Author: Katy Upperman

Thankful Thursday

9 Comments

Oasis for YA knows that the surest way to get good things in life is to be thankful for what you have.  So why not encourage a group thankful-fest once a week in which we all send out good energy and hope to get some back in return? Plus, participating in Thankful Thursday is a great way to connect with other writers.

Here are the rules:
1.  Do your own blog post on what you’re thankful for today.  It doesn’t have to be book or publishing related (but it can be!).
2.  Be sure to grab our badge and include it in your post.
3.  Post a link to your blog in the comments here so that others can find you.
4.  Go forth and share your gratitude!  (And when friending new blogs, be sure to let them know you found them because of their participation in the meme.)

Today I’m thankful for Literary Rambles, a forum focusing on all things children’s literature, hosted by Casey McCormick. Now, if you’re reading my blog, you’ve most like heard of Casey’s, but if you haven’t you’re SO missing out! Trust me, I speak from experience.

Last year I queried a manuscript. I “researched,” but I did it the hard way, and frankly, I probably didn’t do as good a job as I could have. There’s information about pretty much every agent out there, but it’s scrambled and sometimes dated and often hard to find. Agent research can be intimidating.

Good news! Casey has taken much of the difficulty out of the process with her Spotlights–in-depth profiles on dozens of the top agents representing kidlit. She shares information on what they’re looking for, their editorial style, query pet peeves, client lists, sales records, submission guidelines, and web presence. She also includes thoughts on an agent’s buzz, as well as links to interviews they’ve done. Truly, it’s just about one-stop shopping for anyone about to dive into the query trenches. And if that’s not enough, Casey’s also done helpful posts on blog topics, royalty statements, beta reading, character arcs and more.

As I prepared to contact literary agents about the book I’m currently querying, I spent HOURS combing Literary Rambles for information, clicking interview links, and perusing comments other readers left about particular agents. And because of this, I was able to select agents who I truly believe are a good fit for me, and my query letters are personalized and thoughtful.

Casey’s blog is organized, well-written and comprehensive. I can’t get over how selflessly she’s given of her time in an effort to help other writers.  So this Thursday, I’m thankful for Casey McCormick and Literary Rambles.

What are you thankful for today?

February’s Book of the Month

7 Comments

February proved a diverse month in books for me. I read five, and they were all excellent. I can honestly say that I loved aspects of each. In fact, I’d recommend you check them all out. Yep… they’re that good. 🙂

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis – I spoke about this book HERE, but I’ll repeat the sentiment: Wow. I’m so impressed with the world building and the constant sense of claustrophobia I felt while reading. Loved Amy and Elder too. One gripe–there’s a twist in this book that shouldn’t really be a twist, assuming the rules of first-person are followed.

2. The Road by Cormac McCarthy – I’ve been trying to branch out and broaden my reading horizons lately. My husband suggested The Road. It’s dark, thought-provoking, and written quite untraditionally (like, with very little punctuation and lots of fragments). The mood it evoked was most impressive, and I recommend it if you like post-apocalyptic stories.

3. The First Part Last by Angela Johnson – A fast read, and a study in creating tension where there might not otherwise be. Billy is a teen dad struggling to raise his daughter, but her mother (his girlfriend) is missing from their lives. You don’t find out what’s happened to her until the end, and the payoff is so worth it.

4. Sold by Patricia McCormick – About a Nepalese girl who’s sold into India’s sex-slave industry by her shady stepfather. It’s written in a sparse free-verse style, and while I don’t normal read books in this format, Sold spoke to me. Lakshmi’s story was disturbing, yet the relationships she formed with the other girls in the brothel were inspirational. My only complaint: I wanted more at the end.

Some great titles, right? It was a difficult choice, but my very favorite, the one I could hardly put down, the one that’s now on my list of Best YA Contemporaries, was The Unwritten Rule.

From Elizabeth Scott’s website: Everyone knows the unwritten rule: You don’t like your best friend’s boyfriend. Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He’s easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it even seems like he’s paying extra attention to her. Everything would be perfect except for two things: Ryan is Brianna’s boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah’s best friend. Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for wanting him, and the last thing she wants is to hurt her best friend. But when she’s thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens. It’s wonderful…and awful. Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can’t stop herself from wanting more…

The only other book I’ve read by Elizabeth Scott is Living Dead Girl. The two are equally engaging and both are extremely well-written, but when I finished Living Dead Girl, I almost wished I hadn’t read it. I didn’t want those images in my head. It was so, so dark.

