My Thalia Book Club Camp Visit

There’s something really magical happening at Symphony Space in Manhattan. It’s called the Thalia Book Club Camp, where young reading and writing enthusiasts sign up for a week-long summer camp of visiting authors, creative writing activities, and exciting field trips within NYC.

I was lucky enough to be invited to talk about my middle-grade novel Madhattan Mystery on Wednesday to this group of eager, mega-talented kids. And smart? Holy guacamole. When I asked if anyone knew what onomatopoeia was, (when your last name is Bonk! you have to ask) every single hand went up. Same deal with “red herrings”. Very impressive!

After a little Q&A session, I conducted an experiment on how incorporating the five senses into writing can really make it come alive. So I brought out the blindfold and asked for a few brave souls to come up with some juicy adjectives for the mystery objects they would be touching…smelling…and tasting. A tad messy–but SO MUCH FUN!

Fresh Basil

Essence of Lavender

Pinecone

Armed with some really great descriptors, the group wrote a few New York City-themed paragraphs in which they including some of the five senses we’d just explored. When they shared their writing with the group, MAN, was I impressed. Jaw-droppingly good!

Book signing was next…then lunch…and then a field trip to Grand Central Terminal to relive some of the fictional moments from Madhattan Mystery. WHAT?! Yep. For real. These kids LOVE to read out loud, and so several got to read sections from the book in the actual spots where they occurred. Spots like…

…the train platform…then over to the information kiosk adorned with the gilded, opal-faced clock…then downstairs to the Lost & Found…and then everyone’s favorite… (wait for it…wait for it…) THE WHISPERING GALLERY! Oooh. Aaah. The very thing that inspired the whole book!

Lean in and whisper…

…and across the hall…

…people will HEAR you!

A farewell scene came much too soon and played out in front of the restrooms–gritty reality–and then I was homeward bound in the 95-degree heat with a happy heart and a bagful of whispers and memories.

A great big THANK YOU to Madeline Cohen, Katie Barasch, Matt Cody, and all the happy campers! I had a blast!  Be sure to check out the Symphony Space/Thalia Book Club Blog.

      

 

Advertisement

WRITER’S BLOCK (But not the kind you think.)

Every December, the block where I live, West 43rd Street in Manhattan, explodes into a holiday wonderland… (Er, maybe “explodes” isn’t the best word to use these days, considering the craziness going on in the world) –TRANSFORMS into a holiday wonderland!

Taking center stage–which is tough to do since the twin high-rises that flank the block are packed with actors–are the glorious Christmas trees for sale, filling the air with their intoxicating scent. The smell of doggy urine is a faint memory as I skip down the block (well, in my mind I’m skipping anyway) breathing in all that piney goodness. That is, of course, until you pass the Little Pie Company. Have mercy! Pies Baking. Mouth watering. Their sour cream apple walnut pie is unquestionably the best pie on earth. On Thanksgiving they have to set up barriers because the lines to pick up preordered pies are around the block. No kidding. And they always have the best windows. Simple. Artful. See what I mean?  

Keep walking and you might pass a guy selling expensive olives in barrels. Yeah, you heard me right. On weekends in non-winter months, our block turns into a mini-farmers market with vendors from Upstate NY and New Jersey selling their fresh produce. This olive guy just won’t take “snow” for an answer.         

A few more steps down the block and I run into Chris (in the black coat), my neighbor from across the hall. “Hi, Chris!” She sells her homemade jewelry on the weekends. She’s also starring in the latest Marie Callendar’s commercial–the one with the fruit pies. (That might be a running theme here, huh?)

A grand jete away from Chris is Patricia, another neighbor who lives on my floor selling Christmas cards that feature her original artwork. She’s an incredibly talented artist and I think she may have been Marc Chagall in a former life. (And apparently brainy, too. She wants to read the German version of my novel, Madhattan Mystery called Gefahr im Central Park to test her language skills.)

