Travel: Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!

My dad's family from waaaay back when is from West Virginia. I try to get there at least once a year--Dad's buried there now--and it's always a place full of ghosts and stories and new adventures, which is kind of an awesome combo. Here are some pics from my latest WVA visit this fall.

Walking "the farm," my great-grandfather's former residence (this is me by the tool shed).



Kayaking and reading a little Cassie Clare!



Dinner at my cousin Molly Moss's farmhouse is eaten under a photo of Robert E. Lee... here's Dave in the dining room with General Lee looking on:


Also in Molly's farmhouse is an old photo of my grandmother Carol and her brother Clem. I'm obsessed with these antique family photos. LOVE them:


There's a lot of land along the Potomac where my great-grandfather's farm sits. The house is falling down, but it's full of old letters and notes and magic. Maybe even ghosts. I love going to see it:


My friend Pete Kephart lives right near the old farm and is an amazing artist. He experiments with lots of styles, the latest of which is Fire Painting. How cool is this?! Learn more here. (And come to his show in NYC if you're around in December).



These are all to say that sometimes the best travel consists of a trip where you go back home to places from your family's past. Anyone else have somewhere as special as WVA is to me? I hope you do!

If I ran the high school English department...

Last week, I returned to my own high school for the first time since I graduated. I didn't have a particular fondness for the place. In fact that is putting it lightly. I hated high school so much, I graduated a semester early just to get out of there. (Before I went, I recounted my own most memorable high school moments on my blog, so if you want, you can check those out here.) It was weird to be there again after almost 13 years. I remember the stairways and where the exits were located more than anything, more than the classrooms. I guess it just illustrates how I felt about high school, always planning my escape. Other stuff looked vaguely familiar, like it could have been the same or could have been different. I'm pretty sure the English Department was in a new place, but I could be wrong.

I went there to meet with two English classes. One was a combination American Lit/pre-journalism class, and another was the creative writing class. If you were to predict which students were more interested in talking to me, which would you guess? Well, I would have guessed the latter. I didn't take creative writing in high school (scheduling conflict during my senior semester), but if I had and I'd had the chance to meet a real writer, one that had survived... err graduated from my high school, I would have been so thrilled. But as it turned out, most of the kids in that class took it because they thought it would be "easy," a blow-off elective (OMG, writing is so not easy!!!). The kids in the pre-journalism class were honors students. They were excited and wanted to know all about me (they asked some questions that were a wee bit too personal and I really hope don't end up in the school newspaper article they are writing). The time in that class just flew by. The other dragged, awkwardly because the few kids that were interested couldn't keep things afloat.

In between the two classes, I got to eat lunch in the staff cafeteria with the teacher. That was pretty exciting because it was one place in my school I'd never been. I'd never even thought about there being a staff cafeteria because I'd never thought about teachers doing human things like eating. The teacher asked me what I remembered about my high school English experience, what books I read, what I liked, what I didn't, who I had as teachers.

My two most memorable English classes were the one I loved most and the one I hated most. The one I hated most was English lit, junior year. I always looked forward to my English classes and I knew this one would have Shakespeare so I was extra excited. But I hated it. The way the teacher analyzed things, told us what was right and wrong drove me crazy. And it was in the Hemingway room. Hemingway graduated from my high school and as I understand it, hated it and my hometown as much I did. That is the only thing I ever liked about Hemingway. I hated his writing style, thought his subject matter was boring and borderline misogynist and to sit in a room dedicated to him. *shudder*

The class I loved most was an elective, Humanities. We got more of a say in what we read. Different kinds of books were assigned like Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury, which my teacher allowed me to write an essay comparing themes in it to those in Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. This meant I got to write about a book I was passionate about and I got state my thoughts about it as opposed to being told how to interpret things.

The teacher whoI visited agreed with me that it was important to let teens interpret what they read and not tell them what is right or wrong, just ask them to back up their interpretation with textual evidence. She also agreed with me that the old canon (ie. the dead white guys) that they still teach in high school is... old. She says many teachers will argue that they are classics and have withstood the test of time, but she thinks the kids lackluster response proves differently.

Now I was kind of a freak who loved the classics. I adore Shakespeare (except when jerky teachers don't let me try my hand at interpreting it). As a girl whose love life was subject of the rumormill at the time I read The Scarlet Letter, I related to it. It's one of my favorite books. Loved the Great Gatsby as well. I hated Farewell To Arms and still do. I had to read Tom Sawyer and Catcher in the Rye again post-high school to really get them. I'm glad I didn't read Grapes of Wrath in high school because I'm sure it would have been ruined for me. And I think the people who hated some of the other classics might have gotten more from them in college. But still, the most excited I was about English class was when I got to read a book of my own choosing, a book I loved. And if the point of English class is to get teens reading and encourage them to enjoy reading, wouldn't it be better to bring in books they are interested in?

