Interview with THE SECRET UNDERGROUND's Natalie Bahm

Need to find a great kids' book for the holidays? Look no further than Natalie Bahm's middle-grade contemporary adventure, THE SECRET UNDERGROUND:

Twelve-year-old Ally is the only witness to a bank robbery in her small town. Unable to block out the memory of the robbers, a notorious gang known as the Gauze Men, Ally joins her little brother and a bunch of neighborhood boys digging a hole in her backyard. Only the hole isn't just a hole - it's a massive set of tunnels snaking beneath the neighborhood and heading for an abandoned steel mill. Ally is old enough to know the danger, but she reasons spending time with sixth-grade heartthrob Paul is more fun than sitting at home with her worries. And dangerous it is - none of the kids' parents realize the tunnels exist, but the Gauze Men might.

Not only is the story a heart-pounding read, but all proceeds of the book go to help a sick baby. 

LASTLY! If you're an aspiring writer with a finished OR unfinished manuscript, you must check out Natalie's blog, where our mutual agent, Sara Megibow, is offering a 50-page critique in honor of Natalie's debut. It runs through December 12, so hurry over there for details. 

And then hurry back and read my interview with Natalie, who is one of the most genuinely kind and talented people I know.  I hope you enjoy our chat (picture us with mugs of cocoa, next to a fire). (It wouldn't be accurate, but that's the feel I wish to evoke.)

What sparked the idea for THE SECRET UNDERGROUND? 

My dad used to tell us stories about when he was a kid.  He lived in a tiny town in Idaho and he and his friends got into all sorts of mischief, including digging tunnels and caves in a vacant lot down the street. I was kind of fascinated with digging when I was a kid too, only my parents wouldn't let us dig tunnels (for good reason!), so when I grew up I wrote about them instead. :)

The Gauze Men bank robbers are so vivid and creepy -- how did you come up with them?

I think they were probably partially based on the bad guys in GOONIES.  In the first drafts of the book there was only one Gauze Man.  The other two came in later.

Was the town you grew up in anything like the town in the story? I found the abandoned mill to be particularly poignant.

Not much--unfortunately I grew in a pretty big town totally devoid of steel mills.  But I lived in the foothills and the kids in my neighborhood were always building secret forts up in the hills behind our houses.  I think the mill idea came from Geneva Steel, a gigantic steel mill that used to sit right on I-5. We'd drive past it on trips to Utah and I was always blown away by its size. It was demolished a few years ago and there was a feature about it in the newspaper with tons of cool pictures.  I remember thinking it would have been the perfect place to hide out.

What were your favorite books when you were Ally's age?

When I was a little younger I was obsessed with everything by Roald Dahl.   I read Number The Stars in fourth or fifth grade and it started a bit of a war book binge. I think by the time I was Ally's age I was kind of a reluctant reader.

Are there any special songs, films, or books that you turned to for inspiration or creative renewal when writing UNDERGROUND?

GOONIES for sure.  I think I was reading mostly YA while I wrote it, so that might have contributed to the little romance. 

The ending is extremely tense -- without giving anything away, did you find your heart racing as you wrote? Did you ever worry the children were in too much jeopardy?

It is tense!  I think I definitely had some heart-racing moments while I was writing it.  The funny thing is it didn't start out that way.  The first ending I wrote was actually kind of light and funny.  I think I rewrote the ending about a hundred times by the time the book came out. The current ending might be too scary for some kids!  My ten-year-old niece told me she had to sleep in her parents room after finishing it! Luckily my daughter and my eight-year-old nephew thought it was awesome.

Ally sometimes finds it easier to relate to the boys than the girls. Did the same hold true for you? Were you ever a tomboy growing up?

My best friend in kindergarten was a boy. We never fought.  We just had adventures and played nice.  He moved away in first grade and after he left all my friends were (very drama crazy) girls. I think I always kind of missed him and the simplicity of our friendship.

Did you draw a map of the town or the tunnels to keep everything straight in your head (or even just for fun?)

I think I did early on.  It was a make-believe town so it was hard to remember where everything was in relation to everything else.

You held a successful auction for baby Jayden. How did the idea to sell your book for charity come about? 

I actually decided to do the book before we had the auction.  I'd been talking to Jayden's grandma and hearing about all the horrible things his family was going through--struggling to make ends meet at the same time as their sweet baby was fighting for his life. It hadn't been very long since I'd had a sick baby in the hospital, so I could kind of relate. I just couldn't imagine dealing with financial stress at  a time like that. I felt like I really needed to do something to help.  I called Sara and asked if we could use THE SECRET UNDERGROUND as a fundraiser and she thought it was a great idea.  But, even though we put it together really fast, it took 5 months to get the book out.  While we were working on it, I decided to do the fundraiser so we could get the family some money sooner. The auction was a great success and helped them through some of the toughest months they'd had.

