GREAT Expectations

Today is July 21st, and Kate is overdue (so some say). At any rate, it is edging past Buckingham Palace's  "middle of July" due date for Kate and Prince William. I am amazed at the World Wide Web Frenzy on the arrival of this small babe. But not really. Even if it isn't worth the hype, the birth of Baby Cambridge - any birth - is exciting. The Royals are a story, even if you are not a Royal fan.

Matt was a week early, but Court was way overdue. I remember well the feelings of frustration when friends kept asking, "Are you STILL HERE?" "WHAT, NO BABY YET???" As if there was something I could actually DO about it. (Humorous now, but not so funny when I was THISSSSS BIG and couldn't see my toes.) And that "abuse" was just from my friends and family. Imagine what it would feel like if questions like that screamed at you from newspaper headlines all over the world and on every manner of social media! Not fun in the best of circumstances.

Just before my first baby was born, a friend who was already a mommy, warned me, "You know THIS is the easy part, right?" THIS being the state of pregnancy. No, I didn't know that. I couldn't conjure it up, couldn't look past the physical discomfort, to understand how it would feel to be so responsible and to have so much love for one little baby boy who didn't sleep through the night for two years. But I had great expectations and much anticipation and thought I was ready. I can relate this to Kate. Though she'll have a nanny and all manner of help and no financial worries, she'll still be mommy to a baby girl or boy (they say they don't know the gender yet). She'll still know what it feels like to fuss over her baby and wonder why he's crying or what should be done if he feels warm or ... any manner of things. And she'll have other things to contend with; like, for one, having to leave him with someone else while she goes off and does Royal Things for long stretches of time. Like, for another, having a camera living large in your face and no privacy. I imagine it feels like having two 24/7 jobs. But, royalty aside, Kate is still a young woman who is expecting her first child. She's awaiting the birth with great expectations (pun intended) and anticipation; she's nervous and she's happy. To misquote a beloved movie that's set in Kate's country, She's just a girl, loving a boy, and ... having her first baby.

And then there's Courtney and her career as an author. Great expectations, nervous anticipation, there, too. We're all awaiting the book birthday of "Faking Normal" on February 25th, 2014. It does feel a bit like giving birth. Combine the time spent penning the first draft, editing and revising, time spent pitching the book and acquiring the dream agent, more editing and revising, submission time and finally selling the manuscript to a publisher and More editing and revising. THEN it's all about Hurry Up and Wait. The road to publishing is a slow one - way longer than nine months - and people outside the book community rarely understand how long it takes or why. So you answer a lot of questions about WHEN it will be available on book shelves and you see incredibly amazed expressions appear on peoples' faces when they hear the answer (18 to 24 months from the sale date).

Basically, it is, "So, you've written a book and can I read it tomorrow?"

And every author has to wonder/worry how it's going to fare. Will it sell? Will people love it? Will it measure up to the hype? What if they hate it? (and along the way, WHAT am I going to write NEXT?) It's your baby and you love it; you want it to be perfect. I wonder if authors ever think that WRITING the book was the easy part (and it's hard to write a book) ... once they are touring, signing copies, and promoting book sales, even while they're starting the next novel. And worrying when the book will "sell through" and start paying royalties.

Soooo ... great expectations and great anticipation. Happiness and nerves. Writing books and having babies may be all too much alike.

Eventually, Kate will give birth, the internet and Twitter will heave a huge sigh of relief, and then we'll settle down to Watching the Royal Baby Grow.

And "Faking Normal" will be released to book stores all over the country. Finally.

Trust me on this one. It lives up to its hype.  It is worth the labor pains. You will want this book.

A Camp for Young Writers

I scribbled stories and illustrated them from the time I could hold a pencil. I did it just because it spiked my imagination and with no end in mind. No one told me (as proud as my parents were) that writing was something grown-ups could do and even make a living doing it. To me, writing was something AUTHORS did - far-away people who were just somewhere "out there." They wrote books that magically showed up in my library for my pleasure. I had no idea what the process was and no idea how hard it was to shape a book from the beginning chapter all the way through to the ending paragraph and, certainly, I had no idea who these authors were. I don't remember ever thinking about authors. I doubt it entered my mind that they had perfectly normal lives in addition to writing books.

Which brings me to this point. Authors have a fan base today. Teen readers want to know about the men or women who write their favorite books. They want to know more about their favorite characters. Some of them want to write as well. The world wide web has made it possible to zoom in on authors, to humanize them and make them interesting and available to all readers. It has also helped to demystify the writing process for children and teens. Teachers in today's classrooms enjoy using authors as a valuable resource to promote writing and reading.

