While writing A MILLION MILES FROM BOSTON, I thought a lot about Lucy's "psychological biography." After all, I was writing about a girl who'd lost her mother six years earlier. I knew she'd have lingering unconscious and conscious issues and that she'd view everything through the lens of grief. Having not actually lost a parent, I wanted to be as accurate as possible depicting Lucy's life. Over the years I talked about this with several psychologists. A couple of them also read drafts and gave me feedback. One has written a wonderful review in FOCUS, the publication for the National Association of Social Workers (Massachusetts chapter). Thank you, Cynthia! Oct11FOCUS_v7_ONLINE(1) 5-1
ENCORE! 2011
I'm never quite sure how my talks go over with people. Sometimes there will be encouraging smiles and nods. Sometimes sighs. Sometimes people will talk to each other, depending on the size of the group. Sometimes kids will look as if they're about to go to sleep. Sometimes they sit on the edge of their seats. You can drive yourself crazy, trying to interpret what this all means (you can also lose your place in your talk!). I often hear from people after a talk. But maybe the best feedback I've ever received was last spring, when I was asked to join the faculty of ENCORE! 2011, a one-day conference sponsored by SCBWI in Southern New England and the Alliance for the Study and Teaching of Adolescent Literature (ASTAL) at Rhode Island College in Providence. I will join other presenters John Bell, Erin Dionne, Mary Lee Donovan and Mark Peter Hughes. We were asked to repeat workshops that we first gave at the NESCBWI conference last spring because they went over so well with participants.
ENCORE! 2011 will take place on Saturday, October 29, 2011. For more information and to read about the wonderful writers/editor who will be there:
http://www.nescbwi.org/scbwi-events/encore/
Look what my critique group can do
Last night we held our annual potluck dinner/monthly meeting at critique member Laya Steinberg's house. Usually we meet once a month at the Newton library to go over our manuscripts. But for the last five years we've kicked off our September meeting with a dinner at someone's house. In the kit lit world it's not unusual to find writers joining together in monthly critique groups. But what I think makes our group unusual is the level of commitment. For the last 10 years, once a month, we've been meeting to give each other honest, often difficult, feedback on our WIPs. Members have come and gone (Mitali Perkins, you will always be a member!), and several of us -- John Bell, Ed Loechler and I -- have been there since the beginning. We don't dwell on our families, our other hobbies, our lives outside of our writing. We work. And we know each other very well through our work. Last night was an exception when we were entertained with wonderful harmony and guitar by three of our members (Mordena Babich, Laya and Ed). Thanks, all!
Invite me to speak to your girls!
In July I had the good fortune to visit Westwinds Bookshop in Duxbury, MA., where members of a mom-daughter group attended my signing. I didn't give my usual book-group talk because there were other girls there who hadn't read the book and I didn't want to spoil it for them. But we were still able to talk about the book and writing in general. Something magical often happens with these mom-daughter groups. Maybe it's that the girls and moms often "see" different things in the books, and it's fun to talk about this. Or that the girls are excited to meet a real author. Or that our talk is part academic (for example, what themes did you find in the text?) and part fun. Whatever it is, I love it.
So, here's the deal. If you live in the Boston area and are hosting a book group and want to read one of my books, I will come to the meeting and facilitate a talk about it. Just shoot me an e-mail!
Franki Sibberson's blog
So, so thrilled to read this wonderful review on Franki Sibberson's blog this morning. Thanks, Franki! http://readingyear.blogspot.com/