Prince Caspian

Just got back from visiting my relatives over in Narnia. It was a wonderful trip. Per usual, we did have some difficulty reaching Narnia. We were going to use those magic rings, but the cat ate them (again) so we had to enter via Eustace's boat painting and I get seasick so that wasn't pleasant. But once there, we had a delicious Thanksgiving feast of Talking Turkey and faun-sausage stuffing...

Okay, I'm just kidding. I'd never eat a faun.

Here's a photo of me and my cousin Prince Caspian:


I love that photo. It is so supremely dorky. That's not Prince Caspian, of course. Or even the actor who plays Prince Caspian in the movie. That's just some guy in Disney World dressed up like the actor who dresses up to look like my cousin Caspian.

I was in Disney World last week and I simply had to meet him -- though I didn't see the movie, I did have an essay in the Teen Libris anthology Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. So I wanted the photo to send to my editor at BenBella, and the whole meet-and-greet amused me so much that I had to share it with all of you too.

Hope you had a wonderful long weekend filled with family and fauns too!

Through the Wardrobe: A Chat with Zu Vincent

A couple weeks ago, I was interviewed on Diana Peterfreund's blog about my essay in the Teen Libris anthology, Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, and now it's my turn to be the interviewer! Hee-hee!

I am very pleased to welcome Zu Vincent, one of my fellow contributors to Through the Wardrobe and author of The Lucky Place. Welcome, Zu! Thanks for coming! (Okay, fine, she's not literally here. Burst my bubble, why don't you. But she did agree to answer my questions about her fabulous essay, co-written with Kiara Koenig...)

Tell us about your essay in Through the Wardrobe. What drew you to the topic?

"Minding the Gap: Are You a Susan or a Lucy?" explores how Susan and Lucy develop very different takes on life in the Chronicles of Narnia. Susan is the practical one, but she also cares about outward appearances and acting very grown up. Lucy sees through the surface, down into the core truths of life, and even to the magic. So the essay asks, which one are you? How do you really see yourself moving through life. Do you face who you are deep down, do you stand up for the hard choices against all odds, or do you tend to let your outward appearance, what others think of you, rule who you are. That's what the essay is about. And writing it seemed important because Lucy is really the central figure in the Chronicles, yet "the boys" tend to get more attention, more swag, more titles. Lucy needs some press!

Are you a Susan or a Lucy?

Don't we all have to be a little bit of both inside? Sometimes we need a Susan exterior but we should fight to keep Lucy in our hearts. The real world is sometimes easier to deal with as a Susan, after all. She meets people's expectations and knows how to handle social situations. But away from the job or the social scene, our souls need to get lost in the woods and listen to the secrets whispered in the trees. There's a lot to be said for believing the stones will speak again.

Would you prefer tea with Tumnus or lunch with the Beavers?

Tea with Tumnus, because he dances and sings, tells stories and is a bit of a gossip. He's that friend with whom you can dish for hours.

Have you ever eaten Turkish Delight? How far would you go for your favorite dessert?

Never had Turkish Delight, but what a powerful symbol. Think of all the tales in which kids are tempted by sweets. And back in the garden Eve's downfall was the sweet apple (or the pomegranate, depending). And chocolate! -- the role it played in the Mayan religion, as both doorway to visions and aphrodisiac. Who wouldn't travel the world for chocolate? In fact, there's this hot chocolate/ espresso in a cafe tucked away down an alley in the town center of Cork, Ireland....

Do you think Susan will ever be a friend of Narnia again?

Maybe, when she has children and tells them stories about Narnia.

What's your earliest Narnia memory?

It involves a crackling fire, a brick hearth, a comfy old couch and a snowy pine forest out the window. Being read to in this safe space while sinking into that other cold winter and the delight of animals speaking.

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Father Christmas gives the Pevensies various magical presents. If you'd been there, what gift would he have given you and what would you have done with it?

The gift of story, which is magical, and can always be re-gifted.

How have the Narnia books influenced your writing?

The Narnia books are a great influence because they tell a plain good story, with lovable characters and a landscape that becomes a character itself. And good story sweeps you up and makes you never want to leave its embrace. Look what C.S. Lewis got away with. He knew how to take Mary Poppins' spoonful of sugar and help the medicine go down. We're still digging into his tales and uncovering their themes through Susan, Lucy and the other Pevensies. It's pure sorcery.

