Dear Gail Giles: A Tribute to My Co-Author (guest post)
Tomorrow, our book officially meets the world.
Our book. No Returns.*
It happened because you, Gail Giles,* are a very cool person. You heard me speak at a state library conference and tracked me
down. You invited me to your house for lunch (and you are, by the way, a very
fine cook). You piled books in my arms and expected book reports the next time
we met. You told me we’d crack this writing thing together.
When your
first book was a runaway hit, none of it went to your head. We hung out like always. We swapped manuscripts
and made them better. You piled books in my arms. When you moved away, you
mailed them in boxes.
We vacationed in Cabo. You brought watercolor paper and paints
and insisted I learn to paint even though I can barely draw a stick figure. We
propped our chairs in the sand and you showed me tricks that made my little
ocean picture look almost pretty. We went shopping for pink cowboy boots for
you to wear at author events, and we started writing the book you suggested we
write together, a book about three boys in a band who accidentally call up the
devil.
Under the Mexican sun, we wrote the first few chapters, then
finished the book through a series of phone calls and emails. We fell in love
with the boys in the band, and we even developed an affection for a certain
little demon named Fred.
I’m glad we decided to make this a series, because writing the sequel is every bit as fun as writing
the first book. We play off each other’s strengths. No one’s the diva. You
noodle and punt to me. I peck out a few pages and punt back to you. Where I get
stuck and don’t know quite how to say what I mean, I type [Gail help] and
you’re back the next day with words that make it sing. Where something’s not
working, you say so or I say so and we fix it.
They say writing is a lonely profession, and I suppose in
some ways it is. But I can tell you this: it’s not lonely when Gail Giles is on
your team.
Deb Vanasse is the
author of more than a dozen books for readers of all ages. Her debut novel, A Distant Enemy, was
a Junior Literary Guild selection and is featured in Best Books for Young
Readers, as was Out of the Wilderness. Follow her at www.debvanasse.com and www.selfmadewriter.blogspot.com.
*Jody Feldman's Note: A couple of the links in this post will simply not work no matter what I've tried. So, to find out more about No Returns, please visit
http://www.amazon.com/Returns-Battleband-Saga-Gail-Giles-ebook/dp/B00HRLUI98/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391734841&sr=8-1&keywords=gail+giles+no+returns/
http://www.amazon.com/Returns-Battleband-Saga-Gail-Giles-ebook/dp/B00HRLUI98/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391734841&sr=8-1&keywords=gail+giles+no+returns/
And to learn more about the very wonderful and talented Gail Giles, try this
A wonderful tribute and a great partnership. Congratulations on you're newer book!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marcia! And thanks to Jody and everyone else here at Smack Dab in the Middle for hosting us today.
ReplyDeleteSo cool. And yes--congrats on the new release!
ReplyDelete