Ocean in a Saucer LAURA RESAU

Colorado bookstore event pics

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Hey, everyone,

Hope you had a good weekend! Ours was snowy, with winter storm warnings in effect most of the weekend... and of course, this is the weekend I had three bookstore visits scheduled. ;) The audiences were small but enthusiastic and fun.

Here I am at the Tattered Cover in Denver with Lisa (picture above). (I'm holding a pretty silver TC bookmark that they gave me!) I'm bummed that I forgot to take more pics. Some of the readers/writers who came were Denise Vega-- the great YA author of Fact of Life #31 and her latest, Access Denied-- and some girls who were fans of Red Glass (especially of Angel!). It was fun to meet Irena in person-- we've corresponded a bit over email. And it was great to see Bessana again, whose mother--daughter book club I visited earlier this year.

Here (below) I am at Anthology Bookstore in Loveland with another Laura and Bridget. They had their monthly night on the town that night, and the town looked lovely with the holiday lights twinkling.

And here we are again with Greth on the right in a purple butterfly shirt. Notice how everyone but me is wearing some shade of indigo?

If you're wondering what weird contraption I'm wearing, it's a sweater-cape-- one piece-- I love it but it's not exactly practical since it becomes unwound easily and drags... nevertheless, it's cozy and good for wintry nights.

There's a new interview with me posted on the Ultimate YA group website. Also, remember that they're holding a contest to win a free, signed copy of The Indigo Notebook.

And remember, I'm holding a contest as well -- see the random- fun-and-travel section of my website for details. The deadlines for these contests are quickly approaching!

A little heads up-- I won't be online much for the next two weeks, since I'll be holing up and finishing The Ruby Notebook revision... so, my apologies in advance for any delays answering emails and lack of blog posts. Thanks! Wish me luck!

xoxo
Laura

BLT review and guest post

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:48:00 +0000

Hey everyone!

Hope you're having a good day. My morning has been groggy-- Toddler woke up at 5:50. Ugh. I don't like waking up in pitch darkness.

Morgan of the blog BLT (Books and Literature for Teens-- a teen-run blog) featured a great review of The Indigo Notebook yesterday, and will be posting a guest blog post of mine today. It's sort of a mini travelogue (with pics!) of my Ecuador trips. Enjoy!

I had fun at a writing workshop for kids and teens last night at the Berthoud Library... always inspiring to be around creative spirits. There were more guys than girls in this group, and they made me wonder if I should include more explosions and swords in my books. ;)

Hmm. I realize I'm too groggy to write more... I haven't even had my tea yet this morning.

I'll do that now. Have a lovely day!

Laura

Real quick, before my TV interview...

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:22:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

Okay, I have eight minutes before I have to get ready for a TV interview this afternoon. It's with our local TV station-- a show called Bookends that features interviews with local authors. I'll see if I can post it on Youtube, and if so, I'll give you a link (well, if I don't do anything super-embarrassing during the interview, that is...)

I finished the revision of The Ruby Notebook today, which felt good. I still have a LOT of polishing to do before it's in shape for my editor to see it.

Real quick, a few news items: Ultimate YA is doing a fun giveaway -- a signed, personalized copy of Indigo. All you have to do is comment about your dream destination and you'll be in the pool for the contest. Go here, then click on the giveaway link. Also, if you want to read some *fun facts* about me that Ultimate YA is featuring, go here.

Finally, mark your calendars for the evening of Nov 3o. There'll be a readergirlz homecoming-- you can chat with a bunch of authors (me included!) Here's the info the readergirlz divas sent me about it:

Participating authors: Coe Booth, Dia Calhoun, Janet Lee Carey, Cecil Castelucci, Justina Chen, Rachel Cohn, Holly Cupala, Liz Gallagher, Nikki Grimes, Lorie Ann Grover, Ellen Hopkins, Sarah Miller, Mary Pearson, Mitali Perkins, Dana Reinhardt, Laura Resau, Melissa Walker, Ellen Emerson White, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Sara Zarr. (Wow!)

The chat (6:00 Pacific Time/9:00 Eastern Time) will be held at the readergirlz blog . At the top of the hour a chat window will go live. All you have to do is start typing comments in the box. No codes, no passwords needed—it’s easy! The chat goes VERY VERY fast. Consider it one big party, an informal bash, with lots of people all talking at once.

And here's the fancy logo...

Hope you join us! (And wish me luck on this TV interview... I'm going to try not to let my hands fly around too much, or jiggle my foot too much, or let that pesky lock of hair fall over my eyes too much... AND try not to say anything stupid-- quite a task ahead.)

xoxo
Laura

Johnny Cash and new reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:48:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

So, this week was a really good one for my Ruby Notebook revising. It's funny how sometimes listening to certain music over and over and over again as you write can put you in a creative groove. This week I have Johnny Cash to thank.

I listened to the album (I think it's a "Best of" album) all week long. At times I felt embarrassed (even though I had no witnesses) and I tried to switch to something more fitting... like French music, since the book is set in France... but my creative unconscious would have none of that. It wanted Johnny Cash, even though Johnny Cash tunes would be the absolute last thing you'd think of for a soundtrack to this book.

Hmmm... I did just make a connection as I wrote this... several of the main characters have the initials J.C.-- and those initials are actually a part of the plot. Verrrrry interesting...

Anyway, on to other things... some reviews that made me smile. Marjolein of Marjolein's YA Book Blog wrote a lovely review of Red Glass, which she calls "a book you want to read over again many times!" Thanks, Marjolein!