Can you give us an update on Jayden's health at the moment? 

I'm so happy to have good news to report. He's doing really well now!  He's had a couple of very scary hospital visits in the last six months--one where his family was almost certain they'd lose him.  But Jayden is so tough!  He miraculously recovered and even gained a little weight and now he's home and healthier than he's ever been.  He's still tiny.  At two, he weighs less than twenty pounds. Plus, his immune system is weak so any illness sends him straight to the ICU. He's nowhere close to out of the woods yet, but he's doing well for now.  His family is so, so grateful for all the love they've been shown from people all over the world. It means so much to them to hear how people they don't even know are buying books to support Jayden.

Happy Holidays, Natalie, and thanks so much for (metaphorically) sitting down with me.

HIGH AND DRY Sells to Amulet Books

My second novel, a Young Adult mystery called High and Dry, sold to Maggie Lehrman at Amulet Books!

Here is the fancy Publishers Marketplace listing, 'cause it ain't real till PM announces it:

Author of BRUISED Sarah Skilton's HIGH AND DRY, set in a California desert town in which a high school soccer player is framed for a stranger's near-fatal overdose, blackmailed into uncovering a missing flash drive, and pressured to throw the big game, all while trying to win back the girl of his dreams, again to Maggie Lehrman at Amulet, in a nice deal, for publication in 2014, by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency (World).

I've lived in L.A. since 1999, so it was only a matter of time before I tried my hand at a sun-soaked mystery.

Did you know?
Living in L.A. eventually turns you into a private detective.

Huge thanks to my agent Sara Megibow, my beta readers, the Writing Night peeps, and my friends and family for their support. I'm thrilled to be working with Maggie again.

It's been enormously fun researching mysteries, and I hope you enjoy reading High and Dry as much as I enjoyed writing it!

RWA Conference Photo Journal, Part Two

My New York City adventure continues, wheee. Just to back track for a second, here's the hotel where the RWA conference took place:

Which is right smack in the center of Times Square:

However, that's not where I stayed, because the amazing Sarvenaz Tash (author of The Mapmaker and the Ghost, coming out April 2012) allowed me and Miranda to crash at her uber cool pad in Brooklyn. As a result, I got to experience parts of the city I'd never been to before. One of my all-time favorite books is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, so I was delighted to finally check the place out.

But back to the timeline.

Wednesday Morning: Sara Megibow's clients met up at the Marriott for coffee. It was really fun hanging out with everyone and chatting business and writing.

Below, top row from left to right: Aislinn McNamara, Roni Loren, Ashley March, Tiffany Reisz.
Bottom row, from left to right: Me, Allison Rushby (who traveled to NY from Australia!), Sara Megibow, and Steve Vera, who has lived an extraordinary life.

Not pictured is Miranda Kenneally, who had left a moment earlier to pick up some ARCs of her debut YA novel, Catching Jordan. Observe the gorgeousness:

Wednesday, Noon: I had lunch with Sarv, Miranda, and the lovely Katie McGarry, another Apocalypsie. I loved hearing about her upcoming book, Pushing the Limits (yay contemporary YA!). Then it was off to a rousing matinee at the theatre.

Wednesday Night: Allison, Sara, Miranda and I attended the YARWA event, with an all-editor panel. I mingled with some writers and snarfed several plates' worth of appetizers. We called it an early night to head back to Brooklyn, where Sarv treated us to a tour of her neighborhood.

Check out the Brooklyn Public Library:

Not to mention the awesome Brooklyn Museum:

Next up was a Doctor Who-themed bar. Because it had a TARDIS.

 I used a sonic screwdriver to open it and reveal the depths -- okay, bathroom -- beyond.

Thursday Morning: At this point I figured I should, you know, attend a conference event. The two biggest YA-related events were conveniently scheduled one after the other. I checked out "The Y.A. Romance Market: Advice from the Pros" (with Kristin Nelson, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Caridad Ferrer, and Aubrey Poole) and "Writing the Y.A. Bestseller" (with authors Simone Elkeles and David Levithan).

After that I had a hilarious lunch with Kristen Callihan and Lindsay Mergens, who helped me figure out how to walk to Central Park (a mere 13 blocks away). 

