Someone posted this photo on a Vanessa Hudgens fansite It's Vanessa and Alex Pettyfer on the set of Beastly.
I'm not sure what scene this is (and I've read the script) because they are clearly outside and together, and he's not a Beast. But, anyway, cool to see a photo. My film agent is going to the set next week with his daughters (It must be AMAZING to have a dad who is a film agent, right?), and I'll be there later this month. I'm really looking forward to it. Yesterday, a friend loaned my husband two travel guides for Montreal, so I've got to start planning.
By the way, my new and improved website is up at www.alexflinn.com I am finally out of Smartwriters hell. If you need a website designer, I can recommend www.ink2art.com
A Kiss in Time is on the front page of the HarperTeen website. If you click on it, you can read quite a long excerpt (I'm actually shocked at how long it is) from the book. Just be sure and stop before the part that says, "Two Years Later," because for some reason, they have included an excerpt from the beginning, then the last chapter.
Also, thought this was an interesting article. It's from a Disney fansite, and it recommends Beastly (while contrasting it with the Disney version of B&B, which I LOVED because a lot of people seem to think that the Disney version is the original story -- It isn't, though I do give them credit for fixing a few flaws in the original story, such as why on earth would Beauty's father abandon her to the Beast in the first place???). But that's not the only thing I'm jazzed about in the article. First off, it says that the Disney B&B is set to be released in digital 3D! I'm trying to picture this and really looking forward to the scene where the "servants" attack Gaston and the villagers. It's set to release in February. I will be there. There are also plans for a live action version.
But, more importantly, Disney has reserved the website www.maleficentmovie.com (not a working link yet). Those who have read A Kiss in Time in full know that I have a soft spot in my heart for the evil fairy who curses Sleeping Beauty, and that I gave her a backstory beyond merely not being invited to a party (though, as the parent of girls, I do know that party invitations can be VERY important). Maleficent was my favorite Disney villain for many years. Though, at present, she has been displaced by Ursula because Ursula also sings (When Meredith was younger, we had to listen to "Poor Unfortunate Souls" EVERY SINGLE DAY in the car to preschool), the Green, Horned-hatted one still scares the #$*! out of my kids in the Disney's Hollywood Studios Fantasmic! show. Will the Maleficent movie be shades of Gregory Maguire's Wicked? I can only hope so.
"This clever and humorous retelling of “Sleeping Beauty” follows an aimless American boy who awakens a princess who has been slumbering for 300 years . . .Flinn skillfully delineates how [the characters'] upbringings set them apart while drawing parallels between their family conflicts. Fans of happily-ever-after endings will delight in the upbeat resolution, which confirms the notion that 'love conquers all.'"
Very excited about this AND the Beastly movie being on Entertainment Tonight, tonight.
EW spends one and half pages under the headline, "When Stars Write Novels," lambasting The Hills' Lauren Conrad for thinking she can write a novel. Some samples: "Is there nothing LC can't do? Well, yes. Write a 'novel.' Authors need to be judged as writers. Not multitasking buzz generators." And this (EW, if I am quoting too much, please tell me and I will take it down, but I am just tickled, and I know my readers will be too. My subscription to EW, which I got as a free gift for purchasing JoBros Tour tickets . . . definitely getting renewed). "Publishers these days are laying off staff and cutting the number of titles on their lists . . . Yet, with an eye on marketing . . . these same publishers have given the okay to a larky novelice who . . . just thought authoring might be, you know, cool."
Reviewer Lisa Schwazbaum also discusses that the fact that Steve Martin can write (and, to be fair, Steve Martin was always a writer; Writing a comedy routine is writing) does not mean every celeb can suddenly write. She mentions the subject of non-celebrity ghost writers, and while I think it's nice when these people get work, I also think they should get credit, as with my friend, Julia Devillers novel, Princess of Gossip, written with a Cheetah Girl. It's actually quite good . . . because Julia wrote it.
Well said, EW. Much better than the fawning behavior of the ladies on The View last week, who treated Conrad's debut as a major literary event (though the audience applause at getting a free copy did seem a bit thin).
