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Sydney winters are not particularly harsh. But in the spirit of doing things properly, we do what we can to make them seem colder. Hence the lack of heating to be found in so many Sydney homes.
Last night I was toasty warm in bed but my nose was ice cold and getting up to go to the loo was an ordeal. The temperature? 10C or 50F. Go ahead, laugh. But in a flat that's got no heating and more importantly that's been designed to stay cool, that's cold. My nose turned red. It could have fallen off!
I could solve this problem by getting a gas heater but perversely I enjoy it. The days are warm, the nights are cold. ...
Posted by Justine at 5:03, July 30th, 2009 under Frippery, Sydney/Australia |
I always forget how gorgeous Sydney is.
Having highs in the late teens/ early twenties celsius in the middle of winter is how it should be.
Saw my first flock of rainbow lorikeets at 8AM walking up the hill around the corner from the flat. I'm home, I thought.
Sometimes NYC being a very long way away is a truly marvellous thing. I feel my head clearing by the second.
There were mangosteens at the local grocery. If that's not a sign of goodness I don't know what is.
Posted by Justine at 1:51, July 29th, 2009 under Praising, Sydney/Australia |
Because I'm in transit, ((These two guest posts are timed to post while I'm travelling. If your comments get stuck in moderation you'll have to be patient. Sorry.)) I asked
Ari if she would step in for me, and she kindly said yes. Thanks, Ari!
I'm back! So yesterday I gave you a list of books about poc that I think you should read, although I'm sure I left off some great books by accident. If you want some more lists check out Susan's at
Color Online for specifically sci-fi check this out the
Happy Nappy Bookseller's list and for bi-racial, multi-racial poc
go here.
Also I want to share some information with you ...
Posted by Justine at 7:47, July 28th, 2009 under Guest post, Reading, State of the World, Writing process, Young Adult literature |
Because I'm in transit, ((These two guest posts are timed to post while I'm travelling. If your comments get stuck in moderation you'll have to be patient. Sorry.)) I asked
Ari if she would step in for me today and tomorrow, and she kindly said yes. Thanks, Ari!
A little bit about Ari MissAttitude: I'm a teenager who loves to read, dance, laugh, listen to music and just live! I also love my fine brown skin =) I started my blog
Reading in Color because I would visit teen book blogs and I never saw reviews of books with poc (people of color). This frustrated me so I decided to start my own blog in an attempt to slightly ...
Posted by Justine at 7:24, July 27th, 2009 under Guest post, Praising, Reading, Young Adult literature |
One more wonderful blog for you to add to your list:
Taste Life Twice run by Kiki and Tashi and covering all things YA.
Also Susan over at
Color Online has issued the following
reviewing challenge:
Read and review POC books through the month of August. We'll have a random drawing for 3 reviewers at the end of the challenge. Drop us a link to your review to be eligible. +3 entries for any sidebar link/tweet or blog post about this challenge. Contest limited to US residents.
If you're looking for suggestions for books to read and review these two blogs have lots of reviews as do the blogs I
listed yesterday. I'd also like to suggest
Touching Snow ...
Posted by Justine at 14:17, July 26th, 2009 under Bloggery, State of the World |
Because of
my post about the US Liar cover I have discovered some wonderful blogs, which as someone who follows the YA blogosphere closely, I'm ashamed I didn't know about already. I have added all of them to my blog roll:
Reading in Color
Color Online
Shalonda's blog
Into the Wardrobe
The Brown Bookshelf (which the fabulous and unbelievably talented
Varian Johnson is part of. Have you read
My Life as a Rhombus? It's also on my to be read pile and from what I've been hearing is astonishingly good.)
I am still no where near working my way through all the mail the cover post generated. It may take me a few weeks. ...
Posted by Justine at 7:09, July 25th, 2009 under Bloggery, State of the World |
The response to yesterday's
post has been astonishing. I
am overwhelmed. I received more mail in a single day than I normally do in a month. (I was already behind with my mail.) I'm going to try very hard to get to it all, but it may take some time and I have a novel to finish and leave the country in a couple of days. So bear with me.