I rested in the park and then got lost on the subway trying to get down to NYU. (How First Season Felicity of me.)

Thursday Night: I caught up with a college friend and saw another play (Through a Glass Darkly starring Carey Mulligan, whom I knew was brilliant from the film An Education. If you haven't seen it, go add it to your Netflix queue. Unless you've quit Netflix because of the 60% price hike announced this week.)

Friday Morning: Breakfast with Sarv at Tom's Restaurant (the inspiration for that Suzanne Vega song -- got it stuck in your head yet?). 

Then I headed back to Manhattan for lunch with Sara Megibow and my super cool editor, Maggie Lehrman, who is wicked smart and so fun to chat with. 

Here's me at the mod Abrams offices. I also swiped a copy of the Amulet Fall 2011 catalog; every cover looks like delicious candy to me. I absolutely love the artwork for the upcoming books.

Friday Afternoon/Night: My flight from Newark got canceled and moved to JFK airport -- for the next morning with a layover (woooo!) So they had to give me hotel vouchers, roundtrip car vouchers, and meal vouchers. But the hotels at JFK were all booked, so they sent me to LaGuardia. I got to the hotel in Flushing, and on the front desk was a print-out with weather information. How's this for existential:

In case you can't see it clearly, it says, "Today will be about the same as yesterday."

Luckily, that was not the case for me in New York -- every day was uniquely wonderful and I had a blast at the conference. Thanks for flipping through the digital album with me.

RWA Conference Photo Journal, Part One

Let me preface this by saying I only got my iPhone two months ago; I'm still learning how to use it; and the photos I take with it lean toward everyone's favorite style: low lighting / slightly-out-of-focus. Still here? Then please enjoy my wacky adventures in the city!

Last week I hit the Romance Writers of America conference in New York. It was beyond cool.

But first I stopped in Virginia to visit a college friend, Robyn, and her son and daughter, ages 5 and 6. Robyn is the only person with whom I regularly exchange good old fashioned snail mail. She and her family live in Staunton (pronounced Stanton, or they'll know you're not a local).

Saturday: I arrived at 10 pm in Washington. The Dulles Airport was empty, and eerily beautiful at night:

Sunday: both of Robyn's kids had organized dueling tea parties (the regular kind; as far as I know, they're not politically active kindergartners). I divided my time equally between both soirees, but this did not prevent violence from breaking out. The calm before the storm:

While Robyn's husband watched the kids, Robyn and I strolled around outside and headed to downtown Staunton for lunch.

The town was beautiful! No chain stores, just rows and rows of gorgeous brick buildings and Mom & Pop establishments, including a heavenly gelato parlor and a stunning toy and bookstore for children, Pufferbellies.

Monday: we explored more of the town, including the railroad station.

Tuesday: I left for New York City via Charlottesville, VA. The Amtrak was really comfortable and the 6-hour train ride flew by. I read A.S. King's "Please Ignore Vera Dietz", which made me cry in public.

Tuesday Night: my lit agency, Nelson Literary, threw a cocktail party at the rooftop of 230 5th Avenue.

I met my wonderful agent Sara Megibow for the first time, as well as agency president Kristin Nelson, marketing director Lindsay Mergens and literary assistant Anita Mumm, not to mention writer Miranda Kenneally and several other Nelson Agency authors. It was like my Twitter feed had come to life and surrounded me, drinks in hand.

I'm afraid of heights, so I kept to the center at all times, but the view from the top was amazing! There's the Empire State Building:

Below, from left to right: Kristen Callihan, Lindsay Mergens, me, Tiffany Reisz (and guest Alyssa Palmer), Roni Loren, and Kristin Nelson.

Next week, Part Two of my trip continues with a Team Megibow coffee chat, a tour of Brooklyn with the lovely and generous Sarvenaz Tash, a musical, a play, lunch with my editor Maggie Lehrman, and -- GASP -- an actual conference event (or two!?)

Perhaps most importantly, I figure out how to use the flash on my camera so photos like the one above stop happening.

Off to RWA

So this week got all cattywampus. I usually update my blog on Thursdays, but with my book announcement on Monday and work and packing and other life stuff, I kind of forgot, and now it's Friday and I'm heading to the East Coast to see some college friends and attend the RWA conference, wheee.

I'm meeting my agent for the first time (!!), as well as a bunch of agency mates, new writing friends, and my editor.

I'll be back here on July 7th with lots of scoop from the conference, but if you'd like the scoop from NYC in real time, follow me on Twitter (@Sarah_Skilton). See you in a few weeks!