I also came across a Flamingnet review of The Indigo Notebook that I loved-- and best of all, it was written by a teen! Those reviews are especially meaningful to me. (Flamingnet.com features teen reviews.) Here's an excerpt:

"Full of stunning details, whimsical characters, and tropical air, The Indigo Notebook was exciting to read and has become a favorite that I will enjoy reading again... Zeeta’s quest for Handsome Magazine Dad and Wendell’s shocking discovery about his parents is enough give you the night owl bug and keep you reading nonstop. I really enjoyed reading something that was set somewhere besides high school and be able to travel through a book.

The Indigo Notebook is a great book for teens not only because of its lovable characters or its excitingly exotic backdrop, but for the sense of life it gives to its message of being content and pursing your dreams. Overall, I loved the colorful and refreshing story of understanding your heart that The Indigo Notebook had to offer. I hope you get a chance to read it soon!"

Thank you, Flamingnet reviewer!

I'm in my favorite cafe now, and the sunset out the window is spectacular-- pink and orange clouds... and the traffic lights have that surreal glow that they get near dusk. Toddler enjoys discussing dusk. "Mommy! Mommy! Almost dusk! Pretty clouds! Pink! Look, Mommy! Moon!" He also enjoys observing dawn, which he calls "yawn." "Mommy! Mommy! Almost yawn!" (We are always up well before dawn, especially after the time change last week.)

Okay, thanks for reading!!

xoxo
Laura

Booklist Review of Indigo

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:29:00 +0000

Hello everyone,

I'm at my favorite cafe eating Mexican chocolate cake-- it has a touch of cinnamon and cayenne in it-- very tasty. I worked hard at home all day long on my revisions for Ruby, then lay down for a catnap on the sofa, smack in the middle of the sunshine coming through the window. I felt like a cat-- or how I imagine cats must feel, just soaking up sunshine and not really thinking about anything, just enjoying the warmth and the way the sunlight looks reddish-orange behind my eyelids.

Another review of The Indigo Notebook came in-- another nice one, this time from ALA Booklist:

"After 15 countries in 15 years, roaming the world with her free-spirited mother, Zeeta regrets that it’s “too late now for a normal home, normal family, normal childhood.” At their new home in Ecuador , she agrees to help Wendell, an American boy who has come in search of his birth parents. Just when a near-death experience sends her mother reeling toward “normal,” Zeeta veers off in the opposite direction: she looks to her unconventional upbringing for wisdom and support as she and Wendell uncover old secrets and find themselves in mortal danger. Observant, aware, and occasionally wry, Zeeta’s first-person narration will attract readers and hold them. Not all will find the magical elements woven into the story satisfying, but some will find them enchanting. The romance starts almost imperceptibly and builds gradually, believably throughout the novel. Resau, the author of What the Moon Saw (2006) and Red Glass (2007), offers another absorbing novel with a Latin American setting." -- Carolyn Phelan

Hopefully you, dear reader, will be one of the people who finds the magic *enchanting.* In fact, I'll give you an imaginary piece of Mexican chocolate cake if you do. I've learned about the beauty of pretending through Toddler. Fairly often, like every ten minutes, he has wishes I can't grant. "Mommy! Mommy! I want look train!" "Mommy! Mommy! I want go airplane whoosh sky!" And my response is, "Let's close our eyes and PRETEND we see a train." "Let's close our eyes and PRETEND we're on an airplane." He squinches up his eyes and pretends, and this makes him happy. His "pretending" face cracks me up-- his face all wrinkled up in concentration.

Speaking of Toddler, time for me to pick him up from daycare!

A quick reminder-- there are all kinds of interesting things happening at Random Buzzers this week in celebration of The Indigo Notebook. (Just scroll down to get to the Indigo section.) You can design Ecuador postcards and other stuff, and get points for it, and then trade in your points... and they're often doing book giveaways there... seems like they do a new book every week or so.

And remember, if you're into contests and creative writing, you should enter my own contest-- see the fun and travel section of my website for details. The prize is a signed, personalized copy of Indigo, and the deadline is in December.

random buzzers feature this week!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:12:00 +0000

Hello again!

I forgot to let you know in my last post that I'll also be popping into Random Buzzers this week, talking about my book and answering questions in their forum. Come on by and say hello...

Must do some emailing now. You know, I've been having my husband disconnect our wireless Internet every morning so I have no distractions as I write Ruby. It works really, really well. I can focus so much better-- it's a huge relief!!! I've been swinging by my favorite coffee shop -- Cafe Ardour-- every afternoon for an hour to do my Internet time... that's where I am now, drinking rice green tea and eating a Clementine cookie (cinnamon and oatmeal and chocolate chip... mmm...)

Have a lovely evening,
Laura

Featured Author on Ultimate YA for November!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:25:00 +0000

Hey everyone!

Check out the Ultimate YA Facebook Group throughout November-- they're featuring The Indigo Notebook! They'll be posting interview questions, fun facts, and other stuff.

Revising The Ruby Notebook has been going swimmingly lately. I've had to write in my house instead of my trailer the past few days, though.

(And this pic was taken after a few days of thaw!)

Have a great day!

Laura

pink bathroom and Little Willow Blog interview....

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

So I did a post this morning and it plum disappeared!! I'm indignant!

To recap-- I painted my bathroom flamingo pink in an effort to overcome writers block for The Ruby Notebook revisions. (It worked.)

Second, there's an interview with me on Little Willow's blog. It's about The Indigo Notebook... and all of my books, actually... and other things of interest... check it out!