Thanks so much for taking this conversation further. It's crucial.
Posted by Justine at 7:11, July 24th, 2009 under Admin, Bloggery, State of the World |
In the last few weeks as people have started reading the US ARC of Liar they have
also started asking why there is
such a
mismatch between how
Micah describes herself and the cover image. Micah is black with nappy hair which she wears natural and short. As you can see that description does not match the US cover.
Many people have been asking me how I feel about the US cover, why I allowed such a cover to appear on a book of mine, and why I haven't been speaking out about it.
Authors do not get final say on covers. Often they get no say at all....
Posted by Justine at 12:02, July 23rd, 2009 under Liar, New York City/USA, Publishing business, State of the World, Young Adult literature |
I've been asked a few times why none of my protags are white given that I am white. (So far that question has only come from white people.) I thought I'd answer the question at length so next time I get that particular email I can direct them here.
I don't remember deciding that Reason, the protagonist of the Magic or Madness trilogy, would have
a white Australian mother and an Indigenous Australian father. I don't remember deciding that Tom would be white Australian or Jay-Tee Hispanic USian. But I made a conscious decision that none of the characters in How To Ditch Your Fairy would be white and that Liar would have a mixed race cast. Why?
Because a young ...
Posted by Justine at 0:14, July 22nd, 2009 under State of the World, Writing life, Writing process |
One of the best books I've read so far this year is Eric Luper's
Bug Boy and today is the day it is released out into the wild!
When's the last time you read a page turning book about horse racing in the 1930s told from the point of view of a young up and coming jockey? A book that's about a dirty and corrupt industry and some of the people who get involved with it out of love for the horses and for the life. Yes, there's even some romance in it.
I love historicals and this one is particularly fine. Run out and get it now! Or if you're broke, get someone you know has money to buy it ...
Posted by Justine at 8:30, July 21st, 2009 under Young Adult literature |
Because I have been talking about my love of Avatar quite a bit lately people have been asking me if I'm excited about the forthcoming live action version.
I am not.
One of the many things I adore about Avatar is how incredibly rich and complex the world of Avatar is. This is largely because it was based on various Asian cultures. None of the characters in Avatar are white.
Here's what the show's creators have to say about it in an
interview from 2005:
1. How did you come up with the Avatar?
We came up for the concept for "Avatar" 3 years ago. Nickelodeon wanted to make a "legends & lore" type of show with a kid hero. That’s a genre we ...
Posted by Justine at 14:54, July 20th, 2009 under Ranting, Viewing |
Diana Peterfreund has a request:
Um, can someone help me with an anime rec? I watched one episode a long time ago and I can't remember what it was called but it was recommended to me.
It starts with a girl falling through the sky. then there are all these kids at a school --- they're angels, with little wings and halos. And they are cleaning up in a library that has what looks like a giant cocoon in it. And then you see inside the cocoon and the girl who was falling is inside of it.
Anyone know what series she's talking about?
And thanks everyone for all the
amazing anime recs. I can't wait to start watching. I'm particularly excited ...
Posted by Justine at 11:54, July 20th, 2009 under Bloggery, Praising, Viewing |
Before this past week I had never watched a congressional hearing. In the ten years I've been living back and forth between Sydney and NYC I never found time to spend a few hours watching this variety of Washington theatre. I'm glad I did. In the course of several hours of listening to senators question Sonia Sotomayor to find out if she's qualified to be a Supreme Court justice I learned a bit more about the political process in the US and that Sotomayor is one of the calmest, most patient, smart and rational people on the planet. She was amazing.
But it turns out these hearings weren't really about her.
The hearings were about a
handful of white male ...
Posted by Justine at 10:46, July 19th, 2009 under New York City/USA, State of the World |
This year my favourite show is
Avatar . Scott and me watched all three seasons in a greedy one-week rush. Loved it, loved it, loved it. If you haven't seen it you really really should.
