They Call Me Mr. V

Quirk and Quill

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:43:00 +0000

A bunch of my classmates from the Vermont College of Fine Arts have started up a new blog called Quirk and Quill. Check out my post there on "The Next Book." And while you're at it check out the other posts as well.

Small Yays

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:02:00 +0000

Even though it's been almost three years since I graduated from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, I still keep in touch with a lot of alums, especially my classmates. Every Friday on our private forum, we celebrate brags--big and small. There have been a lot of big brags this month (some yet to be announced), but there have also been many, many more small brags.

I think that's so important--celebrating the small brags--because without these accomplishments there wouldn't be any big brags. You can't celebrate selling a novel if you don't first find the courage to send out queries; you can't send a query letter until you finish a draft of a manuscript (usually); you can't finish a manuscript until you start a manuscript....and so on, and so on. Our career is made up of a lot of 'small yays', and we should celebrate them.

And, we should cheer on others when they have good news. So that being said, congratulations to:

1) VCFA Scholarship and Award Winners

2) Me: I made a blog post before the end of the month--thank goodness for leap year.

3) Greg Leitich Smi th and Cynthia Levinson--both are celebrating book launches in March.

(Chronal Engine and We've Got a Job--both Junior Library Guild Selections)

4) The Brown Bookshelf for another successful 28 Days Later (because of other commitments, I couldn't participate this year)

5) Austin SC BWI for hosting a great regional conference.

6) The Friends of Northside ISD Libraries (San Antonio, TX) for developing and hosting the inaugural LibraryPalooza Teen Book Festival.

(YA Author Terry Trueman and I at LibraryPalooza)

7) And congratulations to my kid for not inheriting my laugh (at least not yet).

Inspiration from The Natural

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:14:00 +0000

So I'm not in the business of making New Year's Resolutions, but I am committing to doing better about blogging. Despite my lack of posts, I do miss the immediate (but not too immediate) release of thoughts transcribed into words. I love being able to connect with a handful of people through ways other than my traditionally-published works.

But I'm also super busy, with deadlines and speaking engagements and family and such. So I'm going to start slow. One post a month.

Anyway, I found myself thinking about one of my favorite movies today, The Natural, which is damn near perfect (except for the image of Robert Redford and Glenn Close frolicking around as eighteen-year-olds). There are a lot of lines and a lot of scenes from the movie that I love, but I especially love this scene in the hospital, when Iris (Close) is giving Roy (Redford) a pep-talk.

I think some manuscripts are the same way. There are some manuscripts that we learn by, and then there's the manuscript we write afterwards. I was trying to explain this to my agent yesterday, as I gave her all the reasons why I was struggling with this ms that I've been working on (on and off) since the summer of 2007. I don't know if it'll sell, but I know I'm learning a lot from writing it. And even if it isn't THE manuscript, it'll make the next one that much better. It'll make me that much better. And that's got to count for something, right?

What An Agent Does

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:56:00 +0000

If you've got 15 minutes to spare and want to know what an agent does, check out this "Writing Excuses" podcast on What An Agent Does, featuring Sara Crowe* and her author, Dan Wells.

(*Full Disclosure: Sara's my agent as well.)

Okay, because so many of you have asked....

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 02:00:00 +0000

Introducing Savannah:

Don't Call It A Comeback

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 03:07:00 +0000

As James Todd Smith would say, "Don't call it a comeback / I've been here for years."

It's true. I haven't disappeared. I've been here and here. But not on the blog.

Despite my lack of blogging, I have been working on a few new projects, though I can't quite talk about them yet. My new editor at Delacorte, Rebecca Short, has what may or may not be my next published novel, which may or may not come out in Fall 2012. I know--it sounds like a long time away--the original pub date was Spring 2012, but I had a better shot at winning the lotto than making that deadline, and I don't even buy lottery tickets.

Anyway, today Rebecca asked me to send her a few sentences about the book--what the "heart of the story" was. That's a question I always struggle with--what's a book about (I talked about that some here)--but it was a fair question. I finally came up with this response (edited to remove spoilers/specificity):

So I’m a structural engineer. 95% of my structures are designed using the principal of “structural redundancy.” It’s kind of like a safety net for bridges and buildings. Basically, if one member (one part) of the structure fails, another part is there to carry the load—maybe not forever, but at a minimum for long enough for people to notice the problem and to react. The main goal of structural redundancy is to avoid catastrophic failures.

