The "Girl Book" Debacle

Shannon Hale has been posting about the tragedy of how boys will often refuse to read girl books. Catch up on her excellent blog discussion here, here, and here and on her tumblr account here.

She's running a contest right now where you can post a picture of a boy/guy/man reading any "girl" book and post a link here. Winners will get quality girl books. Like her recently-released sequel to Princess Academy (her "girliest" book), Princess Academy: Palace of Stone.

So I rounded up my boys and handed out copies of "girl" books: Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George, the sequel, Dragon Flight, and The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. When I first started passing them out to my confused sons, KidC (9 years old) got excited--he thought I was giving them away. He remembered me reading the Dragon Slippers books to them and was grinning. Bouncing. I've recently started reading The Goose Girl to them (spurred, in part, by Shannon's posts) and KidD (11 years old), was the only one who had expressed discontent with the no-explosions-in-the-first-chapter pace. KidC and KidB (7 years old), when asked, admitted to liking the first chapter, no-explosions and all.

So I handed Dragon Slippers to KidD, Dragon Flight to KidB, and Goose Girl to KidC. And I explained that I was going to take a picture of the boys reading the books. And that I would post it on my blog.

KidC exclaimed "I don't want people to see me reading a girl book!" He tried to trade Goose Girl with KidD so he'd have one of the Dragon Slipper books instead (lesson learned: dragons are manly, even if they are friends with a seamstress who exclusively makes fancy ballgowns). KidD tried to pose with the book covering his face. KidB, who is learning what is acceptable from his brothers, was likewise reluctant.

KidC with Goose Girl, KidB with Dragon Slippers, KidD with Dragon Flight

So I called a halt to the proceedings, sat down my young-uns, and asked: What is wrong with girl books?

KidB exclaimed that they talk about girl parts. (We told him that none of the books he'd be reading would have anything like that.)

KidC related a story (the specifics of which he could not remember, which could suggest that it does not have its origins in reality but is instead the product of his expectations) about a time when a boy caught him reading a girl book, laughed at him and then told the other boys.

KidD, an hour after I took the pictures and mocked them for not being manly enough to read "girl" books, asserted that his problem was with having his picture taken, and not with having people see him reading a book with a girl on the cover. He says that wouldn't be a problem for him at all. We will be testing this assertion and reporting back.

When I started reading Shannon's posts, I had a bit of an a-hah! moment. Back when I started reading novels to my boys at bedtime, I started with Dragon Slippers. This was mainly because I had purchased the first two books and knew I needed to own the books before read them, since we didn't make it through a book in 3 weeks. Plus, I wanted something fantasy, since I've noticed that a taste for fantasy must be cultivated very young or it is harder to acquire one later. So I read Dragon Slippers and, despite the very girly scenes, my boys loved it. After that, though, I wanted to try to cultivate their love for reading on their own. So I went looking for "boy" books so they'd be all "Wow! That sort of stuff is in books? I want to read more of it!"

And, sure, I don't think that's a horrible theory. My boys loved Janitors by Tyler Whitesides. They roared at every fart/burp/potty joke in J. Scott Savage's The Zombie Kid (no, it's not out yet--we read it before it was even an ARC--nyah, nyah). They enjoyed the twists and turns of Harry Potter (we stopped at book 3).

But now I think they've got the point. Even though they aren't devouring books (yet--I still have hope), they know there are fascinating stories in there. They know where to go when they're ready for a good time.

Now is the time to expand their horizons, methinks. To introduce them to books they might not pick up on their own, but just might love anyway. To convince them that there doesn't need to be a boy on the cover of every awesome story. That girls, doing girl things, can teach them as much about their own lives as fart jokes. Maybe more.

We're now 5 chapters into Goose Girl, and the boys are warming up to it. It helped that one of the guards was killed by a sword that burst out through his chest. That was cooool.

What do you think? Do you encourage your boys to read "girl" books? Do you ever tease them when they love a "princess" book? (Stop that right now!) When you shop for a story your son/brother/nephew might like, do you consider female protagonists? If not, why do you think that is? Is it socially accepted for a girl to read a boy book? If so, why is it okay for a girl to read a boy book, but not the other way around?

(Updated to change Dragon Spear to Dragon Flight. Spear is the 3rd book. *blushes*)

100 Posts! Recommendations for Everyone!

This is my 100^thblog post!!!! Party!!! Confetti!! Cookies for everyone!

