Talking Craft, Diversity, and Genre-Hopping with Cynthia Leitich Smith

Today, I'm sitting down laptop to laptop with my friend and mentor, author Cynthia Leitich Smith. Cyn lives here in Texas--Austin--and she is not only a gifted writer but also a generous and fine human being, one I have turned to for advice numerous times while traversing this wonderful but often crazy career. I adore all of Cyn's writing, but I'm particularly fond of her mix of humor and paranormal in her TANTALIZE series, which begins, as she describes it on her own website as: "the story of Quincie P. Morris, a teen struggling to help save her family's Italian restaurant by re-launching it with a vampire them. It's a great idea until some real vampires show up and her best friend, Kieren, is suddenly suspected of murder." 

Plus she and I bonded long ago over our mutual love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As fans of the Whedonverse do…

I also admire Cyn's ability to balance a life, teaching, and a writing career, and her willingness and flexibility to write across numerous genres. The latter is not a simple thing. We tend to get branded as authors (and to some degree because our readers have a sense of expectation of what we will produce) and for those of us who want to write more widely, this can be tricky. Cynthia Leitich Smith manages it with skill and ease.

Today I'm catching up with Cyn about her career, diversity in children's lit, writing across genres, teaching, and other Cynthia Leitich Smith wisdom!

JOY: Does having already achieved New York Times Bestseller status and numerous other accolades for your work put a certain level of pressure on your writing? If not, then how do you avoid it? 

CYN: Thank you. Honestly, I’m too busy to worry about it. Between writing, teaching, mentoring, traveling, public speaking, promotion, lunching with friends, lifting weights, power walking, and playing fetch with my kitty, I’m maxed out. Any lingering insecurities will have to wait.

JOY: You have spoken and written widely on the issue of diversity in children’s lit. Can you address your current thoughts on this, particularly with the influence of #WeNeedDiverseBooks on titles being acquired? Are publishers doing enough? Are authors?

CYN: Sure! We did see a slight uptick in certain underrepresented categories in the past year, but it’s too soon to gauge the long-term impact of #WNDB on acquisitions. We all must continue to strategize and try new approaches. The demographics demand a solution. The young reader population is already minority-majority. The deadline is now.

As authors, we are in a unique position to effect positive change:

We should thoughtfully work toward offering more diverse casts and topics.

We should mentor new voices from all corners of our global children’s-YA literature community.

We should raise awareness of great books (including but not limited to our own) that reflect the full spectrum of humanity today.

We should advocate for an inclusive approach to event programming.

We should keep the diversity conversation alive and boisterous.

JOY: Like some of my other favorite authors, including E. Lockhart, you are a veteran genre shifter, writing YA, chapter books, picture books. Tell us about the creative process that enables such amazing versatility.

CYN: Ah, I’m an E. Lockhart fan myself.

I start with character and setting. The protagonist dictates the age-market format. Jenna is a young girl, preparing to dance at her first powwow. She’s a picture book hero. Yoshi is a cougar-like werecat on the front lines of a brewing interspecies war. He’s a YA hero. Simple as that.

As for craft considerations, model texts teach me much of what I need to know.

I read regularly and extensively across the body of youth literature, making mental notes. I also learn from presentations and articles by my colleagues, especially my VCFA family, and I lean heavily on transferable skills.

The lyricism and precision of picture book writing improved my novels. Short stories offered confidence-building opportunities to employ humor and points of view farther from my comfort zone.

When I approach a new format—like graphic novels—I ask myself: How is this like that? Both graphic novels and picture books involve writing visually. Both prose and graphic novels require plotting a novel in the whole.

I remind myself of what I do know rather than spin pointlessly on what I don’t (yet). I make every effort to be my own best cheerleader.

JOY: And that said, do you have a favorite genre? Why is it your favorite?

CYN: I’m most comfortable writing YA fiction, but my ultimate goal is to write at least one middle-grade novel. My favorite of my titles is a picture book. I’m not sure how all that shakes out. I have either great range or a complete lack of focus.

JOY: You do a lot of teaching. What do you enjoy most about the act of teaching the craft of writing?

CYN: I’m continually blessed with inspiring students. It gives me such joy to watch them grow in their literary art and cheer as they triumph in their careers.

That said, I’m an intuitive writer. Teaching forces me to analyze and articulate. That, in turn, forces me to quickly access, to define and refine my insights.  Doing so, again and again, for students facilitates my being able to better serve my own works in progress. It’s exercise for my writing brain.

JOY: What would be your top bits of advice for writers aiming at publication?

