It’s not news to anyone that adults are reading books marketed to young adults. Harry Potter and Twilight may have made this phenomenon more socially acceptable, but they hardly started it. Think Tolkien and Mark Twain, back before the publishing industry had articulated marketing categories such as “middle grade” and “young adult.”
What’s new is that publishers are increasingly adjusting their marketing strategies to work with this reality instead of against it.
More and more titles are being published as YA in the US and as adult in other countries, and sometimes vice versa. Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels, originally published as an adult title by A&I in Australia, was published as YA by Knopf in the US. The Book Thief was published as an adult title in Australia.
And publishers in the UK regularly publish YA and adult editions simultaneously. This is certainly the case for His Dark Materials.
From my own experience writing middle grade and YA fiction (and working very closely with other writers) is that one of the most difficult questions you can ask an author is the age target of the book. That question confounds me like no other.
When I was writing Kaimira, I did have a certain audience in mind. They were people like me, people who love losing themselves in massive fictional worlds. They are readers above all else, but they enjoy immersive storyverses in any format, from fan fiction to gaming.
But this audience I had in mind did not have a specific age. They could just as easily be 30 as 13.
Tags: crossover, harry potter, his dark materials, kaimira, mark twain, middle grade, publishing, tender morsels, tolkien, twilight, ya, young adult
This was an idea of the director/producer of the animation test, to show the connection between a human and his kaibrid (kaimira hybrid) by giving them similar eyes while they are connected.
I loved the idea, and here’s how it looks with Rom and Spot in the animation test:
Rom
Spot
Tags: animation test, kaimira, the sky village
The Sky Village was just listed in Time Out London as one of the best Christmas Gift Books for 2008.
Kaimira: Book One, the Sky Village
Monk and Nigel Ashland, with illustrations by Jeff Nentrup
Walker £6.99
A dystopian fantasy, ‘Kaimira’ is set in a world divided into three factions: humans, beasts and Meks (machines). Like Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ series, it boasts an appealingly feisty female heroine and a more thoughtful, troubled male one. One of the most seductive aspects of Pullman’s books is the settings he conjures for the adventures of his characters and – though the writing here is not in the same class – the Sky Village, a community of linked hot air balloons floating high above China, and other richly described locations, offer similarly escapist pleasures. ‘Kaimira’ ends somewhat abruptly in order to establish the opening for volume two, but it’s a satisfying read and worth considering as a present for a young reader suffering Pullman (or Potter) withdrawal symptoms.
Tags: christmas gifts, dystopian, fantasy, gift book, his dark materials, kaimira, reviews, the sky village
Image from Kaimira Animation Test
Tags: animation test, feifei, kaimira, sky village
The fourth and final shortlist came out for the Eva Perry Mock Newbery. And The Sky Village is still hanging in there.
I love Mock Newbery awards. Even the ones that don’t nominate me.
And in case you didn’t notice it over there on the left, this is what the paperback is going to look like:
The Sky Village (paperback)
Tags: awards, kaimira, mock newbery, the sky village
In their review of The Sky Village, Analog picked up on an important theme that I wanted to draw attention to:
“The theme of nature versus technology with humans caught in the middle unless they can somehow integrate it all is important in the world we have created, and it is one that the younger readers that are this book’s audience will profit from absorbing.”