I haven’t posted for a week, because I just couldn’t think of anything cool enough to put in my 100^thpost. How does one manage to choose such things?

I wanted to do a give-away, but, dang it, I’m poor, and can’t finance anything big enough. Maybe for my upcoming blog-i-versary.

So I decided to give you all a list of my 100 favorite books from the last three years. The ones I’d love to recommend to you—and frequently do recommend to those who ask. I’ve been logging my reading since April of 2008, so I had over 500 books to choose from. I went through and weeded out the ones I didn’t feel good about recommending. Those I couldn’t remember, or wasn’t all that impressed by. I also weeded out many that I really do love, but knew would get easily cut from the top 100. I was left with over 200. *Sigh*

Of the over 200 finalists, most were part of a series. If I were to list each series as a single entry instead of multiple entries, I’d be under 100. Bother.

So we’re left with the following categorized list of books I would like to recommend to you, depending on your tastes. There are many more amazing books out there that I’ve read in my life, including classics and more modern novels. These are just my favorites from the last three years—since I decided to become a novelist myself. Some I’ve broken down into series, and some I’ve listed by author. This is a long post, so feel free to skip forward to your favorite genre—or the genre you’d like to try out—and see what I’m recommending there. To help you decide where to start, I’ve listed my top choice first in each category. UPDATED to add pictures, so you know the cover to look for. :)

General disclaimer: not all of these books are PG-rated. If you prefer PG-rated books, proceed with caution, and feel free to contact me for specifics on each book. Everyone’s tastes and sensibilities are different: I promise not to judge you if you promise not to judge me. :)

Also, I was going to link to each author, but that’s too much work, so I’m linking to my top author in each category and trusting that you can get Google to help you find the rest.

YA Low / Urban Fantasy

These books take our world and add magic. This is my favorite category, so I’ve read a lot of books in it. Harry Potter isn’t listed only because I haven’t read him recently.

Top Recommendation: Everneath by Brodi Ashton –it comes out in January 2012, but I read an ARC a few weeks ago. You’re going to want it. Pre-Order it now. You’ll thank me later. My full-ish review will be up here on October 26^th.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (yes, I still love the books)
2. Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, beginning with City of Bones—and don’t forget the spin-off prequel series: The Infernal Devices
3. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
4. Wings series by Aprilynne Pike
5. My Fair Godmother series by Janette Rallison (with another UF series to come under the pen-name CJ Hill)
6. The Dark Divine series by Bree Despain
7. Artemis Fowl (thanks, Shelly) series by Eoin Colfer (I’ve only read the first, but it was very fun)
8. Need series by Carrie Jones
9. Faeriewalker series by Jenna Black, beginning with Glimmerglass
10. Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong, beginning with The Summoning
11. Paranormalcy series by Kiersten White
12. Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
13. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

YA / MG High Fantasy

These books are about a different world than ours, with magic and mystery.

Top recommendation: The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale, beginning with The Goose Girl. While you’re at it, read her other fine, award-winning YA books (and her adult books). I love Shannon’s lyrical writing, and the way her characters lean on their friends to succeed. Also the romance. J

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Anything by Jessica Day George, especially Princess of the Midnight Ball (which is really about a boy)
2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
3. The Glasswrights' Apprentice series by Mindy Klasky (though I haven’t finished it yet)
4. Far World Series by J. Scott Savage, beginning with Water Keep
5. The Shifter series by Janice Hardy
6. The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan, beginning with The Magician’s Guild

YA Dystopian      

Everybody’s utopia is someone else’s dystopia. I like to diss this category, but there are still lots of books I like in it.

Top Recommendation: Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I’m not sure I’ll ever be brave enough read it again (or see the movie), but it’s a brutal, dazzling, and haunting ride. Definitely a must-read.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. The Maze Runner series by James Dashner (final book due out in 10 days!)
2. Matched Ally Condie (book #2 is due out November 1)
3. Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld (excluding Extras—I just couldn’t finish it)

YA Contemporary Romance

Our world, with romance and no magic. What’s not to love?

Top Recommendation: Any number of books by Janette Rallison. Especially try My Double Life and Just One Wish. Normal teenagers with mostly normal problems. Janette is quirky, profound, hilarious, and an all-around treat to read. (And she’s starting a new YA UF series under the pen name of CJ Hill!)

