So every writer knows that getting a positive review from Kirkus, never mind a star, is quite a feat. Well, Jazz in Love was recently reviewed on the Kirkus blog. If it weren't for the "factual error" the reviewer pointed out, the actual review was quite lovely. I don't mind "predictable" - there are thousands of predictable books on the shelves featuring white teens. In a sea of books about PoC who suffer nobly, are rescued by white or western saviours, or are living amidst despair and violence, I am delighted that in this book, South Asian teens get to star in a light, fun, somewhat predictable read that was compared to some of Meg Cabot's (The Princess Diaries) writing :).
Even though my elation was slightly dampened by one line I didn't catch, I cherish the review, nonetheless. [The line: one of my characters states that same-sex marriage is legal in Hawaii - and it is not.] I am grateful to the reviewer, who personally sent me a kind email notifying me of the review, for bringing this to my attention and I have already implemented the change in all editions.
There may be a slight lapse of a few days in availability while Jazz in Love is updated, but it will be back up and available almost immediately.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Giveaway of L.K. Madigan's Books
The Debs are giving away tons of copies of L.K. Madigan's books, FLASH BURNOUT and THE MERMAID'S MIRROR. Each of us is buying a copy of both of Lisa's books and offering them to readers as a way to show our love and support for Lisa, and also to celebrate the wonderful books, themselves!
I've known Lisa (also known as L.K.) as fun, funny, irreverent and a lady who tells it like it is. Last week, she shared some "hard news" on her blog and we were all devastated. We love you, Lisa!
Please go and comment to win a copy of (the 2010 Morris Award winning) FLASH BURNOUT, or THE MERMAID'S MIRROR - your chances are really good. And please help spread the word about Lisa's amazing books. Tweet the giveaway, announce it on Facebook and tell your friends!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Introducing...JAZZ IN LOVE!!!
So I have been very busy. I am so SUPER, TERRIBLY, UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED to share with you the cover of my second novel, JAZZ IN LOVE!!!!
I have to say that this is an incredible time in publishing for creative pursuits. I know there are many who are predicting doom for publishing and the printed book, but I think things are simply going to change (and for the better!) because people will have more options and choices. For instance, even five years ago, I would not have known about, nor had access to the types of resources that have allowed me to put JAZZ out into the world. I am releasing it under my own imprint, Ignite Books, and I worked with a very enthusiastic and supportive former Greenwillow/Harper Collins editor to get the book in the best shape it could possibly be. The result is a fun, funny story with elements of romance and a little bit of intensity thrown in. YAYYYY!!!!!
Here is the blurb from the back of the book:
"Jasbir, a.k.a. Jazz, has always been a stellar student and an obedient, albeit wise-cracking, daughter. Everything has gone along just fine--she has good friends in the "genius" program she's been in since kindergarten, her teachers and principal adore her, and her parents dote on her. But now, in her junior year of high school, her mother hears that Jazz was seen hugging a boy on the street and goes ballistic. Mom immediately implements the Guided Dating Plan, which includes setting up blind dates with "suitable," pre-screened Indian candidates. The boy her mother sets her up with, however, is not at all what anyone expects; and the new boy at school, the very UNsuitable hottie, is the one who sets Jazz's blood boiling. When Jazz makes a few out-of-the-ordinary decisions, everything explodes, and she realizes she'll need a lot more than her genius education to get out of the huge mess she's in. Can Jazz find a way to follow her own heart, and still stay in the good graces of her parents?"
The official release is slated for January. If you'd like a review copy, please leave a comment below, or email me, and I'll do my best to get one out to you as soon as I can!
I have to say that this is an incredible time in publishing for creative pursuits. I know there are many who are predicting doom for publishing and the printed book, but I think things are simply going to change (and for the better!) because people will have more options and choices. For instance, even five years ago, I would not have known about, nor had access to the types of resources that have allowed me to put JAZZ out into the world. I am releasing it under my own imprint, Ignite Books, and I worked with a very enthusiastic and supportive former Greenwillow/Harper Collins editor to get the book in the best shape it could possibly be. The result is a fun, funny story with elements of romance and a little bit of intensity thrown in. YAYYYY!!!!!
Here is the blurb from the back of the book:
"Jasbir, a.k.a. Jazz, has always been a stellar student and an obedient, albeit wise-cracking, daughter. Everything has gone along just fine--she has good friends in the "genius" program she's been in since kindergarten, her teachers and principal adore her, and her parents dote on her. But now, in her junior year of high school, her mother hears that Jazz was seen hugging a boy on the street and goes ballistic. Mom immediately implements the Guided Dating Plan, which includes setting up blind dates with "suitable," pre-screened Indian candidates. The boy her mother sets her up with, however, is not at all what anyone expects; and the new boy at school, the very UNsuitable hottie, is the one who sets Jazz's blood boiling. When Jazz makes a few out-of-the-ordinary decisions, everything explodes, and she realizes she'll need a lot more than her genius education to get out of the huge mess she's in. Can Jazz find a way to follow her own heart, and still stay in the good graces of her parents?"
