Bouchercon 2010 - Declan Hughes Play "I Can't Get Started"

One of the major highlights of Bouchercon 2010 was the reading of Irish Playwright and mystery writer Declan Hughes play "I Can't Get Started  by Hughes and an all star cast of authors.   The cast included Declan Hughes, Martyn Waites, Alison Gaylin, Brett Battles, Megan Abbott, Christa Faust and Mark Billingham.  I wish I could have recorded the whole thing because found out later that they didn't arrange to have the reading recorded.  And it was a memorable event.  All the authors put their hearts and souls into the reading.   It was touching, hilarious, entertaining, and educational.  I managed to catch a few snippets with my digital camera

Martyn Waite and Alison Gaylin




Brett Battles and Declan Hughes



Mark Billingham


Mark Billingham, Christa Faust, Martyn Waite and Alison Gaylin



Brett Battles and Megan Abbott


The reading was the brain child of writer Ellen Clair Lamb and you can see the whole story here on how it came to fruition. 

Bouchercon 2010 - Day Three

View from the window at the end of the hallway from the 11th floor

After a completely filling breakfast down in the Eclipse restaurant where they served cowboy proportions of delicious food, headed over to Grand Ballroom Foyer.   I had volunteered to work for two hours in the Registration area.   Turned into more of an information, pointing out where to go person than registration, since most folks had registered by Saturday. However they did end having over 100 walk-in's come in for day passes.  According to Karen, a most wonderful hard working volunteer, there were over 1400 people pre-signed for the conference, 200 walk-in's on Friday and 100 on Saturday.  Lots of people.  Had a blast helping folks out, and if I ever do another conference will volunteer more time. 

Walked down to the Port of San Francisco with Laura of I'm Booking It where we feasted on taco's from Mijita Cocina Mexicana and then wandering through Ferry Building Marketplace and explored Book Passages and picked up some delicious chocolate from Scharffen Berger.  

Headed back to the conference to the Grand Ballroom where Jacqueline Winspear interviewed Guest of Honor Lee Child.   Among many things, Child talked about his research and writing process. He mentioned how folks thought the ending of 61 hours was a cliff hanger and it really wasn't. He assumed people would be able to use their imagination and figure it out without him having to spell everything out. The answers are all right there in the book.  When he decided to write The Killing Floor and have the setting in Georgia, he didn't have the money to go to Georgia, so what did he do. He watched My Cousin Vinny, which even though it was set in Alabama was close enough. He said it didn't matter whether he actually went to the locations his books were set in, because he received complaints that he hadn't gotten it right.  

After listening to Lee Child, went on to sit in on a Continuous Conversation about the Business of Books with a large group of panelists including Seth Harwood, Elizabeth Sims, John Goodwin to name a few.  Then moved on to a 30 on the 30 which was a 30 minute presentation by Dennis Palumbo on How to address writers' block, procrastination and other perils.   

I could have listened to Dennis for a couple hours.  He was a screenwriter for the first two seasons of Welcome Back Kotter back in the 70's and is now a licensed psychotherapist for screenwriters, authors, directors, etc.   His viewpoints on writers block made a lot of sense.  In a nutshell:

Writer's block is an inevitable developmental process for writers.  A block general happens before a big growth spurt. It is that tension between stages.  Once you have gotten past the block, you have grown as a writer.  Are you a worse writer after that. No, you are a better writer.   Whatever is blocking you, write about it. If it is fear or worry, then write about your character fearing or worrying about something.  If you feel like you are drowning, then write about the character drowning, figuratively or literally.  Don't give writers block a negative meaning.  It only means something if you let it.   Dennis has three cosmic rules of writing.

1st cosmic rule:  "You are enough."   Quit with the if only's.   Everybody thinks the party is happening somewhere else.     You have everything in you to be the writer you want to be right now.

2nd cosmic rule:  "Work with what you are given."  Use who you are, your personal voice, your experiences and emotions.


3rd cosmic rule:  "Writing begets writing."   Quit thinking and worrying about it, do it, write.  If you get to your computer and along the way, stumble over the cat in the morning, and then sit there and can't think about what to write.  Start with the cat.   

He gave us all quite a bit to think about.  I'm looking forward to reading his book:  Writing from the Inside Out: Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within.   

From there, I headed over to the Grand Ballroom for a reading of a play by Irish playwright and mystery author Declan Hughes called I Can't Get Started with an amazing all star author cast of Megan Abbott, Brett Battles, Mark Billingham, Christa Faust, Alison Gaylin, Martyn Waites and Declan Hughes.  Highlights of the play to be continued in the next post.  

