Who Will I Be at the SCBWI-Wi Masquerade Ball?

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In late October, I will be attending the fall retreat of the Wisconsin chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I’ve been to several of this group’s workshops and retreats, and they’ve always been fun.

This year’s fall retreat includes a Masquerade Ball, and we are encouraged to dress up as characters from children’s stories. I love dressing up! I still haven’t decided who I’ll be. Several months ago, I asked my Facebook friends for some ideas. Here are my favorite:

I may be too stout to be Amelia Bedelia amelia-bedelia

and not stout enough to be Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. mrs-piggle-wiggle

As Mary Poppins I might be practically perfect….mary-poppins

white-witch

Being the White Witch would be fun. I could drape my wedding dress with icicles; I wonder if it still fits….

wicked-witch

To be the Wicked Witch of the East, I would need to find striped socks and ruby slippers (or silver, from the book). I could wear a house, OR I could be creative with the rest of the costume. According to the book, all witches wear white. Again, if I could just squeeze into my wedding gown….

One of my favorite suggestions is the Paper Bag Princess. Who remembered that the bag was so short? I think I’d make my bag a little longer.paper-bag-princess

If I want to rent a costume, I could leave the human race behind.  I absolutely adore the One and Only Ivan.

ivan

And as my cousin said, being Celeste would be a hoot, although it might make conversation and dancing and just about anything else a challenge.

celeste

If you have any additional ideas for me, leave them below. After the fall retreat, I’ll post pictures of the event, and you can see who I chose to be!

 

 

Author Interview: Helen Hollick

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helen-hollick

Today I’m welcoming Helen Hollick to my series of author interviews. Helen is the author of numerous historical novels, including a trilogy about King Arthur, the Sea Witch pirate series, novels of Saxon England, and a nonfiction book for aspiring novelists. Helen’s most recent publications are two short stories in 1066 Turned Upside Down, a collection of alternate history stories in celebration of the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.

helen-1066Elizabeth: Welcome, Helen. Tell us about your story in 1066 Turned Upside Down.

Helen: Hello! How lovely to be here, thank you for inviting me onto your blog. I have two stories in 1066 Turned Upside Down and both are adapted from my novel Harold the King (the US title of which is I Am The Chosen King – same book different publisher and title). I was delighted to have this opportunity to alter these two scenes as I obviously could not write them as I wanted to in the ‘serious’ novel because I had to stick to the facts. My first alternate story, To Crown A King, opens 1066 Turned Upside Down in January 1066 when King Edward has just died and a successor is being elected. (Yes a king was chosen in the 11th century by the Council of England, the Witan; what we would now call Parliament!) The candidates are Harold, Earl of Wessex, Edgar, the grandson of Edmund Ironside (who would have been King if he had not died, and in consequence Cnut of Denmark took the throne,) and Duke William of Normandy. The latter was instantly dismissed as a possibility, so the decision was between the older and more experienced Harold, and the young lad, still only a boy, Edgar.

My other story, In The Wake of the Dolphin, is an event of 1066 that I am passionate about: were the Normans initially defeated at sea in the summer of 1066? I believe they were, for England had a powerful and competent navy (the schypfyrd) which King Harold II would have deployed, and William’s fleet was devastatingly depleted. Norman sources claim this was because of a storm, I believe this is propaganda to hide the truth of defeat. I thoroughly enjoyed going back to alter my original scene for this ‘different’ one. Incidentally, both this version of the encounter at sea and the original were dedicated to author Rosemary Sutcliff, whose wonderful books steered me in the direction of historical fiction and still remain my favourites. The Saxon longship in the story, the Dolphin, was named in her honour.

I’ll not say more – spoilers – except these are ‘alternative’ stories which do not follow the facts as we know them.

Elizabeth: Your historical novels have been called “meticulously researched.” How different is writing alternate history to writing history-accurate historical fiction?

