Behind Closed Doors: What Happens to Your Manuscript When it Goes on Sub

Being on sub is scary. When my agent sent out UNDERNEATH EVERYTHING, I barely slept or ate. Every second seemed like a high-wire act. My thoughts spun out: Was my work good enough? Would it connect with someone? Would it be terrible? Would the publisher already have something just like it? Would they look at it on a bad day, in a bad mood? There are so many parts of being on submission that we can't control. But there are some things that don't have to be a mystery, like what actually happens to your manuscript when it's at the publishing house.

I used to work in publishing. Actually, my very first job out of college was as the assistant to a President and Publisher. This meant that in my first few days on the job, I sat in an acquisitions meeting. And in the days and weeks and years that followed, I learned what happens to a manuscript, from the second it is received, to the second you hear back from the editor. Sometimes I like to envision my manuscript somewhere along this journey. It helps to settle me. Even if I can't control what's happening, it makes the entire process seem a little less shrouded in mystery, and that makes me have less anxiety. I'm hoping it does the same for you. So without further ado:

1. Your manuscript is received and logged. Editors can be dealing with 50 manuscripts or more at once. Some they've just received, some they've glanced at, some are sitting in a pile on their desks, some they've read but haven't responded to yet. In order to keep track of everything, most editors have a spreadsheet with the manuscript name, author name, agent name, and date received.

2. Your manuscript is read by the editor it was sent to, sometimes in the order it was received, and sometimes not. Editors try to read submissions in order, but there are tons of reasons why a submission that came in after yours may get attention first. Maybe there is an auction on another project. Maybe the editor got a submission that struck a chord with them immediately and they couldn't put it down. Maybe the editor didn't like what she had for lunch that day and your manuscript has the same thing in it. It could honestly be anything. Regardless of the reason, nothing else can happen until the editor actually reads the work. Sometimes this is the end of the line. For whatever reason, the editor decides this project is not for her. Pass. No one else at the house is involved, and this is oftentimes why you'll hear a No faster than you'll hear a Yes. Because if the editor IS interested, then:

3. The editor brings your ms. to the editorial meeting. This is typically a meeting that happens once a week with all of the other editors from the imprint, or from the group--it depends on the publisher. This is where the editor says "Hi everyone, I just read this and loved it and I'd love for you to read it too. Who's interested?" Then some other editors (and possibly the publisher) raise their hands and your submission is circulated after the meeting. Usually the editors will meet again at the next week's meeting to see how everyone reacted. Sometimes this is the end of the line. One editor liked it, but everyone else had doubts. Pass. Or, everyone who read it loved it. If so, the next thing that happens is:

4. Your editor brings your ms. to the acquisitions meeting. Prior to the acquisitions meeting (which may happen weekly or twice a month, depending on publisher), your submission is circulated to the head of sales, the head of marketing, the publisher, the head of finance. The editor brings a P&L (profit and loss statement) to the meeting, along with some comparison titles, to discuss why your book should be acquired and at which level. Even at this point, a pass is still possible. Maybe sales and marketing don't agree that the book will sell, despite the editorial agreement. Maybe the publisher has doubts. Pass. Or maybe everyone agree this is IT. The Best Novel Ever! Or the first novel of a brilliant career. If so, the P&L and deal terms are adjusted and agreed upon based on input from sales, marketing, finance, editorial, the publisher. And then:

5. Your editor calls your agent with an offer!

Keep in mind that there are variations on these steps. If there is interest from another house, this process can get sped up. If the agent sets an auction, conversations can be very different. If you have a submission at a small or independent publisher, there will most likely be fewer people involved. This is only meant to be an example of a basic timeline at a major publisher.

Do you feel better knowing? I do. Then again, I'm a girl who feels safe with information. If knowing all this makes you want to crawl into a fetal position and hide under the covers, feel free to erase this from your memory and pretend that your manuscript is being thrown into a magical black hole and sprinkled with fairy dust.

Marcy Beller Paul is a young adult author, former editor, and full-time mom who still has all the notes she passed in seventh grade (and knows how to fold them).

She graduated from Harvard University and lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children. Underneath Everything will be published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins, in Fall 2015. It is her first novel.

