BOOK STUDY: The Subtle Beauty of OPEN ROAD SUMMER

I first crossed paths with Emery Lord on October 29, 2010 (this date is real, I looked it up). The internet daisy chain that brought us together is long and tangled, but suffice it to say that we were both looking for someone willing to read and critique our "finished" manuscripts. Mine was a sort of Revolutionary era fantasy thing; hers was a contemporary young adult romance about a girl trying to reinvent herself a year after the unexpected death of her boyfriend, but told in a really smart, funny voice (look for this one on bookshelves in about a year). In those days, Emery also had a seedling of an idea about two best friends, one a shooting-star musician and the other a girl trying to separate herself from a series of bad habits; she called this idea OPEN ROAD SUMMER, and it will be available in a bookstore near you on Tuesday, April 15th.

I'm not much of a contemporary romance reader, but I fell in love with Emery's writing style when we were still strangers. Since then, she's become a great friend and writing partner, so it's a little difficult to "study" her work objectively. I was there when she was still trying to decide where to start the story (in a parking lot, beside a tour bus adorned with wildflowers). I watched her experiment with first person past tense and first person present (present tense won out). Characters changed names and song lyrics were rewritten, and every microscopic detail was attended to and optimized because that's just how Emery operates. I had a front-row seat while all the puzzle pieces clicked into place, and the entire process was magic.

So what makes OPEN ROAD SUMMER special?

* This isn't what I would consider a standard contemporary young adult romance. Our narrator, Reagan, has several interesting relationships, and one of them is indeed with an incredibly charming guy. But, this story is just as much about her relationship with her best friend, a famous musician reminiscent of Taylor Swift named Delilah (Dee for short). One thing Emery does as well as anyone in the business is craft compelling best friend relationships, and this is a pattern readers will notice through everything she writes. There are also specters of Reagan's long-absent mother and troubled ex-boyfriend; we never see them, but we can still feel their lingering impact.

* This book has a riveting and intelligent first person narrative voice. Since I've had the luxury of reading three of Emery's manuscripts now, I can say with confidence that all of her first person narrators have completely distinct voices. It's almost like she's performing a one-woman play, channeling the character in every tiny motion, every feeling, every word. When we meet the narrator of OPEN ROAD SUMMER, she's just decided to quit smoking, quit drinking, quit her ex-boyfriend, and put literal geographic distance between herself and her rock-bottom moment by going on tour with her famous best friend. Reagan doesn't always make the best choices, but she's trying; she's three-dimensional and real. You can hear the clacking of her trademark high-heeled shoes and the shutter of her camera. At times you can even feel her glaring at you, but you love her just the same.

* Another thing Emery does as well as anyone: she creates these tiny, poignant moments and wrings all the emotion right out of them. OPEN ROAD SUMMER is an especially nice showcase for this because our narrator, Reagan, is a photographer. She's always looking for these snapshot moments, and when she finds them, she captures them, internalizes them, processes them, and reacts to them. Reagan does this with her friend Dee, capturing her open spirit, how she treats her fans, how she handles the press in the midst of scandal, and how she behaves when she's out of the spotlight. Reagan does this with her father, a recovering alcoholic who managed to pull his life back together after his wife walked out and left him to raise his daughter alone. And, she does it with charming former boy-bander Matt Finch, who joins Dee on tour, both as a personal favor to a friend and in hopes of finding something to break his longstanding songwriter's block. Reagan, for all of her rough edges and attitude, realizes that everyone around her has a story to tell (including her), and her photographer's eye captures the key thousand words.

This book is such a satisfying, pleasant read. It made me laugh, and funny is such a rare and delightful treat. It's fun without being fluffy, it's substantive without being heavy, and it has just the right amount of romance (of about a PG-rated level) to satisfy readers who want it and to not bog down readers who don't really care about that stuff.

AND BECAUSE I KNOW YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK I'M GIVING IT AWAY
If you'd like a free copy of OPEN ROAD SUMMER, enter by leaving a comment below, and please include a twitter handle or some way for me to contact you if you win. On May 1, 2014, I'll choose a winner using a random selector. If I get enough entries, I'll give away TWO. This is open to readers in the United States and abroad. Thanks!

UPDATE: I'm reminded that leaving comments on these blog posts isn't as easy as it used to be. If you don't want to mess with the Google comments, you can also enter through email (bethany at bethanyrobison dot com) or contact me on twitter (@BethanyRobison). Thanks!

