BREATHE: A Ghost Story, by Cliff McNish

Breathe: A Ghost Story, by Cliff McNish (Carolrhoda, 2006)(8-12): Twelve year old Jack and his mother Sarah have moved into an old farmhouse in the country. There, Jack discovers that he, and he alone, can see the ghosts that have been haunting the place for more than a century. Some are children and one - called the Ghost Mother - is more than she seems. Suddenly, Jack is in a race to unearth the truth about them all before he and Sarah are lost.

Breathe is an altogether suspenseful and truly scary novel that intriguingly probes the boundaries between love and self-indulgence. I picked it up intending to read a few pages before bed and ended up having to read the whole thing...

Ike

Well, it looks like we here in Austin are going to avoid the worst from Hurricane Ike. Some rain bands, maybe, and some gusts up to 50 mph are being predicted. (Just last night, they were thinking it could have hit with 50 mph sustained winds and heavy rains). Check out the National Hurricane Center for full information.

A bunch of events here have been canceled or postponed, including the "Day with an Editor" event planned for Saturday for the Austin SCBWI, and the UT football game.

Other than that, things are fairly calm, though supposedly we've had an influx of evacuees...Stay safe and dry, everyone!

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who wrote Cyn or me about our status. In the end, other than partly cloudy skies today, the hurricane completely missed Austin. And fortunately, it seems the storm surge in Galveston was much less than predicted, although Houston seems to have gotten more wind damage than anticipated. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Ike's path.

Oh, and if you're interested in the Galveston hurricane of 1900, check out Julie Lake's Galveston: Summer of the Storm. Cyn interviews her here.

Houston in the summertime

Cyn and I decided to take a weekend off and decided to spend it in the vacation spot of Texas: Houston. Not your idea of fun in August? Well, it was a little swampy, but we spent most it it indoors, checking out some of the museums down in the Museum District.

We drove out on Thursday afternoon and checked in at our hotel, the Hotel ZaZa, right across from the Fine Arts Museum and a block away from the Natural Sciences Museum. The hotel was a riot. The place appears from the outside to be a renovated early-twentieth century hotel or apartment building and is decorated in a sort of quirky yet swanky, retro-style, with photos of various celebrities and the occsional animal head.

We were a bit hungry by this point so we had a late afternoon pizza via room service; (foolishly) we went down to an early dinner that evening at the hotel's Monarch Restaurant. We weren't enormously hungry, so we split some appetizers and side dishes (portions are huge). The Salt & Pepper Rock Shrimp and the Deconstructed Tuna were outstanding, as was our "entree" (really, one of the salads, followed by the White Cheddar Truffle Mac and Cheese.

Next morning, we were up early to hit the Natural Sciences Museum. Noteworthy permanent exhibits include a vertebrate paleontology section (including the above T.rex and edmontosaurus), a butterfly garden (a four story tall atrium garden with fountains and waterfalls and countless butterflies swooping all around), and African and Texas wildlife displays.

The highlights of our visit, though, were the Leonardo da Vinci special exhibit and especially the Lucy special exhibit. The da Vinci exhibit included many models of the inventions from his sketchbooks, allowing close up and (sometimes) hand-on views.

The Lucy exhibit started with a fascinating history of Ethiopia section including movies and artifacts. We then moved on to the australopithecus portion of the exhibit which included a video on the discovery of Lucy and then the main event was the display of Lucy herself. The fossil bone fragments are laid out on a slab, with a reconstruction of Lucy standing beside it and a panorama of human evolution behind it. Very well-done and impressive. More images can be found here.

The next day we decided to brave the Houston weather and went over to the Houston Zoo. Highlights included the reptile house, and large mammals, including giraffes and Asian elephants. In most cases, you can get up pretty close to the animals, which is a lot of fun. Also, the zoo seems to have a successful breeding program: we saw baby elephants, giraffes, wild pigs, and many others. (They're also apparently working on an expansion to be completed in 2010, but I couldn't find the info. on the web site). Feeling a bit hot and sticky, we went back to or hotel for lunch and took it easy for the rest of the afternoon, ate, had a glass of wine, and watched news and Olympics.

