Losing Ned Vizzini

This is important. 

In addition to being a young adult author, I am also an occupational therapist and I work part-time in an outpatient psychiatric program. My life is made up of traveling to and from the world of writing/publishing to working with people who have behavioral health issues. But on Thursday, my two worlds collided. 

A young adult author who I admire, Ned Vizzini, committed suicide. His book, IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, about a teen who was experiencing suicidal thoughts and was treated for depression on an inpatient psychiatric unit, and then comes out glad to be alive, is one of the most profound books I've read. It has a prominent place among my young adult book collection...waiting for the day when I might get to meet him and ask him to sign it.

To say I am so sad about his death is a lazy way out of this. So I will try to tell you how I feel and hope to do justice to this important author. It's like I was too busy shopping and missed an important detail. Like if I was just a little more focused on what's truly important maybe I could have done something to keep his light shining. This of course is crazy, because he lived in New York and I live in Chicago and we never met. But it's a reminder to attend to that radar signal inside that tells me someone in my vicinity is not okay. 

This radar is always on high alert when I am at work, since so many of the people I work to help are experiencing depression. This time of year, the media is filling our eyes and minds with utter happiness, dreams coming true, high hopes of getting exactly what we want. But there are those among us who are struggling and sad. 

Keep your eyes open. If you or someone you know is suicidal, please, please, please call 911 or go to your hospital Emergency Room. 

The world needs your light!

Holiday Greetings!

Virtually open my holiday card to you.....
Here's what it says: 

Peace is the best word, around the world,
and magic. Hanukkah lights, stars
among the Christmas trees, your eyes
when I seize the Harry Potter Quidditch
video game.  Giggle is another word,
good among girl-women and kindness,
one sweet gesture in a sugar cookie
and fondue, good celebration, good word,
chocolate~strawberries dipped in it.
Season of good words, wishes,
moment into snowy moment.
                                     ~ Kathi Baron

Why did I write Shattered?

Here's my answer:

http://www.edisproduction.de/2013/10/14/best-coin-ever-spent/

Short Story Boot Camp

I'm visiting Zion-Benton Library on Saturday, September 28, 2013, from 1-3 pm. I will be doing a writing workshop for teens and I'm so excited to meet them and to help them with their short story drafts!

I will be discussing what a short story is and how it's different from a book length story, as well how writing short stories helped me to learn my craft. I will share about the process of getting published, especially how I use the critique process to develop my work. 

We will be experimenting with a critique group and learning how it can help each writer to further develop their own short story and their skills. Participating in a critique group is a typical process used by most professional writers. Each writer will gain a sense of where they are strong and where they could further develop a piece.

For more information, check out: www.zbteens.com. 

And for more information about SHATTERED, my debut novel, please visit: www.kathibaron.com.

Can't wait! 

SHATTERED eBook Now Available

Good news! I launched SHATTERED on Kindle on 6/14/13!

To celebrate, I'm doing a Virtual Book Tour with 15 stops along the way. 

Dates/stops of the SHATTERED Tour

June 10
Book Spotlight at Much Loved Books

June 11
Guest Post and Book Spotlight at Moonlight Gleam

June 12Interview and Review at A Diary of a Book Addict

June 13
Book Spotlight at Unputdownable Books 

June 14
Feature and Guest Post at Delphina Reads Too Much

June 15
Review at Hopeless Bibliophile 

June 16
Book Spotlight at Every Free Chance Reading 

June 17
Interview and Giveaway at Word Spelunking

June 18
Book Spotlight at My Fiction Nook 

TBA
Review at Stuck Between the Pages

TBA
Review at Books, Thoughts and a Few Adventures

June 25
Guest Post at Now is Gone

June 27
Review at The Kari Annalysis 

June 28 & 29
Guest Post and Review at Therian

July 1
Review and Interview at J Bronder Book Review 

Happy Announcement

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be presenting at the upcoming National Convention of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) in Las Vegas with Young Adult Authors Angela Morrison and Nancy Bo Flood.

Our presentation, "AN AUTHOR'S TOOLKIT: TECHNIQUES FROM THE PROS," will be held on Friday, November 16, 2012 from 12:30 pm-1:45 pm. We will be demonstrating professional techniques adapted for the classroom (K-12) to motivate students to write what they know, fear, believe, love, and dream. 

Anderson's Bookshops will host a signing at their booth in the Exhibition Hall immediately following the session. 

For more information about my young adult novel, SHATTERED, please visit www.kathibaron.com.

Featuring Julia Buckley's New Young Adult Mystery: GINEVRA BOND

Please welcome my friend and critique-mate, Author Julia Buckley!

She (and Simon) are here to help me launch my "Year of Young Adult Literature." In my last post, I mentioned that although I'm not currently in school, I'm creating a kind of new school year for myself. I'm adventuring into the young adult genre and I'm excited to learn more about what's going on in the world of young adult books. AND Julia just published Ginevra Bond, a new young adult suspense novel, so I interviewed her about her intriguing new book:

Kathi: Ginevra Bond is your first mystery for young adults. What was it like to switch from writing mysteries for adults to this genre?

Julia: It was actually very fun. It was nice taking a perspective that put me back in touch with my youth--although Ginevra is a very special young adult, and therefore has qualities that I never had as a teenager.

Kathi: Yes, Ginevra, your protagonist, is such an unusual girl! She knows things about people whom she's never met before and is wise beyond her 16 years, and yet--she has the same worries and insecurities as her teen classmates. What inspired the creation of Ginevra?

Julia: I was watching a documentary about people with inexplicable brains--they knew or understood things that the average person does not, and all because, for one reason or another, parts of their brains were being stimulated that gave them these abilities--areas of the brain that "normal" people are not able to tap into. 

Kathi: So what is something Ginevra knows about you?

Julia: HaHa. What a great question. It's true, Ginevra can see people's "barriers" and help them to overcome their problems. So Ginevra would know that I'm a very anxious person, and that I tend to worry a lot. She'd tell me I had to stop fretting and concentrate on all that is good in my life. She'd advise me to take deep breaths.  :)

Kathi: I've read lots of your work and your character names are always interesting. Where did the name "Ginevra Bond" come from?

Julia: I've always loved the name Ginevra (which has the same roots as names like Guinevere) ever since I heard that F. Scott Fitzgerald, long before he met Zelda, was briefly infatuated with a girl named Ginevra King. I liked the musicality of the name, so I chose a one-syllable last name for Ginevra. 

Kathi: What is the best writing advice you've ever received?

Julia: Oh, I've received all sorts of practical advice over the years, but I guess the one that stands out for me now is that you have to tell your story before you worry over revising it. I try to power through a story first, and THEN I go back to tweak and change things. It makes it much more likely that I'll finish a novel if I just keep going and follow that. 

Kathi: Where can readers find you online?


Julia: Thank you for asking! My website is www.juliabuckley.com and they can see the Amazon link to Ginevra Bond here:  

http://www.amazon.com/Ginevra-Bond-Adventures-ebook/dp/B008XCU5KC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1345905194&sr=1-1&keywords=ginevra+bond

Kathi: Thank you, Julia, for the wonderful "behind the scenes" look at Ginevra Bond!