Helen: Well I try my best to be accurate, although all authors make inevitable mistakes, especially when new information comes to light. (Who would have expected Richard III to have been buried where he was?) The important thing about writing fiction – any fiction, be it historical, a thriller, romance or even fantasy is to entice the reader into believing it is all true. If the reader keeps thinking ‘oh this is far-fetched,’ or ‘that couldn’t possibly have happened’ then the whole story could fall apart because the reader does not believe in it. So the known facts must be correct. Who would enjoy a story about the most famous battle in English history, the Battle of Hastings, if it was set in 1065 or 1067? Unless of course it was deliberately written as an alternative story! But even then there has to be a sense of reality and belief for the background detail. So the skill of ‘making things up’ comes from getting the rest of it spot-on right.

The fun comes with knowing you can make up the other imagined bits as much as you like!

Elizabeth: How did the collaboration of historical novelists in 1066 Turned Upside Down come to be?

Helen: I was with author Joanna Courtney at the Battle of Hastings re-enactment in October 2015, and in between book signings and author talks we briefly discussed a few ‘what if’ scenarios: what if Hardrada had won at Stamford Bridge? what if William had lost the fight that October day? Then, a few months later Joanna contacted me to say ‘What if we created an e-book of short stories for the year 1066 exploring the what if concept?’ I jumped at the chance!

Elizabeth: Tell us about your King Arthur series.

Helen: My first published novels were a trilogy. (I’d had no idea that I had written enough for three books – I thought I was writing just one, somewhat long novel. Such is the naivety of novice writers! *laugh*) I wanted to write a story about King Arthur as events might have really happened. IF Arthur had existed (and that is a big if!) he would have been a warlord in the 5th/6th centuries between the going of the Romans and the coming of the Anglo-Saxons. There would have been no knights in armour, no holy grail, no Lancelot and no Merlin. I also wanted to re-write Guinevere’s story. I call her Gwenhwyfar, which is an earlier Welsh spelling of her name, and according to these Welsh legends she and Arthur had three sons with no hint of her adultery. I saw Gwen as a feisty, capable woman who loved Arthur dearly, but as they were both strong characters their tempers often clashed. My Arthur is a warts-and-all military commander. He is not the Godly goody-goody king of Medieval tales; in my trilogy he has to fight hard to gain his kingdom, and fight even harder to keep it.

helen-king-books

The Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy: The Kingmaking, Pendragon’s Banner, and Shadow of the King

Elizabeth: You’ve written five novels about Captain Acorne. Was he a real historical figure?

Helen: Captain Acorne is entirely made-up. He is a pirate (well, ex-pirate) who gets into all sorts of scrapes – my tag line is ‘Trouble follows Jesamiah Acorne like a ship’s wake.’ I have just published the fifth Voyage in the series, and these are nautical adventures written for adult, or older teenagers as they have adult content. The stories also have an element of fantasy in that Jesamiah’s ‘love interest’ Tiola, his girlfriend (and then wife), is a White Witch, and there are supernatural elements running through each adventure: Tethys, the elemental spirit of the sea, a ghost, a Night-Walker etc. All written for fun and meant to be read for fun. I think of the Sea Witch Voyages as sailor’s yarns – not meant to be taken seriously!

If you enjoyed the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, you will enjoy the Sea Witch Voyages.

helen-sea-witch-books

Sea Witch Voyages: Sea Witch (Voyage One), Pirate Code (Voyage Two), Bring It Close (Voyage Three), Ripples In The Sand (Voyage Four), On The Account (Voyage Five)

Elizabeth: What drew you to these time periods and characters?

Helen: For Arthur it was a fascination with post-Roman Britain, and a realisation that if there was an Arthur he would not have been a knight in armour and sitting there almost oblivious to being cuckolded by his wife and best friend. (He would have done something about it. A quite dramatic something!). I was also fed-up with Gwenhwyfar always being the one blamed for everything falling apart, I could not see her as betraying Arthur, at least, not deliberately. And what about these three sons that were mentioned in the early legends? I wanted to explore their existence.

Harold and 1066 drew me because I then lived near Waltham Abbey, which was Harold’s territory when he was Earl of Essex. It was nice to be able to do research on my own doorstep! I also dislike English history as being portrayed as starting at 1066 with the Norman Conquest. I thought it about time that someone wrote the story from the English point of view. (This was back in 1999 when there were very few 11th Century novels about 1066.)

