Karen Sandler

Category: Books

  • Mrs. Sandler Goes to Washington

    After a short weekend visit to NYC to attend the winter conference of the Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators, I took the train down to DC to visit family. Since I’m under deadline on REVOLUTION, the third book of the Tankborn trilogy, I’ve had to spend time every day working. But I decided to set aside a day to go to the Capitol and check out the Senate and House.

    I dropped by the Hart Building office of one of my two senators and picked up passes for the two chambers. Then I hiked over to the Capitol building a couple of blocks away. Police had the usual entrances blocked off. Apparently Vice President Biden was on his way, and the Capitol was in temporary lockdown. Luckily, a lady I’d struck up a conversation with knew another way in, and she escorted me and a visiting friend inside.

    Another even better stroke of luck happened shortly after I reached the Senate chamber. The members present were pretty sparse–many empty chairs. One of the senators was speaking passionately about the Violence Against Women Act–it’s up for renewal. It doesn’t seem like one of those things that requires a lot of discussion (uh, pass it already), but I guess that’s how Congress works.

    Then the magic happened. It turned out I had timed my arrival perfectly (although in total ignorance). In walked several senators who I immediately recognized–Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Al Franken, Patrick Leahy, Elizabeth Warren, and John Kerry. The young woman sitting beside me (who works for a senator) pointed out Mo Cowan. Then Joe Biden arrived in the Senate chamber.

    Vice President Biden called Mo Cowan forward and swore him in as the new senator from Massachusetts. Historic enough–the new Senator Cowan is one of only two black senators currently serving, and yes, two is a record number. But then we all started applauding (we in the gallery took our cue from the floor). Then even more incredibly, everyone on the floor and then in the gallery rose. A standing ovation for Senator Mo Cowan.

    I found out later that applause, let alone a standing ovation, is Just Not Done on the Senate floor/gallery. I was so thrilled to be part of that historic occasion, and it was just by lucky timing. I’d intended to leave for downtown an hour earlier. Instead I spent an hour working and left later. If I’d kept to my original plan, I would have missed Senator Cowan’s swearing in.

    There were more adventures–after my Senate visit, I was escorted via the underground walkways and shuttle to the Senate dining room (again, sheer chance–I happened to talk to the right person). I had a very yummy lunch there (I had no idea you could make mashed cauliflower taste just like mashed potatoes) followed by the incredible Senate Bread Pudding topped with vanilla sauce. My senator walked right past me (didn’t quite have the nerve to say hello). And I had quite an interesting time getting back to the Capitol via the  above ground route to get the jackets I’d checked in the coat room.

    History, democracy, and bread pudding. What a heady mix.

  • Best Book of January – Ashfall

    Today, YA Highway’s Road Trip Wednesday asks What’s the best book you read in January? I’ve actually read a few quite good books this month, but there’s a clear winner–Ashfall by Mike Mullin.

    This post-apocalyptic YA novel starts with a bang, literally. A super-volcano in Yellowstone erupts so powerfully that it flings large chunks of flaming rock a thousand miles away. The main character, an almost-16-year-old boy named Alex, is home alone. His parents and younger sister have gone to visit Alex’s uncle 140 miles away. In true surly teenage fashion (not that all teens are surly, but Alex certainly is), he refuses to go with the rest of his family.

    Then a flaming chunk of volcano falls on his roof and all hell subsequently breaks loose. A series of events lead Alex to decide to go in search of his family, but the ash-covered world has truly ended–no electricity, no communication, and there are some very vicious people roaming the countryside. Luckily, Alex meets up with Darla, whose survival skills complement Alex’s expertise at self-defense, and they’re able to help each other.

    What is especially notable about this book for me is that it stuck with me for days after I read it. Scenes kept drifting into my mind’s eye (like all that ash), bringing me back to the story. Mullin writes the book in such a plausible way. And it’s downright scary to think of what our world would be like if technology disappeared with the exploding of a super-volcano.

