One top-notch NYC agent

Today we have Dan Lazar in the hot seat!

Dan is a senior agent with Writers House, and he represents authors who write for adults and children. More info on this hard-working, very personable agent can be found on his PublishersMarketplace page and on Agent Query.

Dan, what gets your attention in a query/submission? In other words, do you know in the first line, first page, or do you continue reading, hoping something pops in your mind and you say, “This is great!”

In a query letter, you want to be evocative and specific. Don't say, "Jane Doe is quirky." Instead, say "Jane Doe likes polka dots and never steps on cracks." It can be hard to pin down a plot in just a few lines, but if you can bring the letter to life with atmospheric details from your story, the voice will shine through. As for what works in a submission, see Question #4.

What books were your favorites as a kid? What are your favorites now?

As a kid, I must have read THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH a hundred times. I also loved Avi (I actually just reread WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN ANYWAY!), Lloyd Alexander, Bruce Coville, Gordon Korman. I'll even admit that I read my sister's copies of Babysitters Club and All American Girls... Some of my favorite books I've read in recent years include MIDDLESEX, THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY, BROKEN FOR YOU (which I worked on) and STIFF.

Anything special you’re looking for?

Middle grade and YA-- but middle grade especially. I'm very hungry for boy middle grade. We need more!

Tell us the first sentence of a book you fell in love with:

I'm going to cheat and slip in 2! Two of my beloved middle grade authors won me over with these first lines:

SAVVY by Ingrid Law opens with:
"When my brother Fish turned Thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it."

And THE CHICKEN DANCE by Jacques Couvillon opens with:
"My sister's name was Dawn, and my mother said she was named that because when she was born it was like the sun had just risen. My name is Stanley."

Thanks for stopping by, Dan!

Another miniview (a.k.a mini-interview) appears tomorrow. We'll feature a debut novelist from the Class of 2k9. We know that 2009 seems like a long way off, but that class is working hard already!

A Week of Miniviews!

What’s a miniview, you ask? It’s a mini-interview, of course! These are short, oh-so-sah-wheet bits of info from folks who have different perspectives on the children's publishing biz. Don't blink, or you just may miss something. This week, you’ll hear from:

One hard-working, independent bookstore owner

One top-notch New York City agent

One debut novelist from the Class of 2k9

One aspiring writer

And…

One famous, contemporary children’s book author


LET'S GET TO IT!

Today, we talk to Vicki Erwin. Vicki is the owner of that charming bookstore called Main Street Books in St. Charles, MO.

Located in historic St. Charles, Main Street Books is a cozy, warm escape into the world of literature. If you’d like to buy a new novel, check out a guidebook, browse the children’s section, attend a book club, or rub elbows with an author, then 307 South Main Street is the place to be.

Vicki, please tell us about your bookstore.
We are a general bookstore, located in an historic district in an historic building -- which can present challenges. Our store is on three levels. What we call the mezzanine houses the picture books and readers, a major part of our business. The early chapter, middle grade and young adult titles are on the second floor of the store. We separated these from the younger children because we wanted this age to feel a sense of having their own place. The books are shelved in a hallway and displayed on tables in the kitchen. We have bean bag chairs and a sofa that they often take advantage of! I estimate half of our space is children's books.

What children's programs have been most successful? Why?
Our most successful children's programs have been in partnership with local libraries. Partly that's because we don't have space available for big programs. It's also partly because we combine our marketing efforts to reach a larger audience. A book being featured in the newspaper or on local television also nudges sales.


What is the most exciting part about being a bookseller?
There are so many exciting parts! One is matching the right reader with the right book. It's wonderful when they return to tell you how much they loved a book. Another great part of bookselling is discovering a wonderful book early on and feeling like you have a role in the presentation and building of that book -- telling people about it, promoting it, etc. Finally, just having the opportunity to see everything and read so much is a dream.


In one sentence, tell us how bookstores are changing.
We have to be better than ever to compete, so SHOP LOCAL!

