Holy *&^%, yesterday was my 100th post!

OMG. I did not even notice.

But it is rather fitting, because today I'm giving away MOAR BOOKS. But first I am going to talk about them. This is the post in which I discuss the return of some of my favorite YA characters in the SPECTACULAR, very dark sequel to the extraordinary BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS, by the ever lovely and talented Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. And also the post in which I gush about falling in love with completely new characters from this hot little number:

But lets discuss the familiar first. In BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS, I was thrown back in to the secret, magical world beneath seemingly mundane Gatlin, South Carolina. And I do mean thrown. I am TERRIFIED of spoiling anything for you, but suffice it to say that the stakes are higher than ever for Ethan, for Lena, for Amma, for Boo—for all the characters I loved in BEAUTIFUL CREATURES. Sinister, familiar faces return and wreak havoc not only on the Caster world, but in the “normal” one as well. And the ending. The ENDING! 

I might sell my kidney for the third book. What? I have two. 

While it is always delightful to be reunited with characters I love (and characters I love to hate), it is equally delicious being introduced to a whole new paranormal world. And I do mean new. THE ETERNAL ONES was like nothing I have read in the genre before. Nothing. And Haven Moore was like no other YA heroine I have ever encountered. I was one thousand percent charmed by her—she was so original, so wholly herself, that I would not be surprised a bit to learn that she actually exists. And Iain. Oh, Iain. 

Haven and Iain sizzle in every scene they have together, but the most incredible thing about this paranormal romance? Haven would have sizzled all on her own. Haven is smart and savvy and elevated by the relationship with Iain, instead of defined by it. And given the book’s premise, I think that is just remarkable.  

And because I want to share the love, and I want it to be extra special, I am going to part not only with my last remaining ARC of BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS, but my only signed copy of THE ETERNAL ONES as well. 

You want them? You have two choices:

A) Tell me which character from Beautiful Creatures you can’t wait to chill with again, or;

B) Tell me who (or what) you think you’d like to come back as, in a future life. 

That’s it! That’s all you have to do to enter. Commenting WITH one of those responses will net you one entry, but if you want extras, I’m happy to oblige:

+1 New followers of this here blog

+2 If you're already a follower of this here blog

+1 New followers on Twitter

+2 If you're already a follower on Twitter

+1 Linking to my contest on your blog, twitter, etc. Include links. (up to 5)

+3 For posting about my contest on your blog. (Must be an actual post)

+2 Adding me to your blog roll

And don’t forget—top commentators (that little widget thingie on the bottom right of the page) get FOUR extra entries! (I haven’t been able to figure out how to filter myself OUT of the widget thingie, so, for now, the top four commenters who are not me will be the ones who get those four extra entries. W00T!)

Me and math get along like velociraptors and T-Rexes. Which is to say not at all (they are both competitive predators, yo). So please add up your entries in your comments. And for clarity’s sake, your initial comment stating your desired literary match is one entry. Everything else is gravy.

As always, this contest is international. I have sent books and ARCs to countries as close as Canada and as far as Malaysia (twice!) and of course, all over the United States. I have made very good friends with the postal workers, and I LOVE it. 

The contest will end next Tuesday, September 28th at 11:59 pm Eastern time, and I will announce the winners sometime thereafter (I’ve been late announcing the winners the past two contests, and that makes me feel REALLY bad, so I’m just going to surprise you with the announcement here or on Twitter. Cool?)

Without further ado, comment away!

PS: If I reach 1000 followers on Twitter by the time this contest closes, I might just give away more ARCs and signed books. If you're a regular reader, you can guess which ones they might be. And I promise, you WANTS them. Yesssss. 

Writing Advice. Not mine. Part I.

I haven't been writing all that long. Which means that pretty much all of the time, I don't really feel like I know what I'm doing. Which means that whenever I’m asked for writing advice, I stammer and mumble and blush a lot, and then usually quote other people. Or hand them this:

Today I’m going to quote other people. BUT. I’ve found this advice to be particularly helpful and awesome and inspiring, so if you’re in the market for some advice, maybe you’ll feel the same way.

