Coffee and Pie with Local Author Amy Sorrells

"How Sweet the Sound," the debut novel by Zionsville author Amy Sorrells, is a coming-of-age tale set in Alabama in the summer of 1980. Author Lori Borgman says, "How Sweet the Sound takes on the hard things of life. Author Amy Sorrells writes with tenderness, grace and the heartbroken voice of experience.” Join us on Tuesday, March 25th at 6:30pm as Amy talks about writing her first novel, the editing and publishing process, and answers your questions. We'll have coffee and tastings of pecan pie from My Sugar Pie, and a book signing afterward. Two lucky attendees will take home a signed copy of Amy's book. Amy is a winner of the 2012 Women of Faith Writing Contest and a two-time ACFW Genesis Award semi-finalist. A registered nurse for a large hospital, she started writing as a journalist for medical publications and was a weekly op-ed columnist for her local newspaper. When not writing or reading, Amy can be found covered in dirt while gardening or covered in paint while refurbishing antiques. A graduate of DePauw University, Amy lives with her husband, three sons, and Golden Retrievers in Zionsville. Don't miss this opportunity to talk with a local author about her craft. Adults only. Please register for this program.

Mary Pearson Author Visit Book Winners!

Another big thank you to teen author Mary Pearson!  On Wednesday, November 7, Mary spoke with more than 70 teens about her book The Adoration of Jenna Fox.  Each teen who signed up was given a free copy of the book, which Mary then signed and gave all teens a small gift.  In addition to the awesomeness of a free book signed by the author, free pizza, and more than 30 minutes to ask questions about the writing process, eight lucky teens walked away with something extra special.  By completing a crossword relating to the book The Adoration of Jenna Fox teens earned a chance to win one of three copies of The Fox Inheritance, which is the second book in the trilogy.  Teens also earned a chance to win another one of three copies by completing an author visit evaluation form.  On top of that, two teens who handed in their author visit evaluations were big winners, as they each took home a signed copy of Fox Forever, which is quite possibly the most exciting part of the evening since the book doesn't come out until March of next year.  Several teens asked how they would know who won, so we decided to list all the winners on our blog.

Congratulations to Ryann Bowers, Ella Clayton, Lauren Geletka, Kris Gutierrez, Tori Hanshew, and Brandon Milby who all won copies of The Fox Inheritance, and another congratulations to Sara Bush and Nathan Olesinski who are the only two people likely in the state of Indiana to have signed copies of Fox Forever!

Once again a big thank you to Mary Pearson, our Teen Council who picked Mary to come to the library, and to all of our staff, volunteers, and teens who came to the visit.  Thanks to you, this has been our most popular teen author visit to date.  We will bring another author here in 2014, but in the meantime, keep an eye out for information about a book release party in March 2013 as well as autographed copies of Mary's books as summer reading prizes.

Countdown to Author Visit with Mary Pearson

We are very, very excited to be hosting Mary Pearson.  In less than two weeks, she will be at our library talking about her book The Adoration of Jenna Fox, the writing process, and answering your questions about writing, publishing, being an author, and any other burning questions you may have.  If two weeks seems like too long, perhaps an interview with the author will tie you over.

What do you find most difficult about writing?

“Getting started. A blank page is always intimidating. And the middle is difficult too. Whenever I get to the middle of a book I always think I’m totally lost and in trouble—too much is going on in my head! But I know most writers feel that way, and I remind myself that it is normal to feel out of control. The key is to keep moving forward, so I do. I set daily goals for myself to make sure I keep going. If you write only one page per day—about 250 words—in less than a year you can have a whole novel. Small bite-sized goals are easier to swallow and far less intimidating, so I focus on those.”

Which one book had a large impact on your life?

“That’s a tough one. There were so many, but I would have to say The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was a favorite that had a definite impact on my future. It was the first book that I read that felt like it was written for me. I devoured it over and over again and it made me want to write similar relevant books for teens.”

What advice might you have for aspiring writers?

Not so fast, you'll have to go to the Harbinger's online edition to see the answer to this question and others.  A special thanks to Sara Bardool and the folks at the Harbinger for letting us share this interview.

Oh and if you still don't have your free copy of The Adoration of Jenna Fox, just bring a signed permission slip either to the library or the school media center.  Then bring your book the day of the event and Mary will sign your book!  We hope to see you there.