Third, I recently found out I'm officially part of the readergirlz Circle of Stars, with a logo to prove it!
Life is good. I'm off to play in the blizzard with my lil dude!

xoxo
Laura

next blog tour stop...

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:14:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

Hope you're having a lovely week! I'm excited because I'll be hanging out with YA authors Todd Mitchell and Amy Ryan tomorrow at Amy's house to critique the first chapters of their new work. Good stuff!

Tomorrow (Wednesday), the fabulous YA Authors' Cafe will be featuring an interview with me on The Indigo Notebook. Their blog is very cool-- it's run by three great young adult authors -- you should check it out!

more later,
Laura

Release party pics!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Hey guys,

Real quick before I delve into Ruby revisions... here are some pics from The Indigo Notebook release party on Friday. We had a fun time-- huge thanks for everyone who came, and thanks to my mom for the beautiful flowers she sent that morning!

Maria's dancing was captivating.

Here I am with my good friend (and fellow writer) Gloria.

Here I am with some of my great Colorado writer buddies -- Brandon Meyers (in the midst of writing a few books), Ronald Cree (Desert Blood), and Kirk Farber (Postcards from a Dead Girl).

Here I am with Todd Mitchell, my good friend who has an amazing YA novel coming out in June-- The Secret to Lying. I LOVE this book and can't wait for it to be out in the wide world!

Here I am with Maria, who is going back to Ecuador today, which I'm sad about.

Here's Carrie, my good friend and writers group member who did a great last-minute job of introducing me!

Today's stop on my blog tour is The Writing Bug with Kerrie Flanagan. She's the incredibly energetic organizer of Northern Colorado Writers (which you should check out if you happen to be a Northern Colorado writer!) Hope you enjoy the guest blog post I wrote-- it's about shamanism and story-telling.

Thanks for reading!

Laura

Release Party Preparations...

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Hey guys,

It's Release Party day!! Must get last-minute stuff for the party tonight... like potatoes and corncobs and incense for the ritual dance Maria will be doing. Exciting!

If you're in the Ft Collins area, please come! See the events section of my website for details.

Athena's Book Review is featuring a guest post by me today-- here it is!

Have a lovely weekend,
Laura

First STAR IN THE FOREST review!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Hey everyone!

Slowly but surely, I'm recovering from this flu. No fever now, but a lingering cough which kept waking me up last night. I might have to resort to the oregano-garlic-honey-chamomile tea that my Oaxacan friends recommend... of course then, I'd smell like a walking head of garlic at my book release tomorrow. Hmm.

Today I'm going to go out and buy a bunch of food and some supplies for little party favors I want to make. I'm so excited!!

Today and tomorrow, The Indigo Notebook is featured on Athena's Book Review, a great young adult blog by Minnie-- a very cool educator and writer and avid reader living in south Texas. She asked excellent questions for today's interview, plus a bunch of fun fact questions at the end (in which you can learn about how disgusting the inside of my car is and other random things...)

I'm excited that the first review of Star in the Forest has come in... and I'm so grateful that it's a good one. This is my first foray into middle grade fiction (ages 8-11) AND my first book that's set in my home state of Colorado (although there are some flashbacks to a Nahuatl village in Puebla, Mexico). This is a very special book to me-- it was inspired by some wonderful kids I know on both sides of the border.

As I wrote it, I was wrapped up in this intense feeling, utterly absorbed in the story the entire time... I don't know how to explain it-- I felt this sense of urgency. It's rare for me to feel that way throughout the entire writing process of a book-- with my other books, there have always been days when the writing was a bit torturous. But with Star, I felt completely swept away in the flow (and was sweating profusely much of the time... which to me is a good sign... it means I'm absolutely THERE inside the story.)

Here's an excerpt of the review, from the highly-respected librarian Richie Partington of Richie's Picks:

"One of the coolest things readers will take away from STAR IN THE FOREST has to do with giving someone the benefit of the doubt. I don't want to give the story away, but I'll say that the author sets it up so perfectly that when we meet a particular character far into the book, he is definitely and immediately the object of our anger. How could he do what he's done? But then we hear his side of things and find that we are totally wrong about him. Don't you totally hate it when someone treats you that way? And isn't that how prejudice and intolerance spreads -- we make judgements before really getting to know someone -- or a group of someones, like Mexican immigrants who are in our country without proper paperwork?

I love Laura Resau's RED GLASS, which was on my Best of 2007 list. (I was delighted to see that it has since made Oprah's list for 12-and-up kids, and has been winning all sorts of state awards.) But I think Resau has done something even bigger here. I find it a much rarer discovery to come across such an important-yet-sweet book that will be embraced by third, fourth, fifth and even sixth graders, one that deals so incredibly well -- on a level appropriate for younger readers -- with issues of friendship and poverty and borders and of not making assumptions about people you don't really know." -- Richie Partington

You can read the entire review here. Thank you, Richie!

It's interesting-- several of the things Richie likes best about the story are things that were developed after my editor Stephanie, and her assistant, Krista, gave me their suggestions. They were relatively minor suggestions, but they really added depth and tied together the storylines to bring out the themes. Thanks, Stephanie and Krista! (And if I'm thanking them, I can't leave out my mom and my writing group, who helped me take my editors' suggestions and run with them...)

Thanks for reading!

