It's All Write in Virginia

Late last week, I flew to a speaking engagement in Virginia. Usually, my first flight leaves before the sun comes up, but this time I left late enough to see what my hometown looks like from the air.

My first event had me speaking at a juvenile detention center. This is the second time I've spoken at a detention center, and they were both wonderful experiences. A lot of what those teens have been through is much worse than most of what Hannah experiences in Thirteen Reasons Why. Sometimes, they've done things worse than most of what happens in that book. But their desire to discuss that book and understand the characters, as well as share their personal experiences with me, made the entire trip worthwhile.

But there was still more!

I then spoke to a group of students at Park View High School in their school library. It was hard not to look down and smile whenever I walked by this display.

Then I spoke at the public library in Stone Ridge. This library has only been open since February, and it is beautiful! Here's one side of the audience who turned up for the free pizza (and to meet me...I hope).

One guy drove five hours to be there, and if you look through the window, you'll see that it was pouring outside. And that makes him extra awesome!

Something I'm starting to do more of, since some people own my books digitally, is to sign books that I didn't write. So if I'm ever in your town, feel free to bring along my book...or anyone else's book.

The next day, I handed out the awards for the It's All Write student writing contest. Awards were handed out in middle school and high school categories. The names and titles on these displays list all of the entries.

Linda, the organizer of my trip to Virginia, lives near Oak Hill, the home built for James Monroe (fifth President of the United States). The home remains privately owned, but since Linda is friends with the owner, I got a private tour of the house and its beautiful surroundings.

Virginia, you are beautiful. Thanks for being a great host!

The Brazilian Edition!

A Denver Sandwich on Chicago Bread

In the last two weeks, I flew to Chicago, then home, then Denver, then home, then back to Chicago. And what do I have to show for it? Some great memories, but hardly any photos! I don't know why I've fallen out of the habit of taking pictures of almost everything. Yes, it lets me be a little more in-the-moment during my visits, but I also love looking back at where I've been.

So here's a quick photo-light recap of two fast-paced and inspiring weeks.

Over two days, just outside of Chicago, I spoke at Libertyville High School and Grayslake Central High School. Both schools were hosting their own version of Writers Week, bringing in many types of writers to speak to the students about their passions, as well as giving students the opportunity to read their works in front of their classmates.

Here's one student reading in front of a packed auditorium at Libertyville shortly before my presentation.

Here's the stage at Grayslake as the students began arriving to hear me speak.

Grayslake had artwork made to highlight each of the speakers, which we all eventually signed.

In Denver, I joined Lauren Oliver as a keynote speaker at the Colorado Teen Literature Conference. Hundreds of teens and adults came out to hear us speak, as well as partake in discussions about many aspects of teen literature. Separately, Lauren and I recorded podcasts with readers who asked some of the best questions. Having done hundreds of Q&As since my books came out, it's always refreshing and surprising to get asked something new!

Lauren and I each led writing workshops in a fun basement-level room that reminded me of pics I've seen of The Cavern Club where The Beatles honed their skills. I did my workshop on suspense (No Bookmarks Allowed!), and if you've attended that workshop, you know I include a photo in my Powerpoint of another author freaking out over something random. Here's Lauren freaking out over a mini-Milky Way (and yes, this makes sense in the context of my presentation).

Back outside of Chicago, in the town of Skokie, I spoke at Lincoln Junior High and Fairview South School during the day. At Lincoln, I spoke in the gym, beneath a beautiful ceiling I totally should've taken a picture of! At Fairview South, a group of girls came in before my presentation to hang a beautiful poster.

That evening, I spoke at the public library, and was happy to see a poster with my in-person visit listed above Dan Brown's video visit. (Sure, that simply had to do with my visit being first, but it's still cool! And yes, I'm definitely buying Dan Brown's Inferno when it comes out next month.)

Happy Easter!!!

The following is my annual Easter re-post.

Every so often, a reader will tell me their impression of something I wrote in a way that deepens my own understanding of my own words. Someone in Florida once told me how a decision one of my characters made helped her illustrate a sentiment she'd been trying to get across to her friends.

