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Give a reader an Odd-Fish, and he’ll dither for a day (or longer…)

Filed under: I write, Meeting Authors, SCBWI by margocole — 16 Comments
March 3, 2010

I hesitate to call this a review – it’s not often one can befriend an author while reading his book. Or collab with him on a book giveaway. (A girl can dream?!)
Read on for giveaway details…

James Kennedy’s The Order of Odd-Fish was introduced to me by the dude himself, at an author panel organized by SCBWI-Illinois. Amidst sage advice on how to promote a book, Kennedy retold a doozy I’d have taken for the “don’t do this” pile – a doozy involving “whimsically insulting” Neil Gaiman AND a theatrical attempt to de-Newbery him.

Yes.
So, I’ll admit, one of my first thoughts was, “Is this a book for me?” In the end, I figured if Odd-Fish was half as entertaining as the guy himself during an author panel, I’d be in good hands.

Lucky for me, the Odd-Fish paperback came out soon after I’d taken a five-chapter bite. For the release party at 57th Street Books, Kennedy answered questions and gave a few outrageous performance-readings. With a story this Python-esque and darkly visual, the action seemed to come at me – so the cadence of his voice offered the perfect pace to read by.

There were times I couldn’t keep up with that pace, like whenever my pesky left brain seemed to reject the idea of the Order of Odd-Fish: these knights who dither as an occupation, creating an Appendix of dubious facts, rumors, and myths. But at other times, my micro-managing self receded into the background – as any party-pooper should – and I had an absolute blast.

The book opens like an overture: action from all angles. Jo Larouche, the main character, kept my attention until the pace found its footing. From there, the romp was on. For one thing, who can resist a villain who reads back issues of Sassy magazine? (No one, that’s who.) On page 275, I laughed out loud at a 112-word sentence that recalls Douglas Adams’s charming absurdity. And in the opening scenes of the book, as Jo enjoys the fake sarcophagus her Aunt Lily gave her for Christmas, Kennedy’s description reads:

“The inside of the mummy’s coffin, lined with black velvet cushions, was surprisingly comfortable. Lying in it, she felt pleasantly dead.”

If that isn’t an argument for adverbs, I don’t know what is. It certainly made me smile.
(Bottom line: You gotta see what this guy is up to. You can also check out his interview with Rick Kogan on WGN radio!)

On the big news front, Kennedy has received an overwhelming amount of fan art for The Order of Odd-Fish – and on Saturday, April 17th at 7pm, he’s partnering with Collaboraction for a showing in their gallery at 437 N Wolcott. Come for the rooms decorated as scenes from Odd-Fish, and stay for the costumed battle-dance party – the Carnaval Dome of Doom.

How would you like to win an autographed Odd-Fish paperback AND Kennedy’s soundtrack mix CD?
Just answer me this…

Among the Odd-Fish, a “society of ditherers,” each knight takes up their own pointless research. Sir Festus, for instance, studies absurd musical instruments like the “urk-ack” – a live animal whose innards have forty-one sweet spots with which one can play a beautiful tune. So: Tell me about an absurd Odd-Fishian musical instrument of your own invention. How would it work? What would it sound like?

Submit your answer as a comment by Sunday, March 21 at 11:59pm CST!
(Please note: Tweeting/blogging about the contest adds karma appeasing Odd-Fish’s 144,444 gods!)
James Kennedy himself will determine the winningest, most absurd instrument! The lucky winner will get an autographed copy of The Order of Odd-Fish in paperback (complete with sweet cover art by Paul Hornschemeier) and a BONUS PRIZE: Kennedy’s own special Odd-Fish mix of tunes.
Add your entry today!

UPDATE: This contest has ended, and the results are right here!

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Paragraph pride

Filed under: I write, Thirty Decibels by margocole — 8 Comments
February 22, 2010

Maybe it’s unhealthy to blog about a paragraph of progress, but with all the circumstances of today, I’m surprised I even wrung out a good sentence. [Circumstances: had a list of downtown pre-writing errands, no coffee until 2:45 pm, and my laptop screen has decided to be fritz-y indefinitely – I can only kind-of/sort-of read it at horsey resolutions.]