Bouchercon 2010 - Day two

I was awakened by room service delivering my breakfast which is better than a wake up call any day. The first night, Hyatt had a neat door hanger thing you could circle what you wanted for breakfast and what time you wanted it delivered, hang it outside your door before midnight and wallah, breakfast delivered.  Plus, when I looked out the window  I was treated to this beautiful sight.  What a way to start the day. 

My first panel of the day with one of my favorite authors - Michelle Gagnon. I've been wanting to know what happened to Kelly ever since I read her last book "Gatekeeper."  Her newest book "Kidnap and Ransom" answers that which is coming out November 1st.   But guess what, I got a copy. Yeah!  The panel Runaway discussed the use of horror and violence as plot points with authors April Smith moderating and Michael Ayoob, Jonathan Woods, Michelle and Shane Gericke.  I unfortunately forgot my pen so don't remember a whole lot of things they said. It's all a blur except yep you guessed it. More authors to add to my want list.

Next stop - an unscripted conversation between Hank Phillipi Ryan and David Baldacci.  David's newest book "Hell's Corner" will be out November 9th.  Interestedly enough he said he doesn't know the ending of any of his books when he starts them.  Writing for him is a totally spontaneous, creative process.  His best advice - "If action doesn't help the characters or the enhance the plot, leave it out."  And Scholastic has asked him to write the very last book in the 39 Clues series.  When he asked them what made them think he could write a young adult novel, they said they were impressed by his character Willa in First Family.  

From there, I sat in on the Interlude Panel talking about a story is more than just action with authors Chris Knopf moderating, Robert Gregory Browne (one of my favorite murderati blog authors), Michael Dymmoch, Bill Crider and Todd Ritter.  These guys were quite humorous, played off each other quite well and Bill Crider has a delightful Texas accent which reminded me of when I used to live in Texas.   Lots of talk about intuitive writing, emotional action, and the quiet times in the book between moments of action and how to handle it.  Bill Crider's favorite - have your character play with their dog.  This seemed to come up quite a bit in panels. Animals are favorites.

After lunch and taking a short nap, went to Mulholland Books (the new imprint of Little, Brown and Company)  Murder By Proxy presentation introducing marketing director,  Miriam Parker (just as bubbly and nice in person as she is on the blogosphere including squeals and hugs on both our parts when we met) and editor John Schoenfelder.

Miriam Parker and John Schoenfelder 

They introduced the authors who will be writing for Mulholland books including Mark Billingham, Marcia Clark,  Duane Swierczynski,  Daniel Woodrell, and Sebastian Rotella

 

Mark Billingham and Duane Swiercynski Both men are just hoots and I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing their books.

Marcia Clark.  Yes, the prosecutor from the infamous O.J. Trial.   Her debut crime thriller novel "Guilt by Association" will be out in 2011. 

Then I was the unofficial water girl, official bearer of name badges for the Crossfire Panel about putting your protagonist in jeopardy.  

 The panel included professor Randal Brandt moderating for authors Lori Armstrong (squee), James Rollins (double squee) and Dianne Emley, Karen Olsen and James L. Thane.  I've read most of their books except for Dianne and headed right down to the bookstore to buy "The First Cut."  

Randall and Diane

Lori Armstrong And James Rollins

I lurved Lori's Julie Collins Mysteries and she now has a new series, the Mercy Gunderson Mysteries with the first book out "No Mercy."   Can't wait to read it.  They talked about the cost to characters for escaping jeopardy whether it is physical or emotional.  James Rollins also talked about the sympathy builders. He has a list of 7 things - he shared two but then made available the link to his website with the list. 

(1) Have the character demonstrate exceptional skill at his/her profession or some other task.
(2) Have the character be funny/humorous.
(3) Have character treat others well.
(4) Have the character demonstrate kindness to pets/kids/elderly.
(5) Have the character afflicted or suffering from undeserved misfortune.
(6) Show other people demonstrating affection for the character.
(7) Give the character some physical/mental/educational handicap, or make them a massive underdog.

After all those panels, I was pretty much wiped out for the day.   Had dinner and retired to my room and watched a movie, Knight and Day, then passed out. 

Bouchercon 2010 - Day one

I just spent the past three days geeking out at my first ever mystery writers convention "Bouchercon By The Bay" in San Francisco.   I enjoyed getting to meet my favorite authors, new to me authors and readers from all over the world.  