The Supplemental Novella Trend

I prefer reading long books (though I still haven't been brave enough to pick up GAME OF THRONES). I want to read CALICO JOE by John Grisham, but every time I look at it, I think, "why is this book so short?" and then I put it back down. Stupid, but true. I'm not a big fan of novellas, short stories, or novelettes when they're intended to stand alone.

But, the popularity of e-books has opened the door for savvy writers to keep their readers engaged between novel releases with electronic novellas/novelettes that supplement their series - and that, I think, is genius. What makes these shorter products work for me? They have the same finished, polished feel as their parent novels, and they add to stories I already want to know more about. Here are a few examples of supplemental/companion e-novellas I've come across:

SHADOW CATS by Rae Carson
I adore Rae Carson's work. GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS was probably my favorite book I read last year, and CROWN OF EMBERS was a highly enjoyable second effort. My only complaint was that, since I purchased book two in e-book form, I didn't notice I was getting close to the end. When the cliffhanger came, I flailed right over the ledge. And then I sent Rae an angry fan tweet, because I'm a mature Twitter user.

To cope with my cliffhanger distress, I grabbed up SHADOW CATS, which is a prequel to the series told from the main character's sister's point of view (not a particularly warm, beloved character in the series, but one with an interesting perspective).

What I love about Rae's writing style is that I never feel tempted to rush though anything. Each scene is good enough on its own, I'm not flying through the pages trying to find anticipated answers. SHADOW CATS was too short, and the plot doesn't have the same richness that the longer works have. It didn't give me the same amount of satisfaction, but I still got engrossed in the moment. It didn't reveal anything extraordinary, or build on the plot. If you skipped it, it wouldn't affect your enjoyment of the series as a whole. It's just a supplement - a bonus - and her writing style is especially well suited to this format.

SHADOW CATS does exactly what it's supposed to do - it gives you a peek into another corner of the world Rae built, and an opportunity to see into the mind of another character in that world. I'd love to see Rae do more of these; I trust her in this format.

DESTROY ME by Tahereh Mafi
I'll be interested to see whether or not this was truly just a supplement, or whether this actually did feed us subtle plot pieces that we'll need to know going forward. DESTROY ME is basically a collection of scenes told from Warner's first person point of view, and it works hard to build him as a sympathetic figure without stripping him of his villain role in the story. You wonder if he's redeemable... or if you even WANT him to be redeemable. It rounds him out and makes him feel more real.

I enjoyed reading this, which is surprising seeing as how it doesn't really have a stand-alone plot (something that I normally find infuriating). It's a different style than SHATTER ME, which helps you to appreciate how well done (and complicated) Tahereh's first book was. This supplemental novella is a perfect vehicle for her style. I'd buy episode after episode from her, even if she never wrote another full length novel.

FREE FOUR by Veronica Roth
I haven't read this one, but from what I understand about it, it's a little different approach which I think has a lot of potential. She rewrote part of her previously published book DIVERGENT from the point of view of one of her other characters. It made me think this concept of a supplemental e-book would have been delightful back when the TWILIGHT series was still in progress. Remember that leaked version that was all told from Edward's point of view? Everyone I talked to said they liked it better than the version that was actually published. Part of me wonders if that wasn't part of the original catalyst for the influx of electronic bonus content.


These tiny supplements give authors the freedom to take tangents. They let us see through another character's perspective, expand the world. They keep readers engaged by reminding us that more is coming. It's an appetizer - the kind that makes you a little angry when it's done and you're still hungry. I think these little e-novellas work best in a fantasy/action type of genre - the kind of setting that would benefit from giving us a wider angle lens to look through for awhile. But maybe I'm being short-sighted. Would this be effective for writers such as Stephanie Perkins or Miranda Kennealy, especially since their books aren't exactly series, but rather stand-alones that occur in the same living space? (A little research reveals that Miranda does have a novella - the list keeps growing).

Some other supplementals I'd like to see...

* I'm a snob when it comes to dual first-person narratives, so I think this might offer a nice alternative in some future instances. Imagine using shorter episodic e-books to reformat something like the NEVER SKY series (which I love... and which, by the way, DOES have a supplement), or the MATCHED series (which I enjoyed as a single narrator but struggled with once it went dual). Maybe even the ACROSS THE UNIVERSE series, although I think it's phenomenal. I just feel like if a story is complicated enough that it demands two first-person points of view, then there might be an opportunity to grow and round things out with supplemental materials.

