Ocean in a Saucer

Valentine's Day Book Giveaway!!!

2012-02-12T21:35:00.002-07:00

Hello, dear readers!

In celebration of the release of The Jade Notebook on *Valentine's Day* (Tuesday, Feb 14th), I'm doing a book giveaway! You'll have a chance to win a personalized, autographed copy of one of these three books...

All you have to do is make one comment on this blog post with 1) your name and 2) your dream destination (where you'd fly/sail/drive/bike/hike off to if money/time/work/school were no object). (One comment per person, por favorcito. :-)

You can comment from today (Sunday, Feb 12) through Sunday, Feb 19 at midnight (Colorado time).

On Monday, Feb 20, I'll randomly select *three winners* from the U.S., who will each get a signed paperback copy of either The Indigo Notebook or The Ruby Notebook, or a hardcover of The Jade Notebook.

I'll also select an international winner, who will get some signed bookmarks and a valentine handmade by me and my Lil Dude. (Be warned that my own valentine-making skills are at the level of my 5-year-old's, so remember it's the thought that counts here...)

Be sure to check my blog on Monday, Feb 20 to see if you won! If you end up a winner, please email me your mailing address with the subject heading: NOTEBOOKS CONTEST WINNER.

Tell your friends! Good luck! Comment away...

xoxoxoxo,
Laura

P.S. Oh, and if you haven't already, try to swing by Melissa Walker's Cover Stories Blog this week-- I did a guest post on the evolution of the cover look for the Notebooks series. Enjoy!

Take me away...

2012-01-27T10:10:00.001-07:00

It is officially here.... my uncontrollable mid-winter longing for sparkling blue water and sultry tropical air and all manner of jungle creatures-- I wouldn't even mind the skeeters at this point. But there's none of this for me this year, as we're at the tail end of a house renovation (we've been in rental homes for 8 months now!)...which means we have a distinct lack of time, money, and energy with which to plan a Mexico beach trip. And just to rub it in, two of my closest friends (you know who you are) just went to a beautiful tiny coastal town in Mexico only accessible by boat. Argh! (Okay, I'm *mostly* happy for them...)

Playa Mazunte

Whenever I feel jealousy creeping in, I try to transform it to inspiration. So, this is inspiration for me to make sure that *next year* we take a delicious beach trip. In the meantime, I've been looking longingly at these pics from my last trip to Mazunte, where I did research for The Jade Notebook (which comes out on Valentine's Day!!)

Here are bits of reviews that have been coming in... this first one's from Kirkus:

"Inthis third in a series of novels focusing on Zeeta and her wanderlust-strickenmother, readers are immersed in the details of a lovingly described coastal town in Mexico and an action-filled mystery surrounding the poachingof ancient sea turtles that make their home there... a graceful conclusion to Zeeta’s story."

This part of the review made me smile.:

"... Resau’sskill in evoking an almost visceralexperience of setting firmly anchors the story...."

I really love writing setting details... this is something I practice, scribbling observations in my spiral-bound notebooks. I try to use all or most of my senses in every scene. And this setting of beach-meeting-jungled hills is such an intense sensory experience in real life-- the thick, humid air, the constant hum of insects and bird calls, the rush of ocean, pounding of water against rocks, taste of salt everywhere- on your skin and hair and damp clothes... it was fun to try to capture that on paper.

On the porch of my cabana. Perfect writing spot.

The first official blogger review came in this past week, too... Marjolein, a YA book reviewer, calls it "an amazing conclusion" to the series in her 5 star review. (Thanks Marjolein!!)

And a lovely librarian review from TATAL Online:

"This book transcends travel or mystery to instead be a book about growing up, learning to trust and let go, and finding belonging within a family and a community. A fitting end to this unique trilogy."

I love the landscape of Mazunte.... little beach coves you can hike to, where you feel completely alone.

Some of the action in the book takes place here, on Punta Cometa (Comet Point.) See how it's shaped like a comet, the tail trailing into the ocean?

Here's what "downtown" Mazunte looks like... I think this is the only paved road.

And here's the dirt road leading to the cabanas where I stay:

Some of the most exciting scenes in the book take place on the rocky crags around Punta Cometa... It's such a dramatic setting-- seawater churning and beating against the cliffs... just begging for a story climax to happen here (hint hint...)

From these pics you can't really tell, but this chaos of water is several stories below--it's dizzying and scary to be near the edge...

The water is crashing, booming here...

A giant cactus on Punta Cometa, referred to in the story...

Sunsets viewed from Punta Cometa are stunning... I spent an evening perched there with my notebook, recording my sensations minute by minute as the sun sunk.

If you look closely, you can see the silhouette of a sweet couple watching the sunset together.

Okay, enough beach-longing...time for me to get to work on some other things-- like preparing the presentations I'll be doing at the CCIRA conference next week. But before I leave you, I'll mention some good news with The Queen of Water... it was selected as a title on the 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults, announced a few days ago by the ALA (American Library Association). I also found out it was selected as a Recommended Title by the ALA-affiliated Amelia Bloomer Project, which focuses on feminist literature for young people. Maria Virginia and I are happy and grateful for these honors!

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura P.S. If you want to see more of my Mazunte pics, visit this older blog post.

Boulder Event for Literacy in Rural Guatemala

2012-01-16T09:59:00.003-07:00

Hey everyone!

I'm so excited about the Story-a-Thon event I'm participating in at the Boulder Bookstore this Saturday. It's a benefit for Reading Village, a non-profit that fosters leadership, educational opportunities, and literacy in rural Guatemala. All day, local authors and educators and other folks will be at the store reading our favorite picture books aloud (some in English, some in Spanish). There will also be a bookmark station where kids can make bookmarks for themselves and for kids in Guatemalan villages. It'll be a fun, fun day!

The past two years, I've donated 5% of my royalties to another organization that focused on scholarships and leadership in the Guatemalan Village of Xucaneb. I'm happy to say that they've met their goal of creating a self-sustaining program with local leadership. This year I'm looking forward to donating to Reading Village... these kinds of programs are so important. (Rural Guatemala has a 50% illiteracy rate.)

Reading Village's belief statement reminds me of Maria Virginia's speech near the end of The Queen of Water (on pgs 318-319), where she talks about how she spent her early childhood without a single book in her house, and how when she did learn to read (as a teen), it opened a world of possibilities for her. Both then and now, she feels strongly that literacy and access to books are keys to getting out of poverty and creating a fulfilling life for oneself.

Here's the statement from Reading Village:

"Every child should be able to grow up free to express their fullest self, give what they have to contribute to their families, their communities, their countries and the world.
     Access to books, the ability to read, and to think critically and imaginatively are fundamental to the full development of individuals and society.
     Poverty is a human construct and not a natural condition. It can be eliminated. The world is as we shape it."

As Maria Virginia has experienced, reading books gives people the power to shape their own worlds.

I'm hoping that on our next trip to Guatemala with Lil Dude (who we adopted from Guatemala four years ago), we can visit the communities where Reading Village works.

Speaking of Lil Dude, he wants me to play castle with him now, so, without further ado... here's the info for the Story-a-Thon Reading Village Benefit event-- if you're in the Boulder area, I'd *love* to see you there!

Saturday, Jan 21, 2012, Boulder Bookstore in downtown Boulder, CO. I'll be reading picture books in English and Spanish from 1:30-2:00. They're not my own books, but there will be copies of my books on hand that I can autograph for you. I'll plan on hanging out there before and after my session (from 1 pm-2:30) to chat with you about books, writing, and life! You can find details on the event here.

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura

( * photos from the Reading Village and Boulder Bookstore websites)

A Diggety-Dazzling New Year!

2012-01-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Hope you're excited about the new year... I am! In just two months, we'll be moving back into our newly-renovated house. We've been in rental homes over the past six months. Here's a to-scale model of what our house will look like once it's done:

Well, not really, but wouldn't that be fun?

Lil Dude has given lots of input on our house design this past year. He wanted it to be made of candy and have 20 swimming pools. Lately, he's been talking about how he wants a fire pole, fire bell, and roomy fire engine parking.... He is indeed firefighting-obsessed.

When we made this gingerbread house together, he said that all those gumdrops were smoke detectors, and that candycane on the side was a hose.

May your own home be filled with happiness and love and lots of delicious books this year...

xo,
Laura

Whew... the trilogy is complete!

2011-12-17T11:08:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,

Last week, I discovered this in a little padded envelope at my doorstep: an advanced review copy of The Jade Notebook!

And then the brand new paperback version of The Ruby Notebook arrived! It made me happy to arrange the trilogy in a row, sit back, and say whew... because man oh man, is a trilogy a lot of work.

There were fun moments, of course... like research trips to Ecuador, France, and coastal Mexico. But the hard part for me (next to the tight deadlines) was putting another story on hold while I finished the Notebooks series. I signed the contract for the series in 2007 (or maybe 2008?) Anyway, it was 4 or 5 years ago. And after writing Indigo (while revising Queen and Star and drafting Ruby and Jade and becoming a new mom), I started developing a story idea that I LOVED...

... but I didn't have time to write it! So I stole moments here and there to scribble a bit about the story in my notebooks, and I couldn't wait to really dive into it... Then finally, this year, I've been able to fly with it... I'm going to be mysterious (sorry!) because my creative process works best if I spend my energy *writing* the story rather than blabbing about it... but suffice to say, I'm really, really excited!

On a different note... Lil Dude and I just did a holiday craft project together. The key to engaging him in an art project is to 1) make it last no longer than three minutes and 2) involve violence of some sort. So, I decided to skewer oranges with him (which, predictably, transformed into a sword-fighting scenario). We then stuck cloves into the gouged-out holes, and ta-dah, we have fragrant little orange orbs trying to forget their traumatic past.

Love and happy winter wishes to you and yours!

xo,
Laura

Personalized Books for Holiday Gifts...

2011-12-11T17:35:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!

A few days ago, I walked around to my favorite indie bookshops in Old Town, Ft Collins, and signed their stock... so if you want to give an autographed copy of one of my books as a gift, and you live in this area, you can go to Old Firehouse Books, Matter Bookstore, or The Clothes Pony.

If you live out of my area, you can still get signed copies sent to you (or to your giftee)! Just go to the Old Firehouse Books website here (this links to The Queen of Water, but if you're looking for another one of my books, just scroll down on that page and write the title in the "search" field on the right sidebar.) I'll come into the store within the next few days and personalize the book to whomever you'd like! During checkout, in the "comments" section, note that you'd like an autographed copy, and the name you'd like me to sign it to. The only catch is that if you need these to arrive before Christmas, you need to order them by *Dec 15*!

If you are in Ft Collins, check out this great article (by Kerrie Flanagan, new literary arts columnist for the Coloradoan!) with recommendations for books by local authors-- it's a handy list for holiday shopping...

A brief update on the current craziness in my life, in case you're curious: We're in the midst of a GIANT house renovation, and, since it's taking longer than we'd initially thought, we have to move out of one rental home and into another this week. Not fun, not fun at all. (Our house will be ready in March.) Lil Dude calls our new apartment a "hotel"... and it will be a bit like a hotel since there's only one bedroom in it (but alas, no room service or indoor pool). Wish us luck!

Hope you're enjoying winter-- hopefully yours is more peaceful than mine. Time for me to have chamomile tea and sleep... Lil Dude will awaken me well before dawn, as usual. Sigh. Yawn. G'night...

xo,
Laura

Lil Dude's Literary Debut

2011-12-08T08:25:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!

A few days ago was my 4-and-a-half-year-old Lil Dude's "Gotcha Day" -- the anniversary of the day he came home with us from Guatemala. He's been with us four crazy-wonderful years! In honor of his Gotch (his nickname for the big day), I thought I'd share with you his first literary efforts. Like his mommy, he just finished a trilogy. Unlike his mommy, he took not one year, but a single day to complete each masterpiece. Last week, I found one of these waiting for me each day in his cubby at preschool.

POO.... the raw, graphic, edgy new trilogy by Lil Dude!

As you may have guessed, we're living in the midst of potty humor stage. And I must admit, I'm guilty here... You see, Lil Dude is a wildly exuberant child who has a pretty limited attention span for sitting quietly and practicing letters (which is fine.) But then one day... a miracle: he was sitting quietly and asking me how to spell words! The words were "poo" and other potty words that fascinate 4-year-olds, but I didn't care. I was so delighted he was sitting quietly and writing my dictations that I just went with it... I was willing to embrace the idea that potty humor might be his path to literacy. But it occurred to me too late that he might take his new poo-writing skills and run with them...

And voila... here you have it, the Poo Trilogy.

Have a happy day!

xo,

Laura

I love my writers' group!

2011-12-01T19:11:00.001-07:00

Me, Laura Pritchett, Karye Catrell (aka Cricket McCrae), Dana Masden

Hey all,

The night before last, my beloved Old Town Writers' Group did our annual event-- this year the theme was "Feast of Fools." Our idea was to read stories and essays that turned the good cheer of the holidays on its head... or something like that. After hearing everyone's readings at the event (and reading my own), I realize it would've been more accurate to call it something like "Death, Destruction, and the Holidays".... Or "Murder, Mayhem, and the Holidays." But then, we might've scared people from coming... ;)

Sarah Paige Ryan, Carrie Visintainer, and Dana Masden

Sarah's husband, Travis dressed up as the "Bad Santa emcee" and did roasting-style intros... (er, don't ask about the bottle he's holding...)

If you're wondering why the photos are blurry, it's 1) because of the current extremely messy state of my house which prevented me from locating my easy-to-operate camera in the mad dash to get out of the house on time (the priority was helping Lil Dude locate every one of his policeman costume accessories for the outing...) and 2) because I'm the opposite of mechanically-minded-- already Lil Dude (age 4) has surpassed my abilities in this realm...

Thanks for reading! Happy weekend!

xo,
Laura P.S. *And nice news-- THE QUEEN OF WATER is a School Library Journal Best Book of 2011! Thank you, SLJ!!!*

Gratitude, mothering, and writing

2011-11-19T17:49:00.001-07:00

Natasha Wing (fabulous picture book author), Sarah Scobey (great librarian), Laura Pritchett (talented novelist and writing group buddy) and me at the reception for Geraldine Brooks

Hi guys,

Hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving! We did-- we had a giant potluck dinner with old and new friends, complete with a bonfire that captivated Lil Dude.

One of the many things I'm thankful for is my amazing book-loving community of Fort Collins. A couple weeks ago, Geraldine Brooks came to town as part of Fort Collins Reads-- this year we read her Pulitzer Prize winning book March.

Geraldine Brooks (and by the way, thank you Natasha for sending me these pics!)

She was one of the most charming, smartest, wittiest speakers I've heard... although I must admit, I'm easily enchanted by accents and she had an endearing Australian one (though she now lives in Martha's Vineyard.)

Geraldine's rapt audience at the reception

It's always inspiring for me to hear other authors talk.... and I always learn something. Nowadays I'm often on the lookout for good advice about how to handle being an author and the mother of a young, wildly exuberant child.

Geraldine said she has a Pavlovian-dog response to the sound of the school bus whisking her children off to school. She makes a bee-line to her office and starts typing (or "listening to dead people" as she put it.) When the school bus drops her kids back at home, she stops her workday and focuses completely on them.