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (sooo looking forward to reading Lola, too!)
2. Back When You Were Easier to Love by Emily Wing Smith
3. The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
4. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

Adult Low / Urban Fantasy

Our world, magic, few teenagers. “Adult” doesn’t mean X-rated, but some of them are a bit graphic—in blood and / or in sex. Know your sensibilities and choose wisely.

Top Recommendation: I have to go with Patricia Briggs. I’m so in love with her Mercy Thompsonseries (starting with Moon Called), I went back and read everything she’s ever written. You should, too. (Some of it is high fantasy.) Mercy Thompson also has a great spin-off series called Alpha and Omega. Read that, too.

Can’t-help-it Runner-up: Ilona Andrews, especially her Kate Daniels series, beginning with Magic Bites. There’s a bit of post-apocalyptic in this one, but it’s an amazing world and a wonderful what-if. Ilona (who is really a wife-husband writing team) also has a great UF series called The Edge—starting with On the Edge.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category (and, really, I keep re-arranging the first 4):

1. The Hallows series by Kim Harrison, beginning with Dead Witch Walking
2. Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong, beginning with Bitten.
3. Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter, beginning with Skinwalker
4. The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, beginning with Halfway to the Grave
5. Sookie Stackhouse series (the inspiration for TruBlood on HBO) by Charlaine Harris, beginning with Dead Until Dark
6. Harper Connelley series by Charlaine Harris, beginning with Grave Sight
7. Allie Beckstrom Series by Devon Monk, beginning with Magic to the Bone
8. Undead series by MaryJanice Davidson, starting with Undead and Unwed (vampire chick-lit)
9. The Walker Papers series by C.E. Murphy, beginning with Urban Shaman
10. The Negotiator series by C.E. Murphy, beginning with Heart of Stone
11. Broken Heart series by Michele Bardsley, beginning with I'm the Vampire, That's Why
12. Girl's Guide to Witchcraft series by Mindy Klasky
13. Stormwalker series by Allyson James

Adult High Fantasy

Think Lord of the Rings—which isn’t on the list only because I haven’t read it in the last three years

Top Recommendation: Anythingby Brandon Sanderson. The Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, The Way of Kings—all excellent, mind-blowing, and depressingly discouraging to a wanna-be like me. (One of my wanna-be friends threw Elantris across the room when he finished it because it was so good. How can we hope to measure up to that?) I’m even tempted to wade through the whole Wheel of Time series because Brandon is writing the end of it! (Also, Brandon is coming to Authors’ Advisory on October 5 to talk about Magic Systems!!)

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, beginning with The Name of the Wind (though, honestly, I’m waiting until the series is complete before I read past #1—three year lag times are a bit much for me)      
2. Rogue Mage series by Faith Hunter, beginning with Bloodring
3. The Tide Lords series by Jennifer Fallon, beginning with The Immortal Prince (sadly, I haven’t yet read the last book)
4. Mad Kestral by Misty Massey

Steampunk (YA and Adult)

Take historical times and pretend they were as smart about science as they thought they were. Steam-powered gadgetry a must.

Top Recommendation: the Alexia Tarabotti series by Gail Carriger, beginning with Soulless. This is actually Victorian Fantasy Steampunk with a healthy dose of romance. Ever wonder how tiny little England took over the world? They had werewolves in their military, of course. And those strange Victorian fashions? Vampires. Absolutely hilarious books, with a YA spinoff in the works.

Close Runner-Up: Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series. A commoner girl pretending to be a boy falls in love with a royal boy who doesn’t know she’s a girl, while they ride around on a flying whale fighting elaborate machines in a rewritten version of World War I. The third book, Goliath, just came out, and I’m so excited to read it!!

Horror

Stephen King is the master at this. Take one relatable, mostly ordinary hero, pit him against something terrifying, and raise your reader’s pulse.

Top Recommendation: I Am Not a Serial Killer series by Dan Wells. #2 is Mr. Monster. #3 is I Don’t Want to Kill You. If the titles don’t convince you, they’re about John Wayne Cleaver, a 15-year-old diagnosed sociopath who is obsessed with serial killers… but doesn’t want to become one. He has rules to keep him from going down that path (i.e. No Stalking People)—and they’re working just fine until a serial killer comes to town. John decides he can stop him… he’ll just have to break some of his rules.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. The Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz
2. The Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz, beginning with Prodigal Son         
3. By the Light of the Moon by Dean Koontz
4. The Meridians (Ebook) by Michaelbrent Collings (who writes a lot like Dean Koontz) :)

           

Sci-Fi (Adult and YA) 

Playing with possibilities in scientific advancement, space travel, and alien life forms.