Recently, Courtney C. Stevens (author of Faking Normal- Feb, 2014), Kristin O'Donnell Tubb (author of Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different, Selling Hope, The 13th Sign) and Rae Ann Parker (The Devil's Backbone) participated in a Young Writers' Camp. Afterward, the following was published in the local paper.

Herald Citizen July 15, 2013

Camp helps students develop writing skills

by Bailey Darrow Herald Citizen

Students at Algood Middle School had a chance to work on their writing skills and get creative this summer at the first ever "Mini Mags, Memes and Memoirs: A Summer Writing Camp."

Teacher Sara Thomas led the week-long camp for students in fifth through ninth grade.

A parent who has two children at the school knew that one of Thomas' hobbies is writing and asked if she knew of any summer camps going on for students interested in writing.

“I didn’t, but I had always wanted to do one,” Thomas said. “I just started talking to different teachers and was very blessed because many people volunteered to help.”

Twenty-one students enrolled in the camp, and a number of language arts teachers volunteered to teach daily lessons to the campers.

“We focused on creative writing, something that unfortunately there’s not as much time during the regular school year to focus on,” Thomas said. “We get to do a lot of writing and some of it is creative but this is specifically for creative writing, to get those juices flowing.”

The students also had a chance to hear from published authors Thomas knows through the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Kristin Tubb spoke to the students about writing and her process and shared details about books she has written.

Courtney Stevens is an author whose first book will be released in April and she talked with the students about stretching beyond their comfort zone to create interesting stories and characters.

Campers also had a Skype session with Author Rae Ann Parker who talked about the process of doing research for her books.

“It is special when you get to have authors talk with the students,” Thomas said. “They have loved the opportunity to be enriched by so many different people.”

A favorite activity for the students was creating their own mini magazine. Each student got to select a piece of their own writing to go into the magazine.

Every day brought activities related to art or creative writing.

“It was very open, but every day we had some time to write whatever they wanted to,” Thomas said.

Every student said they wanted to take part in the camp again next year, and Thomas has already started plans to make it happen.

“I would like to expand it because I have had so much positive feedback,” Thomas said. “I would like to be able to include all of the middle schools next year.”

The teacher reported a students' thoughts after the session with Courtney and Kristin ended. Something like: "Ms. Thomas, you sure have interesting friends!" I only wish I had had experiences like this when I was a pre-teen and older.

Forever YA

On Sunday, June 30, Ron and I traveled to the Edmondson Road branch of the Nashville Public Library to attend an author event, the Forever YA Panel of 5 authors. It wasn't my first time to hear authors discussing their work, but it was the First Time to see and hear My Daughter on a panel reading from her ARC and discussing her debut novel, Faking Normal!

Courtney C. Stevens. Author of Faking Normal. I might have been more excited than she was. (My heart rate accelerates just a little just to type those words!)

The other authors were Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, Sharon Cameron, Heather L. Reid and Amanda Havard. They each had their previously published books with them. Sharon also had the ARC for her second book. Courtney had her very first (and only copy so far) ARC of her novel. She had just received it a few days before. The moderator was Lauren Thoman, who did an excellent job pacing the panel and asking the questions prepared by Hannah Courtney, the event's organizer.

Hannah - an avid reader, reviewer and writer herself - used her blog, The Book Vortex, to plan and spread the word about the event, providing great PR for these girls.

Laughter, understanding grins, personal stories, informative replies. "All the Feels," as Twitterees like to say. Each author had a different road to success; they wrote in various genres and displayed different interests, styles and even age recommendations for their novels. But all of them are storytellers.

One thing I truly admire is that the writing community is so supportive of its own. People - writers - show up. They listen, they learn, they share, they laugh and all of them, from the reader to the journal-er t the writer to the published author, enjoy themselves.

I had two bonuses that day. There was the obvious fact that Courtney was there. Not just there, but THERE.  So gratifying, so delightful, such a pleasure to see how far she's come. And so exciting to enjoy an itty-bitty part in her career.  But also ...  my forever friend from childhood came to surprise me! It was such a joy to look up and see her smiling face at the door! Thank you, Linda, for taking the time to share such an awesome afternoon with me! We enjoyed reading as children and shared the same taste in books. (so many memories!) We are still so much alike. As we were leaving, we discovered that we have even bought the SAME CAR. <3

I look forward to many more afternoons spent in the company of good books and brilliant authors and  not the least, great friends! What better way to enjoy a summer Sunday.

