pertaining to women, and Eastern European daily costumes. Quite often, valuable information can be found in fiction, as well as historical/non-fiction references. Maggie Anton’s RASHI’S DAUGHTERS trilogy and Michelle Cameron’s THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS were especially helpful with regards to describing the daily lives of Jewish women, textiles and styles of the era, and providing other historical references.

My own research is extensive and almost fully half of it is from fictional sources. Should you be interested in seeing my bibliography, you can read the ever-growing list by clicking on the “Research” tab at the top of this blog.

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by | March 8, 2012 · 9:57 am

First (Agent) Rejection


Last week I received my first rejection from an agent for my fantasy novel, Serpent on a Cross. And I’m okay with that.

I think I was half expecting it, even though I had high hopes this particular agent would want the book – is that a contradiction? He was quite gracious in his refusal – which arrived via email – so I’ll keep him on my list of possible agents for future novels.

Why am I so calm about being rejected? Well, first of all, I’ve been warned that rejections are almost a sacred part of the writing world – it’s not uncommon to receive multiple rejections before finding an agent who believes enough in a first time writer’s novel to take a chance on them. Second, I’m not (quite) a starving artist, basing all my hopes for the future on one professional’s response to my novel, and I spent a few years while in my 20s auditioning in college and community theatres where I was rejected for parts more often than I was cast. I contented myself with behind-the-scenes work such as costuming and props, and learned as much about acting, directing and producing for theatre as I could. I also learned to accept rejection for what it was: I was good, but not brilliant; there was someone better suited to the role. Rarely was it personal.

Teachers and others told me they respected my acceptance – yes, they could have, and maybe were, lying to make me feel better, in which case, they succeeded – and my talents were used in other ways: stage managing, and makeup. In college, I had the opportunity to create makeup to mask one actor’s shoulder blade tattoo of a Celtic cross. He had to wear a tank top on-stage in a period piece and the tattoo was rather out of place. It was fun to practice various techniques of applying cover-up, foundation, powder and set solution until I got it just right. Not sure how my guinea pig felt, but I silently pumped the air in triumph when I sat in the audience during one performance and couldn’t tell he had either a tattoo or makeup on that shoulder.

When I did finally land a major role, in a comedy at the community theatre, it was perfect for me. I played opposite the guy who’d recently (in real life) dumped me. I was his on-stage wife, mother of his three children (they were referred to, but not part of the cast) and he was cheating on me (interesting how theatre sometimes imitates real life, isn’t it). I got to throw a doozy of a temper tantrum on stage. I’m a natural – had years of tantrum practice growing up. In the last scene, my “husband” had to apologize to me – during his “father’s” funeral, thereby disrupting a solemn occasion – and we had to – noisily – kiss and make up.

He was a consummate actor, even for an amateur, so I could never tell how much (or if at all) playing my husband bothered him. He pulled it all off without a hitch, and even saved me one night when I dropped several lines during our opening scene. At the very end of the play, I had to sing “Sweet By and By” a cappella. Fortunately, I have a decent singing voice. Nothing spectacular, but I can hold my own.

You might have heard of the play, or the movie based on it. The play is called “Dearly, Departed.” The movie (starring Whoopie Goldberg, LL Cool J, and Jada Pinkett Smith) is called “Kingdom Come.” Jada and I played the same role. But they must have written out the temper tantrum scene for her. I was disappointed when Jada didn’t throw that tantrum. Her performance was a little too cool for me. A shame, because that was one of the best scenes in the play. I got A LOT of laughs during that scene.

So. Rejected again. And it’s just as important to me to succeed in getting my writing published now, as it was back then to land a role on stage. Wondering what I should do with the history-making “First Rejection.” Well, I’ve sent the agent a thank you note via snail mail – a thank you for taking the time to read my manuscript and letting me down gently. Then, that “rejection letter?” I think I’m gonna frame it.

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