When I started thinking about why I loved The Monstrumologist series (the series is The Monstrumologist, The Curse of the Wendigo and the forthcoming Isle of Blood, which  – DON’T FORGET – releases next week and is the book we’re currently doing a PR push for!) why I thought it was so damn special in a crowded young adult literature field, I kept coming back to the kind of books they were – they way they straddled genre and were something entire unique, entirely compelling in how original they were.

With that in mind, I had one major question for Rick Yancey about the series’s providence.  That question was:

The Monstrumologist series is unique in the way it blends the horror genre and what we usually refer to as “literary fiction”.  How did you decide to bring these two genres together?  What ways do you see these genres as complimentary, particularly when it comes to the appeal of this series?

His answer was so perfect, so much more than I was expecting, so fabulous and thoughtful and comprehensive, I knew I had to share it all with you.  Enjoy and thanks so much to Rick for participating in all this and for this amazing reply.  (and make sure you stop by tomorrow when you can comment for a chance to win a copy of The Monstrumologist!!)

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Call it a product of naivete or denial, but when I completed the first Monstrumologist book, I did not consider it horror or “literary.”  I looked at it (and still do to a certain extent) as an adventure yarn, sort of like a darker version of “Treasure Island.”  That was the original concept and still there is a part of me that cringes when I hear those two descriptions of the series slammed together.  The stylist in me rebels at the mash-up, “literary horror,” and I will confess I’ve never read anything of Lovecraft, read “Frankenstein” just once and that was years ago, and hadn’t even picked up a King novel since I was in my twenties.  Recently (between writing Book One and Book Two), I tried to get through “Dracula,” and couldn’t.

I think if I purposely tried to write something “literary” I would fail miserably.  What I have been attempting to do (as I have with all my books), is create – or re-create – an authentic voice.  I first tried writing the story in third-person, which is not comfortable for me, and quickly abandoned the attempt and recast the story through the voice of an older Will Henry.  I did want to capture a 19th Cent. feel, because in many ways Will was trapped in that era, unable to extricate himself from the memories of that time when his childhood vulnerability was tested to the extreme.  In a sense, I was trapped there with him – in a time when people wrote – and even thought! – in full sentences.  That cuts against the grain in most of current YA fiction (and adult), so maybe that’s why some folks call it literary (Full sentences!  Big words!)

I knew, of course, that the adventure would have to have a certain dark flavor, since monstrumology, by its very nature, is dark and dangerous – it ain’t butterfly collecting, after all.  If Warthrop hunted something equivalent to a three-toed sloth . . . well, where’s the thrill in that?  And if you have these outlandish and nightmarish things running about, it’s going to get a little intense.

And I wanted INTENSITY.  Not just intensity of the chase and the inevitable physical dangers of monster-hunting, but psychological intensity, emotional intensity.  19th Century writers never shied away from this and Will, being forged in that time period, would not have either.  There was, and still is, a danger in these stories of descending into the cartoonish (Headless bipeds with teeth in their bellies . . . come on!), and I knew beyond elevating the language a little I had to elevate the complexity of the characters and the intensity of their relationships.  Whenever I get bogged down in the esoterica of monsters or the convolutions of a plot set a hundred plus years ago, I tell myself, “Go back to the characters.  It’s about them and their relationships.”  It adds a richness to the tale, the chief function of which is to keep me from getting bored.  These characters fascinate me – not the gore, not so much the “big themes” of love, faith and what it means to be human (though I like that these themes have emerged as a by-product), i.e., the “literariness” of the books.  As I said in another interview, I fell in love with my characters.  They are quite real to me.  I suffer with them, laugh with them, cheer for them and fear deeply for them.

I worried when the first book came out about some of its more challenging aspects, particularly since it was published as YA.  But I don’t worry about that anymore.  Like real people, Will Henry and Warthrop are who they are.  The stories are what they are. Readers, whether they are sixteen or sixty, who like a good story well told, will discover the books and share a little, with me, the thrill and satisfaction that is unique to fiction: immersion in an alternate universe we are loathe to leave when the last page is turned.

-Rick Yancey

Being evacuated sucks. It sucked when I drove away from Hattiesburg after Katrina, it sucks when I am unable to get into Los Alamos right now. It’s just the worst. I HATE being away from my library this long during our usually busiest and happiest season.  I wanna go back to freaking work already.

So, as you might have heard, especially if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, there’s currently a huge wildfire burning right outside Los Alamos, New Mexico, the town I live and work in. As I write this, the town is on mandatory evacuation, no one but essential people are allowed in, and the county has been closed since Monday. (I found out about all this via text message directly after the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder banquet on Sunday night. Timing!) The fire is on track to become the largest fire in NM history and has burned over 90,000 acres in less than five days.

*I* am currently safe and sound and staying with my siblings in Albuquerque, which is about an hour and a half away from Los Alamos. All I have with me is what I took to/brought back from ALA, they called the evacuation while I was out of town.