I arrived Thursday afternoon, registered and headed over to my first panel.   

Commitment Panel: Conversation with William Link and Lee Goldberg

Lee Goldberg, producer of diagnosis murder, writer for Monk and author of several Monk books interviewed William Link who is the creator of multiple movies and tv shows such as Columbo, Mannix, Murder She Wrote, et al.  

After the panel, I explored the hotel for a bit, then meet Maria Alexander, an old friend and roommate who I haven't seen in 20 years.  We had a wonderful time catching up over dinner and she is trying her hand at writing mysteries, rather than the horror fiction and poetry she is known for.   She introduced me to her good friend,  Christa Faust who just happened to be hanging out with Jason Pinter and I have two more authors to add to my must read lists.

I wandered down to the reception in the grand ballroom and unfortunately my introvert geekiness kicked in.  I didn't see a soul that I knew and it didn't help that the badge only listed people's names.  There were people there that I knew but didn't recognize because I knew them by their twitter or blog handles and not regular names.  I remember when John and I went to the Consumer Electronics Show reception.  We'd be able to identify folks we've worked and talked with on the phone by their badge. "Oh, honey, there's such and such from Stereophile or there's whosiwhatis from Audible."   Then we'd go up and talk to them.   Nor did I have my extroverts around to help ease me into conversations with complete strangers which completely stressed me out so I headed back up to my room and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Although it did give me the idea of conventions having a Designated Extrovert program.  If you're an introvert, you'll totally get it.   Once I quit worrying about forcing myself to go down to the bar or to the after parties alone, I had a completely wonderful time. 

Bouchercon Swag

Swag bag contained:  Graham Moore's ARC of The Sherlockian, Laurie R. King's Locked Rooms, Rita Lakin's Getting Old is Tres Dangereux and Meg Gardiner's The Memory Collector.  Plus magazines - RT Book Review, Mystery Scene, The Strand, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, and the Baker Street Journal.  And oodles of bookmarks.  And volunteers (worked a couple hours in registration and had a blast) received an ARC of Dennis Lehane's Moonlight Mile.

After attending panels with some of these authors, headed right down to the book room and purchased their books.   Sasscer Hill walked up while I was looking at books, fixed a book so it displayed better on the shelf and handed me her card.  Of course, I just had to buy her book.  :)   I picked up Cara Black's first novel "Murder in the Marais" while exploring Book Passages at the Port of San Francisco. 

Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students by Christine Fonseca

Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students

by

Christine Fonseca

Back cover:  Designed to provide support for the difficult job of parenting and teaching gifted children, Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students: Helping Kids Cope with Explosive Feelings provides the resource parents and teachers need to not only understand why gifted children are so extreme in their behavior, but also learn specific strategies to teach gifted children how to live with their intensity.

Presented in a an easy-to-read, conversational style, Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students uses real world examples through case studies and role plays that show parents and teachers how to interact with gifted children in a way that teaches them how to recognize, monitor, and adjust their behavior.  Worksheets, tips sheets, and checklists are included to help parents, teachers, and the students themselves learn to cope with the explosive feelings that often accompany giftedness.  Specific strategies for stress management, under performance in school, perfectionism, and social anxiety make this a must-read for anyone wishing to make a positive lasting impact on the lives of gifted children.

If you have an emotionally intense child, gifted or dually exceptional this is a book for you.   When James was born, he was the guest of the NICU for a few days and the nurses all told me - he goes from 0 to 60 in one second. Good luck!   Yes he is a spirited child and I've read every book out there imaginable.  For the longest time, Raising your Spirited Child was my bible - very well thumbed, revisited time and again.  When you have a perfectionist child that is all the mores - intense, sensitive, persistent, and perceptive, life is challenging. Not only for them, but you.

So you can guess how excited I was last year when Christine started talking about her new book - Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students.  Aha - something specifically related to gifted kids and their emotions.

Part 1 begins with What it really means to be Gifted.  There are three cases studies in which we are introduced to three gifted students: Andrew, Meredith and Emily.  Christine dives into the intellectual characteristics, personality traits and emotional characteristics of giftedness.  And how those characteristics jive with school, peer relationships and emotions.   Plus throw in gifted children intensity, their temperament, introverts versus extroverts and those who are twice blessed.   One particular part stood out for me since we deal with this almost every day.