Next, can EW take on the idea that everyone can write a children's picture book, if only they sit down for an hour with a blank piece of paper and a pure heart? The Steve Martin concept has its correllary with Jaime Lee Curtis. Yeah, I admit I think JLC's books are cute. I actually bought a copy of Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born for friends of ours who'd adopted, and the dad (a tough construction contractor type) actually cried. But Madonna's books . . . not so much.
That said, Conrad's book, which Amazon lists as "young adult" (Shudder) has a sales rank of 21, which just shows there is no such thing as bad publicity (Maybe it would be nice if the Views of the world gave some time to real books . . . look what it did for Oprah). But, presumably, it will die a quick death, like Britney Spears' young-adult novel, which came out at the same time as my Breathing Underwater, but which, unlike, BU, is now out of print.
EW also has a nice interview blurb (and it is merely a blurb, but with a photo, and next to an eye-catching photo of Melissa Gilbert as Half-Pint, which readers my age will notice out of nostalgia . . . though I noticed Libba first) about Libba Bray and her new book, Going Bovine. Sounds interesting, Libba. Looking forward.
Beastly will be on ET on Monday!!! Apparently, this preview aired yesterday, and someone (amazingly, not me OR my mother . . . I only know this because my mother couldn't possibly post something on YouTube) posted it on YouTube (and yeah, I know the title says, "Last Airbender sneak peak," but it's about 75% Beastly -- though the other movie looks cool too -- Love M. Night Shyamalian).
I'm going to be in Missouri in November. It appears that I'll be in St. Louis overnight, due to the school being a profound distance from the airport. I know I'm always getting invited to Missouri schools, so if you happen to be a Missouri school teacher or librarian, who would like to arrange a part-day school visit and save on airfare, please contact me at alixwrites@aol.com to see if we can work something out.
I was reading through my saved e-mail, and I came across a little thing I sent to a friend years ago. At the time, I was reflecting upon the process of picking a book apart by committees who decide awards and such, and wondering how one of my favorite books would stand up to such scrutiny. I thought I'd share.
First Committee Member: Plot: Wildly improbable. I mean, Rochester has a madwoman living in his attic and no one knows about it even though he's never around and has a ton of servants? Second Committee Member: Well, Grace Poole knows. First Committee Member: Exactly. Grace Poole knows, and she has a drinking problem, but she never gets drunk and tells anyone in all those years? Even though the madwoman sneaks downstairs and sets fires? Second Committee Member (sighing): Right. First Committee Member: And then, there's that thing where he doesn't tell Jane he's in love with her. Why is that? Second Committee Member: He wants to make her really love him. First Committee Member: She's a governess and he's Lord of the Manor. Why does he need to work that hard -- bringing in Blanche Ingrahm and then sneaking around pretending to be a gypsy woman? Third Committee Member: And besides, she's so darn honest that she wouldn't marry him if she didn't love him anyway. He knows that. That's why he loves her. First Committee Member: Right. It's clearly a ruse by the author to create dramatic tension. Second Committee Member: I guess you're right. But . . . Fourth Committee Member: Well, what bothered me was, what are the odds that Jane would strike out on her own and end up on someone's doorstep and that that person would turn out to be a blood relative, about whom she knew nothing previously? Fifth Committee Member: I was about to mention that. And then, that relative just happens to find out about an inheritance that Jane had due her, at that moment. That was a bump for me. Second Committee Member: You're right. It is odd. And yet . . . First Committee Member: What? Second Committee Member: I loved the book. First Committee Member: But it had so many technical defects. Sixth Committee Member: Here's something no one has mentioned. What's the deal with St. John Rivers? She wrote a whole book about Jane Eyre called Jane Eyre. And then, she gets to the end, and the last chapter is all about St. John Rivers. I mean, who cares? No one even liked him. The story should have ended with Jane and Rochester. Didn't she have an editor to tell her this? Third Committee Member: Highly defective. Second Committee Member: But the romance. The passion. The characterization. First Committee Member: Meaningless in light of the technical flaws and plot holes. Second Committee Member: I suppose you're right. First Committee Member: It's unanimous, then? Jane Eyre is off the table -- and not a moment too soon (removes the book with two fingers and a distasteful expression). Let's move on to the next book under consideration. Postcards from No Man's Land. Third Committee Member: Now there's a good book!