TV Turnoff Week

by Natasha Sinel

I just got a flyer home from school announcing that TV Turnoff week begins May 4th. My kids don’t want to do it. Even though they don’t watch much on school nights anyway, they’re positive they’ll die a horrible and painful death next week.

But me? Eh. I can go without it. These days I usually do.

I used to love TV. I loved it so much, I worked at Showtime. I worked there for a long time. I watched a lot of TV.

But since I’ve started writing, I don’t watch much. There’s nothing noble about my not watching TV. I'm not worried about my brain rotting or my creativity withering.

The reason I’m not watching TV is that it just hasn’t been doing its job for me lately.

I’m a mother of three, wife of one, owner of a home. My day starts in servant-mode—making breakfast, packing lunches, making sure all homework, notes, and library books are in folders, all logistics for the afternoon are settled, and off they go to school. Then I have a bit of time to squeeze in writing and all the other things associated with writing (like blogging) as well as the occasional errand, exercise, maybe once in a blue moon, a quick coffee with a friend. Then the kids come home and it’s go-go-go—homework, activities, showers, and then bedtime (and I still read for 20 minutes with each of them—one at a time). Then, if I haven’t already, I eat dinner.

And then, I’m done. Toast. I want to turn off, to immerse myself in something else so that I don’t have to keep going and going.

TV used to be perfect. But these days, the TV goes on and it’s like Pavlov. I grab my phone or laptop and start doing the things I didn’t finish during the day. Pay a few bills, return some emails, check Twitter, Facebook, read a few blog posts, a few book reviews.

I look up and I’ve missed the whole show. Usually, I don’t even know what show is on. TV’s not doing its job anymore, like I’ve built up an immunity to it. Maybe it’s that “date” TV doesn’t exist anymore—remember Must See TV on Thursdays—Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld, Will & Grace? Back in the (ahem) mid-nineties, when The X-Files moved from Friday nights to Sunday nights, I had actual anxiety about rearranging my schedule. But now? I’m just surfing through endless channels, on-demand, Netflix. Whatever I end up with doesn’t feel special because I didn’t make a date to see it. Or maybe I just haven’t found “the right show” to date.

But I think the real reason is that when the TV is on, I can continue to multi-task. I can pay bills while watching TV. I can check my email, eat, even edit, while watching TV.

But reading doesn’t allow me to multi-task. Reading requires all of me—my eyes, my brain, even my body since I have to hold the book and turn the pages.

So now when I’m at that point in the evening when I need to shut it all out, I read. It’s the only thing that works.

I hope I find my love for TV again. But until then, I’ve got some pretty amazing books to wind down with thanks to my fellow 2015 debuts.

Natasha Sinel writes YA fiction from her home on a dirt road in Northern Westchester, NY. She drives her kids around all afternoon, but in her head, she's still in high school, and hopes that no one near her can read minds. Her debut YA novel THE FIX will be out from Sky Pony Press on September 1, 2015.

Agent Interview - Katherine Boyle of Veritas Literary

I've always liked reading blogs that interviewed agents and editors; the information gleaned taught me so much about writing and publishing.  I thought I'd pay it forward for any aspiring writers out there by interviewing my own agent and editor. For today's post, I'm talking with my agent, Katherine Boyle, founder of Veritas Literary Agency. 

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

 I majored in English and Psychology in college, due to a compelling interest in what literature calls character and psychology calls personality or, more classically, psyche. After school I worked for several small presses and agencies in the Bay Area before establishing Veritas in 1995. The name means “truth,” of course, but I’ve always loved Emily Dickinson’s quote “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.” Sometimes the deepest truth is found in fiction.

What genres do you represent?

There are two of us at the agency; Michael Carr represents the adult genre categories: thrillers, fantasy & sci fi. He also does a lot of women’s fiction, whereas most of the serious nonfiction titles are mine, which is not the standard assumption of authors who submit to us. I also handle most of the memoir, narrative nonfiction, MG and YA.

Where do you see the YA market heading in the next year or two?

I hate to make predictions because YA trends are so frustrating for authors; so many write good novels that just happen to be out of fashion or victims of a glutted marketplace. Personally I love nuanced stories with strong character development.

What words of wisdom would you give to an aspiring writer?