Jesamiah? I had no idea I would become so passionate about the Golden Age of Piracy, or that I would be so consumed by an imagined character, but well, I adore Jesamiah! I think the phrase is, ‘he is the love of my life’!

Elizabeth: What is your writing process?

Helen: Stare out the window at the fabulous Taw River Valley that I can see from my study window here in Devon. Write a line or two. Stare out the window again. Write a bit more. Get up to see what all the noise the geese are making is about. Have lunch. Write another sentence. Pat Eddie the dog who is nudging me… Tea break… *laugh*. Get the picture? Devon life in an 18th century farmhouse can be somewhat distracting!

Elizabeth: What are you working on now?

Helen: I have been commissioned to write a non-fiction book about pirates, which is good fun but very demanding (not quite so much staring out of the window for this one!) I’m writing it to explore the facts about piracy in the early 18th century and our fascination with fiction about pirates, so blending the fact in with the fiction.

Elizabeth: Can you tell us more about yourself?

Helen: I am now officially a pensioner having reached the ‘mature’ age of sixty-three. I lived in the London Suburb of Walthamstow until 2013 when my family and I moved to a thirteen acre farm here in Devon (and we love it). I started writing stories when I was about thirteen, was accepted for publication a week after my 40th birthday, and I wish someone could invent a 36 hour day so I could write all the stories I still want to write!

We’ve now reached the time in our interview for the let’s-get-to-know-the-author-better, nearly-pointless, sort-of-silly, rapid-fire questions:

Elizabeth: Coffee or tea?

Helen: Both actually. Tea first thing in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening; coffee during the day.

Elizabeth: Ocean or mountain?

Helen: Ocean!

Elizabeth: Hiking or shopping?

Helen: Hiking in my younger days, but arthritic knees and fading sight have scuppered the long walks now. I hate shopping!

Elizabeth: Violin or piano?

Helen: Piano. I wish I’d learnt to play it.

Elizabeth: Mystery or fantasy?

Helen: Mystery.

Elizabeth: Hermione or Katniss?

Helen: Hermione

Elizabeth: Darcy or Heathcliff?

Helen: Darcy

Elizabeth: Love scene or death scene?

Helen: um…. (need to think about this one) Death I think.

Learn more about Helen and her novels at Helen Hollick’s World of Books

Website: www.helenhollick.net

Blog: www.ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/HelenHollickAuthor

Twitter: @HelenHollick

Her Author Page on an Amazon near you : http://viewAuthor.at/HelenHollick

Children’s Literature, Fall 2016

elizabethcaulfieldfelt Uncategorized

wiz of ozI’ve chosen the books for this semester!

Students will read seven books in my Children’s Literature class at UWSP. First, we’ll all read The Wizard of Oz. (I love the movie, and the book is better!)

For literature circles, my students will choose and read one book from each genre:

Fantasy
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Historical Fiction
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Contemporary Realistic Fiction
The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davis
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
The Report Card by Andrew Clements
The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

Mixed Genre
Holes by Louis Sachar
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
Lincoln’s Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin

Their last two books will be choice books, based on an author and a theme.

It’s going to be a fun semester!

Author Interview: Suzanne McLain Rosenwasser

elizabethcaulfieldfelt author, books, interview, reading, writing

suzanneToday I welcome author Suzanne McLain Rosenwasser to my blog. She is the author of the essay collections Manhasset Stories: A Baby Boomer Looks Back and Manhasset Stories: More Baby Boomer Memories. Suzanne’s most recent publication is the historical novel Don’t Ya Know, which takes place on the fictional Corycian Island, off the coast of Long Island, at the start of the 20th Century.

Elizabeth: Welcome, Suzanne. Tell us more about Don’t Ya Know.

suzanne dont yaSuzanne: Hello, Elizabeth. Thank you for inviting me to talk about my work, in particular, Don’t Ya Know, a labor of love for my Long Island roots. Until the 1890s, Long Island’s shoreline was dotted with malodorous, fish oil factories. Terms like “The Gold Coast” and “The Hamptons” were not part of the vernacular. Change came rapidly, however, once real estate developers saw the value of beachfront luxury. By the 1900s, the ferries of the Long Island Sound transported tourists instead of fertilizer to and from the barrier islands.

