Introducing ... Zu Vincent!

 

Yes, folks, it's another exciting launch week at the Class of 2k8! We proudly raise our glasses of cyber bubbly to debut author Zu Vincent and her young adult novel, The Lucky Place.

Without further ado, here's the beautiful cover:

And we want to tell you about The Lucky Place:

“Here’s what I think. I think having two daddies is like riding the elephant. You don’t know until you get up there what an elephant smells like, or how high you will be on the elephant’s back. But then you realize. And the basket tips one way and then the other, like you might fall, every time the elephant steps.”

Her drunken father lost her at the races when she was three. Her down and out mother believes in luck. Her wild brother wants to be a dancing star. And her new father’s secret could destroy them all. But when the chips are down in an ordinary life, the view from a young girl’s heart can still look extraordinary.

Now, let's meet Zu!

Zu Vincent holds an MFA from Vermont College where she began writing a story about fathers and daughters that became The Lucky Place. She was awarded Harcourt’s post-grad semester at Vermont College in 2006. Her photos and features have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including Harper’s, Yoga Journal and Flyfishing, and she’s written non-fiction books for Scholastic, Harcourt, Signet and Plume. In addition her essays and short stories have appeared in several literary journals and anthologies including Through The Wardrobe, edited by Herbie Brennan.


So, Zu, tell us how The Lucky Place began…

Isabelle Allende calls writing “an exercise in nostalgia,” a long, slow dance in an ever-widening circle of memory. I like that. I think we forge the details of this dance from love and longing, remembered place and the rub of character against character. In this way all novels are true, even if they aren’t factual. For example, the title for The Lucky Place came from a childhood memory about a white horse. When my mom would see this white horse in the field near our home, she’d lick her thumb and stamp it on her palm for luck. I remember being sure this would work, that our family would stay charmed forever.

But nobody’s family stays charmed forever. And in The Lucky Place, I created Cassie and Jamie, threw them into a messy family relationship and watched what happens when this early magical belief meets reality.

Advance praise for The Lucky Place:

“A quietly powerful and important story. Zu’s vignettes weave a novel that, from moment to moment, takes your breath—then gently hands it back to you again. Lovely.” 

—Jacqueline Woodson, author of Hush

“The Lucky Place is a pitch-perfect little symphony.” 

—Tim Wynne-Jones, author of The Maestro

“A magical book—joyful and heartbreaking—singing with life. Zu leads us gently into the heart and soul of a girl we come to love. I didn’t want it to end.” 

— Susan Wooldridge, author of Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words

Come back and visit as we spend the week getting to know more about our classmate, Zu Vincent, and The Lucky Place!

You can also visit Zu at her website: http://www.zuvincent.com