CYN: Embrace your apprenticeship. Experiment. Play. Join SCBWI. Make friends. Educate yourself about children’s-YA literature, its surrounding conversations, and both the history and current societal forces that brought us all to this point.

Read. It’s the most obvious advice, the most repeated, and, alas, the most ignored. It’s also nearly impossible to succeed in the conversation of books if you don’t speak the language, if you aren’t familiar with the cultural touchstones (defined broadly). Remember: Reading counts as writing time.

Study writing with established author-teachers, professionals who’re accomplished on both fronts. Just be sure to consider their track records (and your budget) carefully.

Beware of cycling too long exclusively on one project. I’m not suggesting that whatever you’ve been working on won’t eventually sell. But it may be the skills built while working on other manuscripts that facilitate it reaching that milestone. Most of us improve story by story, not with one story over time.

JOY: For writers aiming at maintaining a career?

CYN: Choose yourself. Don’t wait for the publisher to promote your book to lead title. Don’t wait for your head to be graced with a crown or your slippers to be buried in laurels. Raise that chin and vow to do this:

Decide who you want to be in the children’s-YA community.

If a vision doesn’t immediately occur to you, consider various models—authors whose craft and careers you admire. Ask yourself what about them appeals. Strategize affirmative, achievable steps to work toward that goal, that identity with your unique style and spin.

Then snap to it. Own your awesomeness, claim the author you want to be today.

JOY: What’s coming next for Cynthia Leitich Smith?

CYN: Next fall, my chapter “All’s Well,” will appear in Violent Ends, edited by Shaun David Hutchinson (Simon Pulse, 2015), and I’m currently working on a realistic contemporary YA to be published by Candlewick.  

Thanks again!

For more on Cynthia Leitich Smith, go to:

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com

And for her acclaimed blog on all things publishing, head to: CYNSATIONS

Welcome Cynthia Leitich Smith and Diabolical

Today I’m welcoming my friend and mentor and fellow Texas author, Cynthia Leitich Smith, whose new YA paranormal, DIABOLICAL, part of her TANTALIZE series, is out now! Cyn lives in Austin and I once teased her that we should rename Austin ‘Cyn-City’ in honor of her. All puns aside, Cynthia Leitich Smith is not only talented and at the top of her craft, she is also generous and warm and a million other adjectives that all mean made of awesome.

So let’s get down to business.

First a little bio:
Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling author of TANTALIZE, ETERNAL, BLESSED, DIABOLICAL and TANTALIZE: KIEREN'S STORY (Candlewick). Her award-winning books for younger children include JINGLE DANCER, INDIAN SHOES, RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (all HarperCollins) and HOLLER LOUDLY (Dutton).
Her website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids. Her Cynsations blog at cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ was listed as among the top two read by the children's/YA publishing community in the SCBWI "To Market" column.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcLj8nOr1Zg

Indiebound link: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780763651183

And now for the interview. Today I wanted Cyn to talk about two main topics: What it takes to build and maintain a writing career for the long haul and what it’s like to have two writers in the family, since her husband, the equally talented Greg Leitich Smith is also working and successful author.

Here goes:

JP: One of the reasons I’m so honored to have you as a personal mentor is that I admire not only your body of work but also the incredible diversity and longevity of your writing career. Can you talk a little about where you started and how?

CLS: Thank you, Joy. I’m the one who’s honored.
My early strategy—or lack thereof—could be held up as a model for what not to do.
About a year after graduating from law school, I quit my job as a law clerk in Chicago with the intent to write full time. I was newly married, carrying a heavy student debt, and I didn’t have a single word down in manuscript form.
Crazy, right?
But I’d begun reading fiction again—comics and books for young readers. Law school had given me the confidence to believe that I could achieve any goal. And after the Oklahoma City Bombing, I felt personally compelled to make a more positive contribution to the world. I took a long walk home that day, sat on a pier, and talked to some ducks in Lake Michigan.
It was the strangest thing. I didn’t have to think hard about it. I knew there was nothing more important to me than creating books for kids.
So, I went home and told my husband, Greg Leitich Smith, that’s what I wanted to do with my life, and he totally supported my decision. Now, he writes for kids, too.
Greg and I moved from Chicago to Austin, which back then had a lower cost of living. I took a part-time job as a tutor in a program for students from migrant farm families at St. Edward’s University. I also joined the fledgling Austin chapter of SCBWI, under the leadership of a dynamic young woman named Meredith Davis, and soon afterward, signed up for a life-changing private workshop or two, taught by children’s authors Debbie Leland and Kathi Appelt.
Kathi and my other initial mentor, Jane Kurtz, both wrote a variety of books, and so it didn’t occur to me that such a varied career was unconventional or risky or that I couldn’t aspire to the same.

