I LOVE that YA is dealing with seriously dark stuff lately--psychological struggles teens might face, traumatic events...
...and, of course, serial murderers.
I know I was most deeply in my James Patterson/let's read about a gruesome torturer phase around age 12-13; it shouldn't be particularly surprising that there's a thriving subgenre of YA that's about grisly, HBO-worthy murders.
But can you tell which stories are fiction and which are (horrifyingly) true?
See you you do! (And make sure to scroll down slowly so you don't spoiler yourself!)
Monday, October 12, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
New Article on Newsweek!
I've always felt like 9-5 jobs were specifically created to replicate the experience of hell on earth.
But it could be worse; I could work one of the jobs I wrote about for Newsweek today.
But it could be worse; I could work one of the jobs I wrote about for Newsweek today.
Friday, September 18, 2015
New website!
Big news (which, if you're reading this on jillygagnon.com, you can already see): I have a new website!
I like to think it's finally bringing me up to date circa three years ago, a major accomplishment since I'm a.) tech-stupid and b.) old.
I'll be posting information about events, my books, and everything else here, so keep watching it!
...but not that often. Luddites aren't constantly updating their website, for goodness' sake.
I like to think it's finally bringing me up to date circa three years ago, a major accomplishment since I'm a.) tech-stupid and b.) old.
I'll be posting information about events, my books, and everything else here, so keep watching it!
...but not that often. Luddites aren't constantly updating their website, for goodness' sake.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Like-Minded Individuals
Clearly I've been a lazy blogger.
Bad. Bad Jilly. Shame on you.
But as usual, I have an excuse, and as less-usual, it's a pretty good one: I've been busy finding my people!
Last year at a writing retreat, I met the fantastic Kim Savage, who told me about a group she was in, the Sweet 16s. It was a group of writers, all of whom were having their first YA or middle grade novel debut in...you guessed it, 2016.
Clearly, the minute I heard about The Swanky 17s I raised my hand as high as it would go and started shaking in my seat, hoping they'd pick me.
They did--hooray!
In the last two weeks we've been kicking it into seriously high gear, getting the website up and running (thank you infinitely, Sara Biren!), the twitter account active, and all our ducks lined up so we can start welcoming our fellow 17ers.
A couple of the things people tell you about this process that's impossible to believe before it happens to you are 1) how slowly publishing schedules move, and 2) how much of your work as an author is about finding interesting ways to get your books to readers.
Thankfully, the Swankies are helping me manage both of those. I can't imagine a better way to spend the 18+ months between now and my book actually existing than connecting with other authors (with books that I can't wait to read), promoting our work together, and--let's be honest--knowing who to turn to when the headaches and the nerves and the frustration and the elation start coming fast and thick.
Of course I've also been working to get the 2016 comedy debut lined up and ready to go...
...but that's another story.
Bad. Bad Jilly. Shame on you.
But as usual, I have an excuse, and as less-usual, it's a pretty good one: I've been busy finding my people!
Last year at a writing retreat, I met the fantastic Kim Savage, who told me about a group she was in, the Sweet 16s. It was a group of writers, all of whom were having their first YA or middle grade novel debut in...you guessed it, 2016.
Clearly, the minute I heard about The Swanky 17s I raised my hand as high as it would go and started shaking in my seat, hoping they'd pick me.
They did--hooray!
In the last two weeks we've been kicking it into seriously high gear, getting the website up and running (thank you infinitely, Sara Biren!), the twitter account active, and all our ducks lined up so we can start welcoming our fellow 17ers.
A couple of the things people tell you about this process that's impossible to believe before it happens to you are 1) how slowly publishing schedules move, and 2) how much of your work as an author is about finding interesting ways to get your books to readers.
Thankfully, the Swankies are helping me manage both of those. I can't imagine a better way to spend the 18+ months between now and my book actually existing than connecting with other authors (with books that I can't wait to read), promoting our work together, and--let's be honest--knowing who to turn to when the headaches and the nerves and the frustration and the elation start coming fast and thick.
