I started off trying to fold this into my linky post, only it truly would have been overflowing then. :-)

swan_tower posts on the importance of female characters having agency. coraa finds Kristin Cashore's Graceling satisfying because it's a fantasy of teenage female agency. I agree with them both. This is one of the reasons I loved Graceling, too. It's one of the reasons I enjoy tammypierce's books--and the Icelandic sagas, for that matter.

I don't require my female characters to be vampire slayers or trained killers -- but I do require them to find ways, whoever they are, to act with agency and not be passive participants in their own lives, at least if I'm supposed to see their story as not-disturbing and not-a-tragedy.^* There are many ways to do this, and not all of them require physical strength. marypearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a great example of a book where a protagonist shows agency in non-physical ways -- the whole book is about Jenna's struggle for agency, in fact.

We don't all have to be warriors. But we all ought to be something other than passive spectators in our own lives.

This is becoming increasingly non-negotiable for me in my fiction. I don't care how the writer gets there, if it's done well -- girls and women and the lives they live are widely and wonderfully varied. But lack of agency in female characters -- especially female protagonist characters -- is increasingly a deal-breaker for me as a reader.

*For a powerful story that explores the tragedy of a female character's lack of agency, I thoroughly enjoyed Rachel Swirsky's Iphigenia story, "A Memory of Wind."

Lots of thinky posts piling up here lately.

Over on SF Novelists writers are discussing gender roles in fiction:

- Marie Brennan on why a woman's place is not in the refrigerator. (Or anyplace else she might die tragically and without agency for no reason other than to spur a man to action.)

- Kate Elliott questions why women are so often only allowed to be strong in fiction when protecting their young. (It's not a bad trope, but need it be the only trope?)

- David Coe asks why male strength so often has to manifest in violence.

nancyboflood and debbyedwardson have a series on thru_the_booth on writing Native American characters:

- Get the Indians Out of the Cupboard

- Indians In The Cupboard? What Were You Thinking? Let Them Out!

- Warriors Caught in the Crossfire

- Now What?

- American Indian and Alaskan Native Children’s Literature - Whose Story?

- Wrapping up Loose Ends

Other odds and ends:

- Karen Healey on YA SFF and the transformations of adolescence.

- Pam Bachorz on why she doesn't plan to quit writing.

- Mette Harrison on why her books are her children.

- Jim Hines on why his books are not his children.

- How to tell someone they sound racist

And one link that is not at all thinky:

Tauntaun sleeping bags!

Your human is not a toy. May contain moving parts and independent thoughts. Owner's manual not included. While the typical lifespan of a human is 60-90 years, you accept your human as-is. We will not repair any flaws in craftsmanship. All humans contain flaws in craftsmanship. Should a replacement be required, you must obtain one at your own cost. There is no warranty on your human. We are not responsible for broken hearts, poorly worded bargains, or banishment from the Realm. You are fully responsible for all spells, tithes, transformations, and hastily-made promises. All humans are hastily made. Tears and tantrums possible. Fragile, may break if dropped. Do not let your human operate heavy machinery while under glamour. Results will vary. Do not add water. Do not say we didn't tell you so. Void and prohibited and really you ought to know better. Not valid in Alaska, Hawaii, the continental United States, or anywhere else outside the True Lands.

(Because humans aren't the only ones who could do with a few warnings and protections.)

stacylwhitman is starting up Tu Publishing in order to increase the diversity of characters in children's and YA SF/fantasy. I think Mitali Perkins expresses well why children and teens need books that more fully reflect the world we live in (and not just certain corners of same) when she talks about why books need to be both windows and mirrors.

I still hear the argument, occasionally, that we shouldn't be thinking about such things, that "good characters and good stories" are all that matter. And they do matter--but it isn't an either/or. Readers have a right to both good stories and stories with a full range of characters, at the same time, and we ought not have to settle for one or the other. Or as stacylwhitman says, "... we want to acquire books that are about the adventure, the quest, the mystery, the magic, and most of all, the characters, and have the culture or ethnicities of the characters be the milieu in which the story is steeped, the history that might influence their decisions, the structure of a culture they must navigate."

All of which is by way of saying there's now a Kickstart Tu Publishing Auction going on to help Tu Publishing raise the startup funds to acquire its first two books. Stop by. Donate something. Bid on something. Support a venture that has so much to offer to children's literature.

