Archives
Posted by Justine at 9:14, June 28th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Whingeing, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 22:24, June 9th, 2007 under Cons & Other Gatherings, Magic or Madness trilogy, Travelling, Vainglory, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 15:31, June 5th, 2007 under Admin, Magic or Madness trilogy |
I appear to have won an Andre Norton Award for the first book in the Magic or Madness trilogy. Someone pinch me!
This is super amazing because:
The
books on the shortlist with Magic or Madness are absolutely fantastic.
It means I'm in the very tiny club of Norton Award winners with the brilliant Holly Black who won the inaugural award last year for Valiant.
I've won an award named in honour of one of the
most important writers of young adult fantasy books. How cool is that?
Now when I'm described as an award-winning author it's true!
Here's the speech that Eloise Flood who published and edited the trilogy (as well as Scott's Peeps and Maureen's Devilish, which ...
Posted by Justine at 2:20, May 13th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Scott's books, Vainglory, Young Adult literature |
Off to Paris today. I'm not sure what my intramanet access will be like while there, plus I'll be busy, so I figured I'd best leave you with a slightly meaty post given as I'm not sure when I'll be posting again.
For your delectation some thoughts on the efficacy of spreadsheets for novel writing:
A while back I posted a tongue-in-cheek guide on
how to write a novel in which I suggested using a spreadsheet. I'm still getting letters from folks telling me what a revelation that was, how it's transformed the way they write, solved all their plotting problems, and made their teeth whiter.
And I'm still coming across comments from those who are appalled and outraged ...
Posted by Justine at 13:20, April 30th, 2007 under Bloggery, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 0:05, April 21st, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Vainglory, Young Adult literature |
Very flaky internet access---the wifi keeps dropping to one bar so I'm keeping this short. Also I don't seem to be able to reply to emails, but I'll be back in NYC by Saturday and will catch up then. If it's urgent call me on the mobile.
We're doing two more Texas appearances.
Details here. Come say hi.
Also I'm getting a lot of people asking me the same questions about the ending of the trilogy so I've started a
SPOILER FAQ over here [scroll down]. If you have questions about the trilogy that aren't already answered you can ask them on
the comments thread over there and I will respond. But please don't ask spoiler questions ...
Posted by Justine at 23:59, April 15th, 2007 under Cons & Other Gatherings, Magic or Madness trilogy, Travelling |
Courtesy of
Marrije, I now know what happens to Reason after the Magic or Madness trilogy:
She's now working advertising coffee in the Netherlands!
See the eerie resemblance?
It's a huge relief to me to know that at least one of my characters is not going to starve just because I've stopped writing about them. Phew!
Posted by Justine at 9:40, April 9th, 2007 under Frippery, Magic or Madness trilogy |
Posted by Justine at 9:38, April 4th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Publishing business |
Right now there are not one but two competitions to win a copy of Magic's Child.
Go to
Diana Peterfreund's blog and make a comment and you're in the running. She promises that she will ship the book anywhere in the world. I signed it and all! Or you can to the
Teenreadstoo site to win a copy. The intermanets are positively dripping with free copies of Magic's Child!
Posted by Justine at 22:16, April 3rd, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy |
Posted by Justine at 14:23, April 2nd, 2007 under Daughters of Earth, Magic or Madness trilogy |
Posted by Justine at 13:05, April 1st, 2007 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy, Sydney/Australia, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 12:58, March 29th, 2007 under Fans & readers, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, Magic or Madness trilogy |
John Joseph Adams doesn't quite have the full set (that would be Scott who's not done his bit---he's too busy writing Extras) but here are his interviews with the other Norton nominees:
Maureen Johnson who's nominated for Devilish
me for Magic or Madness
Susan Beth Pfeffer for Life as we knew it
Megan Whalen Turner for King of Attolia
Pending: Scott Westerfeld for Touching Darkness and Peeps
I finally took a break from inhaling manga to inhale Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life as we knew it. Wow. I'll admit I'm fond of post-apocalypse books to start with, but this is a decidely superior example. I read it in one sitting. Could not put it down. Go forth and read! My only complaint: ...
