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Live Chat with Nikki Loftin NIGHTINGALE'S NEST

(03/25/2014)

  

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4:28	Nora - EarlyWord:  We'll begin our chat with Nikki Loftin, author of NIGHTINGALE'S NEST at 5 p.m. Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:28 Nora - EarlyWord

4:30	Nora - EarlyWord Click on the cover to view a larger version. Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:30

4:33

Nora - EarlyWord:  Nightingale's Nest has received some great reviews. The following from School Library Journal serves as a good beginning: "Pulling readers in from the very first page, Loftin's novel shares the enchanting quality of the Andersen fairy tale that inspired it. Packed with serious subjects, ... it is also the story of forgiveness, healing, and friendship ... The lyrical, descriptive prose and the hopeful ending will linger long after the final chapter." Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:33 Nora - EarlyWord

4:50	Nora - EarlyWord:  You can enter your questions below. We will try to get as many in as time allows. Don't worry about typos (and forgive us for any we commit!) Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:50 Nora - EarlyWord

4:55	lisa von drasek:  just checking in Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:55 lisa von drasek

4:56	Nora - EarlyWord:  Hi Lisa -- looking forward to our chat today. I see some folks gathering. We will being in just a few minutes. Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:56 Nora - EarlyWord

5:00	Nora - EarlyWord:  Welcome, Nikki -- say hello to the group. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:00 Nora - EarlyWord

5:00	Nikki Loftin:  Hi! I'm Nikki Loftin, author, and terrible typist. This should be exciting! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:00 Nikki Loftin

5:01	lisa von drasek:  Lisa, former children's librarian pre-k - 8th grade and now curator of the Kerlan Collections at the Universty of Minnesota? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:01 lisa von drasek

5:01	lisa von drasek:  there are some others on line for the chat would you like to say hello? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:01 lisa von drasek

5:02	[Comment From GuestGuest: ]  Hi Nikki! This is Akiko and I'm not the fastest typeset either. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 Guest

Nikki Loftin:  Thanks for stopping in! Let's type slowly together.   Nikki Loftin

5:02	[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ]  Hi Nikki and Lisa! This is Chelsea from Sacramento. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 Chelsea

5:02	[Comment From GuestGuest: ]  Hello! Erin, Children's Librarian Henrico VA. Just finished the book last night. Perfect timing :) Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 Guest

5:02	[Comment From JennaJenna: ]  I'm Jenna, a youth services librarian in a northern Chicago suburb. Hi everyone! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 Jenna

5:02	lisa von drasek:  while people say hello, Nikki, can you tell us something about yourself Can you tell me a little about where your grew up? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 lisa von drasek

5:03	[Comment From UnLibrarian, Palm DesertUnLibrarian, Palm Desert: ]  Hi Nikki! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:03 UnLibrarian, Palm Desert

5:03	Nikki Loftin:  Sure, Lisa! I grew up in Central Texas, not far from where I live now. Austin is my hometown - there's a lot to love about it! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:03 Nikki Loftin

5:04	lisa von drasek:  your new book is set in a small town in texas. is it a real town? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:04 lisa von drasek

5:05	Nikki Loftin:  Hi, y'all! Lisa, well sort of. It is based on a real town in Mills County, but I changed the name since I'd changed quite a few things about the stores/buildings there. I re-named it Hilsaback, Texas, after my amazing Sr. High English teacher. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:05 Nikki Loftin

5:05	Nikki Loftin:  I figured it might bug the residents of the real town since I switched all their landmarks around. :) Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:05 Nikki Loftin

5:06	Nikki Loftin:  (And thank you all for coming today!) Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:06 Nikki Loftin

5:06	lisa von drasek:  Can you tell me a little about the protagonist? He is a twelve year old boy who? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:06 lisa von drasek

5:07

Nikki Loftin:  Little John Fisher is a boy who grew as tall as a man in the last year - the year after his little sister died falling from a tree. He blames himself for her death, and blames trees, too. So he's glad to be working for his dad's tree-trimming service for the summer, cutting down every tree he can. He's a broken-hearted kid when we meet him... until he meets a little girl with the voice of a nightingale, singing in a tree near where he's working. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:07 Nikki Loftin

5:08	lisa von drasek:  Nightengales Nest is very real and magical at the same time… Can you say a little about why you chose this style of story telling? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:08 lisa von drasek

5:10

Nikki Loftin:  I love magical realism - ever since a professor in my graduate writing program turned me onto Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. It just felt right in this story - a re-imagining of Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale - to make the magic... approachable. And it was important to me to have a realistic setting – in this case, a very poor, rural Texas town – as a backdrop for the magical friendship between Gayle and Little John. I think the harsh reality of the story makes a good contrast with the magic. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:10 Nikki Loftin

