In a first draft, it can be hard to visualize my characters. They’re fledgling beings who morph as my story develops, becoming more solid and definable as I revise.
In my writing workshops, I suggest people draw their characters, if they can, in order to better connect with them. I’m not capable of sketching much more than stick figures, so it’s not a technique that works for me. I also suggest that writers pick up physical details from people they know or people they meet. Surfing Google Images can help to define what a character looks like. I also develop a character’s physical traits from people I see on the subway or in coffee shops. Maybe I’ll incorporate the dye job I see on a teen girl or her outfit that day. Concrete description is one way to ground your reader in your story and help them experience sensory details.
With my troll characters in my upcoming fantasy novel Bog, it was particularly hard to see them – strangely I didn’t come upon any trolls in the subway or my usual haunts. I needed to imagine my characters to make them come to life in words. That’s why I was eager and nervous when I was first about to see these troll characters illustrated on the cover of Bog. Would Quebec artist Félix Girard “get” my characters? Would his image of them match mine?
I had no need to worry. I fell in love with Felix’s cover art as soon as I saw it. In fact, I loved it so much that I purchased it, and it now hangs in my home. People tell me that it’s inviting, that they want to join the characters on their journey. Felix perfectly captured the Northern Canada setting of the novel, and truly made the characters come to life in art.
In case you’re curious about Felix’s technique, he tells me that he uses acrylic paint on watercolor paper. “I start with a detailed drawing over which I put several layers of paint, using a lot of water,” he says. “It’s quite similar to watercolour painting actually.”
I’m grateful to Cheryl Chen of Fitzhenry & Whiteside for finding and commissioning Felix for this cover. And I’m grateful to Felix for his compelling vision of Bog.
I’m pleased to announce that my latest YA novel, Punch Like a Girl, will be published by Orca Book Publishers in Spring 2015. I’m thrilled to be working once again with editorial director Sarah Harvey, who is terrifically insightful and collaborative. In fact, I adore the whole Orca team.
What is Punch Like a Girl about?
Tori seems to have it all. She’s smart, athletic, attractive – and she used to date a great guy. Then one day, she shaves her head, alienates her friends, and starts acting out – violently. To try and turn things around, Tori’s parents force her to volunteer at a shelter for abused women and children. While she connects with the young kids, she continues to spiral downwards.
Punch Like a Girl is a taut, emotional look at one girl’s attempt to overcome bullying and violence in dating and domestic relationships.
Where did the idea come from?
I wanted to write about a girl with a hero complex who tries to save those around her rather than admitting she feels vulnerable. It’s an exploration of what it means to be a hero and a victim.
Most of us know someone who has been bullied or abused. This novel explores the themes of helplessness and heroism in confronting violence in dating and domestic relationships.
March 5, 2014, is World Read Aloud Day – LitWorld’s annual advocacy campaign for the human right of literacy. The goal is to call attention to the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories. Imagine a world where everyone can read!
Let’s face it – words have power. They can unite us to a cause and move us to cry, laugh, or smile. Sharing words has always held an important place in my life.
Some of my fondest memories as a kid are of reading A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books aloud with my mother, each of us taking turns reading the characters’ voices. I always preferred to be Piglet and Tigger, and my mother can still do an excellent Eeyore.
As a parent of young kids, reading before bedtime was an opportunity to connect after a long day, and my kids and I can still recite books like Loris Lesynski’s Dirty Dog Boogie and Robert Munch’s A Promise is a Promise from memory. On family holidays, we always picked a novel to read aloud together. Today, all the books we read aloud together still hold treasured memories.
One special memory came when we were reading The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. My partner and our daughters had travelled to a cabin in Algonquin Park with my parents. I’d carefully selected a book to read aloud that I hoped would interest everyone. After I read a few chapters, I was delighted when my father picked up the book and read the next chapter. He couldn’t wait to find out what happened next, and he greatly enjoyed reading aloud. During that holiday, we passed the book around, taking turns reading. My parents even planned to begin reading aloud together at home.