The official release is slated for January. If you'd like a review copy, please leave a comment below, or email me, and I'll do my best to get one out to you as soon as I can!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Yearning for Freedom; and Some News!
So many things to blog about today. I was originally going to come here and do a post about my thoughts on the film Amelia, which I saw last night. But because there are other, more timely issues to blog about, I'll just give you a quick summary:
To put it in a nutshell, it was an interesting film. I was mildly interested in watching it at first--not sure which aspect of Ms. Earhart's life would be broached and/or sensationalized. But when I found out that Mira Nair directed it, I was immediately more interested. I kept thinking, as I watched, about how colonization is so much more than the invasion of nations. It is the thorough and devastating invasion of bodies, minds, and souls. Specifically, I thought about the colonization of women's bodies, minds, and souls.
Amelia Earhart was a wealthy white woman who ran with the politically elite. Her husband was George Putnam, as in G.P. Putnam & Sons--the mega-publisher. Earhart had dinner with the Roosevelts. She could afford flying lessons. And yet, she was still a woman in a patriarchal, sexist world. She was still often treated like a child (something PoC encounter on a regular basis), and many decisions were made for her by the men in her life, often "for her own good." She bucked many conventions of her time and she yearned to be free. Something so many of us can relate to.
What caught me by surprise was how sad I was at the end. I knew what the ending was, and history has recorded how Ms. Earhart died, and still, I could not stop the flow of tears. Here is my favourite quote from the movie: "Everyone has oceans to fly, as long as you have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?" --Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937.
Another quote that has resonated for me on this particular day is "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle." That one is from Martin Luther King, Jr. And how ironic that today I should read about yet another furor, online, over the whitewashing of a book cover. Once again, it is the Bloomsbury team, deciding that a cover with a white model depicting a protagonist who is "brown-skinned" will sell more books, that is at issue. Several posts have been written on the topic already: Ari's heartfelt, powerful open letter, Susan's post/s, and the post and ensuing discussion over at The Story Siren.
I agree with Zetta's sentiment on her blog, "I don’t have time to respond to all the ignorant remarks...", particularly because there are so many. But I do LOVE that there are bloggers out there who see this issue as something that affects them, and are taking it on themselves, or as allies. Brava to you! The only thing that really irked me in the comments I read was the suggestion that those who are outraged about the cover should somehow be "nicer" in their outrage. Let me just point out that sometimes PoC, women, LGBTQ folks, the working class, and other people who've had their voices marginalized, get angry. When you're being battered on a daily basis, you're bound to get a little pissed. And then, if you see people you love--your little brother, your cousin, your mom, your child, your grandpa--relentlessly battered as well, you'll not likely reach out lovingly, softly, compassionately, to "teach" someone that their silence is not only NOT helping you, but that it is helping to keep the very systems in place that bruise and batter you every single day. To tell people who've had long histories of violence, subjugation, brutality, colonization, and/or slavery, that it would be better for them to be "nice" about their pain and outrage at being erased yet again -- because they might hurt someone else's feelings, otherwise -- is really another way of saying "shut up." It truly is. Audre Lorde's famous quote, "Your silence will not protect you" comes to mind; the extension of that being, "Your silence will not help others."
The other thing I wanted to blog about today, that I really shouldn't put last -- but I've written this post in the order things happened today -- is this: some of you know that I am writing in another genre under a pen name. Well, today, I received an offer for my first full-length novel in that genre, and I couldn't be more delighted. I will not reveal my pen name on this blog, nor provide any more information than I just did, but suffice it to say that if you do discover my alternate identity, I will not deny it's me :).
Wishing you all a thoughtful, reflective MLK, Jr. Day as we celebrate one man's message and his life's work.
To put it in a nutshell, it was an interesting film. I was mildly interested in watching it at first--not sure which aspect of Ms. Earhart's life would be broached and/or sensationalized. But when I found out that Mira Nair directed it, I was immediately more interested. I kept thinking, as I watched, about how colonization is so much more than the invasion of nations. It is the thorough and devastating invasion of bodies, minds, and souls. Specifically, I thought about the colonization of women's bodies, minds, and souls.
