Sunday, January 24, 2021

Interview with Mary Ann Fraser

I’m so glad I got the chance to interview Mary Ann Fraser about her debut novel, MORTAL REMAINS. Mary Ann is the award-winning writer and illustrator of many, many picture books, and now she’s thrilled to have her first novel be part of the inaugural line of Sterling Teen books.


Hi, Mary Ann! Can you tell us a bit of what your new book is about?

First, thank you, Lynn for this opportunity to introduce my book to your readers. I’ve lived with these characters for close to twelve years, and like a mother whose children are grown, I now get to see them make their way into the world. It’s both scary and incredibly rewarding! So let’s jump in.

In this coming-of-age story, a buried past meets morbid present.

Lily McCrae loves her job doing makeup for the dead at her family’s funeral home. Lately though, her best friend Mallory is too busy reinventing herself to hang out, her stepbrother Evan is preoccupied with college applications, and her father has been pushing her into taking over the family business, leaving her feeling lonelier than ever. She finds herself spending more and more time in the prep room talking to her “clients.” After all, the dead listen better than anyone.

When the neighboring house is leveled in an explosion, Mallory, Evan, and Lily find a mysterious hatch in the rubble and discover that someone is trapped inside. Someone who says his name is Adam. Trouble is, Adam has been missing for four years; forcing Lily to reconcile her past feelings for him as together they delve into his mysterious past while she also struggles to figure out what she wants out of life.

Why this novel? Why now?

When I was about ten, my mother took me to church for an open casket memorial service. I was FREAKED! That event hung with me for years. But in 2009 I came across an article about studies conducted in the 1970’s by NASA’a Ames Research Center. The studies were based on a theory proposed years earlier by Dr. Cairns-Smith. He claimed that clay was not only the building-block of early life but also possessed evolutionary properties. I compared this to other creation stories I’d read or heard about and began to wonder: to what lengths would someone go to bring a loved one back from the dead? MORTAL REMAINS became my way of exploring that question.

What was your research process like?

Research was like a walk with my characters down a long and winding corridor lined with doors waiting to be opened. Each door revealed a new subject to explore—funerary procedures and customs, lock picking, cosmetology for the dead, Latin phraseology, surfing terminology, Jewish mysticism, and so much more. It was SO easy to get side-tracked, but thankfully Lily and Adam had a way of pulling me along.

After successfully writing and illustrating over seventy picture books, why did you choose to tackle a novel?

I think it’s typical after reading a great story to say, “I want to read another book like that.” But even as a kid, whenever I read a great book I thought, I want to write one like that. The problem was that for years the very notion of putting that many words down was daunting—especially after writing so many picture books. Then years ago, I heard Judy Bloom say that the goal for any author should be to write the novel you want to read. So simple and yet so liberating! Finally, I began to imagine that this was something I could do.

Did you find it challenging to switch from short picture book texts of under a thousand words to this much longer form?

I remember the first paragraph I wrote. I fussed and sweated over every word. Slowly, though, the words began to flow—boy, did they flow. That first draft quickly grew to 500 pages! Turns out cutting is the REAL challenge. Saving all the larger discarded bits in a separate file made it easier to let them go. I figured I could always cut and paste them back in. The funny thing was that I don’t think I ever retrieved anything out of that file.

Do you have a favorite writing ritual you can share?

I am definitely a morning person, so I usually start my writing day early and with the biggest cup of tea I can hold. I re-read my pages from the day before, and if I’m on a roll I’ll keep going into the night. I find I miss my characters and their world when I’m away so am always eager to get back to them. My favorite part of the process is revision. To me the first draft is like gathering clay—a lot of heavy lifting. Once it’s all lumped together, then I can truly begin sculpting my story.

The cover image is so strong and mysterious. How excited were you to see it?

There was a lot of discussion about how best to represent the story, and I think Irene Vandervoort has done an incredible job of pulling together different elements to create the eerie gothic yet romantic feel the book required. Flowers and their meanings play a significant role in MORTAL REMAINS. Irene chose a rose for the cover, a flower which represented respect for the dead in ancient times. Lily is all about respect for the dead! It’s the living she struggles with.

What’s next for you?

MORTAL REMAINS was actually the second novel I wrote. Recently, I revisited my first novel and completed a major rewrite. I also have a picture book coming out in Fall 2021 with Capstone called LET IT GROW. And finally, I have a MG non-fiction book in the works. Early in my career I could only focus on one book at a time, but now I welcome the variety and feel very fortunate to be able to work in so many genres.

To wind things up, I have to know: as a lifelong Californian now living in colder climes, what do you really think of snow??

I really love it! I decided early on that if I was going to move where there was “weather,” I would fully embrace it. Now I get to ski and snowshoe regularly. And when the weather is too abominable to venture outside, I light the fire, embrace the hygge, and settle into my office to write, paint, or read.

Mary Ann Fraser grew up in California’s Bay Area. She attended UCLA and is an award-winning picture-book author-illustrator with over 70 books for young readers. Her books have been Junior Library Guild Selections, and have been awarded Book Links Book of the Year, IRA Young Readers Choice Award, and American Booksellers' "Pick of the List." She makes her YA fiction debut with MORTAL REMAINS.

She is a long-standing member of SCBWI and a founding member of the Children's Authors Network. Mary Ann lives in Idaho’s Treasure Valley where she enjoys hiking, skiing, gardening, and painting. To learn more about her or her books visit www.maryannfraser.com.