Ever since I've been wanting to watch something that hits the same spot. Thus far without a lot of success. Miyazake's films, which I adore, have some of the same feel, but I'm in the mood for a series, not a standalone movies. I want interesting world building, plots that make sense, strong female characters.
The last is particularly important to me. We've been watching
Death Note and while there's a lot I like about it, the main female character, Misa Amane, is absolutely ...
Posted by Justine at 13:43, July 18th, 2009 under Praising, Viewing |
Yesterday Maureen Johnson posted most excellently on the topic of
judging yourself by numbers. She paraphrased a graduation speech by Bill Murray:
“Look, people thought I was going to be a huge failure, but then I got kind of lucky and made it. And I had and have lots of amazing friends, and we’ve seen each other’s careers go up and down. Take my advice: don’t go comparing yourself to other people. You will go insane. It’s pointless. Your fortunes may rise and fall, depending on all kinds of things you have no control over. Keep your friends. Never compare all the outward markers of success. Do what you love, because that’s all you really get and that’s all that ...
Posted by Justine at 11:01, July 17th, 2009 under Publishing business, Ranting, Writing life |
Yesterday I discovered that my husband is evil.
Remember way back when
people said they'd donate money to the New York Public Library if I learned to lindy hop? I said that I would have my dancing verified by three YA authors approved by John Green who was the first person to offer money to charity if I learned to dance. Well, that's not necessary any more.
Because Scott secretly shot video of some of our lessons. Utter, utter, utter bastard! He was going to make a video and put it up on youtube! Behind my back!
Fortunately, I caught him looking at some of the footage. But since he was nice enough to not shoot our faces, and we're ...
Posted by Justine at 11:58, July 16th, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, Bloggery |
Danah Boyd is an ethnographer who's done a great deal of work on teenage use of the internet in the USA. Her work is absolutely fascinating and I think every writer of Young Adult books should be reading it.
She recently gave a talk about
race and class in the MySpace v FaceBook divide. You all need to read it, like, NOW:
If you are trying to connect with the public, where you go online matters. If you choose to make Facebook your platform for civic activity, you are implicitly suggesting that a specific class of people is more worth your time and attention than others. Of course, splitting your attention can also be costly and doesn’t necessarily mean ...
Posted by Justine at 0:07, July 15th, 2009 under Bloggery, Research, State of the World, Young Adult literature |
I did not select winners myself because too many of you chose dialogue written by friends of mine and I didn't want anyone to think there was bias going on. The winning comments were decided by randomly generating numbers at random.org. :
7:
Celia:
From Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens:
Eventually Crawly said, “Didn’t you have a flaming sword?”
“Er,” said the angel. A guilty expression passed along its face, then came back and camped there.
“You did, didn’t you?” said Crawly. “It flamed like anything.”
“Er, well–”
“Lost it, have you?”
“Oh no! No, not exactly lost, more–”
“Well?”
Asiraphale looked wretched. “If you must know,” he said, a trifle testily, “I gave it away.”
Crawley stared up at him.
“Well, I had to,” said the angle, rubbing ...
Posted by Justine at 9:12, July 14th, 2009 under Bloggery |
Charles N. Brown was the publisher of Locus: The Magazine of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Field. He was well known throughout the SFF world for this love and support for the field and his enormous generosity.
I first met him at the 1993 World Fantasy Convention in Minneapolis ((I think. It was some time that year.)) when I was researching my PhD thesis. He was extremely enthusiastic about my research and gave me many leads and suggestions including inviting me to make use of his insanely extensive library in Oakland. His help was invaluable. He knew everyone and pretty much everything about SFF in the USA. We remained friends even after my defection to YA. My case is not ...
Posted by Justine at 14:21, July 13th, 2009 under New York City/USA, Praising, State of the World |
The
dialogue song contest ends at midnight today East Coast USA time. I'll be turning comments off on
the thread then.
You have until midnight tonight. Make sure you enter
over there not here.