“Write only when you have something to say.” David Hare

“Do give the work a name as quickly as possible. Own it, and see it.” Roddy Doyle

“Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into desire.” Geoff Dyer

“Try to be accurate about stuff.” Annie Enwright

“Forget intellect, forget ego, accept change, and let sex in.” Erica Jong

“Don’t wish ill on your colleagues.” Richard Ford

“The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.” Jonathan Franzen

“Trust your reader. Not everything needs to be explained. If you really know something, and breathe life into it, they'll know it too.” Esther Freud

“Laugh at your own jokes.” Neil Gaiman

“Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.” Elmore Leonard

“Read it aloud to yourself because that's the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out – they can be got right only by ear).” Diana Athill

“Are you serious about this? Then get an accountant.” Hilary Mantel

“Ted Hughes gave me this advice and it works wonders: record moments, fleeting impressions, overheard dialogue, your own sadnesses and bewilderments and joys.” Michael Morpurgo

“Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.” Joyce Carol Oates

“Know the market. Have a story worth telling. Get lucky. Stay lucky.” Ian Rankin

“Try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.” Zadie Smith

“Never be satisfied with a first draft. In fact, never be satisfied with your own stuff at all, until you're certain it's as good as your finite powers can enable it to be.” Rose Tremain

“You know that sickening feeling of inadequacy and over-exposure you feel when you look upon your own empurpled prose? Relax into the awareness that this ghastly sensation will never, ever leave you, no matter how successful and publicly lauded you become. It is intrinsic to the real business of writing and should be cherished.” Will Self

Agree? Disagree? Do you have any favorite pearls of writing wisdom to share? Holla back. 

Compiled from this and this. 

Speak Loudly AND Carry a Big Stick

So. Another small-minded person is trying to have three very incredible books — SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson, TWENTY BOY SUMMER by Sarah Ockler, and SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut removed from a public school curriculum in MO, under the guise of Christianity. 

I am Jewish, so I cannot speak to this man’s Christian justifications, but CJ Redwine, Veronica Roth, and Myra McEntire did. And they did so beautifully. 

But as the #SpeakLoudly twitter movement gained traction, a friend of mine and fellow author asked me how it could even be possible, in 2010, to ban a book. So while I am not a Christian, I am a lawyer, and can speak about that. 

The First Amendment of our Constitution states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

But what does that actually mean? Let’s break it down. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion;” this text, called The Establishment Clause, has been held by the Supreme Court of the United States to mean that our state and federal government cannot establish a national religion, indicate a preference for one religion over another, or even indicate a preference for religion over non-religion.  So, legally, there can be no statement from the state or federal government that declares the United States to be a Christian (or Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist) country, or even that it is “One Nation Under God.” 

The second part, called the Free Exercise Clause, has been held to mean that the government cannot prohibit me from lighting my menorah in my house on the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, though it can enact neutral laws of general applicability (i.e. Laws that illegalize the use of peyote, even though some religions use the drug in their ceremonies). 

There is so much more to say about how the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses are applied, but this isn’t a legal blog, so I’ll restrain myself, and move onto the next pertinent part of our First Amendment: that Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech or of the press. 

What this doesn’t mean: that all speech in any form and uttered in any place is protected. All speech is not created equal. There is core political speech, commercial speech (advertisements and commercials are two examples of these), obscene speech, speech that incites imminent danger, “fighting words,” and libel and slander. And as most of my readers are also writers, we know that copyright laws balance John Does’ “right” to copy and disseminate our words without our permission or attribution against our interest, as authors, in the works we create.  

So, now we know that not everything we say is protected. Our words are not inviolate. If I call Veronica Roth a meanie on my blog, I’d be wrong, and an idiot, but not civilly liable. But if I call her a murderer, I’d not only be wrong, and an idiot, but subject to a lawsuit, as well, because the only thing V’s ever killed are characters.  