That said, I ADORED The Unwritten Rule. While the concept is simple, the characters are interesting and layered. Sarah and Ryan aren’t perfect; they’re just trying to be the best they can be while still following their hearts. And they’re so good together! They made me think aww! repeatedly, and kept me turning pages, rooting for them, even when I could barely keep my eyes open. I felt Sarah’s longing for Ryan, and commiserated with her guilt regarding her betrayal of Brianna.

Speaking of Brianna… she’s one of the most interesting “villains” I’ve read. Sure, she’s self-centered and flaky and kind of a bitch to Sarah (“Remind me that I have some conditioner that’s supposed to be great for limp hair, OK? I totally bought it for you and remembered it just now.” Ew.), but I felt for her. Her past is complicated, and her motivations are clear. Even though I didn’t want her with Ryan (because Sarah and Ryan clearly belong together!), I wanted Brianna to have a happily ever after of her own.

The Unwritten Rule has some super steamy moments. Ryan and Sarah have amazing chemistry and Elizabeth Scott pens some of the best kisses I’ve read. She’s also a master of nuanced writing. One of my pet peeves (and something I struggle with myself) is when an author overstates and over explains character emotions. I like to draw conclusions of my own, and Ms. Scott let me do that. I can’t wait to hunt down and read the rest of her work!

So, what’s the best book you read in February?

Off the Shelf Update

1 Comment


I’m making progress on my To-Read pile, thanks to this year’s Off the Shelf reading challenge. I started back in January, and while I’ve read several other books that aren’t on my Off the Shelf list, I’ve made some pretty good progress. Here’s where I am so far:

1. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss
2. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
3. Transgression by James W. Nichol
4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
5. The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer
6. Teach Me by R.A. Nelson
7. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
8. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
9. Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
10. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
11. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
12. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
13. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
14. Waiting for You by Susan Colasanti
15. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

So, are you surprised  the first to go were mostly YA books? I wonder why that is? 🙂

Thankful Thursday

5 Comments

I’m not usually a Thursday blogger, but Oasis for YA is hosting a meme that’s too great to pass up.

Oasis for YA knows that the surest way to get good things in life is to be thankful for what you already have.  So why not encourage a group thankful-fest once a week in which we all send out good energy and hope to get some back in return? Plus, participating in Thankful Thursday is a great way to connect with other writers.

Here are the rules:

1.  Do your own blog post on what you’re thankful for today.  It doesn’t have to be book or publishing related (but it can be!).

2.  Be sure to grab our badge and include it in your post.

3.  Post a link to your blog in the comments here so that others can find you.

4.  Go forth and share your gratitude!  (And when friending new blogs, be sure to let them know you found them because of their participation in the meme.)

So, what am I thankful for today? Here’s a hint:


My cutie pie, because she’s my favorite person in the whole world! ❤

In all seriousness, my daughter is my constant. She makes me smile, she thinks I’m awesome no matter what, she has exceptional taste in children’s literature, and she’s all kinds of fun. She’s definitely my proudest accomplishment.  

RTW: Interactive Q & A

21 Comments

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival,” where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on their blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

Today’s Topic: Interactive Q&A. Post a question on your blog, then travel the highway answering others’ questions.

I was going to write this post last night, but a couldn’t for the life of me come up with a good question. The ones that popped into my head felt lame or one-dimensional or already done. So, ladies of YA Highway: three cheers for you, because this question thing is harder than it looks!

That said, here’s what I finally came up with…

If you could live in any city in the world (assuming money is no issue :)) which city would you choose?

For me, the small town of Lahaina on Maui is the obvious choice. I love warmth. I love quaint. I love seafood. I love beaches and suntans and flip flops. And hello, how gorgeous is this sunset? 
Now, since I made the rules and money isn’t an issue, maybe I can have a second home in Charleston, SC as well.
 
What city would you choose to live in if it were just that easy?
 

Tuesday Tunes: I May Hate Myself in the Morning…

1 Comment

My favorite songs are those with an underlying sense of longing. While Lee Ann Womack’s I May Hate Myself in the Morning is a bit of an oldie (2005), it’s got that wistful “I love you but I’ll never have you” feeling I love. Lee Ann is gorgeous, and the video is fabulous. Here it is, with lyrics below.