Posted by Justine at 12:20, March 27th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Manga, New York City/USA, Praising, Reading, Scott's books, Sydney/Australia, Vainglory, Young Adult literature |
I just received a lovely letter from a fan saying they'd just finished reading Magic's Child (that was quick!) loved it and now want to know what to read next. They want something that will give them the same "glowy" feeling. *Blush*
Now because I wrote the trilogy I feel really weird saying what books I think are similar. Might make it look like I'm writing tickets on myself and my trilogy. So can you help out my fan? What books would you recommend as a follow up to my trilogy? Preferably books that are readily available.
Thanks!
Posted by Justine at 8:58, March 24th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Reading, Young Adult literature |
This comes from Jennifer Laughran at Books Inc in San Franciso who reports:
It's on the register! And we've already sold two in the five mins its been out of the box!!!!!!!!
Woo hoo!!!!
Now since Jennifer works at a book shop I thinks it's only fair that I keep the prize open. So if you don't work in a book shop and you're the first to send me a piccie of my book out in the wild there's a signed Magic's Child and matching book marks just for you.
But you'll still get your prize, Jennifer. You were first first.
Posted by Justine at 16:18, March 23rd, 2007 under Fans & readers, Magic or Madness trilogy |
Shashi Tharoor has written a
wry op ed piece for the New York Times on the World Cup and how Americans are oblivious to what is preoccupying a billion plus folks at the moment. It ends thus:
In any event, nothing about cricket seems suited to the American national character: its rich complexity, the infinite possibilities that could occur with each delivery of the ball, the dozen different ways of getting out, are all patterned for a society of endless forms and varieties, not of a homogenized McWorld. They are rather like Indian classical music, in which the basic laws are laid down but the performer then improvises gloriously, unshackled by anything so mundane as a written score.
Cricket ...
Posted by Justine at 9:20, March 23rd, 2007 under Cricket, Magic or Madness trilogy, New York City/USA, Sport, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 0:16, March 23rd, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Writing goals & milestones |
For the next month, there's an ad for Magic's Child up on
Locus online. Tis my very first one and I'm dead excited. Ordinarily, I can't stand ads but somehow it's different when it's an ad for one of my books. That makes me want to pat it and sing it songs. Lovely, lovely ad. Designed by the fabulous Courtney Wood who also made those beautiful screensavers which you can now download from the links in the sidebar.
There is now a cover for the Science Fiction Book Club's 3-in-1 version of my trilogy. It's called The Magic or of Reason.
In other vainglorious news, the
Hathor Legacy likes Daughters of Earth, describing it as ...
Posted by Justine at 11:35, March 22nd, 2007 under Bloggery, Cricket, Daughters of Earth, Magic or Madness trilogy, New York City/USA, Praising, Sport, Vainglory |
If you're around the fair city of New York in the Manhattan vicinity on Saturday, you might consider wending your way to the fabulous Books of Wonder children's book shop where me and some other writers for teens will be talking about our stuff. We will even sign books for those who desire it:
Saturday, 24 March 2007, Noon to 2PM
Great Teen Reads
Lisa Barnham, Olivia Birdsall, Celeste Conway,
Justine Larbalestier,
Lauren Myracle and
Margo Rabb
Books of Wonder
18 W. 18th St
New York, NY
I met Olivia Birdsall last night (thanks for putting us in touch, Kelly!) and I can vouch that she is decidely witty. I have never met Lauren Myracle but her wit is legendary and New York Times ...
Posted by Justine at 13:12, March 20th, 2007 under Cons & Other Gatherings, Magic or Madness trilogy, New York City/USA |
Reason Cansino, the protag of my Magic or Madness trilogy, is somewhat of a mathematical prodigy, but she pales in comparison to
Terence Tao:
By age two, he had learned to read. At 9, he attended college math classes. At 20, he finished his Ph.D.