* The Chemical Garden Series. I was lukewarm on WITHER, (book one), but I adored FEVER (book 2). On Goodreads, I did find a "Wither 1.5" e-book called SEEDS OF WITHER, a prequel. I'd prefer to read something from Linden's point of view, given the option. In my imagination, it would probably be somewhat like DESTROY ME, which as I mentioned above, was a very smart product on the part of the Mafi.

* The SHADOW AND BONE series. A quick GoodReads search reveals that a 32-page 'companion' exists for this one, too, sooo I'm gonna have to wrap up this post and get to that.

* I know Cassie Clare and writers of her ilk have released extra content on their websites in the past. I'm not sure if these are quite the same thing, but it is very fan-friendly to offer up work for free.

* I'd like to see what the likes of Maureen Johnson and John Green would do with little e-novellas. I feel like that forum would give them an element of freedom their creative minds might enjoy taking advantage of... but then again, at this stage of their careers, they've already chosen other ways to supplement their fans' appetites (John has his vlogs, and Maureen is a tweeting machine and t-shirt designer).


What supplements would you like to see? Who has already done a good one that I left out? My theory that these novellas are best used for 'world building' is probably egregiously narrow, especially since DESTROY ME was basically a character study - how else could these be used to keep readers engaged between releases? What's the down side to supplemental novellas? Do you think they're worth the $1.99 - $2.99 price tag?

Romance Writers, Basketball, and the NFL Draft

A collection of disconnected thoughts and ah-ha moments from the last weekend in April, in which Bethy attends a Romance Writers of America Conference, watches a few NBA Playoff Games, and misses the entire NFL Draft.

* If someone gives you presents, you kinda want to be their friend. RWA Chicago gave me the most incredible swag bag I've ever seen, just for showing up. Like, all I did was walk in the door and they were thrusting free stuff at me and I started to crumble under the weight of it all. As it turns out, romance writers are big on thrusting. Who knew?

(Note: There was also chocolate, but I ate that, so it's not featured in this picture.)

(Another Note: These are just SOME of the presents they gave us. Some. There were other books, including e-books, ARCs, autographed things, and also there were many desserts. And yes, you can come in 2014 if you want to.)

* The NBA Playoffs affect us all. Growing up a Pacer fan, the Chicago Bulls were public enemy number two (after the New York Knicks, of course). Still, even I was bummed out to see Derrick Rose tear up his knee. The whole city kind of deflated ("First the Blackhawks lose and now THIS!"). Even I groaned when I saw the clip on the TV in the conference hotel bar. I've reached the point where whenever I see an injury like that, I remember Robbie Hummel and immediately feel sad. And also, I was counting on the Bulls to beat Miami, so now someone else is probably going to have to do it. And it must be done.

You may think you don't care, but you're wrong. The Olympics are coming, and that Spanish basketball team has a bunch of NBA players on it, too. Do the right thing, America. Hope and pray that the likes of LeBron, Kobe, and Kevin Durrant are healthy, happy, and hungry for gold. U-S-A!

* YouTube both causes and cures insomnia. I had an hour drive home from the conference Friday night, around midnight. I worked so hard at staying alive, awake, alert and enthusiastic that by the time I got home I was wired. I then proceeded to watch Andrew Luck's Letterman appearance on YouTube. And then I fell down a dangerous spiral when YouTube suggested I take a little trip down memory lane with Peyton Manning and then Eli Manning at the same age. Awwww. I'm so happy right now. And yes, I have every intention of live-tweeting Eli's SNL appearance coming up May 5th (@BethanyRobison, catch the fever).

* Pitching to agents live and in person is fun. I attended a 2-hour "pitch" class at the RWA conference. The instructor spent the first half-hour or so telling us the components of a proper pitch, and then for the rest of the time, she let us submit example pitches for critique in front of the whole lecture. Two things on this:

1. There are a lot of really fun ideas floating out there, just waiting to be discovered. That alone was really inspiring.
2. When you hear lots of pitches critiqued in a short amount of time, it's so much easier to understand what works and what doesn't. I'm not sure how to explain it, but if you ever have the chance to attend something like this, it's worth it. I don't think there's a better way to learn the fundamentals.
3. Writing a pitch isn't that hard; it's the DELIVERY part that freaks people out.

