Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: LAST OF THE NAME by Rosanne Parry

LAST OF THE NAME by Rosanne Parry (Carolrhoda Books, April 2, 2019

Confession: Rosanne Parry is a mentor and friend of mine. So I'm letting the Don have his way with the keyboard this week. Take it away, Don Corleone.

What It's About:
Twelve-year-old Danny O’Carolan arrives in New York City with nothing but his father’s songs, his brothers’ dance steps, and his his older sister, Kathleen. Driven from their home in Ireland, they must find work or they’ll end up at the dreaded orphan’s asylum. But there’s no steady work for boys, except joining the Union Army as a drummer. So Kathleen finds a job in domestic service for herself and her younger . . . sister. Danny reluctantly pretends to be a girl to avoid the workhouse and the battlefield. But when he’s not doing the backbreaking work of a housemaid, he sneaks off without his disguise. Roaming the streets of New York, he discovers how many different kinds of people live in its neighborhoods. Irish, German, and Italian immigrants, as well as free black people. All poor. All competing for the same jobs. All softened, Danny finds, by a song and bit of footwork. But the draft is on the horizon, threatening to force more Irishmen into the army. As tensions threaten to spill over into violence, how can Danny—the last bearer of the O’Carolan name—stay true to his family’s legacy and find a safe place to call home?

Opening Lines:
Granny says I'm seven devils in one pair of shoes. She doesn't know the half of it. Trouble is always nipping at my heels."

The Don's Verdict:
So I was looking over the latest book shipment Michale gets from them publishers, and this Last of the Name cover took my fancy. Then, Michale started all this drivel about conflict of interest, so I told him to head downtown for a cappuccino and a pastrami sandwich. He's got no work ethic, so that'll keep him out of the office for at least half a day.

I rolled up my sleeves and jumped right in. What can I say, fellas? This is one good book. Oh I know it's about the Irish, but one of the main characters is also an Italian, and he kind of saves the day. Plus, there's music and dancing and nuns and newspapers: it's all about New York, New York, bambini.

I know youse are sayin' "Don, you're not a literary man," but that ain't true. I can tell a story with the best of 'em--just look at that tale I told Puzo about mi famiglia, as well as the way I bankroll this here blog. (If Michale wasn't so hoity toity about people touching his precious laptop--which I bought him by the way, just saying--I'd be writing these reviews much more often.)

This Rosanne Parry knows her stuff. She must be a history teacher, because she sure knows what New York was like in 1863. She brings the place alive. From the ship to the docks, to the houses of the rich, to the orphanages and theaters and alleyways: she had me right there, 100 percent. The only thing missing was an Italian restaurant, but you can't win 'em all.

The characters are like real people. If you've ever had an older sister, you'll recognize Kathleen. Boy, can she boss. And young Danny is a spitfire--I'd make him an honorary grandchild of mine in a heartbeat. These two are resourceful and resilient and Signora Rosanne writes about them with warmth and wit. This tale's got a lot of heavy things going on in it, but she still made this old Don laugh. Her dialogue is great, and this story moves along at a cracking pace.

And if that hasn't convinced you to stick your schnozz between the pages, I'll do you one better. I'll send you Michale's copy, signed by Signora Rosanne, and youse can see how great it is for yourselves. Tell everyone the Don sent it to you. (Just leave a comment down below, and I'll pick one random winner.)

Michale said he was going to edit my post when he got back, but time waits for no man, especially one who's burning through my business account and is probably spoon deep in a tiramisu. So I'm just going to tell you a little something about Signora Rosanne, and then I'll push the publish button.

About La Signora:
Rosanne Parry is the author of many award winning novels including Heart of a Shepherd, and The Turn of the Tide. Her newest novels are Last of the Name and A Wolf Called Wander, both on sale in the spring of 2019. She and her family live in an old farmhouse in Portland, Oregon. She writes in a tree house in her back yard. WEBSITE  TWITTER

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: THE TURN OF THE TIDE by Rosanne Parry (Plus interview and giveaway)

THE TURN OF THE TIDE by Rosanne Parry (Random House, January 2016)

Today I have the great good fortune to feature the latest novel by someone who is a friend in real life, Rosanne Parry. Rosanne and I have known each other for about 20 years, and are in a critique group together. I have benefited immensely from her wisdom and skill--and it's been wonderful to see the process her books go through for publication. Rosanne is the Revision Queen.