Of course I've also been working to get the 2016 comedy debut lined up and ready to go...
...but that's another story.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Guilty Pleasures
What, exactly, defines a literary guilty pleasure?
I know they exist, at least insofar as there are books I'm frankly embarrassed to admit I've read (no, I will NOT name names, so don't ask...publicly). But I'm not sure where the line is drawn between "fun, light read" and "guilt because I read."
I know they exist, at least insofar as there are books I'm frankly embarrassed to admit I've read (no, I will NOT name names, so don't ask...publicly). But I'm not sure where the line is drawn between "fun, light read" and "guilt because I read."
Guilt because you're reading about pleasure is another thing entirely.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
From the Mouths of Olds...
People love to quote "from the mouths of babes" to indicate that kids say the wisest things.
This is stupid.
Kids say extremely stupid things.
Sometimes they DO hit on a truth adults won't tell, of course. But that's not because kids are so inordinately wise, it's because they're jerks. They have no filters, so they just say the mean things the rest of us think, but know enough to keep to ourselves.
This is stupid.
Kids say extremely stupid things.
Sometimes they DO hit on a truth adults won't tell, of course. But that's not because kids are so inordinately wise, it's because they're jerks. They have no filters, so they just say the mean things the rest of us think, but know enough to keep to ourselves.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Choose to Learn About our Choose Your Own Misery Books!
Something other authors always talk about on the interwebs, but which you sort of fail to appreciate until your book is in that weird pupal stage between "being done" and "existing in the world," is that there's a LOT of not-really-book-stuff you have to do.
You know, so that people have any idea your book exists in the first place.
You know, so that people have any idea your book exists in the first place.
That should be enough, right?
Monday, May 18, 2015
How Can You Tell When It's GOOD Advice?
Yesterday I went to my writing group, where two of my fellow writers had submitted pages, and the rest of us told those (un?)lucky two what we thought.
Sometimes we agreed, which is always reassuring, both as a writer and a critiquer--it means there's probably something legitimate in the criticism.
And sometimes we didn't. At all. Or sometimes we offered wildly different potential solutions to perceived problems. Like mine was "maybe more dialogue" and someone else's was "if she passed out from pain, that would explain things"-level different.
Sometimes we agreed, which is always reassuring, both as a writer and a critiquer--it means there's probably something legitimate in the criticism.
And sometimes we didn't. At all. Or sometimes we offered wildly different potential solutions to perceived problems. Like mine was "maybe more dialogue" and someone else's was "if she passed out from pain, that would explain things"-level different.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Fantastic Reading with Elephant Rock Books
Just got back from Storrs, Connecticut, and I'm still glowing about the fabulous Roar Reading that Elephant Rock Books put on there tonight!
Mary Collins and Emily Lyon both read fantastic, funny, moving pieces, and the room was full--no small feat for a Monday night reading series in a smallish town!
Mary Collins and Emily Lyon both read fantastic, funny, moving pieces, and the room was full--no small feat for a Monday night reading series in a smallish town!
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Getting into the Routine
I'm fascinated with the routines people develop for themselves, especially artistic people who's only boss is themselves and who are therefore simultaneously not required to report to anyone ever but also plagued by guilt because really this is all about YOUR success so why aren't you working now, say, or now, or also now?
It's normal and healthy, I swear. Or a facet of my OCD. Take your pick.
Anyway, as I venture into the utterly uncharted territory of someone saying "yes, we DO want your books," I'm having to develop one for myself (a routine, but yes, also the books).
Which results in all the guilt.
It's normal and healthy, I swear. Or a facet of my OCD. Take your pick.
Anyway, as I venture into the utterly uncharted territory of someone saying "yes, we DO want your books," I'm having to develop one for myself (a routine, but yes, also the books).
Which results in all the guilt.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (Hopefully)
It's official. After nearly two years of forcing myself into an ill-fitting 9-5:30 lifestyle, today is the first day that I'll be working primarily for myself, primarily on my capital-w Writing, doing the thing I've been desperately trying to get anyone to let me do for almost a decade.