Tags: analog, kaimira, review, the sky village
39 Clues
written by Rick Riordan
Scholastic
Airman
written by Eoin Colfer
Hyperion
Best Friend for Claudia
written by Beatrice Weinberg Katz
PublishAmerica
Boots and Pieces
written by Emily Ecton
Simon & Schuster
Boy of All Time
written by Che Dee
Calderwood Books
Cabinet of Wonders
written by Marie Rutkoski
Macmillan
Dark Legacy
written by K. G. McAbee
Calderwood Books
Dark Whispers
written by Bruce Coville
Scholastic
Diamond of Darkhold
written by Jeanne DuPrau
Random House Children’s Books
Dinosaur Blackout
written by Judith Silverthorne
Coteau
Dragon Flight
written by Jessica Day George
Bloomsbury USA
Escape the Mask
written by David Ward
Amulet
Ever
written by Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins
Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague
written by Brandon Mull
Shadow Mountain
Facttracker
written by Jason Carter Eaton
HarperCollins
Family Matters
written by Kristin Sheley
iUniverse
Farworld: Water Keep
written by J. Scott Savage
Shadow Mountain
Fish and Sphinx
written by Rae Bridgman
Great Plains Publications
Flora’s Dare
written by Ysabeau S. Wilce
Harcourt
Girl Who Could Fly
written by Victoria Forester
Feiwel & Friends
Gods of Manhattan
written by Scott Mebus
Dutton Juvenile
Graveyard Book
written by Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins
Grim Hill: The Secret Deepens
written by Linda DeMeulemeester
Lobster Press
Gypsy Crown
written by Kate Forsyth
Hyperion
Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go
written by Dale E. Basye
Random House Children’s Books
House of Many Ways
written by Diana Wynne Jones
Greenwillow Books
Inkdeath
written by Cornelia Funke
Scholastic
Kaimira: The Sky Village
written by Monk Ashland
and Nigel Ashland
Candlewick Press
Lamplighter
written by D. M. Cornish
Penguin USA
Land Beyond the Clouds
written by Valerie Bishop
Light Publishing
Magic and Other Misdemeanors (The Sisters Grimm, Book 5)
written by Michael Buckley
Amulet
Magic Thief
written by Sarah Prineas
HarperCollins
Mary Lamb Enters the World of Maze
written by F. T. Botham
PublishAmerica
Masterpiece
written by Elise Broach
Henry Holt
Misty Forest Fables
written by Acrid Hermit
Fauna Trek
Monks in Space
written by David Jones
Annick Press
Once Upon a Time in the North
written by Philip Pullman
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Order of Odd-Fish
written by James Kennedy
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Other Side of the Island
written by Allegra Goodman
Penguin USA
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
written by Chris Riddell
HarperCollins
Out of the Wild
written by Sarah Beth Durst
Penguin USA
Palace of Mirrors
written by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Simon & Schuster
Philippa Fisher’s Fairy Godsister
written by Liz Kessler
Candlewick Press
Portal
written by Jaqlyn Von Eger
Trafford
Queste
written by Angie Sage
HarperCollins
Remarkable and Very True Story of Lucy and Snowcap
written by H. M. Bouwman
Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books
Ring Dragonz
written by Mister Rengerz
Helm Publishing
Robe of Skulls
written by Vivian French
Candlewick Press
Runemarks
written by Joanne Harris
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Savvy
written by Ingrid Law
Penguin USA
Seer of Shadows
written by Avi
HarperCollins
Shadow Diamond
written by S Brooke
PublishAmerica
Sisters of the Sword
written by Maya Snow
HarperCollins
Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire
written by Derek Landy
HarperCollins
Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2
written by PJ Haarsma
Candlewick Press
The Curse of Cuddles McGee
written by Emily Ecton
Aladdin
Things That Are
written by Andrew Clements
Philomel
Thornspell
written by Helen Lowe
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Travelers Market
written by Maureen Doyle McQuerry
Idylls Press
Tygrine Cat
written by Inbali Iserles
Candlewick Press
Unnameables
written by Ellen Booraem
Harcourt
Warriors Power of Three: Eclipse
written by Erin Hunter
HarperCollins
Well Witched
written by Frances Hardinge
HarperCollins
Wild Magic
written by Cat Weatherill
Walker Books for Young Readers
Winter Wood
written by Steve Augarde
Random House Children’s Books
Tags: awards, cybils, fantasy, kaimira, middle grade, sci-fi, science fiction, the sky village
A while ago I was interviewed by Carol(ina) from Genre of the Month. I had fun with the interview and asked her if I could reprint it here.
Chris Rettstatt is the author of the sci-fi & futuristic new series Kaimira (first book, The Sky Village).
1.) What made you start writing?
When I was eight, I read Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, and I immediately began writing poems. Within a few hours I’d filled up a notepad with poems. And since then, I never stopped writing.
2.) If you weren’t an author what would you be?
I sometimes joke that I’m a children’s book author who wishes he was a linguist. That’s because I love language and grammar, and I love studying foreign languages. I also like making up my own languages, which I’m doing with the Kaimira Code. But that’s mostly a joke, because as much as I love those things, I love writing even more.
3.) How did you choose you character’s names?
My wife’s nickname is Longmei. She was born in the year of the dragon, which is “long” in Chinese. Adding “mei” which means “sister” in Chinese, makes it into a nickname.
When I first started developing Rom’s character and his tribe, I was drawing inspiration from Romani cultures (sometimes called Gypsies). And then ROM has a techie meaning as well, as in CD-ROM, and so I just kind of liked it.
4.) What’s the best thing about being an author?
No matter what I do, whether traveling to other countries or standing in line at the supermarket, it’s all research.
5.) What’s your ideal writing spot?