 

So, if this writer ever suffers a bout of writer’s block, a stroll along West 43rd Street in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, can clear my head and stir up those creative juices. And if by the time I pass the Starbucks, two restaurants,  newsstand, our package pickup depot, florist, Food Emporium, vitamin store, diving equipment shop, and health club I’m still not inspired, well, there’s always PIE. (See how I tied that together? Actually the mother in the novel I’m working on now is baking a slew of pies for the county fair so that may be why I have pie on the brain. Hmmm.) Okay, stick a fork in it. Glance up at impressive lobby tree on way to elevator… Time for a long winter’s nap?

Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. God bless us, everyone.

Get the “Inside Story” at Bank Street Bookstore

Wanna get the juicy story behind MADHATTAN MYSTERY? I’ll be part of a fun middle-grade author panel and we’ll all be revealing the inside scoop about our novels at Bank Street Bookstore in New York City on Saturday, November 2nd, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. I hear there are some great prizes, too!

http://www.scbwi.org/inside-story/

http://www.bankstreetbooks.com/event/scbwi-inside-story-author-event

Madhattan Mystery Makes Bank Street’s Best Books of 2013 List!

I’m beyond thrilled to announce that Madhattan Mystery is on Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of 2013 list in the 9-12 Adventure and Mystery category! *DOES HAPPY DANCE*

http://bankstreet.edu/center-childrens-literature/childrens-book-committee/best-books-year/best-books-year-2013/

****************************************

And rewinding a few weeks…

Had a FUNderful time on May 18th at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY at their first ever League of Extraordinary Readers event for middle-grade books. Here I am with fellow authors, Lynda Mullaly Hunt and Sarah Mylnowski.

Publishers Weekly liked our shiny smiling faces so much, they published this photo in their pictorial salute to Children’s Book Week!

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/57378-children-s-book-week-2013-a-bookstore-photo-essay.html

MADHATTAN MYSTERY makes Booklist’s Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth: 2013 list!

Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth: 2013.  Cooper, Ilene (author). FEATURE. First published May 1, 2013 (Booklist). Mystery comes in many forms in this top 10: wartime spies, treasure hunting, kidnapping, robbery. There’s a wide range of choices for a wide range of mystery lovers here. These titles were selected from books reviewed in Booklist between May 1, 2012, and April 15, 2013. Code Name Verity. By Elizabeth Wein. 2012. Hyperion, $16.99 (9781423152194). Gr. 9–12. In this gut-wrenching mystery, Julie describes her life as a double-agent during WWII, all the while strapped to a chair after the latest round of Gestapo torture. Code of Silence: Living a Lie Comes with a Price. By Tim Shoemaker. 2012. Zonderkidz, $14.99 (9780310726531). Gr. 7–10. This crackerjack thriller has a breakneck beginning: a robbery and brutal beating. But 13-year-old Cooper and his pals can’t go to the police because they might be part of the problem. Realistically portrayed characters populate a gritty novel. The Curse of the Pharaoh. By Steven Stevenson. Illus. by Stefano Turconi. 2013. Grosset & Dunlap, paper, $5.99 (9780448462172). Gr. 3–5. Twelve-year-old Londoner Agatha Mistery surrounds herself with a cast of sleuths who solve well-plotted mysteries like this one, which involves a missing Egyptian artifact. Four Secrets. By Margaret Willey. 2012. Carolrhoda/Lab, $17.95 (9780316125871). Gr. 7–10. Three junior-high friends are locked up after being found guilty of kidnapping the class bully. The mystery twists like kudzu, creeping ever closer to truths that need to be disclosed. Game. By Barry Lyga. 2013. Little, Brown, $17. 99 (9780316125871). Gr. 10–12. Jazz Dent, teen son of a serial killer, is called upon by the NYPD to get inside the head of another killer on the loose. A serious (and bloody) novel. Hold Fast. By Blue Balliet. 2013. Scholastic, $17.99 (9780545299886). Gr. 4–7. When 11-year-old Early’s father disappears and her family becomes homeless, it’s up to her to figure out what happened and why. Island of Thieves. By Josh Lacy. 2012. Houghton, $15.99 (9780547763279). Gr. 4–7. A search for hidden treasure leads to plenty of adventure as Tom and his not-quite-upstanding uncle find themselves kidnapped in Peru almost as soon as they step off the plane. Madhattan Mystery. By John J. Bonk. 2012. Walker, $16.99 (9780802723499). Gr. 5–8. Lexie thinks she and her brother are just going to New York to visit her aunt. Then she overhears details of a jewel heist and so begins a Big Apple adventure. Good plot; good characters. The Raven Boys. By Maggie Stiefvater. 2012. Scholastic, $17.99 (9780545424929). Gr. 9–12. The Raven Boys, friends at the Aglionby Academy, get involved with a mystery: finding the body of the sleeping king of Wales. But they’re not the only ones on the hunt. A marvelously tangled tale. Three Times Lucky. By Sheila Turnage. 2012. Dial, $16.99 (9780803736702). Gr. 4–6. Mysteries abound in this book set in a small North Carolina town and narrated by sixth-grader Mo, who wants to know who rescued her from the creek when she was a newborn and who has murdered one of the town’s most unlikable residents. THANK YOU, BOOKLIST! I’m smiling so hard that it hurts! Happy to be in such fantastic company.

