WLT YA A to Z conference

This weekend I attended the first ever WLT YA A to Z Conference in Austin, Texas. I guess it was also the first ever conference that focused only on YA, which is pretty awesome.

The conference was great.  There were panels Friday and Saturday, an opening cocktail reception on Friday, a keynote lunch with Tim Wynne-Jones on Saturday, and a closing party on Saturday night.  You could also sign up to pitch to agents, consult with editors or authors, and/or get your work critiqued by an editor or author.    I didn't partake in any of the consultations, I was just there to meet other writers and learn as much as I could.

Kay, I'd be totally lying if I didn't tell you that the absolute highlight of my conference was meeting my idol/agent-sister Carrie Ryan.  I'm pretty sure I did something stupid and embarrassed myself each time I talked to her, but I'm just proud of myself for not jumping up and down and screaming, "OMG, CARRIE RYAN!  I LOVE ZOMBIES!"

I also met many awesome Texas YA writers.  Haley, Sian, Donna, Zana, Jaimie, Sian, Tori, Yasmine, and Kayla, it was so great talking to you!

OK Junkies, I also took NOTES on all the lovely tidbits of KNOWLEDGE floating around the conference.

From a panel about the MARKET

• YA historical is easier to sell to school and library market than commercially  
• Agents and editors are still looking for men writing YA for boys (there was some good discussion about what that looks like)
• Agent Regina Brooks said she and the editors she works with are looking for YA mysteries.

From a panel about writing Fantasy

• Carrie Ryan explained her brilliant world-building believability points system.  Basically, since she asks her readers to suspend their disbelief and just accept that zombies exist, she has to work hard to make sure she's not asking them to suspend their disbelief on too much else.  So she works to make everything else as TRUE as possible, including the NY subway system.
• Remember the kryptonite! All powerful characters are boring.

From a panel about writing for tweens

• Greg Leitich Smith said (roughly), "Although I wish every child in America would read my book, I know that's not the case.  We're not writing for every child.  We're writing for the child who reads, and the child who reads is probably much smarter than the average adult."

And I wish you all could have been there for Tim Wynn-Jones's brilliant key-note address.  He discussed the writer's inner genius, or subconscious, or what he likes to call, Brenda.  He talked about how our minds put little gifts on the page for us to find later.  He said, when you're writing and come across a problem, the first place you should look is your own text.  We subconsciously leave a road map within our own stories.  Varian Johnson also touched on the idea of inner-genius in his workshop on metaphor. Metaphors and symbols shouldn't be forced, we should find things already in our own text and simply expand and refine them.

Well, after this weekend, I sure am inspired and motivated to write!  I've been floundering a little lately, but after some good advice this weekend, I have a clear idea of what I need to be working on.

If you get a chance to attend the WLT YA A to Z conference next year, I highly recommend it!  

Annah is a fighter in THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES by Carrie Ryan

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan is by far my favorite book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth series. And Annah is my favorite of the three heroines.  She's the strongest, but also the most damaged.

While Mary and Gabry both grew up in relative safety, Annah has been fighting to survive since she was five years old.  Both Mary and Gabry took risks while figuring out what they wanted out of life.  (Sometimes these risks made me want to yell at them and say, "No!  Just stay put!  There are zombies out there!  What are you thinking?!!! Ahhh!!!")

Annah, on the other hand, is less reckless but her world is so much more dangerous.  Everyday is a struggle to survive.  She doesn't need to take stupid risks to decide what she wants, she already knows.  She wants to be safe and she wants to be loved.  But in a world consumed by death, where even the living have lost their humanity, this might be too much to ask for.

I found The Dark and Hollow Places to be significantly darker and more terrifying than The Forest of Hands and Teeth or The Dead-Tossed Waves.  Ryan explores the cruelty of human nature and what we're capable of once order is stripped away--ideas just touched on in the previous two books.  At times, I didn't know if I was more scared of the Unconsecrated or the Recruiters.

And boy are there some scary scenes!  In real life, I'm totally scared of the dark.  Who knew that reading about the dark would make me so terrified?  I had to stop and catch my breath a few times, I was gasping and panting while reading, I was so scared.  (Note:  I'm a wuss)

Don't worry, though, it's not all doom, gloom, and fear.  I also think the love story in this book is the best of all three.  Unlike with Mary and Gabry's romances, it was clear from the start who Annah belonged with.  And there's nothing more satisfying than watching two characters learn to love themselves so they can begin to love each other.

