Welcome!

Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.
Showing posts with label letter from the author. Show all posts
Showing posts with label letter from the author. Show all posts

Monday, May 24, 2010

A letter from Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

Lisa Brown (in the hat) and Adele Griffin (sporting a mustache) 
at their book launch

A few weeks ago I reviewed a splendid book called Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown. I also interviewed the book's creators just as they were about the launch the book. As I read about what Lisa and Adele were doing, I became interested in finding out what it was like to get a book off the ground once it was accepted by a publisher. I asked Adele if she would like to tell us a little bit about this journey, which she did. Here is her letter.

Dear Looking Glass,

We are launched!  A whirlwind month to cap a fascinating year, when Picture the Dead first landed at our editor’s door—not with a thunk, mind you, but a polite and hesitant tap. As longtime collaborators on the project, we were both braced for rejection but hopeful that someone might find our Civil War ghost story worthy of an audience bigger than just us two. It’s a quirky read, for sure—a story about photography that is not illustrated with photographs. A serious young adult novel with pictures of a scrapbook that holds clues to its mystery. Historical fiction where much of the “historical” is tucked into our website.

Kelly Barrales-Saylor, the marvelous editor who answered our tap, jumped into our off-kilter world with both feet. She had no qualms—though plenty of queries. And so we spent much of last year tugging logic, plot and sentences into shape; placing and replacing the art; vetting for historical accuracy, and spinning out at least fifty titles (The Recognized, Find Me When I’m Gone, The Ghost of William Pritchett) before we arrived at the one that is stamped on the jacket.

But that was so last year. This year, we’re devoted to getting the book into your hands.

The Booksmith in San Francisco, where we just launched Picture the Dead, is not only the kind of bookstore you cross your fingers you’d get to grow up near, but has the added benefit of being Lisa’s local Indy. With our May 6, 2010, date set, and enterprising folk at the literary media site Red Room live-streaming the event, we were ready for our close-up. In full Victoriana, that is. Corsets, funny hats, and mustaches had been hunted down. Lisa’s husband, Daniel Handler, lent the wit and charm of his alter-ego Lemony Snicket, who acted (in absentia) as Master of Ceremonies. Booksellers were duly outfitted in Union uniform. We read from the book, presented slides, raffled T-shirts, tintypes, and lockets, signed books—and pinched each other in disbelief. After all, it had been almost seven years since that first afternoon when we conceived our gothic ghostly tale.

We gave readings in Brookline, Massachusetts, our book’s historical home, last weekend, and with Philadelphia upcoming, plus BEA and ALA around the corners, we’re putting out the word out bit by bit. The wonderful world of online marketing has been remarkable, too—and with a book like Picture the Dead, we are never short a “tag.” Which, depending on the interview or guest blog, has included: spirit photography, fraud photography, Civil War, twins, ghosts, hair art, festering head wounds, malarial swamps, Boston, Brookline, William Mumler, Mary Todd Linclon, séances, neck clamps, Godey’s Ladies Book—well, you get the Picture.

And, yes, through the whirlwind, we do have an open folder called: New Book. With plenty of possibilities, as we muse on another odyssey, and another “will this or won’t this work?” format. We have no idea what course we might take, but an element of risk seems certain. And then, look out … we’ll be tapping.

Sincerely,
Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

Thank you Adele and Lisa, and I look forward to hearing about what you do next.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Censoring Children's Books - A letter from David Michael Slater

Yesterday I got an email from David Michael Slater, a writer based in Portland, Oregon. He has written two books that have caused quite a brouhaha. Apparently some people do not like the books because the main characters in the stories "uncover historical facts at odds with traditional Biblical stories." The books are fictional and do not pretend to discuss the bible in any historical or theological sense. Unfortunately David and his books have been verbally attacked in the press and on the web. I have invited David to present his side of the story here on the TTLG blog.

Dear Fellow Book Lovers,

I've been asked numerous times in the last few days how I feel about the exponentially increasing attention being paid to the “The Sacred Books Controversy." Volume I of the series, THE BOOK OF NONSENSE, came out in October of 2008 from a wonderful, but very small, publisher in Texas, Blooming Tree Press/CBAY. Like most small presses, it had a hard time attracting national reviews. Thanks to bloggers though, word did get out. (See the nearly three- dozen Amazon reviews, for example). It was nominated for a Cybil and was a finalist for the Publisher's for Children's Best Books 2008 list. Nonetheless, it made nary a blip on the national radar.

Volume II was just released, and it seems to have brought out the worst in some folks. I'm happy to say it's also bringing out the best. It's difficult to describe the controversy without divulging critical plot points, but the gist of the issue here is that the series turns in a "Da Vinci Code"-like direction as the teen protagonists uncover historical facts at odds with traditional Biblical stories. The book, mind you, is fiction and has no aspirations to be taken as anything else. This, as you might not be surprised to know, isn't good enough for some. Here are some recent headlines. This from a suburban Portland paper: "Beaverton teacher’s latest tome tinkers with sacred texts” and “Sacred Books’ series may be banned by Christian Groups for fictional recounting of Bible stories"; This from Ron Charles of the Washington Post: "High school teacher in Oregon sees condemnation by conservative Christians spurring sales of his YA SACRED BOOKS series"; and this from Margie Boule in The Oregonian: "Beaverton teacher's teen adventure series is stirring up a storm.” Perhaps you can predict the reactions, but feel free to go here to read them, and please feel free to join the conversation (and see what I mean about the best and worst coming out): http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/margie_boule/index.ssf/2009/12/beaverton_teachers_teen_advent.html. It seems someone has been trying to hack into my website since this all began, which is to say the least, very concerning.

I'm not sure how to give an honest response about my feelings. I certainly never dreamed of getting my books noticed because people want to burn them. They were supposed to be celebrated for their unique combination of wit and wisdom and clever, thought-provoking plots. (Stop smirking!) But now, after publishing nearly 20 small press books (picture books, teen and adult novels) in the last nine years—not one of which garnered any attention remotely close to this—what I can say? I'm thrilled. I'm handing out cans of lighter fluid and asking only that folks buy them before they burn them. This is the real measure of how far I've fallen. But hark: in the span of two weeks they've gone from Beaverton to Boulé, and now requests have come in for copies from The Jim Lehrer Show, The Progressive, Publishers Weekly, and the AP. Soon the chains might even notice them (gasp!). Taking umbrage at this point would be disingenuous. So, I'm not taking it. 'Tis the season anyway to remember that it's better to give than to receive.

I can’t say how much I appreciate the help beginning to pour in, help in the form of e-mail, blogs and a general message that people care when censorship rears its ugly head. If folks want to spread word about my books to express their righteous anger, I can only say…thank you.

Sincerely,

David Michael Slater

www.davidmichaelslater.com

I plan on making sure that I read and review these books for myself in the near future.

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