At a reading in Boulder last month, Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke and Bone) told us one of her secrets of focus and productivity in the midst of little-kid-chaos: the "Freedom" app, which is now PC as well as Mac compatible! It costs ten bucks to download, and it is so worth it. (I downloaded it that very night after I heard Laini speak). You just type in how many minutes you want to be disconnected from wireless Internet, and *Freedom* keeps you offline for that time period. Bliss! No distractions... I love it. I've been SO much more productive the past six weeks. (Thanks, Laini!)

I think both Laini's and Geraldine's advice comes down to finding a way to be focused and present on the creative project at hand-- either your child(ren) or your book-in-progress or whatever else it may be. Good to remember!

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura

The Magic Stick

2011-11-17T08:46:00.001-07:00

Awesome teacher Ms. Nielsen-Drake and me with the Magic Stick! Note her gorgeous shawl from Chiapas, Mexico-- where part of my next book is set!

Hey guys!

I just got back from a fun visit to Steele Elementary in Colorado Springs... the fourth-graders read Star in the Forest and the fifth graders read What the Moon Saw. I absolutely LOVED hearing about all the connections the kids made with the books-- their interpretations and insights-- and most of all, how they took the idea of the Magic Stick (in Star in the Forest) and ran with it! (For those of you who haven't read the book, the Magic Stick is a kind of metaphor for kindness, courage, and strength in the face of upsetting situations.)

Here's Ms. Nielsen-Drake's explanation of how the stick has become a vibrant part of her classroom! (I changed the kids' names to first initials):

L wrote that hethought he needed a "magic stick" like Zitlally's. And then wrote,"Just kidding." I wrote back with, "Done!" And put abeautiful stick on his desk that looks like a bird's head. The stick has endedup with a life of its own in my class. Every time someone is feeling sad or inneed of some comfort, he/she either asks L for it, or someone else thinkshe/she needs it, and it ends up on that child's desk the next day. E'sgrandpa died. Someone put the stick on her desk. Today it was W's rat dyingbecause his little brother dropped him, and so Will had the stick all day. Itis SOOOOO sweet, the life that this stick has taken on! The other cool thing isthat kids notice when someone, other than the "keeper-of-the-stick"L, has the stick and become very considerate and kind of that person. Isn'tthat amazing?

Me again: How cool is that?! I can't tell you how much I LOVE this! Thank you, L, for starting this tradition, and becoming the keeper of the magic stick. And thank you to Ms. Nielsen-Drake and her amazing students for their kindness and creativity! This is the stuff a writer's dreams are made of!

Manitou Springs

My whole trip was a treat! I stayed in the Avenue Bed and Breakfast in Manitou Springs (giant thanks to the awesome owners, Randy and Gwen, and Natalie of Black Cat Books, and the Manitou Springs Library friends and Author Fest organizers).

Avenue B n B

Thanks to everyone involved for a refreshing and energizing author visit!

xo,
Laura

PS -- Some nice news-- The Queen of Water has been selected for School Library Journal's Best Books of 2011 list! Yippee! It's also on the TAYSHAS list, which is an important reading list for students in Texas! Thank you, SLJ and TEXAS!!

You Can Never Be President (my adoption rant...)

2011-11-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

I thought that in honor of National Adoption Month, and on account of the one-year-before-the-next-presidential-election mark, I'd post this little editorial I wrote (with the intention of sending a version of it to the paper, and I still might). Okay, let me just jump on my soapbox here...

"You Can Never Be President"

When my four-year-old gives me the daily update on what hewants to be when he grows up, it usually alternates between police office,tornado fighter, and spaceman. Myresponse: You'd make an awesome(fill-in-the-profession)!

I'm dreading the day he says president. He was adoptedfrom Guatemala at nine months, which means, as we all know from the Obama birthcertificate hullabaloo, he can never be president. I hate thethought of telling my child that although his American-born classmates can bepresident one day, he can't.

My latest book, TheQueen of Water, tells of my co-author's, Maria Virginia Farinango's,childhood growing up indigenous in the Ecuadorian Andes. She was told that Indians were meant to beservants, not students. She was told toaim for nothing higher than menial labor, that a professional career was out ofthe question. She struggled againstthese societal messages for years, and finally, as a teenager, began to provethem wrong. She taught herself toread. She worked to pay her way throughschool. She began her own business. And the ultimate triumph-- she co-authored a book about her life.

When American teens and adults read her story of injustice,they are outraged. How can you tell achild (especially a smart, plucky little girl like Maria Virginia) that shecan't shoot for her dreams? How can youtell her that certain professions are off limits to her simply because of her heritage?

But we do it here in the United States. I'm going to have to deliver the same messageto my son someday when presidentreplaces spaceman or tornado fighter.

I'd been hoping that during the ridiculous debate aboutObama's birthplace, someone would say, waita minute, why does it matter where the guy happened to emerge from a womb? And wait another minute, given the socialchanges in America over the past few centuries, why does this antiquated requirementstill exist anyway!?

Thousands of infants and children are adoptedinternationally each year. On arrival,they are American citizens. In mostcases they have American parents and they've lived in America most of theirconscious lives. (And although I'mfocusing on adopted children here, the same argument could apply to immigrantchildren.) Why should we have to tellthese children they can never be president?

The majority of Americans have a personal connection to anadopted child. We understand thatfamilies and friends consider our internationally adopted kids equal to theirAmerican-born peers. Let's make surethat we never have to tell these children that they can't shoot for theirdreams— whether they aim for police officer, spaceman… or president.

To learn more aboutthis issue, visit http://www.equalityforadoptedchildren.org .

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Laura

The Jade Notebook page proofs...

2011-11-02T21:24:00.000-06:00

Page proofs for JADE-- all 374 pages (with The Little Mermaid for scale...)

Hey all,

Thought I'd do a quick post to tell you that the review copies of The Jade Notebook will be out in a few weeks-- can't wait! In the meantime, I'm going over page proofs. This stage is so much fun-- the book finally feels like a real thing, with the final layout and font and inside design and everything.

As I've been going over it, I'm realizing how happy I am it has a mid-February release date. That's precisely the time of year when I get really, really, really sick of winter... and I start craving beaches and tropical waters with every freezing-cold cell of my body. I think it'll be the perfect time-- the miserable almost-end of winter-- to be transported to a little Mexican coastal town.

Here's the epithet (is that what it's called and how you spell it? i think so...) It has to do with one of the themes of the book-- learning to embrace the delicious mess of life. That's something I've often struggled with. Right now, especially, I'm in the midst of lots of chaos-- living in a rental house while our house is being majorly renovated... my stuff mostly in boxes in storage, not knowing where anything is...now just waiting for that dancing star to be born...

You'll have to tilt your head to see the first page of the first chapter (click the image to make it bigger.) Or, you could go to The Jade Notebook page that I recently added to my website for an excerpt. (And it's available for pre-order now for e-reader and hardcover: indiebound or amazon or Barnes and Noble.)

So, I just got back from an author panel with Amy Kathleen Ryan (author of Glow). Fascinating to hear about her journey, process, routines... and it came out that we both have backgrounds in anthropology. Here we are at the Northern Colorado Writers studio...

Okay, must drink tea and go to bed now...

Goodnight!
Laura

Using my Anthropology Background in Writing Queen

2011-10-23T16:19:00.001-06:00

Maria Virginia's parents, 2005

Hi guys,

One question I'm often asked is how my anthropology background informs my writing. I talked a bit about this a year or so ago in an interview with the wonderful blogger Charlotte. (You can read the interview here.)

outside of Maria's parents' house

I thought it might be interesting to talk more about my anthropology background in terms of Maria's and my process of creating The Queen of Water-- the book in which I most consciously used my anthropological training. In the initial stages, I approached this project the way I did my Master's thesis-- listening to Maria recount the story of her life (tape-recorded), asking her lots of questions along the way, and looking at her story (including the language she used) through an anthropological lens-- searching for layers of meaning-- emotional, social, cultural, etc. (And of course, I also spent time in Maria's native village with her family and read academic books on socio-cultural issues in the Andes.) The difference with Queen is that I could take it a step farther than my Master's thesis because Maria was an active participant throughout the entire process. We went over every scene many times and explored these layers of meaning. Maria is so intelligent, self-aware, and perceptive that we were able to have fascinating on-going discussions about her experiences in terms of class, gender, and ethnicity.

Maria's parents' house (used to be clay, now cement block)

Here's an example: She often described people in terms of their weight and skin color-- features that we talked about extensively; together, we broke down the emotional, social, economic, and cultural meanings of her descriptions. In the impoverished indigenous community where she was born in the 1970's, it was considered beautiful to be plump, which isn't surprising considering the food scarcity. (Her village was one of the poorest in all of Ecuador.) When young Maria refers to her older sister (who left at a young age to be a maid) as plump, this is considered a good thing because it means she has more than enough food. In contrast, during Maria's early childhood, she was thin because of malnourishment and poverty. Young Maria also describes her sister as being fair-skinned, which again, she considers a good thing, as it indicates that her sister is now part of a higher social class that doesn't have to work in the fields to earn a living.

Maria's parents' cow

Young Maria notes, with the fascination of a little girl, that the Doctorita (a mestiza) has more body fat than the women in her village. This sets the Doctorita apart as having money and belonging to a higher social class. But after Maria has lived with the Doctorita and started to internalize middle-class mestizo values of beauty (as seen on TV, in the exercise book, and expressed by people in town) she becomes critical of the Doctorita's weight. She sees it as a weakness, as undesirable. As a teen, Maria's bout with anorexia is tied up with these class-related notions of weight and skin color. She wants to become thin and pale, since that's what she perceives as culturally desirable in her new social milieu.

Maria's parents' house

I think that as an anthropologist and a writer, it's essential not to impose your own cultural assumptions on other societies. And it's essential to understand that within each unique society you're dealing with, there are complex, multi-faceted, and layered meanings behind descriptions of characteristics like weight and skin color. I was glad to have developed this perspective in my anthropology coursework and research-- I think it helped me to not take any elements of Maria's story at face value, but thoroughly explore these cultural meanings together with her... which is one reason the book took six years to write. ;)

view from Maria Virginia's parents' yard

I have lots more about the process of writing Queen on my website... You can read an interview with Maria and learn which elements of her story were slightly fictionalized here.

Okay, Lil Dude keeps bursting in the room to ask if I'm ready to go to the river.... must go now! Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura

walking down memory lane....

2011-10-17T21:34:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone!

I'm wrapping up my Maryland trip now-- I did a visit to my old stomping grounds, Dunloggin Middle School. It's so interesting to walk through the same halls I walked as an awkward 6th grader (yes, I was a very awkward 6th grader-- at that point, my mom still ordered my clothes from the Sears catalog-- she'd get me an array of the same style of shirt in various pastel colors, with mix-n-matched coolots (spelling?) in the same array of pastels. I did get a little less dorky in seventh grade, and even less in 8th (at least, I thought I did-- who knows, really).

Here I am with reading teacher Dylana (oops-- I'm probably supposed to refer to her as Ms. ____, but I'm blanking on her last name.) Very cool lady-- it's so fun to talk with teachers between presentations. I wish I could post pics of kids, but different schools have different rules about it, so I didn't take pics this time.

Here I am with other great Dunloggin teachers... they're obviously all way too young to have taught me. The last of my teachers retired last year, I think... *sniff sniff*...

I'm doing some author events at Mount Saint Mary's College in Maryland now... and this lovely librarian, Becky (I think that's her name-- my apologies if I got it wrong!)-- she gave me a beautiful image of the Virgin Mary for the little altar in my writing trailer. Isn't that incredibly thoughtful and sweet?! Thank you, Becky, for coming and for the delightful gift! I LOVE it!

Here I am signing books after the event ... with such great teachers and students! Earlier, we had a yummy dinner of crabcakes, which I can never get enough of on my trips to Maryland.) And my wonderful Aunt Liz came for the dinner and event. (She always gave me books as gifts when I was young-- she was very supportive of my writing aspirations early on!)

About a half hour before my ride came for the presentation, I was in the hotel room, planning to somehow make my hair look less poofy, put on a bit of makeup, go over my slides, and relax a bit, when the toilet overflowed (no fault of my own, I swear! In fact, it overflowed on a test flush-- the water level was weirdly low, and I had an inkling something wasn't right, so I did a test flush... and water started gushing out FAST-- within seconds the bathroom floor was completely underwater! I ran for help (okay, in retrospect I realize I should've raced to the valve and turned it off, but I was wearing socks and that seemed icky.) Luckily, my stuff survived and the carpet didn't get wet, but it was a bit of a frenzy getting my stuff out of that bathroom and room and into a different one before my ride came... needless to say, there was no relaxation, presentation-going-over, etc...

It's interesting-- the craziness reminded me a presentation I did at the library a few years ago on the Day of the Dead celebration. Right before I was supposed to start the presentation, I had to give the Heimlich Maneuver to a woman choking on a piece of pan de muertos. The bread piece came out, she resumed breathing, and then, just a minute later, I started my presentation. Plenty of adrenalin was racing through me, but it was the good kind, the life-saving kind. My heart was pounding in a good way-- I felt elated that this woman (who I didn't know) was alive! And I didn't feel at all nervous about the presentation because a life-or-death experience puts any remnants of speech anxiety into perspective, you know?

Okay, I think I'm rambling now... it's late and I'm going to sign off and maybe stream a sit com before bed. Thanks for reading!

xo,

Laura

Where I've been hiding....

2011-10-09T12:32:00.001-06:00

Hey yall!

Busy-ness has kept me away from this blog... my apologies! Here's what I've been up to:

Hangin with friends! Here are Amy Kathleen Ryan and Lauren Myracle -- we're celebrating Amy's new release-- GLOW! This is an incredibly exciting futuristic novel -- if you haven't read it yet, you should-- but be aware it'll keep you up way too late at night...

Here's Victoria Hanley, brilliant fantasy author and woman of many talents, giving Amy (who's a new mom) a much needed massage. (And then she gave me one! Heaven!)

Todd Mitchell (author of The Secret to Lying, one of my all-time fave books), pouring the champagne...

So much fun...

So, other stuff I've been up to... doing presentations and book club talks with Maria Virginia for The Queen of Water! She's been in town for about 6 weeks , so we've been squeezing in lots of events before she goes back to Ecuador. It's been amazing and heart-warming for her to talk with so many people who've read her story-- it's meant a lot to her (and to me)-- we both thank everyone who came to our events this fall!

Here we are at Front Range Community College, where we first met when I was an ESL teacher and she was a student! (That's ESL teacher buddy Sarita above.) Maria wanted to be sure to get the American flag in the pic-- she loves the USA-- it's nice to see my country through her eyes.

I've also been conferencing! I did a lunchtime keynote for CLAS (Colo Lang Arts Society) in Golden. Here I am with a teacher from Centennial Middle-- her school is reading Red Glass as a One School Reads book... I"ll be visiting them in the spring-- exciting!

