Cyn sounds off!

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Surf over to author Janni Lee Simner's Desert Dispatches for my thoughts on Writing for the Long Haul, the first in a series of posts by "writing survivors." Peek:

"I have a respectful patience for the inner artist but always hold her accountable."

Read the whole post.

I was thrilled that it’s on the Summer 2013 Kids’ Indie Next List. I’m in great company – the YA list also features Sara Zarr’s THE LUCY VARIATIONS, Andrea Cremer & David Levithan’s INVISIBILITY, and Sarah Dessen’s THE MOON AND MORE. Check it out here!

To celebrate the one month mark, I’m giving away a historical YA prize pack! But first, another snippet from STAR CURSED:

Two floors down, the grandfather clock chimes midnight. I glance at Rilla, curled on her side beneath her yellow quilt. She lets out a reassuring snore. I tiptoe across the room and ease the door open, holding my breath.

I cringe at every creak in the old wooden steps. Down in the kitchen, I pause to wrap my cloak around my shoulders, tugging the hood up over my long blond braids. The November wind whistles eerily in the chimney.

The cold inside the convent is nothing compared to the cold without. As soon as I step into the backyard, it bites at my nose and cheeks and fingertips. The water in the marble birdbath is frozen solid. I hurry past the fogged windows of Sister Evelyn’s conservatory, longing for the steamy warmth within.

The wind slices through my cloak, blowing my hood back and sending my hair whipping around my face. The half-moon throws shadows onto the slate path. It would only take one girl pressing her nose to the chilled windowpane of a garden-facing room, and I’d be discovered.

The garden stretches the entire width of a city block; a wrought-iron gate at the far end opens onto the lane behind the convent. I grip the freezing metal and drag it open. A tall figure darts around the corner.

For a minute, I grin foolishly. Then I rush toward him, heedless, wanting.

“Why?” His face is shadowed by his black hood, but I’d know that voice anywhere—only I’ve never heard it sound so furious with me.

I slam to a halt as though a glass pane separates us.

It was the last thing Finn said to me that day in church. The first thing he’s asking now.

We’re so close. Inches apart. I could reach out and—

“We had a plan. I went through with my part. I expected you to go through with yours. I expected you to announce our betrothal. What happened, Cate? Did you—” His hood blows off, revealing coppery hair that’s unrulier than ever. His cheeks are red, and the tips of his ears. He takes a deep breath, fighting for control. “Have your feelings for me changed?”

Now for the giveaway:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* a signed ARC of STAR CURSED

which obviously I am rather biased about but think you might enjoy

* a finished copy of CHANTRESS by Amy Butler Greenfield

which I loved so much I blurbed: With a spirited heroine, fearsome monsters, and luminous worldbuilding, this story had me hooked from the first page. CHANTRESS is truly enchanting. 

* a finished copy of MAID OF SECRETS by Jennifer McGowan

which I also loved so much I blurbed: McGowan offers a tantalizing look at the spies, seductions, and secrets of Queen Elizabeth’s court. There are no damsels in distress here; Meg and her fellow Maids of Honor are a clever, winsome quintet! 

* an ARC of TARNISH by Katherine Longshore

which is an account of the young Anne Boleyn’s rise to power in the court of Henry VIII. I haven’t read this yet, but I loved its predecessor, GILT.

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below. Contest open ’til midnight next Mon, May 27. US only.

for Cynsations

Polly Holyoke is the first-time author of The Neptune Project (Hyperion, 2013). From the promotional copy:

With her weak eyes and useless lungs that often leave her gasping for air, Nere feels more at home swimming with the dolphins her mother studies than she does hanging out with her classmates.

Nere has never understood why she is so much more comfortable and confident in the water than on land until the day she learns the shocking truth—she is one of a group of kids who have been genetically altered to survive in the ocean. These products of the "Neptune Project" are supposed to build a better future under the waves, safe from the terrible famines and wars and that rock the surface world.

But there some big challenges ahead of her: noone ever asked Nere if she wanted to be part of a science experiment; the other Neptune kids aren't exactly the friendliest bunch, and in order to reach the safe haven of the new Neptune colony, Nere and her fellow mutates must swim across hundreds of miles of dangerous ocean, relying on their wits, their loyal dolphins and one another to evade terrifying undersea creatures and a government that will stop at nothing to capture the Neptune kids ... dead or alive.

Fierce battle and daring escapes abound as Nere and her friend race to safety in this action-packed marine adventure.

When and where do you write? Why does that time and space work for you?

