Publishing News!

Confession: I'm terrible at keeping secrets. Terrible. So I'm surprised that I've been able to sit on this news since May. Technically, if you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that I added this to my profile awhile ago, and I did have some cryptic facebook status updates about editing, but I haven't come right out and said anything until now so here goes...

I'm going to be published!

My novel, Podium Finish, was picked up by a Astraea Press, a small e-book publisher. I had a few agents who were interested, but not ready to offer representation due to the climate of the current literary market, and as I know from previous experience, just because you have an agent, it doesn't mean said agent will be able to sell your book to a publisher. (And should they sell it, it takes 1-2 years before the book hits shelves.) Given how long I've been working on this book and the publication timeline AP offered, I thought this was the best thing. PF is scheduled to be released in mid-November in both print and e-book form (just in time for the Sochi Olympics and Christmas, so make sure you ask Santa for it!) I'll post more info about purchasing it closer to the release date.

I starting writing this book back in February 2006 after being inspired by the Torino Olympic Games. It's been through countless drafts over the years, so much so that the finished product is pretty much unrecognizable in comparison to the early versions, and which, trust me, is a good thing because it shows how much I've grown as a writer. Some of those early drafts make me cringe, but without them, I wouldn't be the writer I am today. Besides, if there's one positive thing I can gleam from reading my early writing, it's that young Beth had good, yet under-developed ideas, but she was ambitious. I wrote, and I wrote often because I loved to write. I wrote the stories I wanted to read, and now it is slowly starting to pay off. Fingers crossed other people like my stories too. The other good thing about this is that when I first started writing PF, I did it because there were very few books about girls who played sports out there. That has definitely changed since I was 16, and now I'm pleased to be able to add my own work to the mix.

So what's it about?

I was given the green light to post a quick blurb and excerpt. Enjoy!

With six months until the Olympic Games, seventeen-year-old Harper's life is pretty much perfect. She's fighting for the starting spot on Team USA Women's Hockey, and for the first time ever, she has a crush on a guy who likes her back. She feels like the luckiest girl in the world, until she runs a risky play at practice and breaks her knee, thereby sentencing herself to six weeks in a cast and possibly ending her Olympic dream before it even starts.

For seventeen-year-old Alex, being anything less than the best is unacceptable. That's why, after a miserable debut season at the senior level, the former junior national singles champion switches to ice dance. Her skating partner, Ace, is an "all skating all the time" type of guy, which would be fine, if he'd stop keeping secrets about the real reason he and his former partner broke up. Now is not the time for second thoughts, but how can Alex skate her best if she can’t trust her partner…or herself?
 

As the pressure to make the Olympic team builds, the girls must rely on each other, because if there’s one thing they both know, it's that the only thing harder than skating to the top is staying there.

  

Here's a teeny tiny sampling from one of Harper's chapters just so you can get a hint of H and A together, followed by a selection of a scene from one of Harper's practices.

Alex is waiting for me at our usual table in the cafeteria. She rakes her fingers through her not-quite-shoulder-length blonde hair and pulls it back into a ponytail. The front strands fall loose as soon as she leans forward to eat a bite of salad. I would never be brave enough to pull off short hair like that, but Alex does it well. She pulls a bobby pin from her bag and twists her bangs back. Bobby pins. That and lip gloss are two things Alex never leaves the dorm without.

"Hey, do anything exciting today?" I ask.

"I defied gravity."

"Wearing a push-up bra is not defying gravity."

"I was talking about the new dance hold we're learning, but my new bra is amazing, isn't it?" She's sitting with perfect posture and waves her hand in front of her chest like one of the models revealing a prize on a TV game show.

                                                                    *** 

"Kavanaugh there and Jess here." He motions to opposite sides of the rink then dumps out the bag of pucks. "On the line."

I skate to the far side of the rink where Coach pointed, and as I do, he readies the pucks.

 "When I say go, get to the goal as fast as you can," he says. "Go!" He shoots the puck, and it hits the net before either one of us gets close. "Again." Jess and I skate back to our lines. "Go!" Coach calls. He shoots, and again, he scores before either one of us can get to the goal. When we skate back to our respective lines, my tired legs protest. It's been a long practice, and I know I've only got three or four more sprints in me. He wants to show us neither one of us can get to the net before the puck, but I want to prove him wrong. I want to beat Jess and the puck.