I lived in Golden for a summer when I was about 20-- I worked at a restaurant downtown which required that I dress like a cowgirl. I remember reading lots of mythology collections from all over the world that summer, and writing lots of short, fantastical stories. I loved hanging out in a little park by a dragon sculpture, writing in my notebook. This trip brought back good memories of my summer there... here's the view from my hotel patio... so pretty:

Writing news: I've finished up copy edits for The Jade Notebook (Feb 2012 release), and am now waiting for page proofs. I'm getting ready to do an author visit to my old middle school in Maryland, then a visit at Mt. St. Mary's College, then my 20th high school reunion... should be interesting!

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura

Guatemalan Queens

2011-09-19T12:45:00.001-06:00

Hi guys,

My friend Leslie drew my attention to these artsy photo portraits of Guatemalan indigenous reinas. They were selected as queens in what appears to be an event similar to the Ecuadorian Queen competition that Maria Virginia (my co-author of The Queen of Water) participated in.

Most of the Guatemalan queens are Mayan, and like Maria's Queen competition, these events emphasize cultural connections. For example, the young women have to give a speech in their native indigenous language.

The photos are contemporary, although they look old-fashioned because they were taken with this kind of camera... I think they look beautiful, but it's too bad that the vivid colors aren't captured in the photos. You can see the full article and photo essay on the Guardian website here.

Here's a black and white photo of Maria taken by a French magazine photographer after she won a Queen competition as a teen... definitely a bit sassy with the off-the-shoulder look!

I'm so glad these Queen events occur in other parts of Latin America... it was an important way for Maria to reconnect with and value her own roots, and I hope it does the same for other young women.

Fort Collins and Loveland friends: Hope you can join Maria and me and one of our events coming up--

Sept 20

Tues, Loveland Public Library. Presentation and Discussion with Laura Resau and Maria Virginia Farinango (!) 6:30-8:00. Everyone welcome.

Oct 6

Thursday, 12:00-1:30 The Queen of Water Presentation/Discussion with my co-author, Maria Virginia Farinango, and me. West Conference Room, Longs Peak Student Center, Front Range Community College, Larimer Campus (Harmony and Shields), Fort Collins. Free and open to the public! (Arrive early—the parking lot is huge and crowded!)

If you're a teacher or librarian who's coming to this CLAS conference, please come say hi to me!!

Sept 23-24

Fri and Sat, CLAS (Colorado Language Arts Society) Conference, Luncheon Keynote and Breakout Session. Golden, CO. Registration required.

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Laura

Queen Party with Maria Virginia!

2011-09-09T09:58:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

Maria and I had so much fun last night at the party... thanks to all of you who came or sent good wishes! Maria was radiant as always, in a lovely new blouse and anaco with lovely embroidery...

The party was at an awesome coffee shop, Everyday Joe's, in downtown Ft Collins. Our friend Maria Luisa played gorgeous music... she studied Andean flute music with Maria's amazing musician husband, Tino, and other musicians in and around his Quichua community in Ecuador.

The little kid crowd had fun playing their own music and dancing and running around on and off-stage... (Yes, that's an image of MacGyver in the background, hehehe.... we had a slide show running with photos of Maria's life, some of which you can see here and link to from here ...)

It was such a great feeling to have so many friends come out to celebrate.... here's my good friend Laura Pritchett-- writing group buddy, and incredibly talented author (of Hell's Bottom, Colorado; Sky Bridge, and other books). She was a big help in figuring out how to shape Maria's story.

Such a warm atmosphere with our friends...

We had a contest/drawing, and my dear friend Flora (who volunteered in my ESL classes back when I was still teaching) won *twice*... she's super sweet-- we all discovered that she's had crushes on Rambo and John Travolta. (The entries had to include your name and your first TV character crush (inspired by Maria's crush on MacGyver)....more about all that in another post!)

Choosing lucky winners from the basket...

Julio (originally from Jalisco, Mexico!) won a copy of Red Glass... he had some really poignant reasons for his first crush on Matilda (a character from a movie I haven't seen but sounds good.)

Here's my good friend Todd Mitchell, author of The Secret to Lying, one of my all-time favorite YA novels. And he's got some dazzling YA fantasy manuscripts up his sleeve, too... hopefully soon to be shared with the world.

Beautiful writer/reader girls came-- here I am with Kelly and Lydia!

It's been fun catching up with Maria-- she just came to town from Ecuador a few days ago. She showed me a bunch of great recent pics of her family, which I'll share with you in another blog post. I'll also share more pics of the party then... I realized Ian didn't take many of Maria (he had his hands full with Lil Dude, who gets super-excited at these events and tends to bounce off the walls as the evening progresses.) I know some other people got more pics of Maria, so you'll see them soon...

(If you missed last night, don't despair.... we're doing some other events in the area soon. You can check my Events page for details.) Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura

Reflections of a Conquistador, Afterward...

2011-08-25T11:55:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

So, you may or may not know that during grad school in anthropology, I had an unusual research assistantship... I deciphered 500-year-old letters and journal entries written by Spanish conquistadores and missionaries about their misadventures in what is now the American Southwest. After I transcribed their scrawl on the computer, I translated it to English.

My main impression of these guys was, I must say, pretty bad. They behaved like drunken, horny, constipated frat boys much of the time (um, sorry to any devoted frat boy readers of mine out there). And in these guys' more "mature" moments, they elicited a shout of "You gotta be kidding me!" from me. I'm too lazy to find an exact quote at the moment, but they wrote stuff along the lines of, "We don't understand why these Savages don't want to embrace God's love..." and a few lines later, "We request permission to increase the Savages' punishment from 50 to 100 lashes for their disobedience." (Their disobedience included such diabolical atrocities as spiritual healing rituals and dances.) "Duh!" I'd shout at the ancient texts. "And you wonder why they don't want to be your best friend?!"

My overall opinion of most of these guys is low, although there were a few I liked, who showed evidence of deep thought, empathy, intellectual curiosity, and a bigger-picture understanding of what was happening. Here's something that Casteneda wrote in 1565, many years after his participation in an expedition in the Southwest. The quote's always struck me as so poignant that I have it taped in my writing area. The "they" that he refers to are the other guys who'd also come back from the expedition years earlier:

"Now, when they understand the situation they were in-- and see that they cannot enjoy it or re-live it-- now, when it is too late, they enjoy telling about what they saw, telling even about what they have lost.... especially those who are now as poor as when they went there.... I say this because I know several who have returned, who amuse themselves now by talking about what it would be like to go back and try to recover what has been lost..... while others try to find the reason why it was discovered at all. -- Casteneda, 1565, Spain

That feels so profound and multi-layered to me, especially that last part. I mean, we're talking about the conquest of the Americas... and it's just so human that those who participated would wistfully wonder, in their relatively old age, about the significance of the monumental event in their own lives and in the history of the world. There's this sadness and sense of regret that permeates all those layers, personal and historical...

Anyway, I thought I'd share that with you, since it's a quote I look at almost daily. And I've been noticing it even more lately since the new book I'm writing has some scenes in pre-Hispanic Mayan times... lately I've been taking out these dusty books I have on ancient Mayan cultures for research.

I won't tell you any more about the book for now... sorry to be mysterious, but it's at such an early stage, still taking form. I have about a hundred very rough pages written, and I'm LOVING this process. I'm at the blissful in-love stage, where the story feels exquisitely magical and I'm not ready to share it yet....

Thanks for reading!

*And Fort Collins friends, hope to see you at the party with Maria Virginia, coming up soon... Sept 8! See my events page for details.*

xo,

Laura (P.S. You might get the idea that this new book is historical fiction, but actually, that's just a tiny piece of it. It's mostly contemporary, and there's more magical/paranormal/supernatural/fantastical/speculative-fiction (whatever you want to call it) in this book that any of my other books. Okay, that's all for now! Bye!)

*photo credits: wikipedia

Deleted Scenes from THE QUEEN OF WATER...

2011-08-15T09:20:00.001-06:00

Hi dear readers,

Like many writers of my generation (such as fellow Fort Collinite Becca Fitzpatrick), my early impression of creating a novel came from the movie Romancing the Stone. The first scene of the movie involves Kathleen Turner as a romance novelist, typing THE END on her manuscript and bawling at the catharsis.

If I remember correctly, the next scene is basically her meeting with her editor about the manuscript-- implying that she (Joan Wilder) wrote the book beginning to end with no revising, cutting, adding, trimming.... and then, voila, THE END.

That is SO not my process (although, in all fairness, the "research" phases of my novel-writing have involved such adventures as potentially deadly bus wrecks on winding, muddy, cloud-forest roads in Latin America.)

My process, especially with The Queen of Water, involves writing two or three times as many scenes as actually end up in the novel. I think we (Maria Virginia Farinango and I) had over 1000 pages written for Queen over the years, which we ruthlessly had to chop chop chop (as if with machetes in the South American jungle....)

I thought you might be interested in seeing but one of the many, many pieces of manuscript that ended up being cut form the final version. This will be most meaningful to you if you've already read Queen. It was included in one of the first original chapters of an early draft, beginning when Virginia is still living with her parents. Note that it's rough, and never got revised or polished much, so the prose isn't anything special.... but it will give you an idea of the kinds of decision-making we had to do-- which parts of her life to keep and which to cut.... not easy!

. . . There were people who drizzled me with words like cusaco, sweetie, honey: Uncle Gregorio and Aunt Virginia. Every time we visited, Uncle Gregorio would sit me on his lap and feed me cheese. “Here, cusaco, especially for you.” And Aunt Virginia always gave me foam on the milk, the best piece of meat, a bowl of shiny blackberries.

Uncle Gregorio and Aunt Virginia couldn’t have children of their own. They had love inside them and no children to give it to, so they gave it to me. Of all the nieces and nephews, they chose me. Even though their house was smaller and poorer than ours—just one tiny room of earth and straw-- and even though it was higher in the mountains where cold winds blew, their house had a warm, peaceful feeling. I always felt filled up when I visited, my belly full of good food, my heart full of love.

Uncle Gregorio didn’t have his own crops like my family did, just some onion patches near the house. He’d owned fields before, but the mestizos tricked him with their papers and took away his land. So he traveled to the hot coast and worked at sugar cane plantations for months at a time, and he always brought back the sugar sap for me to drink, because I was his favorite.

I remembered one time when he’d brought a drink called guarapo. The grownups had all been drinking it, and although no one had offered it to me, I’d poured some in my cup. It was sweet and strong and made my mouth tingle all the way down my throat to my chest. Delicious, I thought, just like honey, and I drank the whole cup.

I felt glowing and happy at first, and then, suddenly dizzy, and the world began to spin. Next thing I knew, I’d fallen over, my face splat onto the dirt floor.

The grownups stopped talking and stared.

Uncle Gregorio looked puzzled for a moment and then a smile came over his face. “Virinia, cusaco, did you drink this guarapo?

I pushed myself up and wobbled my head.

“You drank this? Why, you’re drunk, cusaco, aren’t you!” And he laughed, and then all the grownups laughed and I laughed too, because it seemed very, very funny. Uncle Gregorio had me drink two cups of water, and then he put me on his lap and patted my back and said, “You’re my treasure, Virginia.” And I felt like a treasure, shiny as gold.

So the night after Mamita told me she’d be happy if I left forever, I decided to leave forever. I would run away to Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gregorio, people who wanted me. As I drifted off, Mamita’s hurtful words faded a little, and instead, I heard, my daughter, she can do it.

I can do it, I said to myself. I can leave forever.

Early the next morning, when the first rooster crowed, I got up and prepared for my journey. In the blue light of dawn, I wrapped my other anaco and blouse in a scrap of fabric, and headed to Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gregorio’s house. I remembered the road because it was the route to fields we sometimes worked, high in the mountains. I walked for a long time as the sun rose and started making its arc across the sky. Whenever I heard the rumble of a car, my stomach jumped and I hid in bushes at the roadside until it passed in a cloud of dust. I didn’t want anyone stealing me. I’d heard that sometimes people did that, mishos They stole children.

The farther into the mountains I walked, the fewer houses I passed. Quinoa fields replaced cornfields; in these parts, it was too cold for corn to grow. The wind grew stronger, tearing at my clothes and burning my eyes. I stayed warm enough, though, because the uphill walking made my heart beat fast and my blood rush. Once the sun moved to the top of the sky and started sinking toward the mountains, I started feeling very hungry and wondered if I’d get there before dark. I picked up my pace and sang my favorite song, The Little Radish, over and over again. Finally, late in the afternoon, I rounded the curve and there was Aunt Virginia’s and Uncle Gregorio’s hut.

I walked inside and stood there as my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

“Virginia!” my aunt cried. “Cusaco! What are you doing here? Who did you come with?”

Slowly her figure came into focus. She was crouched by the cooking fire, a half-peeled potato in one hand, and a knife in the other. Her eyes were wide circles of surprise.

“No one,” I said. “I came alone.”

“Alone?”

“My mother told me to leave the house.” And here my voice started wavering and the tears leaked out. “She said they didn’t want me anymore.”

“What!” Aunt Virginia’s face turned red as a radish. “Your mother’s lucky to have a little girl like you. She should love you and care for you.”

I sniffed and wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

“Come here, cusaco. Sit down and drink some milk.”

I knelt by the cooking fire, on the woven mat. Aunt Virginia ladled me a cup of milk with plenty of foam on top. I gulped it down in one long swig and she ladled another cup. After the soup was ready-- potato and cheese—she served me the biggest potatoes and watched me eat. The milk and cheese came straight from their cows, and it was delicious and silky-creamy.

Soon Uncle Gregorio came home, and when he saw me, his mouth dropped open. “Virginia, cusaco, what are you doing here?”

I started crying all over again when I told him Mamita’s words.

He patted my shoulder. “Cusaco, your parents are probably worried and looking for you.”

“No, they aren’t,” I hiccupped between sobs. “They don’t want me.”

Uncle Gregorio looked at Aunt Virginia. Her lip quivered like water about to boil.

Then Uncle Gregorio put me on his lap and said, “All right, cusaco, you can stay with us.”

Every day, I worked in the potato fields with Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gregorio. I ate lots of cheese and drank lots of milk topped with foam. No one insulted me or yelled at me or called me a brat. I did not miss Mamita or Papito. In the evenings, when it was cold and my feet felt chilled and numb, Uncle Gregorio held my feet in his rough hands until my feet warmed up. When he asked me if my feet felt warm yet, I said, “Not yet, Uncle,” because I wanted his hands to stay wrapped around my feet.

One day, as Uncle Gregorio and I were pulling weeds in the potato field, the owner of the field, a mestizo, swaggered up to us, in that special way mestizos swagger, as though they own everything, not only the land beneath their feet, but the people on the land, too. He lived in a big white hacienda nearby, and he often stopped by and spoke to me. “You’re a smart little girl,” he would tell me, and ask me some questions, and I would answer, and he would chuckle, and then continue on his way.

But this day, after he told me I was smart, he turned to my uncle and said, “Could you give her to me?”

My skin grew cold with sudden fear. No! I screamed inside. Don’t give me to that misho! If I went with the misho, I might disappear. And I didn’t want to disappear, especially now that I was with people who loved me and called me cusaco. I looked to Uncle Gregorio and held my breath.

Uncle Gregorio smiled and shook his head. “Sorry, Patroncito, but Virginia is our treasure.”

That evening by the light of the kerosene lamp, I said, “Uncle Gregorio, I’m glad you didn’t give me away to that misho.”