Ain’t it just like one of us
To pick up the phone and call after a couple drinks
Say how ya been I’ve been wondering if maybe you’ve been thinking ’bout me
And somewhere in the conversation
An ole familiar invitation always arrives
I may hate myself in the morning
But I’m gonna love you tonight

Everyone’s known someone that they just can’t help but want
Even though we just can’t make it work out
Well the want to lingers on
So once again we wind up in each other’s arms pretending that it’s right
I may hate myself in the morning
But I’m gonna love you tonight

I know it’s wrong
But it ain’t easy moving on
So why can’t two friends
Remember the good times once again

Tomorrow when I wake up I’ll be feeling a little guilty, a little sad
Thinking how it used to be before everything went bad
I guess that’s what is
In lonely late night calls like this that we try to find
I may hate myself in the morning but I’m gonna love you tonight

I may hate myself in the morning but I’m gonna love you tonight

*Lyrics by Odie Blackmon

Tales from the Trenches: To Be, Or Not To Be…

9 Comments

… Prepared, that is.

So, I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m querying. Several amazing agents are in possession of my full manuscript, and we’re nearing the time I should begin hearing back from some of them. In the back of my mind, I’ve had this cheerful yet persistent voice reminding me to prepare a list of questions to ask should one of these agents want to speak to me about my manuscript and possible representation. Promptly, a darker, more pessimistic voice sneers, “Don’t do it! You’ll jinx yourself!” Then, last night, I had a little epiphany.

With it being awards season and all, I was thinking about the actors, directors, singers, and producers who take the stage to accept awards. They fall into two pretty distinct categories: Those with a prepared speech, and those who wing it. While I’d rather watch the winners who are flustered and weepy and completely unprepared, it’s the winners with the succinct, heartfelt, well-written speeches who come away looking like professionals. And that’s what I want to be should I ever have the pleasure of speaking to an agent on the phone: Professional.  

So, I’ve buried the fear of jinxing myself and assembled a list of must-ask questions so I’ll be prepared if I happen to get that oh-so-exciting phone call. Here they are:

1. How close is my manuscript to “ready?” What are its strengths? Weaknesses?

*2. What do you think my comp titles would be?

3. How collaborative do you intend to be? What kinds of editorial/revision ideas do you have for my manuscript?

4. Do you represent a book, or an author? How do you see us working together in the future?

*5. Would you expect me to only write for one age group (YA) or in one genre (contemporary)?

6. What are your submission plans for my manuscript? Do you already have houses/editors in mind? How many will you submit to at a time?

*7. If my manuscript doesn’t sell in the first round of submissions, will we go on subsequent rounds?

*8. Are you willing to sub more than one manuscript at a time? In the same genre? In different genres?

9. How are fees and charges for submission charged ? What kinds of charges should a client expect to pay, and how is it accounted for?

10. What’s your disclosure style during the submission process? Will you give me all the details of editor feedback, or just the most constructive criticisms?

11. What is your communication style? How quickly are you usually able to respond to client inquiries? What is your preferred method of communication?

12. What are the terms of your client contract? *How is it different from contracts at other agencies? (Assuming there is a written contract…)

13. What are your commission rates?

14. How long have you been an agent? What do you love about it? Do you see yourself agenting into the foreseeable future?

15. How many clients are on your list now? How many clients would you like to have?

16. What sales have you made recently? (Assuming I can’t find this info on my own…)

17. How involved is your boss/other agents at your agency in your client relationships?

18. What do you expect from your clients as far as production in a given year?

19. What qualities do you like in a client? What do you think makes a good working relationship between you and a client?

20. When you receive a new manuscript from a client, how long does it usually take for you to get back to her with feedback?

*21. How do you handle clients wanting to work on similar projects/subject matter?

22. For what reasons would you terminate a relationship with a client? What if, for some reason, I should feel our relationship isn’t working?

*23. Would it be possible for me to contact a few of your clients?

*24. Do you have any questions for me?

* Recent additions thanks to input from a few generous and well-informed writing friends. Thanks, Kate Hart, Heather Howland, June G. and Caroline Tung Richmond! Many of the other questions were compiled with help from brilliant posts at Literary Rambles, and Writing For Children and Teens.

Okay, so those are the questions that feel really important at this totally-in-limbo stage of the game. Am I missing anything glaringly obvious? Please let me know in the comments!

