Mockingbird: Win a Signed Preview Copy of Kathryn Erskine's April 2010 Novel

About six weeks ago I was privledged to read an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine which will come out in hardback in April 2010. I read it in one sitting. I laughed, I teared up and I didn't want the story to end. To say it is wonderful, is just an understatement.I was already a fan of Kathy's writing after reading her great YA Book, Quaking.

Here's a bit about Mockingbird from Amazon:

In Caitlin’s world, everything is black or white. Things are good or bad. Anything in between is confusing. That’s the stuff Caitlin’s older brother, Devon, has always explained. But now Devon’s dead and Dad is no help at all. Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger’s, she doesn’t know how. When she reads the definition of closure, she realizes that is what she needs. In her search for it, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white—the world is full of colors—messy and beautiful.

Kathryn Erskine has written a must-read gem, one of the most moving novels of the year.

And from Publisher's Weekly: Much more than a story about a determined girl dealing with a disability, Erskine’s moving and insightful masterpiece delivers a compelling message for all—that striving to understand others is a beginning point for addressing the incivility and hostility present in today’s world.

And two reviews from Good Reads (which is also hosting a giveaway of this book by the way--)


Beckie Weinheimer (um me) rated it: 5 out of 5 stars
Read in September, 2009
I adored this book. If it doesn't win the newbery, then something is wrong at the top! It's perfect!

Moira Rose Donohue (Author of Penny and the Punctuation Bee) rated it: 5 of 5 stars
bookshelves: kid-lit
Read in November, 2009
Watch out, readers of kidlit - this will be one of THE books to talk about next year when it officially debuts. I've never read a book that took a main character who was as difficult as this one and made me love her anyway. It takes a brilliant writer to make an Asperberger's girl who is trying to come to terms with the tragic loss of her brother someone you just adore, cheer for and rejoice with. Erskine does this all the while holding you hostage in a fascinating tale. A winner for sure!!!!

So now to my interview with Kathy Erskine.

Can you tell us how the idea for Mockingbird came about?
I'd been wanting to write a book about a child with Asperger's, since I have one, to help people see what it's like. It can be both fun and frustrating for everyone, including the kid with Asperger's. I wasn't quite sure of the framework for the novel, though, so I was letting it mull around for a while. After the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16, 2007, I felt truly stunned, shaken, and I had to do something. In my mind and heart, the two seemed connected somehow. I felt that if someone had been able to get to the killer when he was a child and work with him, maybe he wouldn't have felt the need to murder people. I'm not saying he had Asperger's -- I don't know what all of his issues were -- but I do think that if he'd felt heard, and received help, maybe, just maybe, 4-16 wouldn't have happened. That's why I wrote this book, in hopes that we might all understand each other better.


I know this book was inspired by your daughter, how does she feel about this book?
For years she'd been saying that she wanted me to write a book about a girl like her, so I guess I took her at her word. She seems very happy with Mockingbird.

Can you tell us a few things in Mockingbird that are like your daughter, and things that are just plain fiction?
I can say that most of the playground incidents are pure fiction. However, in addition to living with Asperger's, I've researched and read about this subject A LOT, including taking workshops, and I believe that what I've written is very authentic. Or I wouldn't have written it.

Would your daughter like to make any comments herself about the book?
She says she likes how it explains the way Caitlin sees things (and that it's about her!).

Was this book easier or harder to write since it was so close and personal?
My daughter has developed a lot in the last few years so we're farther removed from a lot of the experiences, which makes it much easier to write.

Where do you find time to write, as I know your own family life keeps you very very busy?
Very early in the morning is the best time. Or in the shower, or on a walk, or while driving -- that last one is not very safe or convenient, however.

I mean do you sleep?
Not well and not enough!

About how long did this book take you to write?
It really just poured out of me so I don't remember how long -- the creative part, the guts of the story, went very fast, maybe a month? Two months? What takes me forever is trying to get the amorphous blob into a beginning, middle and end that make sense.

How many drafts would you say you went through?
I would say it was one main draft with cutting here and adding there.

Did you know where this book would end when you started out?
Not exactly. My endings tend to develop along with the story.

Do you use an outline?
Not unless I get totally bogged down with the story threads (which I usually do) but the outline only comes after the fact as a tool to try put everything in order.