The above, by the way, are all flaws, huge flaws, I perceive in Jane Eyre. And yet, it has a certain je ne sais quoi that makes it wonderful despite, or maybe even because of these flaws . . . which is what I think is so dangerous about writing with an eye to the response. I understand and appreciate committees who have to read everything. And I sure know that when you have to read something, you really notice every flaw. Of course, a writer must consider whether a book is credible. But, in the end, it is a book, and it has to come from the author's heart. I know that it is possible to put too much concern into how others will react, because I've done it, and the books I've written while doing it were not as good as the books that came out in a mad, unknowing gush of excitement (which were then, of course, carefully edited after the fact).
Of course, the act of writing sort of ruins reading also. This was one of the things I hated when I was singing opera, that I could never just attend an opera and know (as others knew) that the people onstage -- all of them -- really had beautiful voices. I had to notice that the tenor had a wobble and the soprano was a bit screechy. Now, I can enjoy it again. With reading, I never really thought about a book's flaws if I liked it, but now, there are few books which transcend that thinking (I actually just finished one such book, Moloka'i by Alan Brennert, not YA, but I think YA fans would still like it). Does Jane Eyre transcend? I think so. Maybe.
Was on a plane from Detroit, tonight, with no access to TV except Delta's inflight entertainment, which included a L-O-N-G feature on Venus Williams a travelogue about visiting Prague (Yeah, Prague. Prague? Why Prague???), and an odd British sit-com starring the guy who moved to Wisconsin to find sex in the movie, Love, Actually, but when I got home, I rushed to the computer to find the news. No, not to see if I got any new reviews (I did, a nice one in Notes From the Hornbook and a medium one in BCCB -- but their reviews aren't online). Not even to check the Internet gradebook to make sure my daughters have been turning in homework in my absence. But to see . . . who . . . got . . . voted . . . off. The answer to that question could have serious consequences.
But, whew! I can continue watching Idol in good conscience because Adam's still on. A little upset about Danny, but after that screechy rendition of "Dream On," what can he expect (I know that was last week, but I've noticed Idol voters usually take a week to process a bad performance)? The mere fact that I can handle Adam taking on an Aerosmith song says a lot, actually. I mean, I still don't think he's any Steven Tyler, but he's a heck of a lot prettier, and that has to count for something.
Anyway, yay, Adam!
By the way, a few years ago, I posted about not liking a particular Idol performer, and I started getting hate posts. If you're reading this, and you want to say mean things because you like a different Idol contestant than I like, first of all, get a life. Secondly, it's an OPINION, and as my friend, Giselle, from law school used to say, "Opinions are like a_holes. Everyone has one." But that doesn't mean you have to BE one. So vote for whomever you like, and I think there is still a message board at www.americanidol.com where you can yell at people but don't yell at me.
Ana Veciana Suarez, author of her own YA novel, Flight to Freedom, did a cool article about YA author Gaby Triana, who also has a cake decorating business. This article is worth checking out just for the cake photos. Yum!
From PW -- two Wisconsin librarians fired for refusing to remove Geography Club, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Deal With It from shelves, or add books "affirming traditional heterosexual perspectives."
Now, riddle me this: If we're going to assume arguendo (though I don't actually buy it) that books like Geography Club promote a gay agenda (as suggested by the persons who complained about the books), wouldn't any old Barbara Cartland or Harlequin romance or, for that matter, my books, Beastly and A Kiss in Time in which a boy and girl fall in love, "affirm heterosexual perspectives." Do they mean to say that there are NO books like that in the West Bend, Wisconsin library? If not, what's the problem?
Two friends of mine, two newly-released novels. The angle of the photo and the lighting are a bit different, but am I correct in saying that it's the same boy on both covers? The hair is obvious, but more than that, look at the cleft in his chin, the thin upper lip, and, hey, even his sweatshirt.