Now 31, he has grown from prodigy to one of the world's top mathematicians.
. . .
"I always liked numbers," he said.
A 2-year-old Terry Tao used toy blocks to show older children how to count. He was aquick with language and used the blocks to spell words like "dog" and "cat."
. . .
At age 5, he was enrolled in a public school, and his parents, adminstrators and teachers set up an individualized program for him. He ...
Posted by Justine at 15:41, March 13th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Science, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Now available for your delectation: gorgeous
Magic's Child screensavers complete with animated butterflies. I just tested it and it made me squeal with happiness. It comes in mac and pc flavours. Happy sigh. Thank you, Courtney Wood, for all your hard work!
What better way to celebrate the final book in the Magic or Madness trilogy's arrival (just eleven more days) then to have pretty butterflies flutter across your computer screen?
And now I will return to my manga binge. I gave myself a much deserved (truly!) holiday: I went out and gathered up armloads of delicious manga and now I'm reading it. Why, oh why, did I only get the first four volumes of Monster?! What was I thinking? Everyone ...
Posted by Justine at 17:43, March 12th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Manga, Praising, Reading, Vainglory |
Posted by Justine at 9:17, March 9th, 2007 under Fans & readers, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, Scott's books, Vainglory, Young Adult literature |
1. I am now officially an award-winning author. Sort of.
Daughters of Earth just won the Susan Koppelman Award for Best Anthology, Multi-Authored, or Edited book in Feminist Studies in Popular Culture which is given by the Popular Culture Association. How cool is that? No book of mine has ever won an award before.
As I didn't write Daughters---other than the introduction anyways---I'm not sure this qualifies me as an award-winning author. I guess what I am is the editor of an award-winning book. I sure did put a lot of work into it and so did all the contributors. We're very proud and thrilled that someone else likes it well enough to give it a prize. Woo hoo!
Thank you ...
Posted by Justine at 17:41, February 28th, 2007 under Daughters of Earth, Magic or Madness trilogy, New York City/USA, Praising, Vainglory |
The Norton shortlist is now final:
Devilish---Maureen Johnson (Penguin Razorbill)
Magic or Madness---Justine Larbalestier (Penguin Razorbill)
Life As We Knew It---Susan Beth Pfeffer (Harcourt)
Midnighters 2: Touching Darkness---Scott Westerfeld (Harper Eos)
Peeps---Scott Westerfeld (Penguin Razorbill)
The King of Attolia---Megan Whalen Turner (Greenwillow Books HarperCollins)
All the books on the list are wonderful ((The only one I haven't yet read is the Pfeffer which I've heard from people I trust is amazing. I can't wait to get my mitts on it. )) (except mine obviously). I'm so honoured to be in such incredible company. Wow.
Yet despite the glories of Maureen's catholic school girls demon fighters and Scott's reimainged vampires and magic twenty-fifth hour, if I were to vote right now ((And if I were a member of SFWA.)) ...
Posted by Justine at 0:01, February 27th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Scott's books, Young Adult literature |
Writer and artist,
Chris Howard, was so inspired by reading Magic or Madness he painted a portrait of Reason:
It amazes me that my books have inspired
some folks to commit art. Makes me all teary!
I'm also made teary ((Best segue ever, eh?)) by the awesomeness of the vast majority of librarians. The recent kerfuffle over a
dog's scrotum has led many to think that librarians in the US of A are all for banning books over a single word. This is emphatically not the case. The
American Library Association has a
whole division that goes to battle to protect
intellectual freedom in the US of A. They're the ones who bring us ...
