The End of Story Surgeon and the Beginning of My Career!

This will be my last post on the Story Surgeon General blog. 

Far from being a sad event, this is wonderful news! I have several incredible announcements, but I'm going to start by saying THANK YOU to all those that pledged their support of my app.

(Gin Nixon, Jeffry & Dawnita Brown, Heather Burdsal, Jeff & Rachel Brown, Kristy Barreto, Paul Black, Christian Dadino, Ami Clayton, Andre' Bernhardt, Shannon Hernandez, James Plotkin, Desi Lewis, and Cadmar Larson, YOU ROCK!) 

Even though the Kickstarter campaign didn't raise the amount needed to fund the Story Surgeon eBook Editing App, it did cause quite a stir in the blogging world. Because of all the controversy and resulting articles, I was made aware of a similar company, who is also just starting out. (Except they have more resources and marketing know-how.) I contacted them, we had a few meetings, and we've decided to merge our efforts! They've put me in charge of their social media and blog. (Which is one of the reasons I'll be discontinuing this one.)

So without further ado, I introduce you to:

I'm ecstatic to be working with these guys. They're talented programmers and have great business sense. They'll be focusing more on hiding specific content of eBooks rather than adding your personal notes/edits, but the fan fiction aspect is definitely on the the agenda for the future. Please check it out and share with your reader friends.  

The second reason I'll not be able to keep up the SSG blog, is that:

I signed with an agent and got a book deal!

That's right! I'm thrilled to be Candace Charee's first client, and my YA sci-fi, AN UNCOMMON BLUE will be coming out Winter 2014 from Cedar Fort! I'll be keeping my friends updated on my FB fan page, so please stop by and Like it. :)

How it Happened (from the beginning)

My second grade teacher, Mrs. Thuftedal told my mother I was going to be a writer, but it wasn't until after college that I thought it sounded like fun.

In 2004 I'd recently finished Half-Blood Prince and several Roald Dahl books and was suddenly filled with the desire to write my own story. I wanted to touch other people's lives as Rowling and Dahl had mine. So I started on THE EXITOR, a story of an overweight girl who learns to stop her heart and send her soul out to spy on the neighbors. It was slow going. I didn't know how to write and usually ended up playing video games instead.

Meanwhile, life happened. I got married and had a couple kids. Still, I plodded away on my story. I got some books on writing and devoured them. (Most helpful were Story by Robert McKee and Character and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card.) I learned many things I'd been doing wrong and a few that I'd been doing right.

My wife Jaida read most of my work and loved it. (She claimed that had my writing been crap, she would've discouraged me at the start.) It was mostly because of her support (and because of the overwhelming urge to create) that I kept going. Several years later I'd finally finished my 200,000-word mammoth of a novel.

I queried the heck out of SLEEPING FATTY - Book 1 the EXITOR SERIES. Over a hundred agents. I received a few partials and one even liked the partial and requested the full, but in the end I was nursing my injured pride and trying to think what I could do to fix the manuscript. Jaida suggested I put my paranormal epic on hold and revisit a story I had written a few months back. (I had thrown together a couple shorts for publishing credit, but Cricket Magazine didn't want them.)

So I started on AN UNCOMMON BLUE, turning the 2,000 word story into another whopper of a novel. (Over 100K words.) This time, however, I was a little more savvy with social media, I'd made a few friends in the Query Tracker forums, and heard mention of a pitch contest. That was the first I'd heard of blogger query/pitch contests and I was immediately hooked. In addition to my querying, I submitted my baby to tons of contests and received all kinds of great feedback. Here are a few of the entries I was able to find cluttering up cyber space.

Surprise Agent Invasion March 2012

Pitch Madness March 2012

America's Next Author 2012

Writer's Voice May 2012

Wilde's Fire Editor Judged Contest May 2012

Entangle an Editor July 2012 (I entered both my stories in this one.)

Teen Eyes Contest August 2012

YAtopia September 2012

Operation Awesome Mystery Editor   September 2012

An Agent's Inbox September 2012

Backspace Writer's Conference Scholarship Contest 2013 (My entry is at the very bottom with 4 votes.)