JP: What tips can you give writers who are just starting out in their careers about maintaining and nurturing a career for the long term?

CLS: Read, both in those categories that call to you creatively and those outside your specific areas of interest. Read a variety of books—across age markets, formats and genres. They don’t have to be obvious models to inform and inspire. Be especially sure to read outside of your comfort zone. Creating art is all about thriving, innovating amidst uncertainly and chaos; reading books that challenge you is a smart way to steel yourself.
Find your tribe, a community of people, a partner—someone or, better yet, several someones—to support you along the way, preferably those who understand that it’s an ongoing journey. And while you’re at it, punt the naysayers. I’m not suggesting you surround yourself with Pollyannas or those who won’t stretch you, but rather that you associate with folks who’re all about how and not whether you’ll achieve your dreams.
Write. I can’t tell you how to write. Actually, that’s not true. I could highlight countless ways to write, and the conversation surrounding such strategies can be helpful. But ultimately, it’s up to you to figure out the formula that works best for this time in your life and your current work(s) in progress, with the understanding that you’ll no doubt have to evolve eventually.
Follow your passions. Think hard about writing the book only you can write. Think hard about writing the book that scares you. Once you’ve gotten that first novel manuscript under your belt, perhaps try something different than rewriting protagonist after protagonist in variations of your own image. This is your chance to see the world through fresh eyes. Take it.
Don’t fret trends, but don’t shun them either. If the wind is at your back, enjoy it while it lasts. The only constant is change.
Don’t play writer at the expense of writing, unless you just want to be a member of the community rather than someone who ultimately produces books. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to hang out with children’s-YA writers. Who doesn’t love that? But don’t fool yourself into thinking that your attendance at an endless array of conferences is a substitute for words on the page. If you’ve been hauling that same old tired manuscript to critique group for the last three years (without re-envisioning or beginning a new project along the way), take a break and work on something else.
Celebrate! Celebrate if you finish a scene or a chapter or reach the end! Celebrate personal rejections! Celebrate your sales and awards and readers mail! Yes, there are challenges to the writing life. Sometimes it requires Teflon skin. Occasionally, it’s okay to indulge in some comfort ice cream or have a good cry. But writing and publishing children’s-YA books is also a glorious, magical pursuit. Never lose sight of that. Enjoy!

JP: Anyone who knows you knows that you balance many obligations: your books, your blogging, teaching and mentoring for the MFA program at Vermont College, speaking engagements… Can you talk about that balance and how you achieve it?

CLS: For all of us, balance is an elusive goal, a forever work in progress. I’m on leave right now from VCFA, though, in 2012, I’m teaching several workshops around the U.S. and taking a couple of private students a semester. At various points in my career, I’ve pursued more or fewer short projects, more or less long-distance speaking, been to varying degrees available to nurture new voices. The formula changes with my circumstances and passions.
However, I am committed. I appreciate that, in this global marketplace, I’m competing against thousands of incredibly talented writers from around the world. Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? For precious few contracts. At the same time, I’m someone who’d rather work cooperatively, so I’ve chosen to compete primarily with myself and do what I can to help raise up and shine a light on the community and conversation of books.
Beyond that, I put quality time into both my writing and the business of being an author. But so does Laurie Halse Anderson, Libba Bray, Heather Brewer, Jennifer L. Holm, Robin LaFevers, David Levithan, David Lubar, Mitali Perkins… I could go on and on.
No matter how much we may long for balance, publishing consistently and (by industry standards) successfully, requires sacrifice and dedication. I’ve come to terms with that.
After all, the top doctors, engineers, accountants, plumbers, coal miners, rocket scientists, athletes, and musicians work pretty darn hard, too.

JP: What’s a typical writing day like for you? Writing week?

CLS: I’m on the computer by 8 a.m. By 11 a.m., my goal is to have blogged, touched base with my networks, answered my email, and responded to any publishing/media/event-related inquires. I spend the lion’s share of the afternoon focusing on my work in progress.
After Greg comes home from his day job, we have dinner together and then I either write or do damage control on the author front for another couple of hours. Weekends are a godsend because there are fewer interruptions, though many book events tend to fall on Saturdays.

JP: Your husband Greg is also a writer with many books and projects of his own. What’s it like to live—and work— under the same roof as another writer? Does it have its own set of challenges? Or are you guys just proofreading merrily over dinner every night?

