A few years ago I attended Kate Messner’s Swinger of Birches writing retreat on Lake Champlain for the first
time. Many authors I met there have become writer pals for life. One who leaped
out at me (figuratively! Ahem.) was Sarah Albee. Smart, funny, clever,
talented, and kind could describe every writer there, but there was something
so cool about Sarah. (Don’t you want to hang out with the author of Poop Happened? I do!) She’s a rockstar writer,
a jock, a scholar, a fascinating blogger, a living Pantene commercial (check
her gorgeous hair), she worked for Sesame
Street, and, for kicks, she knows *everyone.* I mean everyone. She’s dined
with diplomats and celebrated with celebrities. She puts Kevin Bacon to shame.
Next to her, I grew up under a rock. But she didn’t mind meeting maggoty me. I’ve
been so slow in joining her blog hop that I’m, perhaps, a blog flop, but here
goes. 
Sarah Albee is the author of
dozens of books for children, across ages, genres, and even names – she writes
under several pseudonyms. (Learn why here.) She writes fiction and nonfiction,
and she even gets to write about celebrities (told you she knows everyone) like
Elmo, Dora the Explorer, Diego, and SpongeBob. Her nonfiction works, including
Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up (Walker Books, 2010)
and her forthcoming Bugged: How Insects Changed History (Walker Books, April
2014), ingeniously blend insightful social history into deliciously disgusting
subject matter. Don’t let the comics fool you; Sarah is a rigorous and incisive
historian. Check her blog for thrice-weekly doses of the same magic.
Thanks, Sarah, for inviting me!
The rules of this blog hop are
that I now need to answer Sarah’s four questions, then pass the baton onto
three more writers I love, whom you should get to know. Here goes.
Sarah: What are you working on right now?
I’m working on a new YA for
Viking, set in medieval France. It’s got passionate romance, arranged marriage,
burning heretics, vengeful clerics, a mystic, a matchmaker, a fortune teller,
and a cat. There should always be a pet. I’m also finishing copyedits for my
upcoming middle grade called TheScandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place (fall 2014, Roaring Brook).
Sarah: How does your WIP differ from other
works in the genre?
The particular chapter in
history on which my YA (currently nicknamed Mystique) is based is one that hasn’t
been written about much in young adult literature, or, for that matter, adult
literature. I’m excited about that aspect of it. But also, I believe the format
and voice I’m attempting to use will be, yuk yuk, rather novel.
Sarah: Why do you write what you do?
Mainly
because I love to. I feel fortunate in my work in that respect. I get to write
the sorts of books I’d like to read. I especially love the research involved. I
think I would have enjoyed an academic career. Writing allows me to delve into,
learn about, and research any topic that interests me, put my findings to
creative use, and then, when I’m done, move on to another interest, possibly
one entirely different.
Sarah: What is the hardest part about writing?
Finding
time to do it can be really hard. I have four sons, a house to neglect, and an
otherwise busy life. I also spend a great deal of time visiting schools,
traveling, and speaking at conferences and writing events. Those things can become
consuming. Creative inspiration is a fickle thing, too. While I’m a firm
believer in writing regularly and not waiting for one’s muse to show up, I do
admit that the spark that brings writing to life can be elusive. The challenge
is to press on anyway.
Enough
about me. It’s time to meet three fantastic authors I adore!
Carol Lynch Williams and I
met at Vermont College of the Fine Arts in the same incoming class group, and
we bonded instantly. She’s raw, real, and hilarious, combining the kindest
heart with an uncensored wit. She calls it like she sees it, which I love. She’s
prolific, and more importantly, she’s good.
Good good. A masterful storyteller with a pitch-perfect ear for honesty
in voice.
Carol Lynch Williams is the mother of five daughters and the
wicked step-mother to more than 30 books for middle grade and young adult
readers. She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Adolescents from Vermont
College, teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University and runs Writing
and Illustrating for Young Readers (www.wifyr.com),
in its 14th year. Her novels include THE CHOSEN ONE, MILES FROM ORDINARY,
GLIMPSE and WAITING with four titles forthcoming in 2014: THE HAVEN, SIGNED
SKYE HARPER and two titles in the Just in Time series written with coauthor
Cheri Pray Earl. You can read about Carol and her newest book sale on her blog www.throwingupwords.wordpress.com. You can also find her on Twitter.
After my first novel, The Amaranth Enchantment, released, I met a pair of bloggers from
Utah who wrote to me enthusiastically about it. I traveled to Salt Lake City to
do a signing, and Stacey Ratliff and Sara Larson joined me there. We’ve stayed in touch ever
since – in fact we now have a traditional dinner date every time I come into
town. It’s thrilling to see Sara Larson now on the brink of releasing her first
novel with Scholastic, DEFY.
Sara B. Larson can’t remember a time when she didn’t write books, although she
now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Utah
with her husband and their three children. She writes during naptime and the
quiet hours when most people are sleeping. Her husband claims she should have a
degree in “the art of multitasking.” On occasion you will find her hiding in a
bubble bath with a book and some Swedish Fish.
Sara is represented by
Josh Adams, of Adams Literary. Her debut YA fantasy novel, DEFY, will be
published by Scholastic in January of 2014.
[Back to Julie] One of
my favorite local bookstores is Willow Books in Acton, MA. They take such good
care of me there and always have plenty of my signed books in stock. I remember
meeting Cal Armistead years ago
there, and her telling me she was shopping for an agent. Then she had one. Then
she’d sold Being Henry David. Then it was in stores, and earning glowing reviews. It couldn’t
happen to a nicer person. Here’s Cal:
Cal Armistead has been a writer
since age 9, when she submitted her first book, The Poor Macaroni Named
Joany to a publisher. Sadly, this literary gem did not make it to print.
But Cal continued pursuing her lifelong passion, and wrote copiously for radio,
newspapers and magazines (Cal has been published in The Chicago Tribune, Shape
Magazine, Body & Soul Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Chicken
Soup for Every Mom’s Soul and others). Although it took years for Cal to try
her hand again at fiction writing, her first young adult novel (Being Henry
David) was published by Albert Whitman & Co. on March 1, 2013. Cal holds an
MFA in creative writing from the Stonecoast program at the University of
Southern Maine, works at an independent book store, is a voice-over actress,
sings semi-professionally, and lives in a Boston suburb with her amazing
husband and a dog named Layla.
Check
out these brilliant authors and their brilliant books. Thanks again, Sarah!
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