Six winners will be chosen randomly. They'll all get a Liar sampler as well as their choice of one of these books:
Advanced Reader Copy of First Kiss anthology signed by me and Scott
US paperback of Love is Hell anthology signed by me and Scott
US or Aus paperback Magic Lessons (sequel to Magic or Madness)
US or Aus paperback Magic’s Child (sequel to Magic Lessons)
HC Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction
Now I return to the to finish-the-novel salt mines.
Posted by Justine at 12:10, July 13th, 2009 under Bloggery |
So I have no idea that Australia only need two more wickets and England a handful of runs to make Aus bat again and thus reduce overs and increase chance of securing draw. Only 15 overs remaining.
I AM NOT FOLLOWING IT AT ALL.
Writing, working hard, ignoring the nail biting finish.
COME ON AUSTRALIA!!!
Posted by Justine at 12:55, July 12th, 2009 under Cricket, Sport |
But first, Morgan, one of the winners of
the last giveaway, still hasn't
contacted me. Please do so! Your copy of Love is Hell and the Liar sampler awaits!
Once again the giveaway is based around a post I've been meaning to write for ages on dialogue. Way back in January when I did my whole month of writing advice I promised I'd write a whole post about how to write dialogue. But it never happened. I have started such a post but I has not finished it. Sorry!
In the comments please share your favourite bit of dialogue from literature. I'm using that term very broadly, so, yes you can include an exchange from any genre: YA, crime, romance, ...
Posted by Justine at 12:25, July 11th, 2009 under Bloggery, Reading |
Posted by Justine at 12:48, July 10th, 2009 under Whingeing, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 12:02, July 9th, 2009 under Ranting, Young Adult literature |
It proved absolutely impossible for me to choose from among all the amazing stalker song entries so I got Scott to pick six numbers between 1 & 116. (That's how many entries there were: one hundred and sixteen!)
Scott went to Random.org for the numbers thus they are truly random.
The winners are comment numbers 49, 49, 109, 98, 4, 25 and 114:
49: Cristina:
Faint by Linkin Park:
“I am what I want you to want, what I want you to feel
But it’s like no matter what I do
I can’t convince you to just believe this is real”
“Sin miedo a nada” by Alex Ubago [translated to the best of my ability]:
“I die to beg you
That you don’t leave my life
I ...
Posted by Justine at 19:20, July 8th, 2009 under Admin, Bloggery |
Posted by Justine at 11:43, July 7th, 2009 under Bloggery, Liar, Scott's books, Whingeing |
Posted by Justine at 12:21, July 6th, 2009 under Bloggery, New York City/USA, Publishing business |
Sunday afternoons are meant to be lazy. It's like a law. Which you're not allowed to ignore even if you have a tonne of work to do.
So Scott and me went to visit
Lauren McLaughlin and meet her and Woofy's new baby, Adelina. She's a darling. We were there for more than three hours and she didn't cry once. Astonishing!
Here's Addie after being fed:
Isn't she a darling? (Who is that strange man in the background?)
In other news the stalker contest continues. Many excellent entries. If you want to enter do so
over there not here.
And now I must get back to work. Sadly . . .
Posted by Justine at 16:40, July 5th, 2009 under New York City/USA, Praising |
I have been promising for some time that I would write about how most love songs are actually about stalking. However that time is not now on account of I am behind with everything. So far behind that I can't continue any feuds with other YA writers or---much much worse---follow the Tour de France. Yes, it's that bad. Again.
In the meantime tell me what your favourite/most appalling stalker song is in the comments below. I will send a signed (by me and Scott) copy of the anthology
Love is Hell to the commenter whose stalker song selections most amuses me. Or at random if the busy-ness makes my brain not function enough to decide. You can find the first ...
Posted by Justine at 13:32, July 4th, 2009 under Listening, Love is Hell, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 13:54, July 3rd, 2009 under Bloggery, Publishing business |
Posted by Justine at 0:13, July 2nd, 2009 under Publishing business |
Posted by Justine at 15:54, July 1st, 2009 under New York City/USA, Praising, Reading, Young Adult literature |