Corycian (Core’seen) Island represents a microcosm of Long Island’s physical and cultural transformation through the stories of her indigenous people, the locals who meet the challenges of change head-on, though often haphazardly. The worst among them sow silent seeds of hate; while the best cling to the ancient concept of living “all-a-wanna”- or all together – and sow seeds of spirit and hope.

Elizabeth: What drew you to this time and place?

Suzanne: I grew up on Long Island in the 50s and 60s, lived on Manhattan island in the 70s, and moved to a small barrier island off Long Island’s east end, Shelter Island, in the 1980s. The similarities of those, vastly different, island environments intrigued me, and continued to do so as I visited more islands along the eastern shoreline in later years. I also wrote for a 100-year-old local newspaper in the 80s, The Shelter Island Reporter. The feature stories I researched opened up a whole world for me. I was introduced to splintered Algonquin tribes, Dutch sugar merchants, Barbadian slaves, runaway New England Quakers, and legacy baymen. This unlikely group formed an agricultural society that led to a thriving economy driven by fertilizer factories and canning plants along hundreds of miles of shoreline. This was the world of Long Island until its beaches became a mecca for real estate developers and millionaires in the1890s. I wondered how the locals dealt with that enormous transformation, along with the turbulence of the times.

Elizabeth: How much historical fact is woven into your story?

Suzanne: The story takes place from 1900-1928 when great change occurred worldwide. Corycian Islanders endured the effects of women’s suffrage, spiritualism, WWI, the flu epidemic, and Prohibition. Fortunately, there are many books specific to Long Island on these topics, including guides for Algonquin words and stories of Barbadian slaves on Long Island, as well as photographs of the factories, the Victorian cottages, the baymen, the ferries and the hotels of the era. I visited many island cemeteries from Shelter Island, New York to St. Simon’s, Georgia. Sadly, one of those had been desecrated, and the impact of that senselessness worked its way onto Corycian Island.

Elizabeth: Tell me about your protagonist, Nuna Shellfoot.

Suzanne: Nuna is of Native American and Barbadian ancestry. Nuna expresses the theme of the novel in her rhythmic dialect: “Great spirit be a mother. She feed us, we feeds dem. Round and round. That’s de way. You helps dem, so you helps alla us; all-a-wanna or all together, don’t ya know.” Nuna’s words are few, but her wisdom is great.

Elizabeth: Tell us about your essay collections, Manhasset Stories.

suzanne manhassetSuzanne: Manhasset and so many towns like it on Long Island in the mid-20th century were new hamlets, largely made up of first and second generation Americans moving from the boroughs of New York. Growing up as Baby Boomers in this era allowed a “new” post-WWII perspective. The suburbs were a new concept. It was a new middle class. The families were young and new. The highways to Long Island were new. The shopping centers and area parks were new. We lived in the epicenter of changing times. We shared a golden era, and I chose to dwell on the times we enjoy remembering. The small book was intended as a gift-sized volume. It proved so popular, I followed it up with Volume II – More Baby Boomer Memories.

Elizabeth: What led you to write these essays?

Suzanne: The New York Times had published two essays I submitted about my hometown and beach life as a Long Island Baby Boomer. The great feedback I received led me to the idea of a gift book

Elizabeth: What are the biggest differences between writing nonfiction and fiction?

Suzanne: When I write non-fiction, mostly memoir, I know how it’s going to turn out ahead of time. In fiction, the story unfolds before me as it takes on life.

Elizabeth: What does your writing day look like?

Suzanne: Having newspaper deadlines in the 1980s for everything from zoning board meetings to historical features introduced discipline to my writing days. I had two small children, so I started writing at 4 a.m. before they woke up for school. I continued to do that for the next 35+ years, either writing myself or reviewing my students’ writing.

Elizabeth: What have you read recently that you feel passionate about?

Suzanne: I listened to the audio book of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and found the story to be so well woven with history, character, and place – all further enhanced by the French accents of the reader while I listened. Also, I reread a favorite, The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, and was once again struck by the lessons we learn about the world in fiction. This is a brilliant book. While reading it I realized a character in Don’t Ya Know, Ezra Goldsmith, may well have derived his wisdom from the influence of “Doc” in Courtenay’s book.