Adventures in YA Publishing February 2013

Query Combat May 2013

First Page Friday (Query Critique) July 2013

Miss Snark's Secret Agent January 2014

I know there are more, but I have to finish this blog post sometime before Christmas. :)

During these contests/critiques I received tons of feedback that helped to reshape the pitch, query, and first page. With each contest, my story grew stronger. The most notable contests, ironically, were some of the first ones I entered (the first two on the list), because an R&R (Revise and Resubmit) resulted from both of them. Both Sara Sciuto and Gina Panettieri helped me identify problems with my manuscript and were extremely helpful in fixing them. I owe them both so much! If it hadn't been for the time they took to help out an amateur, my story would probably be shelved, collecting dust. The Wilde's Fire contest was also exciting because it resulted in an offer of publication from Curiosity Quills Press! I wanted to accept the offer right away but the agents I was working with at the time (Louise Fury gave me some great advice) said I should get an agent first and then they could decide which publishing company would be best for my career. So I declined the publishing offer (CQ was very gracious and said the offer stands) and continued to query.

Meanwhile I reconnected with Mrs. Thuftedal, who was pleased to learn of my writing goals and quickly fell in love with An Uncommon Blue. She even wrote an incredible letter to Ellen Degeneres in an effort to get me on her show. (I may share that letter at some point.)

Sara eventually passed on the project, but Gina stuck with me. In fact, since that contest in March 2012, I've been in regular contact with her at Talcott Notch and she's been awesome! At one point I thought I'd snagged her (when she set up a time for a phone call) but we just talked about how she'd liked my changes and how I needed to solidify my world by getting the history down as well as a series outline. Because Gina was such an awesome (and experienced) agent she was exceptionally busy. At times I wondered if my submissions had gotten lost in the shuffle. Curiosity Quills was still anxious to publish me, and I was torn between waiting for Gina and starting the process with the small press.

That's where I was last month when my wife's friend Candace told me Cedar Fort was looking for submissions. Candace goes to our church and is a producer for Frame 7 Productions as well as a talent manager. Before she'd even told me about the call for submissions, she'd contacted her friend at Cedar Fort and told her about my book.

I submitted An Uncommon Blue, and a week later received an offer of publication! Now I had some seriously hard decisions to make.

I had two publication offers (actually three, but one seemed suspicious) and an awesome agent (Gina) who I assumed would eventually take me on. But at the moment it was Candace who had naturally fallen into the agent role. She seemed as excited about the offer as I was, and with her contacts at Cedar Fort, was already finding out specifics about the contract and what it would mean to sign with them.

After thinking and praying about what to do, I decided I'd rather have an inexperienced agent with loads of enthusiasm and time for me. I asked Candace if she would consider being my literary agent. After doing a little research, she agreed, and that is how I ended up signing two contracts in one day. Candace has been an awesome help getting my social media up and running and Cedar Fort hopes to have AN UNCOMMON BLUE out for this Christmas!

I will forever be grateful to Curiosity Quills, Gina, and all the other professionals and bloggers that took the time to help me along my journey. I'm especially grateful to my second grade teacher, who--a quarter century ago--knew what was in store for this shrimpy little blond kid.

This photo was taken last year when I visited Mrs. Thuftedal's class. She's since retired after many years of inspiring students to do great things. :)

Guest Post - The Book Thief - (PG-13)

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - PG-13

With the recent release of the movie, The Book Thief is receiving a lot of attention. Although I only made it halfway through, (not a huge fan of literary fiction) my blogger friend was awesome enough to share her review. Here is Dr. Bradford's review:

Language - Moderate

Sexuality - None

Violence - Mild

Adult Themes - Some

I avoided reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Whenever it came up, all I heard was “…a book set in Nazi Germany…” and I tuned out. Like most of the world, I want to forget such times of pain and suffering. Choosing to believe in a world where people are kind and loving, I shy away from the tales of ugliness and heartless humanity. However, I also understand that to forget is a disservice to those who suffered, died and survived. They deserve to be remembered, and in remembering we have a greater chance to prevent such atrocities from happening again. 

