take the high road

I'm sure most of you have heard about the Maura Kelly kerfuffle today. If not, you can read her original article for Marie Claire here. Within "Should Fatties Get a Room? (Even On TV?)," Maura makes some mean remarks about overweight people, saying she's "grossed out" by obese people kissing and that she doesn't like to even watch fat people walk across the room.

Am I offended by this? Yes. I am a plus-size woman, and my life is difficult enough without hearing about how disgusting we fat people are to look at.

Publishing that article was not a nice thing and it was not a smart thing, in my opinion.

Out of curiosity, I looked at the response @MauraKellyBlog is getting on Twitter. Not surprisingly, many outraged people are directing their displeasure toward her. Totally understandable, and I thought briefly about doing the same thing. But as my eyes slid down the page and I took in comment after comment after comment, many making personal attacks, calling her stupid and bitch and even telling her to die... I was reminded of this cyber-bullying commercial. I'd hate to be her tonight, trying to fall asleep, after reading pages upon pages of insults.

Yes, she said some highly offensive things. But aren't we being just as bad, if not worse, by ganging up on her?

Edited to add: I am in no way saying people shouldn't voice their opinions and stand up for themselves, but that's different from attacking someone and saying they should die.

inspiration behind the wheel

Brodi Ashton just blogged about where she gets her ideas, and I thought I'd talk about my creative process a little bit--especially since I've been recently thinking a lot about SLIDE #2.

First: Is there going to be a SLIDE #2? I don't know. That all depends on whether people heart SLIDE #1 and show interest in a sequel. So I'm not writing it yet. Just thinking. I will say that I have the basic plot for SLIDE #2 figured out and a good idea for SLIDE #3. There would not be more than that. 3 books would be enough for me to get Vee where she needs to be.

So ANYWAY. A little less than a year ago (it seems like it was after Christmas break, but there was still snow on the ground) I was talking with my colleague, bandying about ideas for a book. I was doing a NaNoWriMo with my class in April (so, really, a ClaNoWriMo... but anything with the letters CLAN sounds icky so we just called it NaNo), and I needed something to write about. I remember thinking how freaky it would be if you found yourself in the head of a killer, standing over a dead body. From there, I figured out the narcolepsy thing--Vee passes out and randomly finds herself in other people's heads. There are several theories about why this happens, but I won't go into them right now.

After this seed of an idea, the story had to cook in the back of my mind for quite a while. My ideas usually cook best while I'm driving--I have a forty-five minute (one-way) commute every day, so there's lots of time for this to happen. That's how the story of SLIDE evolved, and it's happening the same way with #2.

Certain events in the stories were inspired by songs I heard while driving. I wrote the climax of SLIDE #1 after hearing a famous Billy Joel song. Likewise, one of the big plot twists of SLIDE #2 comes from a Tori Amos video I came across on YouTube one day (not while driving).

We all have our own methods of crafting stories. Some people make plot maps. Some people make outlines. I start with a big "what if" idea and then spend some time letting the plot percolate before writing (kind of a modified "pantser" approach). None of these processes are incorrect--as long as they work.

pictures revealed!

Look! I'm a real Greenhouse author!

Happy day!

And I know I promised you all some pictures, so here they are...

author pics

Today's topic is AUTHOR PICTURES! Yay, woohoo! This is one of the moments you dream about if you're an aspiring author... staring thoughtfully at that camera lens, trying to look smart and deep and interesting. Bonus if you feel good about the way you look!

Here's my take--if you feel less than 100% about your appearance and you can spare the cash, you should definitely splurge on your author photos. I know I've gained... um, a little weight since having a baby last year. It was important for me to feel attractive to potential readers in spite of that fact.

The night before the photo shoot, I got my hair colored and went shopping for outfits. For the big day, I made appointments with a makeup artist and a hairstylist before the photo shoot. It was really great because I discovered all of these awesome businesses in downtown Des Moines.

Patrick at VG Cosmetics did my makeup. He has this cool little shop with all of his paintings hanging everywhere. I sat in this director's chair, and he explained everything he was doing as he went. Best. Makeup. Ever. I walked away with some of his lip gloss and mascara.