Funnily enough, the main character in Melissa's novel is a 17-year-old high school senior, while the boy in Joyce's is 13.
In other news, according to E! Online, the male lead in the movie version of Beastly has been cast. I have no independent confirmation of this, except they've been talking to him for a long time. I have to say this is pretty much the image of how I pictured Kyle in the story. Alex Pettyfer played Alex Rider in the Operation Stormbreaker movie, which I didn't see (but I'll have to rent, as soon as I buy a new DVD player). I'm just going to assume he can act.
Okay, so for the past 24 hours, I've been wondering if I just imagined this conversation with Movie Agent. I mean, nothing in writing, no evidence but the caller ID. I mean, the conversation did seem quite detailed to have been all in my mind, details like Montreal and specific dates. Still, I've been thinking, "What if I'm just CRAZY and I've been posting this to everyone I know, involving them in my craziness."
Two posts in one day. Wow! And I was so proud of myself for coming up with one long one. But here's the reason I needed to post again:
I got a call from the movie guy today. First, we made small talk. He asked how I was. I said I'm fine. I asked him how he was. He said okay but he's in L.A. and it's going to be 100 degrees out. I said it's a dry heat. He said he wasn't sure about that. I said I heard it was 45 and raining in New York. He said that was true. All this time, I'm thinking, "Why are you calling me? Are they making my book into a movie? What's going on? I mean, not that the weather in L.A. isn't INTERESTING and all . . ."
So, finally, I said, "So, what's up?"
And he told me.
Vanessa Hudgens has agreed to do the BEASTLY movie! It's a go. They start filming June 15.
And then, we talked some more about other projects, how long the filming would take and where (Montreal), whether I could visit the set (I can), when the movie would be released (probably about a year), and could I get some extra tickets to the premiere for my kids (Shouldn't be a problem), as if this was a perfectly ordinary conversation and my whole writing life hadn't just changed. And after a while, I started thinking, "I need to get off the phone now, so I can scream." But still, I kept talking.
I do a lot of school visits, and I talk to a lot of authors who do school visits. So I thought it would be interesting to post about what I think are the do's and don'ts of a good school visit, at least on the YA level. If anyone has any other thoughts, feel free to comment.
1. Do have the kids read the book before the author's visit. I have been fortunate that the vast majority of schools I visit have the kids read my books before I come. That's usually why they invited me, because they're either reading my books in class or my books are popular in the library (Why else would they hire me?). The only time I visit schools where the kids haven't read my books is if someone else arranged the visit, like the public library or another school. If the kids haven't read my books, I'm going to ascertain this, then read aloud from one of my books, so the kids will know what I write. If you can't have the kids read the authors' books, read a few excerpts aloud, well in advance of the visit, so maybe the kids will check the book out of the library.
2. Don't try to cram the whole school into the author's 3-4 sessions per day, unless it's a really small school. Me, I'll do it, though I discourage it. If you REALLY want me to talk to 500 kids in the gym, I'm not going to refuse, but I will warn you that interaction will suffer. Teens are reluctant to ask questions in front of the entire school. With younger kids, this is really not a possibility. The refrain I hear is, "How can we pick and choose who gets to see the author?" To which I say:
3. Do allow kids to self-select whether they want to come to the author visit. This is the perfect answer to how to decide which kids get to go. Let them sign up. Not all kids are equally interested in the author visit, particularly in upper grades. If the entire school really does want to come to the author visit (or really does want to get out of another class), the solution is simple. Have some sort of standard. They have to have read one (or two or three) of the author's books to go. The benefits of this are twofold. First, all the kids in the session have read the author's books. Second, all the kids are on record as being interested in the author talk and know that everyone else is too. This makes them much less nervous about asking questions.
4. Do, if it's not possible to have kids self-select for ALL sessions have ONE session where the kids can self-select, such as a writing workshop. My typical day at a school visit includes two lecture sessions, lunch with selected (by the faculty) students, and a workshop for selected students, either a creative writing class, book club, or kids who have individually signed up.