My book group chose this book for our February discussion, so I dutifully picked it up at the library and commenced reading. It only took three days, and I enjoyed it. All of it. The suffering, the pain and ugliness was there, but it took second seat to the love that filled the main character’s lives. Liesel, Rudy, Hans, Rosa, Max. I knew what was coming, but Zusak allows you to feel the little joys, hopes and small acts of kindness that allowed people to continue living. A snowman in a basement, accordion music, silver eyes, a boy with yellow hair, and the power of words. Yes, my heart was broken in the end, but I shared something larger than myself, and hopefully came away with a small piece of the hard learned lessons of those dark years. 

Although tyranny can force you to behave in certain ways to prolong your life or that of your loved ones, there are ways to stay true to the moral fibers that burn in your soul. Small acts of kindness often mean the most. When death finally comes, will you be one of the souls that sit up and come lightly because “more of [you] has already found [its] way to other places”?

Go HERE to see the rest of the review

 (including a clip of Mark Zusak)

The Book Thief gets an (PG-13) rating for content.  

Three stars. 

The Star Ratings on this site are inversely based on amount of mature material found in the books. 

The less objectionable, the content, the more stars it earns.

Thank our Guest Surgeon by following her blog
and checking out her very own books!

Charity Bradford
The Magic Wakes (WiDo Publishing, 2013)

Stellar Cloud: A Collection of Short Stories (September 2013)
Website-charitybradford.com
Blog-My Writing Journey
Facebook Page

Red Rising - (R)

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - R

Set for publication at the end of January, Red Rising is a dystopian novel in the vein of Hunger Games. Although the advance reader copy (ARC) I received in exchange for a review may be subject to change, I've recorded all the material that readers (and parents) should be aware of. (And there is a lot.)

Language - Moderate

Sexuality - Moderate

Violence - Heavy

Adult Themes - Numerous

Red Rising tells the story of Darrow, a seventeen-year-old from a slave class that sets out to undertake his own brand of social reform. The result is bloody, disturbing, and strangely gripping. It's not to the level of horror, but more like a gritty war tale. Definitely not appropriate for younger teens. It makes Hunger Games seem like Saturday morning cartoons.

Red Rising gets an (R) rating for content.  

Two stars. 

The Star Ratings on this site are inversely based on amount of mature material found in the books. 

The less objectionable, the content, the more stars it earns.

Blackmoore - (PG)

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - PG

As a rule, I don't read romance novels. This one was recommended by my wife and for the most part I enjoyed it. Not sure if it's strictly YA romance. Although the main character is 17, she's dealing with love and marriage issues that make her seem much older. (Until the end when she turns into an irrational basket-case, but that's just my distaste for romance talking.)

Language - None

Sexuality - Mild

Violence - None

Adult Themes - A couple

Other than a little shirtless moment (him, not her) and some disrespecting of parents (they sorta deserve it) this is one romance you could read out loud to your grandma in church.

Blackmoore gets a (PG) rating for content.

Four stars
(Star ratings on this site are based solely on amount of mature content. The less objectionable the content, the more stars.)

The Warrior Heir - (PG-13)

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - PG-13

This is an older fantasy that my brother recommended. The profanity is mild, but what you have to watch out for is the violence. Several people die in brutal/bloody ways. Although you don't generally see it happen, he describes the blood and the mangled bodies ("nearly ripped in half" sort of thing.)

Overall, I found it interesting but couldn't relate to the I-don't-know-what-I-want-but-I-like-to-whine main character. The stats presented here are for the first half of the book. (I made it to 7 of 11 CDs before I gave up.) But unless there was a surprise sex scene at the end, this should give you an idea if you want your teens reading it.

Language - Mild

Sexuality - Mild

Violence - Moderate

Adult Themes - Some

The Warrior Heir gets a (PG-13) rating for content.  

Three stars. 

(The STAR RATINGS on this blog represent MATURE CONTENT only. The less objectionable content, the higher the rating.)

All Our Yesterdays - (PG-13)

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - PG-13

ALL OUR YESTERDAYS is a YA time-travel sci-fi that reads more like a YA mystery with a heavy romance angle. I started it in September, (before the blog) so I although went back and skimmed, I may have missed some of the content.