"The Westing Game" and Character Arcs in YA Novels

I recently read Ellen Raskin's fabulous, Newbery Award-winning YA novel The Westing Game, about an eccentric millionaire, Samuel W. Westing, whose heirs are forced to compete for millions of dollars by following clues and solving puzzles to determine the identity of Westing's murderer. Complicating matters, the heirs all live in the same apartment building, and they're paired up with the least likely people as teammates in the game.

Bonus material (yay!) at the end of the book included an interview with the author.

She was asked about character arcs in children's literature, and she replied: "I'm not the type of writer who wants her characters to grow and develop and change... Children know change, they're changing every day. My attitude toward my characters in my book is to try to describe my characters in one way, a way that children might say, 'Oh, I don't like that one.'... and just when the children know them better, through their actions... to have the readers change the opinion of these characters, rather than have the characters in the book change..."

Her response fascinated me, because I'd had that exact experience while reading The Westing Game. Characters I didn't initially like, or assumed were a certain way, turned out to be completely different than I predicted, but they didn't really change; it was only my perception as a reader that changed.

For those who write MG or YA novels, do your characters grow in the course of the story, or does the reader's interpretation of them simply change?

I think there are merits to both, though I personally tend toward the former. I like to see a concrete difference in my main character from the first page to the last, but I also like Ellen Raskin's idea -- particularly in mysteries -- of holding back information and allowing that to color the reader's assumptions.

To hear more from Raskin (er, literally) here's the complete audio.

Also, next Thursday at 1pm EST, my agent Sara Megibow is hosting a live webinar all about opening pages and how important they are in catching the attention of an agent or editor. She'll be offering a free read of the first 3 pages of each novel for the participants. If you're at the querying stage, this is a great opportunity to get feedback and will be worth every penny.

Diabetes Research Auctions - With Literary Prizes

Attention writers!

Win a 30-page read and phone comments from literary agent Sara Megibow. Trust me when I say her notes will be AMAZING. Best of all, it's for a worthy cause -- all proceeds in the auction go to benefit diabetes research. You've got about two and a half more weeks to place your bid.

Live in the DC area? Love politics?

Here's another great auction, courtesy of the awesome Miranda Kenneally: Lunch and a private tour at the U.S. Department of State.

1, 2, 3 Great Links

I'm amazed by the amount of information available online for authors and aspiring authors. This fact really hit home for me this week, so I'd like to share three of my favorite writing-related blog posts from the past few days:

1. Kristin Nelson at Pub Rants (my agency) shares concrete reasons why prologues don't usually work

2. Megan Rebekah posts very detailed and helpful insider info from the recent SCBWI conference she attended in New York

3. Jessica Faust of BookEnds, LLC reveals why the real mark of a professional writer can be found in her ability to revise

P.S. I've got jury duty at (gasp) 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, so if you don't hear from me for a week, that means I got a juicy case. Or a prolonged traffic violation.

Life as a House

Last night I slept like a log; a log stuffed with sleeping pills. I've been having insomnia a few times a week for the last six months -- which is about how long my husband and I have been trying to buy a townhome as a short sale. (Yeah, short sale is a cruel misnomer. It doesn't indicate the length of time of the sale, it indicates that you've shorted the bank on the price, which means you can get an amazing deal IF you're willing to wait. And wait. And just for the heck of it, wait.) Once this process is over -- assuming that it ever will be -- I'll be an expert on short sales. Hopefully I'll also have a home. But it's not over yet.

Anyway, this whole process reminds me of what people go through during the Agent Search. In this metaphor, the writer is both the buyer and the house. With me so far? Making the agent both the seller and the lender. Have I gone off the rails?

It's like this: As the house (which is the writer's product), the writer must provide a solid foundation; not too much of a fixer-upper, but willing to update the paint, windows, lights or flooring to make the house more presentable. As the buyer, the writer must have good credit (a referral perhaps, or a list of credentials and previous writing clips), and the ability to make steady progress on her mortgage (career) by writing checks each month (working steadily and keeping deadlines).

As the seller, an agent must pick out a good house to work with, go over each aspect of the product (novel) and help it shine, and then present it in the best light to the people most likely to fall in love with it. As the lender, an agent must do a thorough check on the buyer -- are they reliable? Will they default? Did they sign all the paperwork correctly (research and write a proper query)?

These may be the nutty ramblings of a sleep-deprived woman, but when they came to me, they made perfect sense.

Belated but Heartfelt

I'm probably the last one on the bus for this, but Friday was Agent Appreciation Day, and I want to chime in with props to my agent Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary.