So, here goes. (Background: Thirty Decibels is first-person, from main character Ava’s POV. This takes place just before her coming-of-age ceremony.):

This is really it. Maybe there’s something we should say now, but in my head I’m fast-forwarding to the relief of afterward. I don’t let on – it’s the kind of thing Michele might twist around and feel rotten about. So here, on a floral comforter whose pilled places are now alien under my fingers, I sit on the brink of adulthood: unprepared, stomach stuffed with dread and turning with awkward guilt. Perfect.

I added this paragraph to page two as part of a rewrite for emotion, which I began today. I hope I’m on the right track – it’s a tough one. Sometimes I feel I should go “Method” with it (I’m only half-kidding). Or maybe find a high school library to work in. My diaries are only so helpful; though the subject matter recalls what my high school boy obsessions days were like, I was surprisingly fact- and thought-based in recording them.

Writers, what are your methods for portraying emotion (or for inspiring it in your readers, if different)?

Update: My laptop screen’s back from the dead! And I meant to mention Livia Blackburne’s recent entry on this same topic. Excellent as always.

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Libraries holding…

Filed under: I write by margocole — 10 Comments
February 21, 2010

Bright-eyed, sans coffee (thus no bushy tail), I sat in on the 9 a.m. budget meeting this morning at Evanston’s Lorraine Morton Civic Center. I’d told my husband Jed to expect me back by 11-ish.
Boy, was I wrong.

If you’ve never attended a city event like this, I recommend it. It’s like nothing else. Yeah, it was a budget meeting, but it was sort of like the high-end Volvo of budget meetings (a Cadillac just isn’t in the cards this year).

All nine Aldermen, the City Manager, and the City Clerk sat behind a long, high panel. Each official had a stationary microphone equipped with a light to signal when they wanted to speak. An ill-conceived game show? In your dreams. Throw in a revenues spreadsheet and multi-camera closed-circuit TV, and you’ve got yourself an eye-opening Saturday morning.

The politeness was rampant. It reminded me of the apology gun in James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish, which I’m reading now (the gun is one of Sir Festus’s pieces of ludicrous weaponry, deriving from a people whose armies devastate with their mega-civility).

I sat behind the glass, in the closed-circuit seats, listening and empathizing with nearly every speaker. An overabundance of empathy probably excludes me from professional politics, and that’s fine with me. But I can’t help but admire these folks. If I were behind that high panel, I’m sure I would turn in to the equivalent of a banshee (which is to say I’d interrupt someone, raise my voice above a mild intonation, or forget to tap my nifty speech-light).

In this room, no one spoke out of turn. With so much ground to cover, it took foreverrrrrrr.

After almost two and a half hours, the council hadn’t officially broached the subject of the branch libraries. (Though, my ears perked up at pointed comments from aldermen who’d clearly like to close the branches – like, yesterday.) But because I had to be home by 12:30, I stole away before the subject du jour even came up. When I left, they were on the 33rd minute of an intense discussion on yard waste. The center’s lobby was piping Miles Davis’s “So What,” so at least I left laughing.

In the end, I got my update from today’s branchlove.org blog. It turns out that the same five aldermen are still in favor of keeping Evanston’s branch libraries open for six months, and this count will likely stand at the official vote on Tuesday night. Fingers crossed, anyway.

Update: Branchlove has become Evanston Public Library Friends. Check the blog for the latest news.

Here’s something to think on: Besides family, friends, and career… what would you sit through a budget meeting for?

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What would you name the Lufthansa A380?

Filed under: I write by margocole — 4 Comments
February 19, 2010

As anyone in marketing knows, a naming assignment is super-fantastic. Here’s a fun promotion from Lufthansa that will actually result in a name for their big new plane.
Check it out:

The A380, the new Lufthansa flagship, is a special experience. Find out more about the fascination of a new era in air travel. Take part: Raffles, Downloads, Photos, Video, and a Gallery.
(via My nomination for the first Lufthansa A380)

Two of my thoughts, both starting with “Sky,” were already taken. I went with “Clearliner” for my first try – please vote it up! (You should see it when you click the link.)

What would you name the plane? Give it a shot – you never know. The winner gets 1,000,000 miles, and that ain’t too shabby.

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