"Go!" Coach calls a third time. I thunder forward, spraying chips of ice with each stroke of my skate. The puck skids across the ice, and I lunge for it, sprawling on my stomach and extending my stick. I knock the puck, but I'm not fast enough. The puck slows down, but it knocks the post and goes into the goal. Damn.

I stand up and join Jess, who is already standing by Coach. A thin smile etches across his face. "What did you learn?" he asks.

"You have a good shot, and Kav should take up Slip 'N Slide competitively."

She's totally missing the point. "Individually, we're not faster than the puck," I say.

"I knew it was a good idea to recruit a straight-A student," Coach says, and Jess' face twitches in anger. "I have one starting center position and two very talented players. Learn to pass to each other. You can't win a game unless you can score, and you can't score if you don't have each other's backs. Pass."

 

And here's a quick snippet from one of Alex's chapters.

Ace and I join hands and push away from each other while doing an arabesque. He pulls me in close to him, and I can feel the warmth of his hand on my back as we skate along the curve of the rink.

"Good," Philip says. "But I want the arabesques higher, and I need you to make me believe the magic. Try it again."

Philip wouldn't believe the magic if one of J.K. Rowling's creations were standing right in front of him. I like that he's hard to please though. He pushes us to do better, to be the best, and that's what we need right now.

 

In other news, come back tomorrow for my interview with YA author Laurie Boyle Crompton! 

I have one more month left in South Africa, so in addition to more book updates, I'll be posting more teaching reflections in the next few weeks.

- Beth 

Stripped Blog Tour: An Interview with Brooklyn Skye and Book Review

 

When I heard about Brooklyn Skye's blog tour, I jumped at the chance to participate. As a YA reader and writer, I was curious about New Adult, an emerging genre the covers the college years and young professional years, the gap between YA and Adult literature. I've read a few NA titles so far, and STRIPPED is my favorite, hands down. For those who have followed the book reviews on my blog in the past, you know I use belts instead of stars. (Black belt = 5 stars, Brown belt 4-4.5 stars etc.) So where does STRIPPED rank? Brown belt. And for those interested in the NA or looking for a well-written romance, I'd definitely recommend it. Below you'll find my review, my interview with Brooklyn Skye, and a chance to enter the STRIPPED Blog Tour Giveaway. Also, please feel free to check out the other stops of the tour!

Released: May 14, 2013

Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

“I like you.” His voice is low and soft, which I don’t deserve. I look away, down the rutted parking lot.

“Don’t... waste those words on me.”

He touches my cheek. “You just need someone to show you.”

“No.” I ease back again. “I don’t. So please, Torrin, stop trying to swoop in and save me. I don’t need saving.”

College freshman Quinn Montgomery will do anything to avoid the mistake her sister made—killing herself over a boy. But when she is forced into nude modeling at a local college to support her family after a bankruptcy, she begins to crack, just enough to let Torrin, the university’s top varsity oarsman, see that the real Quinn is not as feisty and unapproachable as she wants everyone to think. But letting someone in comes at a steep cost and, it turns out, Torrin is connected to Quinn’s family in more ways than she could ever imagine.

 The Review:

College freshman, Quinn Montgomery, has a lot on her plate. Her sister recently committed suicide and her father lost his job as the result of a rather public scandal. When Quinn's parents tell her they can't help cover all of her tuition, Quinn gets a job as a nude model at another local college, the one her fired used to work at no less.

Quinn walks out of her first session. Something about that made her real to me. She's a strong girl, but conflicted. At this point, I was in. I wanted to read more. Enter Torrin, the swoon-worthy oarsmen Quinn meets while waiting for the bus.

I enjoyed the connection between Quinn and Torrin. It wasn't insta-love. In fact, Quinn is a wonderful mixture of snarky, witty, stubborn, and vulnerable, a very interesting narrator, and Torrin likes her for it. There were many moments when their relationship reminded me of the saying, "Love isn't about being perfect. It's about being perfect for each other." Quinn isn't perfect. She's complicated, mature and naive at the same time, and as a reader, I found my self oscillating between rooting for her and shaking my head, thinking "You did not just say that." Personally, I enjoyed the complexity and found Quinn's inner dialogue entertaining, but I could also see how some readers might get frustrated with her. 

As for Torrin, well he's basically the stereotypical dream guy: hot, athletic, understanding, kind, but he has a secret too. I won't give the twist away, but I will say I enjoyed it and hope to read more about Quinn and Torrin in the future.