Thanks, Vicki. We love our indies!

Tune in tomorrow for another miniview. We'll be featuring a top-notch NYC agent from a world-reknown agency.

Shameless Saturday!

On this Saturday's agenda we have a couple quick notable mentions and then a little recap of ALA! Enjoy!

Reviews and Interviews!

M.P. Barker, author of A Difficult Boy, was interviewed about her summer reading plans for Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has a feature article about M.P. Barker's return to her old stomping grounds at Old Sturbridge Village.

TeensReadToo awarded Regina Scott's La Petite Four their Gold Star Award for Excellence! "This award is reserved for books you want to read over and over again,because they're great!" Wow! Thanks!

BookReviewManic reviewed Brooke Taylor's Undone! "This book and I were inseparable! It was amazing, staggering, and very much so tremendous! ... would recommend this book to every teen out there, it is not one of those books that are “girly”. Actually I would recommend this book to adults too."

And now on to ALA!

For several days at precisely 9 AM, thousands of librarians and booksellers hit the Anaheim Convention Center floor in order to mingle and choose their favorite new books. So it wasn't quite as dramatic (or dangerous!) as Spain's famous bull-running fiesta, but the energy that these book-lovers brought to the conference was electric. Throughout the event, attendees toted heavy bags filled with hardcover books, ARCS, and promotional materials, then hailed cabs and buses to gather off-site at awards dinners, luncheons, and even early breakfasts. And we just wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING!

Two class members signed at their publishers' booths: Zu Vincent/The Lucky Place (Front Street Press) and Nancy Viau/Samantha Hansen Has Rocks In Her Head (Abrams Books for Young Readers)..

And quite a few other 2k8 books were spotted, as well, including:

Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different
I So Don't Do Mysteries
My So-Called Family
The Unnameables
The Possibilities of Sainthood
Undone

Happy reading, everybody! See you at the Mid-Year ALA Conference in Denver! (Unless, of course, we do find you next week...hanging out with the bulls in Santo Domingo).

Day 5: Nina Nelson's A Lover of Words

It's our last day with Nina Nelson for the launch of her debut novel Bringing the Boy Home and while we've gotten to know many new things about her (like that she knows where to buy bug lollies) we want to know more! So, Nina, tell us something random about you!

I love picking out cards for people. I don’t always remember special occasions, but you might very well receive a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” card from me any random day that says, “I have no idea when your actual birthday is, but when I saw this, I thought of you.”

Back before I considered myself a writer, I found this card:



(For those of you who can’t find your glasses: first check the top of your head and if they’re not there, I’ve re-typed the words below.)

“You are a lover of words. One day, you will write a book. People turn to you because you give voices to dreams, notice little things, and make otherwise impossible imaginings appear real. You are a rare bird who thinks the world is beautiful enough to try to figure it out, who has the courage to dive into your wild mind and go swimming there. You are someone who still believes in cloud watching, people watching, daydreaming, tomorrow, favorite colors, silver clouds, dandelions, and sorrow. Be sacred. Be cool. Be wild. Go far. Words do more than plant miracle seeds. With you writing them, they can change the world.”

Now, I’m not one for sappy sentiments; I’m always sending the cartoon-y card with the six-word punch line on the inside, but this poem struck me in the gut. After reading it, my overwhelming feeling was, “Wow. This is a great! Who can I send it to?” and then I got a little sad; I wished someone had sent me this card…(in retrospect maybe someone did…maybe that’s why I was in that Mail Depot store on that day with an extra ten minutes on my hands. Hmmm, that’s an interesting thought.)

Anyway, this past week, when I was cleaning up, I found the card taped inside one of my old journals and upon re-reading, it punched me in the gut again. But this time, I knew exactly who I was going to send it to, so…

“Lovers of Words” and readers of this blog, I’m sending this card out to you.

Imagine on the inside that I’ve written:

“Dear Lover of Words:

I don’t know when your actual birthday is, but when I saw this card, I thought of you.”