Laura

this pesky flu

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:07:00 +0000

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone who sent me congratulations yesterday for the release of The Indigo Notebook! Ian and Toddler and I stayed home yesterday and watched Dora and Diego episodes all day long. As Toddler's flu symptoms faded, mine started coming on full force. Ugh! (Last night was the worst. In my feverish state last night I couldn't get Diego's "Where are all the Elephants?" song out of my head. Torturous.) It doesn't seem like a terrible case of the flu, and I'm pretty sure I'll be better for my book release party on Friday. Send good thoughts my way, please!

For a while now, I've loved reading the Cover Stories that Melissa Walker posts on her blog and the readergirlz blog. Guest authors write about the process of having their book covers created with their publisher. It's fascinating to see the transformations that a cover goes through, and to see the logic behind the changes. I did a guest Cover Stories post today-- check it out! You can see the two previous versions of The Indigo Notebook and leave your comments there. I'd love to hear what you think!

Don't forget that if you go to my readergirlz guest blog post from yesterday, you can leave a comment for a chance to win a personalized, signed hardcover of Indigo!

Finally, if you've already read Indigo... and liked it... and if you have a few minutes to kill or something to procrastinate, please consider leaving a review on amazon (you don't need to have bought the book from amazon to post your review.) Much appreciated! ;)

Thanks for reading,
Laura

Welcome to the world, Indigo!!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Hello, beloved readers!

Well, it's official-- today The Indigo Notebook is here! In theory, you can find it in any bookstore and library in North America (in reality, you might need to order it from your favorite bookseller or librarian... sometimes they need a little gentle nudging.)

Or, if you feel inspired, you can go ahead and order your copy through indiebound or amazon.

Today I have a guest post on the readergirlz blog, and if you leave a comment, you'll have a chance of winning a free, signed and personalized hardcover of Indigo!

And remember, you can also enter my creative writing contest and have a chance to win the book, too! (Just click on the link, then scroll down to Fall Contest.)

I stumbled across this video of Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) giving a talk about creativity. I whole-heartedly agree with her... and I'm planning on expanding on her ideas a little in a blog post about shamans and writers ... which I have yet to write! If you're a writer who thinks a lot about the mysteries of creativity (as I do), I recommend spending 20 minutes watching this. It's fascinating and funny.

Okay, must tend to sick Toddler now... Thanks for celebrating with me today!

xoxo
Laura

Anthropology and Fiction interview today!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:35:00 +0000

Maria and her son feeding chickens

Hey everyone,

Hope you had a fun weekend... I had my first sled ride of the season this weekend...wheeeeee! Toddler looked like a little puff-fish all decked out in his snowsuit.

Tomorrow is the big day-- the release of The Indigo Notebook!!! I got the contract two years ago, and I remember thinking that 2009 seemed sooo far in the future... and now it's actually here.

at a waterfall near Otavalo with Maria

In celebration, this week I'll have blog appearances daily-- the first is at Charlotte's Library. This is a special interview for a few reasons. Charlotte is the blogger who helped shortlist Red Glass for the Cybils Blogger Award two years ago (and I just found out she nominated The Indigo Notebook for this award, too! Yay!) Being a Cybils finalist was huge for Red Glass-- it really spread the word about the book, and also made me more aware of the wonderful book blogging community. I've discovered most of my favorite books over the past two years through these book blogs. (There are still a few more days left to nominate favorite books for the Cybils.)

I've never met Charlotte in person, but I know through reading her blog and our email contact that she's an archaeologist as well as an avid reader. Her interview questions focus on the intersection of anthropology and fiction, a topic which fascinates us both. I hope you enjoy the interview... Charlotte asks a bunch of great questions I haven't gotten before.

Okay, here's the last installment of Maria Virginia's Ecuadorian recipes posts. This is a yummy side dish that Maria often makes for potlucks when she's visiting here in Colorado.

Cortido Salad (Serves four)

2 medium tomatoes
1 small/medium yellow or white onion
1 cucumber 1 green pepper
1 carrot
1/8th bunch of fresh cilantro (7 pieces)
1 medium lime
About ½ tablespoon salt (to taste)
black pepper to taste
a tablespoon of olive oil

The key in this salad is to slice and dice the vegetables very finely so the flavors can mix together. First, soften the flavor of the onions: Cut the onions into thin slices and then cut the slices in half to form half-circles. Put the onion in a separate bowl and add a teaspoon of salt and a cup of water. Mix with your hands, crushing and breaking apart the pieces of onion. Drain out the water and add another cup of water to rinse. Drain again.

Dice the tomatoes into very small cubes. Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds. Slice the cucumber once length-wise and then slice horizontally to form thin half-circles. Slice the green pepper into thin, long strips. Peel the carrot into long, thin shavings. Chop the cilantro very finely.

Mix all the vegetables and onion and cilantro together and add the lime juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Serve immediately.

*As with all Maria's recipes, quantities are approximate-- you can adjust them according to your taste.*

Ta-dah... now you can make your own Ecuadorian feast! Buen provecho!

until tomorrow...

Laura

Melon juice on a snowy day...

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:40:00 +0000

Potatoes galore... the Andes were the birthplace of potatoes...

Hey everyone,

It's snowing here-- can you believe it?! Toddler and I went out to investigate early this morning, when it was only snowing a little. He was really excited, but wanted more snow... so he demanded, "Mommy, I want BIG snow!" And when I explained that I don't have control over the weather, he didn't buy it, and kept insisting in that screechy toddler voice, "I want BIG snow! BIG snow!" Luckily, it did start snowing harder, which qualified as BIG snow, and once again, I became all-powerful and just in his eyes...