Here's what she told me:

In the past, I've had to help friends realize that life goes on even after you've made a poor decision. Not because you move on or get over it, but because you grow as a result of it. You build something new, something with a higher purpose, using what you've learned as one of your bricks.

When I read that, my heart leapt! Since there was no way I could say it any better, I immediately knew I'd be using her words in future speeches (and blog posts).

So what does this have to do with Easter?

One of the most beautiful ideas surrounding this holiday is that we're all given an opportunity to make corrections if we find ourselves traveling down a road we don't want to (or shouldn't) be on. In fact, we're given that opportunity to change every day. Every second! But sometimes we need a calendar to remind us.

Refresh. Repair. Rebirth. Whatever you want to call it...

Renewal is a wonderful blessing!

Easter 2013

Temescal Canyon & Huntington Beach

My cousin teaches Spanish at Temescal Canyon High School in southern California. We've been trying to organize an author visit for a while, and last week we finally made it happen! I love speaking at schools (so feel free to invite me!), but there is an extra jolt of excitement when I get to display for my family what I do when I'm not sitting at a computer writing books...or blog posts.



My cousin Tracy's entire family took time off from work or school (I know, I wish I had an author in the family while growing up!) to hear me speak.

Right after speaking and signing books at T.C.H.S., I zipped across the highway to speak at a fundraiser for Huntington Beach Reads One Book. This was the sixth year of this event, when the entire community is encouraged to read the same book, and the HBReads committee organizes several events to discuss various aspects of the chosen books. This year they chose Thirteen Reasons Why, their first fiction or YA selection.

After the fundraiser, I spoke to a group inside the gym at Huntington Beach High School. I mostly discussed bullying, and what I learned about that issue both before and after writing my novel. In the back of the gym was a display of student-made movie posters for my book.

The next morning, students from several local high schools were bused into the gym to hear me speak. I always start by asking how many of them have read at least one of my books. When the great majority of their hands go up, my first thought is always, "Dude!" (I know, it'd be nice if my first thought was something more philosophical, but Dude! it is.)

And here are close-ups of a few of the posters:

Hey Now, You're a Rock Star

Last week, my family flew to Portland, Oregon to attend a performance at my nephew’s middle school. I love Portland! Not only do I have family there, it’s such a literary town. I’ve been there twice for speaking events. Also, that area gave us Beverly Cleary, and I love Beverly Cleary! Some of her best-loved books are set in Portland, and the town even renamed her old elementary school Beverly Cleary School. (In contrast, my town hasn’t even hinted that they’re thinking of changing my old high school to Jay Asher Senior High.)

Because I travel so much, when JoanMarie and Isaiah normally go to the airport, Isaiah knows they’re dropping me off so I can “Go to work.” So it’s nice when my airplane-loving son gets to fly on a “passenger jet” with me (even though he’d much prefer to fly on a “military jet”).

 

To keep him occupied on the flights, we brought plenty of activities. If that meant I became the stickee for his stickers, I was game.

 

Like I said, Portland is a literary town. The day before we arrived, I noticed that several YA authors were speaking at Powell’s in Cedar Hills, a nearby town. (Aside from being literary, the people in that area are also very nice, including the officer who noticed I was driving at California freeway speeds. Sorry, Officer Warren.)

Here are Ann Aguirre, Lish McBride, Jessica Brody, Elizabeth Fama, Marissa Meyer, and JenniferBosworth. (Lish doesn't always pose like this, but sometimes a suggestion for an entire group to make the same silly pose doesn't work. Been there!)

 

I then joined these authors and an assortment of husbands and friends at a restaurant for a late dinner, where I had one of my most enjoyable group-author evenings in a long time. We talked about hippie communes, movies, infinite moments, future book projects, and our favorite literary critics.

 

Then it was time to see my nephew, Ellory, rock. The students at his middle school produced their own rock opera. Yes, the students did it. Not only did they sing all the songs and play the instruments, they also wrote every song in the production (Ellory wrote three numbers)!

 

Space Out was a lot of fun (even if my nephew's character had to die), with great songs and singing. Here's Ellory during his solo.

