Thoughts lately...
1) Last week I was driving through some hellacious early morning fog and imagining glib things to say to my superintendent about not getting a delay. The best I could come up with was, "They don't make road signs in Braille, you know."
2) Likewise, I get to school early (somehow?) and am setting at my desk not hearing footsteps in the hallway, not hearing the bells, not hearing announcements and I'm wondering if there *was* a delay and I didn't know it. Then I wondered if the Rapture had happened. THEN I thought it would be one hell of a slap in the face if a building full of teens were taken and I was left behind.
3) I've always been told that happy babies sleep with their arms above their heads. What does it mean when an adult sleeps in the fetal position?
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Wednesday WOLF
I've got a collection of random information in my brain that makes me an awesome Trivial Pursuit partner, but is completely useless when it comes to real world application. Like say, job applications. I thought I'd share some of this random crap with you in the form of another acronym-ific series. I give you - Word Origins from Left Field - that's right, the WOLF (oh, how clever is she? She made an acronym out of her agency's name!) Er... ignore the fact that the "from" doesn't fit.
The suggestion for today's WOLF came from my crit partner, RC Lewis. I was stumped a couple of weeks ago on what to WOLF about when she asked me where the term jaywalker comes from. Great question. And by the way - you guys can ask me stuff, too!
While jaywalking is a fairly laughable crime, it is in fact not legal to cross the street anywhere other than a crosswalk, or to cross against a traffic signal. Americans might have a laugh at it, but I actually did see a jaywalker get clocked when I was in Paris. Don't eff with the French.
Is it really that dangerous to jaywalk? While our speed limits and congested streets keep things pretty safe for footers, it hasn't always been this way. The first instance of the use of jaywalker was from the Chicago Tribune in 1909 (although it didn't make the dictionary until 1917). Back in 1909, people were adjusting to even having cars in the streets, and speed limits were a thing of the future. Horses and buggies kept a pretty calm pace, except when a horse flipped it's lid - and if it did, a sign saying, "Hey, not so fast, Mr. Horse," wasn't going to stop him.
So city streets in the early 1900's were actually pretty dangerous. Motorists pretty much did as they pleased - which made horses and buggy drivers mad - and pedestrians pretty much kept doing what they'd been doing... crossing the street wherever they felt. And while that might fly with Black Beauty, Mr. Model T didn't necessarily have the stop-on-a-dime that we do today - or a speed limit to tell him not to go so fast in the first place.
City dwellers caught on pretty fast - cross on the crosswalk or at your own peril. But newbies to the city and skyline gazers wandered into the road fairly often, earning the ire of those behind the wheel. At the time, rural folk and country dwellers were often called jays, thus anyone inexperienced in crossing a city street and foolish enough to walk in front of cars were... jaywalkers.
The suggestion for today's WOLF came from my crit partner, RC Lewis. I was stumped a couple of weeks ago on what to WOLF about when she asked me where the term jaywalker comes from. Great question. And by the way - you guys can ask me stuff, too!While jaywalking is a fairly laughable crime, it is in fact not legal to cross the street anywhere other than a crosswalk, or to cross against a traffic signal. Americans might have a laugh at it, but I actually did see a jaywalker get clocked when I was in Paris. Don't eff with the French.
Is it really that dangerous to jaywalk? While our speed limits and congested streets keep things pretty safe for footers, it hasn't always been this way. The first instance of the use of jaywalker was from the Chicago Tribune in 1909 (although it didn't make the dictionary until 1917). Back in 1909, people were adjusting to even having cars in the streets, and speed limits were a thing of the future. Horses and buggies kept a pretty calm pace, except when a horse flipped it's lid - and if it did, a sign saying, "Hey, not so fast, Mr. Horse," wasn't going to stop him.
So city streets in the early 1900's were actually pretty dangerous. Motorists pretty much did as they pleased - which made horses and buggy drivers mad - and pedestrians pretty much kept doing what they'd been doing... crossing the street wherever they felt. And while that might fly with Black Beauty, Mr. Model T didn't necessarily have the stop-on-a-dime that we do today - or a speed limit to tell him not to go so fast in the first place.
City dwellers caught on pretty fast - cross on the crosswalk or at your own peril. But newbies to the city and skyline gazers wandered into the road fairly often, earning the ire of those behind the wheel. At the time, rural folk and country dwellers were often called jays, thus anyone inexperienced in crossing a city street and foolish enough to walk in front of cars were... jaywalkers.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Cover Reveal Conversation with Natalie Whipple, Author of TRANSPARENT
Today's guest for the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) is Natalie Whipple, fellow Friday the Thirteener and author of TRANSPARENT. Natalie is offering a fantastic prize pack today - a copy of TRANSPARENT, a PopTart charm necklace (her MC devours blueberry PopTarts) and also a TRANSPARENT bookmark. Er... the bookmark *matches* the book, not that... you know... the bookmark is invisible. Natalie is sharing both her US (top) and UK (bottom) covers with us today, and you can see that they are vastly different from each other. She explains why in the interview.
Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.
An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.
After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.
Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.
Did you have any pre-conceived notions about what you wanted your cover to look like?
Seeing as how my main character is invisible, I didn’t really have a clue how my publishers were going to handle that. Mostly I just wished them luck. Secretly, I hoped it wouldn’t look too much like The Invisible Man with the bandages and such. I figured either my covers would be horrendous or awesome—no middle ground. I lucked out on both, I think.
How far in advance from your pub date did you start talking covers with your house?