Guest Post - A Chat with Courtney Stevens

The following is a reprint of Myra McEntire's interview with Courtney on her author blog. It is special to me in about a zillion ways (as you can guess), but one particular thing is that I also remember that day from the past when Courtney ( agentless and still writing FN) met Myra (who's 1st book I had already read and loved!) at a friend's breakfast. She called me later that day to say that she'd met a special person she knew would become a friend. And Court said those words to me that she quoted in the interview: "Myra is one of my people."  (I'm thinking in total fan girl mode,  Courtney, you just had breakfast with a BOOK STAR!) And it was true.

So fast forward and Courtney finished FN, acquired her dream agent, went on submission and then got the call on her 33rd birthday that her book had sold, all in less than a year. When it was time for Courtney's Faking Normal cover reveal this year, Myra did this blog interview with Courtney. And it is an awesome thing. AWESOME.
 

So I remember all that and am thankful for good friends and special people. And blessed that the writing community is so strong and so encouraging and so special. Thanks, Myra!

 

Faking Normal and a Chat with Courtney Stevens

July 1, 2013 By Myra McEntire

Today I have a guest who’s also a dear friend. I love her for lots of reasons, and I think you will, too. Welcome Courtney Stevens, author of the upcoming FAKING NORMAL. This is such a special book, y’all. Trust me. 

 

M: OKAY. Questions. I’d just like the give the reader a taste of your personality – the way I see you. How did we meet? 

 

C: We met via Twitter (first) on the weekend I wrote the first fifty pages of Faking Normal. One of my friends saw you on a panel and said you used to be a youth/children’s minister. I DM’d you after that because I was also a writer and a youth minister. Later on, one of our mutual buddies threw a breakfast par-tay and we bonded. BEGINNING. Woot!

 

M: What about that time we ate Mexican food and you told me about the heart book that was so special to you? 

 

C: Post breakfast par-tay, we met at Chuy’s to share creamy jalapeno and stories. (Both being awesome and addictive.) I know we connected over books, but I remember thinking … Myra is one of my people. That has proved to be true in so many ways. That day we talked a little bit about 23 (the former title of Faking Normal) and how it was “the book I had to write.” The encouragement, laughter, thoughtfulness, listening ear, and suggestion that I meet one of your friends (CJ Redwine), was a gift and half. I am so very thankful for that day.

 

M: How long did it take you to draft FAKING NORMAL? 

 

C: I had the idea for Faking Normal on August the 8th. I put the final draft in the mail to an agent on October 18th. (Yes, of the same year.) 

 

M: Did it come out in one burst or was it a slow process? 

 

C: It actually came out in three bursts. I wrote the last 170 pages longhand at the beach in 13 days. (In a lovely red chair that I sometimes set up in the living room if I’m having a writing crisis.) Some books come out like old syrup; some come out like Niagara Falls. Faking Normal was my Niagara Falls.

 

M: You always send encouraging texts just when I need them. Why do you think you’re so sensitive to other people’s needs? 

 

C: First, I’m glad those texts are there when you need them. Second, I don’t know. Maybe it’s that people are sensitive to my needs, and the only response is to give back or pay it forward. As much as I believe in the power of the written word, I believe in the power of the spoken (& texted) word. For me, words act as anchors. And when I’m drifting around or worried or upset or need encouragement, I go back to powerful, encouraging things people have said to me. It would be amazing to think I could give people those anchors.

 

M: How do you want to extend that sensitivity to your readers? 

 

C: More than anything, I hope readers find an authentic and loving me behind the book of Faking Normal. I don’t know how that love will take shape–probably in many different ways–but I hope it’s visible no matter where I am or what I’m doing. This is a very lofty (and probably unobtainable) goal, but I don’t just want to write books, I want to be someone who impacts readers with love and truth.

 

M: What do you want your readership to look like? I mean, all writers want everyone to love our books, but who’s that one reader you want to reach? 

 

C: Honestly, I was that one reader. I wrote Faking Normal for me. Maybe that’s selfish, but I needed it. So everything that’s happened beyond that one girl channeling brave to write those words down is a bonus. An awesome bonus. Specifically, and I dedicated the book to them, there are girls and guys out there who believe the pain they have been through makes them unlovable. I’d like to drop an anvil and a battle axe on that lie.

 

M: One of my favorite things about you is that acceptance and love rolls off you in waves – it’s such a part of who you are. Does any of your previous job of youth minister carry over into your current job as author?

 

C: I hope so! My previous job was to love students. I still see that as my job. Not a job, a privilege! I do it a little differently now, but the goal is still the same: serve God, love people. And I guess what I mean by that is I’d like to think that the people who meet or read me find a thoughtful, truth-seeking, grace-giving human being who lives everyday with love on the agenda and thankfulness in the heart that any of these opportunities ever happened to her .

A grace-giving human with love on the agenda. SEE WHY I LOVE HER?