Stay inspired by reading, and read as much as you can. Find a few critique partners who are working at your level and rigorously evaluate each other’s work. Send stories to some of the most competitive literary journals you know of, and keep stretching. Writing is not easy, and I commend everyone who has the patience to spend years perfecting their prose. That’s what it takes.

What kind of YA books are on your wish list? (What kind of projects would you love to receive a query for?)

I’m a sucker for an unusual voice and contemporary scenarios with just a hint or suggestion of the supernatural. I like realistic yet eerie stories, whether the dark element is coming from plot or something psychological.

How much time do you spend each week reading?

Around 30 hours.

How many queries do you get a week?

Hundreds, and during certain hectic periods we just can’t answer them all. I regret that, because I know how hard it is for authors.

How many new clients do you sign a year?

Somewhere between eight and ten. We never want more than we can reasonably develop at one time.

What turns you off in a query and what instantly draws you in?

Clichés, or any kind of hard sell turns me off. A beautifully written (not overwritten) query can charm me into asking for something that’s a little far afield.

What are your favorite YA novels (please say mine, please say mine, please say mine)?

Of course I love everything I’ve signed, including Lynn Lindquist’s The Secret of the Sevens, which was a bulls-eye in terms of personal taste.  E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars is one I read recently that blew me away.

What are the top three things a new author needs to know or do to survive in publishing?

Stay informed. The publishing world of today is very different from the scene a decade ago. I don’t encourage authors to chase trends, but it doesn’t serve you to write in a vacuum either. It all comes back to reading—read as much as you can.

Describe your typical day:

The first two hours usually go to urgent emails and calls, and in the remaining time before lunch I face rest of the email pile-up. Longer talks with authors and editors fall in the afternoon and, if I’m lucky, a block of time for submission and editing. 

Thank you for your time, Katherine. As I've said a hundred times, you're the best! 

Katherine Boyle can be found at www.veritasliterary.com.

"...it's impossible to put the book down. Conspiracy, loyalty, secrets, oaths, lies, and riddles flourish, making this the perfect book for readers who love to untangle mysteries by puzzling things out."  -BOOKLIST 

"At the end of the day, it’s Talan and his endearing combination of bravado and vulnerability, coupled with the crackling chemistry he shares with Laney, that will keep readers turning the pages. A satisfying read for secret-society fanatics and romantics alike."   -KIRKUS REVIEWS

Lynn Lindquist (Chicago, IL) lives with two overly social sons who provide fodder for her young adult novels and growing anxiety disorder. Her contemporary thriller Secret of the Sevens is set for release on June 8, 2015 from Flux Publishing.  To learn more, follow Lynn on lynnlindquist.com or on Twitter at @LynnLindquist.

What Publishing, Life, and 2048 Have In Common

Several months ago, I stumbled upon the game 2048. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a highly addictive but very simple puzzle game in which you combine numbers on a sliding grid. Two plus two is four. Four plus four is eight. You get the idea. When you get to 2048, you officially win, but the game doesn’t have to end. You can keep playing until, inevitably, you lose.

Just like real life.

Okay, perhaps this reveals my cynicism, but 2048 really does reminds me a bit of publishing specifically and life more generally.

When I became serious about writing, my first goal was to find an agent. When I got an agent, I felt that I had won, but the game didn’t end. I had a new goal: to get a publishing offer. Now that I’ve achieved that goal, I’ll keep setting new ones, such as selling foreign rights, becoming a best seller, getting a movie deal, getting my own theme park, and so on and so on. In other words, no matter how much I win, I’ll still fail. Eventually, I’ll set a goal I can’t obtain.

And the same can be said of much of life.

But I love the game 2048, and I love publishing, and I love life. Yes, failure is inevitable, but that’s the side effect of having ambitious goals. The only way to avoid losing is to stop trying, and that wouldn't be any fun at all.

©Trent Black
 
Laurel Gale lives in the desert with her husband and a band of furry monsters that might actually be ferrets. She enjoys reading novels, playing board games, and learning about everything from history to science to grammar. Her debut middle grade novel, Dead Boy, comes out September 29, 2015, from Random House/Crown Books for Young Readers. 

Neuroscience for Writers

If you would like your writing to be less cliché and more unexpected, there are two areas of the brain that you can cultivate.

1) The nucleus accumbens which responds pleasurably to surprise and 2) the binary operator which helps us divide complex concepts into opposites.

