Coffee Hour in Kona - Writing Questions, Newbery Award Chatter, Option Clauses and more!

Good Morning!  I'm starting a new weekly series on my blog called Coffee Hour and we'll chat about writing while we drink coffee from different spots in the world.  We're going to kick it off from Kona, Hawaii this morning, which happens to be where I got married.

Here's a shot I took a few years ago that is always how I first think of Hawaii: palm trees, beautiful turquoise seas, sunshine!

But this shot below reminds me of this little coffee house we used to go to that was a bit upcountry and looked out over the fields down to the sea. 

Imagine sitting on a deck overlooking this view. Can you feel those tradewinds blowing your hair back while the wonderful aroma of fresh brewed coffee wafts around your head? Uh huh - you get the idea.

So, what's new in the writing world? First off The Elevensies (a group of 80+ authors (including me!) whose first novels debut in 2011) have a great new weekly series that will be featured on Tuesdays called ASK THE ELEVENSIES - where anyone interested in writing or publishing can ask a question. The first question we're starting out with is: What do you wish someone would have told you when you started writing?  There are lots of great comments over there already so pop over and check it out. Post your question if you have one!

Next, as you probably know the Newbery Award (the best written work for children) buzz is starting to grow in anticipation of the actual announcements at the ALA Mid-Winter Conference in January.  Elizabeth Bird of A Fuse#8 Production has a great rundown of those books she thinks are contenders (including The Enchanted Inkpot's own Kate Milford for THE BONESHAKER!) as well as links to Heavy Metal and some other folks who run their own mock Newbery's.

Speaking of Kate Milford, she has an intriguing post over on The Enchanted Inkpot that stemmed from a less-than-sparkling review of her book (we're all going to get them from time to time) which delves into the question of what constitutes appropriate content for a MG or YA book.

And finally, ABLA literary agent, Jenn Laughran, has a very helpful post on option clauses over at her blog Jennifer Represents today.  If you've ever read through a legal contract there are times when the wherefores and shall haves and not to excludes start sounding like pretzel logic. Well, Jenn sorts it all out and gives examples of language that works in the author's best interest as well as language an author might want to avoid.

So, that's it for the Coffee Hour.  What's new in your writing world?  Tell me what you're working on!