It was a huge compliment when the teacher I met with told me, "You know, I would love to teach your book in my American Lit class." But she had her doubts she could get that past the powers that be. Instead she is trying to propose an elective class featuring Chicago authors with the hopes that some of us can visit and meet the kids. Definitely a cool idea, but it will attract those honors kids who are already interested in reading.

If I could lord over the high school English classes in America, I'd turn the curriculum on it's head and say for every classic we read, we find at least one contemporary to read too, preferably something with a comparable theme to help the teens find their way into the classic. Two of the books I'd love to see on curriculum alongside those classics are Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Books that deal with real issues faced by teens and will raise awareness and create a real dialogue in the classroom.

What about you? Do you like the classics? What contemporary books would you add to the high school curriculum if you could?

Be True To Your School

It's timely that the topic at TFC this week is Schools, given that yesterday I did a book-signing at my favorite school: The Unquowa School, where I was a student - once upon a very long time ago - for nearly six years. Unquowa was the first place that it occurred to me that if I wanted something, dreamed of achieving something, and I was willing to put the necessary work in, I could realize my goals.

When I first began at Unquowa, I was in fourth grade and it was the middle of fall term. Compared to the other students I was behind in math and science, and a few other things as well, like music. I couldn't quite figure out what to do with the recorder I was given in music class and when I was given an audio quiz where I was supposed to identify what I was hearing, I'm fairly certain I did preposterous things like mistaking the harp for the bassoon.

At the end of the term, the headmaster, who was a very old-school headmaster, arranged to speak with me in an empty classroom. There, he explained that the grades I had received were not exactly stellar. They weren't completely abysmal - there were no Fs involved - but C seemed to be the common theme and there was at least one D there. I was sure I was about to get kicked out of the school, having never felt good enough to be there in the first place, but that wasn't what he had in mind. Very kindly he explained that I shouldn't feel bad about those grades, since my previous school had not given me the proper tools, and then more kindly still he set out to explain how if in the next semester I did X and I did Y and I did Z, that no, I couldn't achieve an A average for this school year - although, who, he wondered aloud, could say what I might achieve in future years? - but that it was possible to lift it all up to a solid B average.

So that's what I proceeded to do. I did X and I did Y and I did Z, and at the end of the year I made the Honor Roll for the first time, receing a white card with green lettering that said Second Honors. As time wore on, I would achieve First Honors, and eventually the coveted gold cards that read Headmaster's List. Those gold cards became a regular thing in my life.

It's not that there wasn't hard work involved, but someone had taken the time to draw me a road map to success and I was smart enough to take that road.

Unquowa was critical in instilling in me the desire for intellectual achievement, but in every other aspect as well it also encouraged the confidence that if I wanted a thing and was willing to put the work in, almost anything was possible.

In seventh grade I tried out for the girls' basketball team. Four-foot-eleven and athletically challenged, my skills earned me a place as last person on the team. Having spent most of the year on the bench, I resolved to get better. I knew there was nothing I could do about my lack of height, but I could learn to run faster and I could learn to develop a killer outside shot, which I achieved by getting my one-foot-taller older brother to train me every day over the summer. By the time I was in ninth grade, my last year at Unquowa, I was co-captain of the team.

Academics, athletics - it's all good, but there's got to be a social aspect to school life as well. At Unquowa, I never lacked for feeling socially connected to other people. It was there I discovered that people could be complex, that the same person - me - could be an A student and an athlete and a social butterfly and fashion conscious; that in fact there was no need to ever be pigeonholed into those narrow boxes that some schools tend to force people into. That refusal to be pigeonholed as one thing or another has served me well in life.

Academics, athletics, social stuff - what have I left out? Politics! When I started at Unquowa it had a five-day-a-week dress code involving uniforms. The school had been in existence since 1917 and girls had never worn pants but when I was in seventh grade we finally organized ourselves and brought our case to the Board of Governors, resulting in a modified dress code that allowed us to dress far more liberally on everything but Fridays and assembly days. It was the same pattern all over again: wanting a thing, creating a road map, and going for it.

Finally, were it not for Unquowa, I don't know as that I'd be a writer today. It was there, when I was 12 years old and in the eighth grade, than an English teacher was so impressed with one of my stories that he made the class listen to it three days running. It was there that for the first time it occurred to me that maybe I had stories to tell that other people would want to hear.