Party at Maria's house in Oatavalo. Maria's husband, Tino, is the one singing and holding the pan flute.

So, it's less than a week now til the release of The Indigo Notebook, and I thought I'd post another one of Maria Virginia's recipes in celebration. This one's a beverage, and you can make it with any large melon-type fruit-- cantelope, watermelon, papaya... It's especially nice for those times when you have half a leftover melon and the fridge and want to use it fast before it goes bad.

the pig and sheep and cow market in Otavalo

Jugo de Melon (makes four small glasses)

In Ecuador, this refreshing beverage is often served at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Ingredients:

½ peeled cantaloupe,
5 tablespoons of sugar (or to taste),
3 cups water,
4 ice cubes.

Cut the cantaloupe in small cubes and blend in a blender with ice, water, and sugar.

How much easier can it get?! And it's really yummy... it gets a nice foam on top.

Another great review of The Indigo Notebook came in-- this one from the Southern Colorado Literature Examiner. Here's an excerpt:

"The journey to [Zeeta's] revelations, as recorded in her notebook, will amuse and entertain readers of all ages. The characters are charming, unique individuals that will remain in the memories of readers for many days to come. This tale is a young adult adventure, with a humor, mystery and mystique thrown in to make a truly enjoyable read." -- Kaye Lynne Booth

Yay! Thanks for a lovely review!

on the way to see a shaman in a village outside of Otavalo

Have a wonderful day! For you Fort Collins folks, I'm doing a Red Glass presentation at the new Council Tree library tonight at 6:30... should be fun!

Weather update: It's still snowing... MEGA-BIG snow now...

xoxo
Laura

Ecuadorian Shrimp Ceviche... mmm..

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:53:00 +0000

Otavalo food market

Hello,

I'm in my trailer with the heat blasting, trying to warm up. It's cold today! Before I dive into my revisions for The Ruby Notebook, I thought I'd post another yummy Ecuadorian recipe from Maria Viriginia. This one's shrimp ceviche (which Wendell and Zeeta make together in The Indigo Notebook.) My Ecuadorian friends always serve this with tostado or popcorn.

Shrimp Ceviche (Serves four)

2 lbs of medium shrimp (de-veined and de-shelled)
5 medium tomatoes
1/3 bunch fresh cilantro (about 15 pieces)
4 large limes
3 medium white or yellow onions
About 1 tablespoon of salt (start off with less, then season to taste)
1 ½ cups water a tablespoon of olive oil

Boil the shrimp in 1 ½ cups boiling water for 5 minutes. Take out the shrimp and put in a large bowl. Save the water (you’ll use it later) and set aside to cool.

Boil another pot of water, and boil the tomatoes for 2 minutes. Then take out the tomatoes and peel off the skins. Put the peeled tomatoes in a blender with the water that the shrimp was boiled in, and add a teaspoon of salt. Blend until you have liquid tomato juice.

Cut each shrimp in half. Add the blended tomato juice to the bowl of shrimp. Chop the cilantro very finely and add to the mixture.

Next, soften the flavor of the onions: Cut the onions into thin slices and then cut the slices in half to form half-circles. Put the onions in a separate bowl and add a teaspoon of salt and a cup of water. Mix with your hands, crushing and breaking apart the pieces of onion. Drain out the water and add another cup of water to rinse. Drain again.

Add the onions and lime juice and olive oil to the shrimp mixture and mix all ingredients together.

Serve immediately with a side of rice and/or popcorn.

(Note that Maria doesn't usually measure ingredients, just eyeballs them, so you can adjust the quantities to your taste.)

grains in the Otavalo market

Today Becky's Book Reviews posted an interview with me about The Indigo Notebook... please check it out!

Thanks for reading!

Laura

Quinoa Soup Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:29:00 +0000

Hey, everyone!

Google alerted me of an absolutely lovely new review of The Indigo Notebook today! It's from Six Boxes of Books blog, and here's an excerpt:

This first book in the series takes place in Ecuador, and the first sign that I wasn't in Babysitters Club territory was the richness of setting. It's obvious that Resau knows her Ecuador, but it comes out of her naturally, without delving into travelogue territory. The last two days I felt like I WAS in Ecuador, and so the only possible thing I could have for dinner last night was Ecuadorean quinoa vegetable soup from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes--you may think you've never been that interested in going to Ecuador, but after reading this book, I predict you'll be looking up plane fares. -- Wendy, Six Boxes of Books

Isn't that cool? I actually have that same Moosewood book and have made that same recipe! Here's the recipe that my friend Maria Virginia (co-author of The Queen of Water, coming spring 2011) uses. We led a Whole Foods cooking class together a couple years ago, and this is one of the scrumptious dishes we made. (Hmm... maybe I'll post the side dishes over the next few days so you can cook yourself a complete Ecuadorian meal after you read the book!)