I told the Don about my feature today and that I was worried about nepotism. His response: "Nepotism makes the world go round. Tell Rosanne she's part of the family."

OK, Boss! (Also, I haven't done a giveaway for a while, but I have an autographed copy for one lucky commenter. Just leave a comment, and an email address if it's not linked to your blog profile. Grazie!)

What It's About (via Goodreads):
On a beautiful day in June, the ground broke open.

In Japan, you’re always prepared for an earthquake. That’s why Kai knows just what to do when the first rumbles shake the earth. And then he does the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to do: He runs. And then the tsunami hits.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific, Kai’s cousin Jet sets sail off the coast of Astoria, Oregon. She knows she should have checked the tide—she always checks the tide. Except this time she didn’t.


When the biggest mistakes of their lives bring them together, Jet and Kai spend the summer regretting that one moment when they made the wrong decision. But there’s something about friendship that heals all wounds and, together, Jet and Kai find the one thing they never thought they’d have again—hope.

Opening Lines:
"When the earth broke open, there was a noise that came before the quake. It was so deep Kai felt it on his skin before he heard it. It came before the crack of broken trees, before the hard rain of broken glass, even before the pop and whoosh of blue fire when the transformer behind the playground blew."

Six Things I Loved:

1. Not many authors can write emotion like Rosanne does. If you've read her Heart of a Shepherd you'll know exactly what I mean. She writes about loss in such a perceptive way that before you know it, you're shedding a tear or two. 
2. But she's also got great humor, often brought out in the interactions between characters. Jet and Kai are great foils for one another.
3. The cultural differences between the US and Japan are handled deftly. (I can say that, having lived in Japan for three years.)
4. I know absolutely zip about sailing, but found those sequences to be riveting. Disaster is often a tack or two away. (Yikes, who put that big ship there?!) Rosanne writes adventure stories that appeal to both boys and girls. This is a great one.
5. I loved the cover the moment I set eyes on it in draft form. The colors and the font are eye-catching--it certainly stands out on a crowded book shelf.
6. It's set in Oregon!

I also got the chance to ask Rosanne some questions. I hope you enjoy this short interview:

1) What sort of research about Japan and Astoria did you do for your novel?

The Astoria research was relatively easy. Astoria, Oregon about an hour from home and all the places mentioned in the book—the museum, the comics shop, the sailing club—were easy to visit.

Japan was trickier because I can’t afford a trip to Japan, as much as I wanted to go. But I had two critique partners who had lived in Japan for several years who were great about helping me get details about Japanese school culture right. Thank you Mike, and also Amy Baskin, for your patient and through reading of many drafts of this story!

My daughter's Japanese teacher was also terrific. She checked all the language in the book to make sure I was using it clearly. What’s more, her family lived near the area of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami so she was able to help me understand how the trauma of that day has played out in the short and long term for her own family and how Japanese culture has shifted in response to the disaster.

I’m a chatty person and so I’m always gleaning little bits of information even when I’m not formally researching. Years ago a talk at the Portland Japanese Garden about the similarities in climate and fauna between Japan and western Oregon gave me an insight into what Kai might be feeling as he climbs Saddle Mountain. A brief chat with a chef about Japanese cuisine helped me think about what flavors Kai would be most homesick for. A childhood friend who spent every summer in Japan with his grandparents gave me some insight into the relationship Kai has with his Ojii-san and Obaa-san.

2) Are you a sailor in real life? A geocacher?

My husband and I both read and loved The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin which made us both want to be sailors. Years ago we bought a broken sailboat and fixed it up and taught ourselves to sail. I don’t go sailing nearly as often as I’d like, but the Saga in my book is modeled on our own boat, the Selkie.

When my children were younger we hiked a lot and did geocaching as a part of our family hikes all the time. This spring I’ve been hiding geocache boxes near bookstores and filling them with mini-books and an invitation to visit the local bookstore. There are six million geocachers world-wide so it’s a great way to get tourists to stop by the bookshop. And I love the little messages finders leave in the geocache log about their favorite books.

3) As a bookseller as well as an author, do you have recommendations for other MG adventure books, sailing or not?