So that's my story of Unquowa love. There would be other schools in my life following my graduation from Unquowa in the bicentennial year of 1976, but none would inspire so much school love or have such a profound impact, although each would form me in some way. But that was just fine. I'd already been given the map I needed.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHAT SCHOOL HAD THE MOST PROFOUND IMPACT ON YOU?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

What Can and Can't be Worn to School

If you know me, you know I get really into Halloween. So I couldn't very well post the day after my favorite holiday without sharing a few photos. This is my family, minus the youngest who went as Spider Man. (My husband has his camera and I'm afraid I haven't downloaded his photo yet.) So, now that I have this out of my system, I will discuss this week's topic: School.

It seems like what people can and can't wear to school is always making news. Just the other day, there was an article about a junior high girl who got her nose pierced to honor her Sikh background. Since this piercing didn't adhere to the school's body piercing rule (meaning it was somewhere besides her ears), she was suspended. As you can imagine, it caused quite an uproar. The school and girl eventually compromised and she stuck a clear plastic stud in her nose.

Here's another story for you. Now, keep in mind that this is from my babysitters who go to our local junior high, and I have no idea why they'd make this up, but keep in mind I haven' t heard this from the school itself, so I'm going to leave names out in case there was some misinterpretation. I do, however, think this is probably a rule at other schools so I feel justified in mentinioning it here. This particular junior high doesn't allow "cross dressing" for Halloween. So, a boy cannot dress like a female cheerleader or an old lady or Madonna. A girl cannot dress like Michael Jackson or Santa or Peter Pan. Anyway, you get the idea.

On the other hand, our local elementary school allowed its students to wear masks for the Halloween parade portion of the school day.

I left out my opinion on purpose because I'm curious what you think of these particular school-issued rules: body piercing, opposite sex costumes for Halloween, and masks for Halloween.

Note passing and other trials of youth

So I was chatting with my neighbor the other day about her son getting caught passing notes in class. And while we were talking, I mentioned that I used to be a champion note passer in class. Mostly in junior high, but some in high school as well. I'm not proud of this, mind you, but it was a moment of nostalgia that brought back memories.

I had a laugh thinking about the one time I got caught--I mean, really caught--passing notes in class. The sad part is that I wasn't even passing it yet! I was just sitting at my desk writing the darn thing.

Our junior high had this open air classroom section that looked like this:

Okay, so see where my math class was? All of those yellow hearts represent my lovely fellow classmates of 7th grade advanced math. The pink heart represents one Kay Cassidy, student of 7th grade advanced math/lover of all things note-related.

So I'm sitting there writing a note and all of the sudden, the social studies teacher comes around the end of the divider to make a joke to our math teacher and (with the stealth of a child going for the cookie jar ten minutes before dinner) snatches the note off my desk and holds it above her head like a prize.

So. Busted.

She then proceeded to read said note to the entire class. Thankfully, it was NOT about my crush du jour. Instead, and far worse in ways I didn't understand until later, it was about how horrifically boring said math teacher was. Which I felt TERRIBLE about because he was really a sweet guy. But, you know, 7th grade advanced math. Not exactly mesmerizing stuff.

As you might guess, I got teased about that for the rest of the year, mostly by my teacher (who I also realized later had an excellent sense of humor). He would stop class periodically throughout the year and ask "I'm not boring you, am I, Kay?" when I was totally paying attention, thankyouverymuch.

Fortunately, my teacher and I actually got along great so it was more like good-natured ribbing. I had him for 8th grade advanced math and then for typing in 9th grade, so he never got rid of me until high school.

By the way, there's a tidbit in my debut novel, The Cinderella Society (sorry for the plug, but it's where this comes from), that I think is fitting to mention here. In the book, the Cindys (the members of The Cinderella Society) have a great strategy to help put stressful or embarrassing situations into perspective. It's called The Rule of 5s.

Here's how it works:

Whenever something really stressful or embarrassing happens, stop and take five slow, deep breaths.

1... 2... 3... 4... 5.

(You feel better already, right?)

Then, stop and ask yourself the Five questions.

1) Will this matter in five hours?

2) Will this matter in five months?

3) Will this matter in five years?

This technique is actually based on a newspaper column from the mid-80s that my mom gave the drama queen that was teenaged me. You'd be surprised how effective it can be to put things in perspective. Even things that seem horrific and mortifying often don't pass the five-month test. And things like someone cutting you off in traffic? Those don't even pass the five-hour test.

It's all about perspective. :-)

So next time you're stressed or angry or mortified, give the Cindys' Rule of 5s a spin. I hope it works as well for you as it does for me. Let me know what you think!

