Valentine's Week Guest Post: All About Heroes

When Aly asked me to write this post, I agreed immediately. Who doesn’t love a hero? And then I started to think about it and I realized it was harder than I thought. I mean, there are so many different types of heroes. So, I ran to the dictionary and found it equally unhelpful. I already knew the description: myth, legend, strong, brave, idol. I just couldn’t put my finger on it until I realized that that’s not what I wanted to talk about here. I wanted to talk about a specific type of hero. You know, the one we read about; that guy we’ve all met between the pages of our favorite stories – the one who always does the right thing.

Let’s face it, he may not even start out as a hero. Oscar in Pam Bachorz’ CANDOR is really more of an anti-hero in the beginning of the story. But then some thing or better yet, someone, changes his way of thinking and he ends up sacrificing everything for her. How can you not love that guy?

He may be someone we already know like Simon in Cassie Clare’s The Mortal Instruments. Who didn’t love him when he waited for Clary in her bedroom while she was observing the flowering patterns of obscure flora with a certain Shadowhunter? Okay, Simon interrupts what is going to be one hot scene but he was there for Clary, making sure she was safe in this strange, new world they just discovered.

Or maybe he’s the boy next door as in A.M. Robinson’s Vampire Crush. After all, who doesn’t love a boy who remembers where he hid that princess sandal he stole from you when you were kids?

I have to mention a Hot Boy with Sword who fits this bill nicely – Ash from Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey books. And if you haven’t read The Iron Queen, yet, I won’t spoil it for you but just read those last few pages and you’ll see what I mean. Ash always does the right thing. Always.

My favorite in this genre has got to be Cabel from Lisa McMann’s WAKE/FADE/GONE series. He and Janie have been through so much and still, in GONE, he waits for her. He even keeps his inner worries hidden (or so he thinks). But through it all, he remains by her side, always but always doing the right thing.

So next time you pick up a book, look for that boy, you know the one…yeah, see him off in the distance watching you, waiting to help you out when you need him the most.

Sophie Riggsby is a busy mom of three you can find her daydreaming about fictional characters while waiting for her children in the School Pick Up Lane, at Boy Scout meetings or in their ballet classes. She loves to post book reviews on Mundie Moms, Mundie Kids and Page Turners Blog. 

Guest Post: Lisa Rowe Fraustino

November seems to be the "official month of writing" with so many people participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  Today's Guest Blogger is Lisa Rowe Fraustino.  Her newest book - The Hole In The Wall - was recently released earlier this month.  Lisa has been on a blog tour sharing about her new book, answering questions, and doing guest posts.  Today, she shares with us how to get in touch with our inner canine as we write.

Writing Like Cats and Dogs

Way back in 1992 a book came out that helped me learn to write like a dog, Clarissa Pinkola Estes’s Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype. It comes down to this: Healthy women share certain characteristics with healthy canines.

As Estes points out, she-wolves are “relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength. They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their mates and their pack. They are experienced in adapting to constantly changing circumstances; they are fiercely stalwart and very brave.”

If I didn’t write like a dog, The Hole in the Wall would never have received the Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature. In fact, none of my eight books would be published. I’d have quit after the first few rejections of my “quirky” characters and “weird” storylines. If by some miracle I made it past early rejections to publication, the first nasty review I got would have caused me to quit writing and take up something safer, like skydiving.

Embracing your inner…hm…let’s call it “female dog” allows you to unleash your creativity and have the confidence to express your idiosyncracies, your uniqueness, your truest self—even though the rest of the world may look upon your creations with the scorn of a cat who has been fed the store brand, dry.

Your inner canine is the part of you that says, “I don’t care what anyone else says. I have something to say and I’m going to say it.” Like the dog who keeps standing at the window barking even though people keep telling her to lie down and be quiet, you keep on writing joyfully despite rejections slips and bad reviews.

Writers who nurture their inner canines don’t get blocked for long. Why? Because blocks derive from fears—fears of being laughed at, of being criticized, of being wrong. No offense to cat lovers—I enjoy cats too. Have four of them, in fact. But there’s a big difference between doggy and catty when it comes to self-expression and interpersonal dynamics.