It's pretty terrifying.
Luckily, having a ton on my plate right from the start is helping. As is having amazing coworkers (with some serious personal space issues):
It's pretty terrifying.
Luckily, having a ton on my plate right from the start is helping. As is having amazing coworkers (with some serious personal space issues):
Friday, March 13, 2015
Book Deal News
I've been a little spotty about posting here lately, but I swear, I have a good excuse.
Actually I have good excuses.
Last week I got an offer for my YA debut, #famous, from HarperCollins imprint Katherine Tegen.
Which is enough to make me vomit rainbows for about a year, especially since I get to do it with the FABULOUS editrix Anica Rissi, supported by the EQUALLY fabulous agent-extraordinaire Heather Alexander.
But wait, there's more.
Actually I have good excuses.
Last week I got an offer for my YA debut, #famous, from HarperCollins imprint Katherine Tegen.
Which is enough to make me vomit rainbows for about a year, especially since I get to do it with the FABULOUS editrix Anica Rissi, supported by the EQUALLY fabulous agent-extraordinaire Heather Alexander.
But wait, there's more.
Friday, February 27, 2015
No Boys Allowed?
I came across a really frustrating but thought-provoking post this morning by Shannon Hale (h/t Sharyn November) that commented on the general attitude--and the specific times Hale as a writer had seen it playing out--that many, many children's books are "just for girls."
Frustrating because it reinforced what so many of us know in our guts but (until you're as successful as Hale and therefore able to collect a bit of your own data) can't necessarily "prove" :
That books by women, and books with female protagonists, are exclusively billed as being for girls, so much so that many boys quickly learn to be too ashamed to even consider them.
Even author visits to a school--something I'd think of as a one-perspective version of career day--are segregated; Hale talks about the several times she's found herself speaking to a conspicuously female crowd, though male authors had addressed the entire school.
There's a lot of talk in the kid's lit world about boy readers--how we lose them, often, and how we need to fold them in.
But clearly we're not expecting parents, and educators, and ourselves to give them "girl" books as part of that effort. We're not taking "girl" books and telling boys "there are good reasons to like this."
It should go without saying, but clearly it isn't being said enough: reinforcing the idea that stories about more than half the population are somehow not worthy of male attention makes it very, VERY hard to argue that female people are worthy of the same level of thought and respect as male people.
Teaching boys and girls both that female stories are specific but male stories are universal is a gut-punch to really valuing those groups of stories, and of people, equally. We always try to bill reading as a way to open your mind and see new worlds and develop empathy, and yet we're not asking boys--are in fact making it shameful and difficult for them--to open their mind to girlhood.
This isn't just a problem with "boy" books and "girl" books--it's a problem for all kinds of sub-categories. Books that feature diverse characters, or LGBT characters, or disabled characters, or, or, or, shouldn't exist SOLELY to make those groups feel like literature finds value in their experiences. Those books should also be something we push to every other kid, kids who don't fit those specific boxes, so that they realize this is an experience that is as valid as their own. You can't normalize anything by keeping it "other."
Sigh.
I'd cry about it, but that would be such a GIRL thing to do.
Frustrating because it reinforced what so many of us know in our guts but (until you're as successful as Hale and therefore able to collect a bit of your own data) can't necessarily "prove" :
That books by women, and books with female protagonists, are exclusively billed as being for girls, so much so that many boys quickly learn to be too ashamed to even consider them.
Even author visits to a school--something I'd think of as a one-perspective version of career day--are segregated; Hale talks about the several times she's found herself speaking to a conspicuously female crowd, though male authors had addressed the entire school.
There's a lot of talk in the kid's lit world about boy readers--how we lose them, often, and how we need to fold them in.
But clearly we're not expecting parents, and educators, and ourselves to give them "girl" books as part of that effort. We're not taking "girl" books and telling boys "there are good reasons to like this."
It should go without saying, but clearly it isn't being said enough: reinforcing the idea that stories about more than half the population are somehow not worthy of male attention makes it very, VERY hard to argue that female people are worthy of the same level of thought and respect as male people.