~ Kay

Embarassing Tales

This week we're talking about embarrassing things that have happened, so I thought I'd write about something that's happened to me several times (more than several, actually).

For some reason, known only to the ether police, sometimes when I send an email to someone another address gets added, or an extra attachment gets added. I know it sounds strange, but it happens. Here are some of the results of this:

When sending an attachment to my boss, a job application (for a job he didn't know I was going for, especially as I hadn't been there long) went with it!!! When I found out I emailed saying please don't open the other attachment it was sent by mistake........... he didn't mention it, so I still don't know if he opened it or not (hmmmm..... I know what I'd have done).

Another time, I was emailing a friend about the various places she could try to find a guy (you know real girly stuff) and accidentally it got sent to my brother too (who I wanted her to meet :))

Another time, before I announced to my family that I was writing, an email to a crit partner also went to my aunt in the UK.

What the..... It's seriously weird.

And there was also the time when I meant to forward an email from a student to another member of staff (and I was moaning about this student because I thought she was being unreasonable) and I hit reply instead of forward..... I have lots more of these....

What about you..... have you ever sent anything accidentally, and what happened?

Zombie Queen of Newbury High book trailer

Okay, so this isn't really good news, but since I'm a sharer I thought I'd let you all have a peek at the book trailer for Zombie Queen of Newbury High!!!

Obviously, no expense was spared in the making of this trailer and though my children weren't exactly paid for their time, I did let them keep the plasticine afterwards, which I think was very kind of me!

Anyway, in order to celebrate my new, fancy book trailer, I'm running a competition. To enter all people have to do is either post a copy of the trailer on their blog, link to it or even post a tweet. Then, once they've done that they just need to send me an email to:

amanda at amandaashby dot com (no spaces)

to let me know what they've done and I'll put them in the draw to win my Very Last Zombie Survival Kit.

Yup, that's right. This is the last one I have and since we all know that it's only a matter of time before zombies take over the world, I think we can all agree that having a zombie survival kit will be pretty darn useful!!!!

More GNF!!!

Hey Everyone,

It's Good News Friday here at The Cafe, so I thought I'd share mine:

I just learned that SHADOWLAND, book 3 in THE IMMORTALS series, received 4.5 stars (out of 4.5!) from RT magazine and was chosen as a Top Pick!

Here's what they said:

“Noel’s novel is absolutely amazing! Fans of her Immortals series will not be disappointed—Ever and Damen’s love is challenged like never before, and the story ends with a big, satisfying twist that will have readers begging for more. This long awaited installment is incredible.” --4.5 Stars- Top Pick! RT magazine

Also, the SHADOWLAND trailer is not ready for viewing, just click HERE to see it!

And, regarding the Readergirlz chat Melissa posted below--I took part on Monday and it was a blast!! I urge you to stop by if you get the chance!

What about YOU??? Any good new you want to share?!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Alyson

Good News Friday: Teen Read Week Tributes!

Over at readergirlz, authors are posting tributes to YALSA's Teen Read Week every 15 minutes today! And yes, many of the Teen Fiction Cafe authors are at the party.

Tonight: A Live! Chat at 9pm EST/6pm PST with Dia Calhoun and Sylvia Engdahl, pioneer sci-fi author!


Just a heads up! Have a great weekend, everyone, and Happy Teen Read Week!

Book Boyfriends

I'm a romantic. I love falling in love. Which is why I love book boyfriends. They give you the rush of falling in love without the sticky commitment thing. They aren't pushy about your relationship with them. They'll sit patiently on your nightstand or in your purse until you're ready to hang out with them again and then they'll whisper promises and secrets with every turn of the page.

Book boyfriends don't have to be perfect - in fact, it's always more interesting if they aren't. And you don't have to be perfect for them. Book boyfriends don't care if you meet up with them dressed to the nines - or wearing sweats with your hair all pulled up and no makeup. It doesn't bother them if you sneak in five minutes here and ten minutes there. And when you're done with them, book boyfriends don't mind being passed along to your friends so they can fall in love with them, too.

Some of the book boyfriends I still think about include Darcy (of course!) from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Jamie, from Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER series, Owen, from Sarah Dessen's JUST LISTEN and Jesse, the hot Spanish ghost in Meg Cabot's MEDIATOR series. How about you? Who are some of your most memorable book boyfriends? What makes them so?

Love The One You're With-?

So this week at the café we’re talking about friends and/or boyfriends—which often times, or at least in my case anyway, becomes the same thing.

I can honestly say, that while the bulk of my romantic relationships didn’t end up going the distance, nearly all of them resulted in some really nice friendships (please note, I wrote nearly—there are definite exceptions to this!).