After that, I hurried to meet Katie at Salon Revolution. Even though I was a little late, she was totally cool. I got to watch her adorable cat as she put my hair in curlers. She gave my hair tons of body but didn't weigh it down with hairspray or anything.

Finally, I rushed to Amy Allen's studio, which was on the fourth floor of this gorgeous old building. I found Amy online and thought her pictures were just incredible. Her studio is an entire floor, and the setting sun was streaming in these great big windows. She uses a lot of natural light, which makes her pictures beyond beautiful. She gave me a beer and helped me to feel at home by putting on some Pearl Jam. I put on three different outfits and posed in a variety of stances... some sitting, some leaning against a door, some just standing in front of these wall with a crazy pattern.

I can't wait to see how they turned out! Don't worry--I'll definitely post them when I get them back! Anyway, my point is... this is a once in a lifetime thing. I wanted the experience to be memorable, and it totally was. I also got to meet all these cool new people! *waves*

~~~

I also want to give a shout-out to Susanne Winnacker, my agency-sister who just sold her debut dystopian novel, THE OTHER LIFE. Yayyyyy, Susanne!!!

when to change your name (now)

I have some words of advice to any aspiring authors debating whether to change their names. If you're going to do it, do it NOW.

Don't be like me and switch your name and your blog right after you get your book deal. I've virtually disappeared from Google! Even my Twitter feed, which was find-able up until the day before yesterday, has disappeared. I'm off the grid.

Thank goodness for fab friends like Sam and Sarah and Rebecca and Susanne and Shayda, without whom I would be totally invisible!

To my understanding, Google crawlers will find this blog eventually. Then people will be able to find me. Until them, I'm incognito! *dons cape and mask, peeks around corner* *steals candy from the bowl on your desk* *empties flask of something suspicious into punchbowl* Mwahahaha!

I can see you, but you can't see me! Be afraid. Be very afraid!

P.S. I got my author pictures taken yesterday! More about that tomorrow!

P.P.S. Look what Shveta made for me! Slide on Goodreads!!!

everything leading up to this day

Today. Today is the day I can announce my book is going to be a real book, one you can buy in the store. Today is the day I've dreamed of for so long.

If you want to skip all the "book journey" crap and just see the pretty announcement, here it is:

Jill Hathaway's SLIDE, a debut in which a girl's narcolepsy makes her slide randomly into other people's heads, witnessing events she'd rather not see; but when she finds herself in the head of a killer, standing over the slashed and murdered body of her sister's best friend, she becomes enmeshed in a web of secrets, lies and danger where the past has returned to haunt the present and where she can no longer trust even the friends and family she thought she knew, to Donna Bray at Balzer & Bray, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in Winter 2012, by Sarah Davies at the Greenhouse Literary Agency (NA).

Still, I'm going to write this out, mostly for myself, so I can see how far I've come.

November 2007: I hear about a thing called NaNoWriMo. I decide to try this crazy thing. I technically "win" by churning out 50,000 words of nonsense, but it's a lot of rambling. I think about trying to salvage the story, but eventually I put it aside.

November 2008: I write a coherent novel, DRAWN TO YOU. I "edit" by going through and fixing the typos. I send out queries. Lots of them. I even get quite a few requests, but everyone can see the story is not ready. Everyone but me.

2009: I pretty much don't write, as I'm busy being pregnant and taking care of my newborn!

April 2010: I write the first draft of SLIDE, then called OTHER PEOPLE. I "edit" it.

May 2010: I send out queries. I, miraculously, get an offer of representation. I get a second offer of representation, from an amazing lady with a staggering amount of experience in the industry. She offers to take me on but tells me I've got a LOT of work to do.

June 2010: I write a new book, UNFATHOMABLE.

July-August 2010: Sarah sends me a 10-page, single-spaced editorial letter. This document helps me more than any book about writing or editing. This document is aimed at the heart of my story, designed to help me refine the characters and plot. This document saves my writing career. I rewrite and rewrite and rewrite, crying and eating a lot of chocolate.

September 2010: I send Sarah my revisions. Success! Still a few tweaks, but the manuscript is like 500x better than it was before. I make tweaks and send them back to Sarah. We go out on submission. I don't write much on my blog during this time because mostly I just feel like sitting around and staring at the wall. Oh, and eating chocolate.

Thursday, October 14. I get THE CALL. We have an offer. My book is going to be published!

Friday, October 15. Donna Bray at Balzer & Bray offers us a pre-emptive deal. We say heck yes! I drink champagne with my husband and in-laws and play Catan. My head is full of stars.

