Beauty Queens Extravaganza!

My critique partners and I thoroughly enjoyed Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray, and have joined together to do a Beauty Queens extravaganza! Be sure to stop by Lisa Green's and Leslie Rose's blogs for fun facts about them, and for another chance to win a signed copy of this awesome book.

First, the writing lessons I learned from Beauty Queens (I had total writer envy while reading this book, but that's a subject for another post--or a therapist):

• Brilliant covers help sell books. Seriously, look at that cover. A bathing suit criss-crossed with a sash and a lipstick bandolier? Totally awesome.
• Crazy, seemingly unrelated storylines intersect to create a unique and clever plot. Beauty queens crash land on a deserted island. Pirates arrive. The girls uncover a conspiracy involving an Elvis-loving dictator. Bray's mind must be a fun, scary, brilliant, intimidating place to visit.
• Fun footnotes are a cool diversion. John Green did it in An Abundance of Katherines, and Bray did it with Beauty Queens. For me, the footnotes didn't slow down the story. They added more hilarity, and again I marveled at the author's cleverness.
• Campy, fun books can have teeth. Sure, this book might seem like it's only about self-centered beauty queens, but it carried strong messages about self-esteem, tolerance, and inner beauty.

Throughout the book, readers were treated to the contestants' Miss Teen Dream Fun Facts Pages. In an effort to either entertain you or embarrass ourselves, Lisa, Leslie and I are sharing our own fun facts pages. Here we go!

Miss Teen Dream Fun Facts Page

Name: Julie Musil (although if you visited my home, you'd think it's "Mom, do you know where my ___ is?")

State: California, where you're never too rich or too thin, and everyone has an agent or sells real estate.

Age: Are you trying to be funny? Is The Corporation selling anti-aging pills or something? I should totally sue them. *checks wrinkles in mirror*

Height: I haven't grown an inch since middle school. What does that tell ya?

Weight: See answer to "age". *checks rear view in mirror*

Hair: Are we talking roots? Or after I've seen the colorist? Just checking.

Eyes: Fine--like Elizabeth Bennett's (Mr. Darcy, call me!)

Best Feature: It depends on the day--either my positive attitude or my well-shaped feet.

Fun Facts About Me

1. At a whopping 5' 1", I'm the tallest female in my family. Seriously. One sister is 4' 9", another is 4' 11", and our mom is just under 5' 1". At least we never had to worry about wearing high heels around guys (Sorry, Nicole Kidman. That had to be rough)
2. I won't eat meat off the bone, and won't touch any seafood. Like, never. I'm actually squirming right now just thinking about it.
3. I forget serious, important information, and yet I remember useless stuff. Like Seinfeld-isms (yada yada yada, soup nazi, close talker), the Gilligan's Island theme song (Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...), and commercials (Remember this chant? Big Mac, filet-of-fish, quarter pounder, french fries. Icy Cokes, thick shakes, sundaes, and apple pies).

Ok guys, it's your turn. We're giving away a SIGNED copy of Beauty Queens! Please tell us at least one fun fact about yourself in order to be entered into our book giveaway. U.S. addresses only, and the deadline is Monday, October 24th, at midnight EST. Good luck!

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Writer Rewind--Remembering Friday Night Lights

I had the pleasure of hearing Libba Bray speak at a local conference. One of the many wise things she said still stands out in my mind--when writng for teens, it's important to remember. Remember how we felt as we navigated those tricky social waters. The fears, the angst, and the drama. And remember the good times, too.

Some of my favorite memories of high school are the Friday night football games. Now that my son plays on the high school JV team, I get to take a walk down memory lane each Friday night.

Kenny Chesney's song "Boys of Fall" opens with these words: "When I feel that chill and smell that fresh cut grass, I'm back in my helmet, cleats, and shoulder pads." For me, that sums up autumns during my high school years. Not because I played football, but because um, I was a cheerleader (no hating, please).