Elizabeth: Can you tell us more about yourself?

Suzanne: I am a retired educator who loved teaching English literature, writing, and drama to high school students. Reaching a teen’s heart is challenging and rewarding. I found the written word to be a great vehicle for that target. Also, I am a life-long writer who began entering short story contests at the age of ten. I received nothing but rejections until the age of 35 when a major publisher offered me an astonishing contract. The book ended up in publishing hell (see Harry Chapin and Me). My job at the newspaper and a website called scribd.com, renewed my writing voice.

Elizabeth: We’ve now reached the time in our interview for the let’s-get-to-know-the-author-better, nearly-pointless, sort-of-silly, rapid-fire questions:

Elizabeth: Coffee or tea?

Suzanne: Coffee – though I’m being told to cut back. Horrors!

Elizabeth: Ocean or mountain?

Suzanne: Ocean. Ocean. Ocean.

Elizabeth: Hiking or shopping?

Suzanne: Hiking

Elizabeth: Violin or piano?

Suzanne: Violin

Elizabeth: Mystery or fantasy?

Suzanne: Mystery

Elizabeth: Darcy or Heathcliff?

Suzanne: Darcy

Elizabeth: Love scene or death scene?

Suzanne: Death scene

To learn more about Suzanne and her writing, visit:

www.suzannerosenwasser.com

follow her on Twitter:@zanne1 @storiesdontyaknow

and friend her on Facebook: Suzanne McLain Rosenwasser, author

 

My Bicycle Bell

elizabethcaulfieldfelt Uncategorized

I used my bicycle bell today.
I’d forgotten its lovely chime.
A soft gentle alarm,
to warn people of my pedaling presence.

My bell rang, and the woman in front of me turned.
Our eyes met. She smiled and I smiled back.
The day brightened.
She stepped to the side, and I slowly rolled by.

A shared moment of kinship,
brought about by the sweet song of my bicycle bell

image

 

Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale

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For the month of July, Smashwords is offering huge discounts on many ebooks. Syncopation is available at half price: Syncopation at Smashwords. Be sure to notice the coupon code and enter it at check out to receive the discount.

Browse the Smashwords catalog for more summer/winter deals.

Smashwords ebooks are available worldwide, so the season of your savings depends on your hemisphere.

Happy reading!

Author Interview: Annie Whitehead

elizabethcaulfieldfelt author, books, reading, writing

annie whiteheadToday I’m welcoming Annie Whitehead to my series of author interviews. Annie is an author of historical fiction, including To Be a Queen, the story of Aethelflaed, the daughter of Alfred the Great and the only female leader of an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Her most recent novel is Alvar the Kingmaker, a novel about the tenth century nobleman who helped King Edgar ascend to the English throne.

Elizabeth: Welcome, Annie.

Annie: Thank you, it’s lovely to be here.

Elizabeth: Can you tell us more about To Be a Queen?

annie whitehead queen bookAnnie: To Be A Queen is the true story of Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the Great. She spent her formative years in the Kingdom of Mercia (which roughly equates to the modern day Midlands of England) and was married off to the leader of Mercia as part of a political alliance against the Vikings who had overrun all the other kingdoms barring Mercia and Wessex in the south east. Her role became more than just that of a political pawn when her husband became incapacitated and she found herself ruling Mercia as a queen, in all but name. I was thrilled when the book was long-listed for the HNSIndie book of the Year 2016 and even more delighted when it was recently awarded an IndieBRAG Gold Medallion.

Elizabeth: Congratulations! What drew you to this character?

Annie: Initially, it was her husband. When I was an undergraduate student, my tutor spoke about Ethelred of Mercia and how ‘nobody knew who where he came from.’ I was fascinated by this man who seemingly rode onto the pages of history from nowhere, and I vowed one day to write his story. Of course, once I began researching, I realised that while he was an interesting and admirable person, the real story to be told was that of his wife. I was staggered to discover that no-one else had ever written her story and I needed to put that right.