-------------

Zu Vincent's young adult novel The Lucky Place is just out from Front Street Press. School Library Journal calls The Lucky Place "A stunning fiction debut by an author to watch." Author Jacqueline Woodson describes it as "A quietly powerful and important story. Zu's vignettes weave a novel that, from moment to moment, takes your breath -- then gently hands it back to you again. Lovely."

Kiara Koenig (co-author of the "Minding the Gap" essay) is a poet and adjunct English faculty. She teaches creative writing and literature and holds an MFA in Creative Writing as well as an MA in Literature.

You can visit Zu online at www.zuvincent.com.

Thanks for the interview, Zu!

LOL-Aslan Contest Winners!

U guyz rock. Srsly.

Thank you to everyone who submitted entries to the LOL-Aslan contest! I loved reading all of them. So did Perni (my cat).

It was hard to choose a winner. I know that sounds cliched, but it was seriously hard. I'm the kind of girl who can agonize for a solid hour about which nearly-identical pair of black pants to wear. If I'm faced with a decision where there are multiple equally-good answers, I'm doomed. And there were lots of excellent choices here.

Perni also had problems choosing a winner. The plan was simple: I write down the names of entrants on little pieces of paper and place them in a circle around Perni. She walks toward one of them, and that person wins. Execution of the plan... not so simple. I wrote down the names, placed them in a circle around Perni, and sat back to watch the action.

Perni ignored the paper, rolled onto her back, and licked her belly.

For some cats, this is a short one-lick-and-done process. Not so with Perni. She must align every single hair on her fuzzy belly. When she finishes that, she moves onto her tail, which of course disturbs her belly fur... Rinse, lather, repeat. So once she started on the licking, I knew we were in for the long haul and I went to fetch myself some soda.

Yeah, that was a mistake. When I returned, the cat was gone, and the papers were scattered about the room like confetti. But as I collected the papers, I realized that Perni had indeed selected her winner: one of the pieces of paper was half-eaten.

And so without further ado, here are our winners... Drum roll, please...

My choice for the winner of the LOL-Aslan contest: Faith


And Perni's choice for the second winner: Susan


Congratulations, Faith and Susan! Please email me your mailing address, and I will send you each a copy of Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, edited by Herbie Brennan and including an essay by yours truly.

And as promised, the next contest is just days away! This time, I'll be giving away ARCs of my forthcoming novel, Out of the Wild. Stop by this Thursday (4/3) for all the details...

LOL-Aslan Contest Entries

Time's up! Pencils down! The Through the Wardrobe LOL-Aslan (LOLcats about the Narnia books) contest is now officially over. I had so much fun reading all your entries! They were all so fabulous!!! Perni (my cat) and I will spend the next 24 hours deliberating, and the two winners will be announced tomorrow.

To facilitate the selection process, and so everyone can enjoy all these gems of Narnia wit and wisdom, I've decided to re-post all the entries here. Enjoy! And please feel free to let me know, in the comments, which LOL-Aslans are your favorites! Perni and I can use all the help we can get.

Abbey:


Alyssa:

Stone Table, NO WANT!

Casie:

Im teh wite wich I jus ned a har dreyr to thwaw

Enna Isilee #1:


Enna Isilee #2:


Enna Isilee #3:


Enna Isilee #4:


Enna Isilee #5:


Enna Isilee #6:


Enna Isilee #7:


Faith #1:


Faith #2:


Faith #3:


Faith #4:


jo-no-anne #1:

Broke ur stone table. Time 2 diet.

jo-no-anne #2:

Oh hai. I raise ur ded.

Kelly013:


Kurtis:


Q #1:

Gimme da yellow and green ringz and nobody getz hurt.

Q #2:

Hay! You therez! Geddaway frum ma boi!
[Imagine picture of horse]
Kthnx.