For those of you that don’t know, Los Alamos is on the top of a very high hill. At the bottom of the hill and also part of our county is the smaller town of White Rock. It has not been evacuated yet, but our library branch there remains closed. I’ve been in touch with several co-workers via phone and Facebook and everyone I know is safe and sound, but we’re all unsettled about being displaced and, well, it’s expensive and maddeningly and frustrating. Our library facility is OK and all our locked case/rare books have been evacuated and secured as per our emergency plan guidelines. (does YOUR library have an emergency plan? It should. As per our library’s policy, my supervisor’s copy is in the trunk of my vehicle, so I am ready!) The only thing I am worried about is all my autographed books which I guess might seem silly if you weren’t a librarian.

There are LOTS of places to get info about the situation as it develops, so I won’t try to be a place for that, but some friends and colleagues have wanted to know what they can do to help, so here’s a post with links to places you can donate.

If anyone reading this has other suggestions, please feel free to share them in the comments or email them to me (fatgirlreading at gmail) so I can add them to this post. You may definitely share this post far and wide and I will keep everyone updated as the situation develops.

• Espanola Valley Humane Society
• Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society (lots of pets!)
• Roadrunner Food Bank (I donate to them monthly, but you can specify that you want your donation to go to the drive for victims of the Los Conchas fire)
• And, sadly, there are currently fires and evacuations happening all over New Mexico right now, meaning Red Cross NM could use your money for shelters, supplies, and trainings all across the state.
• Thanks to Geri from NM State Library for this head’s up – the New Mexico Community Foundation has set up a fund to help non-profits and lots of the small, rural, volunteer libraries in NM fall under this heading.
• And my awesome co-worker Melissa pointed out that Santa Fe Public Library is extending an invitation for evacuees to get cards and join summer reading.  And what could help more in times like these?

Even as the fire moves away from Los Alamos, it moves towards other communities in New Mexico, like the Santa Clara Pueblo, so it’s just going to be a wait and see situation until more of it can be contained.  It also means that anything you give would be greatly appreciated and used well!

Thanks to everyone for being concerned about me and asking about me and even thinking about me.  (me and my library and my town, that is.) Special thanks to Liz, who pushed me into posting this!  It really means a lot, I promise, to know I have that network of people out there.

You can follow me on Twitter for more timely updates and I promise to keep everyone informed as things progress.

Oh, and – I had an amazing time at ALA that reminded me why I love what I do and why I can’t wait to get back to it.  Big thanks for that to everyone I saw and networked with at conference, it was the highlight of my year, as ever.   But that post can wait for next time, yeah?

Debbie Reese is my blogging heroine, my blogging role model.  If there’s one blog I wish my blog could be like, it’s Reese’s American Indians in Children’s Literature.  She was the model for what I wanted this blog to be like.  She says things people don’t always want to hear, whether it’s about Little House on the Prairie or Neil Gaiman.  She asks readers, librarians, and teachers to think critically about the messages in books and how these messages shape children and young adults and our cultural perceptions and conversations.  She does this in an uncompromising and personal manner that is also intellectual and incisive.  She sticks to her principles, challenges the status quo, and expects people to engage in informed debate.

Like I said: heroine.

Back in July, Debbie posted some recommendation lists for Elementary, Middle, and High school libraries.  I was not only happy to get these lists to help with my collection development, but knew I wanted to eventually use them in a display.

November turned out to be the perfect month.  Not only was it chance to put out another message about THE LESSONS OF THANKSGIVING (which, really, you’d think the “lessons of Thanksgiving” would be more centered around genocide and less centered around, say, turkey) to my patrons, but it was also Native American Heritage Month.  It was a perfect opportunity.

I used the main, lighted display case on our floor.  It’s hard to miss when you’re on our floor at all, you essentially pass it one way or another.  Using Debbie’s elementary list (and some other titles and authors in our collection, including a book that won an American Indian Youth Literature Award, given out by the American Indian Library Association, an ALA division) I decided to make a display featuring primarily picture books, since we all know those are ultra-pleasing for display.

I wanted to not only feature the books but make note of the fact it was Native American Heritage Month and that all the featured authors were Native writers, which is SO IMPORTANT.  There’s not a lot of other decoration in the case, partially because I wanted to avoid both generic and stereotypical “Indian” images and I was being wary of cultural appropriation.  Also, I wanted to fit as many books as possible, which took up display space. (which was THE POINT.)

Above each book, I made a small text box that mentioned what tribe each author/illustrator belonged to.  Onto pictures!  Click to make them bigger, of course.

Here’s the whole case:

And here’s the sign I created for the inside of the case:

Text: November is Native American Heritage Month!  Nationally November is set aside to celebrate and honor the contributions and accomplishments of the first Americans.  YOU can celebrate by sharing stories written and illustrated by Native people from tribes all over North America, by learning about their tribes, and by finding out more about the lives of Native children living in America today.  What will YOU learn?

