Shifting gears

Last night’s activities (I’m at the Kindling Words retreat in Vermont, remember) were a blast; poetry, painting, and drumming. I might need a drum, BH. Too much fun for words. (Though my hands are a little sore!)

It’s time to shift gears in the Publicity part of my brain from CHAINS to WINTERGIRLS. This is a little disorienting because I’ve never had two books come out so quickly.

WINTERGIRLS should hit stores March 18th, and that’s when I head out on book tour again. I should have a preliminary tour schedule soon.

Reading Rants has posted her opinion about WINTERGIRLS (thanks, Jen!) and the Publishers Weekly has given it a star, the third star, so far. Here’s the review:

“Wintergirls Laurie Halse Anderson. Viking, $17.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-670-01110-0

Acute anorexia, self-mutilation, dysfunctional families and the death of a childhood friend—returning to psychological minefields akin to those explored in Speak, Anderson delivers a harrowing story overlaid with a trace of mysticism. The book begins as Lia learns that her estranged best friend, Cassie, has been found dead in a motel room; Lia tells no one that, after six months of silence, Cassie called her 33 times just two days earlier, and that Lia didn’t pick up even once. With Lia as narrator, Anderson shows readers how anorexia comes to dominate the lives of those who suffer from it (here, both Lia and Cassie), even to the point of fueling intense competition between sufferers. The author sets up Lia’s history convincingly and with enviable economy—her driven mother is “Mom Dr. Marrigan,” while her stepmother’s values are summed up with a précis of her stepsister’s agenda: “Third grade is not too young for enrichment, you know.” This sturdy foundation supports riskier elements: subtle references to the myth of Persephone and a crucial plot line involving Cassie’s ghost and its appearances to Lia. As difficult as reading this novel can be, it is more difficult to put down. Ages 12–up.” Publishers Weekly 1/26/09

Very sweet!!!! I’m especially pleased the review mentions the Persephone myth references (in a good way) because I tinkered with that a lot while revising, trying to find the right places to weave it in the background, and the best times to bring it forth a little louder in the story.

Oh, and there’s a short interview with me up at Authors Unleashed.

Off for more creativity and inspiration. What creative thing are you doing this weekend?

9 Replies to “Shifting gears”

  1. I think the Persephone myth is sooo rich. I use it in my novel (Forget-Her-Nots, Greenwillow, 2/2010), along with lots of other myths and allusions to flowers.

    Can’t wait to read “Wintergirls”; the cover is haunting.

  2. I’m glad you’re enjoying the conference/retreat. Congrats on the additional good press for Wintergirls, and I’ll be looking for that tour schedule in hopes of seeing you again soon.

    Creative thing today: Writing time with at Borders. Creative thing later this weekend: I’m hoping for a trip to the Art Museum on Sunday. It’s been too long.

  3. Just finished reading Wintergirls this morning, Laurie!

    You’ve hit another grand slam.

    Also, as I was nearing the end of the book, my iTunes shuffled to an opera aria in which the soprano is singing while freezing to death out in the snow. So haunting!

  4. I am so excited for Wintergirls! I am also still looking forward to Chains, since it hasn’t hit our library system yet. It is such a nice feeling to have books to look forward to reading – that I know I will love – so thank you!

    I’m not doing anything creative this weekend – but I appreciated the reminder that I should be making an effort to make time for creative things. Next creative project in the queue: making a quilt. Next “forced creativity” (does it count?): writing a scholarly paper for school.

    Enjoy your time at Kindling Words! It sounds wonderful.
    🙂 Sarah

  5. Glad you’re having a great time, and thanks for the link to the interview. About Washington crossing the Delaware, just the other night I watched a reinactment of it on of those “When Weather Changed History” shows on the Weather Channel. A full hour on the Revolutionary War – great stuff, and interesting to get it from another perspective.

    It’ll be on again Saturday night at 9, and you can actually watch the whole show here.
    http://www.weather.com/multimedia/videoplayer.html?collection=257

    By the way, consider this your first pre-order for your book on writing. In fact, if you ever get a day without news, please write about which books helped you the most in learning the craft, especially when it came to revision.

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