5:11	lisa von drasek:  When I read it I could imagine a 5th grade teacher reading it aloud in class. Do you read aloud when you write? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:11 lisa von drasek

5:12

Nikki Loftin:  All the time! I have two sons who beg me to read my works in progress to them as I write. So I hear it, over and over, reading it to them, my husband, my dogs, myself... I think the cadence of the words matters. (I also write poetry, so maybe that has something to do with this habit? Hmm. Don't know.) Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:12 Nikki Loftin

5:12	lisa von drasek:  Names are very important in the book, Little John, Tree, Gayle, Susie, nightingale. is Nikki a nick name? short for? do you have any names your family used to call you growing up? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:12 lisa von drasek

5:13	Nikki Loftin:  Nikki is short for Nicole, my middle name! My mom named me for a soap opera star, Nikki Belle... I can't remember which soap... My mom used to call me Nikki Picky. Totally undeserved, I assure you. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:13 Nikki Loftin

5:14	Nikki Loftin:  By the way, I'd LOVE to hear a fifth grade teacher read this... Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:14 Nikki Loftin

5:14	lisa von drasek:  Reading this book I had a strong sense of someone who really "got" book for kids. Are there some children's book authors that you love that you would like to share with us? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:14 lisa von drasek

5:14	Nikki Loftin:  ... and here's a bit of inside scoop: when I read it aloud, I use a really thick Texas drawl, which I do NOT do on my other stories! It's Little John's accent. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:14 Nikki Loftin

5:15	lisa von drasek:  hey, I heard you on the phone - you DO not have an accent. why not? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:15 lisa von drasek

Nikki Loftin:  I'm not sure. I was trained as an opera singer... maybe that ironed it out?   Nikki Loftin

5:15

Nikki Loftin:  Yes! I read voraciously as a child, but the books I remember best are the ones that made me think – and, sometimes, cry. Bridge to Terabithia, and Old Yeller, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – these books helped me understand a childhood world that to me was inexplicable and magical and frightening. But more recently, I have fallen in love with Natalie Lloyd's A Snicker of Magic... Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:15 Nikki Loftin

5:16	lisa von drasek:  This book literally sings- do you have a musical background? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:16 lisa von drasek

Nikki Loftin:  Yes - see above. I was also born into a family of musicians. I started voice and violin lessons when I was three. I think music permeates all my stories in some way.   Nikki Loftin

5:16	Nikki Loftin:  ... and Lynda Mullaly Hunt's One For the Murphy's, as well as Kate diCamillo's Flora and Ulysses (my current read!). Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:16 Nikki Loftin

5:16	[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ]  I didn't know about the Hans Christian Anderson story until I read the reviews -- why did you choose it? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:16 Lindsey Librarian

Nikki Loftin:  I was a fairy tale nerd when I was little. I obsessed over them - and The Nightingale was one of my favorites. I loved the idea of a bird that could heal with its voice.   Nikki Loftin

5:18	lisa von drasek:  What does your writing day look like? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:18 lisa von drasek

Nikki Loftin:  I get up, get the kids on the bus, and as soon as I'm alone... and pry myself off facebook/email - I start writing. I'll write for a few hours, take a break, then get back to it until the buses come home! Sometimes I even manage to change out of my pajamas. :)   Nikki Loftin

5:19	[Comment From Jody, school librarianJody, school librarian: ]  The tenderness that Little John shows toward Gayle/Susie is so amazing. Love the detail about her hair, for instance. Sounds so true. Is it based on something? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:19 Jody, school librarian

Nikki Loftin:  Thank you. Ah, the painful questions. Yes, someone I love very dearly had a condition where she pulled her hair out unconsciously. Her hair was so, so soft, I loved it, loved brushing it. And then it was gone, and she couldn't help it. (She got better, in case you're worried.)   Nikki Loftin

5:22	[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ]  You mention books that make your cry -- yours made me choke up many times! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:22 Lindsey Librarian

Nikki Loftin:  Is it okay if I say "good?" :) I hope it left you feeling hopeful, though. My sons like to make me read them sad books – I think they enjoy watching me cry. ☺ On their favorite sad books list: Roxaboxen, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.   Nikki Loftin

5:23	[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ]  Thanks for answering that -- gives even more depth to the story! (and thanks for telling us she got better). Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:23 Jody, School Librarian

5:23	lisa von drasek:  kids often ask for a a sad book. grown ups don't Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:23 lisa von drasek

