The Writer's Life

From Deb Calleti on Facebook:  (one of my all time favorite YA authors!)

I am often asked how much research I do for a book. The answer is: more than you'd think. Because, not only do I have to research the larger elements in a book - animal behavior (JADE), the link between genius and madness (WILD ROSES), obsession (STAY) - but also some pretty trivial ones. Today alone, I had to look up "signs of transmission trouble", "concepts of Catholicism", and "plants that bloom in July." Interesting job, this.

So True!  Who knows how many books I checked out over Aztec culture!  Not to mention the hours spent on Google searches for "Aztec flower songs" , "upscale townhouses in Weslaco", and "plants native to the Valley."  And countless of other bizarre things for my novel Awake. 

For my new novel, The After, I have raked through all kinds of google searches dealing with Pancho Villa, turn of century Valley environment, and zombie myth.  There's also the huge encyclopedia of Gothic Literature I've had all summer.

I hope to say that being a writer is a full time job for me one day.  I mean, it is a full time job already, but I mean my only full time job that pays me...

Manic Monday Mini-Review...The Nature of Jade

Sometime in December I told you The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti (2007) is one of my all time favorite YA books. It's a book I always go back to when I need inspiration in my future author aspirations and one I think of as a nearly perfect YA romance with just enough serious issues, likeable characters and romance.

Summary (from Simon & Schuster)

I am not my illness. "Girl with Anxiety," "Trauma of the Week" -- no. I hate stuff like that. Everyone, everyone has their issue. But the one thing my illness did make me realize is how necessary it is to ignore the dangers of living in order to live. And how much trouble you can get into if you can't.

Jade DeLuna is too young to die. She knows this, and yet she can't quite believe it, especially when the terrifying thoughts, loss of breath, and dizzy feelings come. Since being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, she's trying her best to stay calm, and visiting the elephants at the nearby zoo seems to help. That's why Jade keeps the live zoo webcam on in her room, and that's where she first sees the boy in the red jacket. A boy who stops to watch the elephants. A boy carrying a baby.

Jade is drawn into Sebastian's cozy life and before she knows it, she's in love. With this boy who has lived through harder times than anyone she knows. This boy with a past.

Jade knows the situation is beyond complicated, but she hasn't felt this safe in a long time. She owes it all to Sebastian, her boy with the great heart. Her boy who is hiding a terrible secret. A secret that will force Jade to decide between what is right, and what feels right.

Master storyteller Deb Caletti has once again created characters so real, you will be breathless with anticipation as their riveting story unfolds.


Quote

He stands and the baby does something that makes me laugh. He grabs a chunk of the boy's hair in each of his hands, yanks the boy's head back. Man, that has to hurt. Oh, ouch. But the baby thinks it is a real crack-up, and starts to laugh. He puts his open mouth down to the boy's head in some baby version of a kiss.

The boy's head is tilted to the sky. He reaches his arms back and unclenches the baby's fingers from his hair. But once he is free, he keeps his chin pointed up, just keeps staring up above. He watches the backlit cotton candy clouds in a lava-lamp sky, and it is then I am sure this is a story I'll be part of.



Deb Caletti's writing is so compelling and she has the ability to bring an authentic young adult voice to all of her characters in all of her novels. Even though Jade suffers from anxiety, falling for a boy with serious problems does not add to her anxiety. If anything her relationship with Sebastian brings a sense of calm to her life even when it seems circumstances are out of their control. I also love how the author deals with more serious intimacy. The readers know what happens in that moment without the author plunging into detail. I want my daughter to one day read my favorite books, but I do not want her to read anything explicit as some YA books tend to have when it comes to intimacy. My overall rating is The Kind of Book You Just Want to Stay in Bed With All Day and Relish Every Favorite Moment.

Of course I love her name...Jade de Luna.

I love Deb Caletti...Author Week at The Undercover Booklover

Deb Caletti Week: Great 1st Week for 2010!

http://theundercoverbooklover.blogspot.com/2009/12/author-week-6-deb-caletti-week.html

Have I ever told you guys that one of my all time favorite books is The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti? You're probably thinking "another favorite?" What can I say...there are just so many awsome YA books out there. Well, for all those of you who are fans of Deb Caletti or those of you who will become fans (once you read one of her books), The Undercover Booklover is hosting Deb Caletti Week this first week of January. There will be several reviews and an author interview. Can not wait to read the interview! I wish I had the time to do a bunch of cool stuff like this, but until I do, I will just have to let you all know what other bloggers are doing and support them in their endeavors to spread YA joy. I haven't reviewed any of her books before, but I did list The Secret Life of Prince Charming as part of my 12 Days of Christmas. Speaking of which, The Undercover Booklover is also giving away a copy of The Secret Life...I will definitely enter this contest!

On the 7th and 8th Day of Christmas

On the 7th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Feels Like Home by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

I read a review of this recently that critiqued the writing for including stereotyping and derogatory language toward whites and Mexican-Americans, but when I read the novel sometime back, I did not find anything offensive. This story takes place in a small Texas town below San Antonio, and I will tell you that more than likely the views presented in the novel are probably true, and they are even more true as you go into deep South Texas...I live here. To me it's not stereotyping--it's just reality as to how many people think in these regions. As for me, well, I love this novel and actually think of as a model I want to use because it takes place in a small Texas town--one that I recognize. I also love all the references to The Outsider.


Growing up in a dead-end South Texas town, Mickey had two things she could count on: her big brother, Danny—the football hero everyone loved—and a beat-up copy of The Outsiders. But after the accident—after Danny abandoned her to a town full of rumors and a drunken father—all Mickey had left was a smoky memory, her anger, and the resolution to get out of town for good.

But Danny is back—and he's not the golden boy who left six years ago. He's altogether a different person, and the life Mickey has worked so hard to rebuild seems to be falling apart. Danny's anger is something Mickey just can't forgive, and his best friend's mysterious death six years ago keeps coming back to haunt the edges of her mind. No matter how hard she tries, she can't remember what happened that night—and she's starting to realize that remembering is the only way she can move on. She'll have to face the brother who broke her heart, and that beat-up book that will never again feel like home.



On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti

Deb Caletti is one of my favorite authors! I'll admit I wasn't crazy about the title, but the title gives the total wrong impression. I love how this novel weaves in the stories of several women and their search for Prince Charming, a.k.a. the perfect man.

Maybe it was wrong, or maybe impossible, but I wanted the truth to be one thing. One solid thing.

Quinn is surrounded by women who have had their hearts broken. Between her mother, her aunt, and her grandmother, Quinn hears nothing but cautionary tales. She tries to be an optimist -- after all, she's the dependable one, the girl who never makes foolish choices. But when she is abruptly and unceremoniously dumped, Quinn starts to think maybe there really are no good men.

It doesn't help that she's gingerly handling a renewed relationship with her formerly absent father. He's a little bit of a lot of things: charming, selfish, eccentric, lazy...but he's her dad, and Quinn's just happy to have him around again. Until she realizes how horribly he's treated the many women in his life, how he's stolen more than just their hearts. Determined to, for once, take action in her life, Quinn joins forces with the half sister she's never met and the little sister she'll do anything to protect. Together, they set out to right her father's wrongs...and in doing so, begin to uncover what they're really looking for: the truth.

Once again, Deb Caletti has created a motley crew of lovably flawed characters who bond over the shared experiences of fear, love, pain, and joy -- in other words, real life.