Posted by Justine at 0:15, February 20th, 2007 under Bloggery, Fans & readers, Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, Vainglory |
Given that it's now late February and Magic Lessons is available in a corrected and cheaper paperback edition in the US of A, and Magic's Child is a mere month away from pubbing, ((Two months if you are in Australia or New Zealand. Many more months if you're looking to score a copy in a
language other than English.)) I thought I would celebrate by posting the
very first draft of the first two and a bit chapters of Magic or Madness:
Chapter One
Reason missed her mother. She lay on her new bed in her new home missing her mum, Sarafina, so much it hurt. It was her first day in her grandmother's house. She should get ...
Posted by Justine at 10:37, February 19th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 11:08, February 12th, 2007 under Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction, Bloggery, Fans & readers, Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, Vainglory, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 0:07, February 9th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Vainglory |
Posted by Justine at 2:13, February 8th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Sydney/Australia, Vainglory |
Posted by Justine at 16:02, February 1st, 2007 under Daughters of Earth, Magic or Madness trilogy, Scott's books, Vainglory |
Posted by Justine at 10:26, February 1st, 2007 under Bloggery, Ideas, Magic or Madness trilogy |
Posted by Justine at 16:33, January 30th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, Vainglory |
I've been
boingled again! Mr Doctorow has
now read the whole trilogy, yes, including Magic's Child and has many kind words to say. Like this, for example:
Justine Larbalestier has concluded her wonderful young adult fantasy trilogy, Magic or Madness. The third volume, Magic's Child, brings the series to a really satisfying, complex conclusion that's both brave and thought-provoking.
This trilogy is ready-made for smart, curious kids who look to fantasy for more than escape---who look to fantasy literature to stretch their understanding of the real world.
I blush.
For those of you who want to rush out and grab a copy of Magic's Child, it's available for
pre-order, but won't be out till March.
In the meantime, Magic or Madness, ...
Posted by Justine at 17:31, January 27th, 2007 under Bloggery, Magic or Madness trilogy, Vainglory |
It has been brought to my attention through various means such as
comments here, my email box, and this
lovely loudmouth that me and Scott are on
the preliminary ballot for a
Norton Award.
What does that mean?
The award is given in memory of the late great Andre Norton to honour her considerable contribution to fantasy and sf young adult fiction. While it's administered by SFWA and is announced along with the Nebula Awards, it is not actually a Nebula Award. This is the second year the Norton Award has been given. Last year it went to the fabulous Valiant by Holly Black. Woo hoo! (And much fun was had celebrating that win, wasn't it, Holly?)
At ...
Posted by Justine at 8:02, January 11th, 2007 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Scott's books, Vainglory |
It's been another good year for me professionally and I will now skite about it: My second and third books, Magic Lessons and Daughters of Earth, were both published to some very nice
reviews and
reader responses. The whole Magic or Madness trilogy sold to
Editora Record in Brazil, Magic or Madness and Magic Lessons sold to
Mondadori in Italy, while Magic Lessons and Magic's Chld sold to
Amarin in Thailand. And then there was the recent sale of the trilogy to the
Science Fiction Book Club for a 3-in-1. Not to mention Magic Lessons being on the shortlist for the Aurealis.
It was a great year for
Scott who hit the ...
Posted by Justine at 9:50, December 31st, 2006 under Bloggery, Cricket, Daughters of Earth, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Last Day of the Year, Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, Scott's books, Sport, State of the World, Sydney/Australia, Vainglory, Writing goals & milestones |
Magic Lessons has just had its very first Australian award shortlisting---it's up for an
Aurealis. I'm dead excited! And Scott's The Last Days is nom'd too. Woo hoo!
Here's the full list Young Adult shortlist:
Monster Blood Tattoo: Book One. Foundling. D.M. Cornish (Omnibus)
The King's Fool. Amanda Holohan (ABC Books)
Magic Lessons. Justine Larbalestier (Penguin)
Wildwood Dancing. Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan)
The Last Days. Scott Westerfeld (Penguin)
The rumours I'm hearing are that Monster Blood is going to take it. And why not? Great title. Plus it's illustrated! Why don't my books have pretty pictures? Not fair!