I can’t say anything I want any old time I feel like it, and neither can you. And once we enter school property, free speech can be restricted even more, even though the Court in Tinker v. Des Moines famously held that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” 

But a student’s right to free speech, or the access to ideas, discussed in cases like Tinker, Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986), Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988) Guiles v. Marineau (2006) and Morse v. Frederick (2007) is weighed against the school board’s right to determine whether the student’s speech poses a substantial threat of disruption (Tinker), whether the speech is offensive to prevailing community standards (Bethel), and whether the speech, if allowed as part of a school activity or function, would be contrary to the basic educational mission of the school (Hazelwood). 

As the Court stated in Board of Education v. Pico (1982), the seminal case on book banning, local school boards have broad discretion in the management of school affairs; they can create, establish, and apply their curricula to however they see fit in order to transmit their community values, and the Court upheld their interest in promoting respect for social, moral, and political values, whatever those may be. (See, e. g., Meyer v. Nebraska, Pierce v. Society of Sisters, and Epperson v. Arkansas) 

HOWEVER. 

The Court in Pico also said that: 

“We think that the First Amendment rights of students may be directly and sharply implicated by the removal of books from the shelves of a school library.” 

“The right to receive ideas is a necessary predicate to the recipient's meaningful exercise of his own rights of speech, press, and political freedom.” 

“In sum, just as access to ideas makes it possible for citizens generally to exercise their rights of free speech and press in a meaningful manner, such access prepares students for active and effective participation in the pluralistic, often contentious society in which they will soon be adult members.”

And so, the Court held that while the school board had significant discretion to determine the content of their school libraries, “that discretion may not be exercised in a narrowly partisan or political manner. If a Democratic school board, motivated by party affiliation, ordered the removal of all books written by or in favor of Republicans, few would doubt that the order violated the constitutional rights of the students denied access to those books. The same conclusion would surely apply if an all-white school board, motivated by racial animus, decided to remove all books authored by blacks or advocating racial equality and integration. Our Constitution does not permit the official suppression of ideas. Thus whether petitioners' removal of books from their school libraries denied respondents their First Amendment rights depends upon the motivation behind petitioners' actions.” (Emphasis mine). 

And that, my friends, is how books get banned. If a school board claims that it is banning a book from the curriculum and library because it does not meet the district’s “community values,” (i.e. the books are vulgar, not educationally suitable, irrelevant, immoral, and in bad taste) and no racial, religious, or political motivation can be proven, a court may very well find in the school board’s favor. But if it can be shown that there are religious motivations behind the banning, well, that definitely impinges on the Establishment Clause, might frustrate the Free Exercise Clause, but absolutely impedes on students’ First Amendment Rights to access the free marketplace of ideas and exceeds the school board’s discretion. 

If a lawsuit were brought to challenge the ban, the court would look at the public documents and public explanations offered by the school board to justify the removal of the books. As the Court in Pico said, “This would be a very different case if the record demonstrated that petitioners had employed established, regular, and facially unbiased procedures for the review of controversial materials.”

Does the Stockton school district have established, regular, and unbiased procedures for the review of “controversial” books? 

I don’t think they actually do. But I do think they pretend to. Sherman Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian was banned in the same district, by the same officials now considering the banning of Sarah Ockler’s TWENTY BOY SUMMER, Laurie Halse Anderson’s SPEAK, and Kurt Vonnegut’s SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. And a news article stated that “Speakers who supported the original ban said it reflected community values in Stockton.”

That’s all the school board needs to prove. 

So what can be done about it, then? Here’s where I’m going to violate the “no sex, politics, or religion,” policy Myra McEntire discussed in her blog post.  But not on religious grounds. On political ones. 

Because the members of the Stockton School Board? They’re elected officials. They theoretically represent the values of the citizens who elected them. Even though we know that dozens of students, parents, and teachers showed up at the Alexie hearing to protest against the removal of the book, they were outnumbered and outvoiced by the pro-removal crowd. And short of the ACLU’s involvement, short of a lawsuit, if we are truly and honestly opposed to book banning, the only thing we can do as writers, as readers, as good parents, and good teachers is to put our ballots where our mouths are. We need to vote for local, state, and federal officials whose policies won’t support it. 

Otherwise we’re just speaking loudly, and carrying no stick. 