Amelia Earhart was a wealthy white woman who ran with the politically elite. Her husband was George Putnam, as in G.P. Putnam & Sons--the mega-publisher. Earhart had dinner with the Roosevelts. She could afford flying lessons. And yet, she was still a woman in a patriarchal, sexist world. She was still often treated like a child (something PoC encounter on a regular basis), and many decisions were made for her by the men in her life, often "for her own good." She bucked many conventions of her time and she yearned to be free. Something so many of us can relate to.
What caught me by surprise was how sad I was at the end. I knew what the ending was, and history has recorded how Ms. Earhart died, and still, I could not stop the flow of tears. Here is my favourite quote from the movie: "Everyone has oceans to fly, as long as you have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?" --Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937.
Another quote that has resonated for me on this particular day is "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle." That one is from Martin Luther King, Jr. And how ironic that today I should read about yet another furor, online, over the whitewashing of a book cover. Once again, it is the Bloomsbury team, deciding that a cover with a white model depicting a protagonist who is "brown-skinned" will sell more books, that is at issue. Several posts have been written on the topic already: Ari's heartfelt, powerful open letter, Susan's post/s, and the post and ensuing discussion over at The Story Siren.
I agree with Zetta's sentiment on her blog, "I don’t have time to respond to all the ignorant remarks...", particularly because there are so many. But I do LOVE that there are bloggers out there who see this issue as something that affects them, and are taking it on themselves, or as allies. Brava to you! The only thing that really irked me in the comments I read was the suggestion that those who are outraged about the cover should somehow be "nicer" in their outrage. Let me just point out that sometimes PoC, women, LGBTQ folks, the working class, and other people who've had their voices marginalized, get angry. When you're being battered on a daily basis, you're bound to get a little pissed. And then, if you see people you love--your little brother, your cousin, your mom, your child, your grandpa--relentlessly battered as well, you'll not likely reach out lovingly, softly, compassionately, to "teach" someone that their silence is not only NOT helping you, but that it is helping to keep the very systems in place that bruise and batter you every single day. To tell people who've had long histories of violence, subjugation, brutality, colonization, and/or slavery, that it would be better for them to be "nice" about their pain and outrage at being erased yet again -- because they might hurt someone else's feelings, otherwise -- is really another way of saying "shut up." It truly is. Audre Lorde's famous quote, "Your silence will not protect you" comes to mind; the extension of that being, "Your silence will not help others."
The other thing I wanted to blog about today, that I really shouldn't put last -- but I've written this post in the order things happened today -- is this: some of you know that I am writing in another genre under a pen name. Well, today, I received an offer for my first full-length novel in that genre, and I couldn't be more delighted. I will not reveal my pen name on this blog, nor provide any more information than I just did, but suffice it to say that if you do discover my alternate identity, I will not deny it's me :).
Wishing you all a thoughtful, reflective MLK, Jr. Day as we celebrate one man's message and his life's work.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Race and YA
Here is a link to a post I recently did as a guest contributor to Racialicious.com.
Alicia Valdes-Rodriguez also did a guest post for Racialicious about race and gender as themes in Stephanie Meyer's TWILIGHT series. She compares J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER, which she says is more "left" and progressive, with Meyer's books which are more right wing and religious. Interesting read -- the comments are worth a look, too.
Also, a Call for Submissions from two Assistant Professors who are doing an anthology of YA literature from "International and marginalized countries." They're working with Words Without Borders, the publisher that put out LITERARY VOICES FROM THE "AXIS OF EVIL": WRITING FROM IRAN, IRAQ, NORTH KOREA, AND OTHER ENEMY NATIONS. If you're interested in learning more, please contact Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs at vanslykeb@oneonta.edu, or karen.stearns@cortland.edu.
In other news: rainy and dreary here. Hope it's sunny and bright (and preferably warm) where you are!
-N.
Alicia Valdes-Rodriguez also did a guest post for Racialicious about race and gender as themes in Stephanie Meyer's TWILIGHT series. She compares J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER, which she says is more "left" and progressive, with Meyer's books which are more right wing and religious. Interesting read -- the comments are worth a look, too.
Also, a Call for Submissions from two Assistant Professors who are doing an anthology of YA literature from "International and marginalized countries." They're working with Words Without Borders, the publisher that put out LITERARY VOICES FROM THE "AXIS OF EVIL": WRITING FROM IRAN, IRAQ, NORTH KOREA, AND OTHER ENEMY NATIONS. If you're interested in learning more, please contact Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs at vanslykeb@oneonta.edu, or karen.stearns@cortland.edu.
In other news: rainy and dreary here. Hope it's sunny and bright (and preferably warm) where you are!
-N.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