And here are some close ups:

On this shelf: Shi-shi-etko by Nicola Campbell, When Turtle Grew Feathers by Tim Tingle, and Thanks to the Animals by Allen Sockabasin

On this shelf: Navajo by Shonto Begay, Raccoon’s Last Race by Joseph and James Bruchac, and For a Girl Becoming by Joy Harjo

On this shelf: Sky Sisters by Jan Bourdeau Waboose and  Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird by Joe Medicine Crow

On the bottom of the case are the four titles from My World: Young Native Americans Today. (a series which every library should own!)  The titles are: Meet Mindy: A Native Girl from the Southwest, Meet Lydia: A Native Girl from Southeast Alaska, Meet Naiche: A Native Boy from the Chesapeake Bay Area, and (the award winner!) Meet Christopher: An Osage Indian Boy from Oklahoma.  In between them is one of my favorite titles: Do All Indians Live in Tipis? Questions & Answers from the National Museum of the American Indian.  All of these titles are published by the NMAI.

I was really quite pleased with the display.

Little did I suspect that November would also be a time that teachers were readying units on Native Americans.  Literally less than two hours after I put the display in, a teacher came to the desk and asked for three of the titles out of the case!  She wanted Raccoon’s Last Race, When Turtle Grew Feathers, and Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird.  Her checking these books out gave me a chance to put MORE books in.  I replaced those titles with Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitch Smith, (which had just been returned from another patron that day!) Crazy Horse’s Vision by Joseph Bruchac, and How Raven Stole Sun by Maria Williams.

Just last week, another teacher came and complimented the display and then checked out Thanks to the Animals by Allen Sockabasin.  I had a chance to talk to her about that and let her know that at Tilbury House website, you can listen to/download Sockabasin read the story in Passamaquoddy.  She was especially excited to hear that and told me she was going to use it in her class of first graders.

The idea that a class full of  small children in New Mexico will not just hear a traditional Passamaquoddy story passed down to Allen Sockabasin from his mother, but actually hear the Passamaquoddy language – I mean, aren’t stories like that the reason you wanted to be a librarian?  They sure are for me.

So, thanks to Debbie for always leading by example and inspiring me to try something at my library that not only promoted and highlighted the diversity of my collection but also (hopefully) gave my patrons something new to think about, which is my favorite thing of all.

That’s something to be truly thankful for.

I’ve been absent for a bit because I was attending the 2010 ALA Annual conference in Washington, D.C.  You can read about my top five experiences at ALA at the PLA blog.

I was super-excited and nervous about it, because this year is my first year on a selection committee and we were having our first meeting at Annual.  Of course, it turned out splendidly, sitting around talking about books for hours is basically a dream come true, right, so I was in heaven.  It’s such a challenge and so exciting and I can’t wait to continue committee work throughout the year.

Thanks to Wendy, I had a chance to participate in a Friday YALSA pre-conference about using web 2.0 tools.  I presented a segment on having a 2.0 Teen Book Club during the “speed dating” practitioner’s portion.  It was so fun and made me so proud of my teen patrons. If you happen to be stopping by because of that segment, feel free to say hello/drop me a message!

Another major highlight was the chance to attend Library Advocacy Day, which I had the chance to participate in thanks to a stipend from the Friends of YALSA.  Having the opportunity to rally at the capital and speak with representatives from my state was empowering and inspirational, I’m excited to implement some of the things I learned.

All of Annual was great, as per usual.  Last year one of the ALA twitter accounts referred to Annual as “Brigadoon for librarians” which tickled my heart so much….that’s just what it’s like.  I always get excited and inspired by Annual and leave every year feeling like part of such a community and so ready to DO things.  I still have the handouts from the first year I ever went to Annual in 2006 as a library student.  When I look at the sessions I attended then, I see the course of my career now.  It made me know I was doing the right thing with my career!  I even saved a brochure about “how you can get involved in YALSA!”

Oh, and the books!  I mailed home 42 (!) pounds of books and I know I had at least 25 pounds checked/carried on the the plane.  Lots and lots of good stuff, not just the ARCs! I also bought many hardcovers for cheap prices and got them signed, so those will make some great teen prizes.  And I did get some great ARCs, many of which I can’t wait to review for the site, so look forward to that sooner than later. (I offered up a spirited defense of the exhibits on the PLA blog.  I am so sick to death of the jokes about how librarians go to conference and cram as much useless, free junk into their bags as they can.  First of all, these criticisms always come off as inherently gendered and classist, which is weird in library circles, but I definitely feel it.  “Those rubes, grabbing up free junk, they’re so provincial and stupid!”  Second of all, the exhibits are a main drawing point for me, part of what I pay my money for, so I expect a return on that investment: they power my programming and I *never* think of what I get as useless.)

Don’t get me wrong, Annual is always such a huge investment of time and money and energy; it’s draining in every imaginable way.  But it’s also, every year, been worth it for me.  If you ever have the chance to attend conference, especially Annual, I can’t recommend it enough.  You’ll be worn out and frazzled and exhausted and spun around by the end, but you’ll be glad you went!

Now back to the business of this blog . . .