Got Books?

Aurelia, who is looking a bit tattered after her journey in her new book, Exile, arches her eyebrow at me. “Look who’s here.”

I ignore the raised eyebrow. I led sixty sixth graders to the top of Multnomah Falls this week. I refuse to feel guilty about my failure to blog last weekend. Instead, I barrel into the conversation. “You’d better find a new outfit, Aurelia. Next Saturday we are going to Klindt’s!”

She fiddles with a rip in her blouse. “What is Klindt’s?”

I clasp my hands together and spin around. “One of the most miraculous places in the realm of stories!”

That captures her attention. “Why?”

“Guess!”

She stops fiddling with the blouse, snags my laptop, and runs a search. “It’s a bookstore,” she announces.

“True. But this one is especially important because . . .”

“It’s the oldest bookstore in Oregon,” she proclaims.

“Also true, but . . .”

“That’s not why it’s especially important,” Aurelia gathers, then starts scanning the Klindt’s website. www.klindtsbooks.com

“Found it!” she proclaims, very excited.

“Found what?” I ask.

She flips around the laptop and shows me the Got Books announcement. “It’s holding a huge young adult book event!” she announces.

I smile. “You’re getting warmer.”

Her mouth falls open. But her curiosity holds sway over her temper, and she elaborates. “A book event with Sara L. Ryan, Jesse Freels, Stephanie Bodeen, Kenny Knight, Rosanne Parry, Dave Anderson, R.A. McDonald, Inara Scott, Conrad Wesselhoeft, Sherrida Woodley and Neil Wolfson, representing his late wife L.K. Madigan.”

I smile some more.

“And with us!” Aurelia declares, jumping up and down, using the couch as a trampoline.

“Yes. But do you know why Klindt’s is really amazing?”

She collapses on the cushions. “No. But I would know if you would stop being cryptic and just tell me!”

“Because Klindt’s has Carol and Angela and all kinds of amazing people who work there. And because it’s the place where I used to order books when I was little. Klindt’s is the place that sent me the Satin Slippers series. And the Mandie books. And the Black Stallion series. And Alanna, the First Adventure!”

“Oh!” Aurelia sinks into the cushions. Then Klindt’s is a magical place.”

“Of course.” I smile.

“And now it sells my books?” she whispers nervously.

“Yes.”

She hops up and spins around. “I can’t wait ’til Saturday!”



The official press release for Got Books is pasted below:

GOT BOOKS?
Saturday June 4th 11am-3pm
Klindt’s YA event.
twelve authors, one day.
books. food. free stuff.
www.klindtsbooks.com


On Saturday June 4th 2011 the oldest bookstore in the Pacific Northwest will host 12 Young Adult genre authors to encourage and excite the next generation of readers. From 11am until 3 pm at Klindt's Booksellers, authors Sara L. Ryan, Jesse Freels, Stephanie Bodeen, Kenny Knight, Rosanne Parry, Dave Anderson, R.A. McDonald, Inara Scott, Conrad Wesselhoeft, Anne Osterlund, Sherrida Woodley and Neil Wolfson, representing his late wife L.K. Madigan, will spend the afternoon talking with local YA lovers about their works. Two of these writers, Anne Osterlund and L.K. Madigan, are both up for the Oregon Book Award this year and you may recognize Roseanne Parry from last year’s Oregon Battle of the Books list. Parry’s newest title, Second Fiddle, has also been selected as an Indie Next Pick. While several of our guests write teen fantasy/paranormal fiction, we have also included other genre writers who may interest YA readers. These genres include mystery, autobiography, science fiction, historical fiction, and teen romance.

In addition to these 12 wonderful authors, Klindt’s will provide a free BBQ and soda as well as book give-aways and other fun gifts and prizes. Author Rosanne Parry will collaborate with budding local fiddlers to play a few songs in the back parking lot and we heard a rumor that the famous TDMS group D.A.C will also make an appearance!


Klindt's is working closely with local schools and libraries to encourage summer reading. The Dalles-Wasco County Library runs a summer reading program and hopes that this event can help expand their program. The Library will host an ice cream social and scavenger hunt immediately following the author event at Klindt's. We are also providing a program for teachers to offer extra credit for student participation.