All in all, a fun weekend - we need to get back there sometime...perhaps in March :-).

In re the Beijing Olympics

So we're at the end of the first week of the Olympics and I have a few random thoughts:

1. Wow. The opening ceremony was spectacular. And a little creepy, especially the part where the goose-stepping soldiers took the Chinese flag away from the little girls...

2. The air quality in Beijing sucks. It makes LA look like it has the atmosphere of a pristine wilderness.

3. Venues are terrific. Whoever designed the Bird's Nest stadium should get a medal. Ditto the swimming cube.

4. The first US medals were a gold, silver, and bronze sweep in women's saber. How cool is that?

5. On the Chinese women's gymnastics team-
Cyn: How old are they?
Me: They're supposed to be sixteen.
Cyn: They are not sixteen.

6. Is it just me or are about half of the swimmers for foreign countries going to college in the US?

7. Does the Chinese government really take children away from their parents at three if they are athletically promising? What happens if they can't cut it? (Or don't want to?). Do they do the same if you're good at math?

8. The best thing about NBC's coverage of the games is that they use Arnaud's Bugler's Dream (which ABC introduced back when they covered the games).

9. NBC's coverage has improved somewhat over the past decade and a half. It's not nearly as sappy as it used to be. Still, they could stand to tone it down a bit.

10. Bob Costas is no Jim McKay. But doing Bela Korlyi's live reactions to the gymnastics was brilliant and hilarious.

11. Michael Phelps is clearly a space alien. So is Jason Lezak. And Dara Torres.

UPDATE: Okay, British swimmer Simon Burnett (who apparently is a former NCAA champion for the University of Arizona, see 6, above) has another take: "I think I've figured out Michael Phelps. He is not from another planet; he is from the future. His father made him and made a time machine. Sixty years from now he is an average swimmer, but he has come back in time to mop up."

Writing, gathering, and other stuff...

Last Wednesday, members of the Austin youth literature community gathered at Waterloo Ice House (north) for an informal gathering and happy hour.

Cyn has an extensive post about it here. (She also explains the pseudo-perforation on my neck (Frances Hill has a matching one)). A number of other folks already blogged rather extensively: Alison Dellenbaugh; P.J. Hoover; Varian Johnson; and Don Tate.

This coming weekend, come on out the the Austin SCBWI monthly meeting to hear Helen Hemphill talk about plot; and check out ArmadilloCon, where Cyn is on panels Saturday and Sunday.

July goings-on

It's been a fairly quiet month. After we got back from Michigan, Cyn and I hunkered down a bit (or tried to, anyway) to work on current projects. Cynthia's Blessed was just announced on Publisher's Lunch, and the paperback of Tantalize was just released on July 22. It includes an excerpt from Eternal, which has a March 2009 release date.

We had great fun listening to P.J. Hoover speak at the SCBWI Austin monthly meeting on time management and then had a lengthy lunch with a group of fellow authors. Afterwards (and inspired by our trip to the U of M Natural History Museum), Cyn and I went down to the Texas Memorial Museum, which we hadn't been to in years (hence the giant quetzalcoatlus above).

We managed to sneak in a few movies over the past couple months, too (the fact that we're on something like day 37 of 100+ weather might have something to do with it):

Prince Caspian: Took some liberties with text, not least of which is that Caspian himself is about ten years too old, but all-in-all pretty good.

Indiana Jones: It was a little over the top in some places, but it's worth seeing just for Marian.

The Dark Knight: Wow. I wasn't really sure we needed to see another Batman movie with the Joker, but I enjoyed this on enormously. Heath Ledger's performance was amazing. Overall, the film was very good, intense, and (but?) not really the feel-good stuff you usually see from summer blockbusters.