Teaching boys and girls both that female stories are specific but male stories are universal is a gut-punch to really valuing those groups of stories, and of people, equally. We always try to bill reading as a way to open your mind and see new worlds and develop empathy, and yet we're not asking boys--are in fact making it shameful and difficult for them--to open their mind to girlhood.
This isn't just a problem with "boy" books and "girl" books--it's a problem for all kinds of sub-categories. Books that feature diverse characters, or LGBT characters, or disabled characters, or, or, or, shouldn't exist SOLELY to make those groups feel like literature finds value in their experiences. Those books should also be something we push to every other kid, kids who don't fit those specific boxes, so that they realize this is an experience that is as valid as their own. You can't normalize anything by keeping it "other."
Sigh.
I'd cry about it, but that would be such a GIRL thing to do.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Winter Reading List
Lately, for a whole host of reasons, I just can't. Even.
Seriously.
I'm all over my "real" writing (read: the three books in various stages of completion, and the essays, and the new freelancing gig, and the side projects with my humor writing partner, and, and, and), but this day job racket isn't cutting it in the middle of cold, dark January. Just getting through the days sucks any "even" I had right out of me, and every evening I wind up in a fetal curl on my couch, staring mindlessly at the TV,
Which is why I need a good book list.
I used to think that winter was the time for reading serious books, since you don't want to leave the house anyway, but I'm starting to question that; I have so little energy that I CAN'T leave the house. I certainly can't use what's left on Proust.
Of course I can't waste perfect summer days on something so mentally taxing, either. Or fall, coz that's my favorite season. It's possible I'll never read a serious book again. But that's another matter.
Point is, I need suggestions of can't-put-'em-down books to get me through these darkest of days.
So tell me the most recent book that fits that bill for you.
Help keep my brain from freezing up the same way my social life has!
Seriously.
I'm all over my "real" writing (read: the three books in various stages of completion, and the essays, and the new freelancing gig, and the side projects with my humor writing partner, and, and, and), but this day job racket isn't cutting it in the middle of cold, dark January. Just getting through the days sucks any "even" I had right out of me, and every evening I wind up in a fetal curl on my couch, staring mindlessly at the TV,
Which is why I need a good book list.
I used to think that winter was the time for reading serious books, since you don't want to leave the house anyway, but I'm starting to question that; I have so little energy that I CAN'T leave the house. I certainly can't use what's left on Proust.
Of course I can't waste perfect summer days on something so mentally taxing, either. Or fall, coz that's my favorite season. It's possible I'll never read a serious book again. But that's another matter.
Point is, I need suggestions of can't-put-'em-down books to get me through these darkest of days.
So tell me the most recent book that fits that bill for you.
Help keep my brain from freezing up the same way my social life has!
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
How Many Stories Do We Have?
There's a theory that most writers have probably heard, and some readers would probably agree with in an ego-cripplingly short amount of time:
Every writer, great, good, or otherwise, really only has one story to write, and s/he keeps on writing it over and over.
Or, in the case of Harper Lee, just the once, then mic drop.
Every writer, great, good, or otherwise, really only has one story to write, and s/he keeps on writing it over and over.
Or, in the case of Harper Lee, just the once, then mic drop.
And that's how you kill a mockingbird. Bitches.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Confessional: I Don't Like Short Fiction
If you're an intelligent, humanities-type person, I would wager that there are a certain number of cultural categories that you feel almost obligated to like, or at least grudgingly commit yourself to keeping up-to-date with.
You know what I'm talking about. The "this proves I'm smart" list. It includes things like:
You know what I'm talking about. The "this proves I'm smart" list. It includes things like:
- "Important" movies
- Semi-obscure scientific discoveries
- The vaguely defined world of art
- Philosophies
- Capitalized Literature
- lower-case bands
- World events
- Obscure cheeses
- Classic cocktails
- A genteel smattering of classical music, dance, and the theater
- A mostly-smirking appreciation of current "pop" culture
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