I loaned my copy of the book to a student and when she finished, she told me, "And I'm so glad she fell in love with him because...well...yeah."
"Yeah," I said.
Sometimes sixteen-year-olds say it best.

You will not be disappointed in the conclusion to this amazing series.

Ummm so, I got THE CALL!!!!

Squeee!!!!  I have news!

I am now represented by Jim McCarthy from Dystel & Goderich Literary Management!!!!

Ok, I really have to stop with the exclamation points, but !!!!!
so, how did this happen, you ask?
Well, let me break it down for you.

For those searching for an agent, a piece of advice we often hear is "query agents who represent books you love."  Can I just say that this is the BEST advice ever?

As you know, I LOVED The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan.  So, I queried Jim McCarthy, Carrie's agent, on 1/2.  Jim requested the full manuscript on 1/10 and I got The Call on 1/19.

Being the studious agent-stalker, ahem, I mean researcher I am, I mean was, I knew Jim usually read manuscripts in about a week (he's super fast).  So, when a week had passed since I'd sent the full and I hadn't received a rejection, I was hopeful.

My cell phone rang on 1/19 in between 5th and 6th period (I teach high school).  I glanced at the number, saw the 212 area code and thought, "Is that New York?  Maybe it's Jim McCarthy calling to offer representation.  Oh, hahahaha, Alyson you are SO funny."  I declined the call.  My students were walking in.

When I finally listened to the message, my head nearly exploded.  It was like slow-motion.  I kept looking around waiting for someone to say "just kidding." But all the message said was to call him back and I was completely unprepared.

I stayed after school helping a student.  I went home.  I paced, I had a snack so I wouldn't throw up.  I looked up the right questions to ask.  I called back.  Voicemail.  I don't know how, but I slept that night.

The next morning, I had an email from Jim saying he was sorry he missed me and when could we chat?  I called him during my off-period.  I locked my classroom door and closed the blinds.  I paced among the desks and stammered.

Just hearing Jim say my title and how much he loved it, hearing him say my characters' names, hearing him talk about my book as if it was just that: an actual book, was such an enormous validation.  I was no longer some crazy girl with people in her head, mumbling to herself in a corner with a laptop.

I was a blabbering idiot on the phone.  "Umm, yeah, oh my god, yeah, thank you, umm, I'm exited, umm," but I tried to ask my list of questions.  When he offered representation it took all my strength not to jump up and down and scream.  Two other agents had the manuscript.

I emailed the other 2 agents, letting them know of the offer and that I wanted to make a final decision in a week.  One of the other agents offered and I spoke with her on the phone, but it was never a difficult decision.  I mean OMG, I have the same agent as Carrie Ryan!  OK, I also have the same agent as many really amazing writers whose books have now moved to the top of my TBR pile.  But like, I totally want to be Carrie Ryan when I grow up!  (oops sorry, does that sound stalkerish?  I'm not a creeper, I swear).

OK Junkies, thanks for letting me share my news!  Good luck to all those queriers out there.  It can happen, don't give up!

Contests!

Hey Junkies, sorry I've been so quiet lately. I recently became a Mommy to a rescue mutt and it's a lot of work! Who knew it was so hard to balance motherhood with addiction? But don't worry, I'm not rehabilitated by any means.  I'll be back shortly, ranting like the raging book-a-holic I am.

But in the meantime, here are some awesome contests for you, because who doesn't love free books?

Black and Blue Ink is having a contest extravaganza.  There are tons of great books to win!

On YA Highway, you can win an ARC of The Duff by Kody Keplinger (who seems nice and all, but I have to try really hard not to hate her for writing such a great buzzed-about-book at such a young age).

But that's not all, Junkies.  (Cue trumpet fanfare)  I'm hosting my first ever contest!

You can win an ARC (even though it's no longer advanced) of Carrie Ryan's The Dead-Tossed Waves.  Check out my review here.

All you have to do is comment on this post with a recommendation of a YA novel with a kick-ass heroine.  I'll choose the winner randomly from among the commenters.  (Must be in the contiguous U.S.)

Contest ends April 30th, 2010.