Be Mine

11 Comments

Today I’m participating in the very fun “I Caught the Fever Lovefest” hosted by Sarah Enni, Kristin Halbrook, Tahereh Mafi, and Kate Hart. Here’s the basic idea: Construct a blog post extolling the wonderful virtues of secret your Valentine. Don’t know the person you were assigned? Read their blog, strike up a convo on twitter . . . do whatever it takes to be the best secret admirer you can be! You never know, you just might make a new friend in the process. 🙂 On V-day, publish your blog post and link to your Valentine so s/he can drop in and read it.

Fun, right? In the spirit of community, sharing love and making new friends, I signed up immediately.

My secret Valentine is Cait Peterson, of the Writer’s Wanderings blog. I’ve discovered we have lots in common! Like me, Cait is an aspiring author, an enthusiastic reader, a former teacher and an animal lover (Cait: cats, me: dogs). Unlike me, Cait is incredibly athletic. She’s taught taekwondo, sailing, and kayaking–color me impressed! She also amazes me with her ability to hold down a full-time job (sometimes more than one!) and still somehow finds the time to write. Seriously, I do not know how people do this–when do they sleep? Superheros, in my opinion. And hello… Cait lives on a farm. How cool is that?! Please do take a moment to visit Cait’s blog, and you can find her on Twitter HERE.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Cait!

In other Valentine’s Day news, my husband is out of town (I wish I could say that’s uncommon, but he’s a soldier and it’s actually quite common), so I’ll be celebrating with my daughter. She’s lots of fun, so it’s all good. Her daddy got her one of those cool recordable books so she can listen to him read Guess How Much I Love You, and I got her an adorable Tangled nightgown that looks just like Rapunzel’s purple dress. Can’t wait to spend the day showing her how much I love her.

Wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sunday’s Super Seven

3 Comments

Lately, I’ve needed lists to organize my thoughts. That might be because I’m smack in the middle of an epic WIP rewrite (WIP’s scenes, characters, GCMs and all the other tiny details are sorted into lists, might I add) so my head is sort of jumbled. In that spirit, what better day to post a list of super things than boring old Sunday?

1) Words With Friends – Last weekend, my sister-in-law oh-so-innocently asked, “Hey, Katy, have you bought Words With Friends yet?” To which I replied, “No, I sure haven’t. What is it?” She went on to explain that it’s like Scrabble, only you can play on your phone with real friends who play on their phones, or you can start games with random strangers.

SOLD! Scrabble is my very favorite game, and let’s be honest: I’m all about procrastination tools that suck up huge amounts of time before you ever even realize it. Long story short, I bought the app and now I’m in the midst of about eight different games–some with real friends and some with strangers I’ll never meet. I couldn’t be more joyful.

2) Borders – Speaking of joyful, last week I went to Borders and got four new books! (Elizabeth Scott’s The Unwritten Rule, Sarah Ockler’s Fixing Delilah, Deb Caletti’s Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, and Courtney Summer’s Fall For Anything, in case you’re wondering. I’m on a contemporary kick.) As I was perusing, my husband kept our daughter busy, so tolerant and sweet. Mid-browse, I suddenly  realized something: Borders is my happy place.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I find great delight in my family, friends and (most of my) daily activities. But there’s something about walking into Borders with the goal of buying new books that makes me particularly blissful. Do you know what DOESN’T make me blissful? All this talk of Borders going under. I’m not sure if they make 12-Step programs for obsessive book-buyers like me, but I’ll tell you what–if the Borders in my city closes down, things might get ugly.  *Edited February 17th: While Borders has officially filed for bankruptcy, the store in my town is NOT among those listed as closing. What a relief!

3) Craft Quickies – My talented CP, Heather Howland, has started a new series on her blog: Craft Quickies. They’re short posts covering craft issues (obviously) that can trip some (all?) writers up. So far she’s covered dialogue tag abuse (I went through my manuscript with a fine-tooth comb after reading this one) and the stress-inducing possible sequel. Rumor has it she’ll be tackling verb modifiers soon. I highly recommend you check Craft Quickies out.  

4) The Walking Dead – Have you seen this AMC show? From what I’ve heard, it’s an adaptation of a graphic novel and it is the epitome of ridiculousness. Still, I kind of love it.

Hey, girl with the baseball bat: Good luck to you.

We’ve had all seven Season One episodes sitting in our DVR for months and just recently got around to watching them. (I freely admit that we watched with our three-year-old daughter present. She loved it. “Mommy, why are all those zombies eating that horse?” Our status as Parents of the Year may be in question…) Anyway, I love watching The Walking Dead for the very same reason I love watching Dexter and The Vampire Diaries: Something major happens in every. Single. Episode. There are no lags, no weeks and weeks of I know where they’re going with this and I wish they’d just hurry up and get there. Nope. It’s fast paced and exciting and I can’t wait to find out what happens to those crazy zombie fighters next season.

