by Laura Sullivan
Today our mother daughter book club was treated to a book club and talk at Westwind's by a local young adult author, Karen Day. Many of us read her latest work, A Million Miles from Boston. As quiet and shy as our usually garrulous girls were today, her visit was a real treat for them, and for the adults in the room, too! Karen talked about the book, her writing process, and even teased out some discussion from our deer in the headlights girls. She gave really good descriptions of how her characters are developed, and how her stories evolve. It was very fun, and enlightening for us to get an author's perspective on a book we've read. We always have questions as to why authors make certain choices for their stories- it was thrilling to get immediate gratification today, and not be left to wonder and ponder. (Although, if I didn't wonder and ponder, what would I do with my day?)
I personally appreciated the description about how long it took Karen to write her latest book, and how many people it takes to get a book actually published. A Million Miles from Boston took five years to write, and went through seven or eight major revisions of the manuscript before it went off to print! She also explained that she has a great support group of stern but kind and truthful first readers to set her on the right path to a great story.
What seemed to impress the girls most is how much of herself Karen puts into her books. She told a great story about her book No Cream Puffs, about the first girl little league player in Michigan. Once upon a time, Karen was that girl. When she was just twelve years old and the only girl in her town's little league, she struck out the town's best little league player, who also happened to be the cutest boy. (Karen knows her audience and the important details.) She's a great story teller, and an experienced hand with a crowd of young teenagers.
While Karen has given us more material with special insight for future book clubs, she's spoiled us to no end. It will be hard to go back to talking about a book without the author. Can you even imagine? I can, but I don't want to. Thanks, Karen.
Karen Day lives in Newton, Massachusetts and is the author of Tall Tales, No Cream Puffs, and A Million Miles from Boston. You can visit her on the internet at www.klday.com
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