Megan Frazer

One month from today, Secrets of Truth & Beauty will be released. It hit me in the car the other day while I was driving. No, not when I got word of the sale, not when I got my ARCs, not when I started seeing some reviews online, or even when I got my advanced copies of the actual book. I was just driving along, and got this giggly smile.

I have wanted to be a writer since at least sixth grade, and probably would have before that if I had believed that writers were real people and not magical beings. And I was thinking about that as I drove to work. Most writers will tell you that they can’t not write, and that if you are an inspiring author you should be willing to just write for yourself because the odds against publication are high. And yet, we all go out and keep trying to get published. Because part of writing, for me anyway, is wanting to be heard. This is odd because I really don’t like attention being focused on me. Public speaking makes me quake. Or maybe that does make sense — writing gives me a chance to have a voice but stay out of the spotlight.

Anyway, I was thinking about what it takes to surpass those publication odds. Not necessarily in my own case, but in general. I do believe it is a combination of talent, persistence, and luck. As I was trying to figure out just how much of the pie chart each would take up, it just kind of settled on me: “I wrote a book and people are going to read it.” Cue giggly smile.

I’ve read two YA books lately which I can best describe as message-y. One in particular felt like the characters opened their mouths and out came the author’s opinions on the subject. With facts to back it up. And citations. It was like reading an essay, only I think I would have enjoyed the essay more. It’s not that I didn’t want to hear the author’s opinions, or that I disagreed with them (I was in whole-hearted agreement), but it all felt a little forced.

I tried to think of a message-book where the message didn’t get in the way of the story, and at first could not think of one. There are issues books (“problem novels” in the old parlance), where the issue is front and center, but I think an issue-book is different than a message-book. True, image-books can also be done badly. They can also be done really, really well, like Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak.

As I kept trying to think of message-books that worked, my mind went to the classics: The Great Gatsby (the dangers of excess), The Lord of the Flies (why order is important in society), To Kill a Mockingbird (the importance of justice). I’m still struggling to think of modern, YA books that have a message — a definite point of view — without feeling like the message was all that was there. Part of the problem, of course, is that you can never really know, without asking, what the intended message was.

I have struggled with this in my own work. I am a feminist. One of the few things that makes me sad about “kids today” is that so few identify themselves as feminists. So, in an effort to show why feminism is important, and my views on what it means to be a feminist, I inserted a scene into Secrets of Truth & Beauty in which a teacher questions Dara’s participations in pageants. Dara responds that people do pageants for all sorts of reasons, and if it’s a choice you aren’t being objectified (yes, I know what else that is used to defend, and yes I felt it was a specious argument even as I wrote it). Dara’s big point in the scene was my central belief which is that feminism does not mean exchanging one set of rules for another. It means that there is enough freedom in our society that both women and men can make choices without limitations. A good point, I think, but the scene fell flat. It was too message-y, and I cut it.

Then I read E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and realized she had captured the sentiment so much more naturally. And yet I am hesitant to label it a message-book because it is so much more than that. Maybe the message is something that just seeps in, as you are writing, and the more you try to force it, the worse the situation becomes.

Secrets of Truth & Beauty comes out two months from today. Two months! How did that happen? I remember back when I sold at the end of 2007, I couldn’t believe when I was told it would be published in 2009. 2009! That’s so long away! And yet now here it is, two months from drop day, July 7th.

In honor of my fortuitous release day (7/7), here’s a list of seven things I’m looking forward to this summer, in addition to my book release.

1. Swimming. I love swimming. In Secrets Dara describes why she likes to swim, and that’s pretty much me talking.
2. Ice cream. Maine offers all sorts of ice cream options, including frozen custard, which I think is a regional thing. It’s delicious, and a lot of places have flavors of the day with calendars and everything so you can schedule your frozen treats appropriately.
3. Public Enemies I’ve loved Johnny Depp since 21 Jumpstreet and Christian Bale since Empire of the Sun. That’s many years of loving. Look here’s Christian Bale swing dancing:
   
4. Summer reading. I haven’t made my list yet, but I’ve been craving some good nonfiction lately.
5. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. I’m sure many people are waiting for this. In the meantime you can read a great interview with her from The Horn Book.
6. Visiting libraries. I’ve been setting up events at libraries in Maine for this summer.
7. Baseball! Of course baseball has already started and as a Red Sox fan it’s already starting to be an exciting season (near perfect games! sweeping Yankees! stealing home!), but once the summer really gets going, I actually have the time to enjoy it.