Linda Sue Park has a brand new fantasy series called Wing and Claw about two cousins who are animal-loving apothecaries and uncover a sinister plot in a forest kingdom. If you like an adventure story that’s not fantasy, Dan Gemeinhart’s Some Kind of Courage is about an orphaned boy who risks everything to rescue the horse he loves from horse thieves. If you loved Heart of a Shepherd, you should definitely give it a try.

Bonus Question: What's your favorite thing about book signings?

My favorite thing to happen at a school book signing was when a seven-year-old boy came up to me, eyes alight, clutching my newly published book in his hands. “Eragon is my favorite book ever!” he said. “Will you write Christopher Paolini’s name in this book?”  Because, to a seven-year-old, authors are all basically the same person. 😃  I don’t mind signing another person’s book with my name but plagiarism just felt wrong so we had little conversation about what an autograph is and he was SO disappointed. I told him he could ask for the autograph of any person he admired and he took my book straight to the school custodian!  Isn’t that awesome! I was smiling all day.

About the Author:
Rosanne Parry is the author of the award winning novels Heart of a Shepherd; Second Fiddle and Written in Stone. Her newest novel for young readers is The Turn of the Tide (Random House, January 2016.) Rosanne has taught writing at schools, conferences, educational non-profits, and on-line at the Loft Literary Center. She and her family live in an old farmhouse in Portland, Oregon. She writes in a tree house in her back yard.

Thanks, Rosanne! To learn more about Rosanne Parry, you can visit her website. She's also active on Twitter: @RosanneParry

Thanks, everyone! Happy Monday, and Happy Writing. Ciao!

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Winners!

It's no secret that the month of August was a particularly crazy one in Mafiosoville.

1. We went camping (I tell ya, do not roast marshmallows over a campfire with the Don. He's a pyromaniac!).

2. The kids started school 

3. The new guard dog has a penchant for chewing leather. (My poor boots!) 

And pens,

 And paper.

(In fact, I think she's secretly writing the Great American Canine Novel.)






















And then there was the US Open Tennis. (The Don's favorite player is Fabio Fognini, but the guy's a basket case.)

Through all of this, blogging has taken a back seat. (Oh yeah, I also finished Book 5 in  the Game of Thrones series, and that was a marathon achievement. Winter is Coming!)

But, I have not forgotten my promise of sending books from two of my favorite writers--folks I know in real life--to my deserving readers.

So, here we go: The winner of the signed copy of the paperback edition of Rosanne Parry's Written in Stone is:

Greg Pattridge

And the winner of the signed hardback of Robin Herrera's Hope is a Ferris Wheel is...

Christi

I'll be contacting you good people very soon.

Also, I am going to be part of the blog tour of Michaela MacColl's latest, Rory's Promise, which she co-wrote with Rosemary Nichols. Anyone who's been following this blog for a while will know that Ms. MacColl is yet another one of my favorite authors-- (Promise the Night; Nobody's Secret.) It's bound to be a goodie!!

See you next week, Ciao!!

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: WRITTEN IN STONE by Rosanne Parry (with interview and giveaway)

WRITTEN IN STONE by Rosanne Parry (Random House, June 2013)

What It's About (from the book jacket):  Pearl has always dreamed of hunting whales, just like her father. Of taking to the sea in their eight-man canoe, standing at the prow with a harpoon, and waiting for a whale to lift its barnacle-speckled head as it offers its life for the life of the tribe.

But now that can never be. Pearl's father was lost on the last hunt, and the whales hide from the great steam-powered ships carrying harpoon cannons, which harvest not one but dozens of whales from the ocean. With the whales gone, Pearl's people, the Makah, struggle to survive as Pearl searches for ways to preserve their stories and skills.

Opening Lines: "I don't need my eyes to tell me what's coming, and I don't need my great-granddaughter's hand on my elbow to keep me from stumbling. I know my way to the beach. For eighty-nine years, these feet have known the land of my tribe. I won't fall now. Not today. Not after waiting so long."

Why I Liked It: I have to admit here that Rosanne Parry is a real-life friend of mine. We are in the same critique group in Portland, Oregon, and she has been a huge mentor to my writing.

That said, I was not a member of the critique group when Written in Stone was first written, so I did not see its genesis. I can truthfully say however that Rosanne worked on the story for years--ever since she started her teaching career in Taholah, Washington, on the Quinault Indian reservation, and the story is very dear to her heart.

