tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743135146753376072024-03-13T15:13:28.972-07:00CBaileySimsC. Bailey Simshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02650848335856138735noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3074313514675337607.post-90946474170057374982012-04-08T04:27:00.000-07:002012-04-08T04:27:28.361-07:00Oh, those elusive fairrier cats!<h4><span style="font-size: 12px;">This interview originally appeared March 24, 2012 on Michelle Keener's blog, Escape in Words, <a href="http://escapeinwordsreviews.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://escapeinwordsreviews.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</a>. Since so many people have been asking about the fairrier cats lately, I asked Michelle if she wouldn't mind if I re-posted this Q & A here. (The legendary and powerful fairrier cats are central to the plot in the young adult fantasy book, Candlewax, which was just released by Terabyte Press as an ebook and a trade paperback). Thanks, Michelle, for letting me re-post. C.</span></h4><h4><span style="font-size: 12px;"> </span></h4><span style="font-size: 12px;"></span><span style="font-size: 12px;"><h2> <a href="http://escapeinwordsreviews.blogspot.com/2012/03/q-with-writer-c-bailey-sims-about.html" target="_blank">Q. & A with writer C. Bailey Sims about fairrier cats in Candlewax</a> <div> Posted by <span>Michelle</span> , at 8:25 AM, in Labels: <a href="http://escapeinwordsreviews.blogspot.com/search/label/Review%20and%20Interview" rel="tag" target="_blank">Review and Interview</a> </div></h2></span><span style="font-size: 12px;"><b>Q. How did you think of the idea of fairrier cats?</b><br />
A. Spelopokos’s character came first then came the characteristics of the species. He had to have an attitude to play against Catherine’s character (as she was in the beginning of the book—a sheltered, self-centered princess). Spelopokos had to have a commanding presence of his own so as not to be daunted by her nobility. Of course it is easy to be fearless when you are a huge, lethal fairrier cat.<br />
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<b>Q. So then, Pokos’s character inspired the whole idea of fairrier cats?</b><br />
A. Definitely. But Pokos and the other fairrier cats also have some of the best qualities of tigers, lions and other big cats—nobility, fearlessness, courage. And of course they are pretty stealthy too. You have to respect them.<br />
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Q. How did you come up with the unique physical attributes of the fairrier cat?</b><br />
A. That was fun. First came the invisibility, the black-and-white spotted coloring, then the soft neck fur and the changing eyes. And Spelopokos had to be larger than our biggest big cats, because he is, after all, a fairrier cat.<br />
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<b>Q. And what about the supernatural qualities of the cats?</b><br />
A. Many people throughout history and still today believe in the supernatural powers of animal parts, and that’s caused a lot of killing of endangered species, which is quite tragic. In reality, the only power of animal parts is the power we give them in our beliefs. It’s so sad to see wild animals hunted for their horns or their skins or other parts. In Candlewax, the wearer of the fairrer cat skin has a kind of invincibility. Fairrier cats only die if they are killed, and yet a human wearing a fairrier cat skin is almost impossible to kill. That is why the cats have been hunted to the brink of extinction.<br />
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Q. Surprisingly, Pokos can talk. Was that important for the story?</b><br />
A. I once spent a week house sitting a Himalayan cat that was able to swear—actual words you could understand. Ha! I’m not kidding! I’ll never forget how cool that was. I think the cat was mad that the owners had left it. For Candlewax, I just took some of what cats already have and amplified it. Cats are pretty smart and they have some amazing vocalizations. And Pokos is so much more interesting because he can speak. </span>C. Bailey Simshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02650848335856138735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3074313514675337607.post-59366161621946537482012-03-30T14:44:00.000-07:002012-03-30T14:44:31.584-07:00Q. & A. about Candlewax, Blooming With Books interviews C. Bailey SimsThis post first appeared on Blooming with Books' Blog <a href="http://bloomingwithbooks.blogspot.com/2012/03/candlewax-q-with-author-c-bailey-sims.html">http://bloomingwithbooks.blogspot.com/2012/03/candlewax-q-with-author-c-bailey-sims.html</a><br />
I am grateful to Meagan for letting me re-post it here because she asked some really good questions about Candlewax. Be warned that there are minor spoilers here--nothing too egregious!<br />
<div class="widget Blog" id="Blog1"><div class="blog-posts hfeed"><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=default) --><div class="date-outer"><h2 class="date-header"><span><span style="color: #222222;">date of original post: 3.15.2012</span></span></h2><div class="date-posts"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry"><a href="" name="2172313259719319341"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YvWs2XY1sro/T3Yd9oXReVI/AAAAAAAAABw/xdyBL-4kIvE/s1600/Candlewax_low-res_CVR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320px" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YvWs2XY1sro/T3Yd9oXReVI/AAAAAAAAABw/xdyBL-4kIvE/s320/Candlewax_low-res_CVR.jpg" width="213px" /></a></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title">Candlewax Q & A with author C. Bailey Sims</h3><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">First of all "C", I'd like to thank you for agreeing to this interview</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">and I'm sure Candlewax's readers will appreciate the behind-the-scenes</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">look at this award-winning title.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Thank you for having me, Meagan!</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1. Fire is both fascinatingly beautiful and at the same time</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">frightening. How did you come up with the idea of the continually</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">burning trees of Candlewax?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Ahhh. I just love candlelight. When I began telling stories to my kids</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">to keep them at the dinner table it was not uncommon for me to light</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">candles—even for every day meals. Candlewax trees were one of the</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">first recurring elements in what became known as my Candlewax stories.