My upcoming novel, Cut the Lights, is the first of three books in the exciting new Limelights series. Conceived by Sarah Harvey, editor at Orca Book Publishers, the series offers compelling novels about the performing arts for ages 11 to 14. Singing, acting, directing, dancing — this series promises to dazzle and entertain teens who love performance.
In Cut the Lights, a director of a student-written Fringe Festival play is at odds with her cast and crew, until the breakdown of her lead actor forces them to work together. The novel captures the intense relationships that form during rehearsals and performances, and how a student director learns to empower her cast and crew both on and off the stage.
The series will also debut with novels by Tom Ryan, who published his first novel in 2012, and Robin Stevenson, author of over 15 books for kids and teens. Check out all three titles in Fall 2013.
Authors are tagging each other with a questionnaire about what they’re working on now. I was tagged by Karen Bass, who was tagged by Marsha Skrypuch. To read Karen’s answers, go here. To read Marsha’s answers, go here.
What is your working title of your book? Cut the Lights
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
The director of a student-written Fringe Festival play is at odds with her cast, until the attempted suicide of the lead actor forces them to work together.
Where did the idea come from for the book? Sarah Harvey, editor at Orca Book Publishers and a YA author of nine books so far, contacted me about her brilliant idea for a new series of YA novels about the performing arts. Since singing, dancing and acting are currently popular among teens, she proposed a series — titled Limelights — aimed at 11- to 14-year-olds. I discussed a few ideas with Sarah, and we narrowed it down to two. I then picked the idea that I felt I could best write.
What genre does your book fall under? Contemporary YA fiction
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Since I’m terrible at remembering actors’ names, I’m not fit to answer this question. I would hope they would be quirky, brilliant, up-and-coming actors who would have the chance to showcase their incredible talents.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? It will be published by Orca Book Publishers in Fall 2013 as one of three debut books in the Limelights series. The series will also debut with novels by Tom Ryan, who published his first novel in 2012, and Robin Stevenson, author of over 15 books for kids and teens.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
This book took four months from conception to completion of a readable draft that I was willing to show my editor. This timeline is unusually fast for me — I typically ponder more and my books are usually longer. This novel is about 20,000 words since it’s intended to be tight, short and action-packed. But no matter the length of the novel, the plotting, characterization and so on still takes the same amount of time. Basically, there are no shortcuts in writing.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Although the popularity of TV shows as American Idol, Glee, So You Think You Can Dance and The Voice show that teens are into singing, dancing and so on, there are few books about the performing arts, and none written with younger teen readers in mind. One example is Bunheads, a great novel by Sophie Flack, which my teen daughter devoured.
Who or what inspired you to write this book? This book captures my love for theatre. I became hooked at an early age after seeing performances at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, and I later took drama courses in high school and university. For me, theatre provides the opportunity to examine our world through a finely tuned lens.
This book also deals with a hard reality — the attempted suicide of a friend or loved one — which I’ve faced more than once in my life. This novel is my attempt to understand how such an event affects a tight community, like the actors and director of a play. Why does a young person with great potential attempt suicide? How does a community cope with it? How can the show go on when something so dire, so painful, occurs?
We all face trying times during our lives. Performing arts, such as the theatre, can be a great comfort and a great source of insight into how to move forward.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? For readers interested in the theatre, this novel gives insight into how to direct a play. What does a director do? How do you envision a stage production, manage the personalities of the actors and stage manager, and work with lighting and sound? Somehow, a production always falls apart weeks before opening night only to magically come together at the last minute.
On a sunny summer’s day, I enjoyed coffee and conversation with author Lena Coakley as she interviewed me for a profile in the quarterly publication of CANSCAIP – the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers. A full version of the article is available to CANSCAIP members, including a discussion of my works, writing process, where I get my ideas and more. Thanks to Lena and CANSCAIP for the article!
Favourite quote from the article:
“Sarah Harvey at Orca Book Publishers calls [Karen] ‘professional, responsive, flexible, insightful, humble and funny. In short, an editor’s favourite kind of writer!’”
Thanks, Sarah! I’m thrilled to be working with author and editor Sarah Harvey again, writing one of the first two books in Orca’s new Limelights series, featuring novels for teens about the performing arts. In my novel, Cut the Lights, the director of a student-written play is at odds with her cast, until the attempted suicide of the lead actor forces them to work together. Cut the Lights will be published in Fall 2013.
The 15-year-old protagonist of my latest novel, The Yo-Yo Prophet, would be over the moon about this demonstration of yo-yoing in zero gravity. Yes, folks, it’s yo-yos in space!
In his Science off the Sphere series, astronaut and chemist Don Pettit demonstrates how yo-yos behave aboard the International Space Station.
Yo-yoing involves the science of planes and gyroscopic stability, but taking it into space eliminates the effect of gravity, allowing for a whole new style of yo-yoing and even the invention of new tricks! How cool is that?
Don Pettit says, “I haven’t been spending as much time as I should working on my yo-yo training…. It just shows how I’ve got misplaced priorities.”
Check out recommended books from Canadian children’s book writers this summer in this article by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch from The Winnipeg Review, including two books on my shelf: Yesterday’s Dead by Pat Bourke and Time Snatchers by Richard Ungar.
I’m delighted with author/illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi‘s graphic review of my latest novel, The Yo-Yo Prophet. Debbie faithfully completes a “daily drawing” – an excellent way to stay inspired and fresh. After reading The Yo-Yo Prophet, Debbie created this daily drawing based on the main character, 15-year-old Calvin Layne:
Here’s what Debbie had to say about the book:
“So many reasons to love THE YO-YO PROPHET: the way the main characters change throughout the book, … the tension and excitement of Calvin’s yo-yo performances and competitions, how Calvin reacts to and eventually finds a way to cope with bullying, how he deals with his missing father and the declining health of his grandmother. Uplifting and hopeful ending without being clichéd.”
You can check out more of Debbie’s daily drawings here. Debbie’s first illustration project, I’m Bored, a picture book written by Michael Ian Black, will be released in September 2012 with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Congrats, Debbie!
My upcoming novel, Cut the Lights, is the first of three books in the exciting new Limelights series. Conceived by Sarah Harvey, editor at Orca Book Publishers, the series offers compelling novels about the performing arts for ages 11 to 14. Singing, acting, directing, dancing — this series promises to dazzle and entertain teens who love performance.