Lastly, a note about the writing. I loved how the author captured Quinn's attitude. The description was well-done and the scenes were well-paced. Some of the romantic scenes were a bit trite, but not enough to be too off-putting.

And Without Further Ado...The Interview!

I love that Quinn is both stubborn and guarded because of her life’s circumstances, yet like most college students, especially freshmen, she is trying to figure out who she is. What do you hope readers will take away from Quinn as a narrator?  

Some of my beta readers left comments like ‘Quinn is not right in the head,’ which is exactly what I was going for. The girl has been through a lot and the culmination of these events has significantly skewed her thoughts. On the flipside, Quinn is still just a girl trying to figure things out and I hope readers will be able to connect with that side of her too.

New Adult is an emerging category that bridges the gap between young adult and adult literature. What drew you to making Quinn a college student rather than say a high school senior?

When I wrote STRIPPED three years ago, I had the idea of a college girl doing something extreme to pay for her education. About halfway through the draft—after a bit of market research—I discovered college-aged protagonists were sort of a no-no in the industry. Against my gut feelings of THIS IS NOT GOING TO WORK, I changed Quinn to a high school senior. Once the draft was done, I hated it. Quinn was not supposed to be in high school and the YA voice just wasn’t working for me in this story. So I set it aside for two years and worked on a few other projects. About six months ago, I decided to pick the draft back up and rewrite it the way I had intended. About that same time, the New Adult category was starting to emerge and several books were popping up on the Best-Selling lists which gave me a little more encouragement to go with my gut.   

What would you say was your biggest challenge while writing Stripped?

At first it was the category issue, but once I decided to write it as New Adult the biggest challenge then was to make Quinn relatable. She’s not very nice—especially to Torrin—which makes her pretty unlikeable. I didn’t want to soften her in that sense, so I had to make sure readers could connect with Quinn and at the very least understand why she was that way. I’ve had an amazing reaction from readers thus far with comments like:   

“Quinn's sassy, stand-offish approach is hilarious.”

“I really found myself lost in Quinn's story, and also saw a little bit of myself in her when I was that age.”

“I loved Quinn. Her fear and devastation due to different types of loss are genuine.”

“I laughed and cried with Quinn on her journey through a very heart wrenching time in her life.”

“Quinn is a real, down to earth character, that is not afraid to speak her mind, and that's what I love about her.”

Of course there were others who didn’t connect with Quinn…which is fine too. Can’t please everyone ;)

What are you writing now? Will we be seeing any more of Quinn and Torrin soon?

Currently, I’m working on a novella that continues Quinn and Torrin’s story. When STRIPPED debuted, I received an overwhelming surge of people wanting more, requesting an epilogue and asking if I was writing a sequel. While I had originally planned for STRIPPED to be single-title, I decided to go ahead and write a novella that continues in Torrin’s point of view. WITHOUT YOU will release October 8^th.

I’m also planning a companion novel to give Nikki her own story to be released Spring 2014.

 

Please talk a little bit about your journey to publication. What was the biggest lesson you learned? Do you have any tips for your fellow writers? Anything you wish you’d done differently?

My journey isn’t very conventional, but then again are any of ours? The story of how I got my agent can be found in my interview with Writer’s Digest (http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/how-i-got-my-agent-nicole-steinhaus). The biggest question I get is why did I release STRIPPED myself when I work for a publisher and have an agent? Truth is, it was just a gut feeling I had. Being tied to the publishing industry, I knew New Adult books getting contracts were few and far between. I also knew several self-published authors were doing just fine without them. Would I change anything? To be honest, I don’t think I would. I’m very pleased with how well STRIPPED was received and the support I’ve been blessed with amongst the writing community. My biggest tip for authors is do what feels right for you, and don’t judge others if their decisions vary from yours. I’ve witnessed—and been the topic of—some very heated discussions revolving choices in publishing, and I think people need to focus more on themselves and their craft and not worry so much about what others choose to do.

Thank you for having me!

About the Author

Brooklyn Skye grew up in a small town where she quickly realized writing was an escape from small town life. Really, she’s just your average awkward girl who’s obsessed with words. Her Best Selling New Adult debut, STRIPPED, is out NOW! Represented by Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary Agency.

brooklynskye.wordpress.com

 

You can find STRIPPED on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can also follow Brooklyn on Twitter or visit her web site  for updates, teasers, and more.