Alternately, if you want to support Tu Publishing but don't want to bid, there's also a kickstarter page where you can donate directly.

I think good things can come of this, and I'm hoping hard it gets off the ground.

Dear Character to Whom I Refuse to Attach Any Identifying Information Whatsoever for Fear of Spoilers,

Don't you think it's a bit early for stray comments that might foreshadow your untimely demise?

I'm still trying to save you, after all.

Concerned,

Me

Last year, not a single book was added by SFWA members to the Andre Norton Award ballot--every book was added by the jury. Which is what the jury is there for, and I'm glad, but even so ... this is the first year the Nebulas (and, by extension, the Norton) are operating under new rules, and the nomination period has just opened. And I'd love to see us turn the Norton into an active, seriously contested award this year.

With that in mind, YA and/or middle grade fantasy and SF books I've read and dug that seem to be eligible for the Andre Norton Award include (books nominated from July 2008 through to the end of 2009 qualify this year):

- The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
- Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
- Dark Whispers, by Bruce Coville
- Sacred Scars, by Kathleen Duey
- Ice, by Sarah Beth Durst
- The Dust of 100 Dogs, by A.S. King
- The Dragon of Trelian, by Michelle Knudsen
- The Carbon Diaries 2015, by Saci Lloyd
- Bloodhound, by Tamora Pierce
- The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan
- Bones of Faerie, by Janni Lee Simner
- When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead
- The Immortal Fire, by Anne Ursu
- Dragon's Heart, by Jane Yolen

To-be-read-in-the-next-few-weeks books that also look to be serious contenders: Fire by Kristin Cashore, The Dragon Heir by Cinda Chima, Ash by Malinda Lo & Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

This is not at all an inclusive list, since I often get to books more than a year after their pub dates, but ... on your blog (or here, if you don't have one), share your lists of Norton-eligible books you've read that you think SFWAns should know about. At the very least, we'll all gain an extended reading list filled with books to look for, right?

Had a terrific time at both TusCon and the Phoenix Faerie Festival this weekend. Not sure whether I'll get a more coherent report than that up or not -- five hours of driving and two cons in one weekend makes for a loopy me -- but it was much fun.

Back to working on the Faerie Winter today. Thanks, all, for helping with the faerie naming contest--you all rock!

Am tentatively using one name from the contest already, but that's still subject to change, and I have a couple other (also tentative) fey characters as well, so the contest is definitely still open. :-)

Some Bones of Faerie linky from the past couple months. (If anyone knows where autumn has gone, could you let me know? Thx. :-))

The week after our signing, fellow writers Marge Pellegrino, Juanita Havill, Jennifer J. Stewart, Robin Brande, and I were on Antigone Books' bestseller list.

An interview with Ash at From Rambling to Interviews.

A guest (geeky) birthday blog for Vania at Reverie Book Reviews.

Review in Rain Taxi Review of Books: ... Liza also has to contend with a missing mother ... a forest of trees intent on devouring her, and myriad other difficulties. All of this makes for a grand adventure, but it is Liza's struggle with her own prejudices that forms the core of this moving novel.

Other takes of various sorts from Brooke's Book Reviews, SueBe's Bookshelf, Bookish37, quietshout.com, T.V. and Book Addict, Knight Reader, Book Obsession, Karissa's Reading Review, Penultimate Page.

Dear Antagonist Who Has A Different Personality Every Draft,

You've just crossed a line. You realize that, don't you?

Of course you're free to cross any lines you choose. It's just that ... well, if you were hoping for reader sympathy by the end of the book, you're going to have to work for it now.

Oh, well, if reader sympathy doesn't interest you much ... as you were.

Me

P.S. But I think you're lying about that.

P.P.S. Yes, I know you don't lie. Lots of my characters don't lie. They all seem to make an exception for me, and I don't honestly expect you to be any different.

P.P.P.S. Or you could be trying to fake me out into thinking you're lying, yes. I've considered that possibility, too.

At the cons I've attended this year, I think I've had a record number of conversations with adult SF/fantasy writers interested in writing YA. (It's been fascinating watching YA fantasy to go from a genre that was considered a hard sell even within the YA field to one that's publishing in more interesting books that I can keep up with every month.) As I was flying home from WFC, I found myself thinking about what it is I really want to say--but don't always have time to say, or don't always think to say until later--when adult writers ask about the YA genre.