Top Recommendation: The Host by Stephenie Meyer. It’s simply amazing. The body-snatcher “Souls” are wonderfully kind and utterly perplexed about why these few “wild” humans are still resisting. The Souls unquestionably improve the societal structure on every planet they conquer. They eliminate poverty, sickness… and human consciousness—at least, until the Soul Wanderer takes over Melanie’s body. This heart-wrenching love story is told from Wanderer’s perspective, but is intimately woven with the perspective of the woman still hanging onto her mind—and her memories of a lost love.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis (book two coming soon)
2. Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre, beginning with Grimspace

Adult Contemporary Romance

If you need an endorphin fix, a Happily-Ever-After, or just a reason to believe that things really can work out in the end, this is the genre for you. Unless you’re under 18 or squeamish about sex in novels. Then ask your parents first.

Top Recommendation: Anything by Robyn Carr. And not just because she’s my mentor. Her recent Grace Valley and Virgin River series about tiny towns nestled in gigantic mountains are the ultimate in comfort food. Beautiful women, manly men (mostly ex-marines), and (fictional) tight-knit communities so real you’ll be calling your realtor.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, especially What I Did For Love
2. Anything by Jennifer Crusie, especially Bet Me, where the overweight girl still gets the hotty guy—and you’ll actually believe it!
3. Almost anything by Loretta Chase, especially Lord of Scoundrels
4. Traitor series by Sandra "my first-cousin Noreen" Grey (Though I haven’t read past the first book yet. Bad cousin. No cookie.)

           

Adult Contemporary

Present day. Not romance, not fantasy, not horror.

Top Recommendation: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson. They can be disturbingly graphic, but if you’re not turned off by that sort of thing, the books are heart-pounding, gut-wrenching, and leave you rooting for the girl with weird hair, piercings, and tats. Who just happens to be a genius. And a hacker. And not half as incompetent as she’s been declared. And the toughest waif you’ll ever meet. It’s no wonder us Americans wanted our own set of films.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Nadia Stafford series by Kelley Armstrong, beginning with Exit Strategy—female ex-cop hit-man… er woman
2. Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, though I’ve only read the first one: The Eyre Affair

           

Writing Craft Books

Yeah, I really should read more of these. Most of my writing education lately has been from blogs, though, and blogs (as everybody knows) have excellent information on them. Still, these books are great, too. Even though I can’t pick a favorite.

On Writing (A Memoir of the Craft) by Stephen King—this is sort of a must-read for a genre writer. See King’s journey from dirt-poor scribbler to world-renowned author. Also, lots of solid (and some take-it-or-leave-it) advice on how to follow in his footsteps.

The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth by James N. Frey—a wonderful description of the Hero’s Journey, the various characters, the steps along the way, and why readers love this structure again and again and again.

-------------------------

Whew! You’re still here? You skipped, didn’t you? That’s okay. Come back whenever you’re wondering what to read next. :) I've specifically mentioned 77 books and/or series, so you should have enough to keep you busy for a while. 

So do our tastes match? Is your favorite missing? (If so, keep in mind that I might have read it over 3 years ago.) See any you want to try next? 

Finally, thanks so much to all my followers / readers / friends / family. Blogging wouldn't be half as much fun without you!

A Winning Team

In April, I did a blog-swap with Michelle Davidson and posted (on her blog) about how great it was to have writer friends. I used Shannon Hale and Stephenie Meyer as an example of a great writer-friendship.

I'm so smart.

Shannon announced today that Austenland will be made into a movie! Shannon co-wrote the screenplay, so we know it'll be awesome! Keri Russell will star as Jane, and JJ Field will play an-actor-playing-Mr. Darcy!  Filming begins this week in the UK.

Stephenie Meyer is producing it, through her production company, Fickle Fish Films (others are also involved).

I stole this picture from the Twilight Lexicon site:
http://www.twilightlexicon.com/2007/09/09/shannon-hale-interviews-stephenie/

I, for one, am excited. This is amazing news.

Winner! Winners! and Tag

I'm an impatient person, so I'm cutting right to the chase: the winner of Tuesday's cross-blog contest with Michelle Davidson Argyle... and the random.org-generated winner of her e-book CINDERS... is...

Donna Weaver!!

Congrats, Donna! I have already given your email address to Michelle, so expect to get that soon. (Seriously, when  random.org gave me a #1 for the random number, I stared at it for a while. You call #1 random? Guess the system works, huh?)


What's even better (for me, anyway) is that Donna gave me The Versatile Blogger Award waaay back on January 31st. Since I'd just accepted an award from her, I figured I'd put off accepting this one for a little bit, so I didn't have to repeat the same list of bloggers (and facts about me) I'd just posted. Then, well, you know what happened. I forgot.

Then, this week, Laura Josephsen gave me a similar award, The Versatile Blogger. Pretty cool, huh?

Both of these awards require a list of 7 things about me. And for me to identify 15 bloggers who also deserve the award.  And to contact the people I give them to and let them know I gave them the award. And for me to link back to the people who gave them to me.

I'm going to address each in the reverse order.


Links to Donna and Laura are above. :)

As for contacting the winners: Hey! Winners! Come get your award! (Pick whichever one you like best.)

For the list of winners, if you will direct your attention to the list of blogs on the left side of your screen, you will see the blogs I frequent the most. If you're a frequent commenter on my blog, chances are that your blog is over there. (I follow people with excellent taste in blogs, and put them in my blogroll so I know when you post. All the stalkers are doing it.) If it isn't, comment again. Frequently. :) (Isn't that a fun word to say? Frequent: a great combination of Free, Freak, and Quaint. Depending on your accent.) Those blogs are all winners. I haven't counted them, but I suspect there are fewer than 30. In that case, if you want to win both awards... congrats!

Finally, 7 things about me. (I'm also combining this with Anita Howard's game of Tag, because listing personal facts should always have more than 2 rewards):

1. My middle name is Michelle, and my maiden name is Ambrose. When I got married (like my big sister before me), I kept both, but I don't hyphenate. I just have two middle names, now, which creates endless confusion when filling out forms that only want one middle initial. I usually go with Robin M. Weeks. Sorry, maiden name.
2. I have three sons, aged (currently) 10, 7, and 5. Their names start with D, C, and B, respectively, and are all two-syllable names. If we were to ever have another boy, we would give him a two-syllable A name.
3. I want a girl. Actually, I've ordered twin girls next, since I want two daughters and only really want to be pregnant one more time. For many, many reasons, I am insanely jealous of Shannon Hale. My husband is against having any more kids, but if I ever get my wish, the little darlings will be named after my two grandmothers and my mother and mother-in-law. Since my mom and MIL have very similar names, they'll have to be the middle names: Letha Lynette and Kathleen Yvette. Now aren't those the best twin names ever?
4. I swore I would never marry a cowboy. (What is WITH the belt buckles, anyway?) My husband stopped riding bulls because his shoulders wouldn't take it anymore. He's now the SAH parent, which is the job I want. If I sell my book for a bunch of money, I'm buying him a ranch, then he can work and I can take care of the kids and write. *Sigh* At least we'll have cute baby animals one season a year.
5. I am the second-oldest of six children. I have one older sister, two younger sisters, and, right at the end, two brothers. My brothers got really interesting after I left for college.
6. Other than myself, my whole family lives within an hour drive of each other. Only two of my siblings have been to my house, which is a 4-hour drive from my family. My parents have been here three times in the almost seven years I've lived here, all for major life events. The Ambrose family has no gypsy blood AT ALL. (No, I'm not bitter.)
7. My husband's siblings all live 3-5 hours away from their parents, who still manage to see them all once a month or more. Oh, yeah. The Weeks family likes to DRIVE. I'm an Ambrose, so I don't like to drive. I read or write, while my husband drives. If I'm driving by myself (and I'll be on the road longer than the 5 minutes it takes to get to work), I get a book-on-tape, er, -CD.

Okay, now it's your turn! Either you just won an award or you've been tagged (though playing is optional, sadly). Go list seven things about you on your blog and leave a comment telling me you've done it, so I can come learn about you! If you don't want to play, you can still comment. :)

Dreary Deneoument (or, how to stop Falling Action from falling flat)

When I was finishing the first draft of my WIP, I was on a deadline (self-imposed)--I wanted to finish it by the end of the month. Thus, predictably, the ending got a bit... scrunched.

The second draft, I was trying to finish it by the end of that month so I could submit it to my writer's group for March. Thus (oh! a pattern!) the ending remained scrunched.

It wasn't horrible (well, it was: not burn-the-book horrible--just throw-it-across-the-room horrible), but it sure wasn't GOOD.

For draft #3, I'm starting at the end (yay! watch me learn!). I'm paying attention to what my group was confused by, what they thought made no sense, and I'm inserting a whole scene that explains a few things my characters were too busy running around to explain before.

And now I'm wondering if it's a bit anticlimactic.

I'm sending it to my group in a day or so to get their semi-professional opinions (one of my group members --Jenn Johansson--just got an agent, so now we're all semi-professional), but in the meantime, I'm looking at published books I love to see if they have any "let's talk about this" stuff--and how much--after the main conflict is over. Join me?

**Spoiler Warnings--I'm talking about the endings, here, folks. If you haven't read these books (and you want to!) stop reading now.***

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

 By page 364, the sword fight is over, the main bad guys are dead, Ani has her identity back, and most of the good guys are triumphant. Yay! They discuss the carnage.

By the end of page 369, Conrad has appeared with the treacherous lady-in-waiting in tow and she has been dispatched. Now we just have to wrap up the romance and the war.

On page 372, Ani attends the "war" counsel and has an animated discussion with the prime minister, who really, REALLY wants to go kill something already. No one dies, but this probably counts as conflict. Plus, I love her speech: "It would be suicide for Kildenree to war on Bayern and butchery for Bayern to attack Kildenree."

Between page 375 and 380, Ani and Geric work things out between them, sitting on the stairs in the kitchen. Love this part, too, because I love romance. Wrapping up the romantic subplot is a Good Thing.

Page 380-383 are probably the true denoument. The forest-born get their own 100-band, javelins, and shields; Ani meets some of her subjects as their future queen; and everything wraps up nicely.

Stats:
Action falls for 19 pages
Lots of non-conflict stuff (sleeping, getting dressed, chatting casually)
In my opinion: I never got bored. Love it all.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
By the end of 295, the conflict is over, Quirrell/Voldemort is gone, and Harry has been saved. He wakes up in the hospital and has a chat with Dumbledore. Their chat continues while Dumbledore explains many of the perplexing mysteries of the book (through page 301).

301-304: Harry recaps things with his friends, still in the hospital.

304-307: End of term feast, with house championship announced--the conflict with the Slytherins wraps up nicely.

307-309: (The denoument) exam marks come in, they travel home.

Stats:
Action falls for 14 pages.
Lots of chatting, resting, and eating of earwax-flavored jelly beans
In my opinion, even the conversation with Dumbledore didn't feel like an infodump because, let's face it, Dumbledore is an awesome character. I could listen to him talk all day.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
(My copy of Twilight went home with a teenie bopper and never came back.)

The violence ends and the Volturi leave on page 579--but this book is really about Bella's choice between Edward and Jacob (such as it was--Jacob never had a chance) and that is finally settled when she figures out she loves them both, still chooses Edward, and leaves Jacob's broken self behind on page 604.

605-620: Bella cries in Edward's arms, they tell Alice she can plan the wedding, Bella decides not to sleep with Edward before the wedding. Depending on where you count the loose ends as tied up, all of this could be denouement--or only the last page, after Bella gets out the bucket of cold water

621-629: Jacob's epilogue. I'm not counting epilogues--this one is clearly a set-up for Breaking Dawn.

Stats:
Action falls for 15 pages (from the breaking of Jacob's heart through the end of Bella's POV)
Bella mourns, sleeps, chats with her dad, Edward, etc, makes decisions about her established relationship with Edward.
I enjoy everything Stephenie writes, so I'm biased, but I think this went well for the story. I would have been upset if the sex issue was left hanging, so it was nice to have it resolved like that. Ditto on letting Alice plan the wedding. Bella needed time to mourn, too, so that time wasn't wasted, and she needed time to reassure Edward that he was really better for her. Not bored.

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
The last bad guy dies on page 608. The good guys get healed, Sarene and Raoden get married (during which the groom ponders on the various magical systems in the world). The romantic subplot is all done by 612.

613-615: they bury those who died in the final battle. Love the final line: "Let it be said that after all else, Hrathen, gyorn of Shu-Dereth, was not our enemy. He was our savior." Lovely circular reference. This is the denoument.

Stats:
Action falls for 7 pages (but the text is awfully tight--I have the small paperback version)
Enough doesn't happen that Raoden has time to get bored and ponder on things. There's a lot of getting dressed, assembling, and climbing out of carriages.
My opinion: well, of course I love it. This is Brandon Sanderson. He can make a grocery list interesting. Still, the business wasn't horrible, and helped wrap up the book very nicely. Sarene and Raoden had to get married--and what else is he supposed to think about? Also, nice set up for what will hopefully be another few books in this world.

Now let's compare my own:
Draft 1: (don't ask)
Draft 2: Action fell for 2.2 pages. Romance got resolved with a snap of my fingers, and the loose ends were largely ignored.
Draft 3: Action is now falling for 13 pages. During that time, my characters get in an argument about whether important information will be shared, and the love interest is able to demonstrate his, um, interest. Maybe I'll take another two pages and let the two talk to each other.

Conclusions:

• Endings don't have to end immediately--they can take a chapter or two after the last hurrah to wrap up loose ends and provide a sense of closure.
• Falling action is a good place to resolve some of the more minor subplots (like romance, provided you're not writing a Romance)
• Falling action doesn't mean no conflict--just that the conflict isn't going to get bigger than the climax. Ani stopped a war during falling action, Harry triumphed over Slytherine, and Bella made lots of tough life choices.

Have I missed anything? What do you do to make sure your falling action doesn't fall flat?

How Twitter is Cooler than High School

I have recently discovered the joys of Twitter. I know, I know, it's been around for a while, but I've always assumed it was more of a time-waster than an actual, like, tool and stuff.  Well, I was right and wrong. Twitter is a time-waster. I can sit for hours watching it... but that's because of all the cool writerly people who are tweeting.

The other night I was fascinated by an interchange between Dan Wells (@johncleaver) and Howard Tayler (@HowardTayler)--they were done writing for the day and needed to blow off some steam. Being LDS, they didn't head to the bar: they scheduled an evening of board games and popcorn. Through Twitter. (Like they don't have each other's direct phone numbers? Ever hear of texting? Or, well, talking on the phone?) Entertainment at its finest, folks. In the midst of this, Aprilynne Pike (@AprilynnePike) did what I really wanted to do and popped in to say she wished she lived closer so she could join in the fun. Me too, me too!!

Last week, Shannon Hale (@haleshannon) noticed that Logan, Utah's libraries are constantly checking out her books, so she blogged about it, promising to visit them--and to drag two other locally popular authors--James Dashner (@jamesdashner) and Jessica Day George (@JessDayGeorge) along with her. Then she called James and Jessica out on Twitter--and soon had replies from both, promising to go. Am I the only one with a sudden desire to visit Logan later this year?

I'm new, like I said, so I'm not following very many people yet (88 right now), and even fewer are following me (18), but #therearesomanycoolpeoplethere!!! I got the thrill of my Twitter experience when Gail Carriger (@gailcarriger) started following me this week. ME! Gail Carriger! And she was completely gracious when I went all fangirl on her and even agreed to do a conference call for Farland's Authors' Advisory!!! (June 1st--read her books now, if you haven't: they're awesome!)

Watching all this fun, I can't help but feel a little like I'm in high school again (where I was far from popular), watching the cool kids hang out, plan fun parties and road trips, and generally flaunt their coolness. Oh, how I wanted to be included! I had my own friends and we had a good time, but, well, that looked like fun, too. Now, rather than just sitting back and dreaming about inclusion, I have an actual goal to become one of the cool kids. I want Shannon Hale to invite me to go on road trips with her. I want Dan Wells to issue an open invitation to his house for popcorn and board games (and the scones they've been tweeting so much about) the next time I'm in town. I want these awesome writers to know my name and to think of me as #oneofus.

Because I want to BE one of them. I want to be a bestselling YA fantasy author. There: I said it. AND I want to be friends with all the other cool authors--because, let's face it, they're really, really cool. How do I know? I stalk them on Twitter, of course... which encourages me to read their blogs... which encourages me to read their books... which only makes me want to know them more. Lather, rinse, repeat. See? Twitter works.

Now I'm going to get going on my editing so I can someday invite them all to my book launch party....