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Getting my Steven Speilberg on!

I'm officially halfway through my Fulbright grant, so I decided to make a video to commemorate the progress I made with my secondary project (teaching martial arts and self-defense to high school students and the faculty at my host institution.) The video only has clips of my high school students. It's the first "movie" I've made and first upload to YouTube. Hope you enjoy!


-Beth

Teaching Creative Writing: Tension

I was recently asked to give a lecture on how to incorporate tension in creative writing to a group of English Home Language Grade 11 learners. I have also been asked to give a lecture about using technology to teach creative writing at a teaching conference later this month, so I used the tension lesson as a pilot. Below is a copy of the worksheet I gave to the students as well as a summary of how I used the audiobook and movie versions of The Hunger Games to provide students with an effective example of tension. Enjoy!

Tension in Fiction Writing

What is tension?

Tension is a state of mental or emotional stress, usually with an element of suspense.

Types of tension:

There are many different types of tension. Here is a short list: horror, mystery, romantic tension, social tension, familial tension, nervous tension, and comedic tension.

How do we create tension?

All scenes with well-written tension have:

1.    Something at stake (i.e. survival)—This generally means that there are two (or more) possible outcomes to the main character’s situation.  The higher the stakes, the greater the tension.

2.      An emotional component—The reader must be emotionally invested in the character. If the reader does not care what happens to the protagonist, the tension is not effective. Therefore, when writing a scene with tension, writers need to appeal to universal emotions that the readers can relate to, such as love, hate, anxiety or fear. Writers achieve this through descriptive language.

3.      Descriptive language—Scenes with tension typically have vivid detail and strong verbs.

a.      Strong verbs, or power verbs, are verbs that convey meaning in one word and can replace passive phrasing. For example, “He delegated the tasks,” rather than “He told everyone what to do” or “Blood pooled on the floor,” rather than “There was a pool of blood on the floor.” Strong verb choices make the sentences active and direct. Not all sentences should or have to be active and direct, but an abundance of passively worded sentences detracts from the quality of the writing, as the extra words weigh down the narrative.

b.      Verbs like see, hear, and feel are actually weak verbs. It is great to appeal to the senses and describe what the protagonist experiences, but this can be done without the verbs “see” or “hear.” For example, rather than saying “I could see a knife in his hand and could feel a cold sweat spilling down my back,” try writing the sentence without “see” and “feel” and focus on describing the knife or how seeing the knife makes the narrator feel. “The knife gleamed in the sunlight and a menacing smile spread across my attacker’s lips. Cold beads of sweat trickled down my back. I’ve only got one chance to make it out of here alive, I realized, one chance, starting now.” The second example is stronger because it tells what the narrator sees, feels, and thinks without explicitly saying so. Sometimes words like see, feel, and hear weigh down your writing. Other times, they are necessary. The word “realize” in the second example might not necessarily be needed, but the sentence reads well with it included. It’s okay to include weaker verbs to add variety as long as there as strong verbs present. An overabundance of weak verbs slows down the pace and reduces the tension. Luckily, making weak verbs strong is an easy fix.

c.       Show don’t tell. Tense scenes often use descriptive language to show what the reader is physically experiencing.  In thrillers, rather than saying “I’m scared,” there is typically a reference to sweat or the heart pounding in order to illustrate fear. Romance writers also use sweat and a pounding heart to describe what the narrator feels when being kissed. In this situation, it is meant to illustrate love. The same bodily responses can be used to fit multiple situations.

d.      The descriptive language in tense scenes typically focuses on what the character feels. Is his chest tight? Do his fingers tingle? There is less emphasis on describing the setting because this slows the pace of the story down and reduces the tension. Some writers intentionally add in descriptions of the character’s surroundings to slow down the pace. Describing the setting is not a bad thing. However, one must make sure that the descriptions are relevant to the story. If it is a scary story, describing the shadows dancing on the wall could add to the suspense. Noting that the main character’s best friend is wearing track pants does not—unless of course, the track pants are an important detail later. Choose your details carefully.

Remember: Tension must build!

How to break tension:

·         As noted above, the tension can be slowed down or “broken” by taking the reader out of the immediate action. Focusing on the scenery, for example, might all the reader a moment to process. One could then oscillate back to the tense moment. A pause in the action not only allows the reader to breathe, but also keeps them wondering what will happen next.