Be aware that quantities are approximate-- Maria just eyeballs the ingredients, so she had a tough time quantifying them when we wrote down the recipe ... ;-)

Quinoa Soup (sopa de pobres in Spanish and sopa de pubri gendipa api in Quichua) (Serves four)

¼ pound dry quinoa
3 medium red potatoes (cut into one-inch cubes)
10 green onions (white parts only, finely chopped)
About 1 tablespoon salt (to taste)
½ tsp. cumin
3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 medium carrot (cut into ¼ inch cubes)
1 tsp. olive oil
¼ bunch of fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
¼ tsp black pepper
1 cup milk
1 pound of mozerella (or similar) cheese
About 3 liters of water or broth
½ teaspoon achiote (optional for natural red color)

In a large soup pot, boil the quinoa with the salt and water for 45 minutes. When the quinoa is soft and creamy, add potatoes and carrots and garlic. Let simmer until potatoes and carrots are soft. In another pan, heat the oil and sauté the green onions with the cilantro for about one minute. Add the milk, achiote, cumin, and let boil for three minutes, stirring constantly. Add this milk mixture to the quinoa mixture. Bring to a boil and let boil for three minutes. You can either put the cheese cubes into the soup and let melt, or, you can add the cheese cubes to individual bowls of soup. Buen provecho!

the beautiful Maria Virginia

Back to the Six Boxes of Books review, again! I just want to include the last paragraph of the review--

I think your bright middle-schoolers and maybe high-schoolers will love this series. I was desperate to travel when I was that age, and it seems like something even more teens aspire to now. Zeeta is both a real girl (multiracial, by the way) and a wish-fulfillment fantasy, something YA can never have enough of.

I'm so happy for that comment-- it's what I was going for with this book, and I'm really pleased the blend of reality and "fantasy" worked for this reviewer. (And to answer Wendy's question about how many books will be in the series, I'm planning on three, which I suppose will make it a trilogy...)

Outside view of a bread oven attached to a house in a Quichua community

Thanks for reading! Be sure to read my next blog tour interview at Becky's Book Reviews on October 6!

Laura

Blog tour update...

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Hello all!

Just a quick note to say that Zu Vincent of Through the Tollbooth YA writers blog just finished up her three-day series of interviews with me. She asked me some really thought-provoking questions that I haven't gotten before, so be sure to check them out. Go to her group blog, click on The Blog, then click on Archives and click on the 2009 calendar dates Sept 29, 30, and Oct 1. There's probably some easy way to link directly to the interviews, and one of these days I might figure it out! In the meantime, follow my labyrinthine instructions! ;)

Next stop is Becky's Blog on October 6! For the entire blog tour itinerary, look here.

I'm tempted to write more, but I really, really have unplug the wireless internet and hole up in my trailer for a few hours and revise more of The Ruby Notebook...

Later,
Laura

Next stop on blog tour...

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

This is just a quick note to let you know the next stop on my blog tour for THE INDIGO NOTEBOOK is today, at Through the Tollbooth. Just follow the link and click on BLOG if it doesn't bring you right to the interview. Zu Vincent is the interviewer, and she asked me wonderful, interesting questions... she'll actually be posting more of the interview later this week. Hope you enjoy it...

I'll write more later... I wanted to post pics from my Chesapeake Bay trip, but my computer's acting weird and won't let me access the pics on Ian's computer... grrr...

Off to revise more Ruby Notebook now!

Laura

Stardust and more Indigo Notebook reviews...

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:15:00 +0000

Happy autumn equinox, everyone!

Well, I guess officially the equinox is tomorrow... I just checked my calendar. It feels like fall today-- cool and rainy and gloomy in a nice way, a way that makes me appreciate my fuzzy red robe and mug of tea. I just got back from Maryland last night, and I'll post some pics of the Chesapeake Bay area soon. (That's where I felt inspired to start writing seriously, so it's a very special place for me.)

I love the art of Remedios Varo-- I think she captures the way celestial magic and plain hard work combine to produce art (or stories, or whatever). Often, when I write, I think of her paintings (which I have compiled in a beautiful book.)

This first one makes me think of the pure bliss of creating something (stories, in my case). I love how the stardust is an essential ingredient, which is directed by the artist (writer)... how together with heart-music, it creates a living creature that flies off the page. And I love how the artist is like a shaman, transformed into a half-bird-owl creature as she creates birds.

oops... the right side of the picture got cut off... just click on it to see the whole thing!

I had a print of this next painting hanging in my writing area when I lived in Oaxaca. To me it represents the more *torturous* side of creating. Here, she's feeding stardust to the moon, and she looks utterly exhausted and lonely and bored... as though she's a slave to this tedious creative process, alone with the moon in this little room in the universe. And honestly, this is how it feels sometimes. Sometimes writing is a blissful process, and sometimes it feels like self-inflicted punishment. It's worth it, of course... I just try to remind myself during the more torturous parts that the blissful parts will come again... and that there is always stardust and magic and moonlight involved, even if I sometimes lose sight of that.

While I was away from my computer last week, a bunch of nice news piled up in cyberland...

Here are excerpts of some new blog reviews of The Indigo Notebook that make me happy. This first one's from librarian Tasha Saecker of Kids Lit:

"In this many layered, complex work, Resau has created a fascinating heroine who speaks multiple languages, is at ease approaching strangers, and can move across the world and in a few weeks feel at home. . . Ecuador comes alive in [Resau's] writing. One can almost smell the popcorn in the air, the fresh bread baking, and the potato soup. Highly recommended for tween and teen readers who are looking to travel. This book brings a place to life so vividly it is almost like being there. Add a little romance and it becomes irresistible."

You can read the whole, wonderfully written, thoughtful review here.

Here's another lovely one, written by Becky of Becky's Book Reviews-- a highly respected blogger who reads a zillion books a year and writes eloquent, honest reviews.

". . . Life in Ecuador certainly is interesting, Zeeta finds. Full of adventure, mystery, magic, danger, love, and laughter. It's a coming of age story as well. A story of discovering who you are, what you want, and what you really need. It's a complex story exploring family dynamics and relationships. . . I think one of my favorite things about it is that it's multicultural without being "multicultural." It doesn't scream and shout, "Hey, look I'm multicultural. I'm all about the other." It feels authentic and natural."