Elizabeth: Can you tell us more about Alvar the Kingmaker?

annie whitehead alvar bookAnnie: This book is set in Mercia about fifty years later and features the descendants of some of the characters from the first book, although it is a stand-alone story. Aelfhere (Alvar) was a powerful noble who was instrumental in helping successive kings, but who paid a high personal price. Unusually, this was a period where there was no Viking threat, but this left a gap, and it was filled with in-fighting, treachery and murder… He spent a lifetime trying to prevent uprising, and anarchy, and often found the ‘Establishment’ was his greatest enemy.

Elizabeth: What drew you to this character?

Annie: Because he angered the Church, who wrote the histories, Aelfhere got a bad press, and was accused of colluding with the queen, who herself had something of a bad reputation, even being suspected of murdering her own stepson. Studying this period for my degree, I came across a footnote in an academic paper, which mentioned a widow who was deprived of her lands after Aelfhere’s death. It’s thought that she might have been his wife, and I knew I wanted to write their story and explain why it might have been that he had no sons to leave his earldom to. These characters really existed, but I was free to make up their love story.

Elizabeth: How much historical fact is woven into your stories?

Annie: I try not to alter known history, (although an exciting new project has seen me doing just that, for a very specific reason.) Obviously with this period it is rather difficult and sometimes the chronicles are pretty sketchy. But wherever there is a stated date, or fact, I try not to mess with it. Occasionally, for the sake of my narrative, it’s necessary, but I make that clear in my author notes. I want people to be able to feel that what they read could really have happened, so I only fill in the blanks and I try to do it logically and plausibly.

Elizabeth: So tell us about your project that has you altering history.

Annie: I’m part of a project with eight other others that has us re-telling the events of 1066 while imagining, What if?

Elizabeth: What are the challenges when writing about this time period?

Annie: The frustrations are, as mentioned above, the paucity of sources, although we are incredibly lucky to have as much of the surviving record as we do, particularly when the Vikings had a habit of burning down churches where a lot of this material was kept! The other thing is that the landscape has changed so much; coastlines have moved, forests have disappeared/sprung up. There are few buildings from this period, either, as the Anglo-Saxons tended to build in wood which does not survive the centuries in the same way as stone does.

Elizabeth: What fascinates you about this time period?

Annie: The fascination comes from knowing that these people didn’t live in some ‘dark’ place inhabited by dragons and elves, but were real, medieval folk who had sophisticated laws and government and where women had more rights than later on in the Middle Ages. I wanted to tell their stories and bring them out into the spotlight.

Elizabeth: What is your writing process?

Annie: I begin by researching the period, before, during and after the years in which my stories are set. I set up a time-line and then begin weaving my story around that. I always have an idea before I start about the nature of each character, and I try to find reasons for their actions so that they remain ‘in character’ throughout. I then write the story and research any additional detail I might need, such as which foods were available in certain areas in specific season, adding this in later so as not to interrupt the first draft ‘flow’.

Elizabeth: What are you working on now?

Annie: I’m editing the third in my Mercian ‘series’ and simultaneously working on a novel which won a prize in the Mail on Sunday competition. Judge Fay Weldon encouraged me to complete it, so I thought I probably should! It’s not historical, well, not strictly anyway, and it’s set in the Lake District.

Elizabeth: Congratulations again! What have you read recently that you feel passionate about?

Annie: I recently read The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman. Not only was the premise of the story unusual and interesting, but the historical detail was superb. The sense of time, place and atmosphere was brilliantly drawn. Every so often I would look up after having read a beautiful phrase and think, “I wish I had written that.”

Elizabeth: Can you tell us more about yourself?

Annie: I’m not ‘from’ anywhere, having moved around as a child because my father was in the forces. After graduating I lined up a job in publishing in Manchester, but took a train to the English Lake District one day, and stayed there! I have three children, all grown up, and when they were little I re-trained as an Early Years Music and Singing teacher, something I still do occasionally on a freelance basis, although my writing takes up most of my time these days.

Elizabeth: We’ve now reached the time in our interview for the let’s-get-to-know-the-author-better, nearly-pointless, sort-of-silly, rapid-fire questions:

Elizabeth: Coffee or tea?

Annie: Tea

Elizabeth: Ocean or mountain?

Annie: Ocean

Elizabeth: Hiking or shopping?