Gabry searches for meaning in DEAD-TOSSED WAVES by Carrie Ryan

OK Junkies, I had been waiting for Carrie Ryan's next installment in her post-apocalyptic, dystopian, zombie series (at least I hope it's a series, there better be more where this came from Ms. Ryan!) and now that I've finished Dead-Tossed Waves, I can't wait to tell you all about it.

I loved Ryan's first book, The Forest of Hands and Teeth and you can read my post about it here.
Dead-Tossed Waves is a companion to The Forest of Hands and Teeth and the main character is Gabry, Mary's daughter.  At first, I was afraid this book would be Zombies: The Next Generation--the same story only with new characters and a slightly different setting.  I'm so glad I was wrong.

Gabry is very different from her mother.  While Mary is brave and was willing to risk anything in pursuit of her dreams, Gabry is terrified of the world outside the walls.  While Mary felt trapped by the fences surrounding her village, Gabry welcomes the safety the walls around her provide.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth starts slow and thoughtful, building up to the blood, violence, death, and decapitations that plague the zombie-ridden world.  Dead-Tossed Waves begins with a bang.  Characters are attacked, infected, and killed as soon as we meet them.

What I loved about Dead-Tossed Waves was that the entire story is set in motion by Gabry's decisions.  In The Forest of Hands and Teeth, so much seemed to happen to Mary that was out of her control.  Other people's decisions and outside occurrences created the conflict.

Gabry and her choices are the driving forces behind Dead-Tossed Waves.  Ryan did such a good job of creating Gabry's character and setting up her decisions that I was yelling at the book each time Gabry made a choice.  I think my new barometer of how good a novel will be whether or not it makes me holler at it).  

Gabry is a perfectly flawed heroine and some of her decisions in the beginning drove me nuts.  I found myself intermittently shouting at her for being a pathetic coward and for taking dangerously stupid risks.

And that's part of what this book is about.  We all make mistakes, that's what makes us human--something that's easy to forget with Mudo pushing themselves against barriers, waiting to infect anyone who missteps.  Dead-Tossed Waves is so much more than an action-filled love story surrounded by zombies.  The book asks us to examine the distinctions between surviving and living and asks us to think about what it means to be human.

Dead-Tossed Waves is an amazing book that kept my heart racing and my mind whirring.  I really hope there is a sequel.

Mary fights against death in THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan

OK Junkies, I've been debating whether or not to use common archetypal vernacular to tell you what this book is about. On the one hand, I don't want to cheapen Ryan's literary approach to a familiar setting and turn you off from this amazing book. But, on the other hand, I would hate for anyone to find themselves, as I did, all alone at night in a new house reading about something much more terrifying than expected. Maybe I'll decide by the end of this post.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is dark, frightening, and beautiful. Mary is coming of age in a village, that according to the Sisterhood, is home to the last survivors of humanity. Mary's world exists several generations after The Return and the Sisterhood enforces rules and traditions to continue the human race.

Guardians protect and reinforce the fences surrounding the village. Beyond these fences is the Forest of Hands and Teeth, which is filled with the Unconsecrated who mindlessly paw and push themselves against the fence.

Mary's life changes forever when her mother is infected and becomes Unconsecrated, and Mary is thrust into the unyielding Sisterhood. As Mary searches to uncover the Sisterhood's secrets, she also discovers a forbidden love.

Mary must choose between duty and love, and between safety and her dreams. Not only is Mary brave in fighting against traditions and expectations, but she is hard-core in swinging an axe and scythe, decapitating death itself.

Mary lives in a horrifying world, surrounded by death. Yet she has the courage to hope for something more than simple safety and contentment. While reading, I intermittently wanted to kiss Mary and kick her in the teeth for deciding that being with the man she loves isn't enough for her. She risks her life (and those of her friends and family, eek) to pursue her dream and chase after hope.

Mary is courageous, and pretty darn selfish, in searching for a meaning to life beyond surviving, in finding a reason to live amongst so much death.

OK, Junkies. Basically, this book is a coming-of-age-love-story that takes place a few generations after the zombie apocalypse. Mary is a kick-ass heroine who decapitates the living dead better than her male counterparts.

But Carrie Ryan tells this story beautifully. Like the characters, you forget about the Unconsecrated relentlessly clawing at the fences. This story is about a young girl's search for happiness and her refusal to accept the role society has designed for her.

Read The Forest of Hand and Teeth, but lock the doors and turn on all the lights in the house before you do.