They Call Me Mr. V

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!

Quick note concerning varianjohnson.com

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:13:00 +0000

I'm in the process of switching domain registration and hosting services (in preparation for the BRAND NEW WEBSITE!!!), which means varianjohnson.com may be out of commission during the next week or so. Feel free to check out my schedule of infrequent blogging at Livejournal, or you can also follow me on Twitter or Facebook. You can also email me at varianjohson(at)gmail(dot)com.

And for those of you going to the SCBWI Conference, see you in LA!

Catalog Copy and Updated Cover

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:55:00 +0000

Since this is now up on the Random House Site, I figured I'd go ahead and post the catalog copy for SAVING MADDIE, along with a "not-quite-but-almost-100%" cover:

Joshua Wynn is a preacher’s son and a “good boy” who always does the right thing. Until Maddie comes back to town. Maddie is the daughter of the former associate pastor of Joshua’s church, and his childhood crush. Now Maddie is all grown up, gorgeous—and troubled. She wears provocative clothes to church, cusses, drinks, and fools around with older men. Joshua’s ears burn just listening to the things she did to get kicked out of boarding school, and her own home.

As time goes on, Josh goes against his parents and his own better instincts to keep Maddie from completely capsizing. Along the way, he begins to question his own rigid understanding of God and whether, as his mother says, a girl like Maddie is beyond redemption. Maddie leads Josh further astray than any girl ever has . . . but is there a way to reconcile his love for her and his love for his life in the church?

MFAs and LIARS

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:53:00 +0000

So, yeah--I'm a Master of the Fine Arts. I don't have a picture of me with my fancy hood, but believe me, I graduated. Here are a few pics from the residency:

Me and Rita Williams-Garcia. I'm holding the ARC for Rita's next book, ONE CRAZY SUMMER and Rita's holding the ARC for SAVING MADDIE.

And if I haven't said so before, I love, love, love me some Rita Williams-Garcia (and if you haven't read JUMPED, go and buy it now!!)

Me and my good friend Rachel Wilson. Many of you haven't heard of Rachel yet (unless you've been lucky enough to catch her performing with Barrel of Monkeys) but Rach is a superstar waiting to happen (that is, if she ever finishes that novel...). Unfortunately for her, Rach is one of my best friends from Vermont, which means she knows way too much about my nose hair grooming habits (long story) and affection for meat.

Seriously, Rachel is amazing, and I would happily give her a kidney if she ever needed one (again, another long story).

And speaking of meat...that's a MEAT tray from the party the 4th semester's threw for my class. As many people at VCFA know, I have a thing for meat, and the Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines were kind enough to provide a little protein nourishment at the party.

All kidding aside, Vermont College of Fine Arts is a magical place--a place that I'll miss dearly. I made some lifelong friends there, and I learned so much about the craft of writing. I am a better writer because of this program, and I only hope that any future novels I write will honor the fine VCFA tradition of quality literature.

---
FYI - While I was in Vermont, I missed all sorts of things concerning Justine Larbalestier's cover for her new YA novel, LIAR. I'll have more to say in this topic at some point, probably closer to the release of SAVING MADDIE, but I do want to say that I'm in awe of how honest and brave Justine has been about this. She is made of awesome.

VJ does MJ

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:38:00 +0000

That's me doing karaoke at Vermont College. And what am I singing?

Billie Jean.

Rest in Peace, Micheal.

Things that make me happy

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:03:00 +0000

1) DDD's with Sarah Bird (Read recaps by Jenny and Shana)

2) New Blackberry Phones! (Who needs a stupid iPhone anyway?)

3) Vermont College Workshop Packets (with my workshop being led by the wonderful Sharon Darrow!

And last but not least....

4) ARCS and...
5) Dust Jackets!

Pics from TLA

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:48:00 +0000

I'm so, so, so late on this, so I won't go into to many details about TLA, except to say that it was great! The panel with John and Wendy went very well, and I had a chance to hang out with both old and new friends. You can check out Margo and Jenny's blogs for more info. However, I did want to post a few pics:

Here I am with author Sara Zarr. I've know Sara through the power of The Internets for a few years now, so it was really nice to meet her face-to-face.

Here I am with Chris Barton and Wendy Lichtman. Fun fact: Wendy is related to Austin author Shana Burg.

And if you're wondering why Chris is wearing a t-shirt that says, "Ask me who INVENTED this color," you should check out his upcoming book, The Day-Glo Brothers (Charlesbridge, 2009).

Here I am with Gretchen Pruett, Library Director for the New Braunfels Public Library and Julie Ousley, a member of the New Braunfels Public Library Advisory Board. I'll be speaking at the New Braunfels Public Library at the end of June.

And here I am with Renee Dyer, chair of the TLA Tayshas Committee. My Life as a Rhombus was named to the Tayshas List last year.

Again, I wish I took more pics of all the fabulous people I met. Hopefully I'll take more pictures at the 2010 Conference in San Antonio!

Roadtrip!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:41:00 +0000

On Wednesday evening, Jennifer Ziegler and I are road-tripping to Houston for the 2009 Texas Library Association Conference. I'll be participating in a panel with John Green and Wendy Lichtman called Do the Math: A Formula for Teen Reading on Thursday morning at 10:00. Jenny will be signing at the Random House Booth on Thursday from 1:00 to 2:00. Then we'll be at the bar, ~~tossing down margaritas~~ discussing abstract literary concepts with other authors.

Other Austinites in attendance include:Margo Rabb, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Don Tate, Chris Barton, Brian Anderson, and Jessica Lee Anderson.

Hope to see some of you there.

NYPL and TIL

noreply@blogger.com (Varian Johnson) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:10:00 +0000

At least for today, good news comes in pairs!

1.) My Life as a Rhombus was named to the New York Public Library's "Stuff for the Teen Age" List. Rhombus was listed in the "Girl Drama" group, along with Audrey, Wait (Razorbill) by Robin Benway, The Fortunes of Indigo Skye (Simon and Schuster) by Deb Caletti, 30 Days to Getting Over the Dork You Used to Call Your Boyfriend (Delacorte) by Clea Hantman, Suite Scarlett (Scholastic / Point) by Maureen Johnson, The Market, (Hyperion) by J.M. Steele, and Climbing the Stairs (Putnam) by Padma Venkatraman.

Compared to past lists, the NYPL has made quite a few changes, which makes Rhombus's inclusion even that much more spiffy! You can hear about some of the new changes below:

You can check out all of the "stuff" that made the list at the NYPL's "Stuff for the Teen Age" website: http://www.nypl.org/books/sta2009/

I really, really, really wanted to go to New York for the ceremony, but I was just too damn stingy to shell out the money for a ticket. However, I will be going to Waco next month, because...

2) Rhombus was named as a finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters Award for Best Young Adult Book. The other finalist are Anne Estevis for Chicken Foot Farm (Arte Publico / Pinata) and Jo Harper for Birth of the Fifth Sun (Texas Tech Press). The award for this and all of the Texas Institute of Letter's awards will be announced at the organization's annual meeting in April.