The dog instinctively protects her territory and is incapable of spite. The cat…well. You know. She likes to play head games. Especially with her food.

Dogs aren’t self-conscious. They don’t worry about whether they’re doing something right or whether they will be loved. They go about their business cheerfully sniffing butts and marking bushes and licking themselves no matter how many times prissy humans scold them. And they chase off cats who nip at their confidence.

By all means love your cat— but write like a dog.

Exercises to Develop Your Inner Canine

1.Think of a time when others told you to stop singing, dancing, or otherwise expressing yourself because you were embarrassing them. Write the experience into your next story or chapter.

2. Do something you’ve always wanted to do but never dared because of the reactions of other people—like, cut your hair really short, or paint your front door purple.

3. You know that incredible family story that you’ve been waiting to work on someday…after a lot of funerals? Sit down and write it: now. Heavily fictionalize it if you’re still too timid to go for the memoir.

4. Think of something you’ve done of which you carry a deep sense of secret shame. Let it out of your body. Write it down. Burn the pages in your spaghetti pot, then rewrite the story as fiction.

5. Go out and howl at the next full moon.

For more tips on writing, visit “Dr. Lisa’s Class” at her web page.
Today’s topic: “The Golden Rule of Criticism”
http://lisarowefraustino.com/?page_id=304

The Crossroads Tour: Day 16 Amy Brecount White

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Go HERE to get today's question and links.

Today is the last day for The Crossroads Tour and Amy Brecount White is stopping by to celebrate Halloween with some of her own Halloween memories.  Amy is a 2010 Debut author.  Her book, Forget-Her-Nots was released earlier this year.  You can read a couple of chapter here on her site.

What is your most embarrassing/funny/scary Halloween experience or costume?

In college, my friend Suz and I were really into philosophy and had read this cool book called, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. We smeared mascara on our faces and hands, dressed grunge, and went to the party as motorcycle mechanics. One of my best Halloweens ever.

Do you have any Halloween family stories that you can share with readers?

I’m allergic to nuts and peanuts, and so are two of my three children. Halloween can be scary for us in a strange way. But it was pretty funny when one of my kids looked at the usual candy selection someone offered -- Snickers, Baby Ruth, Reeses -- and says, “Excuse me, do you have anything without nuts?”

LOL. We have to weed through everything when they get home.

White bellflowers and orange crocuses for hosting me, Aly!! - And thanks Amy for stopping by - here's to a peanut and nut free Halloween!!!!!

For more information on Amy Brecount White, check out her website: www.amybrecountwhite.com

To find her on Twitter, folllow: @amybrecountwhit

Since this is the last day of The Crossroads Tour, there is a SWAG Pack giveaway.  The picture below is what will be included in the pack.

The rules to entering:

1.  Please fill out the entry form below.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. You must have left a comment on at least one blog post from Tour Days 9 to 16 (today would count).  (Additional points for additional comments.)
4. Tweet the contest (optional)
5. Only one entry per participant.
6. Open Internationally.
7. All entries must be in by Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 11:59 PDT 

Back-to-School Guest Post: Miss Tammy's Favorite YA High Schools

Kid Lit Frenzy is hosting a series of Back-to-School Guest Posts.  Let's welcome Miss Tammy - a YA Librarian from Kentucky.  She is super cool - you should ask her sometime about her Steampunk Tea or Renaissance Faire.  Trust me when I say I have never met such a hip librarian. 

When Aly first asked me to do a back to school post I thought I would share some clever stories from my own days as a yellow-bus-riding, backpack-toting slave to education. You know, an “Adventures of a Teenage Teen Librarian” sort of thing. Problem is, I don’t actually have any great stories to file under Miss Tammy: The High School Years.