Most of us say that we like surprises.  We mean pleasant ones like a marriage proposal (and an engagement ring) or a snow day. No one wants a burst water main or a tax audit.

Historically surprises were NOT pleasant, and usually came in the form of an invading army or a plague. We’re actually wired to observe patterns, form models and order our lives precisely to avoid surprises in an effort to control our environment and to survive.

In our STORIES, though--fiction, nonfiction, films, song lyrics, even advertising--we delight in the unexpected.  

The nucleus accumbens, located behind the left eyebrow (just kidding, I have no idea where it is), responds pleasurably to surprising stimuli. It’s evident from birth and if you’ve ever played peek-a-boo with a nine month old, you know what I’m talking about.

Humor is largely powered by surprise, so figuring out how to tickle this area can help make us funnier writers. Even (especially) the most serious of subjects can stand some lightening up. But how to do this? you may ask.

Well, the binary operator is responsible for our ability to divide and simplify relative and complex concepts into opposites. Such as: big/small, isolation/integration, mature/immature, good/evil. That's how we get black and white thinking in a world that's an infinite number of shades of gray.

If we use this binary operator to think in terms of OPPOSITES in our fiction, and push everything as far out on the poles of extremes as possible, we will get more surprises.  Lukewarm or gray characters, settings, and situations will not produce the unexpected.  When you put opposites and extremes, incongruous and exaggerated elements together--voilá the unexpected!

So the next time you sit down to write, remember your neuroscience.

The Writer's Social Media Perplexity

Social media. Branding. Platform Building. To tweet or not to tweet? If you write YA, why are you on Facebook? The kids aren't on Facebook because there parents and grandparents are on Facebook. Create a blog. Write blog posts. Make them catchy. Vine vids. Snapchat. Tumblr. (How did an editor not see the "e" is missing). Pinterest. Instagram.

I KNOW!!! It's enough to make a sane person CRAZY!

I work as a school librarian, work at a public library doing teen programming and have two kidlets, one husband and a cat who, in addition to being a secret agent, also has some weird skin issues. Because I'm an disorganized over-achiever, I'm also on a book award committee, review books for a library publication, organize my school's carnival and shuttle the kidlets back and forth from scouts, swimming, dance and next year we're adding drama.

How the heck am I supposed to tweet daily, post a new blog post every single day, make my tumblr account interesting, write a newsletter every week, post on Facebook and STILL write another book. Let's not even talk about needing time to read and hang out with my friends who are willing to take the kidlets off my hands for a few hours when I need to power through to make a deadline.

Simple.

I can't.

So I'm not going to. Perplexity over. End of post.

Okay, okay, that was kind of a cheating move. So here's my thoughts on social media. Yes. We have to do it. The publishing world is getting more competitive with the introduction of self-publishing and traditional publishing vying for every dollar. And the responsibility of promoting yourself and your book falls on the author. The publishing house can only do so much.

The invention of social sites make it so easy to do promote ourselves. But they also add a lot of pressure to our already frazzled psyche. Here's the secret I have learned: We don't have to do it ALL! In fact, pick one, maybe two that you actually LIKE to do and do that awesome! And if there's something you WANT to do... figure out how to do it when you have time. No one becomes Jane Freidman overnight. (Although, if you want to learn from her, she's at Midwest Writer's Workshop every July... you should come!)

So, what are your go-to social media endeavors and how do you balance your writing/ reading/ work/ social life responsibilities with social media?

Sarah Schmitt has bachelor’s degrees in political science and psychology as well as a master’s degree in higher education administration, but she has always loved writing fiction. She is a K–8 school librarian part-time and youth service professional for teens at her public library. Sarah currently lives with her husband and two kidlets near Indianapolis, Indiana. Her debut YA novel will be in bookstores October 6, 2015 (Sky Pony Press).

How Music Can Make You a Better Writer

So, I’m a writer. If you’ve found your way to this blog, you probably know that. Although I don’t talk about it as much as the writing, I’m also a musician. On the surface, these two passions may not seem connected, but I’ve discovered that my love for music has greatly informed and even improved my writing. So I wanted to share how music influences my work as a writer. 