Klindt’s Booksellers has been bringing literature to our community for over 140 years. We hope you will be just as excited as we are about this event and that you will support us in encouraging YA readers to join us for a creative afternoon! At Klindt’s, we strive to continue a long tradition of community stewardship. We often have customers in their 70’s and 80’s come in and tell us that they used to purchase their school texts at our bookstore as children. It is our joy to help bring the love of books to yet another generation.

We are glad to provide advance reader copies of books to media outlets interested in reviewing them. We would also love to put you in contact with our twelve authors and their publicists. If you would like more information on this event, or would like to schedule an interview, please contact our event coordinator, Angela, at 541-296-3355 or info@klindtsbooks.com. Thank you for your continued support of the oldest bookstore in Oregon.

The Whole "No-Magic" Thing

First, More Exile Reviews:

-The Story Siren: http://www.thestorysiren.com/2011/04/exile-by-anne-osterlund.html

-The Merry Genre Go Round Reviews: http://harstan.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/exile-anne-osterlund/

-And check out Karen's (one of my favorites) & Courtney's on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142417394/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=yarr-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0142417394


Now Moving On . . . At last

I promised in an earlier blog post, to tackle the topic of why there is no magic in Aurelia. Or her entire series, for that matter.

You see, it isn’t that I don’t love magic.

We are talking a huge Neverland-Fantasia-Tortall-Oz fan here.

It’s just that, in this case, magic would be cheating.

It is very important that Aurelia deals with her problems herself. (OK, I’m leaving out someone pretty important here, but ultimately you see what I mean, right?)

And that the danger she deals with is real.

She can’t just . . . use a sword.

Which, again, is not to say that I don’t love female warriors.

To me, Aurelia is totally a warrior.

But not in a masculine or magical sense.

She was raised as a young woman. And she has to deal with all the implications that come with that. And all the limits.

Her gifts are the kinds of gifts anyone could have. Intelligence. Passion. An open mind.

And stubbornness.

Which isn’t just a weakness. It’s something she needs.

Aurelia isn’t “superior” just because she was born a princess. The danger she faces is real. And no matter how “good” she is, she can’t defeat overwhelming odds just because I would like her to. She has to face that danger head-on. And she has to grow and learn and fight.

And sometimes lose.

Because that’s why there’s a story.

And it's not the kind of story that changes with pixie dust.

Release Day!

Exile Countdown--Today is the day!

In honor of Exile's release, a few thoughts about Aurelia and Robert's sequel . . .


Exile began with Aurelia, of course.

She has always insisted on a sequel to her first book—at least as far back as I can recall.

Though, technically, I started typing the initial draft of Exile the weekend after my first submission deadline for Academy 7.

Vroom! We were off—Robert, Aurelia, and I, thundering through their expedition.

Of course, there were certain things Aurelia didn’t inform me of in that first draft.

The forest, for example. Silly me, I thought the Asyan Forest was the setting for a single chapter. Little did I know it was going to snatch us up and refuse to let us leave. I spent an entire Christmas in the forest. The beginning of the following summer, we were still there.

And then I had take a detour into the draft for a different book.

Ooh! Aurelia was mad! “You’ve leaving us stuck here!” she yelled at me. “How can you leave us here?!”

I used logic.

Penguin used logic.

My brand new agent, Kelly Sonnack from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, used logic.

Guess who won?

Not anyone using logic.

By the end of the summer, Aurelia, Robert, and I were out of the forest and onto the frontier (definitely worth the struggle) with the scariest deadline I’ve ever had in my life.

Aurelia, on the other hand, was happy.


Exile Sample Chapters:

Scenes from Chapter 1 & 2 are posted on the book excerpts page of my website: http://www.anneosterlund.com/. Come read!


Exile Reviews:

Fiction Folio: http://www.fictionfolio.com/2011/04/exile-by-anne-osterlund.html


Exile Blogposts:

Today's Adventure: http://www.todays-adventure.com/2011/04/anne-osterlund-guest-post.html (The author/character relationship aka "The Discovery")

The Book Butterfly http://thebookbutterfly.com/2011/04/guest-post-on-strong-heroines-by-anne.html (Aurelia & I felt like discussing the term "bossy" in this one).