So there you go — seven things I am looking forward to, in addition to the release of Secrets of Truth & Beauty. What about you?

I hope you guys have been keeping up with all the great posts during the Body Image week at MyFavoriteAuthor! Personally, I’ve been so impressed by all of the posts. It was an eclectic group of writers — authors, bloggers, and commenters. Posts and comments have given me much to think about and for that I am very grateful.

First off, this is a reminder to report back on the challenge that was issued last week! Go to MyFavoriteAuthor and comment on the wrap up post there.. One (or more) winners will be chosen tomorrow from all the comments made today.

This of course says something about our culture — that every woman’s goal must be to be thinner — and something about Ivoirian culture, too, for that matter. I should say that I was not personally offended by being told I looked like I was losing weight, since most of the people who mentioned it are close friends, and know that I would like to get back to my pre-baby weight. Still, it did strike me as an odd thing to comment on. This is all a long, wind-about way to urge people to think about the compliments we do give. Instead of telling someone she looks thinner, why not tell someone she looks happy or peaceful or healthy? Why not tell someone he’s doing a good job?

So, although Body Image Week at MyFvorite Author is over, I am still going to work on simply saying, “Thank you,” — and on being more mindful of the compliments I give.

Are you following the Body Image posts so far?  Check out a post about my book at MyFavoriteAuthor and my guest post today at Presenting Lenore.

Secrets of Truth & Beauty is one of many books recently or soon-to-be released that address various aspects of the issue of body image. SpeedReader of MyFavoriteAuthor has organized a Body Image Week with many other bloggers and authors participating with book reviews, author interviews/guest posts/videos, a couple of challenges and a great book giveaway at the end. I’ll be guest posting on Sunday!

So check them out today to see the full schedule of the week’s events and where the various posts will be showing up around the blogosphere. And don’t forget to accept the Body Image Challenge today! Everyone who accepts the challenge and reports back at the end of the week will be entered in the giveaway to win:

WINTERGIRLS (signed) by Laurie Halse Anderson
MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS by Sydney Salter
THE SECRETS OF TRUTH AND BEAUTY by Megan Frazer
MODELS DON’T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES by Erin Dionne

Here it is:

I love the colors and how the photo just seems to capture a moment between these two, where they are together, but also a bit in their own worlds.

Here’s the whole jacket shebang, with my author photo that was taken by my oh so lovely husband:

Not sure when this will start showing up on Amazon, GoodReads, etc. — hopefully soon! Thank you to the great design team at Disney-Hyperion.

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Freak and Geeks and all of its satellites. Undeclared is next on my Netflix queue. Well, actually, Pineapple Express and Milk are next, but there is a long wait and a short wait for these, respectively, to which I say: Whoever is having the James Franco movie-fest, it’s my turn.

(Aside: James Franco is studing writing at Columbia as did a certain YA author albeit he is at the grad school and I she did it as an undergrad, and he just sold his first book of short stories. I hope it is better than Ethan Hawke’s jump into the word of fiction.)

Anyway, all of this is to say that last Monday Jason Segel was on Fresh Air on NPR. That night I had actually gone to the ER because I cut my finger making dinner, but the interview was so funny that I forgot my pain. I think Terry Gross had a little crush on him because she kept giggling.

Secrets of Truth & Beauty on the surface has very little in common with Judd Apatow films, but still I like to cast the movie with actors he commonly works with. Jason Segel would definitely be Sascha.

One of the fun trends in the lit world lately is the Six-Word Memoir or Six-Word Story. According to most accounts, this arose from Ernest Hemingway’s claim that any story could be told in six words. His contribution to the genre: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Generally I’m not a fan of Hemingway’s sparse style, but, wow.

Some of my favorite sites to look for these stories are Six Word Stories and Six-Word Memoirs: Life Stories Distilled from NPR (click on the photo gallery for illustrated memoirs).

Inspired, I wrote some six-word memoirs from the perspective of my protagonist, Dara.

My first attempt was a little clumsy: Parents let her go. Me next?

A sillier try: Chose cupcakes for revenge. Plan backfired.

Then I think this one really did it: Lost a family, found a home.

So, fellow writers, what are your six-word stories? I’d love to hear them!