So ... keeping in mind that I'm only one writer--and that writers rarely agree on much of anything--( here are some of the things I find myself wanting to say to adult SF/fantasy writers who are thinking about writing YA )

So, other YA writers reading this--anything to add? (Or elaborate on, argue with, etc?)

I've been thinking about the recent PW Top Ten List Debacle (short version: somehow, yet again, we get an all male list and the insistence that this only happened because we were looking for "the very best writers"), and wondering whether I wanted to yet again go through all the explanations about how, while such a list may have been made with good intentions, it nonetheless indicates unconscious biases that you need to make conscious so you can examine them instead of denying them, because you just don't get all male lists over and over again at random (the odds of that would be about 1/1000), and you also don't get them because somehow all the best books are consistently written by guys (which we all know from experience that just isn't true).

But via jimhines, I found this Politics Daily article by Lizzie Skurnick that ( says it better than I can in so many ways )

Specifically, chatting online with Vania of Reverie Book Reviews, reading from Thief Eyes at TusCon in Tucson (spell that three times fast), and reading from Bones of Faerie at the Phoenix Faerie Festival. Stop by and say hello!

=-=-=-=-=-=

Tuesday, November 10 -- 8 p.m. EST/6 p.m. Arizona/5 p.m. PST
Teen Author Chat with Reverie Book Reviews
Chatroom is here (password is bones)

=-=-=-=-=-=

Friday, November 13 & Sunday, November 15
TusCon Science Fiction Convention
InnSuites Hotel, 475 N Granada Ave., Tucson, AZ

* Friday, 6 p.m.: Panel on The Geek in Us All
* Sunday, Noon: Reading from Thief Eyes
* Sunday, 3 p.m.: Panel on Partners Who Live and/or Work Together

=-=-=-=-=-=

Saturday, November 14
Phoenix Faerie Festival
Estrella Mountain Regional Park, 14805 West Vineyard Avenue, Goodyear, AZ

* Noon: Reading/book signing with James Owen, Aprilynne Pike, and Janette Rallison & Janni Lee Simner
(Sunflower Meadow Stage Area)

Want to help me name some characters?

Specifically, some faerie characters for the Bones of Faerie sequel. I'm not quite satisfied with any of the names I've come up with son far, and am thinking some outside input might help jar the right names loose.

And I realized I could turn this into a contest. :-)

Here are the rules:

1. In my world, two faerie names are known so far: Kaylen (male) and Karinna (female). I'm looking for names that feel like they're in keeping with these names and the world they come from (that would be Faerie), but of course that covers a wide range (After all, Jane and Savannah are both human names, right?)

2. Enter by posting suggestions as comments to this post. You can suggest as many or as few names as you want, as often as you want. They can be both male and female names -- I'll need at least one or two of each.

3. And here's where the delayed gratification comes in: I might not settle on final names until the book is nearly ready to be turned in. (Heck, I might not settle on final characters until then.) So I'll announce any winners in late January/early February.

4. Late January happens to be when the paperback edition of Bones of Faerie will be released. If I use one or more of your names, I'll either send you a signed copy of the paperback edition of Bones or -- if you're willing to delay gratification a little longer -- a signed hardcover of Thief Eyes when I get my author copies, probably in mid-to-late April.

5. For duplicate entries, I'll go with whoever posts first. There's no set number of winners (it could be three ... it could be none), but if I don't use any of the names posted here, I'll draw a random winner instead.

6. Open until late January -- but names posted earlier have a greater chance of being used than later ones.

And that's it! Have fun--and many thanks to everyone who's willing to jump in and help out!

(ETA: You need not be on livejournal to take part -- signed anonymous comments are welcome as well. :-))

Heard Lucy Kaplansky last night. Still pleasantly filled with music this morning.

Kaplansky is one of those singers who is already good on CD, but whose voice takes on extra power and presence in person. I'll listen to her anytime.

Clips of Kaplansky's music are here. Alas, the only full versions of her songs online are muddled concert records on you tube, and they really don't convey the full power of her music.

(These days it feels like Faerie Winter is being fueled by a mix of Kaplansky and Vienna Teng. Not sure if this says things about the book or only about me.)