I think human interaction is the same way. I think we’re all protected by a series of “redundant safety nets”, for lack of a better work. Someone may fall/fail/slip/stumble, but if she is loved, there will always be someone there to catch her—either a parent, or a mentor, or a friend, or even a boyfriend/girlfriend. And these safety nets—they’re not optional. When we choose to interact with people, when we decide to be a parent/friend/mentor/etc., it’s our job—our responsibility—to serve as that safety net. To be a protector, whether the person wants protection or not. To be a protector, despite whatever conflicting feelings may be tugging at us.

So in XXXXX’s case, there should always be someone looking out for her. And even if the first net fails—even if she pushes one out the way or slices through another—there’s always one right behind it.

But what happens when all the safety nets fail? How much of it is XXXXX’s fault? How much of it is due to the collective failure of her network? And how far will she fall?

So this is a bit longer than a few sentences, but this is what I found myself returning to over and over again in the manuscript: "We all have a job to do in a personal relationship. And when we all fail, bad things happen."

I'm very curious if I'll feel the same way once the book comes out--if it comes out.

And while I'm posting, I'd like to take the time to thank everyone for all the support you've shown for Saving Maddie. A paperback version is coming out--next Spring or Summer, I think.

Until next time....

Rhombus-Remixed!

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 02:56:00 +0000

So here's a copy of My Life as a Rhombus:

And here's a copy of My Life as a Rhombus. In Korean.

This ranks pretty high on the "things I never thought would happen" list.

I love how both covers show show a girl covering her mouth with her hand, though I have no idea whether that's Sarah or Rhonda on the Korean Cover.

But my favorite, favorite, favorite part of the Korean verion, by far, is the interior art:

Here's "Congruence":

And here's "Remainders":

So just being curious...does anyone speak/read Korean?

(And FYI - my official blog address has changed. It's now http://blog.varianjohnson.com)

New Blog Address

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:21:00 +0000

Quick note--this blog's address is moving to a new location: http://blog.varianjohnson.com.

The Saving Maddie Blog Tour, Day 5

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:11:00 +0000

For the final stop on the Saving Maddie Blog Tour, I'm hanging with Edi at Crazy Quilts. A few excerpts:

"Also, my characters feel like my children at times—I don’t want all of these bad things to happen to them. I want someone to swoop in set them on the right path (I especially felt this way about Rhonda in My Life as a Rhombus, and Madeline is practically breaking my heart right now as I work through the companion novel)."

And perhaps my favorite excerpt from the entire tour:

"As my Dad used to say—it’s not a real meal if it doesn’t have meat!"

Check out the full interview!

In general, thanks everyone for all the support for Saving Maddie. This book is special to me for a lot of reasons--my first hardcover, my first post-VCFA book, my first book from a male perspective. Honestly, the entire week has been a little overwhelming; I'm kinda looking forward to things dying down a bit next week.

But before I sign off, if y0u live in Austin, or if you live close to Austin, or if you're looking for a reason to visit Austin, please join me and my friend April Lurie for our joint book signing at the end of the month. The event will be set-up interview style--April and I will be asking each other thought-provoking / embarrassing / incriminating questions. Here are the event details:

Varian Johnson (Saving Maddie) and April Lurie (The Less-Dead) Dual Release Party
Saturday, March 27th at 2:00
Bookpeople
Austin, TX

Thanks so much guys! Next week, I promise to talk about something other than Saving Maddie...that is, if I get around to posting to the blog.

The Saving Maddie Blog Tour, Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:33:00 +0000

For today's stop on the Saving Maddie Blog Tour, I'm hanging with Melissa at Book Nut, where I say things such as:

"And while Saving Maddie isn’t an autobiographical story, I very much felt like Joshua when I was a teenager—I felt like everyone was trying to force me to be this two-dimensional person. I was the smart one. The good one. I felt like few people saw the real me. But looking back on it, I’d bet that a lot of my classmates felt the same way, and perhaps I was just as guilty of seeing them in very confined ways as they were of seeing me."