Nikki Loftin:  That's interesting! I love sad books. Just finished crying through The Dogs of Winter by Bobbie Pyron, and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness? SOBFEST, but the best cry ever.   Nikki Loftin

5:24	lisa von drasek:  on a lighter note- was it easy to get published? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:24 lisa von drasek

Nikki Loftin:  Yes, Lisa. I just wished on my magic dandelion... haha. No. I took years of self-doubt and writing truly terrible manuscripts, then more years of not selling fairly good ones, to get to the ones that did sell. I ate a LOT of chocolate on the road to publication.   Nikki Loftin

5:24	[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ]  Yes; that emotional connection WAS good, even if it made me cry -- you reminded me of times in my own youth. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:24 Lindsey Librarian

Nikki Loftin:  Thank you.   Nikki Loftin

5:25	lisa von drasek:  to the people out there....are there books that you would compare this one to to book talk like if you read "When you reach me" Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:25 lisa von drasek

5:27	lisa von drasek:  Nikki- did I hear you had a lot pets? where's my picture of a goat? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:27 lisa von drasek

5:27	[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ]  I read this around the same time as Crystal Chan's "Bird," and I think the two make for an interesting pair. And I do think Nikki's captured the melancholy hopefulness of "Tuck Everlasting" and "Bridge to Terabithia." Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:27 Chelsea

Nikki Loftin:  Oh, thank you. I'm all melty inside.   Nikki Loftin

5:28	Nikki Loftin Abitha the Fabulous Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:28

lisa von drasek:  really really fabulous!   lisa von drasek

5:28	lisa von drasek:  oh Chelsea, thank you me too! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:28 lisa von drasek

5:29	[Comment From JennaJenna: ]  I'll be recommending this one alongside another new tween title, The Riverman- both are based in the real world but with magic elements and deal with darker themes. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:29 Jenna

5:29	Nikki Loftin:  I also have two rescue dogs, but they won't hold still for pictures... Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:29 Nikki Loftin

5:29	lisa von drasek:  I was wondering if there was a compassionate adult in your life when you were a kid? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:29 lisa von drasek

Nikki Loftin:  So many! My grandma raised me during the summers, and at school I had a librarian who filled my life with books and love. Her name was Mrs. Crabb.   Nikki Loftin

5:29	Nikki Loftin:  We are also getting chickens next week, as soon as the chicken coop is made 100% possum and skunk-proof. Since we live in the country, we have to keep our animals safe from varmints. (I love that word.) Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:29 Nikki Loftin

5:30	[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ]  I love the way you describe Gale's singing in this book, but it made me wonder if there are plans for an audiobook? I almost want to leave that sound to my imagination. But I would also be very interested to hear the result. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:30 Chelsea

Nikki Loftin:  No plans yet, or not that I know of, but I'd love to hear it, too! They'd need to use that Texas twang, though.   Nikki Loftin

5:31	lisa von drasek:  oh, I was wondering about that too Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:31 lisa von drasek

5:32	Nikki Loftin:  I have a picture of Mrs. Crabb! Let me see... this was from last year, when I gave her a copy of my debut novel. Being able to thank her, adn tell ehr how she changed my life? I am so grateful for that day. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:32 Nikki Loftin

5:32	Nikki Loftin Mrs. Crabb, Amazing Librarian Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:32

5:33	lisa von drasek:  Nikki, who is Mrs. Crabb? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:33 lisa von drasek

5:34	[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ]  Love hearing about your real life; almost as exotic to me as the life in the book -- both sound real, but truly outside my more urban world. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:34 Lindsey Librarian

Nikki Loftin:  Thanks! I find big cities utterly fascinating. But hard to sleep in - I can sleep through owls and coyotes, but not garbage truck noise!   Nikki Loftin

5:34

Nikki Loftin:  Ah, I replied above - she was my elementary school librarian form 2nd-5th grade. For some reason, my teacher sent me out of class ALL THE TIME to go to the library. I can't imagine why. I'm sure I was perfectly well-behaved. LOL Mrs. Crabb took me in, and raised me on books. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:34 Nikki Loftin

5:34	[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ]  Hurrah for school librarians! Were you ever tempted to become one? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:34 Jody, School Librarian

Nikki Loftin:  My sister wanted to be one! She even pasted little slips into the back of MY OWN books for me to check out! And charged me fines if I was late turning them in. I never wanted to be one. Honestly, I always wanted to be an author. Also, I'm a disorganized soul.   Nikki Loftin

5:36	[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ]  I want to go back to what Lisa said about kids asking for sad books, but not adults. Wonder why that is? Why do kids want sad books? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:36 Jody, School Librarian