Susan:

LOL-Aslan Contest

Let the Narnia contest begin! As promised, it's time for me to give away two copies of the new BenBella essay anthology, Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, in which I am thrilled to have an essay! It was edited by Herbie Brennan and features essays by Deb Caletti, Diane Duane, Sarah Beth Durst (hey, that's me!!!), Brent Hartinger, Susan Juby, Sophie Masson, Kelly McClymer, O.R. Melling, Lisa Papademetriou, Diana Peterfreund, Susan Vaught, Zu Vincent and Kiara Koenig, Ned Vizzini, and Elizabeth Wein. I'd originally thought the pub date was in March, but now I'm told it will be available (exclusively in Borders stores) in April. But the mailman brought my author copies yesterday, and one of them can be yours, if you make me laugh...

The rules are simple. You've heard of LOLcats, right? (For those who haven't, you can learn about them on Wikipedia here, and check out some hilarious examples here.) Well, what I'm looking for are LOL-Aslans -- LOLcats about the Narnia books. To enter the contest, just think of a funny sentence in LOLspeak about any aspect of the Chronicles of Narnia, and write it in a comment to this post. Something like:

Im in ur wardrob, drinkin tea wit ur Tumnus.

or

Can I haz turkis deelite? Kthxbai.

You can enter as many times as you like, but please include only one LOL-Aslan per comment, so I can easily keep track. Funny photos to go with your sentence would be great, but are not necessary. If you would like to include a photo with your text, please post it elsewhere on the internet (your own blog, website, flickr, etc) and put the link in your comment.

As I am a firm believer that success in anything requires equal parts skill and luck, two winners will be selected, one for skill and one for luck. The "skill" winner will be the person whose LOL-Aslan makes me laugh the hardest. The "luck" winner will be chosen at random from all the entries, so the more you enter, the better your chances. Since this a LOLcat contest, I've decided to let my cat, Perni, choose this second winner. I'll assign each entry a number, write the numbers on scraps of paper, and arrange the numbers in a circle around Perni. Whichever number Perni walks toward will be the "luck" winner.


The contest starts... wait for it... right now! And you have one week (until the end of Sun March 30) to submit all your LOL-Aslans. Perni and I will take a day to select the winners, and I'll announce them on Tuesday April 1st. Check back then (April Fools Day!) to see if you've won! Good luck! I'm so excited to read these!

And remember, soon after this contest ends, another will begin. On Thursday April 3rd, I'll announce another contest where you'll use your creativity to win an ARC of my forthcoming book, Out of the Wild.

Lunacon 2008 Trip Report

I got back from Lunacon on Sunday, and I want to tell you all about it, but first things first...

The Contests Are Coming!!!

In the year and a half that I've been keeping this blog, I've yet to host a contest. But that's all about to change. Over the next few weeks, you will have not one, but two (and maybe even three) opportunities to win free books! And, honestly, what could be better than free books!?!

Contest #1 -- The Narnia Contest -- will start this Monday March 24th. What's in it for you? Two copies of the new BenBella anthology, Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, in which I have an essay. What's in it for me? I'm gonna make you be funny to earn your prize.

Contest #2 -- The Out of the Wild ARC Contest -- will start on Thursday April 3rd. What's in it for you? An ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of Out of the Wild, the sequel to Into the Wild. What's in it for me? I'm gonna make you be creative to earn your prize.

Rules, deadlines, and all details will be revealed on those start dates. Stay tuned...

And now back to my Lunacon recap.

Lunacon Trip Report

You can count on two things if you attend Lunacon (a fantasy and science fiction convention in Rye, NY):

(1) You will meet lots of super-friendly people.
(2) You will get lost in the hotel at least twice.

The Rye Hilton (aka the Escher Hilton) is famous for what is fondly known as the "transdimensional corridor." You start out on the fourth floor, walk down a seemingly level hallway, and discover that you're suddenly on the seventh floor without ever climbing any stairs. And if you lose focus, time shifts as well as space, and you can find yourself momentarily transported to Victorian times, where people will mock your lack of a corset but admire your fine dental hygiene.

I had a marvelous time. I spoke on five panels, plus did a reading and a signing. I also got lost three times instead of the standard two, but then I've always been an overachiever.

A few moments from Lunacon really stick in my mind. One is Josepha Sherman singing Memory in the original feline ("Meow, meow! Meow-meow-meow meow meow..."). Another is my panel "The Novel That Changed My Life." For this panel, we talked about the one novel that played that pivotal role in shaping who we are today. My choice was Alanna by Tamora Pierce.