All that being said, when you're pitching one-on-one to someone, all you're really doing is having a conversation about your book. Yes, you want to be prepared. Yes, you want to make sure you hit all the main points to present your idea in the best way possible. But, this is not high school speech class and you're not being graded on whether or not you include all the required elements. I know a lot of people at the conference recommended that you write your pitch and talking points on 3 x 5 cards and just read them in the pitch session. That idea made me very uncomfortable. I pitched to an agent. I didn't read off my notes. I had a conversation with a lovely person, and it was a blast. I'd recommend you approach it like a job interview rather than a school presentation. If that makes sense.

* It's good to investigate something you know nothing about. I don't write romance. I don't even read romance. However, I am so glad I attended this conference. It was really about writing as a craft. Here are some of the topics covered:

• Blog Book Tour Tips
• Synopsis in 7 Sentences
• Self-Publishing without Sacrificing Traditional Quality
• Can This Manuscript Be Saved?
• Transmedia Storytelling
• Media Tips, Tricks, and Traps
• Growing Plot from Character
• Marketing When Time and Money Matter
• The Author/Agent Relationship

And that's just a sampling. The point is, even if it doesn't feature your genre of choice, a well-run conference will give you more than your money's worth in takeaways, even BEYOND the bag of FREE STUFF. I'm about convinced I should try a conference in each genre, just to see what they have to offer.

* Football makes the world smaller. On Monday, Americans were skipping out of work early to watch Manchester United vs. Manchester City, battling for the English Premier League Championship. Meanwhile, my Intern is in New Zealand studying abroad, and he watched more of the NFL Draft than I did. Take from that what you will. I saw neither.

* Remember in Ratatouille when the ghost chef kept saying Anyone can cook?
I met enough people from the most diverse, fascinating backgrounds this weekend to convince me that a great artist really can come from anywhere. I met a lawyer, a radio talk-show host, a nuclear chemist, a dental hygienist, a sign painter, and a college student, just to name a few. I met people who had published nearly 50 books, people who had not yet finished their first complete manuscript. This weekend was a great reminder - you just never know where that next big thing might come from.

Never Meet Your Heroes?

A question: Does meeting authors affect how you read their work?

If your friend works for the local newspaper, do you read his articles the same way you read articles written by strangers? If your critique partner writes a blog post, do you read her the same way you read someone you've never met? If I've read everything Sports Guy's written since 2004, am I allowed to pretend I "know" him?

Where is that line? Does "knowing" a writer make us more accepting or less forgiving? Is it good to meet your heroes, or does it break some invisible wall, like meeting the cast of a Broadway show when the actors are no longer in character?


A few examples of my encounters with authors who were previously faceless names:

Author 1: I had neutral feelings toward this author. I tried to read her book. Had trouble getting in to it. Stopped. Started. Stopped. Started again. Finally finished the entire thing and ended up getting a lot out of it. When I met her in person, I realized I had several questions I wanted to ask about her book. She gave specific and interesting answers, personalized my book, and never seemed in a hurry to get rid of me, even though she'd been there a long time and there was still a line behind me. I left that encounter with a lot of enthusiasm for this person, and now I can't wait to read more from her. I now count her among my favorites.

Author 2: I'd enjoyed this author's work, but whenever I'd read interviews or other online interaction, she struck me as being rather cold. For example, maybe a fan would post a question asking what color a character's eyes were, and rather than answering the question, she'd say she didn't think that information was important. I felt like she didn't want to play along, so I was kind of afraid to approach her. However, I was feeling very BRAVE that day and took the leap. All of the authors I've met have been very generous with answering questions and letting me drive the conversation, but this lady started with, "So Bethany, tell me about yourself." She was the only one who asked me about ME. I'll remember that about her - I left with a different impression than I came with. For the better.

Author 3: I felt like I had a pretty good handle on this person before I met her. Much like I feel like I "know" Sports Guy because I've read him for so long, I felt like I already "knew" this gal. We'd exchanged the occasional tweet, the odd email, etc. In some ways, I was most afraid to meet this person - what if the picture I'd painted for myself was wrong? It's kind of awkward to feel like you know someone when they don't "know" you back. Anywho, I walked up to this author, introduced myself, and she literally jumped out of her chair, said, "I KNOW YOU!" and then she hugged me. I was a bit startled, but I shouldn't have been. It was totally in character for her. She doesn't have a disingenuous cell in her body, and it reflects in all aspects of her work.