5:37	lisa von drasek:  Nikki, Although this book has deeply sad moments, it is ultimately about hope and forgiveness and community. can you say something about that? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:37 lisa von drasek

5:37

Nikki Loftin:  I'm not sure. I know, being a kid is hard, or at least it can be. Kids have so little power over their own lives, and yet their days are as filled with difficulty as any adult. When I read books as a child, I *became* the character I read about. I think giving a young reader – who may have a terribly difficult real life -- a story to lose herself or himself in, where the main character triumphs over exterior bad guys and interior weakness, and who learns to forgive her/himself and others… I think there’s a sort of healing that can take place through story. If I can do that, if I can help one reader to learn that s/he can triumph? That’s my writer’s dream come true. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:37 Nikki Loftin

5:38	Nikki Loftin:  Lisa - sure. I think books for kids need to be ultimately hopeful, even if they're difficult/sad... Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:38 Nikki Loftin

5:39	[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ]  And it may be that kids know that even though a book may be sad, the characters generally do triumph -- so maybe that is actually what they are looking for. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:39 Jody, School Librarian

Nikki Loftin:  Exactly!   Nikki Loftin

5:40	Nikki Loftin:  So that kids can feel that possibility of a happy ending, even in difficult times. And I'm glad you saw the importance of the community coming together - that's a real fact of life in small, poor communities and towns... Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:40 Nikki Loftin

5:40

[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ]  I really appreciate how honest your depiction of Little John's poverty is. I don't think we see families with real money troubles enough in children's fiction - it's something kids are definitely aware of, particularly if it weighs on their parents. Was that something you set out to do, or did it come later? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:40 Chelsea

Nikki Loftin:  Thank you! I think some authors are doing this very well - How to Steal a Dog, comes to mind, and Jacqueline Woodson's utterly amazing middle grade books - Feathers, Locomotion, so many. She's a marvel. I hope every library buys all her books - she does so much in a short space. But, yes, I set out to make the setting very stark, on purpose.   Nikki Loftin

5:41	[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ]  ...even though they may not be able to articulate it. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:41 Jody, School Librarian

5:41	Nikki Loftin:  Lisa - I have seen it hundreds of times (from my career of working in churches) - the casseroles start baking all over town minutes after the bad news hits. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:41 Nikki Loftin

5:42	[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ]  Love the comment from Chelsea. I worked as a lifeguard at a pool surrounded by poor families -- Little John reminded me of those kids. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:42 Lindsey Librarian

Nikki Loftin:  I grew up in a family that was, at times, financially on the edge. We never went without food, but we came very close a lot. That leaves a mark, I think. I remember the feeling - there's nothing romantic about poverty. I hope I got that across in Nest.   Nikki Loftin

5:44	[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ]  They were so honest about their daily lives -- no hiding -- heartbreaking while being admirable. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:44 Lindsey Librarian

5:45	lisa von drasek:  I was concerned about the how alone Little John was in his grief and found that so real. Have you experiences that kind of sorrow ? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:45 lisa von drasek

Nikki Loftin:  My five siblings are all still alive, so no. But I think anyone who's lived a while, and loved family and friends deeply, gets to know deep sorrow, like it or not. And my childhood was difficult. I remember.   Nikki Loftin

5:45	[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ]  Do you ever worry that some situations may be too much for a middle grader to read about? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:45 Jody, School Librarian

Nikki Loftin:  There's a famous quotation, form Madeline L'Engle, I believe Something about if a topic is too hard to write about for adults, write it for children. I'm not sure how far down that road to go, but I think kids can handle a lot more than some think. Kids are already handling a lot more - their lives are as full as anyone's. I think they need to be treated with respect and dignity - in life and in their literature. (That said, I also LOVE funny books for kids. And write them. Someday, they'll be out there, too, I hope.)   Nikki Loftin

5:47	[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ]  I think you struck a good balance. Poverty never came across as romantic, but it wasn't everything about their lives either, which I think is important. It was just the way it was. Thank you for that! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:47 Chelsea

Nikki Loftin:  Thank you!!   Nikki Loftin

5:48	lisa von drasek:  Nikki, You mentioned that you have done SKYPED visits. how have those gone for you? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:48 lisa von drasek

5:50	lisa von drasek:  If someone wanted to schedule one what would they do? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:50 lisa von drasek

5:50

Nikki Loftin:  Ah, Skype! I love these visits! And if a class has read the book, and a teacher emails me, it's very likely I will do a free short one. I love talking to kids about books! :) That's the gravy, y'all - getting to interact with the reader. So energizing! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:50 Nikki Loftin