Exile Interviews:

One Writer's Journey: http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com/2011/04/interview-with-childrens-author-anne.html

Book Nut: http://www.thebooknut.com/2011/04/10-questions-for-anne-osterlund.html

Adventures in Children's Publishing: http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-stores-this-week-with-interviews_26.html

And the Winners Are . . .

Countdown to Exile--1 day!

First, for more Exile reviews, check out the following:

My Love Affair With Books

YA bibliophile

Sugarpeach


And for another Exile guest post (Aurelia & I are rather fond of this one):

The Neverending Bookshelf


The winners for the advanced reading copies of Exile are ...


For Option 2 (Name your cat. And tell me his or her special talent): Michelle!

Michelle's answer:

My cat, Belle (who I’m totally just realizing has a namesake who also shares her interest…Hint: Disney princess), has a knack for reading…or maybe just nudging books with her little pink nose until she can get them to pop open. Then she sits on them. I’m thinking she might be lucky enough to have the ability to absorb knowledge through osmosis. Wouldn’t surprise me. (She’s staring at me looking very smug right now). Lucky cat.


For Option 1 (If a very strong female character started talking to you, what would her particular strength be?): Lacey!

Lacey's answer:

I walk into the coffee shop, the scent of coffee beans lingers in the air. I survey the room before taking a seat by the window where I look out at the soft rain hitting against the window. I sigh before pulling out My laptop and turning it on. As I was waiting for my old machine to boot up, I heard footsteps walk up to me and ask if she could sit down. I nod my head, briefly lifting my eyes before concentrating on my computer once more.

"School work?" She asks.

I sigh once more and look up and my eyes nearly pop because sitting across from me is Grace, THE GRACE. She looks exactly as the Grace in my story, she even sounds like how I would imagine her to sound like. I stare at her in wonder, it takes all my willpower to stay rooted in my seat.

"Are you alright?" She asks, her eyebrows lift in concern.

I nod my head, "Your Grace, " I mutter out.

She smiles. "Yes, your Grace, my creator."

I take in a deep breath, I must be losing it, I HAVE to be losing it.....

"Can you tell me what my greatest strength is?" She asks challenging me.

I nod my head in excitement, "Of course....your greatest strength is the ability to comfort your family and friends by putting up a false shield and convincing everyone else that they're okay and you're okay... You create an appearance of togetherness. You're the leader,their guardian angel that leads them out of the darkness....but deep down, you're suffering. You're eyes show it, but you're intelligent enough to avoid any long periods of contact.... But I think your greatest strength can be your own downfall, but isn't that like that with every strength? Doesn't every strength end in turmoil eventually?" I ask, my mind rambling on and twisting down rocky and cloudy paths....

Grace just sits there and shrugs, "I suppose so..."

I stare at my computer that is now booted up, the screen glowing back at me, demanding me to put in a password before it'll proceed forward.With frustration I slam the screen back down and stare over at Grace. She is growing uneasy. I have unrattled something inside her; I have started her downfall and I can do nothing but watch her shatter as she tries to put everything back together, but I smile. I know her; I know she will fix this because, unlike her, I know her ending.

I pack my laptop back in my bag and get up from the table, I can see that Grace has finally shattered all she is going to. She gives me a brief smile before poofing into golden dust and floating out the opened door to the coffee shop as a customer came in. I wasn't sad to see her go; I'll be seeing her soon in my story. I'll fix everything because her strength will manifest into something greater. I leave the shop and see the rain finally stop and the sun try to break through the clouds. I push back my bangs and walk down the sidewalk, thinking of only Grace.


Congratulations Michelle & Lacey! Wonderful answers!

Aurelia's Song

Countdown to Exile--6 days!


“Hi, Aurelia,” I say, piling my current edited draft of my upcoming fourth book, Salvation, on top of last weekend’s edited draft.

“My book is coming out. My book is coming out. My book is coming out,” she sings, dancing around the room to The Music Box Dancer.

“Yes,” I sigh.

“Something wrong?” she pauses, her skirt swishing around her, an expression on her face which says that clearly nothing is allowed to go wrong when her book is coming out.

“Just thinking about final rehearsals all week for The Taming of the Shrew,” I say. Final rehearsals are always my most stressful week of the year.