What is the toughest part of the writing process for you?
Plotting. The characters are no problem but sometimes they run around doing things that don't have a lot of purpose. :o) Sticking to the plot and "driving" the story are a challenge for me (and my characters!).


What have you found most rewarding about writing Mockingbird?
so many people say they have been touched by it, and that is incredibly rewarding. I hope it helps kids understand better what it's like to have Asperger's, and maybe think twice before judging others.

What do you hope people will take away with them after reading Mockingbird?
Try to see the world as others see it (at least, don't laugh at them). You'll be amazed at what you can discover.
 www.kathrynerskine.com
 http://kathyerskine.wordpress.com/
 To have a chance to win a signed preview copy of Mockingbird, leave a comment below with email info, or email me at beckieweinheimer@gmail.com

Angie is the Winner--Signed Copy of STAR IN THE MIDDLE by Carol Larese Millward

Thanks to all of you who signed up for the contest! Carol has written such a great book and its doing so well in its first month of life! Here's to Star in the Middle!!

We're featuring another author for December. Kathy Erskine and her new book, not quite out yet, but she's offering a signed copy of the ARC of Mockingbird, win a copy before its out!

Book Giveaways

Each month I interview young adult authors about their latest books and give away a free signed copy of the book to one lucky reader. To learn more about my monthly book contest feature, e-mail me at beckieweinheimer@gmail.com to win this month's free YA Book or leave a comment on the blog below this month's interview! Or, if you're an author who'd like to be interviewed you can reach me the same way by e-mailing me at beckieweinheimer@gmail.com.

Are You a Young Writer? Would You Like to Be Featured on My Blog?

Just e-mail me at beckieweinheimer@gmail.com with the following information:

1) Send me two poems or up to five pages of creative writing
2) Tell me a little about yourself

Want an example? Continue reading to see past featured young adult and teen author writing samples.

Writing Dialog: Tips for Writers Part II

So, hello, it's me again. Still in my New York City apartment, and it's still Autumn outside. Last time (in part I) I chatted with you I chatted about setting scenes.

Now today I'm going to talk about dialogue--with you. Yes, you are going to talk back to me. Hey, I write fiction, I can make your part up, easy as pie. Oops, easy as pie is an overused metaphor--avoid them at all costs, rack your brain think until you can come up with a unique metaphor of your own, it helps if it relates to what you are writing about. For example, I am writing about writing, so perhaps off the top of my head as simple as a poet penning a two line poem--hey, cool I also organically added some alterations-- "poet," "penning" and "poem,"--all p words. Cool!

**Wikipedia tells us that alliteration is a literary or rhetorical stylistic device that consists in repeating the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in close succession. An example is the Mother Goose tongue-twister Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers...

I even picked P at random and so did Wikipedia. Okay, I'm getting all jazzed about this writing thing. And oops I haven't even mentioned dialogue. Sometime soon I'll have to do a writer tip blog about rewrites and cutting out the boring, unimportant parts of your writing, which would mean, if I was practicing what I preach that this entry would begin right here...

But then that would contradict the whole message of voice, which is basically this--ignore the rules of writing, listen to your heart, write from your soul, use your unique way of saying things, to thine own self be true....

Okay, so my authentic voice is chatty, and often digresses from the point, but I happen to think my diversions are fun, sometimes entertaining and hopefully informative.

I also like myself, did you notice?

Okay to Dialogue.

Once again a definition from Wikipedia. Sorry, Maria (My friend Maria is a librarian and she absolutely hates Wikipedia because it is often--shock--not accurate!).

A dialogue (sometimes also dialog in North American English) is a conversation between two or more people. It is also a literary form in which two or more parties engage in a discussion.

I am sort of a British Wannabe, hence I spell dialogue with a "ue" on the end.

To explain dialogue, I'm going to steal an idea from a writer I admire, because she was so cool when I heard her explain it and besides that's what writers do, we copy ideas we read about, we are like tape recorders eavesdropping on interesting conversations that we will later use in our stories, in short we are thieves.

But I will give credit for the floating dialogue--to the great and famous and wondrous Jane Yolen.

So here is an example of "floating dialogue." The kind you don't want to have in your stories.

"Hello," I say.

"Hi," you reply.

"So you want to know about dialogue?"

"Um, sure."

"Okay do you want the short story or the long story on dialogue?" I ask.

You reply, "Um, the short?"