Another fond memory I have is of my two daughters reading aloud together from books like Camp X by Eric Walters. My eldest would most often read, while the youngest listened, perhaps painting her nails or tidying her room. When my youngest had to leave the room for a moment, she would say, “Pause,” and push her imaginary pause button in the air. My eldest would stop reading, and wait impatiently for her return.
Today, I still enjoy reading aloud with family and with my writing group as we critique each others’ works-in-progress. Reading aloud creates a shared knowledge, a community, and strong relationships. It empowers and it strengthens. On World Read Aloud Day, we can advocate for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology. One book at at time, we can show our support for the right to read, write, and share words that can change the world.
To celebrate World Read Aloud Day, I’ve created this video below, reading a scene from my upcoming middle-grade fantasy novel titled Bog. Please listen, enjoy, and share it. What will you read aloud today?
Amy Mathers honours her passion for reading and Canadian teen literature
Imagine reading ten pages every six minutes. Now imagine doing that every day for a year.
Terry Fox could run a kilometre in six minutes during his Marathon of Hope. Inspired by Terry Fox’s and Rick Hansen’s journeys, Amy Mathers will be reading teen fiction books from every province and territory, exploring Canada and promoting Canadian teen authors and books by finishing a book a day for each day of 2014. Not only that, she’ll also publish a review of each book she reads and encourage others to share their opinions, too.
What’s Amy’s goal?
Amy’s goal is to raise money for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC), a non-profit organization that presents the yearly Canadian Children’s Literature Awards gala. This inspiring event includes esteemed awards such as the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. Now, the CCBC hopes to add an award for Canadian books for teens. I’m thrilled that the funds raised by Amy’s Marathon of Books will go toward an endowment for a Canadian teen book award to be presented at the annual CCBC gala. As an author for teens, it’s important to me that their reading materials be honoured and appraised.
What can you do?
Click here to read Amy’s daily book reviews and leave your opinions about the books. Click here to donate to Amy’s Marathon.
Looking for great Canadian teen books to read? Check out Amy’s Reading List, which currently include my novel, Take the Stairs, as well as many other fine titles.
Who is Amy?
Amy Mathers is a passionate reader who hopes to inspires others to share her enthusiasm for funding a teen book award. Although she has faced physical and health challenges throughout her life, Amy has worked as a bibliotherapist, taken part in a high school reading selection committee and co-written and co-taught a college course called “Assisting Families Dealing with Chronic Illness & Disability.” I had the opportunity to meet Amy in January at the Ontario Library Association SuperConference, where she showed her appreciation for Canadian books and readers as well as her ability to inspire. I wish Amy luck on her journey, and hope people throughout Canada will support and encourage her. Best wishes, Amy!
Thanks to Julie Wilson and the 49th Shelf – a site devoted entirely to Canadian books – for this chance to promote three great Canadian titles for kids and teens! It’s my first video post, so please let me know what you think of it. To see the post, go here.
It’s easy to tell the world that Canadian kid lit is well written, intriguing and worth reading. The hard part was to select only three great Canadian kid-lit books to profile. There are too many to choose from!
If you’re buying books this holiday season for kids or teens, please check out the many fabulous titles available at your local bookstore. You won’t be disappointed!
My new novel for teens, Cut the Lights, is officially available on October 1. It’s one of three debut titles in the Orca Limelights series on the performing arts. To celebrate, I’m launching my video book trailer and hosting a Goodreads giveaway for one of ten copies of the book. Good luck!
The first review of Cut the Lights is wonderful. Here’s what the Quill & Quire reviewer had to say:
Karen Krossing’s Cut the Lights is a … complex offering, both in terms of storyline and character. Krossing is a confident, engaging writer, and the book’s setting is a kind of Glee-meets-Fame dream school that kids will find very appealing…. Given how many kids dream of stardom, the Limelights series is sure to hold wide appeal, especially if those lofty ambitions continue to be dealt with in ways that are encouraging and down-to-earth at the same time. Quill & Quire
You can download a sample chapter of Cut the Lightshere. Enjoy the trailer!