MAD About MADHATTAN Tour Stop #3: Central Park Carousel

Continuing the MAD About MADHATTAN tour of the coolest spots in New York City that are featured in my middle-grade novel, MADHATTAN MYSTERY, let’s go to Central Park and ride some horses! Like Lexi McGill, you might be thinking, “But don’t we need special boots and an insurance policy?” Nooo. Not those kind of horses.

The Central Park Carousel is one of the largest in America with 57 hand-carved painted horses. It was originally created for Coney Island in 1908 by the Brooklyn carousel makers Stein and Goldstein. Over 250,000 people ride the carousel each year and at $2.50 a pop who could resist? Did you know that there were several carousels in Central Park that came before this one? The very first was in 1870 and was turned by a crank (and probably a very cranky crank operator). The second, in 1873, was turned by a horse (which is really sad—especially since it’s said to have been a blind horse hidden under the platform. Good grief.) In 1924 a humane mechanical version came along but it burned down, as did the next one in 1950. (I’m thinking the horse did it.) The Central Park Carousel is pretty spectacular but it’s not the only carousel in Manhattan.

Right next to the New York Public Library on the southernmost side of Bryant Park sits Le Carrousel, a scrumptious little French carousel. Consisting of fourteen colorful animals, it was specially created to complement the park’s French classical style. At two bucks a ride, grab your child and a chocolate croissant and hop aboard this confection of a carousel. You’ll instantly be transported to Paris as you revolve to the sound of French cabaret music. Très magnifique!

Then there’s the new Pier 62 Carousel in Riverside Park, next to Chelsea Piers, the humongous sports complex located along the Hudson. This modern industrial-ish looking carousel opened in May 2010 and features 33 animals indigenous to the Hudson River Valley. There’s a turtle, a turkey, a seahorse, a raccoon, a unicorn… (Wait, I’ve never seen a unicorn galloping along the Hudson. While I was a awake, anyway.) No matter. This carousel is definitely worth checking out. Where else can you ride a fish wearing a saddle?

Anyway, circling back to the oldest carousel of the three and the most famous, the Central Park Carousel, here’s an excerpt from MADHATTAN MYSTERY…

“This goes a lot faster than your average carousel,” Kim Ling had to go and say when they met up with her at the ticket booth. “A lot faster. And no brass ring. That’s ’cause they don’t want kids reaching for it and busting chins.”

“What?” Kevin turned that greenish shade again. “I don’t know about this, Lex.”

“C’mon, Kev, it’ll be fun.”

“Geez, man up!” Kim Ling said to him, handing three ticket to the ticket-taker. “It’s not like it’s a mechanical bull—it’s a baby ride.”

That remark got Kevin unstuck somehow and he followed the girls onto the carousel platform with the enthusiasm of someone boarding the Titanic II.