Check out the full interview.

And lastly, yesterday I neglected to mention my friend Michelle Knudsen has a short story out in an anthology released this week. The collection is titled I Fooled You: Ten Stories of Tricks, Jokes, and Switcheroos. Be sure to check it out.

The Saving Maddie Blog Tour, Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:22:00 +0000

Today, I'm at Gwenda Bond's Shaken and Stirred, where I'm talking about the writing process for Saving Maddie. A few excerpts:

"There was only one thing I knew when I started working on this book—that it would be from a male’s POV."

and

"There were some things I did right in the manuscript, but there were a whole bunch of things I did wrong—I interrupted the dialogue with huge chunks of description, Joshua’s parents were two-dimensional, and I apparently had an overabundant zeal for the word “breasts”..."

Check out the full interview.

FYI - my birthday / book release day was great! Thanks for all the kind thoughts and words of encouragement. And thank you so much to the people that went out and picked up a copy of Saving Maddie. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

And for those of you that haven't gone out book shopping yet, here are a few other new releases to keep in mind:

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Front Page Face-Off by Jo Whittemore

It's Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder

Happy Hump-Day, everyone!

The Saving Maddie Blog Tour, Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:05:00 +0000

For today's stop on the Saving Maddie Blog Tour, I'm at Reading in Color, where I'm talking about the Saving Maddie Playlist. Here's an excerpt:

"As this book is all about love (and lust), many of the songs on my playlist are love songs—though I wouldn’t consider them happy love songs. Like Joshua and Maddie’s relationship, my playlist is a mix of seduction and despair, love and loss."

Check out the full playlist!

The Saving Maddie Blog Tour, Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:44:00 +0000

For my first stop on the Saving Maddie Blog Tour, I'm hanging with Melodye Shore in The Authors' Tent. Here are a few snippets of the interview:

"At the beginning of the novel, both Joshua and Madeline’s actions encourage others to see them in very confined, two-dimensional ways. It isn’t until we see Joshua and Madeline truly begin to interact that we start to see more of their real selves."

and

"I certainly don’t think the ethnicity of the characters is important in THIS story—the characters are Southern and religious, and that’s what I was most intent on getting across. Also, I didn’t want to manufacture a scene where the characters were commenting on their “blackness”—that just seemed silly."

Be sure to check out the full interview! And tomorrow aka release day aka my birthday, check out Reading in Color, where I'll be discussing the Saving Maddie Playlist.

The Saving Maddie Blog Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:17:00 +0000

In just a few days, my third novel, SAVING MADDIE hits stores. To celebrate, I'll be at five great blogs next week:

Monday: I'll be discussing religion, stereotypes and cover art with Melodye Shore in The Author's Tent.

Tuesday: I'll be debuting the Saving Maddie Playlist at Reading in Color with Ari. (This is also Release Day. And my birthday.)

Wednesday: I'll be at Gwenda Bond's Shaken and Stirred, where I'll be talking about my writing process for Saving Maddie. (FYI--Gwenda is also a graduate of Vermont College, and is AWESOME.)

Thursday: I'll be at Book Nut with Melissa, where I'll be answering questions like, "What's my favorite scene?"

Friday: I'll be talking to a student interviewer at Crazy Quilts.

I'll be updating my blog with direct links throughout the week. Be sure to check out all the stops! There may even be some giveaways involved.

And the winner is....

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:46:00 +0000

...Karla at www.spottoread.blogspot.com! Congratulations, you're the owner of a slightly used ARC!

Kirkus, Covers, and Giveaways

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:42:00 +0000

So last Saturday, I saw that Saving Maddie had been reviewed by Kirkus. I waited patiently--waited for my editor to send me a copy, waited for the review to be posted on B&N (PW and SLJ are already there), waited for the issue to be available via the online journal database at my university.

On the third day, I caved and bought a one-month subscription.

But I'm so glad I did. This is arguably the best journal review I've ever received--and here's a snippet:

"Johnson avoids heavy-handed messages with nuanced characters and a realistic treatment of Joshua and Maddie's complex relationship."

In fact, here's the only "negative" thing the reviewer says:

"Unfortunately, the cover condemns this book to Girls Only."

