What Keeps Me Going

Do we need to talk about Borders closing? Ever since I graduated from writer to "author" (with the sale of Edges to FSG. I was always a writer, even if I didn't recognize it. You are a writer if you write. Period) and the economy crashed in 2008, the publishing industry has been a crazy mass of confusion. Or maybe it always has been, but nobody can predict what will sell anymore. My sweet contemporary came out seven months ago when paranormal romance was all the rage, and it still is, as far as I can tell. I am still waiting to hear if FSG wants to take a chance on my next contemporary YA, The Land of the Lost and Found - but the news about Borders has me spooked. (Not that the big chains have shown any interest in keeping Edges stocked, except for my lovely, local Borders in Mt. Kisco.)

Almost 11000 staff out of work - e-books, Amazon sales on the rise. Will independent bookstores be able to come to the rescue?

I am so grateful that I have other things to focus on to keep my obsession with the publishing industry at bay. I have my family. I have tons of work in Westchester this summer with our burgeoning Writopia program in two locations. I had LeakyCon - swimming with Libba Bray, paneling with John Green and his genuine charm, gallivanting around Harry Potter World with David Levithan and Daniel Lang, and a smashing workshop.

In fact, I received a lovely email from a LeakyCon participant that will keep me going whenever I get freaked out about the publishing industry. Ian, thank you for your email! This post is dedicated to you, and TY also for letting me share it on my blog:

My name is Ian Herring, I am 15 years old from Texas. I attended Leakycon 2011. I really enjoyed your class on fiction writing. I had been forming an idea in my head for a long time (I'm a want-to-be writer), and your tips made it complete. I am happily into the 5th chapter and I am having a blast! I just want to thank you so much for making my dreams of writing a reality! I truly cannot express enough how thankful I am! 

Sincerely,

A happy writer,

Ian Herring

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Leaky Con & Harry Potter Rock!

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I'm sitting in a screening room, waiting watch the Wizard Rockumentary. There are so many sub-cultures involved with Harry Potter that I didn't know existed - including the John Green phenomenon. (He really IS all that, folks.)

The past couple of days are a blur. Wednesday was the official Lit Day, and the reason that I am here at all. Everything was pushed an hour later because of big computer registration snafus, so we all shmoozed with each other in the Admiralty suite at The Royal Pacific. (Stephanie Perkins is the coolest vintage dresser, and so sweet.) My first panel was star studded  - I sat between John Green and Stephanie Perkins, then there was Cheryl Klein and Libba Bray. O.M.G. But I actually was able to speak intelligently rather than stammer, so it was all good. AND I don't know where I got this chutzpa, but I leaned over to John and told him I'd love it if he would read my book. Oh no she didn't. Yes, I freakin' did, and he was lovely. (David Levithan couriered over a copy t him yesterday.)

I was shocked when people kept filing into my writing workshop, Mining Your Life for Your Fiction. There were over 80 people, and we didn't have enough paper and pens! I paced the floor for the first half as I was giving out writing exercises and asking questions for people to think about as they wrote, then I was able to sit for the second half as we talked about writing process and truth in fiction. It has been so gratifying to have people come up to me the past couple of days and tell me how much they enjoyed it. Wow!

We had a break for lunch before Char and I were to give our Madeleine L'Engle presentation, and unfortunately, the snafus had compounded due to pushing everything back an hour: when we got to our conference room, the staff had made a mistake and were pulling it apart and telling people that there wasn't any programming. Fortunately, some people were still waiting outside and we were able to "present", but it was a little heart-breaking. But it's not a refection on Madeleine L'Engle, right? People still love her, right? RIGHT!

LeakyCon had given everyone these "yearbooks", so I sat at my own table for an hour in the afternoon signing yearbooks and giving out bookmarks.

Finally, there was a reception from 6PM - 7PM, and then we got to go back to our hotel room to rest briefly before going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. (LeakyCon had rented it out until 1AM!) We met up with Julie Straus-Gabel, David Levithan and his awesome friend Daniel Lang to go meet up with everybody else including John Green and Maureen Johnson, but we ended up owning the park with David and Daniel, heading straight for the best ride ever: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. (Magda and I went on 3X!) Even though it was just LeakyCon participants, it was still super-packed, so we had to make CHOICES. (Get your butterbeer frozen, folks!) We had so much fun with David and Daniel - they are both so authentic and down-to-earth: the real deal.

We all took the boat back to The Portofino @1AM and stayed in bed until 10AM, then we met David and Daniel poolside until the shade completely disappeared and it got too hot to exist outside.

Later, we had to say goodbye to David and Daniel who were flying back to the city, and met up with a bunch of the Lit Day crew to go see a 6PM viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 3D at an IMAX theatre. Un-believable. (John Green has to run because he is constantly mobbed.) It was such an amazing experiece to see the movie with HP's loyalist fans - there was some serious whooping, laughing, and sobbing going on. These people have grown up with the books and movies and now they're over - it's a bittersweet ending of childhood.