Uncle Gregorio set me on his lap and said, in a soft voice, “Oh, Virginia, cusaco, how could you think I’d give you away? You’re going to stay with us.” His voice trembled. “You’re our daughter now.”

One day, after weeks of bliss, I was outside playing, when I saw Mamita walking up the path toward the house. Fear split my insides like a machete through wood. I ran inside the house and hid, curled up in the corner by the guinea pigs. Soon I heard Mamita’s voice, just outside, talking with Aunt Virginia, who was feeding the chickens. I prayed Aunt Virginia would tell Mamita that I was her daughter now and send Mamita away. But no, they were talking and laughing. I stayed quiet, wishing I could melt into the shadows, or maybe turn into a guinea pig until Mamita left.

Aunt Virginia came in the house, and Mamita followed. My muscles clenched.

Mamita spoke to me in a flat voice. “Why did you leave without telling us?”

I didn’t answer.

“You’re a disobedient brat who does whatever she wants.”

Aunt Virginia said, “If she gives you so much trouble, why not let us keep her? You know how much we want a child.”

Mamita laughed. “Sure, I’d love you to take her off my hands. You’d be doing me a favor.”

“I’m serious. We love her.” Aunt Virginia’s eyes shone like deep mountain lakes. “Virginia’s smart and obedient and we’ll treat her as our daughter.”

Something washed over Mamita’s face, the understanding that my aunt really wanted to keep me. Mamita’s smile straightened into a thin, hard line. “How could you think I’d give up my daughter? There’s enough food in our house for all my children. How could I give her up? She’s my daughter.”

And at that moment you could almost believe that my mother really truly wanted me.

Aunt Virginia was quiet for a moment, and then she said in nearly a whisper, “You have other children, and I’ve noticed you don’t treat Virginia as well as them.”

Mamita turned her face away so all I could see was the whites of her eyes. She was angry.

“Sister-in-law,” Aunt Virginia said. “God hasn’t given us children. Do you know how much…” Her face seemed to crack open like an egg. “Please.” Tears filled her eyes. “We’ll bring Virginia to visit you often.”

Mamita spoke to me. “We’re leaving. Let’s go, Virginia.”

In a kind of daze, I wrapped my extra anaco and blouse in my scrap of fabric and said goodbye to Aunt Virginia. She dropped to her knees on the floor and watched me follow Mamita out of the house. On the long walk back, I tried not to cry. I tried to tell myself it was better this way, because after all, I had missed my brother and sister a little. And Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gregorio were very poor and it might have been hard for them to feed an extra mouth. And I did eat a lot. Their cow could barely keep up with all the milk and cheese I devoured.

My time with Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gregorio gave me a dose of love that would help me through the months and years that followed. Not long after I left, Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gregorio would adopt a little girl, Josefina, who reminded them of me. Josefina would marry at age fourteen, like most girls in their village, and start having babies a year later. Her husband would beat her ruthlessly, and when she couldn’t bear it any longer, she would abandon him and her children. Would that have been my fate if I’d stayed?

Sometimes I wonder if that small life with my aunt and uncle was simply not my destiny. I wonder if the bad things that blocked my path forced me to find another path—a path that would lead to a better place around the bend. A path that was rocky and steep, but lined with hidden berries and cool springs and treasures waiting to be discovered.

A path that allowed me to choose which words to listen to. My daughter, she can do it. Yes, I can do it. Yes, anything is possible if I want it enough. These were the words I would stubbornly choose. These were the words that would save me.

Hi-- me again! Hope that was interesting for you. I was attached to that chapter because my husband and I were unable to have a baby, and I could really empathize with Virginia's aunt and uncle, who longed for a child so desperately, but were unable to have one.... and meanwhile, they had to see this girl they loved being abused and neglected so terribly... really tragic. But ultimately, we decided to cut this scene because it didn't really give much new information about the dynamic of Virginia's immediate family, it introduced characters who would never come back into the story, and it didn't make the story feel more urgent.

In early drafts, there were several chapters (maybe a hundred pages or so) that occurred before Virginia even left her village to leave with the mestizos. We felt there wasn't enough narrative tension in these chapters to draw readers in.... so we condensed many of these chapters to very short flashbacks and incorporated them as memories woven into the action after Virginia goes to live with the mestizos.

Enough for now-- this post is long enough! Thanks for reading....

Cheers,

Laura

Interview with Maria Virginia-- the Queen of Water (20 years later)!

2011-08-08T14:04:00.000-06:00

Maria Virginia Farinango (aka the Queen of Water)

Hello dear readers!

You may not realize that I sneakily add stuff to my website all the time... sometime it's buried deep in pages within pages... and getting to it is kind of like spelunking. Here's one such item: an interview with Maria Virginia Farinango, my good friend and co-author of The Queen of Water.

How has Ecuadorian society changed since your childhood?

MV: There have been many positive changes. Today in Ecuador, in general, indigenous people are able to get an education. Otavaleno (Quichua) indigenous people have become more famous in the world. Through playing music and selling crafts, they have become very successful, financially speaking. There are even indigenous doctors and lawyers now, too. There are still some indigenous girl servants, but far fewer, and they are paid better and treated better now. They are considered more human.

Maria's husband, Tino (in checked shirt)-- amazing musician. In their front yard.

What changes still need to be made in Ecuadorian society?

MV: There should be better educational opportunities and a wider, more open-minded perspective. I'm able to get a different perspective during my travels in Colorado. Sometimes, when I meet people who learn that I'm indigenous, they say something like, "Me too, I'm indigenous! My great-great grandmother was Native American!" I see that they greatly value being indigenous. Through education and travel, we open our minds and learn to value other people, especially indigenous people.

Maria Virginia and her Colorado friends

What messages do you hope people will take from your story?

MV: The idea that you have your life or situation because you decided to be there-- you can decide: Today is a new day, yesterday has passed. Today I'll begin anew. God gave us the power to choose, good or bad, and to overcome obstacles.

What happened after the story ends?

MV: I became involved in social and academic activities, and community development work in my village. I won more competitions similar to the Queen competition in the book, and I was voted class president. I also competed in running events, and did public speaking on topics like education. I dabbled in TV and radio programs, too. Then I got married to my husband Tino, who is also indigenous-- he's an Andean musician. I began college, then had a baby and devoted time to my family and craft shows. Now, after the long break, I'm completing my degree in psychology.

Maria Virginia at her high school graduation

Tell us about your life now, 20 years after the book ends.

MV: I feel very happy! I have a wonderful life. Although I don't have many material possessions, I have the love of my husband, my child, and God. We have a good relationship, which is a treasure to me. I love traveling and learning. I'm grateful that I've had many successes in my life. I live in Otavalo now, where I study and work, and I try to come to Colorado every fall. (NOTE: YOU CAN MEET MARIA THIS SEPTEMBER 2011 IN FT COLLINS AND LOVELAND. SEE HERE FOR DETAILS!)

Maria and her husband Tino (checked shirt) dancing at a party in their yard in Otavalo

Tell us about your experiences being a mother. How did your childhood experiences affect your relationship with your son and husband?

MV: Being a mother and wife is wonderful. I feel I can say thank you after all the difficult things I've experienced that make me appreciate my life now. I was unhappy during the hard times, but that was how I learned to appreciate what I have now.

feeding chickens with her son at his paternal grandparents' house

You can read the rest of the interview here!

Thanks for reading! I hope that you northern Colorado folks can come meet Maria in person this fall!!

xo,
Laura

Announcing... The Jade Notebook cover!!!

2011-07-29T09:00:00.000-06:00

Here it is...

Note the sea turtles! I learned a lot about sea turtles while researching this book... they're amazing! I'll probably do a post on that some time later...

This is the third and final book in the Notebooks series (Indigo and Ruby were the first two). Here's a little summary:

Down-to-earth Zeeta and her flighty mom, Layla, have spent years traveling the globe and soaking up everything each new culture has to offer. Now they've settled in the beachside town of Mazunte, Mexico, where Zeeta's true love, Wendell, has an internship photographing rare sea turtles. At first glance, Zeeta feels sure that Mazunte is paradise—she envisions dips in jade waters, sunsets over sea cliffs, moonlit walks in the surf. And she is determined to make Mazunte her home . . . for good. But as she and Wendell dig deeper to unearth her elusive father's past, Zeeta finds that paradise has its dark side.

I just sent the revised manuscript into my editor-- the next step is copy-editing, then page-proofing, then the review copy... and then, on *Valentine's Day* 2012, it will be out in the world! I'm starting to think about the release party... For Indigo, there was Ecuadorian dance, for Ruby, an accordionist.... any ideas for Jade? (And no, I can't fly everyone to a tropical paradise to swim with sea turtles... darn!)

If you want to see pics of the setting of Jade, check out the blog post I did about my research trip there...

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura

Mountains

2011-07-25T09:42:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone,

I want to post something to say hi and let you know what I've been up to. Usually I post things when I'm in high spirits, but I'm feeling sad at the moment. A friend and her family are going through a heart-breaking time right now, and I'm in a state of shock and sorrow over it. Tragedy reminds me how important it is to tell people you love that you love them, and why, and how special they are, while they're still with you.

I've been spending time on the road in the mountains quite a bit this summer... to Aspen for the Colorado Book Awards, then Grand Junction for author visits, then in Steamboat Springs with Lil Dude and Ian this past weekend.

Being in the mountains makes me feel grateful to live in Colorado-- so much hugeness and expansiveness helps put life in perspective. The sea and the mountains remind me of how tiny and giant our lives are, that we need to love in the moment, that every moment matters, that what we have is here and now.

Grand Junction, I discovered, is a beautiful town with lots of fountains and sculptures and really wonderful librarians, writers, and readers of all ages, who I was happy to spend time with (doing writing workshops and presentations at libraries). One of these amazing librarians was Diana Tixier Herald, who runs the Genrefluent blog and is the author of many books about young adult literature. I spent an afternoon at her earthship outside of Grand Junction... as Lil Dude would say, "Wowsers!" So cool to get a tour of the house.

And the view out her front window is stunning...

The canyon is dizzyingly deep-- talk about putting life into perspective! Having this view, I imagine, would help keep your mind expansive and uncluttered...

Here we are, in her yard... can you imagine walking outside to this every morning!?

Here are some pics from Aspen about a month ago... I love aspen trees, how they quiver and dance with light. Aspen groves are my favorite places to camp...

Sage is another thing I love about Colorado mountains... the smell of it always pierces me right to the core (in a good, waking-up way).

Lil Dude, who is now four, has discovered the thrill of photography... he took this pic of me and Ian after the Colorado Book Awards...

Here's Checkers, the balloon man who we encountered last summer in Aspen and were very excited to see again. (Last year Lil Dude requested the Little Mermaid. This year it was Spiderman.)

Some highlights of Aspen through the lens of Lil Dude... he was curious about why the fire hydrants here were black instead of yellow...

The hotel pool was a hit... he can swim now-- so cute.

Thanks for reading... I'll post some of our Steamboat pics soon... we stayed in a caboose in Strawberry Park-- it was a GIANT hit with Lil Dude (and me and Ian, too-- you know how I love little abodes-- trailers, caravans, and the like...)

And to those of you who were affected by the tragedy I mentioned, I wish you moments of light and lightness luminous memories...

Love,
Laura

Story in Cricket Mag!

2011-07-03T14:40:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

I've been eagerly waiting for July 2011 for a while (years actually!) because... drumroll... my story "San Martin in the Mist" will be appearing in Cricket Magazine this month! It was accepted years ago-- I think in 2006, just after What the Moon Saw was published. And now, *tah dah*-- five years later, here it is in its illustrated glory.

art by Heidi Younger

So, so fun to see artists' interpretations of my stories. This one is beautifully illustrated by Heidi Younger... I love how she represents the swirling mist... I'm sure that was a challenging element of the story-- the mist that wraps around everything in the village.

art by Heidi Younger

The story was inspired by a true story recounted by my friend Epifania Garcia Diaz, a friend of mine from Oaxaca, Mexico, who is a Mazatec Wise One-- a healer or shaman.

art by Heidi Younger

Dona Epifania told me that a dam was planned to be build decades ago in her mountain village-- a dam that would've flooded the entire valley, forcing many villages to relocate. But at the beginning of the construction, the dam materials began to go missing. This happened night after night, and held up construction. Locals said that it was a local spirit/deity, San Martin, who was stealing and hiding the materials in his underground palace-cave. They said he was offended that people dared to disrespect his land by damming the river and flooding his valley. Eventually, the construction workers gave up, and the dam was not built! Victory!

Me and Dona Epifania in her village

I remember Cricket Magazine from when I was a kid-- it's been around for a while. There's something so satisfying about seeing one of my stories in this element from my childhood. Look, here's the little signature cricket giving his (her?) definition:

(er, turn your head to the right... camera/photo/computer glitch)

I also have a fondness for Cricket because they were the first mag with a big distribution to publish my work... and actually pay me for it! It gave me a huge boost of confidence when I was still struggling with revising and submitting What the Moon Saw (and getting rejections.)

art by Emma Shaw Smith

My first Cricket story, "Drops of Wax," was published in the August 2004 issue. Here are pics of that one-- the artwork by Emma Shaw Smith is so lush and detailed-- I especially love the textures and colors of the clothing.

art by Emma Shaw Smith

I really love this illustration-- it's based on a southern Mexican folklore/mythology. If you've read What the Moon Saw, you'll see a reference to it-- the cave of candles and the woman who is in charge of life and death. I also wove this folklore into this short story.

art by Emma Shaw Smith

This story was actually inspired by a true story told to me by another curandera-- healer, named Dona Maria Chiquita (she's the one on my right.) It involves a friendship with gitanas (gypsies/roma) and resurrection and fortune-telling...

Thank you, wise story-telling women in my life (with whom I split my payment), wonderful illustrators, and Cricket and their devoted fans, old and young!!

xo,

Laura

Barnes and Noble Event Recap

2011-06-26T13:07:00.000-06:00

Me, Todd Mitchell, and Amy Ryan

Hey guys,

Just got back from Aspen... but before I write about that, I want to post these pics of the Barnes and Noble event from last week with my friends and co-finalists in the Colorado Book Award, Todd Mitchell (who is the winner in the YA category for The Secret to Lying-- yay, Todd-- well-deserved! (I LOVE that book!) and Amy Kathleen Ryan (another super-talented writer-- I just devoured the review copy of her upcoming sci-fi book Glow (Sept 2011 release). I'll do a longer post about Aspen and the awards ceremony and everything, but since I just have a few minutes now, I thought I'd let you take a peek at these pics.

Amy, Todd, and I did a panel on writing YA novels-- there was a really nice turn-out-- writers of all ages. Great questions, interesting conversation. The fun thing about being on panels is hearing about other writers' processes and philosophies and journeys... and since Amy and Todd are some of the smartest and funniest writers I know, it was a blast being on a panel with them.

All three of us finalists in the YA category are from Fort Collins-- there's an incredibly supportive writing community here. Here I am with Marianne Mitchell, fabulous children's and YA author (who used to live in Ft Collins and is here visiting). Her book Joe Cinders-- a Wild West version of Cinderella-- is one of Lil Dude's all-time favorite books!

And here I am with Sheralyn, who is always a friendly face at local writers' events.