I'd actually been thinking about this before seeing this review, after recent online discussions with Collen Mondor about After the Moment and after seeing the comments in Edi's wonderful review. I realized that during the cover design process, I was so preoccupied with the skin/lip-tone of the cover model, I didn't think about if the cover was "anti-boy". And I'm NOT saying that the cover is or isn't boy-friendly--but I am admitting that I didn't put as much thought into this as I should have, and will hopefully do better in the future.

(Although I think it was due to unusual circumstances--i.e. the Liar Controversy--that I was even consulted on this cover. And yes, for those that are interested, I have seen all the comments about "is she or isn't she black" and will respond at some point...probably after I see the final cover.)

All that being said, this is still a great review. And how am I celebrating? Well, by giving away my last ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) of Saving Maddie.

Looking at my office floor--I mean, bookshelf, I realized that I don't own ARCs of any of my previous books, which in a way is fitting. The ARC isn't for me. It's for librarians and reviewers and booklovers and people like YOU.

So if you want an advanced reader's copy of the book before the real thing hits stores on March 9th, just make a comment on this post before 12:00 Midnight CST on Tuesday, Feb 23rd (if you're reading this on Facebook, Livejournal, MySpace, etc--you'll need to go to my webpage blog to officially enter). Don't put your email or snail mail address in the comments--just your name--and check back on Wednesday evening to see if you won.

Good luck!

Finally

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:44:00 +0000

An updated Saving Maddie page, including review blurbs, my thoughts on the book and...Chapter 1!

Playing Catch-up

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:22:00 +0000

It’s been a busy month.

In addition to the usual (including, among other things, writing a new book) I’m also teaching a course on children’s literature at a small liberal arts university here in Austin. So far, the class has been great—I love my students, I love talking about books, I love it all, period (well, except for grading papers).

(I'm like Dumbledore. Except I'm black. And I'm not a wizard. And I'm not gay. And I'm not dead. But otherwise, we're just alike.)

I was also at ALA a few weeks ago, where I signed copied of My Life as a Rhombus and participated in the ALA Kid / YA Lit Tweetup (organized by the sensational Mitali Perkins and Deborah Sloan). I had the chance to see a lot of old friends on both the author and editorial side, plus I had lunch with my agent.

This is my favorite picture from ALA, taken by author Jeannine Atkins. I’m signing copies of Rhombus while author and friend Ellen Wittlinger looks on. Those that have read the blog enough times know how much Ellen’s work has affected my career, so it’s always great to see her.

ALA was the first of many Spring events that I have scheduled (see the full list here). Check back often, as I hope to fit in a few more events between March and July.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about the unsung books of 2009 (started by Kelly at YAnnabe). I didn’t read a whole lot of books in 2009, but many of the ones I really, really, really, really loved and wanted to win awards (Once Was Lost, Liar, Going Bovine, How To Say Goodbye in Robot, Jumped, and Marcelo in the Real World) are books that I wouldn’t exactly call unsung. But there is one novel that I wish had received a little more attention: After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about this novel since I finished it last summer. I also have a postcard for this book, which has the tagline “...about a boy who discovers what happens when love fails us--or we fail love,” which I think is a perfect way to describe the novel. Sometimes, as much as you want to do the right thing, you just...can’t. Sometimes, despite wanting to be a good, upstanding, honorable person, you fail the ones you love; the ones that need you most. And, it’s just so damn hard to save someone when you have no idea HOW to save one.

Perhaps one of the reasons I enjoy this novel so much is because of how similar some of the themes are to Saving Maddie...which I plan to talk about...eventually. But for now, you can check out this review by Melissa at Book Nut.

A few quick things about Maddie

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:02:00 +0000

I always said I was going to do a Wordle for SAVING MADDIE, and as I've been too lazy to generate an actual post, I figured now was as good of a time as any.

Click to see a bigger picture

And while it's still a little too early to share a "full" excerpt, I can share the passage we're using on the dust jacket:

"Some things about her were still the same: freckled cheeks; round brown eyes; fully, pouty lips. But her hair, which had once reached past her shoulders, was now short and wavy. And those pouty lips were lined in purple lipstick. Not a neon purple, but more like a dark, blue-black mix. Like the color of blackberries."