~~~

My head is still full of stars. But I do know one thing--I am a darn lucky lady to have found Sarah. She's shown me the path to really improve my writing. And for that I will be eternally grateful. 

so, um...

Nothing to see here today. Maybe tomorrow.

/most anti-climactic day ever! Hee.

I did get some good rewriting time in with UF, so that's something!

here comes halloween

Autumn is my favorite season. The skitter of leaves across the sidewalk, the scent of pumpkin pie cooling on the rack, the racks of costumes in the stores. In the weeks before Halloween, I fantasize about the perfect costume. I could be Katniss Everdeen. I could be Hermione. I could be Alaska Young. The possibilities are endless.

I think that's why I love reading and writing so much. If I'm tired from a long day at work, I can go home and open a book and escape into a different world. If I have a few free hours on the weekend, I can create my own world. My own characters.

This year, instead of dressing up as someone else's character, I think I'll dress up as one of my own. It would be pretty easy to go as Sylvia Bell from SLIDE. Hot pink wig, rock and roll t-shirt, ripped jeans, heavy black eye makeup. It's on!

Who are you going to be for Halloween?

new name, new blog

*sniff, sniff*

Do you smell that? Ahhhhh, love that new blog scent.

Dig the purple shag carpeting? The lava lamps? The bean bag chairs? 

Take a load off and let's watch some Top Chef. *passes around the pizza rolls*

~~~

Okay, so why the new name? I decided I'd like to keep my writing and teaching lives separate, and I think that'll be easier if they have different names. Also, my writing identity has sparkly tights and dreadlocks, while my teacher self wears cardigans every day. If you're coming from my old blog, please do follow me here, as I will be deleting the old one eventually (once I transfer the posts I'd like to keep, like book reviews and ramblings about Teen Mom). 

~~~

So, welcome! 

teen mom and censorship in YA

There's been much discussion in the blogosphere lately about banning certain YA books. I'm sure I don't need to tell you my stance on the matter, but I thought it might be interesting to compare YA books with TV shows aimed at young adults.

A couple of years ago, I became obsessed with the MTV show 16 and Pregnant--probably because I was at the point in life when I was considering having a baby, and I was intrigued by all baby-related TV programming. To watch these girls go through the transformation of pregnancy and deal with the problems of having kids when they were still essentially children was fascinating.

My students and I have discussed Teen Mom and the cycle of teen pregnancy numerous times. Some of the kids feel the show glamorizes teen pregnancy, and I must admit (especially this past season) some of the girls make it seem like you can have a baby at sixteen and somehow be able to afford a nice car and apartment (MTV money probably has a lot to do with that). Still, many of my students said the show prompted a dialogue in their homes. They discussed the choices that were made leading to the pregnancy and the decisions that come after the positive pregnancy test. I see this as a huge accomplishment.

If only parents could use this strategy when it comes to YA literature. Instead of yanking controversial books from the library or school, wouldn't it be more productive to read the books and then have a conversation about characters' choices and the consequences of their actions? Wouldn't this lead to self-aware, analytical young adults? Isn't that what we're all working towards?

music from my generation

Really? Do I really have to say that now? MY GENERATION? Anyway... here are some songs...


Liz Phair, of course.



...and one of my faves, The Smashing Pumpkins. I actually named the shop where Vee buys her Homecoming dress after this song...





And let's not forget Tori Amos.