Here are some of my vivid Friday night memories:

• Doing an offense cheer when we didn't have the ball. #fail. Sorry to say, I still don't understand the game completely. You could explain it until you're blue in the face and my eyes would still glaze over. But the atmosphere is fun!
• My boyfriend (now husband) argued with players from the opposing team and got kicked out of the game. Hey, those players ran through our players' banner at half time, and that is a hangable offense in high school.
• Fellow students talking trash about our team, no matter how well our guys played.
• The marching band and drill team performing at half time.
• Students hanging out beneath the bleachers doing who-knows-what (well, I know, but I don't really want to know).
• Piling into the local pizza place after a home game.
• The rides home from an away game were rowdy when our team won, and somber when they lost.

One of my characters is on the football team, and I hope I successfully infused some of my fond memories of Friday night lights. But no matter what, it sure is fun to remember those days, and to watch my son experience it for himself.

What's one of your best high school memories? And if you're still in high school, do you enjoy going to the football games?

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What I learned from GOING BOVINE

I recently finished Libba Bray's GOING BOVINE. What a wild ride! Sixteen-year-old Cameron finds out he's sick and he's going to die. With the help of quirky, unforgettable sidekicks, Cameron sets out on a mission to find a cure.

I learn something new with each book I read, and here's my writing takeaway from GOING BOVINE:

• Drama and humor go together like peas and carrots (for you Forrest Gump fans out there). Cameron experiences a life or death situation, but the book is funny. Seriously.
• Embrace the unexpected plot twist. This book should require a seatbelt. The author cleverly whisks her readers away on a crazy journey. There's no way to predict what will happen to these characters.
• We should let go of our fears and inhibitions & let our imaginations run wild. This book showed me that sometimes the zaniest scenes work, depending on the storyline.
• The acknowledgement pages can be just as entertaining as the book. Bray opens this section with, "I would like to thank everyone I've ever kissed or punched and anyone who has ever kissed or punched me." And it only gets better!

Learning from brilliant authors is an entertaining perk of writing. What have you learned from an amazing book?

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When Writers Remember

Today our three boys started school. As a mom, I did the usual things such as cut the tags off their new shoes and laced them up, wrote their names in backpacks and on lunch pails, and took photos of their first morning.

For kids, their first day includes completely different rituals. They meet up with friends they didn't see all summer, jockey for position within their new classes, and size up their teachers.

A few months back I attended a writer's day, where Libba Bray was one of the speakers. Something she said stuck with me: as writers, we should remember what it was like when we were younger. What was it like on the first day of 5th, 8th, or 12th grade?

I remember scuff-free shoes, new pee-chee folders and sharp pencils. I remember hideous haircuts, short boys and tall girls. I remember friends who had gotten new braces over the summer, and girls who had increased cup sizes in just a couple of months.

Memories can be exciting, embarrassing, or painful. But when we remember, and pour those emotions on the page, it makes us better writers.

What memories jump out at you from first days of school? Please share the good, the bad, and the ugly!

photo credit: google images

Rejoice in your voice!

When I hear a recorded version of my voice, I hate it. It sounds weird, and I immediately clear my throat trying to make it better. But my voice is my voice, and there’s not much I can do about it. I’m sure my husband would love to hear less of it, but that’s another story.

I attended an SCBWI writer’s day this past Saturday. Libba Bray was one of the amazing speakers. One thing she said stuck with me, and I’ll paraphrase: “Your voice is unique. No one else can write the way YOU write.”

I’m always admiring other writers. When I read a novel by Jodi Picoult, I marvel at her ability. Her voice draws me in. Her books make me think long and hard about previously held opinions. I wish I had her voice, but I don’t.

Instead, I have my own voice. When I speak, I might sound like one of the annoying crows that lands on my grass. But when I write, my voice is truly my own. Although I’m amazed by other writer's voices, I realize I can’t try to be like them. I've learned to rejoice in my own voice!