5:51	lisa von drasek:  what's the craziest thing a kid has ever asked you? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:51 lisa von drasek

5:51	Nikki Loftin:  All they need to do is email me via my contact form on my website www.nikkiloftin.com or here: nikki@nikkiloftin.com. Thanks, Lisa! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:51 Nikki Loftin

5:52	Nikki Loftin:  The craziest thing... The WORST thing. One student asked if I had to give up one of them forever, would I give up chocolate or writing? Sobbing, I answered her "Chocolate. But I'd never be really happy again." Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:52 Nikki Loftin

5:53	lisa von drasek:  do you like dark or milk? Is there a special celebration chocolate that you eat when a book is finished? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:53 lisa von drasek

5:53	Nikki Loftin:  Lisa, I am eating chocolate RIGHT NOW. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:53 Nikki Loftin

5:54	lisa von drasek:  from the peanut gallery- any last questions? comments? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:54 lisa von drasek

5:54	Nikki Loftin:  I celebrate with Lindt Extra Dark with oranges and almonds. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:54 Nikki Loftin

5:54	lisa von drasek:  Nikki, Next book in the pipeline? what? when? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:54 lisa von drasek

5:55	[Comment From CaraCara: ]  I've just joined the discussion so I may have missed it, but what do you think of the cover? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:55 Cara

5:57

Nikki Loftin:  Yes, my next one is called WISH GIRL! It should be out about this time next year. I'm so excited - to answer Cara's question, too - I get the same cover artist, and I'm over the moon happy! I adore my NEST cover, and I know WISH GIRL will be amazing. WISH GIRL is also magical realism, and I'm almost done editing it... it's about a misunderstood boy and a very sick girl and a magical valley where wishes may come true... I hope you like it! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:57 Nikki Loftin

5:57	lisa von drasek:  oh I DO like wishes that come true Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:57 lisa von drasek

5:58

Nora - EarlyWord:  Thanks, Lisa and Nikki for a great chat. And thanks to all of you who for joining us and for your great comments and questions. When we finish, this chat will be archived on the Penguin Young Readers Author Program site -- penguinyrauthors.earlyword.com The next title in the program is UNDER THE EGG by Laura Marx Fitzgerald. Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord

5:58	Nora - EarlyWord:  Final comments, Lisa and Nikki? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord

5:58	lisa von drasek:  What is the date? Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:58 lisa von drasek

5:59	lisa von drasek:  Thank you Nikki, this was a pleasure Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:59 lisa von drasek

5:59	Nikki Loftin:  Thank you so much, Lisa, and Nora, and all of you who came and asked questions! And thank you for the work you do with young readers - you make an incredible difference in the lives of kids. I'm delighted to have the chance to chat! Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:59 Nikki Loftin

6:00	Nikki Loftin:  (And I can't wait for Under the Egg! What a perfect follow-up to NEST. haha) Tuesday March 25, 2014 6:00 Nikki Loftin

6:00	[Comment From JennaJenna: ]  Thanks, Nikki! And thanks for writing a wonderful book! Tuesday March 25, 2014 6:00 Jenna

Nikki Loftin:  You are too kind. Thank you for reading!   Nikki Loftin

6:00	Nora - EarlyWord:  Signing off with a big smile -- thanks, everyone! Tuesday March 25, 2014 6:00 Nora - EarlyWord

 

 

Jon Stewart is back from spring break, with a full roster of shows this week, two of them featuring authors.

Last night he interviewed media maven Arianna Huffington about her new book, Thrive, (RH/Harmony; RH Audio) which has already been moving up Amazon’s sales rankings following her appearance on Ellen. Degeneres exhibited none of Stewart’s skepticism about some of Huffington’s pronouncements, (it’s worth watching the Daily Show segment just for Stewart’s facial expressions. Huffington remained unfazed). The book is now at #20 and rising.

Tomorrow night brings the authors of a book on a subject closer to Stewart’s heart, No Slam Dancing, No Stage Diving, No Spikes, an oral history of a NJ dive bar where he once work. The book is self-published by the authors and is currently only available in paperback.

On Twitter yesterday, John Green announced that he is trying on a new hat, as executive producer for the film version of his third novel, Paper Towns (Penguin/Dutton, 2008). He notes, “Now, if you don’t like something, you can blame me,” (when the casting choices for the forthcoming adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars, received criticism last year, he vigorously defended them, even though the decisions were not his).

“Paper Towns will be built around actor-singer Nat Wolff,” the co-star of The Fault in Our Stars, reports Deadline.