 

That wasn’t the end of our "rock" activities in Portland. Because Isaiah’s interest in heavy construction equipment is well known, my sister-in-law told us about a great site near her work, so we spent a lot of time watching rocks and concrete being moved from here to there.

We also took Isaiah to see Mo Phillips, a great Portland children's musician and songwriter. Here’s my son rockin’ out on his air guitar. No, I don’t know where he got that stance, but I refer to it as Izzy Straddlin’. (That joke was brought to you by the letters G-n-R.)

Then we put a real stringed instrument in his hands, and he instantly fell in love with the viola. This wasn’t a surprise since JoanMarie and both of his cousins played this instrument (or its cousin, the violin).

Every time he played a few notes successfully, he lifted his bow and beamed!

Next, I want to teach him to play the viola while doing the Izzy Stradlin’.

The Austrian Edition!

Cranbrook & Fremd

Cranbrook & Fremd sounds like it's either a lawfirm or a really bad buddy-cop movie, but they're really the names of two schools I visited in the past couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, none of my pics from Cranbrook saved (meaning, I accidentally deleted them), but my time there was inspiring. I've never spoken at a boarding school, and was fascinated to learn more about that and see how many beautiful experiences that school offers its students.

Just a couple hours after flying into Detroit and driving to Bloomfield Hills, I was speaking on a panel about bullying awareness and suicide prevention. The audience was made up of parents, which is something I love to see. It's only when adults aren't afraid to confront these issues and take them seriously that teens will feel comfortable reaching out and opening up.

The next day, I spoke to two groups of students, one for 90 minutes and one for 45 minutes. Almost all of the students had read at least one of my books, which always makes the Q&A portion of my presentations fun. I love having the opportunity to say, "Thank you! I've never been asked that before."

Oh, wait, two pictures did save! A student had left one of my books at home, so asked me to sign the two books she had with her that she was currently reading.

("Thank you!  I've never been asked to sign these before.")

Shortly after returning from Michigan, I flew to Illinois. Fremd High School in Palatine was nearing the end of Writers Week XIX, where I would be giving two presentations on the last day (Day V). It was fun to follow the tweets all week long and see so many former students saying Writers Week was the one week they wish they could return to high school. And it really is an amazing week! Not only do they have speakers come in from the community (or California), students get to hear other students read their works aloud, and student musicians play between sessions.

Rather than taking the time to compose a beautiful panaramic shot of the students in my sessions, here are three hastily taken and smooshed together shots from each presentation. (You can click to enlarge.)

Yes, I know. It's time to get a new camera!

The (New) Italian Paperback Edition!

Red Carpet Fantasies: Part II

If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that I get very excited to watch the Academy Awards each year. Not just because I get to eat my traditional pint of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby, but because I'm also a movie freak!

And one of my not-so-secret fantasies is to one day write an Oscar-nominated screenplay. Something just as exciting would be to have one of my novels turned into an Oscar-nominated adapted screenplay.

If either one of those things happen, hopefully I'll get the chance to walk down the red carpet. Of course, the question then becomes What will I wear? Or What shall I do with my hair?

So, with the help of InStyle's Hollywood Makeover, I decided to try on some hairdos of the nominated actresses (and one nominated singer) of 2013...

Amy Adams for The Master:

 



Adele for Skyfall:

Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty:

Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables:

Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook:

Naomi Watts for The Impossible:

My Favorite Bad Review

I don't (usually) mind bad reviews. I don't!

(Usually.)

Sometimes I even love bad reviews (but not very often). That's especially true when the review is for a book I didn't write, but which some people think I did write. That can happen when there's another author named Jay Asher. It's even more likely to happen when Goodreads tells people that the same Jay Asher who wrote Thirteen Reasons Why and co-wrote The Future of Us also wrote Love in Progress.

(He didn't.)

Here's my favorite review of the other Mr. Asher's book:

Not Jay Asher's best work. It felt sloppy and full of typo's. I don't know if this was released before 13 reasons why, but it felt a lot looser in terms of writing and story arc. I know he was trying to broach the subject of lesbianism, but I feel like he fell flat of the mark somewhat, as I kept imagining Jane as a male, not a female. A lesbian still thinks like a female, and I think that is the mistake Jay makes - her thoughts are frank and non-descriptive (although, kudos for researching some labels, though I doubt lesbians who describe themselves as Butch would care). Sorry Jay, I still love your other books.