Annie: Hiking

Elizabeth: Violin or piano?

Annie: Piano

Elizabeth: Mystery or fantasy?

Annie: Fantasy

Elizabeth: Darcy or Heathcliff?

Annie: Darcy

Elizabeth: Love scene or death scene?

Annie: Love Scene

To learn more about Annie and her books, visit:

Annie’s Website
Annie’s Blog

A Bad Navigator

elizabethcaulfieldfelt maps, reading, travel

I’ve always loved maps. I’m good at reading maps. If you give me a standardized test that has map questions, I’ll get them all right. No problem.

I love studying maps. Fictional maps, real maps. Where I want to go. Where I’ve been. My husband loves maps too. We have maps all over our bedroom walls of the places we’ve been.

But give me a map while I’m going somewhere, and ask me questions, and I’ll get all messed up. Often, I mess up east and west. I’ve always thought this was because I’m a slow thinker (like molasses). I’m especially slow when under-pressure. Recently, on a trip to Minneapolis, I discovered that my real problem is something a little different.

I read too much.

I read more than 100 books a year. I probably read more than two or three hours every day. My eyes are used to traveling left to right. Moving through a page in a certain direction. The past, where I was, what just happened, is on the left. I’m moving toward the right. What is going to happen is on the right side of the page.
Maps only work this way if you are traveling from west to east. If you are traveling from east to west, you are “moving” across the map opposite of the way you read a book.

If I look at a map and I’m not in that place, I totally get the map. No confusion at all.

If I look at a map and I’m in that place or moving through that place, my brain wants the left side of the paper to be where I was and the right side of the paper to be where I’m going.

I only just figured this out. I haven’t tried to navigate anywhere since discovering this about myself. Perhaps I will become a better navigator now that I can fight my brain’s impulse to put myself on a map the way I put myself in a book. Perhaps not.

I’m curious if anyone else has this problem. You avid readers out there. Does this ring true for you?

Author Interview: A.M. Bostwick

elizabethcaulfieldfelt author, books, fictional cats, interview, reading, Wisconsin, writing

bostwick 2I am pleased to be able to interview Abigail Bostwick for the second time. Abigail’s first middle grade novel, The Great Cat Nap, was published by Cornerstone Press in 2013. It is the story of Ace, a reporter and a cat, who solves the mystery of a missing show cat. Abigail, who publishes as A. M. Bostwick, talked about writing that novel in our first interview. The Clawed Monet is the sequel to The Great Cat Nap and was released in February of this year.

Elizabeth: Welcome Abigail! Tell us what new adventure Ace, the mystery-solving cat, is up to now.

bostwick monetAbigail: Thank you so much for hosting me, Elizabeth! In The Clawed Monet, we find Ace on the trail of a new mystery following the scandalous opening of a new art exhibit at the historic Rhys Art Museum. When opening night is lights out after a peculiar power failure and a priceless Monet reproduction is clawed beyond repair, all paws point to the new curator’s prim and proper feline – Miss Kitty. Hired by Miss Kitty, Ace and his feline and canine friends are out to find the criminal and restore the reputation of Miss Kitty and her companion before they are fired. Tailing the shadow of a “ghost cat” through the historic district and a cemetery, Ace finds himself interrogating museum guests, local residents and even a so-called psychic cat to try and solve the crime. He’ll have to fend off a pack of Dobermans and contend with a gang of raccoons– all under deadline.

Elizabeth: Sounds like fun! Do you have plans for more books about Ace?

Abigail: In my mind, Ace is always having one adventure or another! While I certainly have ideas for a third novel, I don’t have anything concrete in the works right now.

Elizabeth: You’ve also published a young-adult novel called Break the Spell. Can you tell us about it?

bostwick breakAbigail: When Allison Evans walks out of high school the last day of her senior year, she has no idea that her carefully guarded life is about to unravel. Her classmate, Ethan Knight is on the run. Accused of dealing drugs and armed with nothing but a bad reputation and his motorcycle, he takes refuge for the weekend inside the old high school. Thinking no one will find him and no one does. At least not at first. Allison tracks him down, hoping to get a newspaper story out of him. Panicked and left with no other choice, Ethan takes her captive. It should be a nightmare, but together, both of their lives take an unexpected turn. It’s time for them both to stop running from their problems, and in each other, they find common ground and someone they can trust.