·         Another way to break the tension is to switch the point of view. If there is more than one narrator, switching between them at a tense moment, allows for pause and increases the suspense. If the story is in third person, focusing the reader’s attention on another character has the same effect.

·         One could also insert a scene or chapter break to build the tension. Use a cliffhanger. Get your reader to want to turn that page. It’s similar to how TV shows use “To Be Continued…” They end the show right at the climax, just before we learn our hero’s fate.  

The Reaping Scene in the Hunger Games and What it Teaches us about Tension

After giving my students a lecture on tension, using the above as a worksheet/guide, I asked how many had read the book or seen The Hungers Games movie. None had, though some had heard of it. 

In the interest of showing how tension works and also incorporating simple technology in the classroom, I used my laptop to play a selected clip (roughly 10 minutes) of the audiobook followed by a clip of the movie (roughly 8 minutes). Most South African schools, or at least the ones I’ve worked at, are hurting for technology. Students have internet on their phones, but the classrooms do not have wifi or smart boards. Most just have chalkboards. 

Luckily, my laptop screen is pretty big and it was a smaller class (20 students), so they were all able to crowd in the center of the room and watch the movie as I held the laptop. One girl commented that the screen was dark. This lead into a discussion of lightning and how lighting can illustrate tension. Katniss’ house was very dark, but the reaping scene was out in the open and very bright.
  
I played the audiobook version of chapter one and the very beginning of chapter two. I asked students to write down examples of descriptive language as they listened. We then talked about the effect of ending chapter one with a cliffhanger, namely that Prim, the narrator’s sister, is chosen. The second chapter starts with a brief anecdote. Katniss recalls a time when she fell from a tree. This serves as a brief pause in the tension. However, the tension escalates when Katniss compares the feeling of falling out of a tree to hearing Prim’s name be called. 
  
Prior to showing the movie clip, I asked the students what they thought of when I said “holding hands.” I got a variety of answers all revolving around dating.  We had spoken about how physical responses can mean different things depending on the context. Katniss and Prim hold hands to show support. It illustrates their worry and fear as well as their sisterly love. 

The film also shows tension through contrast. The fact that Effie had a pink wig confused my students when we read and they got a real kick out of seeing her in the movie. Her attire shows wealth and contrasts to the plain clothes the kids wear. Katniss takes a bath and does her hair to look nice for the reaping, but her wardrobe shows she is poor. When she gets made over as part of being a tribute, she is given more elaborate garments. Effie’s “happiness” and the sober nature of the children in the crowd further illustrate the contrast and this adds to the tension, especially when the children all hold up their three fingers as a sign of solidarity and support.

Review: Investigating the Hottie

I received a copy of this book through Net Galley in exchange for an unbiased review.

3.5 stars or a Red belt based on how I rank :)

Investigating the Hottie is a quick, cute read. When 15-year-old Amanda Peterson steps off the plane, she expects to spend her week long break with her free-spirited aunt. Her aunt, however, as it turns out is not so free-spirited and has big plans for Amanda's stay. Her aunt is a spy and her organization has been tracking young recruits, including Amanda, to help with certain operations. Amanda's assignments, should she choose to accept it, is to spend the week at a private school and get to know super hot soccer Will, a person of interest, as he is believed to be a hacker.

The novel is well-paced and the connection between Amanda and Will stays PG (maybe PG-13 by the end). It's not insta-love. She acknowledges he is good looking and admits how he makes her feel, but the romance is relatively love key, good for younger YA readers. I'd say the target audience is 13-15.

I enjoyed Amanda as a narrator, but my favorite character was actually the aunt, Christie. She's spunky. The banter between her and her spy partner Nic is great. I would have liked Will to have been more developed. Also, some of the kids at school seemed to be mean girls just for the sake of being mean, to add tension. While this does speak to a the high school experience, it was not needed. I would have liked to know more about the spy stuff. Amanda accepts it relatively quickly. Also, the resolution to the hacking situation seems too simple. This was a point where there could have been excellent tension and the author did not take advantage of it. Amanda and Will's relationship resolves satisfactorily.

Overall, this was a fun story, a very quick read. It has the potential to be a series. In fact, I think that is the plan for it, and I'm glad because I would like to know more about Amanda and Will's adventures.I also want to see more of Christie and Nic.