Here I am with Jordan, who was one of the writers in the young writers camp Todd taught at last week. He had great questions, and we spoke a bit after the event. His questions (about how I keep track of my story ideas) made me remember the time in my life where I felt compelled to write down all my thoughts and musings on life and existence, but I couldn't write them down fast enough and I felt like I was going crazy. (This was in my late teens/early twenties). At some point, I began to feel less crazy, but I think that was a useful stage for me to go through on my writing journey...

Here we are with Teresa Funke, who organizes the local SCBWI "schmooze group" in town. She and I were also involved in the Imaginantes workshops the week before last... she had interesting things to say about her Mexican ancestry and the relatives who inspired her book, V for Victory.

Thanks for reading! And if you're in the Grand Junction area, I hope to see you at one of my Mesa County Library events coming up in July!

xo,
Laura

Jade Revision Time!

2011-06-21T12:30:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone!

Yesterday I got the long-awaited call from my new editor (Francoise Bui) about revisions for The Jade Notebook! I'd been kinda nervous anticipating this... it was her first time reading the whole series, and I worried whether she'd like it. I especially worried whether she'd like The Jade Notebook-- a part of me feared she might say something along the lines of "throw the whole thing out and start over!"

But none of my fears came to pass. She says she's enjoyed the whole series and that Jade might just be her favorite... Whew! She had some small, totally do-able revision comments (with the help of Krista Vitola, who was an assistant to Stephanie, my former editor, and has been promoted to assistant editor (a well-deserved promotion-- she's fantastic!)

Soon I'll post the final cover for Jade-- it will make you want to drop whatever you're doing and go on a tropical vacation and swim with sea turtles-- at least, that's how it makes me feel!

Must go pick up Lil Dude from preschool now. I'll write more next week!

Oh, and if you're in the Ft Collins area, please come to my event at Barnes and Noble tonight:

Tues, June 21, 6 pm, Barnes and Noble on 4045 S College Ave. Join me and my two friends and fellow finalists in the Colorado Book Awards young adult category-- Amy Kathleen Ryan and Todd Mitchell. We're doing a panel on writing novels for teens-- come one, come all-- teens and adults-- and bring questions!

xo,
Laura

Queen Cover Art... behind the scenes!

2011-06-09T22:38:00.000-06:00

Hello dear readers!

I thought it might be interesting to do a post on the cover art for The Queen of Water. Many readers have been excited to discover that this is a photo of Maria Virginia herself on the cover. Here's the scoop on how that came to be...

During the 6-year process of writing the book, we had plenty of time to imagine what the cover might look like. I thought it would be good to incorporate a photo of Maria Virginia as a teen, to remind readers that this is a true story, that Virginia is a real person. We did have a few wonderful photos that were taken over 15 years ago by photographers of a French magazine for a feature article on a Queen competition in Otavalo (Maria Virginia doesn't remember which mag and doesn't have a copy of the mag-- only the photos.) Here's one of the photos, which was used in an Otavalo newspaper article from years ago:

Maria Virginia envisioned a book cover that somehow incorporated the gorgeous Andean landscape-- she saw the cover as vibrant and colorful. (Earlier on, she'd come up with the title A Dream in the Andes-- Un Sueno en los Andes-- which we decided to change at a later stage).

After getting the contract and turning in our final revision, we were really eager to see what Delacorte came up with... (Typically, with my book cover process, the design dept comes up with something and then sends it to my editor, who sends it to me, for my feedback. They also show the cover idea to the sales team and other editors in-house to get their opinions. Different publishing houses seem to have varying degrees of author input in the cover design.)

Anyway, flashback to before we even got the contract: A few years ago, Maria Virginia was in town, and about to return to Ecuador in a couple days. As a last-minute favor, our friend Ken Burgess (photographer by hobby at the time) set up a few lights and a white drape in his living room and took a bunch of shots that we intended to use as future author photos (for promotional purposes-- back flap of the book kind of pics)... *if* we ever got a contract for the book, of course (little did we know we had many more revisions ahead of us!)

Here's one I really like:

Isn't she radiant?! Her secret to youthful skin is taking only cold showers, which I'm way too wimpy to do (thus the lines that fan out from the corners of my eyes... too many steaming hot showers)!

So here's the photo that I almost didn't send our editor because it didn't look very author-photo-ey... I decided to add it at the last minute because I loved how introspective Maria Virginia looked.

It was a complete surprise to us when our editor emailed us this cover soon after:

They touched up her face just a bit-- "powdered" her skin and plumped up her cheek to make her look more like a teen than a 30-something woman. She felt a little shy at first at the idea of having her photo on the cover-- she hesitantly asked if I was sure people would want to buy the book with her face on it. I assured her, yes!

Later, my editor mentioned that the design dept had originally planned on having an original painting (which they'd commissioned) on the cover. When the artist completed it, my editor and her colleagues felt that although it was very beautiful, it was unfortunately too young-looking for The Queen of Water, which is geared toward older young adults and adults. (Unfortunately, I don't have permission to post the photo of that cover here- sorry!)

I agreed that the initial cover concept looked younger than the intended audience. Also, the girl's outfit didn't reflect Maria Virginia's indigenous Otavalena Quichua clothing, which is important in the story, since it relates to her identity issues. We would've wanted to be sure that the girl's clothing on the cover accurately represented the culturally-specific clothing that Maria Virginia and other Otavalena Quichua women wear-- solid white blouse with wide lace ruffle around the neck and forearms of the blouse, a ring of flowered embroidery below the lace of the neck, gold bead necklaces and coral-colored bead bracelets. If you go to Otavalo, you'll see that although there are slight variations on the smaller details, that women stick very closely to the basic clothing that you see Maria Virginia wearing here:

See how the colors of the embroidered flowers, the faja (waist wrap) color, and the lace texture/pattern vary, but the other elements are basically the same? (Oh, and the anaco (wrap-around skirt) color can vary-- either dark blue or black). Women often add a fachalina-- a cream or black wool wrap-- knotted over their shoulder and/or folded on their head.

Me, Maria Virginia, and Alex (*before* the anaco unraveled!)

As a sidenote, Maria Virginia dressed me up in an outfit like this for a night on the town in Otavalo (an outing which ended with my anaco accidentally unraveled, pooled at my feet, as I stood in my underwear in a restaurant... not my best moment!) Extreme embarrassment aside, it was actually a really interesting "research" experience-- it helped me feel more "inside" Maria Virginia's body as we wrote the scenes involving anacos. You can read about it here!

Laura * P.S. I also want to add that the reason for featuring my name first was a purely practical one-- a decision that Maria Virginia and I made together after thorough discussions. We felt that since there were already many English-speaking readers who were familiar with my name, that it would be simplest to put my name first. That way, in bookstores and libraries, the book would be alphabetized near my other books, and my reader base would be alerted to the book release. Maria Virginia's goal (which I share) has always been to have our book reach as many readers as possible, and we agreed that having my name first would facilitate this. We're hoping that this book will be translated to Spanish and available in Latin America (where there's little, if any, name recognition of me and my books at this point). If the translation happens, we'll push to have Maria Virginia's name first on the cover of a Latin American edition. I just wanted to clear that up, since I honestly feel weird about having my name first when it's a story that she actually lived through. Okay, thanks for reading!

G'night again!

xo,

Laura

My Agent's Retreat ( 6 weeks after the fact...)

2011-06-02T17:31:00.000-06:00

Chris Barton and Erin Murphy (love the expressions!)

Hey all,

Finally getting around to posting pics of my agent's (Erin Murphy) annual retreat! I went to the first one in Santa Fe a few years ago-- there were about twelve of us there. I think I missed the one after that (in Vermont) because that's the year Lil Dude came from Guatemala. The next year was Portland, and the next Chicago, and this year, in Austin (which was our biggest yet-- over 40 amazing authors!) I really love these people-- it's a rare and wonderful bonding experience. We spend time talking about writing and publishing, gleaning and sharing wisdom. We also eat and laugh a lot (and even cry a little...) I'm too pressed for time at the moment to link to everyone's individual websites, but if you go to Erin's website, you'll find links to everyone else's.

A glimpse of the goofiness that occurred (we went a bit wild that night... I think we scared the wait staff-- at times the shrieks of laughter were louder than those on Lil Dude's preschool playground)...

Ruth Barshaw, Audrey Vernick, and Penny Blubaugh at a signing event we did at Book People (fantastic indie bookstore in Austin!)

Me and Kathy Duval...

Lynda Mullaly Hunt and Penny...

Liz Garton Scanlon and Deborah Underwood...

Ruth taking a photo of a white peacock in a tree outside a lovely restaurant where we dined. (Usually she's sketching everything in her little sketchbook...)

Or playing harmonica... (something she and Lil Dude have in common)

Carrie Gordon Watson, Deborah, Conrad Wesselhoeft and Elizabeth Bluemle...

Anna Staniszewski and Lisa Schulman...

Ammi-Joan Paquette (author and agent), C.J. Omololu, Natalie Lorenzi

Lots of gushiness and giddiness...

And this is just a sampling!! I'm so fortunate to be part of this group of supportive writers-- it's a giant and unexpected perk of being an author... getting to spend time with these brilliant, sensitive, kind souls.

Time for an evening walk around the neighborhood... have a great week!

xo,
Laura

Austin TLA Recap (just a month late...)

2011-05-24T17:25:00.000-06:00

Hey yall,
I've been so crazy-busy I haven't had a chance to tell you about my trip to Austin last month (for the Texas Library Association Conference), so now that I've gotten a chance to catch my breath from all the traveling, here goes!

Author buddies David Levithan, James Dashner, Lauren Myracle, Carrie Ryan, and me after a fun BBQ dinner (there were lots of those in the heart of BBQ land!)...

My new editor-- Francoise Bui! The editor I had for my first six books- Stephanie Lane Elliott-- had a beautiful baby last fall and made a career change, so Delacorte connected me with my new editor, Francoise, who I like very much and who's editing The Jade Notebook with me. (She's in the middle of this pic-- I wish I'd gotten a good one of the two of us together!)

Cool paper mache guitar centerpieces... I think that Texas teens made them for us! Lots of music, art, and tattoos in Austin, I noticed (and BBQ).

And lots of amazing librarians!! Like my fun dinner companions...

Always exciting to hang out with authors I admire... James Dashner is the author of The Maze Runner series-- incredible speculative fiction-- and he's an exceedingly nice guy, I discovered. And we're both interested in parallel universes and the like...

Here are some more great librarian at the signing I did for Star in Forest-- loved their enthusiasm! I have to say that Texas librarians just *exude* enthusiasm-- it was a real joy talking with them all.

At the Random House dinner... more friends, new and old, in the publishing industry... and super-yummy food!

So much laughing and great conversation that night... topics covered included Friday Night Lights (which I have yet to see but apparently everyone at Delacorte is obsessed with), Paul Simon (who I've loved for decades), blueberries vs blackberries (I prefer the latter), and so much more!

It's such a treat to stay in high-up rooms in fancy shmancy hotels that I'd never stay in normally... and to get picked up in a sleek black car-- the very car that Justin Bieber rode in not long before me, as a matter of fact. I'm no pop culture aficionada, but I do know that name.... my driver, apparently did not! He told me he found himself amidst squealing girls at the airport to meet Justin, and that's when he asked another driver standing next to him, "So who is this Justin Bieber guy I'm picking up, anyway?" He said Justin was quite the nice young gentleman, and gave him a $100 tip. (At which point in the story, I started feeling a little bad that regular old authors like me can't swing close to that kinda tip...)

I have more pics from the trip-- pics of my wanderings by the river/lake path and of my agent retreat, but now I have to try to get Lil Dude to understand what "quiet time" means... he's abandoned naps, to my chagrin, but I'm determined to have some kind of siesta-type hour in the day. Wish me luck (today was not successful!)

xo,
Laura

Bookbrowse Feature

2011-05-17T13:48:00.003-06:00

Hey everyone,

Just want to say hi! I'm sick with a cold now (as is Lil Dude), so we're both taking it easy today. I'm feeling a little guilty for letting him watch back to back Toy Story and Toy Story 2 videos, but honestly, it's the only way I've found to keep him resting. He's this bottomless well of crazy energy, even when he's sick and coughing up a storm and needs to sit still.

I've done some fun school visits the past couple weeks-- two were focused on Star in the Forest, and if I get photos passed along, I'll post them here. I love hearing all the ways in which kids connect with that book-- it's really moving. And it's so inspiring to see the cool activities the teachers plan for the students... one of the most exciting things for an author is to see creative writing and art projects that stem from their story. Thanks, Columbine and Irish Elementary Schools!

Tamara Smith (an author and agent-mate of mine) did a wonderful feature of The Queen of Water on Book Browse. Here's an excerpt:

This book pulls no punches. It does not sugar-coat María
Virginia's experiences as a servant for a middle class
mestizo family. She is dealt a cruel hand, and Laura Resau
deftly writes about the details of her abuse - both physical
and emotional - and her dreams of escaping her situation.
Not easy stuff to read. But Laura also lyrically writes
about Virginia's courage and determination - to learn to
read, to understand science, to leave her abusive situation,
to become the person she is meant to become - and the
ways in which she slowly achieves these goals. An
amazing story.

Tamara's article also discusses the collaborative nature of this book (between me and Maria Virginia Farinango)... this was one of the most rewarding aspects of writing the book.

Thank you, Tamara!

You can read more here.

Time to check on Lil Dude and have more tea with lots of honey... wish me a speedy recovery!

xo,
Laura

Starred Publishers Weekly review for Queen!

2011-05-09T11:08:00.001-06:00

Maria Virginia Farinango (my co-author and me... happy!!)

Hey guys,

Nice news to start off my week: The Queen of Water just got its *third* starred review-- this one from Publishers Weekly! I'm over the moon!

* This compelling collaboration between Resau (The Ruby Notebook) and Farinango--who met while Resau was teaching English at a community college--is based on Farinango's tumultuous upbringing in Ecuador as part of an indígena (indigenous) family, forced to live under the thumb of the mestizos (the Spanish upper class). As is common for indígena girls her age, Virginia is sent to live with a wealthy mestizo couple--in her case, Niño Carlitos and his wife, Doctorita--and she babysits their children and serves as their maid for eight years. While the living conditions are an improvement over her family's small farm, she endures physical and verbal abuse and is denied an education.

Narrating in a singular, authentic voice, Virginia dreams of escape, but her broken identity leaves her directionless. Along the way, though, she employs her imagination, persistence, and hard-won wisdom to recover her strength and freedom. The authors' candid narrative richly depicts Virginia's passage from a childhood filled with demoralization to a young woman who sees her life through new eyes. Ages 12–up.

Yay! So happy about this... I didn't even know what starred reviews meant before my first book came out... Basically, it's a system for recognizing the book as having exceptional merit... and the happy consequence is that librarians, book sellers, teachers, and people in the publishing industry pay more attention to the book.... which ultimately gets the book into the hands of more readers... and this, as a writer, is one of my biggest goals... to connect with as many readers as I can.

Okay, I have to wade my way through the heaps of emails that have been building up since I left for Michigan. I'm in the midst of planning lots of author visits (virtual and actual) with schools and libraries in Colorado-- Broomfield, Boulder, Fort Collins, Basalt, Grand Junction, and more...