Now get off the Internet (after you’ve ordered Bringing the Boy Home from the bookstore of your choice, of course) and go write!

Be well,

Nina (N.A.) Nelson

Thank you Nina!

No, no, thank you Nina! It's been wonderful getting to know more about you and more about Bringing the Boy Home. Have a wonderful launch party and we'll be wanting a picture of you eating those bug lollies, okay?

Day 4: Tour of Bringing the Boy Home

Ever wanted to go deep into the Amazon but didn't have enough frequent flier miles or bug repellent? Well here's your chance! Join Nina Nelson as she gives you the full tour!

When I was writing Bringing the Boy Home I frequently looked back at the photo album I’d compiled from my vacation to the Amazon back in 2001. I had gone with my husband, my sister and my mother-in-law and it wasn’t hard to recall the sounds, sights and feelings of the rainforest after looking at the below pictures and re-watching the video. We stayed at the Explorer’s Inn Lodge, a research camp on the Rio Tambopata. Interestingly enough, we were the only people staying there except for: two students, the camp cook (from a local village) and the guys who were fixing one of the thatched roofs.

Okay, so let’s start at the beginning:

In Bringing the Boy Home, an anthropologist named Juan Diego picked Sara and Tirio up from the airport and took them to the research camp where they were staying. In reality, a fellow named Juan Diego picked our little group up from the airport and took us to the research camp where we were staying. But he was not a portly anthropologist--rather he was a young, thin research student who was staying at the Explorer’s Inn Lodge and paying for his room and board by playing tour guide. Below you can see the outboard canoes that we rode in for six hours on our way to the lodge. This is what I imagined Sara traveling in when she found Tirio floating down the river and it is also what I imagined the two of them riding in when they returned to the jungle a couple days before Tirio’s thirteenth birthday.

Pic 2 shows me (I’m the one without the mustache) and the “real” Juan Diego. I’m sipping the tea that the camp cook made for my bellyache. After Juan Diego explained that I had an upset stomach (in what I’m assuming was Portuguese) the cook picked up a machete, went out back, returned with a bunch of leaves and brewed me a tea. Half an hour later…I was all better. Cool, huh?

These are the huts where we stayed. No electricity, HUGE water bugs (roaches on steroids for those of you who have never lived down South) that kept leaping out from unexpected places and mosquito netting around the beds. Strangely enough, this looks just like the research camp where I had Sara and Tirio stay when they went back to the Amazon. Hmmmmm. I even have a little (or should I say HUGE) discussion between the two of them about the water bug/roaches!



As for the local party animals:

This is Pablo..or is it Pedro? Anyway, this clown and his swine brother used to be wild piggies but had become semi-tame after being fed scraps from the kitchen. They were a constant source of entertainment for us and I envisioned their antics a lot when I wrote about Sulali’s pet tapir, Tambo.


Another friend of ours was, Willie the Macaw. I used him as my muse for the parrots gnawing at the clay lick leading to Tirio’s tributary. Willie was rescued when some poachers caught him and tried to take him overseas to sell. Juan Diego told us the poachers stuff the baby birds in paper towel rolls and then hide them in their luggage. Grrrrr….I’d like to show those poachers what a paper towel roll stuffing feels like! Anyway, Willie was unable to go back to the wild and now lives at the lodge. Here he is hanging out with my sister.


Here I am feeling like I’m on the movie set of, Honey, I Shrunk the Author. This is a banana leaf. The locals use them as roofing material for their huts. I used them in the book as Mother Nature’s umbrella to shield Tirio from the many downpours I put him through.

And THAT was my experience in the Amazon rain forest. And THAT is what helped me to write Bringing the Boy Home. I just wish I could have added some howler monkeys or birds as background music. I guess you’ll have to go to the Amazon jungle to hear THAT for yourself.

Day 3: N.A. Nelson's Welcomes You to the Jungle!