The story is framed by the resumption of whaling for the Makah people in 1999--which is referred to in the opening lines quoted above. We learn that Pearl was a girl of thirteen when the Makah voluntarily gave up whaling in the 1920s, and the bulk of the story is concerned with her as a young girl, coming to grips with the deaths of both her parents.

The story starts powerfully, with the return of a whale hunt and the horrible realization by Pearl that her father is dead. I will quote this at length because it shows the lyrical strength of Parry's writing:

"The drums faltered and fell silent. The welcome song waited in my mouth. Seven silhouettes bent over their paddles. There was no shout or raised arms, no trail of seabirds and sharks. Grandma counted, "Pau, saali, chakla, muus..." She wept before she came to seven. I did not count. I knew where the harpooner sat. My body held still as stone, but my mind flew out over the ocean like a seagull looking north and south, crying in a gull's one-note voice.
Gone. Gone. Gone."

Just as she did in her celebrated debut, Heart of a Shepherd, Rosanne Parry's writing sweeps the reader along. She also has an unerring ability to pull on a reader's heartstrings without being mawkish.

Other things I liked: the strong family structure of the Makah, and the number of strong women in Pearl's life, particularly her Grandmother and her Aunt Susi, who show her the way forward. The historical details are well-woven into the narrative, so that they come up seamlessly--particularly the 1918 influenza epidemic which killed Pearl's mother and baby sister, the dealings with the Indian agent--"The Mustache"--who goes on "for many sentences, dishonoring us with the free use of a dead man's name," and the suspicious "art collector," Mr. Glen, who is really focused on surveying the Makah land for oil.

This is a story well-told and heart-felt, one that lingers in the memory long after the final page is turned. (And the cover is gorgeous!)

I asked Rosanne to answer the Traditional Mafioso Questions, and she kindly obliged:

Interview with Rosanne:
1) Who are your favorite (middle grade) writers?
Well, I happen to be having tea with 3 of my favorite middle grade authors today, Susan Blackaby (Brownie Groundhog and the Wintery Surprise--okay this is a picture book but she also writes for older readers), Heather Vogel Frederick, (the Mother-Daughter book club series) and Susan Fletcher (The Falcon in the Glass). I am a lifelong fan of Beverly Cleary and a brand new fan of debut author Robin Herrara (Hope is a Ferris Wheel). And that's just the Portland authors I like! Obviously I could go on and on.

2) What's on your nightstand now?
I met Luis Alberto Urrea at the Summer Fishtrap Workshop this year, so I've just finished his book Into the Beautiful North, which is lovely. Against all the noise of border-crossing children you hear in the news, it was a refreshing look at the issue from the migrating child's point of view.  Besides that I have a bunch of books about wolves for a non-fiction project I'm working on and a really fun reference book called Home Ground which is a series of descriptions of natural features of North America as described by poets and writers of literary fiction. It's surprisingly fascinating. For example, when a tree falls over and heaves its root ball out of the ground, the depression left behind is called a tree tip pit.  Cool!

3) Pick a favorite scene from your novel, and say why you like it
I really like the scene where Pearl discovers the petroglyphs. I love the way art tends to encourage reflection and meaning-making, so this was a great way for my character to have an encounter with a work of art and gain an insight into her own life's purpose. It took a lot of research to make sure that the scene would work, but I'm very happy with how it came out.

4) Fill in the blank: I'm really awesome at....  
Making jam. Using up fruit is a bit of a game at my house. We have apple, plum, peach and pear trees, plus blueberries, raspberries and loganberries. Last week I made lavender peach jam and plum sauce. Next, raspberry jam, and then pear chutney and caramel apple butter. 

5) My favorite breakfast is..
At the moment I'm very fond of blueberry pancakes because the blueberries in my yard are ripe.

6) If you could visit any place, where would it be?
Gosh, any place at all? Hmm. I'd love to take my family to all the great national parks in the US. I'd love to just pack up the canoe and the camping stuff for the whole summer and drive to Glacier, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, the Redwoods, the Everglades, Denali, the Smoky Mountains, Arches, and the Volcano Park in Hawaii (okay that would be a challenge to drive to).  How about you Mike? Do you have a favorite national park?