You can read Becky's entire review here (and I encourage you to read all these bloggers' other reviews and interviews as well-- I've gotten lots of fantastic book recommendations from them.) I'll also be interviewed on Becky's blog on October 6, so be sure to check back then.

Here's yet another wonderful review, this one from Marjolein, who interviewed me on the first stop on my blog tour here. She just posted her review today on Marjolein Book Blog. Here's an excerpt:

"The Indigo Notebook is an amazing new YA novel about living in different countries and cultures. . . I thought it was very different than the usual YA novels, and I mean that it was one of the better ya novels I have read. The story of Zeeta and Wendell was very entertaining and keeps you page turning. And you learn a lot about Ecuador and its culture too while reading it."

One interesting thing about Marjolein's blog is that she's Dutch, living in the Netherlands, and so she offers a great international perspective... very fitting for this book.

And finally, here's a bit of a review of Red Glass, from Paula Kay McLaughlin of the blog Write Now.

"I knew I was in for a great read when the first page described the dryness of the desert so well I needed to pause for a glass of lemonade before turning the page. . .

I also want to applaud the exceptionally developed secondary characters that left permanent imprints on my heart. As writers we strive to develop multi-layered protagonists readers will care about, of course, but it’s the secondary characters that make a good solid story a fuller, richer one."

Always interesting to read reviews from writers' perspectives... thanks Paula! And thank you, Marjolein and Becky and Tasha!

I'll be posting my official blog tour schedule soon... I have about a dozen interviews and guest posts coming up. I've been having fun approaching the book from lots of different perspectives in these interviews. I think each post will have something unique to offer.

Fill your day with stardust. . . blissfully!
Laura

Party for Maria Virginia!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:20:00 +0000

pic of Maria Virginia as a teen

Hello all!

My friend and co-author Maria Virginia Farinango is back in town for two months.... and we had a brunch party today to celebrate! Our book, The Queen of Water, is coming out with Delacorte in Spring 2011... here's the blurb:

Co-written with Maria Virginia Farinango, this amazing true story begins in an impoverished community in the Ecuadorian Andes. As a seven-year-old, Virginia is taken from her indigenous family to be an unpaid servant in a mestizo household, where she struggles to hold on to her spirit. Eight years later, she escapes ... but discovers that freedom holds its own set of challenges. She must overcome obstacles to rebuild a life for herself, and ultimately, to figure out who she truly is.

I am SO excited about this book!! Here's a tiny clip from an article that I found in an Otavalo newspaper as I was researching her story there. She was a teen at the time, and had recently been crowned The Queen of Water (one of the three indigenous queens of the town). She was responding to questions for an interview... here's my favorite answer of hers!

Oh, um, if you don't read Spanish, here's a loose translation (I say loose because there's no good English translation for superacion...)

Your family?

That's a story that one day I'd like to make into a book. That's my big dream. A dream of overcoming struggles-- overcoming my own struggles -- and something which any girl my age could do, if she has the courage to learn how to make her dream a reality.

One thing that comes out in Maria's story is the idea that in order to make your dream a reality, you need to not only find strength within yourself, but also form friendships with people who feel passionate about helping you make your dream a reality. Our friends at the party today all played a part in making this book a reality!

Julie and Andrea (above) are ESL teachers in town. Andrea teaches at the community college where I taught ESL for many years -- I met Maria through her. She was a student of Andrea's in the classroom next to mine. Before I'd met Maria, Andrea told me a bit about her story. I was fascinated and soon got to know Maria better... and that winter, we began working on the book!

Kay and Marylou and Flora (above) have been like family for Maria here in Fort Collins, offering her places to stay and help with her crafts business and other endeavors. (I'm in the pink jeans and Maria's the one next to me in the long black skirt.)

Martha (above) is the librarian at Harris Bilingual Elementary here in town, and she was one of the bilingual educators in the focus group that helped Maria and me with our latest revision of The Queen of Water. She and the others gave incredibly helpful feedback! Muchisimas gracias!

Hopefully most of you got my most recent e-newsletter, which is chock full of my upcoming events in Colorado. You can see the latest newsletter here... and then you can sign up for future ones here!

I'll also be doing a *blog tour*... my first one ever! See the sidebar for a link to the first stop on my blog tour-- Marjolein's Young Adult Book Blog.) My next stop is around Sept 27 or 28 at the Through the Tollbooth blog, with all new, really interesting interview questions! Please check it out! (If you're a writer, esp a writer of teen fiction, I highly recommend you read this blog-- it's overflowing with great insights from respected YA authors.)

Thanks for reading! I'm going to make another cup of tea to enjoy before Toddler wakes up from his nap. It's a cool, rainy day here, and it feels cozy to be inside writing and sipping tea...

xoxo
Laura

Day 1 of The Indigo NoteBook Blog Tour!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:45:00 +0000

Hi all,

Just a quick note to say my first stop on *The Indigo Notebook Blog Tour* is Marjolein Balm's blog... and what a perfect place to start! Each of the books in the Notebooks series is set in a different country... and Marjolein is based in the Netherlands (at least that's what I deduced from her blog-- hopefully I'm not mistaken). Don't worry-- her blog is in perfect English (which makes me want to learn Dutch!) Isn't the Netherlands a great hopping-off point for this blog journey?! Anyway, her blog is great-- I hope you enjoy the interview!