That final sentence makes the entire mix-up (mostly) worth it!

You're Retired From Valentine's Day, Charlie Brown!

This week, I officially became the child of two retired parents. (I feel so old!) On Tuesday, to celebrate my mom escaping...I mean, exiting...the workforce, a limo picked our family up and took us to dinner at the Madonna Inn.

(from left to right, in relation to Isaiah:
Grandpa, Daddy, Self, Grandma, Mommy, Auntie Sarah, Uncle Nate)

 

Isaiah loved sitting at the back of the "big car" in his carseat, where he could see all of our faces the entire time.

And congratulations, Momma!!!

 

On Valentine's Day, we had a potluck dinner at our house for friends and family. Appellation Bluegrass Band (featuring JoanMarie!), played in our living room.

 

 

The band usually plays in a pub, so Isaiah and I don't get to see them perform very often. It's not that I can't go into a pub, I'm just usually watching Isaiah during the gigs. (But that's awesome that you thought I might be under 21! Unfortunately, like I said, both of my parents are retired.)



 

 

On Saturday, JoanMarie and I went to a local production of God Sees Dog: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead at The SPOT. If you've followed this blog for a while, or heard me give an author talk, you may already know what a huge Peanuts fan I am. This play imagines what might happen to the Peanuts gang when they reach high school. There are definite reasons the writer had to come up with creative ways to avoid actual character names from the comic strip. With swearing, substance abuse, sex, and suicide (four Ss the Snoopy gang managed to avoid), I'm sure the estate of Charles Schulz wanted to stay away from endorsing this. And as a Peanuts aficionado, I was nervous.

 

But because the theater owner (and this show's director), Jake Liam McGuire, personally invited us, and because I love supporting local arts, I almost had to go.

 

 

And now for the verdict...

 

The acting was wonderful! Everyone was so natural and perfect in their roles. And while it was unnerving to see what becomes of this version of the Peanuts gang (which is totally not what really happens!), if I pretended it was a play about teens I didn't know, it was intense and sad and funny. But how was it if I couldn't let go of the fact that I will always be a Peanuthead? It was still sad, and also darkly funny because of in-jokes, but at the very very end, it becomes astoundingly beautiful!

 

It was great to meet you, Jake! We can't wait to check out your next show.



Teens Know Best

On my first trip to Minnesota, I spoke at a college. Second trip, I spoke at a library. Most recently, this past weekend, I spoke in a church. (Being an author is so weird.)

This visit was part of their Teens Knows Best author series. If you live anywhere near the Twin Cities, you must check out their upcoming YA authors: Steve Brezenoff, Lauren Myracle, Jordan Sonnenblick, Neal Shusterman, Andrea Cremer, Tamora Pierce, and Barry Lyga.

The view from the stage is always great. What's not to love? Everyone in the audience is there to hear me talk about writing! (Even when only four or five people show up, it's still fun.) But sometimes the location itself provides an inspiring view.

Speaking from a pulpit for the first time, it would've been cool if I'd thought to wear a flowing white robe, but I just went with my traditional Author Attire.

Addendum Books in St. Paul (a children's and YA bookstore!) provided the books for my signing.

They also brought a lampshade for me to sign, which had already been signed by several other authors. Why a lampshade? Because it looks cool when lit up in their store, and also lends itself to a very cool metaphor.

Of course, as a huge Charles Schulz and Peanuts fan, being in the Twin Cities is a time to reflect on the man's awesomeness and influence on me. Sparky (that's what his friends and wannabe friends...like me...call him) was born in Minneapolis and raised in St. Paul, and there are reminders of him throughout the area. For example, in the airport you can find the World War I Flying Ace himself!

(Mr. Schulz passed away 13 years ago today.
A moment of silence, please...)

Minnesota was also a place I got to have some fun with another creative project I've been working on. In fact, it's something I began working on in junior high. And if this thing comes together like I hope it does, I can't wait to tell you all about it very soon!