"To create a solid story normally there are several important elements, narration,  scene setting, plot, believable, well developed characters and dialogue."

"Oh."

"Dialogue helps move the story along, often revealing parts of a character that would be much more boring with narration alone. It would be like a news caster on television just giving you the news and not ever interviewing anyone live. Do you see what I mean?"

"I guess."

"Good, then you're off to write the best darn story in the world.  Good luck."

"Um, thanks?"


Okay that is floating dialogue.

Now for un-floating dialogue, grounded dialogue or for lack of a better term, dialogue that works!

Notice carefully that I will use all the same words as before, but I will ground the dialogue, you will know where it comes from, instead of just letting it float on the page in front of you.

"Hello," I say as I spot the young writer walking into the Starbucks cafe where we had agreed to meet.

"Hi," you reply, and sit down across from me in the corner booth.

"So you want to know about dialogue?" I ask sipping my chai-latte tea. I've just discovered this heaven in a cup. I thought only coffee came in latte form, but I was so wrong. Yum. Sip, sip.

"Um, sure." you say, taking off your white, "I love New York beanie and picking up the menu.

"Okay do you want the short story or the long story on dialogue?" I ask between sips of my latte. Lattes are so great, if she requests the long version I'm seriously going to order another one.

You reply, "Um, the short?" and then eye the menu again.

"To create a solid story normally there are several important elements, narration,  scene setting, plot,  believable, well developed characters and dialogue." I say. I actually looked these elements up this morning on Wikipedia. To be honest I have no idea what makes up a good story. I just write whatever the hell comes out of my head.

"Oh." You fumble with the menu and it drops to the ground.

"Dialogue helps move the story along, often revealing parts of a character that would be much more boring with narration alone. It would be like a newscaster on television just giving you the news and not ever interviewing anyone live. Do you see what I mean?" I really can pull this off. Maybe I'll meet with one new writer every morning and then I can deduct my tea latte as a business expense. How great is that?

"I guess." You pick up the menu from off the floor and then play with your I Love New York Beanie.

"Good, then you're off to write the best darn story in the world.  Good luck." I sip the last of my latte. I have decided after she leaves I'm going to get another one. It's my life and I can drink what I want.

"Um, thanks?" You put your beanie on and leave the table without ever ordering. Should I have ordered you a latte?

Okay, that is first-person,singular point of view. Mine. We could switch main characters, its normally the main character who's thoughts and point of view the writer shares if she/he is doing a limited point of view. You can write in first--I or third--Beckie and still only see one person's point of view. Now for fun let's switch main characters and let you be the main character with the same dialogue.

"Hello," Beckie says and waves to me as I enter the Starbucks.

"Hi," I say as I sit down across from her in the corner booth. Beckie Weinheimer, the author, looks older and a bit more chunky in the flesh than she does on her website. How long ago was that photo taken? Can you say Photoshop?

"So you want to know about dialogue?" She asks as she sips her drink. 

"Um, sure."Her drink looks warm, and I am so cold. I hope someone waits on me soon.

"Okay do you want the short story or the long story on dialogue?" She asks.

"Um, the short?" I scan the menu, they have hot cider with caramel. Will she think I'm a wimp for not ordering a caffeinated drink?

"To create a solid story normally there are several important elements, narration,  scene-setting, plot, believable, well developed characters and dialogue." She smiles, like she's extremely proud, and I swear her answer sounds like it came off Wikipedia, but that can't be. I mean she's a published author, with Viking no less. And she made the ALA list. She's got to know her stuff, right?

"Oh." I drop the menu so I can look for a waiter. I'm so cold and thirsty. I can't see a waiter. Hello I'm thirsty here, wait on me.

"Dialogue helps move the story along, often revealing parts of a character that would be much more boring with narration alone. It would be like a newscaster on television just giving you the news and not ever interviewing anyone live. Do you see what I mean?" she asks sipping more of her warm, warm drink.

"I guess." I have no idea what she's said. Seriously, she is boring and so smug with her big warm drink, I want to scream, get me a drink, get me a drink.

"Good, then you're off to write the best darn story in the world.  Good luck." She says not even looking at me, she's opening her purse and counting her change. She's standing to leave.

"Um, thanks?" I say and decide what I already knew--Starbucks sucks, writers suck, and I'm going to listen to my dad and get that degree in history and hide myself inside a library doing research for the rest of my life. And I will never use Wikipedia for anything!