1. Inspiration

This can happen out of the blue. A song will start playing and then BAM, I see a scene or a character or a world in my head, and the longer the song goes on the clearer that vision gets. When that inspiration strikes I write it down immediately, no matter where I am or what I’m doing. I want to capture every thought while the good mojo is flowing. 

Sometimes a song and a story will meet in the middle. This usually happens when I’ve been mulling over an idea, but haven’t found enough of an angle to fully develop it. Then a song comes along, and suddenly world-building details begin to emerge from the ether, and I watch the characters grow until they take on real life. For example, early in the development of my debut novel The Year of Lightning, this song worked wonders in helping me find the right mood.

When this happens, it’s most often related to my current project. Once in a while, though, music will inspire a completely new concept. These ideas crash into me out of nowhere, usually with an urgency that begs to be written right now. For instance, the core idea for The Year of Lightning's sequel came to me while listening to this song. 

The more I listened to it, the more details fell into place, and now I'm nearly halfway finished writing it.

2. Mood and Rhythm 

I often use music the same way you see in movies – to capture the mood of key scenes. Once I give a scene a soundtrack, it helps me pinpoint how I want the reader to feel when they read it. Great music makes it so much easier – and more satisfying – to hit that emotional target. In some cases, I’ll listen to a song over and over again so that it permeates my brain and then transfers more clearly to the page. Here's a song I kept on Repeat all the way through one climactic scene.

Rhythm is important too. Even prose must have it, whether we’re talking about the ebb and flow of one scene, or the rise and fall of an entire book. I’ve rewritten scenes because the accompanying song helped me realize I was missing a key component in the narration.    

3. Character Definition

Sometimes I’ll hear a song and know immediately that it matches one of my characters. It’s 25% lyrics and 75% attitude and style, and I know it’s the song when that character appears unbidden in my mind and starts saying or doing things I hadn’t planned. That’s exciting because it helps me better understand who that character is and what they bring to the story. Then my goal turns to conveying that on the page so the reader can be excited about getting to know them, too. Here's the theme song to a very mouthy supporting character, Fred Marshall.

How does music play a part in your writing? Let us know in the comments! And if you dig this post, be sure to share it with all your fellow humans.

The Fall Fifteeners as Haikus

A few months ago, I realized that I had spent two years writing an eighty-thousand word novel when I could have done the exact same thing in the space of a haiku (a syllabic poem in which the first line is five syllables, second is seven, and the third is five. In case you tested out of elementary school and missed this day).

Observe: 

THIS MONSTROUS THING: a haiku My brother is dead. And it was super my fault. These gears might fix it.
— Mackenzi Lee (@themackenzilee) March 10, 2015

So I asked my fellow Fall Fifteeners to break down their books into haikus to share. So in case you are a person who doesn't have the attention span for a full novel, here are some of our books in seventeen syllables.

Macy’s got a secret
Sebastian’s got her number
Can they make it work?

When you feel alone
And someone sees right through you
It can shake your world

Wishing for normal
But Macy thinks it’s too late
Because she’s damaged

Two damaged people
One intense conversation
Hope is on the way

-Natasha Sinel, The Fix

Bang bam boom kapow
boom boom ba-chinga, ba-doom
crash crash kabam crash

-Mike Grosso, I Am Drums

Jane is such a bitch.
Maisey's a loser. Bree's lost.
No one's who they seem.

anxiety love
death kissing cheat dresses lies
can't wait for the prom

you never see the
pain behind the smiles they wear
in the crowded halls

-Ami Allen-Vath, Prom Bitch

A house with no doors
Is just the beginning. Now,
run from the lightning!
-Ryan Dalton, The Year of Lightning

Reaper took my soul
Angels want to banish me
O'er my dead body

-Sarah J. Schmitt, It’s a Wonderful Death

The City of Light
is ideal, whether she wants
to love or to die.

-Ann Jacobus, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light

In kitchen she hides
Someone watches, plans, and waits
She fears no escape

-Shannon Grogan, From Where I Watch You

Feathers, escalas,
the things we both were born with
make us enemies.

-Anna-Marie McLemore, The Weight of Feathers

Mackenzi Lee is reader, writer, bookseller, unapologetic fangirl, and fast talker. She holds an MFA from Simmons College in writing for children and young adults. Her young adult historical fantasy novel, THIS MONSTROUS THING will be published on September 22 by Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins. She loves Diet Coke, sweater weather, and Star Wars. On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying all three. She currently calls Boston home. Visit her online at her website, blog, or Twitter.

