seasick

5 Mar 2017 news 0 Comments

19de37727963b037e8448eb7bec01811I hit rock bottom last week. Even though I was averaging a thousand words a day, I wasn’t getting any closer to finishing “A Light in the Deep.” When I write for myself, I don’t worry about word length; I let the story take me wherever it wants to go. But when I write for hire, it’s my job to give the client what they want and this project called for a 3000-word story about a slave ship destroyed by a mermaid (actually, by Yemoja, depicted here by Felipe Caprini). I could have cried on Friday but I got some cake and got over myself. Now I’m nearing 10K words but I’ve only got a few more paragraphs to write. I’m pretty sure my client isn’t going to want this ridiculously long—and late—story, so that means I’ll be pitching and writing another story this week. That also means I’ll need to figure out what to do with what I’ve got. Self-publish it as a digital story or submit it to a SFF journal? It’s intended for a middle school audience, but maybe it would still appeal to adults? There are machetes and beheadings…In my mind I’ve been composing my apology email to my editor: “The good news is, the story’s finally done! The bad news is, it’s 10K words. The good news is, I can write a thousand words a day so writing the story you WANT shouldn’t take me too long…”

usc_la_times_festival_of_booksI’m honored to have been invited to participate in the LA Times Book Festival! I’ve never been to Los Angeles and though I have to pay my way to the festival, I’m still excited and hope I can fit in a school visit while I’m in town. I found out this week that I didn’t get the Sweden residency, so I’m reconsidering this year’s writing priorities. I’m not giving up on my Viking novel, but it’s no longer at the top of the queue. When Prof. Karen Sands-O’Connor reviewed The Ghosts in the Castle, she tweeted that she hoped Zaria would return to England and meet more Black Britons—and that’s a tempting proposition! I’ve already checked prices and might try to hop across the pond when my advance check from Random House arrives. I also checked prices of flights to New Zealand but think that trip will have to wait a while. Karen’s review of Ghosts is fantastic; in “Ghosts of No Nation: Forgotten Histories Revealed in Children’s Literature” she considers my fictional narrative alongside David Olusoga’s Black and British: A Forgotten History.

Britain often seems through its literature and other cultural production to be a place where whiteness is not only dominant, but sometimes exclusive, both to its own citizens and to the global tourists and consumers of children’s books. Elliott’s book takes a step toward changing the image of Britain—but based on David Olusoga’s history, Zaria is going to have to return and find more ghosts to set free from invisibility. Only then will they move from being ghosts of no nation, to belonging to us all.

I’m looking forward to sharing Ghosts and my other historical fantasy novels with young readers in Denver later this month at Mini(on)Con on Friday the 17th (I present at 1 and 1:30). This is the last AnomalyCon and I’m excited about meeting so many amazing SFF writers. I don’t think most Cons are this inclusive so it’s a shame this is their last year but I’m glad I get to participate. I’ll also get to hang out with writer friend Carleen Brice and see the Star Wars costume exhibit at the Denver Museum of Art! These are the panels I’ll be on at AnomalyCon:

Friday 7pm: “Stories We Tell Our Children”

Friday 8pm: “Bedtime Stories” (reading)

Saturday 3pm: “We Need Diverse Books”

Saturday 5pm: “The Female Gaze Is Coming for You”

Saturday 6pm: “Based in Dreams”

Speaking of conferences, have you registered for Kweli’s The Color of Children’s Literature conference? If you’re a Native or PoC writer for kids/teens, you don’t want to miss this opportunity to network with industry professionals and aspiring writers. I’ve never seen anything like it; most kid lit events are mighty White, but not Kweli—for once, WE comprise the majority! It’s empowering and energizing—you can even get your manuscript critiqued if you apply early.