There is much, much more to say and discuss on this topic, so if there are questions in the comments, I’ll definitely try to answer them as best as I can, and as always, nothing in this post or on this blog should be construed as legal advice and I am not your lawyer. For some great info on the legalities of book banning, see The First Amendment Center’s Overview on Book Censorship by David L. Hudson, Jr., and Overview on Banned Books by Claire Mullaly.  

I get by with a little help from my friends

Or a lot, as the case may be. 

My beta readers were friends (and family) first. I did not meet them on Absolute Write, or on Twitter, or via any writers forum. In fact, only one of them is a novelist, and she and I have known each other for eleven years, so it doesn’t count.

Have you ever critiqued someone’s manuscript? Have you ever critiqued someone’s rough draft? It is work. It takes more time and more effort than I ever could have imagined. Pouring over every detail, reading the same words over and over and over and over again. Reading thirty versions of a first chapter. Reading the same scenes in a different order. And trying, each time, to see it with fresh eyes. 

I am blessed—I don’t use that word lightly—to have had friends volunteer for my beta army. This doesn’t include the incredible friends who have read the book once or twice to give me a fresh perspective. Nope. 

To be a fully fledged soldier, you have to read through four drafts, minimum. Pre-Agent Diana, there were six revisions. Pre-revisions, there were countless emails back and forth to my alpha readers, the friends who told me my most sh*teous words were beautiful and unique snowflakes. They have been reading MARA #1, in her various and sundry incarnations since May 15, 2009, the very day I started writing. One day, I might share some of those emails. They have helped me in more ways than I can express, from pointing out an embarrassingly overused adjective to pointing out three whole characters and six whole months that didn’t need to exist in the book to helping me count the spaces between sentences before I sent out my full to requesting agents. (Emily, there are no words). 

It didn’t matter that most of them weren’t writers. Because they are all readers. And I wasn’t writing a book for other writers—I was writing it for readers. I was lucky—so lucky—to be able to enlist friends who loved YA and friends who didn’t. Friends who enjoyed romance and friends who hated it. I roped in many different types of readers because I wanted all different kinds of feedback.

And they didn’t disappoint me. When alpha-time was over, they were brutal. And every single word of it helped. 

I’ve seen a lot of people stress about where to find crit partners, and whether genres match up, and so on. I think it’s awesome if you can pair up with another writer who you mesh with to exchange manuscripts. 

But if you can’t? Don’t underestimate the resources around you—your friends and family might be better beta readers than you’d think. 

Better LATE than never?

PHEW! I am finally, finally recovering from the late summer flu of death and have moved BACK to the sofa from my sickbed. It was rough. Seriously.

But ENOUGH ABOUT ME. Because I have something superfab to announce, and that is:

The winner of THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger is HAYLEY of Sweets & Scribbles!

Hayley, send me an email at mdhodkin at gmail dot com and I will endeavor to get your book in the mail ASAP, now that I am not in danger of spreading my contagion to the masses.

And for everyone else, worry not, because next week, I am giving away:

Stay tuned!

*HUGS*

Decatur Book Festival Recap!

Yes, I went. Yes, it was FABULOUS. First of all, look what I got SIGNED:

There are more, but I'm working with the camera on my Macbrook Pro here, so, what can I tell you. 

First, let me gush about the people I saw/met. I have to start with Vania, because without her, I would not have been able to pull the weekend off. She is amazing (in addition to crazy talented). Vania, I'm sorry I always make weird faces for the camera. Maybe next time we'll work something out. 

I also met a bunch of spectacular bloggers (Jeremy and Jeffrey and Travis, and Christina, and JP, hey!) but spent the most time with bloggers Lori and Kelsey and Leigh. 

I was so fortunate to be able to meet and hang with Shelli Wells, Victoria Schwab (THE NEAR WITCH, Hyperion, Summer 2011), Myra McEntire (HOURGLASS, Egmont, Summer 2011), Rachel Hawkins (HEX HALL), Carrie Ryan (THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH), Jackson Pearce (SISTERS RED), Kirsten Miller (THE ETERNAL ONES), Christina Gonzalez (THE RED UMBRELLA), Mari Mancusi (BAD BLOOD), Jennifer Jabaley (LIPSTICK APOLOGY), Saundra Mitchell (SHADOWED SUMMER) and Nancy Werlin (EXTRAORDINARY). 