I first read Alanna when I was ten years old. My friend Gillian had taken it out of the Northboro Public Library, read it, and then handed it to me saying, "You'll love this book. This is your kind of book." Since the book was out on her library card, I was absolutely petrified the entire time I had the book that I would return it late to the library and my friend would be blackballed from ever taking out another library book again and she'd never forgive me and no one would want to be my friend because word would spread and... I was a somewhat anxious child.

Anyway, I read it, loved it, and returned it on time and disaster was averted. But that's not why this book is important to me (though I am glad that I did not cause my friend to be declared a library pariah). This book is important to me because this was the book that made me say, "I want to do this. I want to write books like this. This is what I want to do with my life. This is why I'm here."

And it's also the book that first told me that I could become a writer, if only I tried hard enough. Alanna is about a girl who, by sheer force of will, triumphs over near-impossible odds and achieves her dream. I like that message. A lot. And I believe in it with all my heart. The key component to achieving any impossible dream is not talent or brains or even luck, though they all help. It's sheer pig-headed stubbornness.

So that was my answer. How about you? Is there a book that played a pivotal role in shaping who you are today? What novel changed your life?

Through the Wardrobe

I love, love, love the Narnia books. I love Faun Tumnus and the Beavers and Reepicheep (the brave warrior mouse) and the lone lamppost and the stone statues in the witch's castle and the dawn run with Aslan... One of my most treasured books is a copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with beautiful illustrations by Michael Hague. Inside it says, "To Sarah, Merry Christmas 1983! Love, Mom and Dad." It makes me think of Christmas mornings, when my brother and I would wait in my room until it was late enough to drag my parents downstairs to see first the stockings then the tree (always in that order -- I was a tad bit obsessive compulsive about family traditions). And Uncle Bill and Aunt Julie, our close-enough-to-be-family neighbors, would come over for bacon and eggs in a breakfast feast worthy of the Beavers. And I'd help my mom set the dining room table with the china for Christmas dinner. And I'd sneak-read bits of whatever books I'd received whenever I thought no one was looking... Anyway, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is one of those books that makes me smile inside when I see it. I think I've read it at least several dozen times.

So this fall, when an editor from BenBella Books contacted my agent and asked if she had any authors who would like to write an essay for an anthology about the Narnia books, I jumped at the chance. (Or more accurately, I channeled my inner teacher's pet, stretched my hand in the air, and shouted: "Ooh, ooh, me, me, me!")

But what to write about? When adults talk about the Narnia books, there's often much discussion of religious allegory and such. And, of course, the books are clearly religious allegories. But when I was a kid, in all the times I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I never once had the slightest clue that there was even the tiniest bit of symbolism in there. Some kind soul finally pulled me aside (much in the way that parents through the ages have sat down with their kids to give them "The Talk") and repeated the word "Allegory, allegory, allegory!" in increasingly frustrated tones until I finally said, "Oooh, so the whole Stone Table scene..." And then they said "Yes!" and went away muttering under their breath and rolling their eyes.

So when I sat down to write my essay for the BenBella anthology, I decided to embrace my obliviousness. My essay is called "Missing the Point", and in short, it's about why it's okay to be completely clueless.

The essay anthology is called Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. It was edited by Herbie Brennan, and includes essays from the following writers:

Deb Caletti
Diane Duane
Sarah Beth Durst (me!!!)
Brent Hartinger
Susan Juby
Sophie Masson
Kelly McClymer
O.R. Melling
Lisa Papademetriou
Diana Peterfreund
Susan Vaught
Zu Vincent and Kiara Koenig
Ned Vizzini
Elizabeth Wein

And check out the awesome cover:


It comes out this month (March) exclusively at Borders stores, and despite the fact that my essay includes several embarrassing personal anecdotes, I'm really excited about it. Narnia! Aslan! Faun Tumnus! YAY! Seriously, I feel honored to be included.

The very nice folks at BenBella have offered to give me a couple extra copies of Through the Wardrobe to give away on my blog. So in a week or two (once my copies arrive), I'll be hosting a contest here. I hope you'll drop by and enter!