Green has strong ties to libraries, having once worked at Booklist. He spoke to a packed house at the recent Public Library Association conference in Indianapolis, where he lives.

Analyses of the weekend box office show that Divergent, based on the first book in a YA trilogy by Veronica Roth, came in at a respectable $56 million, a bit lower than expectations of $60 million, but it still a strong enough showing for Lionsgate to consider it “a great start to another franchise.”

Although behind the opening weekends of the first Hunger Games ($152.5 million) and Twilight ($69 million), it brought the official green light for the next films in the series. Insurgent is scheduled for release next March, followed by the final in the trilogy, Allegiant in March 2016.

Shooting is set to begin on Insurgent in May, but the primary location has been changed from Chicago to Atlanta.

Divergent‘s director, Neil Burger won’t be returning, having turned down the sequels  due to scheduling conflicts. The helm will be taken over by Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Red). Stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James will be returning. Their on-screen chemistry is the one element critics agreed the movie has going for it. Woodley will next be seen in the film version of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, coming the theaters June 6.

“If you love New Yorker cartoons, you’ll probably love the view from Bob Mankoff’s desk,” says Terry Gross, introducing her interview on NPR’s Fresh Air today with the magazine’s cartoon editor about his memoir, the title of which comes from his most famous cartoons, How About Never, Is Never Good for You? (Macmillan/Holt, publishing tomorrow).

That line is so famous, it’s been appropriated in many ways (Mankoff’s favorite; it’s been printed on panties). He says, however, it will NOT appear on his tombstone.

In addition to the several titles by known quantities arriving next week (e.g., Tempting Fate by Jane Green, which gets 3.5 stars in this week’s People magazine and the author is called, “one of the first ladies of chick lit”) below are four titles you need to know.

These and other notable titles arriving next week are listed, with alternative formats and full ordering information, on our downloadable spreadsheet. 

A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, Jimmy Carter, (S&S; S&S Audio)

The former president has what publicists call a “platform,” meaning easy access to the media. For this book, on violence against women and girls around the world, he is scheduled to appear this weekend on the Sunday’s Meet the Press and NPR’s Weekend Edtion. Next week, he will be on a wide range of shows, including the Late Show with David Letterman and the Colbert Report.

Thrive, Arianna Huffington, (RH/Harmony; RH Audio)

Huffington has already been on the stump for this book; appearing on Ellen this week. DeGeneres passionately recommended it, saying she’s been telling everyone to read it. Huffington’s revolutionary advice? More sleep! It’s currently at #18 on Amazon’s sales rankings and lbraries are showing holds

 Every Day Is for the Thief, Teju Cole, (Random House)

Expect many reviews for this book by PEN Faulkner Award-winning author of Open City, published in 2011 (and the March Read for The Atlantic‘s Twitter Book Club). There’s already advance attention; the author is profiled in the NYT and the L.A. Times, in an early review, calls it a “wonderful meditation on modern life in Nigeria.” It arrives on the heels of another Nigerian author winning the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Americanah.

Washington’s Spies, Alexander Rose, (RH/Bantam)

The tie-in version of the basis for a heavily-promoted AMC series Turn, which begins 4/6/14.

The early trade reviews of the film adaptation of Veronica Roth’s Divergent have not offered a warm welcome. The consumer reviews began pouring in yesterday and the story is the same. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film now has just a 38% positive rating (and even some of those “positive” reviews damn with faint praise; “Hey, we gotta kill time between Hunger Games installments somehow. Why not Divergent?” The Dallas Morning Herald).

Box office predictors, like Ray Subers of Box Office Mojo, tell USA Today, “Divergent won’t be the next Hunger Games, but it could be the next Twilight.”

If it succeeds at the box office, the secret will not only lie in the movie’s heavy marketing, but in an element acknowledged in even the most rotten reviews; the chemistry between the two leads. As People magazine (which gives it 3 of 4 stars) puts it, while Divergent “isn’t as emotionally engaging as Games, its leads could give Katniss and Peeta serious chemistry lessons … The slow burn between these two is the best thing about the film.”

Reminder: the male lead, Theo James, played the Turkish ambassador on Downton Abbey, the man who successfully melted Lady Mary’s frosty exterior (and paid dearly for it).

There is one straight out rave review, however. The Washington Post‘s Michael O’Sullivan says “director Neil Burger (Limitless) has crafted a popcorn flick that’s leaner, more propulsive and more satisfying than the bestseller that inspired it …  [The] Screenwriters … have even come up with an ending that more cleverly utilizes the story’s teenage heroine Tris (Shailene Woodley) without changing the outcome.”