CLS: In addition to his after-dinner writing session, Greg also works on his manuscript first thing in the morning or after a run. He’s an early bird and may put in three hours of writing on a Saturday before I wake up.
Beyond that, we do serve as each other’s first readers. We’re tougher and more direct with each other than we are when we critique other people. After all, Leitich Smith is a joint brand in the business.
You know, I’ve seen author spouses who’re competitive with each other to negative ends, but that hasn’t been an issue for us, possibly because we met as first-year law students (and whatever challenges would’ve probably arisen then).
I enjoy traveling and speaking with Greg more than going out into the world on my own, though I do both fairly regularly. It’s a gift to have someone who understands that when you’re staring out the window, you’re not ignoring him—you’re unraveling a plot snag.
And certainly, we’ve both benefitted from having the other’s books out there during our respective career ebbs and flows.
But big picture, it’s simply fun—what a gift to share the writing life with someone you love. I appreciate his ongoing support, and it’s a treat to read his terrific stories before anyone else does. I can hardly wait for the release of Greg’s upcoming novel, Chronal Engine (Clarion, March 2012).

JP: Anything else you’d like to tell us as DIABOLICAL (great title, btw) comes into the world?

CLS: Diabolical is the fourth book in the Tantalize series and concludes the super arc inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s about second chances, a final test of heroes Quincie, Kieren, Zachary, and Miranda, and a rejoicing of how much they’ve grown. Diabolical is the most fantastical, funny, romantic, scary, jaw-dropping book in the series to date. It’s a hell of a ride.



Cynthia's 2012 Tour Schedule

Feb. 10 Austin, TX

BookPeople YA Fantasy Panel

7 p.m.
Vicious Valentine: featuring authors Jordan Dane, P.J. "Tricia" Hoover, Mari Mancusi, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and L.A. Weatherly---moderated by Sean Petrie. Whether you love love, hate it or fear it, be there for spooky cool refreshments and scary bookish fun!

March 8 Albuquerque, NM
Alamosa Books Author Event
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

March 10 Tuscon, AZ
Tuscon Festival of Books
(plus school visits)

April 18 Houston, TX
Texas Library Association Conference
(two panels and signing)

June 11-15 Sandy, UT
Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers

July 11-15 Southampton, NY
Southampton Writers Conference

August 13-19 Montpelier, VT
17th Annual Postgraduate Writers Conference

Blessed: In Which I Interview Cynthia Leitich Smith

The Tantalize Trilogy - by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Cyn in sunglasses - love it

Today I welcome my friend and mentor, Austin's own Cynthia Leitich Smith - author of many, many wonderful books including the Tantalize series - the third of which, Blessed releases this week on 1/25. (which is either tomorrow or today, depending on when I press publish post!)

The world of children's publishing is by and large a friendly, generous place. But let's face it, when you're new, people don't really have to go out of their way. So when authors do, we newbies always remember. Cyn's that person for me - the one who didn't have to go the extra mile, but somehow always has. She is special beyond the telling and a phenomenally talented writer. The Tantalize series makes me laugh and gives me creepy goosebumps all at that same time. And as I tell her frequently, I am forever her humble minion. (Cyn likes the word minion, by the way.)

In honor of Blessed's release, we chatted about vampires and other paranormal stuff. Enjoy the interview. Then check out the Blessed book trailer. After that, get yourself a copy of Blessed, and if you haven't read Tantalize and Eternal, get those, too. You will be soooo happy that you did!

First a little bio:

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times best-selling author of ETERNAL and TANTALIZE (both Candlewick). Her award-winning books for younger children include HOLLER LOUDLY, JINGLE DANCER, INDIAN SHOES and RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (all HarperCollins). She is a member of faculty at the Vermont College M.F.A. program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Her website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids. Her Cynsations blog at cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ was listed as among the top two read by the children's/YA publishing community in the SCBWI "To Market" column. In January 2011, Cynthia is celebrating the release of BLESSED, the third novel in the TANTALIZE series. Kirkus Reviews calls it: "Wild and ultimately fascinating"…"..the pages fairly smolder in describing their [Quincie and Kieren] attraction to one another." The Horn Book cheers: "A hearty meal for the thinking vampire reader."

And now our q & a:

Joy: Your publisher’s blurb describes Blessed (the latest installment of the Tantalize series, combining characters from Tantalize and Eternal) as “a wink and a nod to Bram Stoker.” Can you explain your homage to Stoker’s Dracula in this series? Do readers need a working knowledge of that classic to best read Blessed?