And yes, the movie rocked!

This blog post is getting too long - so TTFN!

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Wrinkles in Time with 38 Young Actors

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I love my life! I get to do so many fun things with so many people. This morning my cup was bubbling over with excitement and nervousness as I made my way to The Little Village Playhouse in Pleasantville to adapt my workshop methods and teach a "Master Class" on A Wrinkle in Time.

LVP runs a theater camp, and I jumped at the opportunity to develop my Wrinkle workshop even further.

There were 38 kids! The most I have ever workshopped with is a class of 24. They were all incredible. Half of the class had read the book already, so we were able to look at character and motivation deeply, hooking the other half of the class. I changed and added some things on the spot: as a teacher you have to be flexible and adaptable! This workshop explores individuality and community through the lens of Wrinkle, of which there is no shortage of material.

We rounded out group acting exercises with individual writing exercises, read from the text, brainstormed together, ending with the kids writing poems. They were eager to share them, and they were all WONDERFUL writers as well as actors. I'd love to publish some of them on the new Madeleine L'Engle website. She would have been thrilled to see these kids' interpretations.

I'm looking forward to more good times at LVP!

Next up: tomorrow, my sister Charlotte and my 10 year old niece meet up at LaGuardia Airport to fly to Orlando, Florida for LeakyCon 2011! Stay tuned . . .

Leaky Con is Coming!!!!

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It's almost July, folks. I have been so busy with the end-of-school and with starting Writopia workshops at The Voracious Reader in Larchmont that I have lost track of time . . . but holy Smokes, Batman! Leaky Con is coming in less than two weeks! My sister Charlotte and I are leaving for Orlando  the evening of Tuesday July 12th and returning late on Friday, July 15th. Squee! Charlotte managed to track down the schedule tonight:

Proud Harry Potter geek, Léna Roy, will be participating in Lit Day on July 13th, pinching herself to be on a panel at 9AM called How Books Saved My Sanity, with superstars Cheryl Klein, Libba Bray, John Green, and Stephanie Perkins, moderated by the fabulous Maureen Johnson.


Yes, these arms are black and blue!

Then at 11AM I'll be doing a mini version of my writing workshop called Mining Your Life for Your Fiction, and finally, at 12:30, my sister Charlotte and I will be talking about our grandmother, Madeleine L'Engle, and her life, work, and legacy. (This presentation is the main reason Leaky Con is flying us into Orlando!)

This long weekend will be spent in Madeleine L'Engle land. Teaser: What didn't make it into the final copy of Wrinkle?

Contest: Two Audio Books and A Signed Hard Copy For Grabs

We hit the six month mark on Edges last week and I didn't even realize it. Something must have been niggling at my brain because in my blog yesterday I announced a contest to win one of two audio books or a signed hard copy to my loyal readers. I was also riddled with insecurity.

But dang. We need to celebrate and for that I need to expand the contest! Six months peeps. No longer am I a debut author. I am a little more seasoned and rough around the edges (ha)!

Sure that means some insecurity sometimes, but I promised you authenticity, didn't I?

So. Contest rules. There are no rules! If you follow my blog and my Facebook page, I will enter your name 3x.  If you don't, no worries, play anyway - your name will be entered! I've hosted contests before where I've asked people to tell me about themselves, or answer a prompt, but I won't do that this time. It will be EASY-PEASY.

Just tell me in the comments where you will be vacationing this summer. That's it!

(Me? It will be a STAY-Cation with my family, but I AM going to Orlando next month for Leaky Con 2011!)

The contest ends on the first day of summer vacation for us out in the Northeast and the first day of camp: Monday, June 27th at 6PM.

And to bloggers out there - if you want to host a give-away on your site, let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

Peace out!

Anticipation, LeakyCon 2011, and the MET

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I am full of anticipation for many things on this gorgeous last day of May, but I am not lost in wanting or waiting. I am smelling the flowers and watching the sunlight dapple through trees. I am signing more and more kids up for writing intensives this summer for Writopia Westchester.

As ever, I am excited to meet new people and further develop my relationships!

And . . . drumroll . . . my sister and I are officially on the roster for Lit Day at Leakycon 2011 in Orlando, Florida on July 13th! (Primal whoops, screams and happy dances goin' on over here!) Check it out!!!!! I will be on panels, lead a writing workshop, AND sis and I will do a presentation about our grandmother's (Madeleine L'Engle's) contribution to literature.

Yeeee haaaaa!!!!!   AND we'll be gettin' our Harry Potter freak on!

Another less obvious anticipation: I am leaving in about ten minutes to train into the city to meet my former boss from Four Corners Community Mental Health Center in Moab, Utah. He will be waiting for me on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 3:45! He is retired now, and I haven't seen him in about fourteen years, but I think I might cry, I am so excited!

Oh gosh - gotta run - will write more tomorrow, for sure!