    Some of the scenes are very visceral and violent, so it’s not for the faint of heart. In fact, although the book intrigued me from the moment I first heard about it (it was released in September 2011, the same month as my book, Tankborn), I was, to be honest, a little afraid to read it. But it kept coming up when I would search for Tankborn on Amazon (yes, I’m obsessed about my ranking), and I finally decided to order it.

    I’m certainly glad I did, and I’m planning to get Ashen Winter too. The ending of Ashfall just begs for a sequel, and luckily, there’s one ready for me to buy.

    So, what have you read this month?

  • What Should a Writer’s Conference Be?

    NY Street2sHaving just returned from the SCBWI winter conference in NY, I started pondering what the best format for an annual writer’s conference should be. Then it occurred to me that there may not be a “best.” Partly because the attendees are always at different stages in their careers:

    • thinking about becoming an author
    • starting a first book
    • crying out to the gods as they battle with a saggy middle
    • in the middle of revisions with a finished book
    • querying agents/editors with a polished book
    • agents/editors are requesting (yay!)
    • first sale!
    • multi-sales
    • a legend in the business

    There might be some other stages, but this covers a goodly portion. The thing is, each of these authors/writers require something different from a conference. For the first several stages, workshops on craft (plotting, characterization, beginnings, middles, and ends, turning points, dark moments, using compelling language, cutting out the fat, etc) are ideal. The hands-on type are especially useful, where the writers can walk out with something they created during a workshop. They also need inspiration from published authors, whether the old hands or the ones celebrating their first sale.

    As we get into the group with a truly polished manuscript, workshops on query letters would be great, as well as that all important opportunity to meet agents/editors and get an invitation to submit. The chance to find out what editor is looking for what is invaluable for someone with a manuscript ready to go. The craft workshops are probably still valuable for those in this category.

    Those craft workshops might also be useful for those who have made a first sale. From experience, writing one salable book and getting a contract for it does not mean the writer knows everything there is to know about writing. Some tips on how to continually improve are welcome. After all, you have to sell that second and subsequent books.

    For multi-published authors, a view into trends is somewhat useful, although we all know we shouldn’t write to trends. Workshops on the business side of things–contracts, tax issues, avoiding burnout, etc.–are more welcome than how to write a compelling character. It’s not so much that a multi-published author knows everything, but that the most commonly presented material in craft workshops these folks have already heard again and again. In fact, they could present those workshops.

    As to the legends, they would be giving those inspiring keynotes. They might not want to wade into the masses every day of the conference (too exhausting), but sometimes it’s really nice to just be with people who understand you, so I would think that would be a draw for the legendary authors amongst us.

    The organization that I think does the best job of presenting a well-rounded conference, one that covers the most stages of a writer’s career, is Romance Writers of America. They do a real whizbang job of it. It’s fairly expensive, especially if you’re not a member, and some of the workshops will be romance-specific. But there are plenty that are generic enough any genre could get value from them.

    So, what do you think? What would your ideal conference be like?

  • Road Trip Memories

    This week, YA Highway’s Road Trip Wednesday asks the question, What’s the most dramatic road trip you’ve ever been on? What immediately pops into my mind might not have been a dramatic road trip, but it left wonderful, indelible memories. It was the summer my dad had to spend several weeks working on a satellite launch in Florida. He agreed to take us kids with us, so we drove from Los Angeles to Cocoa Beach in a 1957 Ford station wagon.

    NPS Photo by Peter Jones
    NPS Photo by Peter Jones

    I was ten years old, and had just finished fifth grade. In fact, I missed the last few days of fifth grade because my dad had to be in Florida by a certain date, so I left school early. We departed on a Tuesday in early June, me, Dad, and my older sister, Debbie. The plan was that my oldest sister, Linda, and a friend named Cathy would fly out later and join us.

    But the three of us drove. We started in Hawthorne, California and headed east. In those days, no one wore seat belts (the old Ford probably didn’t have any), so sometimes my sister and I would travel in the “way back” behind the middle seat. We also would sleep back there while my dad drove.