She's awesome!! To specify, she's joyfully enthusiastic and determined, well-read and knowledgeable about all aspects of publishing, gives excellent notes that make you go, "That should have been there all along!", and is one of the most generous people you'll ever meet. I feel lucky to have signed with an agent who "gets" me and believes in me, and I'm very excited for our prospects in 2010.

Bonus: Tonight, Sara's husband is competing in NBC's new reality music show, The Sing-Off.

Check it out!

Gratitude Time

At dinner tonight, Amy and I got to thinking about how much has happened to us, writing-wise, since this time last year. Although we sometimes forget, it's been a pretty amazing past 12 months. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here's what I'm most thankful for in my writing life, 2009:

1. The support and encouragement of my husband, family, and friends, who believe in me even when I'm completely insane (Joe gets the brunt of my insomnia and paranoia)

2. Signing with an amazing lit agent

3. Meeting Amy this spring (seriously, how did I function before?! And why are we THE SAME?), and all the great people in the Skylight book club

4. My writing buddies Heidi (KEEP TYPING 4-EVAH!), Kirsty, Amy, and Kristen, who are all talented and so helpful with their generous, thorough and constructive feedback

5. GoodReads.com and getting to chat books and see reviews from Jen and Laura and Mallory and Stepf, and swapping books with my Stitch 'n' Bitch pals

6. A day job that allows me time to write in the mornings

Project Interrupted

When I got The Call from Sara Megibow, I was in the middle of working on a new project. (Literally. I was at the computer, typing away.) I was absolutely thrilled to hear from her and displayed my delight by babbling incoherently. (She was very patient and kind.) I of course put aside the new project to shift my focus back to the one she signed me for.

But now she's doing her agent thing (and doing it very well) and I'm supposed to be doing my writer thing again, so it's back to Project Interrupted. And you know what? I'm excited every single morning -- well, after my coffee -- to work on it and spend time with the new characters. I thought for sure I would take a break from writing for a few weeks and...

A) sleep in
B) watch more TV (speaking of, did last night's AMNTM really happen? Did Tyra really dress up as a heroine name Super Smize? (at least, that's how the Closed Captioning at my apartment gym spelled it))
C) finish reading all the books that are due at the library

...but after a weekend off, I felt antsy. So I booted up the computer. I guess I'm addicted.

Live Q&A Chat with Agent Sara Megibow

My agent Sara Megibow is being interviewed today at AQ (Agent Query) Connect in a live chat at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern.

I'm sure she'll have some great advice for writers!

To join the discussion and get a chance to ask Sara questions, click here.

The Slayer Lives (And Not Just in Our Hearts)

Everyone I know (guys and gals alike) adds superfluous "y"s to their words, some of them not even knowing why they do this, and I'm convinced that Buffy the Vampire Slayer has influenced the style and tone of a generation of novelists.

I can think of 8 or 9 authors that make it a point for their characters to talk fondly, nostalgically, and specifically about Buffy. ("Naomi & Ely's No-Kiss List" by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn even has a mix-tape section that covers your average super-fan's disillusionment during the 6th Season; and "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman does a great job of evoking both the elation and despair of watching the show in general.)

Which came first? Were already-established writers attracted to BtVS because it shared their sense of humor and a specific type of emotional resonance, or did the show itself provide them with the desire to write, and the inspiration and confidence to pursue a career in it? Were the characters and stories of the Buffyverse so beloved and so ingrained in their DVD-box-set-owning hearts that they thought, "I can do this, too"? Because they could. And they did. And they're awesome.

Here is my geek cred: I wrote a good ol' fashioned snail mail letter to Buffy and Battlestar writer/executive producer Jane Espenson about nine years ago, asking for writing and career advice. Not only did she write back, but I still have her letter inside a plastic cover. And now I have a couple novels written and a superheroine lit agent. So thanks, Jane!!

I'll Conference You In

I've been to the big Screenwriting Expo in downtown Los Angeles a few times, but never to a "regular" writing conference. I'm thinking of finding one for next year, both as an excuse to hang out with my agent, a chance to travel and network, and also because my friends' recent experiences at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Conference in Seattle were terrific; one of them pitched an agent and got a request for a full, and the other won first place in a writing competition!!

Congrats, ladies.

Check out the August issue of The Writer magazine for a handy article by Erika Dreifus called "How to Choose a Writing Conference."

And Away We Go!

I'm thrilled to report that I've signed with the fabulous Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency. I'm so honored to be working with her!!

I know my novel is in great hands and I think we're a perfect fit.