Reflections on Writing Op-Ed Columns for My College Newspaper (AKA How I'll Face Bad Reviews)

Not many people know this, but back when I was a wide-eyed college student in my early twenties, I got hired by my college's newspaper to write a weekly op-ed column. It paid a whopping $5-$10 based on my editor's budget that week, which buys a lot of quarter drafts at the local bar.

The photographer taking my head shot said, "Have fun pissing people off."

And for many in that extremely rural town, that's exactly what I did.

That's not to say I didn't have admirers. My viewpoints have dulled a bit since then -- I'm more pragmatic than idealistic nowadays -- but I had plenty of peers who wrote in support of me and/or told me in person how much they appreciated my work.

For a good long while I didn't hear anything negative. It was disappointing, to tell you the truth. I wasn't looking for a written fistfight, but it would have been nice to know I'd snagged a reader from somewhere else on the sociopolitical spectrum.

And then I snagged one.

That first amazing counter-argument ran on the opposite page of the op-ed logo. The writer closed it beautifully, with the words "Shame on you, Grosso" followed by a litany of accusations about my moral dishonesty and questionable integrity. I can't remember what the writer was mad about -- probably something along the lines of green technology or gays openly serving in the military.

It was wonderful.

I showed it to my friends.

I showed it to my parents (I brought home two copies so they could read it at the same time).

I showed it to anyone willing to take a look. I was proud that my words had provoked a strong emotional reaction in a total stranger.

Most people I showed it to said, "Um... that's great?" and gave me an awkward smile.

I still had plenty of supporters, but my haters blossomed overnight.

I ran into people at bars who said, "I would buy you a drink if you weren't a liar."

I bumped into people on campus who said, "You need to be careful or someone's going to kick your ass."

I rode a dormitory elevator with a funny looking red-faced guy. He waited until I had exited the elevator and the doors were closing behind me before he shouted, "Your columns f###ing suck!"

I remember those moments with humor and affection. They meant a lot to me. Is it odd to feel that way? Should I be angry that I did my job appropriately, and others responded by trying to scare and shame me?

I wasn't angry then, and I'm not now. Some of the encounters (the guy in the elevator, for example) were just plain silly. How am I supposed to get mad at a guy who acts tough by shouting an obscenity at the very moment I lose the ability to respond? That's all around hilarious. Laughter is the appropriate reaction.

And that first letter, with it's wonderful "Shame on you, Grosso", and all the other negative commentary, came from people with opposing viewpoints whose responses weren't entirely inappropriate. Between the threats and elevator incidents were legitimate arguments calling me out for my overly idealistic solutions and over-zealous language. I still believe the core of most of their arguments were wrong (and I'm sure the feeling is mutual), but that didn't make me bullet-proof then and it doesn't now. I wrote plenty of silly things between my supposed introspective moments.

And quite frankly, the negative responses were a lot more entertaining than the positive ones.

That's why I'm trying pretty hard not to stress about bad reviews. I'm approaching my inevitable first one-star Goodreads/Amazon review the same way I approached my dissenters at the college newspaper -- with guile and humor. It'll be harder now that the target is something much closer to my heart, but I think I can handle it. Right?

Granted, Kirkus is a lot scarier than "elevator guy".

* * *

Mike Grosso is the author of I AM DRUMS, a debut contemporary middle grade for musicians of all ages. It is currently orphaned due to the closing of Egmont USA but is on its way to finding a new home. The Fall Fifteeners have been nice enough to let him hang out in the meantime.

You can visit Mike's website here or follow him on Twitter @mgrossoauthor.

Fall Fifteener deleted scenes

I’m not going to point fingers or anything, but some of us (ahem, me), tend to get a smidge wordy in our stories. I mean, who can blame us for overwriting? As authors, we have a nerdy love affair with words. Problem is, many of these words don’t quite eke their way past the firestorm of revisions, and in the end, they end up crammed into some dusty file in our laptops and never see the light of day.

            But.