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">There is something calm-ing and beautiful about candlelight that</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">appeals to me on a very basic level. It is interesting, too, that</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">there is a real species of tree called the Chinese tallow tree that</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">has a sap that can be burned as fuel, so to me it was natural to make</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Candlewax Wood a totally believable phenomenon.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2. You didn't really touch on this, but is Candlewax always lit up</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">even at night with a glow on the horizon?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Yes, the Wood does light up the night sky, much like we can see city</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">lights illuminate the atmosphere above. When Catherine is running</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">away from Crystallia, she glimpses the faint glow of Candlewax in the</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">distance.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">3. Is Catherine actually the heir to three kingdoms?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Oooh. I’m impressed. No one has noticed that yet. Or if they have,</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">they haven’t said anything about it. Catherine is uniquely positioned</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">for her mission. She definitely has ties to three kingdoms of the four</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">kingdoms of Lackanay, and how much she makes of her claims in the</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">future will depend on many un-foreseen (possibly to be revealed)</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">factors. Readers of Candlewax might even spot a fourth tie to a land</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">outside of Lackanay. I won’t say more because I don’t want to give too</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">much away.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">4. Trodliks sound really icky looking, how did you come up with</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">them? Are they based on anything, even something you would find under</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">a microscope?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I made trodliks as icky as I could possibly imagine them. I mean,</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">white exoskeletons with yellow guts, red eyes, lots of little legs and</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nasty teeth and claws. Yuck!!!! I did sort of have evil shrimp in</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">mind. I wanted them to also have a pre-historic, fossil-record feel to</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">them.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">5. Where did Trodliks come from originally so that they were able to</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">get to Devona in the first place, or is that an unknown mystery that</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">no one even knows?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I imagine they evolved from a more benign species. Something went</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">wrong to trigger a transformation, much like when we see locust swarms</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">develop from much more harmless grasshoppers or some species of</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">African ants suddenly attack livestock and humans. Once trodliks get</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">started, it is hard to stop them.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">6. Will Desert of Devona ever be able to returned to what it once was</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">or are the Trodliks a permanent resident of the land?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Can you read my mind? I have plans for Devona but can’t reveal them!</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">7. If there is not a Catherine, would the Ancient Onyxes work? Or must</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">a Catherine control it?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Only Catherine could fulfill her particular mission. While others can</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">wield the Ancient Onyxes with great power, the pendant was crafted for</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">her.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">8. How did you find out about Candlewax winning Connecticut’s Tassy</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Walden New Voices in Children’s Literature Award, and how did you</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">feel? (Shocked, happy, excited?)</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">All of those. I answered the call from the Shoreline Arts Alliance on</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">the house phone in the kitchen. It was evening and I was thinking it</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">was one of the kids’ friends or something. When they told me</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Candlewax had taken first prize in the Young Adult category, I was</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">simply overwhelmed with shock and joy. The first thing I wanted to do</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">was share the news with my sons and husband. Having the judges of the</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Tassy Walden award validate my writing was incredibly helpful to me as</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">an author. I’ll never forget it.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">9. Where did you find fairrier cats and Spelopokos?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">For me, Spelopokos came first, then all the capabilities and</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">characteristics of fairrier cats. Strange, I know, but then he is a</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">very assertive character. He was always there—I just had to find him,</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">like a sculptor chipping away at a block of marble. Fairrier cats are</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">an amalgamation of my favorite things about big cats—made more</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">extreme. And yet, in spite of his enormous size, there are times when</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Pokos can be just like a housecat.