The X-Files movie: Very glad to see Mulder and Scully together again. This is another one I liked a lot more than I thought I would -- Although I raised an eyebrow at one or two aspects, it felt like one of the better stand-alone episodes of the show.

Oh. And did I say it was a quiet month? Well, not entirely. I'm delighted to announce that my brother and his wife just had their first child, Olivia, born last Thursday! Baby and mother are both doing fine. Woo-hoo! Congrats!

Michigan trip

Cyn and I are just back from southeastern Michigan, where we spoke at a graduate children’s literature class at Oakland University, in Rochester.

We flew out on Saturday and stayed that night in Ann Arbor, which we hadn’t been back to since we graduated law school.

We walked around the law quad a bit and had lunch at Red Hawk, which was new back then. Then we drove out to the farm of author Shutta Crum and her husband. They gave us the grand tour and fixed an excellent spinach lasagna for dinner. Then we had dessert and drinks out in their “playhouse” (a converted garage) with a group of children’s lit. folks from the area.

Sunday, we explored a bit more, bought some UM garb, and checked out the “fairy doors” on Main Street and had lunch at Cafe Felix. Afterwards, we went over to the Natural History Museum and perused their ancient life displays. After our fill of dinosaurs, we drove up to Oakland University, where we stayed at the Cobblestone Manor, a charming and convenient bed and breakfast just minutes from campus. (Proprietors were delightful, and the breakfasts were terrific and generously portioned). That evening, professors Linda Pavonetti and Jim Cipielewski took us on a driving tour of campus and showed us Meadowbrook Hall.

Monday morning, I was up early to go for a run, then had breakfast, and went to give my talk. It appeared to go successfully (only one or two folks nodded off :-)). That night, Linda and Jim took us out again to dinner and then to dessert at Cook’s Farm Dairy – they make ice cream from their own cows’ milk. Absolutely fantastic and you also get to go nose to nose with the cows.

Next morning, Cyn spoke to great acclaim. After signing our books and getting a tour of the school of education, we went back to the B&B. We had a glass of wine with Marie-Louise Gay, who was speaking Wednesday and who arrived just as we’d uncorked the bottle. After dinner at Bistro Bourdeau in Auburn Hills, we called it a night.

All in all, it was a terrific event – Linda and Jim have a great program and are consummate hosts. Many thanks to everyone!

Awesome Austin Writers' Workshop

So. It's eight o'clock at night and the house feels oddly quiet. (For one thing, Cynthia is asleep :-)). For the past three days, the place has been overflowing with energy, excitement, and creativity. This past weekend, Cynthia and I had the privilege of hosting a workshop for advanced writers in our house.

It was the culmination of a month-long process that started when twenty-seven Austin area children's authors submitted up to ten pages of manuscripts to be read and critiqued by every other participant and Cynthia, who moderated the forty minute sessions.


Participants included Brian Anderson, Varsha Bajaj, Chris Barton, Gene Brenek, Shana Burg, Anne Bustard, Tim Crow, Betty X. Davis, Meredith Davis, Alison Dellenbaugh, Erin Edwards, Debbie Gonzales, Helen Hemphill, P.J. Hoover, Varian Johnson, Julie Lake, Lindsey Lane, April Lurie, Mark Mitchell, Jane Peddicord, Liz Garton Scanlon, Jo Whittemore, Phil Yates, and Jennie Ziegler. (Brian Yansky and Frances Hill submitted manuscripts but unfortunately had to drop out at the last minute).

The manuscripts were amazing, fresh, and fun. The level of discourse was extraordinary - thoughtful and spirited, but never mean-spirited.

Carmen Oliver and Donna Bratton worked as "pages," arranging and picking up breakfasts, fresh fruit, soft drinks, ice, snacks, and generally performing all those indispensable behind-the-scenes tasks without which an event of this scale could not possibly happen. They were tireless, thoughtful, diligent, and performed above and beyond with a wonderful verve, aplomb, and humor.