I do a lot of writing in coffee shops, particularly when I’m traveling, but I’d have to say my favorite spot is my desk at home. I’ve got everything I need there and plenty of room to pace around.
6.) How did you come up with the idea of The Sky Village?
I was sitting outside, trying to imagine this strange future world I had just started to create. What would my characters see and hear? I looked up at the clouds, and the idea just hit me — a village made of hot air balloons.
7.) Why YA?
I don’t think so much about the age borders around books. When I was in my teens, and even before, I read whatever looked good, and even now I have a hard time remembering which of those books were technically written for young adults. So I just write for the sort of reader I am, and the sort of readers my friends tend to be. And lately, a lot of the best books that fit my personal taste happen to be YA books.
8. Do you ever come up with play lists for your books? If so, what are the songs?
I did have a playlist while I was working on The Sky Village. The songs included:
9.) Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
I believe my best advice can be drawn from my playlist. It’s somewhere between “Don’t Give Up” and “Where Is My Mind?”
Ok, my actual advice comes in two parts. On the one hand, you have to know the business of the business. You have to become familiar with what books are being published and read lots and lots and lots of them. Pay attention to the publishers. Subscribe to newsletters that keep you updated on publishing trends. Join your local SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). Think of yourself as a partner in the publishing process.
On the other hand, you can’t let the business steer you. Stay flexible, and listen openly and humbly to feedback you get. But at the end of the day, it’s your story, and you have to trust your creative instincts. If you aren’t fiercely loyal to your creative vision, nobody else is going to be.
10.) Which character are you most like? (Can be from any book)
When I was a teen, I wanted to be like the Motorcycle Boy from Rumble Fish. But wanting it didn’t make it so.
11.) If you could collaborate with any author dead or alive who would you pick?
I’m not sure I like the idea of collaborating with a dead author. But assuming he wouldn’t be a zombie or vampire, I’d have to choose Dostoevsky. Not that he’d be all that pleasant to work with, but I could just sit at his feet and try to soak in some of that brilliantly layered characterization.
12.) Do you have any upcoming books?
Kaimira is a five-book series, and I’m currently hard at work finishing up #2, which is called The Terrible Everything.
13.) What is your favorite food or snack to eat when you’re writing?
I can’t say that I snack much while I’m writing, but I do drink a lot of strong coffee before lunch and then a lot of green tea after lunch.
14.) What were some of your favorite books when you were younger?
Lord of the Rings, The Dark Is Rising, A Wrinkle In Time, The Outsiders
15.) Do you have any pets?
Right now I travel too much to keep a pet, but I grew up with all kinds of pets running around. My dad used to rescue stray animals and bring them home, everything from hungry dogs to a pig that fell off a truck. My most recent pet, before I moved away from home to go to college, was a ferocious kitten named Grendel: Slayer of Grasshoppers.
16.) Does writing cut into your family time?
It helps that I’m a morning person, and I get my best work done before anyone else wakes up. But my twins know that I can’t resist playing with them every day, even when I’m under deadline.
17.) Do you have any hobbies other than writing?
I absolutely love traveling to other countries and then trying to figure out how to cook the food I eat there.
18.)What are some of your favorite movies?
Raising Arizona, Rushmore, Man On Fire, Miller’s Crossing, Spirited Away, Harold and Maude, A Clockwork Orange, Princess Mononoke, Oldboy
19.) What’s your favorite ice cream?
I call it Twin Can Ice Cream. You need a small coffee can and a large coffee can, ice, rock salt, and ingredients for home-made ice cream. Put the ingredients into the small can and tape it shut, put the small can into the large one, surround it with ice and rock salt, and tape it shut. Then give the can to a pair of energetic twins to kick around, throw, roll, or whatever for about a half hour. At the end, you have some delicious home-made ice cream.
Tags: interviews, kaimira, the sky village, writing
So the book won’t be out in paperback until April 14, but it’s up on Amazon for preorder. I have to say, I love the paperback cover. And Amazon’s book cover zoom thingy allows you to zoom way in and explore the details.
Tags: amazon, book cover, kaimira, the sky village
I posted a while ago that my first book, The Sky Village, had made the shortlist for the Eva Perry Mock Newbery Book Club. Then it made the second shortlist. And now I’m delighted that it’s on the third shortlist.
Here are a couple of nice things the Committee had to say about The Sky Village:
“Well-formed writing style that impeccably blended two plot sequences… and it had demons fighting!” – T.
“I experienced sensations that at times made me feel like saying ‘Don’t do that or you will get hurt!‘” – J.
Tags: kaimira, kaimira: the sky village, kidlit, mock newbery, sky village