I'll have about ten more stops on the tour over the next couple months... and I'll try to give new and different info in each interview. Check back soon for the next interview link (and in the meantime, I'll try to put together an itinerary with what's to come!)

On a different note, here I am with two ladies in my writing group-- Sarah Ryan and Carrie Visintainer-- at the Tour de Fat-- a gigantic bike parade here in Fort Collins last Saturday. We dressed up as different genres of literature. Sarah was romance (though you can't tell here-- she's missing her swash-buckling pirate lover) and Carrie was Western, and can you guess what I was? (I'm the one with the black wings and pink boa.)

Magical realism. With a bit of sci-fi thrown in (thus the alien hat-mask-thing). Loads of fun!

Cheers,
Laura

Kirkus Review for Indigo! Editor's Corner!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:42:00 +0000

Hello and happy September, everyone!

This'll be a quick post to let you know the first major review of The Indigo Notebook is in... and it's a good one! Phew! *BIG sigh of relief* ... *Ear-to-ear grin* Here it is:

"Upon arriving in Ecuador with Layla, her flaky, globe-trotting mom, 15-year-old Zeeta has no idea that this latest move will prove any different from the whirlwind to which she has become accustomed. Then she meets Wendell, an Otavaleño boy her age adopted at birth by a white couple from Colorado, and agrees to help search for his biological parents. Descending into a mystery rife with small-town secrets, Zeeta struggles to control her feelings for Wendell. At the same time, her mom has a freak accident that results in some serious self-examination and begins acting responsibly, observing social norms and, much to Zeeta’s distress, spacing out in front of the television. The characters fairly brim with life in this thoughtful, poignant novel filled with cultural details. The writing is simple but evocative—“Far above, the gray peaks wear long, green robes, swirling into valleys, rippling into smooth mounds.” The story’s too-neat ending may strain believability for some readers, but this is a minor detraction to an otherwise remarkably engrossing, layered work. (Fiction. 12 & up)" -- Kirkus

Yay! Thanks, Kirkus!!

Stephanie and me

This is the third book that I've published on with Stephanie Lane Elliott, my editor at Delacorte. We're in the process of working on four more, which will be released over the next two years. I'm so grateful for this wonderful editor-author relationship! I'm often asked how I ended up getting my first book (What the Moon Saw) published. I talk about it a bit in the Q&A section of my website (scroll down and click on the "path to publication" question). You can read Stephanie's perspective here -- she's the featured editor for September on the Editor's Corner page in the librarian/teacher section of the Random House website. I'm hugely honored that she chose to talk about my books-- starting from how she pulled What the Moon Saw from the slush pile. Thank you, Stephanie!!!

I'm in the midst of some blog interviews at the moment... they'll be posted over the next couple months to celebrate The Indigo Notebook release. Come back soon to see what great blogs are on the agenda for my book blog tour. And be sure to check out the growing list of Red Glass and The Indigo Notebook events happening this fall. (My husband and I will post some new ones this weekend.)

Thanks for reading!
Laura

Book Club in Denver!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Resau) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:28:00 +0000

Hey everyone!

For those of you going back to school, I hope your year is off to a great start! I had an amazing time at a mother-daughter book club meeting in Denver on Sunday afternoon. It was a cool, overcast afternoon, and seven girls (ages 13-15, I think) and their moms were gathered in a cozy living room... to talk about Red Glass!

They've been meeting for over five years, and most of the girls come from different schools. Books are their bond! For refreshments, they always make food from the book they're discussing at that meeting... I love this idea.

At their first meeting ever, they talked about Because of WinnDixie while feasting on a jar of pickles... and since then, they've made a tradition of having a jar of pickles at every meeting. (They're hard-core... when they read The Higher Power of Lucky, they ate SPAM.) So, for Red Glass, the most stunning part of the feast was this GORGEOUS cake!

Sally, who is also a writer of books for kids/teens, made the cake (during time she should have been writing... Sally, thanks for blowing off your writing for the day to create this scrumptious masterpiece! ;) Check out the red glass... she made the glass out of fruit roll ups! How creative is that?! Here I am with Sally, masterful cake-maker:

There was yummy mango salsa and guacamole and, of course, two big bowls of key limes that we squeezed all over everything, a la Limegirl!

And then, just when I thought things couldn't get any more delicious, Susan's husband waltzed into the living room with a tray of cinnamon hot chocolate in little crystal dessert glasses. Mmmmm...

Everyone asked really great questions about the characters and my writing process and all kinds of other things... what a fun discussion! Some of the girls and their moms are writers themselves, so they had some wonderful insights into the book-- really made me think.

I wonder if there are any mother-son book clubs out there? My son is two, and I would LOVE to be in a book club with him (well, once he starts reading, of course). I have enough writer/reader friends who have boys my son's age that I bet we could make it work in about five years. There probably wouldn't be as much squealing and giggling, though... ah well...

Muchisimas gracias, Maddie, Kaila, Smiley, Bessana, Dylan, Ellie, Natalie, and your moms!

On a different note, you'll be happy to know I finally send my draft of The Ruby Notebook into my editor, and am anxiously awaiting (and sort of dreading!) her comments... (let's just say that the manuscript was in a *very rough* form.)

Lately, I've been planning more release events for The Indigo Notebook this fall. If you're in Colorado, be sure to check out the Events page of my website and mark your calendars. I still haven't confirmed the Tattered Cover reading date, but I'll post it as soon as I know. Hope to see you at the festivities this fall!

Cheers,
Laura