I'm so excited about this trailer. The original music is by Mike Schmid, a very talented musician, who is also the keyboardist for Miley Cyrus. He's played with Sheryl Crow and the Jonas Brothers as well, among many other artists. He read the novel and was inspired to write this song, which he then allowed me to use for the trailer. If you go to Mike's website, his music starts playing, and you'll hear how talented he is! The trailer only has a short piece of the song, but the entire song is on iTunes. It's called, of course, "Magic." The complete lyrics are posted on Delaney's website.
My friends Judy and Dave put the trailer together for me, with Judy creating the great illustrations, some of which I also plan to put on Delaney's website. I feel very lucky to have benefited from the talents of these these generous and gifted people. They definitely qualify as Real World F.G.s. Okay, so I'm not sure this is technically "Book News," BUT, since the Facebook Page will contain news about the book, as well as the usual Facebook banter, I feel it qualifies. ALSO, it took me a while to get it up, so it feels like a milestone to be celebrated. (Part of the delay was just my usual hesitation about pressing the commitment button for anything that might not be perfect YET -- like anything EVER is.) Anyway, this (above) is my profile photo on the page, which is also the author photo on my book, taken by my talented photographer friend, M.F. Schwartz. AND this is the link: Kathy McCullough on Facebook As I plan to say elsewhere on the site, in the Contact Me section (when I have time to get it up there): Please visit me at the page and: Say hello Ask a question Recommend a book for me to read or movie to see Suggest a fun link Leave an inspirational quote (I love those, as you may know if you follow me on Twitter). I think the Facebook page is going to be an easier way for me to interact with people, because it's easier to see the whole thread of a conversation...So, come by and help me try this theory out. Okay, it's not so different (in fact, see if you can figure out what's changed), but it's "book news" and worth a post, I think! Give me a few days (weeks?) to find all the other places I've posted it, to update it. :)
This week I got a surprise package in the mail: Advanced Reading Copies! Only a couple, so no, I don't have any to give away, and I've told that to my friends -- who have been instructed to BUY the book if they choose to remain friends! (I do plan to do a GoodReads giveaway this summer.) It's a good excuse to post the cover yet again, because now I've been able to see it LIVE, and I love it just as much -- even more? I got the first pass pages via email. These I'll check for typos (none so far) and also teeny tweaks I want to make. My friends Mindy and Rebecca are also proofing for me (in return for coffee & pastry, and my undying gratitude). I could revise forever, but then I'd never get to write another book! And I definitely want to have this thrill again -- of seeing/having/touching the book, the real actual book, for the first time. At last!!! I can post the cover for my book. It is beyond my expectations and I'm so very happy about it. I think it combines the narrative elements of the book very well. There's a wistfulness to it -- while also being fun and whimsical. I never could have come up with anything like this on my own. Here I thought the film world was all about collaboration and in the publishing world you are all alone. Not true! You don't really consider how many talented people are involved in the production of one book (editor! copy editor! marketing department! art department! publicity! the list goes on!), but I'm certainly discovering it as I go. I feel very lucky to have the support of all these people at Random House. I've also gotten a tentative date for the book's release: 11/11/11. How cool is that??? Okay, it's really November 8, but I've decided to add three days, because, come on, wouldn't you? My name is Kathy, and I am a revis-aholic. I came to this realization recently while working on the copy edits for "Don't Expect Magic." There were a number of signs, and they've been there for a while, but I didn't want to acknowledge them. For instance, at the end of my second revision on the book, I noticed I was spending a lot of time changing things -- only to change them back during my next read-thru. I justified this to myself by the fact that some changes stuck, so it was worth a try. I still believe this on some level, but when it got to the point where I'd spend an hour on one word, changing it back and forth from one synonym to another... Clearly, I had a problem I wasn't willing to acknowledge.
