Hi everyone! As the first month of the new year comes to a close, I hope 2012 has started off well!

 We’re excited to feature K.M. Walton this week, author of the recently released CRACKED and co-author of TEACHING NUMERACY: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking.

 A quick blurb about K.M. from her author page at Simon and Schuster: As a former middle-school language-arts teacher and teaching coach, she is passionate about education and ending peer bullying. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family. You can find her online at KMWalton.com and on Twitter at @KMWalton1.

1. If you had walk-on music (a song that plays when you enter a room), what would it be? Why?

The Devil’s Dance Floor by Flogging Molly because it reminds me of some of the most insanely fun dance sessions of my entire life. Seriously, try and listen to that song and not want to jump around like a lunatic. It represents fun to me, and I like fun.

2. Your website is fantastic! How important have you found it to be, having a web presence?

Thank you for the website compliment – my youngest sister designed it. She’s a creative genius. Having a web presence has always been very important to me for a few reasons. First, the majority of my readers are teens, and teens are online. Second, being present in key online locations (twitter, Facebook, blogging, goodreads, etc) has allowed me to build up tons of actual friendships and online acquaintances – I seem to “know” a lot of people out there – and knowing a lot of people means they may talk about my book (not that I would ever ask that of anyone).

3. It sounds like you have a wonderful family. Could you tell us a little bit about how they have supported you becoming an author?

They all believed in me and cheered me through the roughest patches. I don’t know if I would’ve had the strength to continue querying without the support of my family. They wouldn’t allow me to give up.

4. How has your experience as a teacher helped your writing?

My time spent in the classroom has influenced my writing by showing me to always look at both sides of human beings.

5. Tell us what motivated you to write TEACHING NUMERACY: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking.

Well, I’m actually the co-author. The lead author is Margie Pearse and she is, hands down, the most brilliant mathematics teacher I have ever seen. She spent twenty years teaching and researching mathematics instruction, which led her to Numeracy. Margie says, “To be truly numerate, one needs to think through mathematics, not simply do mathematics.” We wrote that book over many, many Sundays at various Panera Bread restaurants.

6. Congratulations on Cracked hitting the shelves January 3rd! What inspired this novel?

Anti-bullying was always the core principal of my teaching career. I never shied away from facing or addressing bullying – I believed it was my job, as the adult, to discuss and address bullying – every single time it reared its hideous head. My entire purpose was that I wanted kids to see each other for the human beings they were, not the labels or assumptions they attached to each other. CRACKED was a natural write for me because of my passion for the subject.

7. What made you decide to show both Victor and Bull’s sides?

Because every human being has layers and motivations and life experiences that shape what they show the world – the public self.

8. What would you like teens who are dealing with bullying to know?

Find an adult you can trust and tell them what is going on, like, every detail. Then, somehow let your teacher know, your guidance counselor know, your principal know, your parents know – basically, all of the adults that MUST FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT STOP. You are the teen – it is their job – as the adults in your life – to do everything in their power to help you. EVERY TEEN has the basic human right of going to school in a safe environment. Never accept being bullied. Ever.

9. What are you working on now?

My editor, Annette Pollert from Simon Pulse, has bought a second contemporary YA novel. This one is about Dell, an overweight girl whose life spirals out of control after being bullied and abused. It’s untitled as of yet, but it releases from Simon Pulse in Spring 2013!

10. What events do you have coming up?

I will be in some exciting places this spring – New York City, Philadelphia, West Reading. A continuously updated list of events can be found over on my Simon & Schuster author page – here’s the link: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/K-M-Walton/81347146/author_appearances

I have an article collecting addiction. (Blame Instapaper. I do.) Theory, craft, coding, fashion, funny—anything I’d be happy to be stuck on a desert island with because it’s just that interesting. So today I delved into my Instapaper “craft” and “wisdom & the hit list” folders for some of my favorites, because good articles are meant to be shared.

Revision

Maggie Stiefvater not only shows her revision process, but gets everyone else to do it, too.

Shifting the good critique groups from the so-so ones.

Good telling, bad telling, and the principles of interiority.

Panic attack! When your WIP is too short.

Sometimes, the worst that can happen isn’t what a story needs.

Know your novel’s strengths and weaknesses.

Digging deeper (warning: favorites ahead)

Malinda Lo on love triangles.

Victoria Marini on sympathy, heroes, and anti-heroes.

Yep, boy’s do notice people’s clothes, or at least they used to.

US tropes have invaded storytelling.

You can come of age in high school, but not college.

Ingrained stereotyping.

Being “bad” doesn’t mean self sabotage.

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland’s Exotic Locales and Helpful Natives!

The high price of narrative WTF?

The beauty of a God complex.

Basics

Make writing a habit, even if it’s only 300 words a day.

Or try writing 1000 words a day in short bursts.