5. Don't assume that only the gifted kids should go to the author visit. Please think about who the audience for the author's books really are, and then, if the author you've invited happens to be F. Scott Fitzgerald (joke), by all means have only the gifted kids come. Me, I have had many of my best visits with the remedial reading crowd, and they can really benefit from the experience of meeting an author. They also tend to be more interactive in public, so it makes for a fun school visit. So many times, I've had a sort of quiet session with the gifted kids, then a livelier one, only to have the librarian say, "I don't understand. Those were the kids who don't read!" Maybe they will now.
6. Don't begin the author's session with a big lecture about how the kids had better behave respectfully. This implies that the author is going to be BORING. If you REALLY think this is necessary (based upon past conduct, not merely the fact that they are teens), have their teachers do it before they leave class (It is generally NOT necessary with a self-selected group).
7. Do sell books so the kids can get an authographed book if they want. Publishers usually offer a 20% discount on books purchased for school visits, and many bookstores will match this discount if you order enough copies. Even for kids in a lower socio-economic area, a paperback with a 20% discount is not that bad. You can always send the books back if they don't sell. If you're buying from a local bookstore (not the publisher), ascertain that they can get the books you want before the visit. Have them call their warehouse and check.
8. Don't assume the author will bring her own books to sell. Self-published authors do this because that is their business and they make 100% of the proceeds of the sales, and some authors will buy extra copies of their books to sell at local school visits (though I do not). If the author is going to get on a plane, there is really little or no possibility she's bringing books. If in doubt, ask.
9. Do, if the author is doing a writing workshop, have something like a blackboard, white board or large pad for the author to write on and make sure the kids have paper and a writing implement.
10. This one falls under the care and feeding of authors. If the author is flying to the school visit, do not expect the author to book a plane ticket at the time you book your visit unless you plan to reimburse the author for the plane ticket at that time. I know it would be cheaper to book the plane ticket a year in advance, but authors are funny about not wanting to put out money a year in advance when they won't soon be reimbursed. If an author does ten travelling school visits per year and reserves a $400.00 plane ticket a year in advance for each visit, you can see how much interest the author would be paying on her credit card for $4,000.00 in plane tickets. If you want the plane ticket reserved in advance, your choices are to reserve it yourself (Make sure to talk to the author ahead of time about schedule and get the correct spelling of her name -- names like "Debbie" or "Lisa" may be short for Deborah or Elizabeth) or let the author do it and reimburse her right away.
11. Another in the same category: Do make sure the author has access to three meals a day while in town. It has happened more than once that I've been dropped off at a hotel with no restaurant, where I would be hanging out THROUGH a mealtime with no access to any kind of food. Once, I was dropped off at around 1:00, not having had lunch, at a hotel across from a large state university in my (very hot) state and nothing else. I was going to be picked up at 4:00, so I thought, Okay, I'll just walk to the student union and get something. Except the student union turned out to be on the exact opposite side of campus, and I hadn't brought appropriate clothes or shoes for a 45-minute (each way) walk in the sun. I got there around 2:00, at which time the cafeteria was closing up because it was Saturday. Authors speak better when they don't have a headache.
12. Do show the author examples of student artwork about his/her books. I've seen really cool movie posters that kids have made for Breathing Underwater. I've been to schools where kids performed scenes from Breaking Point or Fade to Black. Cool! It also makes the kids feel more involved with the book if they've done this kind of project.
13. Do make the visit an event. Put up posters and talk about the author's books. The reason to have an author visit is to get kids excited about reading. If you treat the author like a rock star, this may happen. If you treat the author like any old assembly, it's not worth the money.
14. Don't overlook local authors. Local authors generally charge a lot less than out-of-state authors, and they don't need airfare and maybe not even a hotel room. By "local," I don't mean self-published people who want to hawk their books but actual respected authors who may happen to live somewhere near your hometown. A good source to find out about such authors is your local chapter of Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Go to www.scbwi.org and then click links to find out who's in charge in your state. Also, many websites list authors who visit schools by state. Here's one. Many of the local authors who may seem boring to you are the same authors that people in other states are paying big bucks for. Even if you had the local author visit 5 years ago, the kids have changed, so they're not tired of the author.
If you follow these tips, you should have a great school visit!
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