(If I owe you an email, don't worry, it'll be coming soon... my apologies!) Thanks for reading and keeping in touch-- I'm grateful!

xo
Laura

Back from Michigan!

2011-05-06T17:16:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone!

Just got back from author visits to Lansing and Ann Arbor, where I had a blast with students from Haslett High, Greenhills School, the International Book club at the East Lansing Library, and the folks at Ann Arbor Library... I loved meeting so many cool teachers and students and librarians and writers and readers... such a treat!

I also went to my dad's retirement party in Grand Rapids... Lil Dude was with me, which made things extra wild and crazy (he has so much energy he literally bounces off walls). He was great on the plane ride, but I still feel utterly exhausted at the moment... I'd like to sleep about 20 hours...

More good news has been coming in about Star in the Forest... the latest is that it's an Americas Award Commended Book! I love the Americas Award... Red Glass was a winner a few years ago, and What the Moon Saw was an honor book. You can read more about the award here.

I also found out that Star in the Forest is currently a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in the Juvenile category, and The Ruby Notebook is a finalist in the Young Adult Category... yay! Thank you, Colorado Humanities and Center for the Book!

So excited to go to Aspen again with Lil Dude and Ian for the awards ceremony in June... and the best part is that I'll get to be with my talented, fun friends who are also finalists:

Amy Kathleen Ryan for Zen and Xander (YA, another Fort Collins author and good friend!)

Todd Mitchell for The Secret to Lying (YA-- yet another Fort Collins author and good friend!)

Nancy Bo Flood for Warriors in the Crossfire (Juvenile, she's one of the brilliant authors behind The Pirate Tree blog!)

Congrats everyone! I can't wait to cheer each other on in Aspen...

I also wanted to let you know that The Pirate Tree (mentioned above)-- a wonderful new blog about social justice and children's literature-- is featuring The Queen of Water this week. There's a thoughtful review/article on domestic slavery and The Queen of Water and an interview with me... And next week it will be featuring Star in the Forest! A huge thank you to Lyn Miller-Lachmann and Nancy Bo Flood for their work on this incredible blog (and for their important books)!

Hmmm... I feel like there's more news, but my brain isn't cooperating now... I'll try to remember and write more soon! Hope everyone's enjoying springtime!

xo,
Laura

Good news

2011-05-02T16:27:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone!

I've been busy, busy, busy! Just got my latest revision of THE JADE NOTEBOOK into my editor-- whew! The release date is Feb 2012 (and a giant *thank you* to all of you who've been enthusiastically asking me about it...)

I'm in Michigan now, doing author visits to libraries and schools in Ann Arbor and East Lansing... fun, fun, fun! I'm especially excited because these are the first presentations in which I'll focus on THE QUEEN OF WATER! Speaking of Queen, here are some links to great reviews:

The Denver Post, which calls the book "tremendously potent" and told with "grace and complexity." Read more here. I did an interview with the reviewer, Claire Martin, a few years ago, for another book. She's actually been to the Otavalo region of Ecuador (the region the book is set)-- very cool!)

Scene Magazine-- which gives a really thoughtful analysis:

"The Queen of Water is at once depressing and inspirational, savage and innocent, and is all the more poignant since it is based on the true story of Farinango’s upbringing. The first-person narrative creates an intimacy between Virginia and the reader; it is a glimpse into the personal diary of a blossoming and resilient young woman." Read more here.

Okay, I have to go now... my Lil Dude wants me to watch him ride his bike around the track in the school down the block. *proud mama moment... Lil Dude just turned four and he's already a master at riding a bike without training wheels... he's actually been doing it since he was 3 1/2!*

(Okay, sorry, that's it for now.... bye!)

xo, more soon,
Laura

Roundup of pics and news

2011-04-09T21:00:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

I figured I should post this little smattering of pics and news before my trip to Austin, TX, for the TLA conference and my agent's retreat. I'm sure I'll have heaps of photos to post soon...

Here's a pic from today at The Queen of Water event at Barnes and Noble with some of the lovely ladies (and baby!) who came. (Yes- that's me in the blue shirt-- I got a haircut! It hasn't been this short since I was 14! My head feels lighter...)

Here are a few pics from my visit to Irish a couple weeks ago for a cupcake party and Star in the Forest signing.

The party was thrown by BookTrust, a wonderful literacy non-profit based in Ft. Collins that connects books with kids. The celebration was in honor of Irish Elementary teacher David Autenrieth, who received the Excellence in Education Award for being a super-awesome teacher. BookTrust gave beautifully inscribed copies of Star in the Forest to the fourth graders, which I then autographed... very exciting for everyone!

And here are a few pics from my Half Moon Bay trip that the librarians sent me...

It was great to see so many parents there with their kids... what a fun evening!

And now for the good news I mentioned-- Star in the Forest has been selected for some nice honors:

Bank Street Children's Best Children's Books of the Year *Outstanding Merit*
A Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children (Washington D.C.)
A Grand Canyon Readers Award Nominee (Arizona)
A DCF Award Nominee (Vermont Libraries Children's Selection)

And The Queen of Water has been nominated for the Amelia Bloomer Project-- a list of outstanding feminist literature from an ALA group.

(*happy dance*)

Okay, time to get Lil Dude to bed!

Cheers,

Laura

Half Moon Bay

2011-03-22T09:25:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone!

Just got back from a beautiful weekend in Half Moon Bay, California! I did a library presentation for the community and met fantastic librarians, teachers, students, parents, and writers. So much fun! I'd been corresponding with one of the teachers and her students via email and snail mail, and it was wonderful to meet them all in person.

I'd always wanted to go to Half Moon Bay-- mostly because I love the name (it's right up there with Angelfire, NM)! ;) I also LOVE the coast of California, which is one reason I've read the picture book All the World hundreds of time with Lil Dude-- the breath-taking landscape-- green hills and wildflowers and clay cliffs and gardens and old beach houses and perfect trees-for-climbing and veggie stands and beaches and the big, wide ocean.

I went on long walks along the ocean-- on Saturday in the rain (delicious) and on Sunday in sunshine with my old friend Andrea (from middle school).

flotsam!

My camera wasn't working on Friday, so I didn't get pics of the great students and families (some from Oaxaca!) who came to the presentation. They were so enthusiastic-- the library had distributed hundreds of copies of What the Moon Saw for students!

I did manage to get one photo of the teacher and librarians with me at the amazing family-owned Oaxacan restaurant called Brianna's just down the block from the library. I ate the best mole oaxaqueno I've had in the U.S. Mmmmmm. Muy rico.

Lucia Gonzalez took that picture-- she's a wonderful bilingual picture book writer (and warm, kind person). She gave my Lil Dude a copy of her book The Bossy Gallito, which we're loving. (Since he turned four last week, he's been in a major Bossy Rooster stage...)

I *love* author visits to small towns where the awesome librarians and teachers get the whole community excited. Thank you, Half Moon Bay!

On a different note, more lovely reviews of The Queen of Water have been coming in. Maria Virginia and I are really glad that readers have been moved by her story. It's dream come true...

A review in The Examiner gave the book five out of five stars and calls it "Remarkable. Layered. Engrossing." You can read the full review here.

Marjolein, a wonderful YA book reviewer, also gave it five stars, and calls the book "gripping." Read the full review here.

Thanks, also, to those of you who have posted reviews on amazon here and goodreads here and other review sites. And thanks to everyone who's been spreading the word about our book through word of mouth! We're really grateful!

Happy spring!

xo,

Laura

Queen Book Release Pics!

2011-03-14T09:15:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who came to my party at Old Firehouse Books on Saturday night (in body and spirit!)

So much fun to see old friends and meet new ones!

Apparently, I make lots of funny faces when I read... I'm not aware of this until I see photographic evidence...

Music and little kids are essential ingredients to any festive occasion...

So many great friends of all ages came out to celebrate... teachers, writers, readers, book clubbers, librarians, dancers, musicians, poets, computer programmers ;) ...

Old Firehouse Books is an amazing place... if you're in Ft Collins and you haven't been to this store yet, you should take an afternoon to wander the shelves, talk to the super-knowledgeable staff for book recommendations, and have tea at the Cambodian teahouse "Happy Lucky's" next door.

My NIA friend Bev won a signed book in a drawing... She had to answer a question about Queen to claim her prize. Here it is: What was the staple of Maria Virginia's diet for the first 7 years of her life? She had this food for nearly every meal, every day, usually in the form of soup. In early drafts of the book, there were so many scenes focused on this food that someone in my writers' group suggested the book be called Maria Virginia and the ________s" (fill in blank with the food in question.) Can you guess?! *See answer at end of post.*

Thanks for swinging by!

xo,
Laura
P.S. See below for answer to mystery question...

*POTATOES!* (which are native to South America... she harvested and ate potatoes of all colors and sizes, and always wished for the BIGGEST potato in the soup.)

Interviews and articles for Queen!

2011-03-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hi dear readers!

I've been doing some interviews in anticipation of the release of THE QUEEN OF WATER (tomorrow, March 8!)

Lyn Miller-Lachmann (author of the great Gringolandia) did this interesting article and interview with me for her "Waging Peace" Column for the Times Union blog.

Here's the beginning of her article:

"For the next two weeks, my “Waging Peace” columns will focus on the plight of workers, particularly child laborers, throughout the world. This week’s column takes us to Ecuador, a country where for five centuries the indigenous people have faced systematic discrimination and exploitation at the hands of large landowners and the country’s political, economic, and social elite. Laura Resau, an anthropologist who lived and worked throughout Latin America before becoming an award-winning author of novels for young people, is most recently the co-author of The Queen of Water, a fictionalized account of her collaborator, María Virginia Farinango’s, life as a child domestic worker..."

Read more here. In the interview, I discuss why we decided to fictionalize the book, how I met Maria Virginia, the cycle of domestic violence, and more...

Another interview is up today over at Children's Publishing Blog. (Just go to the link and scroll down a little). This interview focuses on my writing/publishing journey, with advice to writers.

And another interview focuses on my creative space-- my little silver trailer. You can read about it on Jenn Bertman's blog here.

Finally, there's a very wonderful and thoughtful blog review of Queen on the SLJ blog, A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy (don't you love the name?!) Check it out here.

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow THE QUEEN OF WATER will be officially released! Yay! Maria Virginia and I are so excited! You can get it in bookstores, or on indiebound or amazon.

And if you live near me, please come to my release party this Saturday!

Saturday, March 12, 6:00 pm, Old Firehouse Books, Fort Collins

The Queen of Water Signing and Chatting - Come one, come all! Join me to celebrate the book release!

Hope you like our book!!!

xo,
Laura

Green Goo Supervillain!

2011-03-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hi wonderful readers,

Since I usually focus on good stuff in this blog, you may not know that I was plagued by terrible headaches this winter. Here is what I looked like much of the time (um, around my house and trailer, that is...):

I'm wearing my cold headache pack full of delightfully fluorescent green goo (which makes Lil Dude compare me to his favorite supervillain from a Backyardigans episode.) And, paired with my green goo mask are my grubby hot rice pack booties:

They also function as mops, collecting dust and dirt as I shuffle around the house.

I read that heat on the feet and cold on the head is good treatment for migraines and headaches, and it actually is (for me, at least)! (And believe-you-me, I've tried nearly everything.)

Another thing that worked well was reducing my stress, which had sky-rocketed. Here's one thing that brought my stress level down to a non-headache-inducing level: the completed manuscript of THE JADE NOTEBOOK! I finished it in January, got it in to my editor, she liked it, sent it back with revision comments.... and now here it is, all ready for me to dive back into.

I'm actually really excited (and *not* stressed) about revising it! I don't even need my booties and goo mask to tackle it!

In all fairness, I should mention the other things that helped my headaches go away: this brand-spankin new ergonomic monitor that helps my neck stay stretched out; the *necksercise* my massage therapist friend Paul showed me how to do to prevent migraines; massages; biofeedback (this really works!); awareness of breathing, visualizations... Whew! That sounds like a lot of stuff, but actually, it's all pretty peacefully manageable.

I guess I'm telling you this to balance out all the good news about THE QUEEN OF WATER that I've been posting lately... so you know that despite a lot of extreme happiness, I still have struggles to deal with...

(but that you shouldn't worry about me, since it's nothing Green Goo Supervillain can't handle!)

xo,
Laura

You're invited...

2011-02-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

Hello dear readers,

Lil Dude is home sick today, so I'm grabbing a few minutes here and there to work (I couldn't for the life of me get him to take a nap... argh!) Anyway, real quick, I'll let you know about two upcoming book release events for THE QUEEN OF WATER here in Ft. Collins.

March 12, Saturday, 6 pm, Old Firehouse Books, 232 Walnut St., Fort Collins, CO
Chatting, signing, reading, music, food, fun... (I bought a popcorn popper for this event! My co-author, Maria Virginia, serves popcorn (or some variety of popped/toasted corn) at every meal...mmm...)

April 9, Saturday, 2 pm, Barnes and Noble, 4045 S. College Ave, Fort Collins, CO
Chatting, signing, reading, fun (I'll see if I can serve freshly popped popcorn at this event, too!)

Mark your calendars! Bring friends and family! Thanks for spreading the word.... I hope to see you there!

And before I bid you farewell and cuddle with Lil Dude and watch Wall-E for the 20th time, here's something cool: Random House put together a "Books of Laura Resau Readers Guide"! So pretty... you can see it here. (My mom and I are in the midst of writing a longer, detailed discussion guide specifically for The Queen of Water... I hope to post that next month, so stay tuned!

Okay, Wall-E awaits...

xo,
Laura

Teatime and Stars!

2011-02-08T10:49:00.001-07:00

Hi dear readers!

I'm here in winter wonderland, having a spot o' tea (as Lil Dude calls it) and feeling happy about *more* good Queen of Water news... a second starred review, this one from Booklist!

* "A moving, lyrical novel that will particularly resonate with teens caught between cultures."
-- ALA Booklist

And we have official word that Queen is a Junior Library Guild selection... hooray! Maria Virginia and I are so, so grateful that all these nice things are happening with Queen... each bit of recognition helps get the book into the hands of more readers.

In the midst of this excitement of preparing for the book's release, I'm also waiting (nervously) for revision notes from my editor on The Jade Notebook. And I'm still trying desperately to catch up with all the (very patient) friends I neglected over the last few months of being completely absorbed in finishing the manuscript. (Sorry!) Tea n cake times with Lil Dude have become more frequent... bright, warm spots in wintertime...

Mmmm....

Yummm....

Hip hip cheerio! (as Lil Dude says...)

Wherever you are, I hope you're staying warm and cozy...

xo
Laura

Starred Kirkus review for THE QUEEN OF WATER!

2011-01-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

So, after seven years (I started this book in 2004!), The Queen of Water will soon become a reality.... on March 8th, just over a month away! Maria Virginia (my co-author) and I have been doing lots of happy-dancing (her in Ecuador, me here in Colorado)... not to mention LOTS of happy squealing over the phone... The reviews have been lovely, lovely, lovely! This book is very special to me for so many reasons (which I'm going to write about and add to my website soon). For now I'll just say that Maria Virginia and I are incredibly grateful that the story feels special to readers, too.