And yet not one of those relationships started as a friendship. They pretty much followed my usual course of initial spark to burning flame to complete and total burn-out to a friendship that while nice, had no lingering smolder or sizzle (or at least not on my part anyway). Which is funny because I’ve written quite a few books where the couple in question start out as either friends or disliking each other entirely, and even though I love the idea of not realizing that the love you’ve been searching for has been right there in front of you all along, it’s never, not once, happened to me.

Which leads me to wonder—has it happened to you? Or is this just the stuff of books and movies?

Sing it out in the comments!

In the News: Is Crime Linked to Candy Consumption?

My friend Anne wrote about this Time magazine article that links candy consumption to crime, which is a funny/disturbing concept. Basically it has to do with impulse control (if you don't have much of it, you'll eat candy when you're a kid and maybe commit crimes in adulthood--there's a better explanation in Time). There's a lot to think about there, but here's how my train of thought went:

Eating candy --> committing crimes --> living in candy jails --> behind candy cane bars --> sleeping on marshmallow pillows --> wearing licorice stripes.

That's right: I started thinking about candy. Which made me think about how author Elizabeth Scott is asking people what their least favorite Halloween candy is this week (for a great contest--go enter)... and lots of people are saying Candy Corn. But I love candy corn! Those people are nuts.

What do you guys think? Favorite Halloween candy? I'm for candy corn! Who's with me?

in the news: how smart is your city

At the Daily Beast this week, there is a sorta scientific and sorta not ranking of the country's smartest and dumbest cities. Here's how they did it. Now, if you are a reader of my blog over at sarazarr.com, you know I am a transplant from San Francisco to Salt Lake City, and my husband and I are starting to look for a way to go back. Since SF is so freaking expensive, we are open to other cities. The intellectual environment is important! So maybe this list could help us decide where we'd consider living. Here are how our current and past dwellings ranked, along with the rankings of the cities we've been talking about moving to:

San Francisco Bay Area (the homeland) = #2! See? My love for SF is not just about the mild climate, the ocean, and dim sum. And here I would like to point out that the Raleigh-Durham area is #1. Guess who is from Raleigh? My mother and her whole family. Booyah!

Salt Lake City (the current residence) = #14. Not bad at all. It is only one city away from New York (#13). High scores in book sales pushed us over the edge, apparently. There are a lot of great writers here, you know, and we love to buy books.

Denver = #5. I've always liked Denver, and now that I know how smart it is I like it even more. Drawback: still too far from the ocean. Drawback #2: Broncos fans.

Seattle/Tacoma = #7 in a tie with D.C. Who wouldn't want to live in Seattle? I know the rain is a killer, but it is gorgeous and full of walkable, livable neighborhoods.

Portland, OR = #9. I fell in love with this place when there for the KidlitBloggerCon or whatever it was called last year. It's progressive, beautiful, and has great public transport. And now I know it also has a really big brain.

That's it! We haven't really considered moving east or south, but if we did maybe we'd go for #1 Raleigh or #12 Austin. Everywhere else in the top 15 is too cold!

TV Head

I know some readers and writers who disdain TV as an inferior form of entertainment. They say, rather snootily, "I don't watch TV," as though this puts them in the same socio-cultural stratosphere as Michelangelo or the guy who first performed open-heart surgery.

Me, I'm a TV head. Does that make me a moron? I don't know. I may be a moron, but not because I watch TV. In fact, I read more books than anyone I know and write three to four books a year. (OK, now I'm starting to sound like a socio-cultural status snoot. Sorry about that.) My point is that it doesn't have to be either/or. You can be a person like me who spends most of her hours staring at words that either I or other people have produced and still enjoy kicking back with a good show.

So what do I like to watch these days?

As aired on TV:

House
So You Think You Can Dance
Glee
Mad Men

Currently in progress on DVD:

Smallville
Battlestar Galactica
I Love Lucy
I Dream of Jeannie
Bewitched
Leave it to Beaver
The Addams Family
Doc Martin

Daytime TV:

Morning Joe (for politics fix while exercising)
The View (while answering email)
General Hospital (because I have to)

Late-night TV:

Jon Stewart
Stephen Colbert
David Letterman

Honestly, it's amazing I get any writing or reading done at all! But yes, I really do write three to four books a year and read upwards of 250 books a year. Oh, and somewhere in there I even manage to do a few other things!

So how about you?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHAT IS (ARE) YOUR FAVORITE SHOW(S)? AND/OR WHAT IS (ARE) YOUR FAVORITE EPISODE(S) OF ANY OF THE SHOWS I NAMED?

I'd like to stick around but I've got to get back to Morning Joe.

Be well. Don't forget to write.