I'm enjoying all your birthday links, working my way through the and commenting as I do -- they're like small wrapped presents, waiting for me to click on them. Thank you!

Several links from other places that are delighting me this week:

asakiyume is telling a lovely story about two girls -- one who lives in the sea, one who is imprisoned beside a volcano -- and about their countries and their worlds, in the form of the pen pal letters they exchange.

papersky shares her Elf Policy, and stakebait responds with some thoughts on Elf Insurance. (I can't help thinking that if Tara read this stuff -- and perhaps also papersky's Off With the Fairies -- Bones of Faerie might have been very different.)

slwhitman, a freelance editor formerly at Mirrorstone Books, is launching Tu Publishing, which will publish fantasy for children and teens with an emphasis on multicultural characters and settings. She's currently raising startup funds through Kickstarter. There's been a lot of talk lately about just how white both YA and SF are--this is a great chance to help do something about it.

There's now a historical thesaurus to the OED! Writers, you may drool now. (Via swan_tower.)

The results of the Survey of American Jewish Language and Identity have been compiled into a Jewish English Lexicon. Lots of words here dimly remembered from my childhood, along with a scattering of others I'd never really thought of as Jewish. Includes who tends to know each word or phrase.

Some Matzo Ball soup recipes from coraa, noted here so I can remember to go back to them--and to post my own. (It took me years to realize matzo ball soup was Jewish. Didn't everyone include it as part of Thanksgiving dinner? Didn't figure it out until an Italian high school friend described her Thanksgiving, which sounded really different from mine.)

A tapestry woven entirely from spider silk. That color really does come from the silk, and isn't dyed. Also, I love how the spiders were milked for their silk and then released back into the wild each day. (Via lnhammer, among others.)

One link I'm feeling thoughtful about:

Justine Musk on the importance of not--always--putting one's writing center stage. (Via coffeeem.)

And one that makes me angry:

The story of a woman who died alone, without her wife and children, simply because she and her partner shared the same gender, in spite of having all the relevant medical and legal paperwork in place. This is why marriage needs to be legal for all. And why all the other nonsense trying to get in the way of that is reprehensible, and has to stop.

Young child and parent walk into the coffeeshop:

Child (who is giggling and stomping his feet): "That was funny!"
Mom (with a long suffering sigh): "Yes, I guess that was funny."

I am, of course, now deeply curious what transpired before they came through the door. :-)

My younger, Douglas Adams-reading self would have been delighted. (And not at all concerned to be sharing the honors with roughly one percent of the rest of population.) My current by-definition-older self is pretty amused, too. Likely to be a subdued birthday here, between page proofs and election day and a volunteer commitment this evening, but there's a Lucy Kaplansky concert later in the week to look forward to, among other things.

If you're so inclined today, point me to something random: something lovely or silly or fascinating or compelling someplace online that will make for a good diversion between rounds of reading. :-)

Heading home from World Fantasy Convention, which was one long pleasant rambling conversation (with occasional out-of-con side trips) whose details are a blur just now.

Many thanks for showed up for my readings from Thief Eyes. You were a great audience, and left me feeling like this book is going to be just fine, as it makes its way out into the world. :-)

As I work on the Bones of Faerie sequel (working title, Faerie Winter), I'm remembering what it's like to have the voice of protagonist Liza in my head, with all her post-apocalyptic sensibilities.

Like tonight. I'm cooking dinner, and she admonishes me not to throw away scraps that could be used. As I carve up a butternut squash, I can see how carefully she would peel away as little skin as possible--and how then she'd consider eating the skin anyway, especially if she was in the middle of a hard winter. Which she is.

I hesitate over the squash seeds--so few of them, is it really worth the time to roast them? Liza informs me I have no idea how easy I have it, if I can choose to throw away perfectly good food just to save a little time.

I tell myself there's little nutritional value in the small seeds anyway. They're more shell than meat, and what calories they have would mostly come from the oil I'd drizzle over them anyway. I throw them away. Then, realizing it will be a while before dinner is ready and that I am, in fact, getting hungry, I grab a couple crackers as I leave the kitchen, almost forgetting to turn the lights out as I do.

No idea how easy, Liza reminds me again. Her voice is still faint, though.

As I keep writing, it'll get louder.