“That’s what they said about the Haunted Mansion ride at Kingsley Park,” Lexi whispered to Kim Ling. She helped Kevin onto the smiliest horse with the shiniest gold mane and just as she was about to mount the one next to it, a boy in a plastic fireman hat beat her to it. “Shoot. Are you going to be okay by yourself, Kev, or should I—?”

“Just go already,” he said, wrapping his arms around the shiny pole.

“I’ll be on this one right in front of you. Hold on tight.”

A rinky-dink rendition of “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” began playing loudly and Lexi quickly hopped onto the horse Kim Ling was saving for her. As soon as the carousel came to life, Kim Ling leaned over to her and shouted, “So, what’s the scoop?”

“Shhh! Kevin fell off a ride. He was around five. Split his head open.”

“No way.”

“Way. They had to shut it down and everything.”

_______________________________________________________

That’s it for now. Thanks for joining me on this Carousel-ebration through Manhattan!

 

Enter to win MADHATTAN MYSTERY ARC giveaway!

I’m giving away two autographed Advance Reading Copies (ARCs–or bound proofs) of my new middle-grade novel, MADHATTAN MYSTERY on GoodReads! The book has been through another editing session since this ARC was printed, so there’ll be a few more changes in the final, final hardcover version coming out on May 22nd. Nothing major, though—just nitpickery. Just in case you don’t know, an ARC is a very cool thing to have ’cause they’re not for sale to the general public. You just have to know someone who knows someone who knows someone…

 Or better yet, ENTER HERE to win a free copy!!! 

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/22312-madhattan-mystery

Giveaway ends April 20th. So, what’re you waiting for?

The “MAD about MADhattan” tour kicks off at Radio City!

In anticipation of the May 2012 release of my middle-grade novel, MADHATTAN MYSTERY, I’m taking you all on a virtual tour of the many spectacular Big Apple sites that pop up in the book. So, grab your camera and a light snack, hop on the tour bus and LET’S GO!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! It’s that “most wonderful time of the year”, so what better place to begin our tour of Manhattan than Radio City Music Hall? Located a block from the gigantic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, their trademark “Christmas Spectacular” features the high-kicking Rockettes and it’s a show—no, not just a show—an other-worldly experience unlike any other! Plenty of dazzling dance numbers, singing, costumes, and sets—plus, an onstage ice-skating rink, ballet dancing teddy bears, and a living nativity scene with live camels, donkeys, and sheep. And as if that weren’t enough, now they’re incorporating 3D effects, too. Yep, there’s actually a pair of 3D glasses attached to the programs. See?

   

You certainly can’t fault them for not keeping up with the times. Did you know that there are even small rechargeable microphones attached to the bottom of each of the Rockettes’ tap shoes?! SO COOL! (As a former tap dancer myself, I find this really fascinating.) I saw the show for about the fourth time last year with some friends visiting from Chicago and it knocked my socks off. (No wonder my ankles were freezing when we took that horse and buggy ride through Central Park.)

 Here are some more pix…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a snippet from Chapter 20 of MADHATTAN MYSTERY featuring Radio City. 

   

Entering the lobby was like stepping into a giant Donald Trump living room, provided Donald Trump liked lots of plush red and gold—and crowds. And the jaw-dropping grandiosity continued inside the theater itself. Lexi had never seen so many seats. They extended clear into the heavens, tier after tier, like a humongous wedding cake.

“Can you believe they were actually going to tear this down?” Aunt Roz said as the usher led them toward the stage, which was a glowing orange sunburst that was practically as big as the sun. “I haven’t been inside since the renovation. Melrose, have you ever been?”

“I saw the Christmas Spectacular once, back when I was, like, a fetus. Alls I remember is one of the camels in the livin’ nativity scene takin’ a dump onstage.”

That angel-of-silence thing was happening again—the fifth time that night, if you were counting, and Lexi was. Something was definitely strange with Melrose—well, stranger than usual. She had started off the evening glowing and now she was glowering, and Lexi couldn’t figure out why.

Check out Radio City’s website for more info on this beautiful and historic theatre. http://www.radiocity.com And be sure to stop back here for Tour Stop #2: Grand Central Terminal!