When I wrote this novel, I think I most wanted to explore the secrets we sometimes keep, and how they can become toxic without someone to talk to. I found it especially hard when I was a young adult to confide in other people, especially about the things that scared me, or the things I could not fix or control.

Allison’s particular struggle with coping to accept the possibility of a debilitating, life-changing neurological disease – multiple sclerosis – was rooted in my own experience. While I couldn’t hide my early diagnosis from those around me the way Allison did, I certainly found myself wanting to do everything I possibly could to make it more bearable. Even if readers don’t have MS, I think they’ll be able to relate to Allison’s driven motivation to change her circumstances.

Elizabeth: It’s wonderful that you’ve shared your experiences and written about MS in a way accessible for young people. Do you approach writing for middle-grade readers (ages 8-13) differently than writing for young adult readers (ages 13-18) ?

Abigail: I do. When I’m writing Ace, I’m mostly having fun with the antics of felines and canines while also trying to entertain young readers (though I was reminded this week I have readers of all ages for this cat!) When I’m writing for young adults, I’m a little more candid and raw. Kids, especially teenagers, can see right through a façade or something that isn’t real. A book should be, most of all, fun. Engaging. Something people can see themselves in. If kids can see ordinary teens in literature rising to the occasion and figuring issues in their lives out, I think it’s easier for them to envision themselves doing it as well. And that’s empowering for them.

With both, I do my best to keep readers engaged with suspense and humor.

Elizabeth: What advice would you like to give to my readers who are also writers?

Abigail:I think many of us write because we have something to say, or something we want to be heard. Don’t write for trends, or the market, or what you think will sell. Write because you love it, because it’s your passion, and part of you. Write for you. Make friends who are writers, they’ll understand you better than anyone. Also, feed the cat before you start writing or he’ll lay across your keyboard.

Elizabeth: What have you read recently that you feel passionate about?

Abigail: I recently read All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood, and I absolutely loved it. She writes with this beautiful clarity, and her characters are so well-drawn and heart-wrenching. In middle grade, I read Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo and I’m still smiling about the story. The poetry in it was lovely. I also have to say, two of my great writing friends had books release last week that are incredible – Running for Water and Sky by Sandra Kring and Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black. These are don’t miss books, and make me want to go on a road trip.

Elizabeth: What do you do when you are not writing?

Abigail: I read – haha! I also enjoy spending time with my cat (who looks a lot like Ace), my husband, and my niece, who is turning 9 next week. I garden a little bit, love to paint and enjoy walking in the woods.

Elizabeth: Thanks so much for joining me today.

Abigail: Thank you for hosting me. Always a pleasure.

Elizabeth: If you’d like to learn more about Abigail Bostwick and her books, visit http://ambostwick.com

You can also follow her on Twitter: @bostwickAM.

She is on Goodreads under A.M. Bostwick and welcomes questions there from readers.

Anyone can email Abigail via her website.

Writers’ Conferences

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Writers’ Conferences are a great way to meet others in the industry, talk books, discuss craft, participate in workshops, buy books, sell books and have a good time.

A few weekends ago, I went to the Lakefly Writers Conference in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is a well-organized, inexpensive and fun conference. I was able to pitch to two editors, learn about a “Books & Beer” book club, get details on creating a “30-Day Promotional Plan” and meet and re-meet some wonderful authors.

Of course, I can’t go to a writers’ conference and not buy books! Here are the books that came home with me: K.W. Penndorf’s Freya and the Dragon Egg (middle grade time-slip fantasy!), REUTS press novels: Melinda Michaels’s Golden (a loose re-telling of Sleeping Beauty) and Valentina Cano’s The Rose Master (a re-working of Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre!) I’m so excited to read these books!

lakefly books

The three other books in the picture came to me via a door prize gift basket that included a bottle of wine, chocolate pretzels, and a deck of cards. Lucky me!

My next conference will be the SCBWI-Wisconsin fall conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin. Next summer, I hope to attend the Historical Novels Society Conference in Portland, Oregon.

Fun times to come!