To order a copy:

Barnes and Noble - https://bit.ly/35OiP1P
Indie Bound - https://bit.ly/38Ml6N0
Amazon - https://amzn.to/3oV1wnw
Website - www.maryannfraser.com

OR

https://linktr.ee/MaryAnnFraser (this has ALL Mary Ann's links for ordering and social media and website)

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Shelf Awareness--Ten Beautiful Things

PB Review: Ten Beautiful Things


Ten Beautiful Things by Molly Beth Griffin, illus. by Maribel Lechuga (Charlesbridge, 32p., ages 5-8, 9781580899369)

Ten Beautiful Things is a gentle, affecting story about a young girl coming to terms with leaving her home behind to move in with her Gram.

All Lily knows about where she will live with Gram is the "X" marked on "an empty patch of land" on her map. Gram, knowing change is hard, suggests the pair work together to find 10 beautiful things along the way to Iowa. Lily doubts they will find beauty, but when dawn breaks, she's awed by a magnificent sunrise--she's found "number one!" They drive on and, just as Lily feels "the complaints starting in her belly again," Gram points to number two: "spinning windmill blades" that gleam in the morning sun. Lily quickly finds number three, "a red-winged blackbird perched on a swaying stalk of last year's corn," and the two travelers continue their search for all 10 things, finding a "falling-apart barn," the rich smell of mud and a swan-shaped cloud.

Molly Beth Griffin (Rhoda's Rock Hunt) never explains the reason Lily must make her home with Gram. Instead, she packs her eloquent text with sensory details that masterfully link Lily's inner and outer journeys. Likewise, Maribel Lechuga's deftly colored and textured mix-media illustrations feature grand vistas as well as intimate closeups of the grandmother and granddaughter, evoking the unfolding wonders of this difficult trip. Ten Beautiful Things is a deeply touching, ultimately uplifting story. By the end of the drive, readers will know without a doubt, just as Lily does, that she now belongs here, with Gram. --Lynn Becker, blogger and host of Book Talk, a monthly online discussion of children's books for SCBWI.

Discover: In this deeply touching story, Lily must move to Iowa to live with Gram, who suggests they find 10 beautiful things along the way.

Friday, January 15, 2021

January Recommendations

Novels:

SAUCY, by Cynthia Kadohata, is the story of eleven-year-old Becca, a quadruplet with three brothers who are all very good at something. Becca doesn’t know what her own something is yet, until the day she finds a tiny, barely-alive pig in the bushes. But when the vet says the pig—now named Saucy—will someday weigh six hundred pounds, Becca’s mom has a thing or two to say about keeping her in their backyard. This is a well written, accessible story about a girl on a mission by a Newbery-winning author. (MG)

WINTERKEEP, by Kristin Cashore, takes up five years after Queen Bitterblue of Monsea took up her crown. When Bitterblue learns that merchants from nearby Winterkeep have been stealing from her, she’s determined to investigate. But she’s swept overboard before her ship arrives. Devoted advisor Giddon and half sister Hava are brokenhearted, as her rescuers let the world think she’s dead. Lovisa Cavenda, daughter of two prominent politicians in Winterkeep, begins to dig into the mystery of the missing Queen. This is a wonderful addition to the Graceling series, full of intrigue and romance. (YA)


Picture Books:

Please do not miss IF YOU COME TO EARTH, by two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall! This lovely ode to our planet (written in the form of a letter to a potential visitor from outer space) talks about all the things we know—and a few that we don’t—about the “greeny-blue” world we all share. From different kinds of homes and families to the different kinds of stories we tell, Blackall has written a wondrous, inclusive picture book about life on our beautiful planet, illustrating it with her brilliant Chinese ink and watercolor art.

Another feast for the eyes is driven by mixed media art. THE BEAR AND THE MOON, written by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Cátia Chien, tells a heartfelt story of a friend found and lost and found again. When a red balloon floats into the bear’s life, he’s delighted by its company. But, sadly, a little too much squishing and hugging turns his balloon into a “red tatter dangling on [a] silver string.” Luckily, the moon can help.

In TEN BEAUTIFUL THINGS, written by Molly Beth Griffin, illustrated by Maribel Lechuga, when Lily needs to move to Iowa to live with her grandmother, all she sees is an X marked “on an empty patch of land.” But Gram suggests that they find “ten beautiful things” as they drive, and Lily opens her eyes to the beauty around her. The digital illustrations are colorful and expressive.

Another book about moving, BIRDSONG, by Julie Flett, features a young girl named Katherena who must leave her “little home in the city by the sea.” She knows she’ll miss her “friends and cousins and aunties and uncles,” as well as her “bedroom window and the tree outside.” But as spring turns to summer turns to fall and winter, Katherena grows a friendship with the older woman next door, who loves nature and “making things,” just like Katherena does. The gorgeous pastel, pencil, and digital illustrations set the mood perfectly.

--Lynn

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

January's Book of the Month--The Shortest Day

Happy New Year!!! We’re on to 2021 and I hope it treats you well. Our first Book of the Month this year is THE SHORTEST DAY, by Susan Cooper, illustrated by Carson Ellis. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, I hope you will soon—it’s the kind of book that can be read every year, over and over again.

Cooper’s text focuses on the winter solstice: “So the shortest day came,/ and the year died,/ and everywhere down the centuries/ of the snow-white world/Came people singing, dancing,/To drive the dark away.”

Sounds perfect for our times—except for the singing and please wear a mask :—)

Echoing “through all the frosty ages,” THE SHORTEST DAY describes a ritual of candle-lighting, fire-burning, and celebrating the new year’s sunshine as it blazes awake. There’s caroling, feasting, the giving of thanks, the love of friends, and the hope for peace.

Ellis’s beautiful gouache illustrations emphasize the enduring spirit of this tale, as, time and again, “promise wakens the sleeping land.”

Welcome Yule!

--Lynn