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">10. Do you have a favorite scene?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Duray Principas. (Pronounced DUR-ay PRIN-see-PAHSS). It is a very</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">visual scene for me. I can see every one of those arrows fly. But</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">there are lots of other parts that I treasured writing.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">11. Are Catherine or Cyril based on anyone, even loosely?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Anyone who has ever looked danger or defeat in the eye and not</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">blinked. There are a lot of you out there, and some even in my own</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">family.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">12. Is there a character that you relate to more than the others? If so, how?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Spelopokos. I soooo want to be Catherine so Pokos can be in my life!</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">13. As a writer, what gives you the greatest satisfaction?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">It is a thrill for me to find an audience for my writing. Whenever</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">there is a reader to share my world, it is a universe-expanding</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">feeling. Writing is very solitary. When the writing is done, and the</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">sharing begins, it is nerve-wracking, complicated, sometimes tortuous,</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">and frequently inspirational.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">14. Is there a question you wish someone would ask you about</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Candlewax? If so, how would you answer?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Okay, here goes. Is “Wolfy” from Candlewax based a real dog? Yes, he</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">is a Great Pyrenees and his name is Buddy. I am seriously considering</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">putting Buddy in all of my books. He is one of the great loves of my</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">life. Maybe you can tell that by the way I am strangling him in the</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">picture?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">15. How many books do you plan on writing about Lackanay? Or will they</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">just happen?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Ah ha. Good question, Meagan. I am working on the sequel, TABREK. How</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">many books there will be, I just don’t know because I like spending</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">time in Lackanay.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Again thanks for your time "C" and I wish you success with Candlewax.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f1e6; color: #7d633b; font-family: 'lucida sans unicode', 'lucida sans', arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: olive; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Thanks again for having me on your blog!</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>C. Bailey Simshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02650848335856138735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3074313514675337607.post-86829535205719343422012-02-10T13:25:00.000-08:002012-02-10T13:25:53.442-08:00The "Young" in Young Adult FictionThe words "young adult" conjure up different images for different people. Libba Bray once quipped that when she told kids she wrote "young adult books" that they sometimes thought she meant she wrote porn. I remember that joke getting a big laugh from everybody at a BEA Children's breakfast, including me. It was funny--especially with Libba's fantastic delivery.<br />
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There are lots of books for age 12 and up that are rightly considered YA. Maybe <em>too</em> YA for a 12-year old, depending on the 12-year old. Which begs the question are some of our YA books miss-identified? Yeah, maybe.<br />
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And then there are precocious readers like the young Sherman Alexie, who devoured books for adults at a tender age and grew into a magnificent writer. I for one, would not have censored his reading list one little bit.<br />
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What are the qualities of an adult? The ability to think for oneself with a certain amount of wisdom comes to mind. Really, that has more to do with the character and experience of the reader than the number of years that person has been on the planet. Sometimes kids might stumble on a book that stretches them farther than they were expecting or willing to stretch. Parents, teachers, and librarians need to be alert to matching kids up with the right books, and mismatches are going to happen. Peers are going to lend books to their friends. Stories, information, and knowledge of adult topics will flow freely, <em>despite</em> or <em>because of</em> our best efforts (depending on what your perspective is).<br />
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But sometimes common sense is lacking. For example, I had an 8th grade public school teacher who, without any discussion or preparation, showed her classes a black and white NAZI film of bulldozers moving huge piles skeletal bodies, lamp shades being made out of human skin, and other real-life horrors of the concentration camps. I was shell-shocked for days. It was brutal. And, no, I didn't talk to my parents or anyone else about how sick I felt. If our class had had discussions on the Holocaust ahead of time, and been given the option to see the footage or not, I think that would have at least prepared us to see the horrors that she sprang on us unawares. I don't think that was good teaching. Or maybe, it was. Cruel, but effective. So, yeah there are things we all need to learn about. How we learn them can make a difference. <br />