Author 4: I didn't really know much about this person. I'd read one book by her a long time ago, and that was pretty much that. She was a speaker in a workshop, along with a few other authors. She struck me as rather quiet, didn't say a lot. But when she did speak, what she said was well thought out, specific, and helpful. Knowing more about how her mind works, I'm eager to read more from her now. By contrast, I felt like some other members of the panel were trying a bit hard to be impressive - reciting what they thought were witty quotations, and just generally talking a LOT without saying a lot (Note: I'm increasingly convinced that the skills that make a good writer and the skills that make a good speaker are not necessarily related - I, er, um, use myself as chief example).

I stood in line for the bathroom with Author 5 (who I haven't read) and asked her if she'd like to cut in line, in case she had an appointment at the conference we were attending. She laughed and said no, she had plenty of time, but thanks. Then we crafted imaginary Tweets that might be posted about her, if she were seen cutting in the bathroom line. Probably one of my most treasured bathroom memories ever, though it still doesn't compare with my brother sharing a bathroom with Coach Mike Ditka ("I swear, proper etiquette was observed by everyone involved!").

Growing up, I always thought writers had some sort of super-human mystical power that enabled them to do what they do, kind of like Michael Jordan was born with the magical ability to jump. In my imagination, it was all rather cartoony. But now that I've seen these writers as MORTALS, will it change the way I read their work? People around Chicago seem to agree that meeting Michael Jordan in person often made it a bit harder to be a fan.

For the authors I met last weekend, the illusion has been broken. They're people, not magical beings shiny with pixie dust. They all talked about showering and folding laundry and making many mistakes. But don't we, in some ways, want our heroes to stay a little magical? A little infallible? Does it change our reading experience to know how they deal with writers block, or to know they got a 16-page editor's letter after their second book sold? When we read our favorite book, do we really want to know how the sausage was made, or is it better not to think about it?

The authors I enjoyed meeting the most seemed comfortable with who they were. They weren't trying to make an impression, weren't concerned with wow-ing me with their knowledge or making me laugh or preserving their "brand" (at least, not that I could tell). They spoke in specifics. They made me feel important. They were in the moment, not looking over fans' shoulders at what might be coming next. Because they were comfortable, that made me feel comfortable with them. And, when I'm comfortable with them, I trust I will be comfortable spending several hours with their books. And so I have to ask myself - if I were in their shoes, would I do as well?

The Seventh Mile - The Art of Finishing

Repost from a few months ago over at InkSlingers.

I recently conducted some statistical analysis on my life and discovered a phenomenon I've termed "The Seventh Mile."

Memorial Day weekend I participated in the Soldier Field 10-mile Run (for which I acquired the shiny new t-shirt I am currently wearing). I trained for months prior to the race (following a program), and got to a place where I could consistently run 6.5 miles any time I wanted. Slowly, but always with a predictable result.

You know what happened the day of the race? When I reached that seventh mile, my body assumed I was done. That's what I'd trained it to do - go about seven miles and then stop.

A year ago, I started working seriously on my second manuscript. When it was about two-thirds of the way finished, I decided to set it aside for an idea that I thought would be more marketable. Now, that third manuscript is also two-thirds of the way done.

I'm nothing if not consistent.

And I'm in danger of training my writer-brain into a rut - a repeatable result of coming up short. There is something to be said for practicing the art of finishing.

I watch a lot of sports and study a lot of athletes. When you look at your Kobe Bryants and Peyton Mannings, the experts always want to talk about how they prepare, train, maintain control and relish the clutch moments - because they are READY for them.

I want to pattern my writing life after them. Study the competition, do fundamental exercises, study the craft and the business... I want to be the best conditioned, the most prepared, etc so that I can avoid that seventh mile trap in the future.

During the run, I walked that seventh mile. I nursed my fatigue and my side stitch and put one foot in front of the other. When I got to mile eight, I felt better. And when I hit mile nine, I could actually SEE the finish line and struggled to control my adrenaline so that I didn't run too fast and completely destroy myself.

The point is, I finished. It wasn't pretty, but I made it. You don't get style points for your process - just your finished product. One keystroke at a time, I'll give it a beginning, a middle, and an end. Even if at first it sucks, I will practice the art of finishing.

What would you like to practice "finishing" today?