Some might attribute my less than exciting high school career to my own nerd-like tendencies, but of course they’re wrong. It certainly wasn’t my fault that my days were filled with an endless stream of tedious lectures and inane homework assignments. No, the problem was that I went to the wrong school. I mean, who could have a rollicking adventure in a public school of all places? I should have gone to one of those bastions of learning where even the most unassuming bookworm would find herself battling evil while falling in the love with the most beautiful, brave, and sarcastic boy God ever saw fit to create.

But which one? After all, there are tons of them scattered across the YA landscape. I’ve thought about it long and hard, and after much deliberation, I’ve narrowed it down to my top ten choices (listed by alphabetical order, because that’s how I roll):

Culver Creek Preparatory

Looking for Alaska - John Green

Boarding schools just sound so cool with everyone living on campus and pulling major pranks. Plus, this one is filled with some pretty outstanding characters. Guaranteed to never be a dull moment.

Gallagher Academy

Gallagher Girls series - Ally Carter

Spy school! Sure, it has the misfortune of being an all-girl school, but still - A school that trains you to be a spy! Awesome, right?

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

Magic wands. Moving staircases. Ghosts. Quidditch. House elves. Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Snape. Obviously, this is the best school ever.

House of Night

House of Night series - P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast

House of Night students get to sleep all day and develop really cool powers. Of course, they have that whole chance of dying because their body can’t accept the change or getting killed by agents of their super-crazy High Priestess. Remember to weigh your options before sending in that application.

The Institute

Mortal Instruments series - Cassandra Clare

Technically, it’s not really a school, but young Shadowhunters train there, so I’m counting it. Maybe we could talk Magnus into teaching a class on the history of fashion.

The Princess Academy

Princess Academy - Shannon Hale

No matter what we might say or the image we project, every girl wants to be a princess.

Spence Academy

Gemma Doyle Trilogy - Libba Bray

Wearing corsets and dealing with Victorian society doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun, but it might just be worth it for a chance at an epic Gothic adventure. Just remind me to stay away from the trees, okay?

St. Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters

X-Men comics - Marvel

Teachers who can control the weather and classmates who can walk through walls? Sign me up! Surely my ability to remember every lyric to every song I’ve ever heard is considered a mutant ability.

Sunnydale High School

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Joss Whedon

A high school built on a Hellmouth offers up daily chances at adventure. Plus, the library is where all the cool kids hang out.

Texas Prairie University

Morganville Vampire series - Rachel Caine

So maybe the other students can be a bit of a pain, and the whole town run by vampires thing can be a bit problematic, but I’d gladly deal with those minor flaws for a chance to run into Shane or Michael.

How about you? What’s your ideal school? Help me add to the list by leaving them in the comments below!

Back-to-School Guest Post: The Love of Reading - Pass It On!!

This month I am welcoming authors, bloggers, librarians and teachers to share about "Back-to-School" memories or experiences.  Today's guest blogger is Mel from He Followed Me Home. 


It all started when my oldest was still in my womb. Yes, I was one of those crazy first time moms who read to their unborn! Even now, every night we read a book together- though many times I thought it was also used as a stall tactic. We started out reading Golden Books, then onto my favorite Eric Carle books, Dr. Seuss and Rober Munsch. Now that he's reading chapter books on his own, it's been Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and most recently The 39 Clues series. Each night, we still have the bed time story ritual, but now he reads to himself.

Last spring during a parent-teacher interview, I was shocked to hear that some students in my son's Grade 2 class didn't have books at home. This was something I had never really thought of, taking for granted all the books I had growing up, visiting the library & the bookshelves of kids books I've accumulated over the years. It was then that I realized how fortunate my son is to have the love of books supported at home! He is no bookworm by any means. In fact, if given the choice of Lego or reading he'd pick Lego in a heartbeat, but I know the time he does spend getting lost in a book every night is invaluable.

As a mom of two boys, it's doubtful that my love for The Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley High or Anne of Green Gables will ever be shared but I'm proud to pass on my love for books. I can't wait for the time he picks up Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl and The Lord of the Rings. What other books do you consider 'must reads' for pre-teen or teen boys?

Thanks Mel for sharing about how you have passed on your love of reading to your sons.  If you want to know more about Mel, check out her blog: He Followed Me Home