Cyn: Dracula was the inspiration novel for the series. In doing my homework, I read the preceding YA Gothics like Vivian Vande Velde’s Companions of the Night and M.T. Anderson’s Thirsty.

(This was back in late 2001/early 2002 before the paranormal craze kicked off.)

Then I turned to horror and paranormal romance novels published for grownups, going all the way back to the classics and the ancient oral stories that inspired those.

I found myself obsessing over Stoker’s Dracula, the quintessential vampire novel. So many of his themes—gender dominance, the “dark” foreigner, religion, plague, conquest, orientation—are still very much in play today.

I took note of the fact that, in Stoker’s mythology, vampires could take the form of wolves, and I thought it might be interesting to write a murder mystery in which the central question was whether the murderer was a werewolf or a vampire in wolf form.

From there, I gender flipped Quincey P. Morris, a Texan who was one of Van Helsing’s original vampire hunters, and brought the mythology “home” to Texas.

Each of my books inches closer to Stoker’s classic, and a fourth (still untitled) novel—in progress now—draws on the Count’s back story.

That said, no, you don’t have to have read Dracula for my series to make sense, though it’s perhaps an even more fun read for those who have. I made every effort to provide sparing connective tissue to the classic where necessary.

Joy: Why do you think vampire stories have continued as an ongoing presence in literature, particularly pop culture?

Cyn: A good “vampire” story is a good story—period, one that resonates in our own real world. It’s all about the metaphors—the other, the outsider, addiction, dominance, passion, fear, friendship, love…. What happens when we die? What would happen if we didn’t? And perhaps most of all, what does God have to do with it?

Joy: I know that you and I share a love of all things Joss Whedon and therefore Buffy, but beyond – and including – BTVS, what are your favorite vampire stories – books, movies, television - and why? Favorite fictional vampire?

Cyn: Buffy, yes! Whedon’s “Buffy” TV series to be specific. Beyond that, I have a particular affection for “Lost Boys” and “Fright Night.” My inner 1980s adolescent may be showing, but I think horror works best when juxtaposed against humor.

You need some light to appreciate the darkness.

Joy: And since the above question has touched on it – favorite Buffy episodes?

Cyn: I’m fond of “The Zeppo,” which is framed from Xander’s point of view. I especially enjoyed the melodramatically filmed Buffy/Angel love scenes from his perspective. Very funny.

Beyond that, “Hush” was fantastic, authentically scary, and “The Body” quite affecting. I also adored any Willow-centered episode. If Willow cried, I cried.

Joy: Tell us a little bit about your vampires. What’s uniquely Cyn Leitich Smith about the vamp mythos you’ve created for this series?

Cyn: I should probably start off with the caveat that I see my books as set in a multi-creature verse rather than as vampire novels per se. Main characters also include angels, ghosts, and a wide variety of shapeshifters. You'll even find a pesky human or two.

That said, one of the reasons that I began writing them in the first place was to nod to, but also talk back to Bram Stoker. I’ve always had a problem with the long-time supposition that someone attacked by a vampire—penetrated (by fang) against their will—was automatically considered a monster and literally damned.

It reminded me too much of the way rape victims are still too-often viewed and treated today. Though, it’s subtle and handled through metaphor, I address that traditional view in Blessed.

Beyond that, there are a number of smaller, contextual tweaks. I’ve created a vampire society with its own history, political structure, and system of laws as well as, say, architectural predispositions. The undead, for example, are big fans of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Joy: How does your use of a restaurant setting mesh with a vampire tale?

Cyn: Restaurants are tremendous stages for drama. You have thematic décor, menus, costumes, people bursting into song. It’s like entering another world. And sure, folks tend to think of vampires as more drinkers than diners, but I thought that would generate some of the fresh blood I wanted to infuse in my series.

Joy: Van Helsing vs. Buffy?

Cyn: Buffy + Giles would trump Van Helsing. But the doctor knows his spooky stuff.

Joy: Chicago vs. Austin?

Cyn: Austin winter, Chicago summer.

Joy: The perfect meal to accompany a reading of Blessed?

Cyn: Wasabi deviled eggs, West Texas rattlesnake ravioli, three little javelina chops with lamb’s liver, followed by kumquat sherbet with frozen eyes of newt, garnished by a newt-shaped butter cookie!

Joy: Is there anything you'd like to add?

Cyn: Tantalize: Kieren's Story, a graphic novel to be illustrated by Ming Doyle, will be released by Candlewick Press in August 2011.

Want to meet Cyn? Check out her Blessed tour schedule here:

http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2011/01/blessed-by-cynthia-leitich-smith.html

Til next time...