Fox Forever: A Blog Entry from Mary Pearson

As the teen librarian I am super excited to find out that Mary Pearson, author of The Adoration of Jenna Fox, will be here in less than a month!  Teens in grades 6-12 and college students need to bring a signed permission slip saying they can attend the event on Wednesday, November 7th and we will give you a free paperback copy of The Adoration of Jenna Fox!  Bring it the day of the event and we will feed you pizza and Mary will sign your copy of the book!  You can get a permission form at the library, on our website, or from your school media center.  The exciting part of this unique blog post is Mary Pearson provided her own entry.  (Note: The Adoration of Jenna Fox is the first book in The Jenna Fox Chronicles trilogy.  Book two is The Fox Inheritance.)

From Mary:

The ARCs are here! Well, I got two at least, but I know there are more out there somewhere, and Fox Forever, the final book in The Jenna Fox Chronicles trilogy is being read by someone. Who? I don't know!  

This is always a nail-biting but wonderful stage in the publication of a book, and every time feels like the first time. It's no longer just my story. Others are reading it and bringing their own life experience to the words and characters and it's becoming something different. Edmund Wilson, a literary critic and editor, said it best: "No two people ever read the same book." Which is one of the things that makes a book so exciting. It has an infinite number of incarnations, depending on who reads it, and yet there is always that shared experience too. 

It's exhilarating when the story you worked on for so many months and sometimes years, is finally starting to look like the real thing--a book! Of course an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) is not the final product. It's a sneak peek. It's produced before the final final edits are complete, so there are mistakes and sometimes small changes in the story. Very often even the cover is not the final cover, as is the case with Fox Forever. There will be some changes to that too. (But isn't it gorgeous already? I love it!) 

I haven't really said too much to anyone what this final book is about, but the short synopsis is up on most bookselling sites. But for me in this final book, the world Matthew Fox spun into existence came full circle and explored what it means to be human from multiple perspectives and from start to finish. 

I must admit, it was a very satisfying but bittersweet moment as I typed the last words. I've spent a lot of time with Locke and Jenna and so many of the other characters too. It was hard to say goodbye. 

Sneak peaks aside, this last book of the trilogy will be out on March 19--only a few months away.

Mock Newbery Committee Visits Author via Skype!

We blog, we tweet, we offer downloadable audio books, e-books--we sure are jumping into technology these days! One more cool way that we can use technology is to connect with authors over the internet--Wow!

The Mock Newbery Committee met with Kathi Appelt, author of Keeper, via Skype, and she didn't even have to leave Texas, which is where she lives. The live stream video chat allowed us to see and talk to her and vice versa. This was an amazing opportunity for our Library and our Mock Newbery Committee--we had a great conversation about her life and her writing. She was very inspiring to young authors with her advice to, "write like your fingers are on fire!"

A very special thanks goes out to Kathi Appelt for generously donating her time to meet with the committee, and we are so glad she did! If you are interested in reading some of her books, she has a variety available, just check out our catalog.

You can still become a part of our Mock Newbery Committee; feel free to join us at our next book discussion on Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine, which is scheduled from 4:30-5:15 on November 2.

Mock Newbery Youth Committee

The Mock Newbery Youth Committee is well on its way! The Committee will read five books that meet the criteria to win a Newbery Medal. The Committee will then meet in December to discuss the books and vote on the one that we think might actually win the 2011 Newbery Award.

Laura Rodgers has been busy reading books published in 2010, and has narrowed our list down to five, which are...

One Crazy Summer by Rita William
Out of My Mind by Sharon M Draper
Keeper by Kathi Appelt
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan

We have already had two informal book discussions on One Crazy Summer and Out of My Mind. The next informal discussion will be for Keeper on Tuesday, October 19.

We are excited to announce that Kathi Appelt, the author of Keeper, will be joining in our book discussion through the use of modern technology! Using Skype, we will be able to talk to the author and have a chance to ask questions. If you are interested in joining us on October 19, please sign up here.

Also, it is not too late to sign up for the Mock Newbery Election! If you want to be a part of this awesome Committee all you need to do is read at least three of the five books from the above list, then make an appearance at the Mock Newbery Election, which will be held on December 12 (sign up here). You can really make your vote count!

The next informal discussions are scheduled for October 19, November 2 and December 7. The discussions are optional; you can still participate in the Election even if you did not attend the discussions.

Happy Reading!