I've been writing professionally for over twenty years now, and I do like to write in my little office (usually supervised by two lazy cats), but I can make myself write anywhere.

Ellie and Luna

I'm also a big believer in the "bio-rhythms" of writing. Different people definitely have different times of day when they are most productive. Between 8 and 11 o'clock in the morning is my magic time when the words and phrases flow easily. Noon to two or so is a barren, frustrating desert, and then my creativity starts flowing again around three in the afternoon, just when I have to pick up my kids from school.

I knew a successful romance writer whose most productive time was literally from midnight to four or five in the morning. She lived a completely nocturnal lifestyle when she was on deadline, but luckily she was single and could cater to the whims of her personal bio-rhythms!

Most of us have jobs and family obligations which keep us from writing at our most productive time. But if you want to be a professional writer, you have to protect that time as best you can.

Sometimes you get stuck having to produce at a time of day when those creative juices don't flow as easily, but if you're a pro, you still put yourself in front of your computer at home, in the car, at the office cafeteria, or at your kid's school gym between games and make the words come or, at the very least, get some useful revising done.

As a science fiction writer, how did you go about building your world?

The Neptune Project takes place almost entirely in the sea, and one of my favorite compliments from a teen reader was, "I had no idea all that cool stuff was down there."

There is lots of "cool stuff" in the ocean, and I went to great lengths to build an undersea world so vivid that my readers could see it, hear it, feel it, and taste it.

Fortunately, I've been a scuba diver for many years, and I was able to describe from personal experience the light and the visibility and the currents one often encounters beneath the waves. I went to the websites of dive companies which operate in waters I didn't know, like the Vancouver Island area, and I studied their photos and read comments from their guests to collect more visceral details to convey what it's like swimming around in such cold, dark waters.

Even though the entire premise of humans breathing water may seem preposterous to some, I wanted to make it seem as believable as possible. I had to do a ton of research and found out that what we can already do in terms of genetic engineering is both amazing and frightening.

We truly are on the brink of being able to create custom-designed children and genetically-enhanced super soldiers. Creating humans who can breathe in the sea isn't preposterous at all.

Finally, I tried to tap into my own teen years and imagine what it would be like if I were fourteen and suddenly was forced to live in the ocean. What would I notice, what would astound me, and what would I miss from my life on land?

Effective world-building often comes back to the simplest details.

In one of my favorite scenes, my characters float in a circle eating their lunch of raw fish and kelp while they talk about the food from home that they miss, like ice cream and freshly-baked bread. I hope in that moment, my teen readers do realize how hard it is for my characters to have to live in this strange new undersea world for the rest of their lives.

Lindsey signs Riptide

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Debut YA author Lindsey Scheibe launched Riptide (Flux, 2013) yesterday at BookPeople in Austin. From the promotional copy:

For Grace Parker, surfing is all about the ride and the moment. Everything else disappears. She can forget that her best friend, Ford Watson, has a crush on her that she can’t reciprocate. She can forget how badly she wants to get a surf scholarship to UC San Diego. She can forget the pressure of her parents’ impossibly high expectations.

When Ford enters Grace into a surf competition— the only way she can impress the UCSD surfing scouts—she has one summer to train and prepare. Will she gain everything she’s ever wanted or lose the only things that ever mattered?

Read a Cynsations New Voice interview with Lindsey.

Lindsey with Austin SCBWI founder Meredith Davis & Bee Cave librarian Michelle Benavides

Austin authors Jo Whittemore, Nikki Loftin, Jennifer Ziegler, Greg Leitich Smith, Bethany Hegedus, Salima Alikhan & Cory Putnam Oakes catch a wave.

Cory and writer-photographer Sam Bond

Debut YA author Lindsey Scheibe

Here I am, getting into the surfer spirit!

Author-illustrator Mark G. Mitchell & author Julie Lake

Lindsey tells stories of her own surfing adventures.

Lindsey Scheibe signs for fellow Austin author (& fellow Lindsey), Lindsey Lane.

Here I am, sandwiched between Austin SCBWI ARA Samantha Clark & Salima

Erin Edwards & Jo mug for the camera; Austin SCBWI RA Shelley Ann Jackson waits behind them.

Samantha, Shelli Cornelison & Meredith at Lucy's Retired Surfer Bar in Austin

Salima, Bethany & Samantha at Lucy's

Greg, Salima, Erin, Nikki, Lindsey, her husband, Meredith, Bethany, Samantha & Shelli at Lucy's