Second Books

Today is our last day talking about second books. There's a lot to look forward to next year! Or perhaps the year after, because the year 2010 is the year Ellen Booraem, author of The Unnameables, comes out with her second book, The Filioli (Harcourt Children’s Books).

It sounds amazing!

When her basement is infested by a tribe of elegant fairies addicted to illusion, 13-year-old Mellie Turpin learns to value what’s real.

Another teaser! Let's chat with Ellen.

2k8: How does it feel to have a second book coming out?

Ellen: Selling the second book made the first one seem more real, and made me feel like less of an interloper in the novel-writing world. I drafted this book in between revisions of The Unnameables, and revising the second book has been a welcome distraction from the launch of the first one, which I find a bit nerve-wracking.

2k8: How was it different from the first book?

Ellen: My first book went through five revisions, three of them under the guidance of my Harcourt editor, Kathy Dawson. I think (I hope) I learned from that process—we’ll see. I do think the first draft of this book is better paced than the first draft of The Unnameables. And so far it’s the right length—I cut something like 100 pages from The Unnameables.

Thanks Ellen!

Don't forget to drop by tomorrow for Shameless Saturday, when we show everyone what the Class has been up to and next Monday, when we start our week long series on banned books!