Hmm, I think I was first asked about input for around the late fall of 2011? So that was a year and a half before TRANSPARENT came out! Wow. Forgot how long ago that was. It took another few months to see the first comp, then a final. I had to wait maybe 4-6 months before I could share the cover with the public.
With my UK cover, I didn’t get any initial input. We sold to the UK in early 2012, and they sent me their plan of attack summer of 2012, I believe, and I got to share it a few months later.
And, interestingly enough, I didn’t get asked for input on HOUSE OF IVY & SORROW at all, either. I just got a lovely surprise email one day. But it was all good because the cover is absolutely stunning. I can’t wait to show it off!
I think it can be pretty common that covers don’t get talked about at all before they appear in your inbox.
Did you have any input on your cover?
Not really, in the sense of the general direction. But both my publishers were really good about listening to my input on the smaller details. The clothing colors on the UK edition, for instance, were changed several times until they settled on the right balance. The original US comp was much more red and teal, as opposed to orange. The background was pretty different as well. Both turned out great as they applied my little feedback to make it that much cooler.
How was your cover revealed to you?
Just through email, no real fanfare. That was exciting enough for me.
Was there an official "cover reveal" date for your art?
I was given a specific week that I was allowed to reveal my US cover, and of course I posted it on Monday because how could I wait any longer? Ha. It was the week before the catalog came out, so many of my imprint mates were revealing, too.
For my UK cover, it appeared on the Hot Key Books website before I knew it was available to reveal. I did a post after that to show it off more.
How far in advance of the reveal date were you aware of what your cover would look like?
Oh, way too long, ha. I think it’s been 4-6 months for all of mine thus far, so sometimes a year before the book is out!
Was it hard to keep it to yourself before the official release?
Um, YES. I will admit to sneaking it to a few friends and family members, because how can you not? It’s so exciting and if you can’t share it with the world you have to share it with at least a few people.
What surprised you most about the process?
That it went so smoothly. I’ve heard horror stories about authors and publishers not agreeing on the cover direction. Or booksellers saying they don’t like it, so the cover goes back for redesign. Maybe I’m just not picky, but it was probably the easiest process out of all the publishing things. Even my titles weren’t changed. Guess I got lucky.
Any advice to other debut authors about how to handle cover art anxiety?
I think it’s really important to remember that your cover is a marketing tool. Sometimes it may not be what you want, but it certainly fits the target audience. My UK cover is very different, obviously, from my US cover. That’s because the UK chose to play up the fun and comic aspect of my book, while the US chose to focus on some of the more intense, darker moments. Both aren’t entirely accurate to the book, but they highlight the part of the book my publishers think will grab their market best.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.
An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.
After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.
Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.
Did you have any pre-conceived notions about what you wanted your cover to look like?
Seeing as how my main character is invisible, I didn’t really have a clue how my publishers were going to handle that. Mostly I just wished them luck. Secretly, I hoped it wouldn’t look too much like The Invisible Man with the bandages and such. I figured either my covers would be horrendous or awesome—no middle ground. I lucked out on both, I think.
How far in advance from your pub date did you start talking covers with your house?
Hmm, I think I was first asked about input for around the late fall of 2011? So that was a year and a half before TRANSPARENT came out! Wow. Forgot how long ago that was. It took another few months to see the first comp, then a final. I had to wait maybe 4-6 months before I could share the cover with the public.
With my UK cover, I didn’t get any initial input. We sold to the UK in early 2012, and they sent me their plan of attack summer of 2012, I believe, and I got to share it a few months later.
And, interestingly enough, I didn’t get asked for input on HOUSE OF IVY & SORROW at all, either. I just got a lovely surprise email one day. But it was all good because the cover is absolutely stunning. I can’t wait to show it off!
I think it can be pretty common that covers don’t get talked about at all before they appear in your inbox.
Did you have any input on your cover?
Not really, in the sense of the general direction. But both my publishers were really good about listening to my input on the smaller details. The clothing colors on the UK edition, for instance, were changed several times until they settled on the right balance. The original US comp was much more red and teal, as opposed to orange. The background was pretty different as well. Both turned out great as they applied my little feedback to make it that much cooler.
How was your cover revealed to you?
Just through email, no real fanfare. That was exciting enough for me.
Was there an official "cover reveal" date for your art?
I was given a specific week that I was allowed to reveal my US cover, and of course I posted it on Monday because how could I wait any longer? Ha. It was the week before the catalog came out, so many of my imprint mates were revealing, too.
For my UK cover, it appeared on the Hot Key Books website before I knew it was available to reveal. I did a post after that to show it off more.
How far in advance of the reveal date were you aware of what your cover would look like?
Oh, way too long, ha. I think it’s been 4-6 months for all of mine thus far, so sometimes a year before the book is out!
Was it hard to keep it to yourself before the official release?
Um, YES. I will admit to sneaking it to a few friends and family members, because how can you not? It’s so exciting and if you can’t share it with the world you have to share it with at least a few people.
What surprised you most about the process?
That it went so smoothly. I’ve heard horror stories about authors and publishers not agreeing on the cover direction. Or booksellers saying they don’t like it, so the cover goes back for redesign. Maybe I’m just not picky, but it was probably the easiest process out of all the publishing things. Even my titles weren’t changed. Guess I got lucky.
Any advice to other debut authors about how to handle cover art anxiety?
I think it’s really important to remember that your cover is a marketing tool. Sometimes it may not be what you want, but it certainly fits the target audience. My UK cover is very different, obviously, from my US cover. That’s because the UK chose to play up the fun and comic aspect of my book, while the US chose to focus on some of the more intense, darker moments. Both aren’t entirely accurate to the book, but they highlight the part of the book my publishers think will grab their market best.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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