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Which brings me back to YA literature, which will always be a mixed bag with childlike qualities and adult qualities in a tug of war and a glorious mud pit in the middle.C. Bailey Simshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02650848335856138735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3074313514675337607.post-90068071293660052792012-01-28T08:01:00.000-08:002012-01-28T08:01:11.180-08:00Missing in actionI have always suspected that untamed social media would take away valuable writing time, but just the opposite has happened to me over the past year-plus. I have been invisible on social media and instead have been busy writing the sequel to Candlewax (Tabrek), working on short stories, thinking, moving, and generally being engulfed in life. <br />
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I signed up for Twitter in 2009. Since then, I have tweeted twice. What a phenomenal pace!!! I signed up to blog a year ago. I think this is my fourth blog. WOW. What impulsive erudition.<br />
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Well, I've had to figure a few things out.<br />
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First of all, I am going to start liking social media. It's convenient, fun, and inclusive. It's a great way for authors to reach out to their readers. <br />
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Next, I'm going to try to link it all up together: Twitter with my Blog with Facebook with reading sites like Goodreads with my website CBaileySims.com with whatever else comes along. The web giants are nudging us towards this kind of comprehensive unity anyway. They want it, <i>badly</i>. Social media platforms are going to be as connected as possible with each other.<br />
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As an author, I embrace this, even as a private person it is alarming. Starting March 1, Google will adopt a new privacy policy and begin tracking individual users across its many services including search, gmail, and YouTube. Will the corporation Google always be in the right hands and make moral decisions? I hope so. What could happen? As a writer of fiction, I hate to imagine it.C. Bailey Simshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02650848335856138735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3074313514675337607.post-36632046411760213902011-03-25T13:25:00.000-07:002011-03-25T13:25:42.261-07:00The last pile of grey snow.There is one pile of grey snow left in my front yard. Once it stood a proud and glistering mountain--nine feet tall --and now it is a mere foot and a half high. Once it had a snow cave inside of it, built over winter break by some enthusiastic young men. Now it is surrounded by spongy wet moss and deflated grass. Gravel from our driveway peppers its granular surface.<br />
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I know we've had the first day of spring already, but for me the true first day of spring will be when the last bit of grey snow is totally gone.C. Bailey Simshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02650848335856138735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3074313514675337607.post-34611144274920832872011-03-11T13:51:00.000-08:002011-03-11T13:51:48.643-08:00Trail Blazer/Publisher/Writer Amanda HockingThe title of this blog is Trail Blazer/Publisher/Writer Amanda Hocking. That is my take on how Amanda has made beautiful ripples in the publishing pond. Most importantly, Amanda Hocking is a trail blazer for authors everywhere to show us that great things are possible. But just like another trail blazer, Neil Armstrong, it doesn't mean that Amanda's trail was easy or even likely to be oft-repeated.<br />
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Interesting to note that this talented young woman first considered herself a writer. Then, when she couldn't get published traditionally, she became a publisher. After she published, thanks to her grass roots support (Amanda Hocking has a large following for her blog and her twitter feed that is growing by the day) and phenomenal sales on Amazon.com (mostly for Kindle downloads) she became a trail blazer. <br />
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Now that she is successful, she has an agent. Between her ten published books, she is selling about 95,000-100,000 books a month. Did I mention she is 26 years old?<br />
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I decided to download one of her books and see what all of the fuss was about. After all, it was only 99 cents. The first one went down like a bag of popcorn. Entertaining, not terribly nutritious, but I quickly read book #2 in the series. It was priced at $2.99. The girl has a good marketing strategy. At the end of each Kindle book was the first chapter from a different Amanda Hocking series. Brilliant.<br />
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Now, many people may scratch their heads at some of the editing, grammatical and spelling errors in Hocking's published writings. It's a little scary, but my guess is that 99% of her audience doesn't even notice these errors. Or if they notice, they really don't care. She is reaching a demographic that is texting "lol" or "u" for you. What does it matter if she wrote "chucking up" instead of "chalking up"? My prediction is that she will eventually have her books purged from all editorial errors. <br />
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In the meantime, I hope that Amanda keeps writing and publishing at the same pace. The publishing world will be chasing her down the street, cleaning up her text, selling the next deal, and hoping they can catch up.C. Bailey Simshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02650848335856138735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3074313514675337607.post-21079625911867078142011-03-04T12:04:00.000-08:002011-03-04T12:04:19.501-08:00First BlogHey there, world. One more blogger has joined the blogosphere. I can already feel the ripples going out from my little town in Connecticut. <br />
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Seriously, this is a big step for me. I am a private person by nature. But I have a great affection for people. Go figure. <br />
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What I am wondering now, is how this reaching out to anonymous readers will affect my life. Or IF it will affect my life. Somehow I already feel lighter, more proactive. Less restrained. Will anyone ever read this first blog? Will it be like the electronic fossil that will lay buried for millennia before someone unearths it? Time will tell. <br />
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At the very least, this blog will soothe the writing beast inside. The one I have to feed in order to survive. <br />
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So, whoever you are, welcome to my blog. Thanks for coming.C. Bailey Simshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02650848335856138735noreply@blogger.com5