Many fine writers are shortlisted in other categories such as Deborah Biancotti, Grace Dugan, Margo Lanagan, Lucy Sussex, Anna Tambour, and Sean Williams. Damn my ...
Posted by Justine at 0:10, December 22nd, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Vainglory |
Seeing as how I've talked about
chapter titles I figured I should talk about book titles, too. But, buggered if I know what to tell you. I'm terrible at titles! I've already
mentioned they're useful and that you definitely need one, but as to what it should be? Dunno.
I've heard that these are the sure fire ways to make a title:
a phrase from the bible or Shakespeare or Yeats or some other well-known poet (best for your literary has-a-shot-at-the-Booker type novels)
a line from a pop song or nursery rhyme (best for genre novels, particulary crime)
The+concrete noun+of+abstract or proper noun (best for high fantasy, think The Lord of the Rings)
Anyone think of any title formulas I'm missing?
I can also ...
Posted by Justine at 8:58, December 19th, 2006 under Bloggery, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy, Titles & names |
Posted by Justine at 23:05, December 17th, 2006 under Fans & readers, Magic or Madness trilogy, Vainglory |
Posted by Justine at 0:35, December 11th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, Reading, Vainglory |
Posted by Justine at 0:07, December 7th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Reading |
Posted by Justine at 9:47, December 2nd, 2006 under Bloggery, Magic or Madness trilogy, Vainglory |
Posted by Justine at 9:14, November 22nd, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Publishing business, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 8:41, November 21st, 2006 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy, Writing goals & milestones |
A number of you have been begging for more, so borrowing a trick from
me old man, here's the first line of each chapter of Magic's Child:
1. [too spoilery] ((All excessive spoilerage has been redacted))
2. Even though my belly was full of bacon, eggs, fried onions, and mushrooms, I still reached for my fourth rambutan. ((Never forget to let your characters eat. Otherwise they'll die.))
3. Jennifer Ishii walked around my room slowly. ((Go adverbs! Go adverbs! Go adverbs!
))
4. [too spoilery]
5. Jay-Tee wasn't thinking about God either.
6. As I lay in bed, Jennifer Ishii's sadness settled over me, heavy and cloying.
7. Tom listened calmly to Cathy reaming him out for not returning her call earlier or answering her emails.
8. ...
Posted by Justine at 0:16, November 18th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy |
It's not often that a writer gets a review that totally understands what they were trying to do. Well, Magic Lessons just got one from Tansy Rayner Roberts in
As If: Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus:
The lesson you will take away from this book is that magic hurts. There are countless stories that tell us magical power should come with a price (and even more countless stories that don't), but it's rare to find a story that demonstrates that price in such a realistic and stomach-wrenching manner as Larbalestier does in Magic Lessons. You have to respect an author who makes her characters suffer quite so miserably, and yet still keeps the reader glued to the page.
That's what I ...
Posted by Justine at 5:16, November 12th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Vainglory |
Posted by Justine at 13:38, November 10th, 2006 under Food, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy, Mangosteens, Scott's books, Travelling, Writing goals & milestones |
The rumours are true---I am a wee bit under the weather. Thanks for all your kind comments and emails! You make me feel like the Queen Mum. (In a good---rather than dead---way.) Hence the no blogging and not responding to emails and the rest of it.
While I have been coughing up lungs, sweating, shivering, aching and moaning, the lovely
Deborah Biancotti has been updating
my website. Where you can now
Read the
first two chapters of the final book in the Magic or Madness trilogy, Magic's Child. (If you've not read the first two books then you prolly don't want to read these on account of their spoilerificness.)
and
See what some
early readers thought of it. If you ...
Posted by Justine at 10:41, November 7th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Reading |
Posted by Justine at 9:21, September 29th, 2006 under Basketball, Bloggery, Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, Reading, Sport, Whingeing, Words & Language |
Posted by Justine at 18:39, September 20th, 2006 under Listening, Magic or Madness trilogy, Scott's books, Vainglory |