Okay I had too much fun making myself the bad person. I do admit to having just discovered about tea latte's however and must also confess to ocasionally checking Wikipedia. Sorry Maria.

Now if we wanted to write with an omniscient point of view, which allows the writer and the reader to get into more than one head, then we could add the two single viewpoint together into one story line and you get the idea.

One more point. You don't need to ground every piece of dialogue nor probably should you, as it would be really heavy, hard to read or slug through. It's very fine to have several exchanges with just dialogue alone, but by grounding your dialogue every once in a while, you can use dialogue to let your reader know where the character is while they talk, what they are doing while they talk and for me the most fun of all, what they are thinking while they talk.

Any questions. Just leave a message here or email me at Beckieweinheimer@gmail.com. Your question could inspire my next blog!

Continue reading, if you missed the Writer Tip on Setting Scenes.

Bye. I'm going to go get a latte, at, um, Starbucks??

I write poem sometimes. . .

Friday Night
At the Santa Monica Promenade

I hear its mournful sound
Beckoning in the distance
So Faint I wonder. . .

I push through throngs of
teenage girls in spaghetti-strap tops and skinny leg jeans
young men in pants belted below their boxers
a homeless man huddled by a lamppost
shaking coins in a paper cup
around two lovers arm in arm
past the buzz of the outdoor cafes
with their chinking of glass and table chatter
I am not tempted by the aromas of basil and garlic
But press on past the onlookers gathered around the clown
shaping balloons into animals
beyond the young boy, maybe ten years old,
dressed in a tux too big for his body
break-dancing to music
from a boom box rusty and splattered with paint
I do not pause to gape at the contortionist escaping his chains
nor to listen to the woman with long braided hair
Strumming her guitar
Humming a melancholy tune

But only stop when I see him—
Yes, he is here
Beyond the dinosaur vine fountain
He stands legs apart with his bag and pipes
Under the lit doorway of a store now closed
The sound fills my ears
And suddenly
The ground is green
The hills are purple with heather
An ancient stone castle sits before me
The wind, salty and wet
Whips through my hair
And brings a thousand voices from the past
I see their kilts and plaids
And hear the names of those before me
Stewart and McMinn
My eyes grow wet with the foggy mist
My heart swells with feeling
For a hidden part of myself
I do not know

People ask me if I’ve ever been to Scotland
And I don’t know what to say
Because I’ve been to the Promenade in Santa Monica on a Friday night
And heard the bagpipes play

By Beckie Weinheimer



-- Post From My iPhone

An Interview with Teen Writer-Artist Livi

I have known Livi for about two years. We met online, she read my book and I soon became a fan or her art and poetry. Though I've never met her in person I have a piece of her in my house. She sent me this beautiful art piece in exchange for a signed copy of my book. What fun! I'm sorry Livi that there are shadows on my iphone photo of your art. I framed my pretty black girl with the purple eye and she sits beside me on my desk watching me write.

I thought Livi lived in Forks, Washington at first, because that was on her profile. Then I learned about Twilight and realized Livi is a fan. I'm not sure what her last name is. She's known as black dream stream and other online names.
Her poems and her art are full of light and darkness, beauty and pain, and always vivid, always moving, always making my day.

 Here's another one of her art pieces from her collection on Deviant Art. I must admit I am a fan of anything that has purple in it, so I picked her pretty purple girl piece, as I call it. But Livi has named it Tea Dress.

Here's an interview with Livi, two of her favorite poems and her two favorite pieces of art.

How long have you been drawing? Writing?
basically the best answer to this would be,since i could hold a crayon.my mom says she could tell i was going to be an artist the first time i picked a crayon up by the way i looked at it.

Is poetry your favorite type of creative writing?
not necessarily, its my fave to MAKE, not to read,i enjoy anything thats well done,paints good images in my head,and makes you think.i mostly read short storys because i have a short attention span.

What inspires your art?
just about everything;primarily feelings,if i am in a public place feeling bad,you will always see me drawing on napkins and writing on candy wrappers.sometimes i feel as if i was filled with a hot,sticky,infection,boiling in my body,and the art is like a cool water cleansing me.sometimes i feel as if i am as light as air,and all the world is bathed in light,the art then is the magic required to lift my feet from the ground.

Where do you write?
mostly on my bed,i also paint on my bed.my sheets are covered with ink and paint.