The film is already a raging success by one indicator. All three of the books in the trilogy occupy the top spots on USA Today‘s best seller list.

The Lifetime cable channel is going “V.C. Andrews crazy,” according to BuzzFeed, as a result of the ratings success of their adaptation of what BuzzFeed characterizes as “the incest classic,” Flowers in the Attic.

In the midst of filming the sequel, Petals on the Wind, the network, according to an unnamed source, has signed the other two books in the original Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns and Seeds of Yesterday, (but not the prequel, Garden of Shadows), as well as the standalone, My Sweet Audrina.

Heather Graham and Ellen Burstyn will return in the sequel to Flowers, but, since Petals picks up the story ten years later, the Dollanganger kids have been recast with older actors.

No release date has been set for the sequel, but new editions of the books have been announced (no covers yet)

Petals on the Wind
V.C. Andrews
S&S/Gallery June 17, 2014
Trade paperback, $14.00
9781476789552, 147678955X

S&S/Pocket Books
Mass market, $7.99
9781476789569, 1476789568

Dystopia is everywhere! On the eve of Friday’s release of Divergent, we’ve seen the trailer for The Maze Runner and now comes a trailer for a movie based on the godmother of the genre, Lois Lowry’s The Giver.

Entertainment Weekly offers a “deep dive” into the 1.5 minute trailer, saying it is not a faithful adaptation of the book.

It seems a significant number of people want to read the book in advance; it rose to #20, from #212, on Amazon’s sale rankings.

The movie is scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 15, just one month before The Maze Runner. Then it’s back to Hunger Games, with Mockingjay, Part 1 on Nov. 21.

Tie-ins (no covers yet):

The Giver Movie Tie-In Edition
Lois Lowry
HMH; July 1, 2014
Hardback, $17.99
9780544430785, 0544430786
Trade paperback, $9.99
9780544340688, 054434068X

Audio tie-in
The Giver Movie Tie-In Edition
Lois Lowry, Ron Rifkin
Listening Library, July 8, 2014
CD-Audio; $29.95
9780553397109, 0553397109

Just as Divergent is about to hit theaters, the trailer for the adaptation of another first title in a dystopian series, The Maze Runner, appears.

Based on the novel by James Dashner, the movie, directed by Wes Ball, opens on Sept 19.

Entertainment Weekly says the  two-minute trailer offers fans a “treasure trove of clues to dissect.” and gives author Dashner himself the opportunity to do a “deep dive” into it.

The tie-in has been announced (no cover yet)

The Maze Runner
James Dashner
RH/Delacorte On Sale Date: August 5, 2014
Trade paperback;  9780385385206, 038538520X
$9.99 USD / $10.99 CAD

HBO’s Game of Thrones cast and crew get the Annie Liebovitz treatment in the April issue of Vanity Fair.

The cover story has been setting the internet afire by declaring that, with season four  beginning on April 6, the show has a “massive problem on the horizon,” in that it is catching up to the books.

This is not a new concern, however. It was anticipated, even before the HBO series began. As Time magazine’s TV critic says, the “answer generally was, Martin will hurry up with the last two books, or HBO will take a while with the series or–look, a raven!”  That appears to still be the answer.

The executive producers tell Vanity Fair that they’d like to wrap up the show after “seven or eight seasons.” To that end, they have met with Martin (who is also a producer on the show), to find out how the various plot lines will end, so they have a road map (for more details on the books, a longer version of VF‘s conversation with Martin is available online. Sorry, he doesn’t reveal what he told the executive producers).

The pressure from the show is nothing compared to what Martin, who is five volumes in to the planned seven-book series, has already endured from fans to get on with it (as the New Yorker wrote  on the eve of the 2011 publication of Book 5, A Dance with Dragons, they can be pretty unforgiving).

HBO’s Season 4 covers roughly the second half of A Storm of Swords, the third in the book series. To add a little confusion for casual observers, Book Four, A Feast for Crows, will be released as a tie-in edition.

As Time‘s critic advises, it’s best just to relax and enjoy each series for their unique pleasures.

A Feast for Crows (HBO Tie-in Edition): A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Four
George R.R. Martin
RH/Bantam, 4/1/14
Trade paperback; 9780553390575, 0553390570
$18.00 USD / $21.00 CAD
Mass market paperback; 9780553390568, 0553390562
$9.99 USD / $11.99 CAD

Penelope Lively was interviewed yesterday on NPR’s Fresh Air (listen here) about her new book, Dancing Fish And Ammonites, (Penguin/Viking), which the 81-year-old author says is “not quite a memoir,” but rather “the view from old age.”