Author intrusion pitfalls, including the Burly Detective Syndrome.

Kristin Nelson on groan worthy openings.

Actions and reactions, the attributions of intent.

Turning characters into real people.

Why not to use a third person style in a first person narrative.

Telling vs showing, a breakdown.

Sarah LaPolla on prologues.

Voices

MG: basically, be that age.

MG vs YA, depth and breadth, themes and scope.

Adult vs YA—YA filters everything through self.

Voice in a nutshell: voice is one of the ways I can tell where a book goes on the shelf without being told the category.

Voice in a larger nutshell: the soul of the character needs to bleed through every word choice you make while in their point of view.

Verb (used with object)

1. to bear or hold up (a load, mass, structure, part, etc.) serve as a foundation
2. to sustain or withstand (weight, pressure, strain) without giving way
3. to sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction
4. to maintain (a person, family, establishment, institution, etc.) by supplying with things necessary to existence

Noun

1. the act or an instance of supporting
2. the state of being supported
3. something that serves as a foundation, prop, brace or stay
4. a person or thing that gives aid or assistance

This week, I have thought a lot about support and how it keeps us alive.

Monday was my last night visiting my two brothers and their families in Phoenix.  I love my brothers.  We have been through a lot and have always done our best to be there for each other.

On Tuesday, my dear friend’s soul mate was killed in an accident.  She is shattered.  The most intense outpouring of love surrounds her right now.

Wednesday, I had dinner with my wife and listened to her.  Then she listened to me.  I’m grateful for every minute of companionship we have together.

Thursday night I met with my awesome critique group and as always learned something about writing and was encouraged by being in their company.

Every day this week I checked in with my Change Write Now group (authors supporting each other be healthier).  They have talked me down from some dangerous chocolate ledges.

This week did not fly by.  It slowed way down.  It was wonderful and it was awful.  Each moment was tied together by support, for that, I am grateful.

It’s the support that has helped me stick with my writing.  Tonight (Friday) I have a scheduled date with myself to write.  A couple of weeks ago, I shook the publishing stardust out of my eyes.  This first manuscript became personal again.  I want to finish it, be happy with it, learn something along the way and tell a damn good story.

The making of an awesome book trailer!

Circle of Secrets

 (Be sure to click the pics and links!)

CIRCLE OF SECRETS TRAILER

Kimberley Griffiths Little’s book trailer for her middle grade novel Circle of Secrets is amazing.  Ink & Angsters want to know who, what, when, where, why and how! Kimberley Explains!

Circle of Secrets: When Shelby moves into the swamp house with her mamma (whom the town calls a swamp witch), she begins to unravel the meaning behind a mysterious charm bracelet, secret notes in a blue bottle tree, and her new best friend, Gwen, who holds the answer to the town’s hidden tragedy.

Ink & Angst asks— Why a trailer?

Kimberley explains:

Kids grow up in a very visual world—in fact, I think everyone no matter your age is extremely affected by visuals and the power of music and mood. When I began seeing book trailers about three years ago, I became very intrigued by this unique way to market a book. So I started writing a script for my first book trailer for The Healing Spell, (Scholastic, 2010) which led me on a long, bumpy journey of creating a movie for my story when I’ve never even taken a photography class!  That first book trailer has now received nearly 4,000 hits, which makes me pretty happy as a virtually unknown author – along with the fact that The Healing Spell is Middle-Grade and not Young Adult. YA book trailers usually get a lot more hits since teens have a much greater access to the Internet/YouTube and Facebook, etc than kids in elementary school do. More YA books make the Bestseller lists as well so that brings more attention to YA book trailers.  

With the success of my first book trailer, I immediately knew I wanted to create one for Circle of Secrets, too!

Ink & Angst asks— How long does it take to make a trailer?

Kimberley explains:

The answer varies greatly. Some authors whip a nice one together within a few days or weeks. We worked on both of mine over a period of several months, and there are several reasons for that: I work with my friends at Nua Music who write original music for the trailer as well as design the incredibly wonderful and unique sounds and special effects. We also added voice-overs which take a great deal of time to find the actors, record variations of the script, mix and edit.

The other reason it takes us longer is that while some of our images are from stock image sites, most of the images and video are filmed on location in Louisiana around the swamps and bayous—which may take more than one trip. For The Healing Spell, my story needed images I would never be able to find from a stock image site so we spent several weeks creating them. Literally creating them from shopping excursions to buy props or gathering props from our own antique collections or collections of *stuff*! Then we shot the variety of images sometimes over and over again to get the feeling and mood we wanted and then editing/Photoshopping for backgrounds and shadowing, etc.  

Ink & Angst wants to know a little about who made it.