Me: Well, Rosanne, I hate to admit I have only ever been to Yellowstone.Several years ago, I was traveling back from the midwest with my sister-in-law, who had just completed medical school in Wisconsin, and I thought that riding shotgun with her and her belongings would afford me a wonderful way to see the country. However, I made a serious faux-pas in Yellowstone because of the British pronunciation of the word geysers. In Britain, we call those hot water spouts "geezers." So, when I loudly exclaimed in front of Old Faithful and the surrounding geysers, as well as the motor coaches disgorging bands of senior citizens, that I had "never seen so many geezers," I got a whole bunch of dirty looks. Oops!

About the Author: Rosanne Parry is the author of the award winning novels Heart of a Shepherd, Second Fiddle, and Written in Stone. She has taught writing at schools, conferences, educational non-profits, and online at the Loft Literary Center. She and her husband live in an old farmhouse in Portland, Oregon where they are raising 4 children, 3 chickens and 5 kinds of fruit. She writes in a tree house in her back yard.

Website: Rosanne Parry
Twitter: @RosanneParry

Thank you so much for stopping by today, Rosanne. Readers, Rosanne has generously offered a signed paperback copy of Written in Stone. Leave a comment if you would like to be in the running. International entries welcome.

(And the winner of Kimberley Griffiths Little's In the Time of the Fireflies is... Myrna Foster!)

Do-Over of Yesterday's Post: A Giveaway of HEART OF A SHEPHERD

From topleftdesign.com

Blogger scrambled the scheduling of my post yesterday, which is the excuse I'm giving the Don for the fact that I did not receive one single comment, which in itself is a first for Middle Grade Mafioso. And since we celebrate every first, we all went out for antipasti at the Don's favorite Italian eatery and sang sad songs late into the night.

But now we're back, bright and bushy tailed and DESPERATELY wanting to bestow Rosanne Parry's masterful novel HEART OF A SHEPHERD on a worthy recipient. Folks, this is a special book, so whip up a frenzy for me. Otherwise, I'll be out of a blogging job and you'll all be subjected to Luca's grandiose posturings. (Did you know he wants to rename this blog LUCA'S LAVISH LITERARY LIAISONS?!!!) Spare us from that. Please.

Winners of Second Fiddle--and Vacation News

The winners of the brand spanking new paperback edition of my dear friend Rosanne Parry's SECOND FIDDLE are:

ANDREA MACK

and

KRISTEN WIXTED

Guys, there should be an e-mail from me in your inboxes, requesting address information. I hope to send the books out before spring break starts.

And a huge, huge thank you to Rosanne for being so generous!!!

Speaking of Spring Break, the Don's (and consequently the rest of ours) has gotten off to a rocky start. The Don's (former) travel agent misheard my request for Paris and a stroll through the Bois de Boulogne--and booked us all a trip to BOISE! So, the Don is going to be eating potatoes instead of petits pois, and the ex-travel agent's won himself a one-way ticket to Poughkeepsie and is hopefully not at the bottom of a pond.

 While we take in the sights of Idaho, we won't be posting Marvelous Middle Grade Monday until April 9th. But we'll be back then, having read our way through many a marvelous middle grade book (at least that's the hope!)

Happy Spring to one and all.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Interview with Rosanne Parry and Giveaway of SECOND FIDDLE

Hello, one and all. Today I'd like to welcome my good friend and fellow critique group member, Rosanne Parry. Rosanne is the author of Heart of a Shepherd and Second Fiddle--and Second Fiddle has just come out in paperback. And guess what? Rosanne has offered to give away not one, but TWO copies. So get commenting, and two of you could be lucky winners this week.

Here are the covers of Rosanne's novels:


















What Goodreads says about Second Fiddle:

The author of Heart of a Shepherd offers another sensitive portrayal of military families, this time stationed abroad, in the city of Berlin at that historic time just after the Wall came down.

When 13-year-old Jody and her friends save a badly beaten Russian soldier from drowning, they put into motion a chain of events that will take them from Berlin to Paris and straight into danger. Jody must quickly learn to trust herself, because in the time directly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the border between friend and enemy is not as clear as it once was.

MGM: Second Fiddle has a very different setting than your debut, Heart of a Shepherd. Can you tell us how you came up with the story, and what excited you the most in telling it?