“They’ll go fine,” she says.

As I said, nothing can go wrong in her opinion right now.

“The Oregon Book Awards are next Monday night!” she adds. And starts spinning again. “Aerin and Dane are all excited about going.”

“Yes.” I manage a weak smile, thinking about the eight hours I’m going to spend in the car between school on Monday and school on Tuesday in order to attend the Monday night awards ceremony.

“And the Portland Writing Festival is coming up in early May!” She spins faster.

I need to prepare a forty minute speech for the festival and find a way to feed thirteen children at least three meals for two days. “Yes.” My voice gets weaker.

“And you’re presenting at Highland Hills Elementary in between!”

“I believe so.”

“And then there’s--”

“OK!” I shout.

She stops and stares at me.

But I keep going. “And I have a newsletter to type and interviews to complete and Goodreads messages to answer and bills to pay and a car headlight to fix and event updates to send to my editor and web designer. And followers to track down—since the pictures of all 117 of them have apparently disappeared from my blog. And--”

“Is Salva giving you a hard time?” She eyes the manuscript I’ve just set down.

He doesn’t want to go on a date, but I’m hopeful that he, Beth, and I can work our way around this before June.

“I’m just . . . a little overwhelmed,” I admit.

She shakes her head, then smiles and I know exactly what words are going to come out of her mouth. “My book is coming out,” she whispers.

A Dizzying Conversation

Exile Countdown--12 days!

For details on my Exile Giveaway, see my March 26th blog post.

“It’s almost here!” Aurelia bounds into the room spinning.

I pause, my spoon midway to its bowl of Cocoa Puffs. “What is?”

This is just me, pushing her buttons because I know perfectly well what she’s excited about.

She stops spinning, looking appalled. “The release date for Exile.”

“Is it?” I laugh.

And she returns to her spinning. Apparently this is one of those things that cannot be spoiled by an obtuse author. “I’ve been waiting forever!” she declares.

“I know,” I say, setting aside the bowl of Cocoa Puffs. “I’ve been waiting just as long.”

“Yes, but you didn’t have to trek through a forest or climb the Gate, or cross a desert.”

Her spins become a little less steady, and I hope she doesn’t crash into a potted plant.

“I certainly did,” I argue. “How do you think we made it to the far reaches of your kingdom?”

She stops spinning and shrugs. “Robert.” Which I suppose is fair. He was the expedition guide, and I did make him do most of the planning.

“Really,” I say, “I think we’ve all earned a reading vacation.”

She collapses onto a purple bean bag. “Where?” Her eyebrows rise in a challenge.

Read the rest of "A Dizzying Conversation" and a new Exile review on Melina's blog, A Reading Vacation!

And another Exile review at Yearning to Read!

Exile--Cool Stuff!

Exile Countdown: 24 Days!

Check out Yearning to Read's and Melina’s new Exile reviews from Yearning to Read and Reading Vacation!

And see my March 26th blogpost to participate in the giveaway!


Aurelia: Three exclamation marks in a row?

Me: Too much?

Aurelia: A bit.

Aurelia: Why are we updating your review list here instead of on the Mar. 26th blogpost?

Me: Because of the scary “html error” message that won’t let us edit that page.

Aurelia: Oh yes.

Exile Reviews: Check out the following sites for reviews of Robert & Aurelia’s second story. (To be updated repeatedly)

A Reading Vacation: http://readingvacation.blogspot.com/2011/04/exile-book-review.html

Yearning to Read: http://yearningtoread.blogspot.com/2011/04/exile-by-anne-osterlund.html

The Book Nut: http://www.thebooknut.com/2011/04/exile.html

The Authoress: http://theauthoress-amelia.blogspot.com/2011/03/arc-exile-by-anne-osterlund.html

YA Book Nerd http://yabooknerd.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-exile.html

Exile Guest Posts & Interviews: Check out the following sites for witty guest blogs & interviews by yours truly—and sometimes Aurelia. (To be updated repeatedly)

A Reading Vacation: http://readingvacation.blogspot.com/2011/04/guest-post-dizzying-conversation-by.html

YA Book Nerd http://yabooknerd.blogspot.com/2011/03/chatting-with-anne-osterlund.html