Language - Heavy

Sexuality - Moderate

Violence - Heavy

Adult Themes - Many

All Our Yesterdays is about a pair of kids that go four years into the past to murder someone destined to be a villain. It's an interesting moral dilemma and brings up thought-provoking issues. Unfortunately, the plot isn't quite as thought-provoking.

All Our Yesterdays gets a (PG-13) rating for content.  

Three stars. 

(The Star Ratings on this site are based solely on the amount of mature material. The less objectionable the content is, the higher the rating.)

Spotlight - Brandon Mull (Certified Safe Author)

Several years ago I picked up the first Fablehaven book at random from the library. The first half was okay, but near the end I found myself getting genuinely freaked out. Not that it was violent or disturbing, Brandon just did a great job making the story seem real. I decided to give the second book in the series a try and I'm glad I did. (It was much better than the first.) Thus began my like-alot-affair with Mr. Mull. I've read most of his books and there's nary a swear word to be found. Nor is there anything sexual. The only thing parents might need to watch out for is mild fantasy violence and kids disobeying their elders. The covers below each represent entire series, so if you find you like Brandon's style you'll have enough material to last you through adolescence. (Or your midlife crisis.)

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - G

In general, the Fablehaven books get better as they go. (Although #2 will always be my favorite.) The Candy Shop Wars I enjoyed least, and I still haven't read the sequel. The first and second books in the Beyonders series were phenomenal (if you can overlook that stupid hippo) although by the third book, Brandon's horrible prose and meandering plotting was starting to get to me. The book still sits half finished in my locker at work.

Language - None

Sexuality - None

Violence - Mild

Adult Themes - A Few

I reiterate, the writing in these books is sub-par. Don't expect to be intellectually stimulated. Brandon does a whole lot of telling instead of showing and he loves him some adverbs. But if you're not a lit-snob like me, you shouldn't have any trouble losing yourself in the incredibly creative stories.

Brandon Mull's books get a blanket (G) rating for content.  

Five stars. 

REALITY BOY - (R)

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - R

Released earlier this week, REALITY BOY is being marketed as a contemporary YA/Adult crossover. Contemporary Young Adult means no magic, futuristic technology, or running for your life. Typically these novels move at a slower pace and center around buzz topics such as abuse, suicide, disability, sexual orientation, or terminal illness. (Usually with a side of romance/sexual coming-of-age.)

The term "crossover" means they're expecting the adults to enjoy this as much as teens, but in this case, it seems they're also using it as a license to fill this children's book with adult content. Although I only made it through the first third of the book, the stats I collected so far should give you an idea of whether you want to buy it for your teen.

Language - Extreme

Sexuality - Heavy

Violence - Heavy

Adult Themes - Numerous

Reality Boy is about a boy's struggle to overcome the emotional damage he received as a child TV reality star. For those that don't mind the coarse content (or lack of external plot), you'll probably fall in love with the characters. A.S. King writes well and with compassion. It's an important book as far as addressing mental disability and the necessary role of parents. I just wish she could have done it with a few less F-words.

Reality Boy gets an (R) rating (bordering on NC-17) for content.  

Two stars. 

(A copy of this book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for a review.)

Why This Blog is Not About Censorship

As a father of four kids under seven (your sympathy is appreciated), a reader of mostly young adult books (that has to do with my own maturity level), and a compulsive writer, I find myself juggling many opinions and priorities when it comes to literature. Let me start by saying I didn’t intend for this blog to be controversial or get anyone fired up. And I certainly don’t want to come off as self-righteous. I just want to fill a need.

It started out harmlessly enough. Since I’ve got my own soon-to-be-published YA novel, I knew I’d have to get out of my antisocial little cave and make some online friends. The only problem was what to offer in return. Most wouldn’t really care about my writerly journey. (Like, oh my gosh, I got 3,000 rejections and then someone finally didn’t hate my manuscript! *insert squee here*.) I thought about offering parenting or writing advice, but since I haven’t been proven effective in either of these areas, I might end up getting sued. Or worse—embarrassed on Facebook.