My daughter pretending to be a zombie. In a Princess shirt.

5) Phrase Frequency Counter – The perfect writing tool for closet OCDers like me. Much like Wordle, you can paste in as much or as little text as you want, choose the number of words-in-phrases you’d like the Frequency Counter to check (two-word phrases, three-word phrases, and so on), and then sit back and let the magic happen. The most common phrases in my WIP were things like “I said” and “he said,” but I also noticed that I used “took a long swallow” and “took a long sip” and “took a long drink” three times each. That’s nine times. Clearly, I’m writing about a couple of lushes.

6) Across the Universe  by Beth Revis – As a rule, I don’t read science fiction. I know, I know… I shouldn’t wall myself off completely from any one genre. The thing is, aliens, space travel, cryogenics, and otherworldly futures just don’t interest me. Then Twitter went abuzz about Across the Universe. I became curious. Rave reviews started pouring in. I became intrigued. Some of my CPs read it and couldn’t stop gushing. I knew I had to check it out. So I bought Across the Universe (See  #2 above… I have a problem.), and I am SO glad I did. It’s sci-fi, but it’s accessible. Relatable. Really cool. I’m somewhere around half-way through and I’m totally into it. But now I’m starting to love it so much that I’m stressing about the ending being a disappointment. Ugh. Please, Beth Revis. Please make the end of your book stand up to the fabulous beginning! 

I love this cover...

7) That’s YAmore – In case you haven’t heard: I’m a participant in Oasis for YA’s “That’s YAmore” blogfest. It has been so much fun reading all of the sweet, romantic, steamy entries. If you’re interested in reading my contribution, you can find it HERE. And please visit the That’s YAmore Blogfest page to check out the other participants. You’ll be glad you did. 🙂

That’s YAmore!

25 Comments

It’s time for Oasis for YA’s Valentine’s Day BlogFest! Here’s how it works, straight from Oasis for YA’s That’s YAmore Blogfest page:

We love blogfests.  And we love good YA romance.  So we decided to combine the two in our first annual That’s YAmore Blogfest.

Starting the Friday before Valentine’s Day, we invite you to post 250 romantic, swoon-worthy words from your YA WIP.  Then check out the entries from some of the other participants.  (Just be sure you have a fan and/or a cold glass of water on hand.)  We know your Valentine will appreciate you getting yourself in a romantic state of mind…

So, my steamy contribution is from the contemporary YA WIP I’m currently revising, LOVING MAX HOLDEN, about a girl who’s in love with her best friend’s brother:

             Our linked hands rested on the seat between us the whole way back to our neighborhood. Max parked in his driveway—still free of Ivy’s car—then walked me across the lawn to the front porch of my house, just way I’d imagined. “Like a real date,” I joked.

            “I still owe you dinner.”

            “Have you been holding on to your Bunco winnings all this time?”

            “I have, actually. I knew that money would come in handy when you realized how bad you want me.” He stepped closer, grinning, and circled his arms around my waist. “So, how about it?”

            “Ivy can’t know about this, Max. Not yet.”

            He rolled his eyes. “Fine. If I keep my mouth shut you’ll let me take you out for real?”

            “Maybe if you kiss me goodnight after.”

            “I can probably manage that, although I kind of wanted to kiss you tonight too.”

            “But there’s no mistletoe,” I said with mock seriousness.

            He leaned in until his nose was barely brushing against mine. “Like I give a shit.”

            And then he kissed me, soft and slow, like he was certain there were a thousand more kisses in our future. I nestled in, absorbing his warmth, dangerously close to collapsing from the sheer bliss of it all. But he held me tight, his arms safe and secure around me. When he ran his tongue along my bottom lip, I shivered with a new kind of want. There was nothing in the world better than kissing Max Holden. 

So, that’s Max and Jill… I kind of love them. 🙂 If you’re curious about the aforementioned mistletoe kiss, you can read that excerpt HERE. Also, please do visit my critique parthers: Heather Howland, AE Rought, and Jus Accardo. They’re participating in That’s YAmore too, and well, they’re fabulous.

Don’t forget to visit That’s YAmore Blogfest to check out all the other steamy entries.