I should be posting my Spring speaking schedule sometime at the beginning of the year (psst--I'll be at both ALA Midwinter and TLA, among other places). I hope everyone has a happy and safe holidays.

Upcoming Author Events

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:05:00 +0000

For the rest of the month, I'll be all over the place. Hope to see some of you at one or more of these events!

Oct 15, 2009 at 7:30 PM:
Writer's League of Texas Monthly Program:
A Writer's Guide to PR and Marketing
Writers' League of Texas Office
611 S. Congress Ave, Suite 130
Austin, TX 78704

Oct 17, 2009:
3rd Annual KidLitosphere Conference
Washington, DC
(Click here for a list of participants.)

Oct 24, 2009:
Austin Teen Book Festival
Westlake High School, Austin, TX

Nov 1, 2009:
Texas Book Festival
Austin, TX
(moderating YA panel featuring Jessica Lee Anderson, Libba Bray, and Sara Zarr)

Now All I Need Is A Title

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:56:00 +0000

So it seems that I've sold another novel:

Children's Young Adult: Varian Johnson’s UNTITLED companion novel to the forthcoming SAVING MADDIE, again to Stephanie Elliott at Delacorte, by Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger, NA

As you can see from the Publisher's Marketplace blurb, we decided to go with the "less-is-more" option. For right now, all I can say is that the book will be written from Madeline's POV, and...well, that's about it. More details to come later, probably after Saving Maddie is released (March 9th, 2010).

Sorry for all the vagueness...but to make up for it, I'm thinking about giving away my last, lone, final ARC of Saving Maddie. Stay tuned to the blog, Facebook, or Twitter for details....

I'm supposed to be writing...

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:52:00 +0000

...but instead I'm watching Youtube videos from my college years. This stepshow is a parody of the old Kung Fu movies we grew up watching. And yes, I'm in there...

Alpha Phi Alpha, Zeta Zeta Chapter, Stompdown, 2000 (Part 1).

Alpha Phi Alpha, Zeta Zeta Chapter, Stompdown, 2000 (Part 2).

Alpha Phi Alpha, Zeta Zeta Chapter, Stompdown, 2000 (Part 3).

That's how I roll...old school

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:03:00 +0000

I'm a little late on this, but here are a few pics from the 2009 SCBWI Conference Blue Moon Gala:

Me and Suzanne Young

Recognize this guy? It's not Austin Powers...it's Jay Asher. Groovy, baby!

I'm not even gonna try to list everyone I met, because I know I'll leave someone out. All I'll say is that I had a great time, and I can't wait for next year!

VCFA Day in the Lone Star State

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:09:00 +0000

(Taken from Cynsations)

Round Rock, Texas -- Acclaimed authors Kathi Appelt and Sharon Darrow will lead a conference on the craft of writing for young readers on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3 at Teravista (4333 Teravista Club Dr.) in Round Rock, which is located just 20 minutes north of Austin.

The event is sponsored by the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, where both Kathi and Sharon serve on the faculty.

The VCFA program intends for this retreat to serve as an opportunity for alumni and their colleagues to reconnect with one another as well as to reignite their passion for the craft of writing for children and teens.

You do not need to be a VCFA graduate to participate.

Newbery Honor winner Kathi Appelt will lecture on "Writing the Novel" and lead a craft class and writing workshop on "Writing the Picture Book."

Former faculty chair Sharon Darrow will lecture on "Braiding the Character's Emotional Trajectory into the Story's Event Trajectory." Her craft class and writing workshop will focus on "The Plot Sentence & Major/Minor Dramatic Questions."

Together, Kathi and Sharon will discuss the rewards of the writing life, product, and process.

Festivities will begin at 6 p.m. Oct. 2 with a social gathering at Teravista's historic Ranch House, and continue the following day with lectures, workshops, and panel discussions at Teravista Golf Club.

The fee for the VCFA Day in the Lone Star State event is $150.00. Online registration is available at this link. Contact Debbie Gonzales (512.426.6050) with questions.

(Note: I'm not sure if I'll "officially" be in attendance, but I hope to make an appearance at some point during the weekend.)

The Newness

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:10:00 +0000

Thanks to the awesomeness of Jenny Medford with Websy Daisy Web Design, I have a new website. And it's spiffy!