Are there certain times you write more?
i go through phases,im usually painting a lot,or writing and sketching a lot,not sure what controls that,it can be frustrating though when i don't feel productive because i have no finished products,i just have to remind myself that its all just practice for the next time i DO finish something.

Are your visual and written art inter related?
i really wouldn't know,i don't know much about why i draw or write what i do,i just put the pencil down and it turns into something.several times i have figured something out about how i was feeling by 'reading' my art/writing.

Have you taken creative writing?
perhaps when i was much younger?but that i can remember,no.no formal art classes since i reached my teens either.

Goals for art in your future?
i have always had the goal to continue letting the drawing develop,and not forcing it to be something,i just don't get threat feeling of release when i try to pre-determine it,and trying every media i can possibly get my hands on.teaching art as a side thing,or doing art therapy would be wonderful,other than that,just keep doing work for friends and a tiny bit of side money.

Favorite artists? Poets?
i am a fan of Rothko,more of the philosophy behind the art,i am allso madly in love with two artists from Deviantart.com ,whose real names i don't know,but whos art strikes my core,feeling a bit like how i do about a finished piece of my own.as far as writers go,Saul Williams has both evoked epiphany and inspired MANY of my writings,i dream of meeting him and discussing art.H.G wells has captured my heart with beautiful images and stories that make me laugh at the treacherous irony.

Tell us a little about you. If you had to tell the world who you are in five sentences what would u write?
"i am an open book to anyone literate".most people have trouble understanding me;i am a very positive,bubbly type person,but i am also emencely aware of the darkness that lurks in the human mind,and seek to understand and embrace it.i write pages upon pages of morbid words seeping with emotional pain and often ending in tragedy,but giggle childishly at trivial things.everything and everyone is beautiful,even the ugly darkness is gorgeous in its own way.

heres the artists on deviant:
http://visceralmilk.deviantart.com/gallery/#_featured
http://trance-orange.deviantart.com/gallery/

And here's Livi's link to her art on Deviant Art. I signed up after seeing Livi's -- I even have a poem posted. It's a great site for visual and writing artists! Get your own site!

Dear Snake,
And Oh can you hear the hushing silence spoken from the cracks in the wall?
can you hear the sloshing off the mud gurgling words of defeat the
crunching of your kin's bones beneath you torn hide?
i hear it so clearly,i see it slither as a snake of ink,
disassembling into copious black leaches to suck me dry.
but i don't speak like mud!i am not fluent in blank walls
!the mud is not what i walk,and the bones of my kin
are singing like wind chimes of what they were

and snake of ink,
i know it was YOU whom tempted
eve of the apple and so here i stand
professing the words previously un-spoken

dear snake,
WATCH me bite the apple
WATCH me laugh as all evils fall
drowning my carefully placed bed of
blooming love and security in blood and agony!


dear snake,
i do not fear you,
i do not hate you,
i do not bow to you,

dear snake,
I KNOW YOU!
I UNDERSTAND YOU!
I LOATHE YOU!
I WILL FACE YOU!

dear snake,
this apple is delicious.

i love the sound of silence falling,the shattered pieces sharply calling,
i love the look of acid rain,something so healing dripping with pain,
i love the scream of your crooked face,watching me squirm in place,
i love the right,gone so wrong,
the colors of a black and white song,
i love how nothing fits the way it should,and now i fit where i never could,
in a spider's web i am encased,but what you don't know is you have placed,
me in a cocoon,and now,its time for me to bloom,

i am not a spider,draining lives,
i am not a an angel,drying eyes,

i am not a lie (like you)ripping and shreading the truth in two,
i am not,made of wood,a doll that sits and only sees good,
i am not sick,trapped in my world,made of the puke that she hurled,

i am what emerges,from the web you spun,
i am the proof,darkness never won,

i am love in-tact,after being run through a shredder,
i am a thriving city,after being leveled by weather

i am a mosaic of hearts of the broken,
i am the words of god,when god has never before spoken,

i burst out a creature, a strong heart within
gloat all you want,you still didn't win.

Thanks Livi for sharing with all of us!

**** The next interview will be with Tara Tamburri who's a part of The Young Voices Foundation
http://www.youngvoicesfoundation.org/youngvoiceshome.html

If you'd like to be interviewed just email me at Beckieweinheimer@gmail.com I enjoy featuring young artists.