Here's an excerpt of the ***starred*** review from Kirkus Reviews, which calls the book "riveting.":

"Bright spots of humor and warmth are woven throughout, and readers will agonize for Virginia while seething at her tormentors. The complexities of class and ethnicity within Ecuadorian society are explained seamlessly within the context of the first-person narrative, and a glossary and pronunciation guide further help to plunge readers into the novel's world. By turns heartbreaking, infuriating and ultimately inspiring. (Fiction. 13 & up)"

Thank you thank you thank you!!! (You can read the whole review here.)

And there's more! VOYA calls the book "a richly described coming-of-age story set in a culture both foreign and familiar... by turns, shocking and funny."

I'm so glad these reviews mention the humor... I really love this aspect of Maria Virginia's story, too. She was an incredibly spunky girl (and still is!), and she found all kinds of creative and funny ways to resist her oppressors. And although she went through very rough times, she wasn't a victim, not at all... her girlhood was indeed inspiring.

In case you're curious what I've been up to since I handed in my manuscript a couple weeks ago... I've been doing all the fun, relaxing things that I put on hold during that final push to finish: long walks by the river, NIA dancing and yoga (very helpful, since those long hours in front of the computer wreaked havoc on my neck and shoulders), tea parties with my Lil Dude, reading books, watching movies with girlfriends (saw I Love You Phillip Morris (weird and funny) on Friday and plan to see The King's Speech, Black Swan, and Blue Valentine soon). And, the ultimate in fun-creative-inspiring entertainment... went to the Cirque du Soleil show "Allegria"! Wow, wow, wow! Breath-taking and so worth the money (er, pretty pricey).

If you've read The Ruby Notebook, you know I love this stuff... fire dancing...

whimsical acrobatics...

and clowns, of course...

Lil Dude was enamored of this "beautiful lady" (singer)... and insisted that we try to talk with her after the show (no go)...

Okay, now to work on updating the website... Thanks for reading!

xoxo
Laura

Sayulita, Mexico!

2011-01-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hello dear friends and readers!

First, a little warning-- if you're expecting to read about the kind of off-the-tourist-track adventures that you saw in Red Glass, What the Moon Saw, and The Indigo Notebook... read no further! On the other hand, if you'd like to see a realistic glimpse of what my traveling life has become with 3-year-old and hubbie in tow-- chugging right along the well-worn tourist track, then read on, beloved reader (unless you're scared of a little vomit... er, a lot of vomit. (Am I grossing you out already? Sorry. I'll start with the happy parts...)

We went to Sayulita, Mexico (a small beach town near Puerto Vallarta) for a week with Carrie and Sarah of my writing group and their families... couldn't have asked for better company!

There was much-needed girl time...

There was surfing. (Doesn't Ian look cute here? Funny-- I knew him in high school-- and back then he had that exact same pair of swim trunks! They must be 20 years old!)

It took us a couple days to find the part of the beach where the waves don't beat and batter you. (Poor Carrie and Ian discovered this the hard way...)

There were feasts...

There were walks by a colorful graveyard on the way to the scenic yoga palapa (!)

There was dancing (to little kids' music, of course... I still can't get the Buzz Buzz Buzz song out of my head....)

There was a disconcerting circus in town...

I say disconcerting because their main promotional tool was this rickety tiny cage of tigers, right on one of the main dirt roads. As much as I try to be a non-judgmental traveler, I have to say this really, really bothered me. It was painful to pass by them about ten times a day. In fact, the only reason I've even included this picture is because oddly enough, in the manuscript I just finished, The Jade Notebook (set in another Mexican beach town), there is a large feline (I won't give away what kind of feline-- don't want to spoil anything...). During my research, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos of large felines prowling and growling and whatnot, and I wished I could be in proximity to a real one. And then, my wish was realized... in this disconcerting way... It did motivate me to learn more about a wild animal sanctuary just a 45 min drive from my house that has rescued many large felines in similar situations to these tigers.

Okay, on to prettier things... like *butterflies*...

... and luna moths...

There were dips in the pool... (the kiddie pool was so perfect for the three-year-olds-- Lil Dude played in there until he was blue-lipped and shivering like crazy and we had to drag him out...) (And oh how I wish I could include photos of him here-- sooo cute with his goggles and boogie board).

The house we rented was ideal for three families traveling together, especially families of *writer ladies*... little patios and nooks galore...

Now you're probably wondering about that vomit I mentioned earlier... well, there was LOTS of it. Lil Dude caught a stomach virus from his preschool buddies, and started feeling sick on the plane on the way there. Ugh. Middle and window seats for us-- the poor lady in the aisle seat was getting up and down every few minutes to let us race to the bathroom. And then, for the next few days (although Lil Dude *did* have a blast playing in the pool and sea and sand), there were countless bathroom trips, including in the middle of the night. The vomiting stopped after a few days, but his gastrointestinal tract was -- shall we say-- tender-- for the whole week. And then, then... I caught it. Ugh. And then, Ian caught it. Ugh, ugh.

Enough complaining. Other than that, it was a very lovely trip! Okay, to get the vomit out of your mind and leave you on a nicer note, here's a goofy pic of me. Ian really loves these pictures of me that capture how I probably look most of the time-- kind of spacing out and daydreaming... he actually has a collection of these dorky pics of me in a photo cube in his office, hehehe.

I'll leave you on that note! I have more news to tell you (good stuff!), but it's time for my NIA (dance) class now! Thanks for reading!

xoxo,
Laura

My Omi's review of THE RUBY NOTEBOOK

2011-01-13T16:23:00.001-07:00

Speaking of gratitude (which I did in my last post) I want to tell you about Omi, my German grandmother-in-law, who I actually started to adore long before I was married to her grandson.

When I was twenty years old and traveling around Europe, I took a train to her little town of Langenselbold (Ian was supposed to be there, too, but he wasn't— *ahem*-- that's another story). Anyway, I visited her once in winter, and once in summer. Both times were magical--- I stayed in her hundred-year-old stone house, sipped coffee in her gorgeous old rose garden, visited castles and ruins with her... Omi was such a beautiful, poetic, artistic creative soul then (17 years ago) and she still is now, well into her nineties! She's so open-hearted and delightful-- the kind of person who slips pressed flowers and other little treasures into her letters.

She's read all my books, and I LOVE reading her reviews of them… here's her latest one, tucked into our Frohe Weihnacht und ein Guten Neues Jahr card. (She writes beautifully in English—it's her second language—I think the little idiosyncrisies that come with writing in a different language make her letter extra charming and poetic).:

Hello Laura,

It's been quite some time now that I forgot the world around me and was transformed into the mysterious person of Z vacationing in the lovely city of Aix-en-Provence, waiting for Wendell to arrive.

In the meantime strange things happened to me. I was partly living with and in a group of French young people, a band, people that became my friends and were in some mysterious way attached to me- and-maybe- could become the solution of my search for father unknown.

And there is the charming Madame Chevalier and Vincent the shy lover of days gone by but never forgotten. I love to be with them from time to time—enjoying a pot of of tea, listening to stories of my story.

I indulge into their atmosphere of shadows, of shadows which make light appear.

And then- the feared end- fin- and closing of the book!

The dream remains and haunts me for days.

Thank you for a wonderful gift for hours outside of reality.

Omi

If you've read my books, you know that there's almost always a wise, kind, creative older lady that the narrator bonds with. These characters are combinations of real-life kind, wise, creative older ladies who've been essential in my life, embracing me as a granddaughter. Omi is one of these inspirational ladies. Danke shoen, Omi! Frohe Weihnacht und ein guten neues Jahr!

Love and Liebe to Omi, my family, friends, and readers!
Laura

PS I just got back from *Mexico* yesterday! More about that soon...

PPS I'm pretty much finished with THE JADE NOTEBOOK manuscript, at least this draft, which I'll soon send to my editor. Whew! Sorry if you were one of the people I neglected during this final push to the finish line... thanks for your patience!

Happy New Year, from my trailer to yours...

2010-12-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

photo from stolkholms stadsmission

Or, at least, to your metaphorical trailer... whatever your creative space happens to be!

Speaking of creativity, look what my writer friend Laura Pritchett gave me (and our other writing group members) for Christmas...

It's a writer's snow globe! I LOVE snowglobes... and this is the first homemade one I've gotten. Laura's the author of some wonderful fiction (Hell's Bottom, Colorado and Sky Bridge) and she's edited a bunch of great environmentally-themed anthologies, one of which is Going Green-- it's all about cool ways of gleaning new uses for junk.

Her card was made by a friend of ours, Libby, who makes art from old teabags! You can read an excerpt from her essay about her teabag art in Going Green here. As a tea fiend, I really appreciate her work.... so pretty! I love the color of tea.

And here's Laura's sweet message inside... a sentiment I wish for you who are writers, too.

I'm so grateful for Laura and the other amazing writers (and readers!) in my life. Around this time of year, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude. This month marks the *three year anniversary* of my Lil Dude's arrival from Guatemala. He was eight months old when he came, just scooting around and belting out "Da!" and clapping, his mouth wide open in delight. Now that he's here, I love how our home feels so full, spilling over with his exuberant energy (not to mention, lots of toy firetrucks, trains, stuffed animals...)

And I'm grateful for my mom who has, once again, dropped everything to help me finish the next of the Notebooks series-- in this case, THE JADE NOTEBOOK-- so I can meet my January deadline to hand the manuscript in to my editor. Thank you, Mom!

And I'm grateful for the little everyday joys that come with living where I do, at the foot of the Rockies... There are rainbows galore here. We saw this full rainbow arc at the end of our street one morning last week. It took our breath away. Lil Dude and I stood in the middle of our street for a while, in a state of wonder. "That's so cool, Mommy!" he kept saying. Of course, he wanted to follow the rainbow, find where it touched down...

Much love and many happy winter wishes to you and yours!

xoxo,

Laura

Fort Collins Author Friends!

2010-12-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hello dear readers!

Books make such fantastic presents. Some of my all-time favorite presents during my childhood and teen years were books. The love I developed for these books (The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, books by Mary Stewart, Roald Dahl, Scott O'Dell, and many, many more...) was an essential part of my journey as a writer. Thank you to all my wonderful relatives who supported me early on in my writing journey by giving me books!

I'm lucky enough to live in a community with loads of talented (not to mention extremely *nice*) authors who write for young people. We decided to support each other this holiday season by encouraging people to buy each other's books as gifts. So.... I encourage you to shop local authors if you're in Fort Collins, and if you're somewhere else, shop local authors in your community! (Remember that you can always buy books to donate to your local school library or a Toys for Tots drive.)

Okay, here goes:

By acclaimed novelist, Todd Mitchell

A teenage boy takes advantage of being the new student at school and reinvents himself. Things get out of control in a sharp, funny, poignant, and compulsively readable novel that gives a coming-of-age theme a surprising twist. Selected by the Texas Library Association for the 2011 Teen Reading List.

You've heard me rave about this book before on my blog! I LOVE it! One of my all-time favorite teen books.

By WWII author, Teresa Funke

The Home-Front Heroes Series are books inspired by the stories of real people during WWII. Ideal for history buffs and teachers, too!

My favorite way of learning about history is through stories... and Teresa does a fantastic job of this with her novels!

By praised teen author, Amy Kathleen Ryan

Zen is the "good" sister with a black belt in karate and a newfound penchant for kicking heads. Xander is a wild scientific genius with a self-destructive streak. They have three things in common: they're brown-eyed blondes, they've noticed the boy next door has turned into a hottie, and they miss their deceased mom. Xander spirals into a vortex of late-night parties, scary men, and drugs. She's about to ruin her chance at college. Should Zen keep trying to protect Xander, or finally let her go?

Amy Ryan creates such distinctive voices and characters and storylines-- she's a captivating storyteller! (And I've had the privilege of reading a sneak preview of her speculative fiction series that will come out in a year or so-- spectacular!)

By national best-selling author, Natasha Wing

For dinosaur lovers: a tongue-in-cheek guide to caring for a pet dinosaur with wild illustrations and fun lift-the-flaps.

My three-year old loves this book! It's SO much fun to read together!

****

The above is just a sampling of the great books coming out of Fort Collins... Other fantastic local authors to check out include:

Victoria Hanley (Violet Wings-- wonderful middle grade fantasy),
Lauren Myracle (Violet in Bloom-- fabulous middle grade realistic fiction),
Karla Oceanak (Artsy-Fartsy books-- middle-grade graphic novel series along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (but better!),
Nathan Kumar Scott (multi-cultural picture books)

... I'm sure I'm missing some authors (sorry!), but I have to stop here so I can bring Lil Dude to preschool now... ;)

Happy Book-Giving!

xo,

Laura

* In Fort Collins, you can find most of these books at: Old Firehouse Books, Bookends, Clothes Pony and Dandelion Toys, Reader's Cove, and Barnes & Noble on So. College. Nature's Own also carries How to Raise a Dinosaur. Or, if you're not in the area, you can go to indiebound.org to order the books from an indie store near you.

Literary Weavings

2010-11-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hello dear readers!

Hope your Thanksgiving was full of good company and good food-- ours was! I just got back from an action-packed trip to Madison, WI, and then Orlando for two fun conferences... more about those later.... Now, I want to share this very cool literary weaving activity that superstar reading specialist Sandra Kowalczyk used with her middle schoolers while reading Red Glass.

Me with the weaving on display:

Here's Sandy's description:

Inspired by woven textiles and carpets from Oaxaca, Mexico, where the novel Red Glass takes place, students collaboratively created a literary weaving. Each student designed a strip of repeated symbols, colors, and quotes from Red Glass to capture significant images and themes from the book. Then students wove the strips together.

Close up:

Pics of Oaxacan women weaving (photos taken by Sandy on a trip she took to Oaxaca) along with a photo of the students actually weaving their strips together:

Sandy and me in front of another amazingly creative display she made with her class (this one features all my books!):

Here's another shot so you can see the parts covered up in the last pic. Some of the absolutely delightful touches include The Indigo Notebook and The Ruby Notebook in spiral bound notebook form, plane tickets with Zeeta's flight info, first from Thailand to Ecuador, then from Ecuador to France!), a little pretend Rumi book (with a Rumi quote inside!), maps galore, Zeeta's passport, an Andean alpaca sweater, photos from Ecucador... Needless to say, I was completely blown away!

*Remember, you can click on the images to enlarge them!*

I love, love, love, when teachers and librarians do such creative things with my books. It's such a joy for me! Sandy's enthusiasm rubbed off on everyone at the school (Patrick Marsh Middle School in Wisconsin)... Her wonderful colleagues and students were bursting with great energy. During the two (!) delicious Mexican-themed lunches they served me, I heard kids' and teachers' great comments and questions on Red Glass, The Indigo Notebook, and Star in the Forest. Thank you guys! I loved hearing about your connections to my books!

xoxo
Laura

My Horoscope...

2010-11-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hello dearest readers!

I wanted to share with you my uncannily accurate horoscope from the Lincoln Journal Star that my parents picked up as they were driving here (Colorado) from Michigan last week:

Cancer (June 22-July 22)-- You almost see the finish line for a writing project. The editing process presents difficulties. Enlist the help of an older, more objective person.