            Today we—the wordiest of the Fall Fifteeners—are sharing them:

            

Marci Lyn Curtis from The One Thing

When I was in the third grade, Trevor Wilson dared me to eat a fish eye. Well, it wasn’t technically a dare, but he submitted to me that there was “no way in hell” I’d be able to eat it, so it had felt like a dare. If he were a normal eight-year-old boy, I probably would have just ignored him. But, in fact, he was not. Trevor was the very same tumbleweed-headed douchebag who had repeatedly tripped Sophie during soccer practice, so there was no question as to whether or not I’d accept his dare. 

          Anyway, it happened at school, during recess, where all great dares take place. I was sitting on a swing, chatting with a classmate, when Trevor Von Douchebag stuck his obnoxious, fish-eye-holding hand in my face and said, “Sanders, there’s no way in hell you could eat this fish eye,” and without even fully considering it, I said, “Oh yes, I can,” and he said, “Prove it,” and so I plucked the thing off his hand, tossed it into the back of my mouth, and swallowed. Just like that. My stubbornness, I discovered that day, was superior to my circumstances.

 ***************

Mackenzie Lee  This Monstrous Thing

I had never played billiards before. Oliver was rather good at it, though I didn’t have a clue where he’d learned—probably something he’d picked up from his mad friends in Paris. Mary outdid us both though. She won the first two games, Oliver the next, and I was so bad it was embarrassing. By the fourth I was growing weary of being beaten and announced I was going to sit it out, but Oliver wouldn’t hear it. “Don’t be sore just because you aren’t good.”

“Thanks for that. Now I’m really keen to stay in.”

“Come on, Ally, don’t quit.” He scrubbed chalk over the top of his cue and grinned at me across the table. “You might make a shot yet.”

“You aren’t helping.”

“Come on, Alasdair.” Mary stepped around the table so we were side by side and put her hands on the table. “Don’t sit out, it won’t be fun without you.”

I put my hands next to hers, flat with my fingers splayed. “I’m awful.”

“It’s your first time. You’ll get better.”

“Get your fingers off the table,” Oliver called from the other end. “You’re putting me off.”

  ***************

Diana Gallagher  Lessons in Falling

I have never lost a game of Manhunt.

Cassie isn’t patient enough for hide-and-seek in the dark. She would rather be found, squealing and laughing. She’s always been the best at pulling people near her, people who want to hear her stories or kiss her.

I’m the best at hiding. Slipping into small spaces, knees and elbows covered in dirt. We gave up Manhunt three summers ago. But I am still that girl with her back pressed against the tree, listening to receding footsteps. 

 ***************

Ann Jacabus   Romancing the Dark in the City of Light

(In a dodgy part of Paris)

Greasy Mardi Gras masks and beads dangle above the entrance; ratty soccer pennants, musty stuffed birds and other detritus are nailed to the smudged walls and ceiling. It’s the kind of place that probably still sports a Turkish toilet—a porcelain hole in the floor. As if to confirm her suspicion, the smell of urine hits her.  The only other patron is an older woman in a bedraggled fur cape who slumps at the far end of the wooden bar. She gives them the evil eye and mumbles what sounds like “ne me parles pas, Justine,”—don’t talk to me, Justine.

Don’t worry, Summer thinks.

Kurt is chucking. He’s taken one of the few cramped tables.

“Can I have some whiskey?” Summer asks at the bar. The wizened, brown-skinned guy squints at her through his glasses. He doesn’t respond. “Du whisky? S’il vous plait.” Without taking his eyes off her, he shoves a stained carte at Summer, the list of wines and a few snacks. 

He pours a single glass. “Two,” she says. “Deux.” She holds up two fingers then points to Kurt at the table. The man squints, then pours more in the same glass. “Deux verres. Two glasses.” Clearly a card-carrying idiot.

She takes the glasses to the dusty table. Kurt says, “Remember, they hold up one finger and the thumb, for ‘two’ here.” He demonstrates, making the “L” for loser.

“You’re welcome.”

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Marci Lyn Curtis grew up in Northern California, where she went to college and met an amazing guy in a military uniform. Two college-aged kids and one dachshund later, she lives in Maryland, where she laughs too loudly and eats peanut butter off spoons. Her YA contemporary debut, The One Thing, comes out September 8^th, 2015 via Disney-Hyperion. Learn more about her at Marcilyncurtis.com.