RP: My husband was stationed in Germany right after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was a fascinating time to be living overseas. It meant lots of upheaval and lots of uncertainty, but also much hope for a more peaceful future without the specter of war between the US and the USSR.

It’s a good mirror for the upheaval all middle school students go through as they prepare to leave old friends and embark on the adventures of high school. So it was a great backdrop for Jody and her friends in Second Fiddle, who are not only leaving 8^th grade, but also leaving their homes on a military base in Berlin and leaving each other and the joy of making music together as a string trio. I know how much I wanted to cling to my middle school friendships and how much I would risk for one more day with them when the school year or summer camp was coming to an end. It was just the story energy I needed to launch a girls’ road trip adventure.

MGM: You and your editor, Jim Thomas of Random House, discussed whether Second Fiddle should be MG or YA. Can you share some of that discussion with us—e.g. why that was even a choice in the first place—and the reason why you finally ended up writing a middle grade novel.

RP: Jody, Vivian and Giselle are at the end of their 8^th grade year. So they are right on the edge of MG and YA. Jim and I talked about what it would mean for the story to take it one direction or the other. For example, the Soviet soldier the girls rescue at the beginning of the story is 26, too old for a romance but a good candidate for a crush, which would take the story in a YA direction. The girls end up on their own in Paris with no money.  If they encountered pickpockets, drug dealers and similar dangers, the story would be YA, but if they found kindness in the strangers they met, the story would fall on the MG side.

My editor was very willing for me to take the story whichever direction felt right for the characters, so I thought long and hard about what Jody really wanted. At heart Jody is a musician. She’s not really interested in romance or rebellion. She just wants to make music with her friends, so I decided to stick with the MG audience. I made the Soviet soldier a fellow musician who has a little sister Jody’s age. That made the relationship fall more naturally into the mentor/big brother realm. The great thing about keeping it in MG was that instead of exploring the dark underbelly of urban Paris, I could have my girls meet people from a cross-section of French culture and use their music to make a connection with them.

Parisians have a bit of a reputation for pride, but on my visit there in 1991 with my husband and baby daughter, I found them charming and generous. Even 45 years after the Second World War, the French remembered what American soldiers did to liberate their country, and my soldier husband heard expressions of gratitude from several people we met who were old enough to remember. It was very touching.

MGM: The theme of music is so important in Second Fiddle. I know you are part of Stages on Pages, a group of young adult and middle reader authors who are crossing the country in support of the performing arts. How did that group form? What other novels about making art and music would you recommend?

RP: Stasia Ward Kehoe is the force of nature behind the Stages on Pages group. She put together a group of 12 authors with books about the performing arts. We’ve been to schools and bookstores in Oregon, Washington, California, New York, and New Hampshire. My favorite part of these events is meeting the kids who come and perform with us. We’ve had actors, singers, and even an all-boy string quartet! Our next Stages on Pages event is at the Cedar Hills Powells on Friday April 13^th at 4:30. Our special guests will be the Portland Symphonic Girl Choir. Come and bring a friend! It’s sure to be inspiring.

And here’s the link to the Stages on Pages website http://www.stagesonpages.com/

The other MG book on the Stages on Pages tour is Vanished by Sheela Chari. It’s a mystery involving a string instrument from India, the veena. It was nominated for an Edgar award. Mozart Season is Virginia Euwer Wolff’s story about a girl preparing for a prestigious violin competition. For any one who’s serious about their music, it’s a great story. Virginia is herself an accomplished chamber player, so she writes this character with both warmth and authority.

MGM: Finally, a general question: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

The best teaching I ever got for my writing was from Mr. Chet Skibinski, my junior year English teacher at Sunset High School. He was the first teacher I ever had who gave my paper two grades, one for the content of my ideas and quality of my expression and a separate grade for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Up until that year, I’d assumed I was a terrible writer simply because I was a poor speller. Mr. Skibinski’s willingness to look at the mechanics of writing separately from the art of writing made a world of difference for me. I’m sure he’s long since retired, but I’ll always remember his kindness and encouragement.

MGM: Thank you, Rosanne! (I'm hoping Rosanne will have time to pop in sometime today, so if you have any questions for her, leave them in the comments. Also, I will announce the winner of the signed ARC of The One and Only Ivan tomorrow.)

P.S. I've just found the paperback cover that Rosanne mentions in her comment. Here's the grand unveiling: