AJ: This week on Sporty Girl
Books we are thrilled to feature one of our own contributors, Kris Asselin!
Kris's brand new book, ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT, launches today and I'm so lucky to
get to interview her. You never know a friend so well that a few questions
can't give you some more information-- Twitter Pitch Contest Winner, Query
Godmother, Awesome Blog Tour? READ ON!
KA: I’m so excited that Any Way You Slice It is out in the world! And I’m
thrilled to be interviewed on Sporty Girl Books—a blog that is very near and
dear to my heart!
AJ: I
understand this book had an interesting journey. Tell me about it.
KA: My editor
expressed interest in a book that I pitched on Brenda Drake’s twitter contest #pitmad
in May 2013. It wasn’t quite right for her new list, so she asked me to pitch
something else with a sporty girl theme. I had five ideas that I pitched, and she
chose the plot of AWYSI. But then I had to write it! I wrote it during
NaNoWriMo 2013 and turned in the “final” draft in March 2014. Revision took
about seven months, and then copy-editing and design. From the acceptance of
the original one-paragraph pitch, it took about 18 months to launch.
AJ: On your
website, you call yourself the Query Godmother. What are three query techniques
that helped you land this book contract?
KA: I *do* call myself the Query Godmother, so it’s funny that this book
didn’t actually ever get queried! It’s because after querying 150 times
(probably more) for other projects
through a couple of different agent searches, I fancy myself a bit of an
experienced querier—if not an expert. Here are three tips that share with
people.
1.
Keep
it short and sweet—keep your query to no more than one page, and preferably no
more than three paragraphs. Boil the synopsis down to one really tight
paragraph—the most important plot line. This is hard, but necessary.
2.
Keep
it professional—remember this is a business, and you want the prospective agent
to see you as a business partner. For example, don’t try to tell any jokes that
might not be understood, don’t try to write the query in your character’s
voice, don’t use any questionable language.
3.
Don’t
burn bridges—you may get a rejection from an agent one day, and then end up
requerying her with something else a year from now. Make sure she’ll remember
you as a class-act, both in your query, any accompanying communications, and/or
on other social media outlets.
AJ: How has
your extensive nonfiction experience helped your fiction work? How is it
totally different?
KA: My nonfiction writing has given me a lot of experience writing to
deadlines—and they are usually very short deadlines. This was especially handy
with this book, as I wrote it on a deadline. I might not have had the
confidence to do that if I hadn’t had the nonfic experience.
It’s different in that I outline with nonfiction, and don’t really
outline for my fiction. There is also a lot of research and footnoting in my
nonfiction, and while I did have to do some research for AWYSI, I didn’t have
to footnote or cite any sources.
AJ: Writing
instructors often tell new writers to "write what you know." How have
your own experiences or emotions influenced this story? Did you do any
skating or pizza slinging to help you write this book?
KA: I think
this is sometimes true, you might have more passion for something with which
you are more familiar. My nonfiction, however, has also prepared me to have the
confidence to not always write what I know, but to research what I don’t know.
For this book,
it was sort of a combination. I don’t skate or play hockey, but I have a great
friend who does, who was really helpful with Penelope’s hockey scenes. As far
as the pizza goes, my parents owned and operated a golf course when I was
growing up—and there was a grill in the function area. Working at the grill and
taking orders (even though it wasn’t pizza) was something really familiar to
me.
AJ: How
does your book stand out in the expanding sporty girl book world?
What makes it unique?
KA: I really
wanted to write about a group of kids who weren’t playing for Olympic dreams, and
who
weren’t even very good at their sport. They love the sport, and so they
play. Not that there is anything wrong with books about Olympic hopefuls, but I
wanted to write about regular kids who just love a sport.
I also wanted
to have parents in the story who aren’t evil or abusive. Pen’s parents are
sometimes in their own world, but they love her and want the best for her.
In the end,
it’s really Pen’s fear of their reaction (and then lying about it) that gets
her in so deep. I wanted to tell a story that felt like it could maybe happen
to someone you know.
AJ: Which
is harder for you-- character and voice, or plot? What exercise or process
helps you with that challenge?
KA: I think I’m really good at writing scenes. I love realistic dialogue
and writing that snapshot which turns into a great scene. I have a harder time
stringing together scenes to make a cogent plot. Even though I don’t really
outline, I typically use the Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler as a
jumping off point to make sure I’m not spiraling a plot out of control.
AJ: This
book can be purchased in eBook form. How can people who want to support their
independent bookstore purchase the book?
KA: It depends on the independent bookstore, but you should be able to
purchase the book using the ISBN number and download through a bookstore’s
website. It is available through the publisher, Amazon and Barnes & Noble,
and through Kobo.
AJ: You
have a great blog tour planned this week! Where else can people see if they
want to know more about you and the book?
KA: I’ll be on the following blogs this week:
Speed Round:
Pizza or
sushi? Pizza, unless you have California Rolls with Wasabi.
Bike or run?
Bike, I guess, though I prefer to walk! Or golf! I’m only running if
someone’s chasing or if I’m late for a connecting flight. It’s not pretty. J
eBook or
paper copy? (reading preference) *Hides face* paper.
Dance to
loud music or talk with friends? Talk with friends
If you could
be any animal what would it be? Siamese Cat
Thanks to Anna Jordan for these interview questions and to all the other
women at Sporty Girl Books for supporting me through this journey!
Author Bio
Kristine Carlson Asselin’s published works include fifteen
nonfiction books with both Capstone Press and Abdo Publishing for the school
library market. In addition, her debut Young Adult novel ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT
is due out on April 21 from Bloomsbury Spark. She critiques queries and query
packages as the Query Godmother.
She tweets at @KristineAsselin as well as her alter ego
@QueryGodmother, where she tweets query tips and suggestions.
I was curious about the number of books about girls playing
ice hockey. Of course, the first one that came to mind was Sporty Girl Books
contributor, Kristine Asselin’s YA romance ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT and GETTING IN
THE GAME by Dawn FitzGerald, but when it comes to finding nonfiction titles
it’s disappointing – most are pretty outdated.
A quick trip to my library and I found one book, GIRLS’ ICE HOCKEY:
DOMINATING THE RINK by Tami Johnson published by Capstone Press. It’s a good introductory
snapshot of the sport with information on rules, basic terminology, plus advice
and a few profiles of players like Cammi Granato and Natalie Darwitz, but the
publication date is 2008. Today, the sport has grown and new stars have emerged
that warrant some new titles to be added to the shelves. Below are a few more
nonfiction titles and some additional resources for teachers and parents.
