The Death of YA Author L.K. Madigan: What can we learn from it?

If you've been on Twitter over the last couple of days, you may be aware of the passing of L.K. Madigan (aka Lisa Wolfson), young adult author of Flash Burnout and her most recent release, The Mermaid's Mirror. I have The Mermaids Mirror on my TBR list, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. And then I learned of her death. She was only 47, a wife, mother and breast cancer survivor; a disease that manifested itself in her life 20 years ago. She figured she had it beat. She passed the five year mark, gave birth two years after that, then published two well-received books, one which won critical acclaim. In January, she posted about the malevolent force (my words) that reared it's wicked head in her life once again, what we now know would be for the last time on her blog.

I decided to look through the archive of her blog, which goes back to 2004. She was a huge proponent of the creative writing process and other writers. It was fun to read of her excitement as she shared her overwhelming joy of becoming a published author for the first time; her journey of how she began the agent hunt and the process of finding the agent that was just right for her...

Death always sets me to thinking. It's the beginning of the end on one hand, and the beginning of something new on the other. Much depends on how you view life and if you think our existence here, now, is all that there is. I have definite thoughts about that too, but that's not the focus of this post. So, what is? Consider this. It's something I've been thinking about and Lisa's passing brought it to the forefront of my mind.

I'm an aspiring author. So are many others. Some are not aspiring any longer. They've "made it"; some even capturing the Holy Grail on their first lap out of the gate: the New York Times bestseller's list. The YA community is a tightly knit one; one in which writers in various stages of the publishing trajectory connect and intermingle. We read and comment on each others blogs; relate tales of struggle, pain and sadness about rejections; try to put just the right words together in just the right way to garner the perfect agent, secure that elusive book deal... Often it becomes all-consuming; sometimes it feels overwhelming and we can develop tunnel vision and tune out all else in our quest for literary gold.

I endeavor to stay balanced; keep life in it's proper perspective. Death always brings me around. It makes me realize that writing and securing a book deal is awesome and a goal worthy of pursuit. But, it's not all there is. We need to remember that. If we get published-super. If we don't, life is still worth living. We're wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts and friends. Life is multifaceted. For so many people in our lives and in the world, writing and being published, doesn't even enter their consciousness. They're just trying to survive, stay alive, be there for the ones that need them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, let's all try to remember what's important in life and not let any one desire overwhelm us and overshadow the rest.

Lisa had an important wish and that was for her son, Nate to get a college education. A trust has been set up with that in mind. It's a tough economy these days and money is tight, but if you have a little extra to spare, consider contributing to this child's education. The particulars are here. You reap what you sow. What you give to others, comes back to you in one form or another. Be a blessing and get blessed.

Toodles...

Robert Pattinson's REMEMBER ME: A Movie Review

I loved Twilight, liked New Moon and became a fan of Robert Pattinson over the past year. When I first heard he was going to appear in a new movie, called Remember Me, I was interested and looking forward to it coming out. I watched some of the filming while the crew was in NY. That was pretty fun, but another story entirely.

It essentially tells the tale of a college  student,Tyler (Pattinson) and his relationship with a father that works too much and expresses little feeling toward his children. An older brother committed suicide because of it. Tyler wanders through life aimlessly as he struggles to come to terms with his brothers death, his tenuous connection with his father and the love and concern he feels for his little sister who is showing great promise as a serious artist.

Tyler has a run-in with a police officer who indulges in a little police brutality because he can. Tyler gets arrested and the closest exchange between him and his dad occurs when dad bails him out of jail, not once but twice. Tyler's friend encourages him to have a cavalier affair with the officer's daughter as an act of revenge. She moves in with him, not knowing what his plan is. When the plan is discovered, the girl is devastated and returns home. Tyler has developed real feelings for her and tries to get her back.

New Book Giveaway for overworked moms and those who love them: JUST LET ME LIE DOWN

This is a great book to encourage those who are hardworking moms. Life can get overwhelming and there are definitely not enough hours in the day to do all that needs to be done. Reading Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop, the editor of Real Simple magazine, assures you you are not alone.

There will be three - count em, three winners for this giveaway. If you're not a follower, please become one, post a comment and a way to contact you and that's it! You're in like flynn. Even if you're not a super busy mom, you can enter and give the book to someone who is.

The contest will end Friday March 5 at midnight.

 Open only to residents of the US or Canada. No PO boxes.

 Thanks to Anna Balasi from the Hachette Book Group for making this book available.

A Surprising Peek at a Slice of Life: Tips for Writers

As I work on my novel, I let some people at work read it to get their feedback and reactions. The other day, one of my co-workers ran to me all excited. "You just wrote a scene right out of my life!"  She was the second person at work to tell me this. It was a scene that depicted three generations: A grandmother, daughter and granddaughter.

My co-worker said the scene exemplified a scenario that had played out in her own life, right down to the characters reactions. She said, "If you can get people to identify with the characters, make it personal to them, they're really going to get into the story and be compelled to read it. If my daughters read this, they would say 'Oh my goodness, that's you and grandma!' My co-worker continued. "You did exactly what I teach my students!"

Sex Abuse Alert and Book Review: Boy Toy

If you have read my introductory post as well as my All about Me profile, you'll recall I stated that in addition to discussing literary matters, I will be touching on my insights as an educator and therapist.  These concern life issues that are important and beneficial for all to understand.

Professionally, I have worked with youngsters in various capacities: the school system, the legal system and the mental health/social service systems. A couple of incidents, both recent and not so recent in addition to a novel I just completed reading, has served as the catalyst for the post today. Let me begin with the book review.

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga is a 409 page young adult novel that delineates the tale of Josh Mendel, a 12 year old boy who is manipulated into a sexual relationship with his teacher. The story goes back and forth from the present to the past and follows Josh as an 18 year old high school senior who still struggles with the aftermath of the affair, years later. The book depicts the sexual activity fairly graphically, but it is not gratuitously so. It is real and organic to the story and yes--it's disturbing to read as you consider that the boy is only 12 years old and suffering emotional damage from premature sexual activity.

There have been a number of highly publicized incidents involving minors and school staff. People may be prone to dismiss such occurrences because the perpetrator is a pretty female and they take a "boy's will be boy's" attitude. This book exemplifies the real damage that occurs to the child's psyche as a result of such abuse. I highly recommend reading it.