    We made stops along the way. The first was at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. We arrived at the caverns Wednesday evening, just in time to watch the resident bats leave for their nightly flight. The next day, we descended into the cave on a tour, which ended in an enormous cavern set up as a cafeteria. They gave us box lunches and I still remember the taste of that cheese sandwich, and eating it hundreds of feet underground.

    Years later, I wrote a romantic suspense novel based in a similar cavern underneath the Arizona desert (Dark Whispers). In the book I’m working on now, Revolution, the third book in the Tankborn trilogy, several important scenes also take place underground.

    Tom Sawyer Cover1We left New Mexico on Thursday after the tour and headed into Texas. Because we were driving through the “fat” part of Texas, it seemed to take forever to get through the state (on our way home, my mom drove through the Texas panhandle in one night). At some point in Texas, we stopped at a truck stop and my dad bought me a copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. (I might be giving away my age here, but if you take a close look at the cover, you’ll see the book cost 65 cents.)

    I devoured Tom Sawyer as we passed through the South, crossing through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Tom Sawyer takes place in Missouri, but the flavor of the book’s setting fit the countryside we drove through, adding to the experience of reading the book.

    We made it to Florida on Saturday of that week, five days of driving to cross the country. My dad had often driven through the night, only pulling over to sleep in the car when he got too tired. Not long after crossing the border into Florida, we stopped at a restaurant for breakfast where I had grits for the first time. To my Southern California eyes and palate, they looked and tasted pretty strange, but it certainly told me I was a long way from home. We spent that night in a hotel and the next day, moved into the apartment we stayed in for the summer.

    There was more to the trip. I got to see three satellites launched from the beach outside our apartment. We spent every day in the pool or on the beach, or walking down to the Howard Johnson’s in the rain for ice cream. When my dad’s job was done, we all drove from Florida to Brooklyn (now it was Dad, Mom, me and my two older sisters and Cathy). Mom and Dad took turns driving so it was a fast trip. Then we visited our Brooklyn relatives a few days (which included a trip to the World’s Fair). Finally, we drove from New York back to Los Angeles, finishing the big triangle-shaped road trip.

    We rode through or visited 25 of the 50 states that summer. It was a fabulous trip, one I’ll always remember.

  • Funny Stuff

    This week’s Road Trip Wednesday at YA Highway asks, Who is your favorite comedian or funny book and/or movie? I don’t follow comedy much, so I’m not sure I have a fave comedian. If I had to name one, it would be Jon Stewart. Funny movies–I don’t see a lot of them, period, and the ones I see tend not to be comedies. I liked Bridesmaids (which I saw on a flight back from The Netherlands), but I don’t usually like that kind of gross-out humor.

    Books, though, I can come up with three right off the top of my head. Two more recent offerings in YA, one from the ’60s that I originally read in high school.

    Newest first. Fellow Tu Books author Kimberly Pauley’s Cat Girl’s Day Off was a silly, goofy, fun, funny laugh-out-loud treat. I liked it so much, it was my RTW Best Book in April 2012.

    Second, John Green & David Levithan’s Will Grayson, Will Grayson was a gem. Back in the day (when I was an actual teen reading books about teens), a book like Will Grayson, Will Grayson would have been called a “coming of age” book. I love how the two main characters and excellent secondary characters (the two Wills and Tiny) are all so beautifully drawn. I disliked the second Will Grayson character almost immediately, but he had such a fantastic character arc, I loved him at the end.

    Third, Richard Bradford’s Red Sky at Morning is an actual “coming of age” story that very much deserves to be read by today’s audience. Published in the mid-sixties, the story takes place during WWII. The main character is Josh Arnold, and his father is going away to war. Josh and his mother have to move from Mobile, Alabama to Corazon Sagrado, New Mexico. Red Sky at Morning is also a “fish out of water” story as Josh, used to city life in the South, has to adjust to a small town in the mountains of New Mexico where he’s in the minority (most of the town is Hispanic). This is one of those books that will have you roaring with laughter, then sobbing within a few pages. A wonderful book.

    How about you? Read any good, funny books?