Today, the show features journalist Carl Hoffman on his new book Savage Harvest (HarperCollins/Morrow), with the long subtitle/annotation,  A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism and Michael Rockefeller’s Tragic Quest for Primitive Art. The author was also interviewed this past weekend on another NPR show, Weekend Edition Saturday. An excerpt of the book appears in the March Smithsonian Magazine.

So far, only one film has been made of  Harlan Coben’s best selling novels, the 2006 French film, Ne le dis à personne, and it was not released to U.S. theaters (several libraries own the DVD). [UPDATE: We stand corrected. As one of the comments points out, the film was shown in 112 U.S. theaters].That seems odd, since, as the Washington Post characterizes  the writer, he is the “master” of a film-worthy type of story, “a life suddenly unraveling, the past summoned back into a swiftly shifting present, secrets peeling back to reveal more secrets.”

Hollywood seems to have caught on. Three of Coban’s books now in various stages of development.

His latest thriller, one of his many standalones, Missing You, (RH/Dutton; Brilliance Audio; Thorndike) releasing today, was just picked up for adaptation by Warner Bros., according to Deadline.

The plot involves an internet dating site. Booklist says, “Coben never met a technological device he couldn’t turn into a riveting plot element … Coben’s meticulous plotting and his incorporation of the technology are first-rate. His characterization and dialogue? Not so much.”

In the pipeline are two other standalones. One is an English-language version of Tell No One, currently being scripted at Universal. The second, Six Years, published last year, is being produced at Paramount, with Hugh Jackman set to star.

Much speculation has gone in to whether the film adaptation of Divergent, which opens on Friday, will be the next Hunger Games, or will fizzle like The Mortal Instruments.

The trade reviews have just arrived and  they’re not promising.

The Hollywood Reporter — “… director Neil Burger struggles to fuse philosophy, awkward romance and brutal action. Even with star Shailene Woodley delivering the requisite toughness and magnetism, the clunky result is almost unrelentingly grim.”

Thompson on Hollywood — “… feels like a set-up for [the sequels], with an unconscionable amount of exposition and introduction. This is part of Divergent’s major problem: It’s not really a high-concept movie, and is trying to be one, hence its fuzzy impulses and skewed logic.”

The Wrap — the headline says it all — “A Little Hunger Games, a Little Harry Potter, a Lot of Dull.”

Variety — “Even though it stretches to nearly two-and-a-half hours and concludes with an extended gun battle, by the time Divergent ends, it still seems to be in the process of clearing its throat … Fans of the books will turn out for what should be a very profitable opening weekend, but with future installments already on the release calendar, the film’s B.O. tea leaves will surely be read with care.”

As to those tea leaves, Forbes says the message is clear and none of the above matters:

Forbes — “Divergent is, barring fan revolt, critic proof. And thanks to its reasonable budget, it’s almost word-of-mouth proof … The work was done in the marketing department, with Lionsgate securing the hype and mainstream attention that guaranteed that Divergent didn’t suffer the same fate as Beautiful Creatures or The Mortal Instruments … we’ve got the next big young-adult literary adaptation franchise on our hands.”

Anne Rice announced on Facebook last week that her next book will revive The Vampire Chronicles series, which began in 1976 with Interview With The Vampire. The new book, titled Prince Lestat, will be published on Oct. 28 by Knopf. News sources from Variety to the New York Times and The Guardian covered the story. As a result, when the preorder links went up on Amazon yesterday, it landed at #48 on the site’s sales rankings.

In a podcast interview on The Dinner Party with Christopher Rice and Eric Shaw Quinn, co-hosted by her son, Rice said Prince Lestat will be a sequel to The Queen of the Damned because, “after that The Vampire Chronicles are kind of memoir books and backstory and other experiments.” She gives more details (including how Lestat deals with the iPhone) during the full interview — listen to it on iTunes, Episode #64, beginning at time stamp 7:00.

It’s been over a decade since the 11th volume, Blood Canticle, was published. In a 2009 statement currently still featured on the official site for the series, Rice claimed this would be the final volume; “the eleven novels of the Vampire Chronicles are best enjoyed as a complete and finished work.” On The Dinner Party she says she really didn’t think she could write a new one, but going back and reading all the books again made her feel she had more to say, so much so that she “feels this is novel one of a new incarnation” and in fact, has signed the contract for a second book. She even has casting ideas for a new film version of Lestat.

Prince Lestat: The Vampire Chronicles