Kimberley explains:

Nua Music produces the trailer, writes the original music, creates the sound design, edits the images, records and edits the voice-overs and then puts it all together, working hundreds of hours to get the mood and lighting and timing just right. I write the script, and do some of the filming and photography myself. For instance, the graveyards, the angel, the swamp, and the doll are mine; taken from last June when I was in Louisiana for ALA.  (And I want/need a much better video camera!)

Nua Music went to Louisiana in September and contributed the rest of the video as well as finding a family to record the authentic Cajun voices. (Our actors have never done any drama before in their lives! Which means a bit of coaching and editing, but this generous and wonderful family did a superb job—as well as spending two days with Cindy-Rae and Bet Fonua at Nua Music to help them find shots we still needed like the broken bridge and the girl and the swamp house.)

Ink & Angst asks— What did you want the trailer to say about the book?

Kimberley explains:

I want the trailer to give a brief synopsis of the story, a few main elements or problems for the main character as well as the setting, mood and feeling of the book. It’s tricky to get the script and images so that anybody watching it will know what to expect when they read the story—and entice them to go out and find and read the book. I also like to add elements of suspense, or teasers, too!

Ink & Angst asks— What was the most fun part of making the trailer?

 Kimberley explains:

The excitement when we find great pieces of film or props that we’re looking for and seeing it start to take shape. Cindy-Rae spent quite a bit of time creating the orbs around the blue bottle tree, which turned out fantastic. And I was thrilled when I first listened to the terrific voice-overs. The girl who plays Shelby and the woman (her own mamma) calling out to each other at the end of the trailer is great – I love that part—and it’s also a very emotional part of the book, too. 

Ink & Angst asks— What was the hardest/most frustrating part?

Kimberley explains:

Timing and Editing!!! Once all the elements are in place, Nua Music sends me the trailer and I’ll watch it several times and write up a list of suggestions and edits and questions. Then they’ll edit as well based on their own vision, adding/deleting/changing things, until we’re both satisfied. Or at least satisfied enough! Nua Music often pulls all-nighters and they are perfectionists who want a quality product to attach their name to.

Ink & Angst asks— Where can the trailer be viewed?

Kimberley explains:

On the Home Page of my website as well as You Tube!  

http://www.kimberleygriffithslittle.com

CIRCLE OF SECRETS TRAILER 

THE HEALING SPELL TRAILER

 Ink & Angst asks— Did your publisher encourage you to do a trailer?

Kimberley explains:

The idea originated with me since I wanted to have a book trailer so much. It’s one of those *extra* publicity/marketing strategies, but my publisher and editor have been very encouraging and they were extremely enthusiastic when I sent the trailer to them. They all love them!

Ink & Angst asks— What do you hope the trailer will do for you?

Kimberley explains:

I just want to bring awareness to my book in a fun and exciting way—and I think the two trailers I’ve done accomplishes that. At least the response and email I get are all very much positive and impressed. And folks all say the trailer makes them want to read the book! Mission accomplished. Of course, getting the word out to readers and librarians  and teachers is a whole other story. Most people who are not in the book world have no idea that book trailers even exist, but hopefully that will change as time goes by—and great trailers are created!

Ink & Angst asks— Where did the people in the trailer come from, are they actors?

Kimberley explains:

Most of them are actual people who live on the bayou who gave us permission to photograph/film them. And a few relatives or girls from church we grabbed!

Ink & Angst asks— A ballpark figure on the cost of a really good trailer?

Kimberley explains:

There are several companies who create trailers, and book trailers are becoming more sophisticated all the time. Some of the really professional trailers have actually been commissioned and paid for by the publisher with Hollywood or New York filmmakers, which is a huge advantage over me. We’re amateurs working hard at competing with the *big guys* with very little budget.

An author can expect to pay from about $500 – $2000 for a great trailer—unless they want to do it themselves! But there are still some basic costs: fees for online stock images, IMovie software, paying actors, a decent or fair camera for those images you can’t find online, and fees for stock music. (We paid our actors about $40 for still shots. $60 – $120 for voice-overs.)

And there you have the scoop on making an awesome trailer explained by a wonderful, talented author and terrific friend to Ink & Angst!

Thanks Kimberley!

Now..! Everyone, go check it out! Then read the book!

Everyone! Today, the world officially stops spinning in anticipation of the miracle of 2013. And while we may well fall out of orbit before then, it’ll be worth every breathless second because…

Elle Cosimano’s DEAD BLUE, in which a math-genius from a DC trailer park is the only student able to solve complex clues left by a serial killer targeting classmates, thus making herself the main suspect, and a sequel, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, to Kathy Dawson at Dial Children’s, in a good deal, for publication in Fall 2013, by Sarah Davies at the Greenhouse Literary Agency (World).

What that little blurb fails to capture is how absolutely smokin’ the romance is, and how incredible the author. Allow me to fix that.

ELLE IS INCREDIBLE. THE ROMANCE IS SMOKIN’. AND THE PLOT? *DIES*

2013 will be wowed.