There's nothing quite like having your very first launch party. Here at the 2K8 blog we try to do it up right with lots of fun topics and cyber drinks and goodies, but there were a few requests, we just couldn't provide for Nina Nelson's launch of Bringing the Boy Home. You know, what... let's just let her tell you what will be included at her real world launch party!

Well, my actual release party isn’t actually until July 12. When your book comes out the Tuesday before the July 4th weekend, you kind of push your launch party to the weekend after everyone will be celebrating our nation’s independence.

But…that won’t stop me from telling you what we’re gonna do!!!!

Here’s the invitation:

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

THREE YEARS AGO, JOHN BOUGHT A ROUND OF SHOTS FOR AN ENTIRE IRISH BAR TO CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT NINA SOLD HER BOOK.
THAT WAS JUNE 2005.
NOW ON JULY 12, 2008, WE’RE CELEBRATING AGAIN! AND
THIS TIME, IT’S BECAUSE BRINGING THE BOY HOME IS FINALLY IN STORES!
SO GRAB THE ENTIRE TRIBE AND SWING ON OVER TO THE NELSON HUT FOR OUR
“WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE”
PARTY!

RSVP:
Yeah, I’m definitely swinging by!
Or
No, sorry, a monkey bit me in the butt, I can’t make it.

So imagine it:

Tiki torches,

Tribal masks,

Bongo drums,

AND… Chocolate covered crickets; Bar-B-Que, Cheddar Cheese or Mexican Spice flavored worm larvets; AND bug lollies!

That’s right…in Bringing the Boy Home, Tirio actually eats some grubs and claims they taste like warm cheese, so…in staying true to the book’s theme, edible bugs will be provided.

Consider yourself invited!

Day 2: N.A. Nelson Caught Off Guard

I love to be caught off-guard when I’m writing. I pray for those magic moments, especially on days when I’m dragging myself to the keyboard.

My first surprise was when Luka’s sister, Karara showed up:

I was typing away at a scene and out of the corner of my mind, this teen girl walks in carrying a basket on her hip. Her hair was divided into eight braids and she had attitude. I remember thinking “Well, hello, who are you?” And while I typed, she rolled her eyes and flipped her head, and in no uncertain terms let me know exactly who she was. She’s one of the strongest characters in the book and definitely one of my favorites—and she was totally unplanned. Magic.

My second surprise came when I left a gate open in a scene:

Luka was doing a trial run of his “seeing” test and when he gets to the wash area, he notices that the entrance gate of the wash area—usually closed to keep caiman out—is ajar. I have no idea why I wrote it that way, perhaps to create an eerie mood; anyway I went about my merry way and forgot about it. But several months and several chapters later, a friend reminded me during critique group, “You left the gate open back in the Punhana scene; is that going to come into play later?” To which I replied. “Hmmmm, I did, didn’t I? Better figure that out.”
And lo and behold, in the next chapter, that gate being open provided the perfect puzzle piece to connect two pieces of the story. Yeah, I planned it that way all along.

My last surprise, was the biggie: how the boys were related:

I had no idea, but I knew I didn’t want to it to be obvious. The truth is, up until a certain point, their stories were not related: Tirio was in Florida and Luka was in the Amazon, so I didn’t have to worry about the relationship. But then, when the time came for their paths to cross, I remember thinking “Oh, man. I really painted myself into a corner here.” So I strapped my 14 month old daughter in the Kelty backpack, leashed up our two Weimaraners, Abby and Eli, (RIP-Eli) and headed for a little wooded trail by our house.

(Not hard to imagine a jungle scene when you’re walking through this, huh?)

This was a well-tread route for me; and it had gotten me out of a lot of “What now?” writer situations. And on this turn in the road: as clear as if I’d planned it all along—the boys’ relationship came to me. And I remember smiling and feeling such a load lift and thinking,

“That’s it. OMG, how perfect, how gosh-darn perfect. That’s it.” Phew!