This pattern repeated during copy edits, but was exacerbated by my obsession with removing words I re-used too often. YES! I KNOW THIS IS A GOOD THING! Thus the obsession. I tackled "just" as well as I could -- often with the result that I over-used "only." Still, "just" was not my big problem. I became obsessed with replacing words that are impossible not to repeat. "Look at how many times I'm using the word 'the'! Surely, there must be a better word!" (The preceding was exaggerated for dramatic effect.) More frightening was the amount of time I spent globally searching for words I was convinced I had overused, only to find that I had NOT USED THEM EVEN ONCE! That's when I began to suspect I had a problem. I won't even get into the more obvious signs, such as avoiding friends when deadlines approached, giving up showering, scavenging for food in the pantry because I didn't have time to cook, shop or even order out, etc. In retrospect, now that the copy edits are back in the hands of the publisher, I realize that the obsession with the small stuff was a way to compensate for the fact that it is too late to turn my novel from a light, contemporary tale with fantasy elements into a dark, dystopian epic about survival and redemption. Or an adult literary mystery. Or a Victorian novel of manners. Or anything else other than what it is. Which is a book I like, and more importantly, the book I wrote. The final sign of my addiction came in the FedEx line, when I was still revising, seconds before I was to ship the manuscript back to New York. I finally acknowledged my problem and forced myself to let the book go. And now back to the rough draft of the next book, which, when completed, I can began to revise again...(hee hee hee). I had a great time at the Book Bloggers convention in New York May 28. It was part of BEA, and it was exciting as an author to meet, in the flesh, all these great, fun and smart people who love reading as much as (more???) than I do, and who write so thoughtfully about books. I still haven't figured out how they all find the time, since they almost all have jobs and/or kids and/or are writing books themselves. Here's the list of all the bloggers there (with links to their blogs): Book Bloggers I'm looking forward to getting to know many of them better on line and instituting suggestions they gave me (learn Twitter! Gulp!) But first, I HAVE to finish the first (BIG) revision of my novel, or my label as "author" (which I had on my convention badge) will be a lie. More to come, including ideas for "making a better author blog." (Why do I have three blogs when I can barely do one, much less make time for writing? Am I insane? Don't answer.) Okay, back to work!!! I’m honored and thrilled to have been asked to join Elana Johnson’s “Spread the Awesome” blog chain, in which bloggers sing the praises of their favorite recent book. My choice was easy: “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” by Jacqueline Kelly. I found out about the book from Sophie, one of the children’s librarians at the local branch where I volunteer. Sophie was always recommending great YA novels for me to read, knowing I was a writer. One day, she said to me, “There’s this book that I think you should read. It’s not YA, it’s middle grade, but it’s being talked about for the Newbery, and it is soooo well-written.” (It ended up winning a Newbery Honor.) I was instantly hooked by this book, which is the story of a young girl at the dawn of the 20th century who has a passion for science. The story is mainly about her relationship with her eccentric grandfather, but it also touches on many other aspects of Calpurnia’s life in her small rural Texas town, including her relationships with her many brothers. I was only about a third of the way in when I started recommending it to other people, from writers to friends who like reading good books for any age, to people I knew with kids old enough to enjoy the book. As Sophie promised, the writing was soooo good, with a lot of smart humor and truly memorable scenes you just want to reread again and again. Kelly brings the characters and world to life so vividly that it’s like you’ve been transported there. It’s the kind of book that I couldn’t wait to get back to each night – yet with each page I’d experience a pang of sadness, knowing I was that much closer to the end. It’s that kind of book. I used a quote from the novel for my first “Quote of the Month” on this blog (and also posted it on Facebook, where it got some cheers). Here it is: "Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really." I think that just about says it all. As part of the blog chain, you can find another great book by visiting Kristi Helvig's blog, and from that blog will be yet another link, etc. To see the entire list of authors and titles cheered by the Spread the Awesome crew, visit Elana Johnson’s post – and you’ll have your summer reading list! I was recently sent a link to this Movieline post quoting advice from playwright David Mamet on how to create DRAMA. He's talking mainly about plays and films, but he has some good advice for any kind of dramatic writing. His point about considering the scene as if it were a silent movie is something I've actually done in fiction writing! It works well for a dialogue-heavy or internal monologue-heavy scene. Warning: Mamet's guidance is written ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS, so it's like he's screaming at you, which is a bit hard to take. Perhaps he just wanted to be DRAMATIC. In any case, I advise copying the text into a document and changing it to lower case. Your sanity will thank you. pdphoto.org If you're not in the mood for a lecture and would prefer a laugh, here's author Lynn Coady's advice for writing fiction, from making sure to include something that will offend your relatives to avoiding writing about symbolic dogs -- or dogs of any kind. juliefainart.com Lisa Gail Green writes a clever and fun blog called “Paranormal Point of View.” Every Monday she outs one of her followers as a supernatural creature. Delaney Collins, the protagonist of my debut novel, commented on the blog (since Delaney really does have magical powers), but Lisa disqualified her, not because Delaney’s fictional, but because she’s already admitted to being an “f.g.” on her own website. So instead, Lisa targeted me! As a pixie! Find out her reasons why at “Monday Madness.” Some of my friends might observe that I’m a bit tall to be considered a pixie, but I embrace the title and feel honored. In my darker moments, when I’m feeling a little moody or mean, I’m going to remember that I just have to access my endless supply of pixie dust – and get my life back on its happy track. Thanks, Lisa! |
KathyI'm a novelist and screenwriter living in Los Angeles. Find details on this "blog" about my books and appearances. Want to reach me? You can Contact Me here. What I'm working on now:
- A new YA novel - A middle grade novel - An original screenplay for the Disney Channel Writing Book of the Month:
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