Holy EFF, you guys. Holy. Eff. 

And then there were the panels. David Levithan and Terra Elan McEvoy killed it. They are both not only immensely talented, but immensely hilarious. Also, I started reading Terra's newest book, AFTER THE KISS, and it is GORGEOUS. Gorgeous. 

I also attended panels with Jessica Verday (THE HOLLOW), Kathleen Duey (SKIN HUNGER), Saundra Mitchell, Cinda Williams Chima (THE EXILED QUEEN), Alyx Harvey (BLOOD FEUD), Carrie Ryan, Kirsten Miller, Cassandra Clare (THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, THE INFERNAL DEVICES), and Lev Grossman (THE MAGICIANS).

Did your head explode? Because mine did. All over Lev Grossman, I'm afraid. His signing was the end of my weekend at the festival and I was just so full of awesome that I full on GIGGLED when it was finally my turn to have THE MAGICIANS signed (one of the best novels I've ever, ever read). 

But I got a Brakebills T-shirt out of it. So I'm calling it a win. 

I can't tell you more about the panels or signings because the weekend was a whirlwind. But I can say this: the authors I met were so gracious and kind and generous that it blew me away. Hands down, the best part about becoming a writer has been getting to meet people like them. 

And because you couldn't be there, I will be giving away some of the SIGNED goodies I got to share the love. 

But first, a few housekeeping things: 

• THE DUFF contest - enter here! 
• There's a new little widget on the lower right hand side of this blog that shows the "Top Commentators." There is RHYME and REASON for this, friends. I'm adding 4 extra entries for each of the top commentators for every contest from here on out (including THE DUFF). Because I really love interacting and talking with you guys, and the more people comment, the more I get to know you. And it makes me SUPER happy sending books and prizes and such to people I know. 

That's it! I'll be offline until next Monday, but I shall have WINNERS to announce upon my return :D

So there's this little book out today.

You might have heard of it? No? Well, let's fix that, then.  

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

This gem of a book, written by gem-of-an-author Kody Keplinger, is at once honest and fun, raw and delightful, sexy and sweet.  It is, more than anything else, real. Sometimes painfully so--Bianca has a tumultuous home life, and it hurts to watch her hurt, to see those feelings spur her into the arms of a boy she's sure doesn't like her.  It is a testament to the book, and the author, that the novel makes you feel Bianca's full range of emotions; Bianca Piper has one of the most genuine, unaffected, and natural teen voices I've come across in YA literature. 

Which might have something to do with why it was optioned for film a mere two months after the sale date. By McG. 

So if you haven't read it yet, you might want to do that. And don't wait--the first week of sales is kind of like opening box office returns at the movies. I would love to see a YA Contemporary, and THIS YA Contemporary in particular, get the kind of attention it so richly, richly, deserves. 

But I know times are tight, especially with the new school year upon us. Which is why I'm going to give away a copy here. 

In the comments, tell me why you want to read THE DUFF. That's it! That's all you have to do to enter. 

But if you'd like some extra entries to boost your chance to win, I'm going to switch things up a bit:

+1 New followers of Kody's blog: http://kodymekellkeplinger.blogspot.com/

+2 If you're already a follower of Kody's blog

+1 New followers of Kody's Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/kody_keplinger

+2 If you're already a follower of Kody's Twitter feed

+1 Linking to the contest on your blog, twitter, etc. Include links. (up to 5)

+3 For posting about the contest on your blog. (Must be an actual post)

+2 Add Kody to your blog roll

And please, for the sake of my delicate sanity, tally up your entries in your comments so I can add them easier. Me + math don't mix. Winners will be selected randomly, and the contest is, as always, international :D

The contest will end THIS SUNDAY, September 12th at 11:59 pm Eastern time. Winner will be announced September 13th. Good day, good luck, and even if you don't enter, thank you for reading.