Hehehe! Needless to say, the writing project is THE JADE NOTEBOOK, which I must finish by Jan 1. And um, yes... "presents difficulties" is a nice way of saying "is utterly grueling at the moment." And the older person? My mom, of course. In my NaNoWriMo-esque plan, I'm trying to get this latest revision to her by the end of November.

Speaking of which, thanks to everyone who came to my novel-writing tips event at Barnes and Noble yesterday-- you guys were great! I have to say, you probably inspired me more than I inspired you. (And as you probably saw on the handout, I meant to hold a fun little contest to come up with a snazzier title for the workshop, but I got caught up in the excitement of talking to you all, and it completely slipped my mind... sorry!)

A nice bit o' news: THE RUBY NOTEBOOK just got a Flamingnet Top Choices Award! This is a really cool teen blogger award... all the reviews are done by teens, who designate their favorites as Top Choices.

Here's a piece of the review:

"The Ruby Notebook is a lovely tale of a girl who is lost in her own world, as most of us are. The reader follows Zeeta on her path to finding herself, perhaps learning more about themselves as well. The concept of the book lies in the mysteries of the fountain of eternal youth, which I find interesting. It was very easy for me to get immersed in the book and not want to stop reading. There were many plots and subplots that were all very well tied up by the end of the novel, but they kept you guessing the entire way through. I would recommend it to anyone who loves both mystery and romance genres." -- a 17-year-old Flamingnet Reviewer

Thanks-- I'm honored-- it's always extra-meaningful to get a good review from a teen reviewer!

Speaking of reviews, the Denver Post featured THE RUBY NOTEBOOK in the Sunday book section. Here's a quote from reviewer Claire Martin: "As always, Resau's narrative is lush, evoking Provence with grace and precision." (Merci, Claire!) She also reviewed my friend Lauren Myracle's latest book, Violet in Bloom.... it sounds really good-- I'm eager to read it.

On a side note, Lauren and I will be at the NCTE conference (ALAN workshops) in *Orlando* next week, along with a bunch of breath-takingly amazing authors. So thrilling to be in their midst... Just before that conference, I'll be at the International Children's Literature Festival in Madison, also in the midst of fabulous authors.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I must do some laundry so I have something to wear on these upcoming adventures. (When I walked out the door with Lil Dude to go to preschool this morning, he said, "Mommy, you can't leave the house in your pajamas." I ushered him out, assuring him that it's our secret... if I wear a big coat, no one has to know I slept in these clothes...)

Okay, thanks for reading!

xo
Laura

Internet-less Interlude

2010-11-01T19:59:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone!

Our DSL was down from Fri through this morning (Monday), which was interesting... on one hand, it was liberating, and made me really productive-- revising more of The Jade Notebook, playing more with Lil Dude, cleaning my fridge, scrubbing the floors, organizing our basement... Periodically, I thought, hmmm, if we had Internet access at the moment, I wouldn't be doing any of this stuff-- I'd be twiddling my time away online instead. And mentally, I felt calmer, more focused-- just a relaxed state of mind.

On the other hand, our Internet-less state was pretty darn inconvenient-- I was clueless about event schedules, like the Day of the Dead festivities and movies and things like that. But overall, it was a good thing. Ian and I decided to do more Internet fasts... maybe even every weekend (which is, I admit, a little scary to me!)

On a different note, here's a pic of me and my welcoming crew for the Telluride visit I did a couple weeks ago. These super-sweet girls made me feel very, very welcome! Thank you!

I'm guessing some of you are doing NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month), which began today. I'm doing my own version of it, as a matter of fact. I'm on a strict schedule of revising The Jade Notebook-- a chapter a day-- so I can get it critiqued by my writers group and Mom in December, and have it in reasonably decent shape (*hope hope hope*) by early January, when it's due to my editor. So far, so good-- got my chapter done!

For you Fort Collinites, I'm doing a signing/workshop in celebration of NaNoWriMo -- Ten Novel-Writing Tips. (I need to learn to come up with snazzier workshop titles, don't I?) Anyway, it's Sunday, Nov 14 at 2 pm at the Barnes and Noble on College Ave. It's the NaNoWriMo midway point, and hopefully it'll give you a nice little burst of energy to keep you going...

Hope your Halloween was spookily amusing. Ours was... Lil Dude was a cuddly, fuzzy dragon and I was a dead Victorian lady (my old standby). And today is Day of the Dead-- I didn't make an altar this year, but I saw some gorgeous ones at the library's Dia de los Muertos festivities. Lil Dude and I stuffed ourselves with sugary pan de muertos and tamales, listened to calavera (skeleton) tales, heard our friend Gloria Garcia sing and read poetry, and walked in a fun parade, complete with a guitarist and giant puppets.... all in perfectly glorious sunny fall weather.

Have a happy week,
Laura

Telluride Visit!

2010-10-20T08:04:00.000-06:00

Just got back from a beautiful-beyond-words trip to Telluride!

Rode a little plane over the Rockies to get there... breath-taking views... snow-topped mountains and hillsides covered with bright yellow aspens.

Such amazing and enthusiastic teens and teen librarians (Alyssa in the middle and Sarah in yellow on right) at the Telluride Library! Oh, how I wish I lived there so I could swing by to say hi every day! What a cozy, wonderful community.

Wined and dined at a magnifique French restaurant with librarians and teachers and community leaders...

Everyone did such a fantastic job generating excitement about my visit! Here's a bulletin board at the school...

Some of the talented high school girls who attended the Friday afternoon writing workshop...

Here's a cool little fantasy/sci fi nook in the high school library... wish I had a little refuge like this when I was in high school... I would have curled up there and never left!

I stayed at a cute B and B, right downtown next to a river trail, where I walked every day (while dreaming of living here)...

Couldn't get enough of those quivering aspens...

For my Saturday writing workshop at the library, some of these teens took a two hour van ride to get there! I was honored. They were all brilliant writers, I discovered...

The fabulous librarian and blog reviewer Di (of Genrefluent), who I'd corresponded with online and was absolutely *thrilled* to meet in person! What a treat. (And she drove two hours each way, too...)

These gorgeous girls stopped by the library on Saturday before going to their Homecoming dance. I was so touched!

Here I am with a couple cool readers at the multicultural celebration on Saturday night... I did a presentation on "Transcending Borders." I was so happy to have such an exuberant audience-- about half of the people there were native Spanish speakers (my talk was simultaneously translated into Spanish via headsets)... Everyone had lots to contribute... One family there was from Oaxaca! They spoke Chinanteco, one of the eighteen indigenous languages spoken in Oaxaca. Needless to say, I was over the moon to chat with them (in Spanish... I don't speak Chinantecto- -maybe one day!) It was such an honor to be part of this community celebration-- many connections were made that evening-- what great energy...

Two of the geniuses behind the celebration-- Sarah the super-hero librarian on the left and Emo the community non-profit community organizer goddess on the right. I was so impressed with how they got nearly everyone in town excited about my books... Several times as I was walking down the street, some kids called out, "Hi Laura Resau!" And they even knew how to pronounce my last name. ;)

Before my plane left on Sunday, I took a ride up the mountain in a free gondola. Stunning views...

Here's the town of Telluride through the gondola window...

And here it is when I was almost to the top... (yes, I was a wee bit nervous, dangling alone in the air at 10,000 feet...)

Thank you, Telluride, for an incredibly memorable and special visit! I'll be back!!

Laura

Maria Virginia, Mannequin Belly Buttons, and Ruby Reviews...

2010-10-11T12:06:00.001-06:00

Hello all!

Just got back from an outing to our very lame local mall (featured on deadmalls.com) with Lil Dude this rainy afternoon. He's fascinated by mannequins, and was on a mission to look under each one's shirt to confirm that they each had a belly button. (All of them did, although many were headless.) He's into belly buttons. The other day, out of the blue, he said in a very serious voice, "Mommy, all mammals have belly buttons. If it has a belly button, it's a mammal."

So, other fun stuff... I had a gathering at my house a few days ago in honor of Maria Virginia Farinango, my co-author for The Queen of Water (March 2011). She's in town now, but will return to Ecuador soon... we wanted to have a little shin dig to show off the gorgeous review copy of Queen and thank everyone who gave us revision help or general moral support!

Here's Maria V with Maria Luisa (Swiss woman who plays Andean music!) and Julie (writer, bilingual educator, and good friend). Maria is posed with dirty dishes... it's kind of a running joke that she's not allowed to do any cleaning up at my house, but then she always sneaks in the kitchen and does it while I'm blabbing away and drinking wine... (I always wait till the next day (or day after that or after that) to do dishes.)

Maria and the very sweet Flora, who's from Bolivia-- another gorgeous Andean country...

Sarah, from my writing group, with new baby and cute new haircut! She helped with Queen revisions over the past five or so years!

To the left of Sarah is Michelle-- a fourth grade teacher at bilingual school in our neighborhood-- she helped with Queen revisions during our Spanish-speaking focus group.

To the left of Michelle is Margaret-- a friend of Maria's who does amazing international community development volunteer work (with Afghan women and rug-making)

Michelle with one of the adorable three year old boys in attendance (my lil dude was the other one!) At one point during the party, noticing that his mom, Carrie's lap was occupied (with his baby sister), he made a general request to adults nearby.: "Can I sit in someone's lap please?" Awww....

And here's his mom, Carrie, who is in my writing group, and like Sarah, has seen many drafts of The Queen of Water. (I think she's the one, who at one point during the process of choosing a title for this book, suggested "Maria and the Potatoes", since Maria talked a lot about potatoes in one draft of the book. Hehehe...) To the right of Carrie is Holly, holding Sarah's baby (I know, babies galore!) Holly is an educator, fluent in Spanish, and was part of our Spanish focus group.

There's MaryLou in the middle... another amazing woman who does lots of international volunteer work. She's involved with the Xucaneb Fund to enable secondary education in a Guatemalan village, a non-profit where I donated 5% of my royalties last year.

Ian (hubbie, with new haircut) and Paul, another bilingual educator who helped us in the Spanish focus group for Queen. Great guy!

As usual, I'll refrain from posting a pic of Lil Dude, but trust me, with every passing day, his curly hair grows wilder and he grows cuter!

On a different note, here's a little blurb from School Library Journal's nice review of The Ruby Notebook (in their October issue):

"With a hint of mystery, a bit of romance, a touch of travel, and some coming-of-age, this book covers a lot of ground without ever feeling scattered or haphazard. Resau’s robust descriptions give readers a good picture of France and its people... Anyone who enjoys detailed settings and thoughtful narratives will be rewarded with this story." -- SLJ

The Fort Collins Coloradoan also had a lovely review of Ruby today:

"Curl up with this and you'll be sorry when it ends. Resau's easy, heartwarming literary style inserts the reader into the focal setting of the village plaza, making the characters Zeeta hangs out with such as the pigeon man and the elderly binocular lady genuine parts of the scene. Zeeta juggles a mysterious admirer with her boyfriend and becomes involved in a search for legendary spring waters that offer a coming of age and give Zeeta life lessons on love in all its forms. Highly recommended." – Nancy Hansford

Thanks for reading!

xo
Laura

THE RUBY NOTEBOOK Party Recap!

2010-10-04T09:04:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much to everyone who came to my release party on Saturday! I had heaps of fun celebrating with you! All your enthusiasm made me excited to finish writing The Jade Notebook so you can find out what happens next...

Accordion music filled the room thanks to the incredible Thomas Chen...

Here's Jean-Claude, owner of La Creperie (my favorite local restaurant) who was responsible for making the divine pastries. Next to him is Jean-Christophe, who helped me with French slang and expressions in the book. (And coincidentally, Thomas, Jean-Claude, and Jean-Christophe are all names of characters in The Ruby Notebook! C'est bizarre, n'est-ce pas?)

I love that people of all ages came out to celebrate... the three-year-old crowd is endlessly entertaining... they really got into dancing. Against Ian's (hubbie's) advice, I held an accordion dance contest, which turned out to be tres amusant (thanks for being good sports, everyone!)

I read a few little sections of the book, and everyone graciously laughed when they were supposed to (I learned from my Lil Dude that you can't go wrong with potty humor... in this case, pigeon potty humor). The teens there seemed excited about sharing their new French vocab word (me*de or mer*e, hehehe) with their French teacher at school. They promptly book-marked that page...

I was so happy to see so many teen girl fans of The Indigo Notebook, who were eager to read Ruby.... They all looked supercute-- some dressed in tres chic French outfits.

There was signing with a ruby red pen...

This lovely fan drove with her mom and sister all the way from south Denver for the party! I was honored!

You'll notice from the empty doilies that nearly all the pastries were all eaten by the time I started signing... but miraculously there was one heavenly pastry left for me... (merci, merci)

It's funny, but before the party I'd been worried I ordered too many pastries, and wondering what I'd do with all the leftovers... another party maybe? Ridiculous... (here's the line for pastries, out the door...)

Nothing cuter than little hands oh-so-carefully carrying a little masterpiece...

So many writer friends showed up to celebrate... here I'm talking with fabulous picture book author Natasha Wing (who has a reading at Old Firehouse Books on Oct 16).

Thank you Old Firehouse Books and everyone else for making this such a special night for me!

xoxo,
Laura

Ocean in a Saucer

Valentine's Day Book Giveaway!!!

Take me away...

Boulder Event for Literacy in Rural Guatemala

A Diggety-Dazzling New Year!

Whew... the trilogy is complete!

Personalized Books for Holiday Gifts...

Lil Dude's Literary Debut

I love my writers' group!

Gratitude, mothering, and writing

The Magic Stick

You Can Never Be President (my adoption rant...)

The Jade Notebook page proofs...

Using my Anthropology Background in Writing Queen

walking down memory lane....

Where I've been hiding....

Guatemalan Queens

Oct 6

Sept 23-24

Fri and Sat, CLAS (Colorado Language Arts Society) Conference, Luncheon Keynote and Breakout Session. Golden, CO. Registration required.

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Laura

Queen Party with Maria Virginia!

Reflections of a Conquistador, Afterward...

Deleted Scenes from THE QUEEN OF WATER...

Interview with Maria Virginia-- the Queen of Water (20 years later)!

Announcing... The Jade Notebook cover!!!

Mountains

Story in Cricket Mag!

Barnes and Noble Event Recap

Jade Revision Time!

Queen Cover Art... behind the scenes!

My Agent's Retreat ( 6 weeks after the fact...)

Austin TLA Recap (just a month late...)

Bookbrowse Feature

Starred Publishers Weekly review for Queen!

Back from Michigan!

Good news

Roundup of pics and news

Half Moon Bay

Queen Book Release Pics!

Interviews and articles for Queen!

Saturday, March 12, 6:00 pm, Old Firehouse Books, Fort Collins

Green Goo Supervillain!

You're invited...

Teatime and *Stars*!

*Starred* Kirkus review for THE QUEEN OF WATER!

Sayulita, Mexico!

My Omi's review of THE RUBY NOTEBOOK

Happy New Year, from my trailer to yours...

Fort Collins Author Friends!

Literary Weavings

My Horoscope...

Internet-less Interlude

Telluride Visit!

Maria Virginia, Mannequin Belly Buttons, and Ruby Reviews...

THE RUBY NOTEBOOK Party Recap!

Teatime and Stars!

Starred Kirkus review for THE QUEEN OF WATER!