Then I remembered a website called screen-it.com. Back in the day it was a free resource, advising parents of the questionable content in popular movies. My wife and I are conservative when it comes to media, so we used this site periodically to determine whether we’d enjoy certain films. (Nowadays the website charges, so we take our chances…did I mention we’re cheap as well?)

That’s when my brilliant idea hit me. Why not offer a tool to parents who want to guide their kids toward wholesome books, but don’t have time to read every YA novel in the library?

At this point, some of you will be preparing your vocal chords to scream YOU EVIL CENSORING PIG!!

Let’s make one thing clear: I don’t want children to grow up illiterate or hate reading. But I do believe children are more impressionable than adults and can be shaped negatively by the media they take into their trusting little brains. Rather than starting a campaign to get certain books off the shelves, I’m simply giving those parents who still take an interest in the emotional development of their children a free resource to make their job a little easier. (Emphasis on little.)

my unusually attractive wife reading a magazine to my abnormally adorable daughter

But is protecting kids really necessary? In fifth grade, my cousin first showed me a bad word in a Michael Crichton novel. I was intrigued and ended up reading Jurassic Park in its entirety. (It’s still one of my favorites.) Now as an adult, I don’t use that particular bad word, so I guess I’m living proof that one expletive isn’t going to turn you into a serial killer.

Neil Gaiman feels the same way. In a recent lecture at the Reading Agency he said:

“I don’t think there is such a thing as a bad book for children. Every now and again it becomes fashionable among some adults to point at a subset of children’s books, a genre, perhaps, or an author, and to declare them bad books, books that children should be stopped from reading. I’ve seen it happen over and over; Enid Blyton was declared a bad author, so was R.L. Stine, so were dozens of others. Comics have been decried as fostering illiteracy. It’s tosh. It’s snobbery and it’s foolishness."

On the other hand, Meghan Cox Gordon, a children’s book reviewer for the New York Times had this to say:

"Every year the American Library Association delights in releasing a list of the most frequently challenged books.[…] "It almost makes me happy to hear books still have that kind of power," Mr. Alexie [an author of one of the books,] was quoted saying; "There's nothing in my book that even compares to what kids can find on the Internet." 

Oh, well, that's all right then. Except that it isn't. It is no comment on Mr. Alexie's work to say that one depravity does not justify another. If young people are encountering ghastly things on the Internet, that's a failure of the adults around them, not an excuse for more envelope-pushing.”

Ms. Gordon goes on to give specific, disturbing examples from YA books (books aimed at 12 to18-year-old readers) and the backlash from this article was legendary.

Gaiman’s article, too received a lot of attention, most of it positive.

This blog is not trying to determine who’s right (although I have my own opinions) and I’ll not necessarily be trying to convince anyone to take my standards as their own. This blog is, however, for those that want to err on the side of protecting their children.

I think Gordon picked the worst of the worst to comment on, and Gaiman picked the tamest of books to suit his own needs. Increasingly, those that side with Gordon are getting fewer and farther between. This, I think, is one reason why this blog is needed. Conservative readers need to stick together and support each other. We need to know that although we are the minority, we still have the right to protect our kids. It’s not censorship. It’s responsible parenting.

So here’s the plan.

I’ll use this blog primarily to review YA books. Those reviews will deal with general quality, but will also spell out specific content that parents should be aware of before buying the book for their teen.

Since I don’t get a huge amount of reading time (did I mention I have four kids under seven?) I’ll be needing your help with this. When you read a book (YA or otherwise) keep track of the content as best you can and share it with the rest of us. You can either email your review to me at storysurgeongeneral at gmail or you can contact me about doing a guest post. Either way, the more of us reviewing, the better prepared we’ll be when we take our kids to the library.

I’ll also be using this blog to promote an app that I’m developing. It’s called the Story Surgeon Editor, and when it’s finished, will allow parents to remove or change content from eBooks and share their filters with the world. (More on that later.)

Hopefully this blog will also help me make some friends so that when my own book finally comes out, I’ll sell more than twenty copies. (Just so you know, all followers of this blog are morally obligated to buy my book.)

And lastly, I plan on becoming so popular that JK Rowling asks me to lunch. Because what other worthy goal could anyone have in this life than to watch Harry Potter’s creator eat a salad?