Thought for the Day:
“Good writing takes place at intersections, at what you might call knots, at places where the society is snarled or knotted up.”
~ Margaret Atwood ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
The Creative Penn has a wonderful article on verbs HERE, or you can listen to the podcast of it. It’s a long article, but it has great examples and excellent resources. It is Verb Your Enthusiasm: Transform Your Writing With Stronger Verbs With Sarah Kaufman. Don’t miss this one.
Finding an agent may be as hard as writing your book. HERE is a terrific post by Nathan Bransford all about how to research a literary agent. This is pure gold.
Alison Hammer has a very good post HERE on Writers Unboxed on the subject of editing, writing about something I seldom do but should always do.
It’s all sports all the time at my house right now. Of course, I’ve been watching my beloved Giants lose waaaaay too many games. Sigh. They just can’t seem to get their collective act together. I’m sure their latest bozoness has brought joy to Greg Pattridge as they have lost the last two games to his Rockies. In addition to Giants games, the French Open has been on all week. I faithfully watch two tennis tournaments — the French Open and Wimbledon. Unfortunately, I not only seem to be a curse for my Giants, but I also seem to be something of a curse for my favorite tennis players. Ben Shelton and Coco Gauff both were knocked out early. That said, there has been some very interesting tennis to see. The first week was plagued by a terrible heat wave, and some players struggled to cope. The number one men’s player, Janik Sinner, was knocked out in the first round! The announcers said the heat has broken, and it is expected to be 20 degrees cooler for the matches this week. It should make for a great run to the finals.
Many years ago, I met Augusta Scattergood (Isn’t that a great author name?) at a Highlights workshop. She had just had her first book published. It was called GLORY BE. I loved the title, and I loved the book. HERE is the link to the review I wrote way back in 2013. When I was perusing the review list for the San Francisco Book Review, I was surprised to see GLORY BE on the list, but it is a different book with the same name. This one is by Jamie Sumner. I had read and enjoyed her book SCHOOLED (my review is HERE), so I requested a review copy. Here is the review I wrote for SFBR
Glory is nine, and life is not simple for her. She struggles with her hot temper and sassy mouth at school, getting herself into trouble more often than one should. When her beloved dog, Roux, goes missing, Glory cuts school to try to find him. Her mom has to take time from work, although she hates her job, so there’s that. Glory’s dad isn’t around much, and when he is around, he has just gotten a new job or just lost one due to his drinking, or he’s gambled all the family’s money away. Glory takes chances, going to dangerous places and meeting some sketchy people while trying to find Roux.
Author Jamie Sumner has written a very compelling, complex story with plenty of family drama, friend drama, and non-stop problems for young Glory. The story is written in verse and has spot illustrations throughout, which will be attractive for young readers, and will likely draw in reluctant readers with all that white space. With such a young protagonist, many may think this is for very young middle-graders, but the subject matter is better suited for older middle-graders.
I have a gently-read ARC to give to one of you. All you need to do is be a follower (it’s free and easy — see the top, right corner of the post) with a US Address, and leave a comment. If you share the link to this post on social media, please let me know in your comment, and you will get an extra chance. And please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 