"Another aspect of emotional intensity lies in a strong affective memory.  This refers to a memory of not just the events of a situation, but the feelings associated with the event as well.  Gifted children often will relive the feelings of significant moments in their lives, such as a move, or the loss of a pet, over and over again.  Strong attachments to people and things coupled with their strong memory often can make transitions very difficult."  pg 38

Both James and my husband John are gifted, so they tend to hang on to things and revisit the past  and try to figure out things.  James has a memory of an elephant though and will come to me and say for example:  "Mom, on September 5, 2003 you said (fill in the blank), what did you mean by that?"        Wait...what?  Mom's brain explodes once again as try to remember the situation. 

Which brings us to part 2 is Great Information, But Now What?    Worksheets!!! There are some wonderful worksheets in the book that will aid you.   How do you coach your child?  Do you know what your expectations are as a family, for yourself, for your child.   Does your child know what your expectations are, the consequences for his/her behavior and what the boundaries are.  Do you or your child know how you will react in certain circumstances.  We are currently working on the worksheets so will have to let you know how things work out there.

Christine provides some great advice for dealing with explosions.    How do you get your child to recognize that they are spiraling up or going to blow - both their emotional and physical feelings.   What do you do when they explode and how do you deal with it afterwords.   What are your hot button issues?  She also provides strategies for how teachers can handle explosions, coach their gifted students and deal with a whole classroom of kids as well.

Part 3 Being your Child's Coach-Specific Strategies.  I was raised by a very strict mom and military dad, so no talking back, no yelling, period. Very authoritative.  Unfortunately the authoritative style and "because I said so" doesn't work with my kid.   And for a period of time there, I turned into a yeller.  And it's hard to impress upon your child that his yelling and using the wrong tone of voice is wrong, when you are doing exactly that. The only thing it was teaching is that yelling was okay.Which brings us to the strategies for a good coach:  modeling, prompting, cueing, reflection and debriefing.

Christine says:

Parents are in a great position to act as coaches to their child, teaching everything from understanding the unique characteristics of giftedness, to coping strategies, to managing the intensity that comes with being gifted.  (pg 125)

With gifted children facilitated learning particularly is effective because it makes use of their superior logic skills as an avenue to retrain their emotional responses.  Furthermore, it helps the child learn to become more aware of why he makes the decisions he makes and deliberately choose a new response--definitely a win-win for everyone involved. (pg 131)

You can't tell your gifted child how to act, you have to teach them how to act. You can't fix them, because they aren't broken. They are unique and one of a kind.  Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students is a wonderful book full of tips, strategies, worksheets, a sample dialogues with kids on how to coach them.  I highly recommend it.  It will become your new bible on how to help your gifted child. Be prepared - this is one book you will read over and over again.  Plus you'll want to have your yellow (or color of your choice) highlighter with you because you'll find plenty of things you want to remember.   Buy it for yourself, your best friend, your child's teacher or school principal.  I highly recommend it. 

Christine is having a special giveaway: She will draw a random winner from all commenters throughout the tour AND the reviews. Contest ends Sunday at midnight, and she will announce the winner on Monday, 10/18. The winner gets book swag consisting of a t-shirt, bookmarks, magazines, notepads, sticky notes, and a signed copy of the book.

Check out the other reviews:


Lisa Rivero
Medeia Sharif
Taffy Lovell
Thomas Furman
Danyelle Leafty
Jennifer Merrill
Margaret Barney
Michelle McLean

To find out more about Christine and her book, check out the following links.

   

Website

Blog

Find her on Facebook or Twitter

Order the book.

Want an e-reader version? Order here.

Read the first chapter here.

Thank you to Christine for not only writing the book, but also providing me with a courtesy copy as well.  

Post to Ponder while I'm at Bouchercon

The day has finally arrived.  Tomorrow I'm off to San Francisco for 3 days to attend the Bouchercon World Mystery Writers convention where I'll get to meet some favorite authors and get to know some new to me authors.   So be on the look out for pictures, recap of panels and possibly some books to giveaway when I return.  In the meantime, here are a few posts to ponder.

National Novel Writing Month is quickly approaching.  I've been thinking a lot about my story, writing it in my head.  Somehow I started in the middle and been thinking my way back to the start of the story and think I've just about discovered the beginning.   Jodi Cleghorn of Write anything has a wonderful post - Thinking as writing.

Alexandra Sokoloff, whom I'm hoping to meet at Bcon has deemed October to be Nano prep month and has been posting a series of articles to prepare yourself and your story to begin writing in November.


Check out the blog of The Office of Light and Letters (Chris Baty), the organizers of nanowrimo: Are you a planner or a pantster.

Friday is my review of Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students by Christine Fonseca and she is having a special giveaway. Don't miss it.