Julie helped collate and deliver packets; Brian and Frances, Gene, Tim, and Shana provided extra chairs; Tim additionally provided serving platters, ice, and coolers; Meredith ran invaluable errands; and Helen opened up her condo for the Saturday night party. Many thanks to everyone for their help (and please forgive me if I haven't specifically mentioned a contribution).


The weekend on site began early Friday morning with a continental breakfast of kolaches, fresh fruit, and yogurt. We then kicked off the work part of the workshop with five sessions of forty minutes each, with five minute breaks in between each session.

We then sent the group out for lunch, and followed up with another five sessions to end the day. Delighted and exhausted after the first days' work, a number of us then went out to dinner and margaritas at Maudie's, Too.

The next morning, the pages arrived early with bagels and muffins from Einstein Brothers. followed by another days' worth of sessions and discourse.

That evening, we headed over to Helen's for the party. She and her husband, Neil, were extremely gracious and generous hosts. Many thanks for their hospitality! (Catering was through Pascal's [fantastic!] and included shrimp, empenadas, stuffed mushrooms, crab cakes, beef canapes, salmon cups, and small pastries).


Donna and Carmen dived into the final day of the workshop by arriving in style (and in costume - I'll let you go to Cynthia's blog to see) and with breakfast tacos (also from Lone Star Kolaches). And by this point, everyone was feeling a bit punchy... :-).

Finally, at noon, after our last five sessions, the pages surprised us by presenting us (!) with a gift basket of delicacies. And then, Jane Peddicord and the rest of the participants presented Cynthia and me with some extraordinarily gracious words, a library bird house, and a gift certificate to Book People.

To the pages and participants: We are incredibly humbled by this generosity. Thank you for everything and for your roles in making this weekend a success.


Now get back to writing. :-).

UPDATE: See Cynsations, with more pictures, for Cyn's account.

DAEMON HALL, by Andrew Nance

DAEMON HALL, by Andrew Nance (Henry Holt, 2007)(ages 10+). Best-selling horror writer Ian Tremblin is holding a short story writing contest for teens - the winner will get to have his or her story published.

The catch? The five finalists must spend the night with Ian in Daemon Hall, the infamous haunted mansion whose builder killed his entire family, then hanged himself in the study. The five arrive at sundown, per instructions, without phones or flashlights and accompany Ian upstairs, where they read their stories aloud. At the end of the night, Ian will pick the winner. If any survive...

DAEMON HALL is a fun yet seriously creepy novel. The individual contestants' stories are themselves engaging and the over-arching framework successfully works to build the suspense, as the reader is caught up in the mystery of what is going on and who, if anyone, will make it through the night.

THE FLOATING CIRCUS, by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

THE FLOATING CIRCUS, by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer (Bloomsbury, July 2008)(ages 8-12). Thirteen year old Owen and his eight year old brother Zachary are orphans in 1852 Pittsburgh. Not long after the pair are to be sent west on an orphan train (in the hopes that they will be adopted by farm families), Owen falls out of an elm tree and breaks his arm. Fearing he'll be crippled for life, and knowing that under such circumstances he'll be useless as a farm hand, Owen concludes that the only way for Zachary to be adopted is if he leaves.

Owen absconds from the train as it's departing and ends up on a giant circus river boat. There, he's befriended by Solomon, a freedman who works as an animal keeper and general custodian/maintenance man. As the boat travels south to New Orleans, Owen is exposed to unexpected cruelties and kindnesses, and his eyes are ultimately opened to the realities of the itinerant circus life (as well as the horrors of slavery), as he comes to realize where he fits in in the world.

In this superb and bittersweet novel, Zimmer gives readers an unvarnished and textured glimpse into the world of 1852, as Owen encounters yellow fever, storms at sea, freaks, slave catchers, and auctioneers. The friendship between Owen and Solomon feels real and the characters are developed with virtues and vices alike, as the story builds to a poignant, yet hopeful, conclusion.