UPDATE: San Diego Jewish World - news article last week:
Shari Becker grew up in in Montreal and now lives in Boston, where she is married and is raising two daughters with her husband John. Her first YA (young adult) novel has been published and there's a fascinating story behind it I found out when I interviewed her last month.
Titled "The Stellow Project" and released by a major publisher in New York, the book had its origins with Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Becker told me.
"The book's genesis began post Hurricane Sandy," Becker said, adding: "The hurricane that fall of 2012 hit just before I was supposed to drive home, from Michigan to Boston. I got halfway home, when I hit the first detour sign. It sent me hours out of my way. Entire highways were decimated. I was totally lost in the countryside. At night. In the dark. Just me and my girls. The GPS wouldn’t work. The detour signs were few and far between. And it seemed like I was just getting farther and farther off track."
"I started to cry in the car and called my husband begging him to try and help me figure out where I was," Becker continued. "Afterwards, I couldn't’t stop thinking about my crazy drive home, about our changing weather and climate change. What did it mean for the world? I started to think about what it might mean for a girl who has health challenges. What would it mean to be someone who has to live in a climate controlled space. I envisioned a scene in my head about a girl stuck in a glass house. And I wrote it down. That was beginning of my YA novel."
''My publisher Skyscape and its PR department is calling the novel a climate fiction book,'' she told me. "Cli-fi.''
''The Stellow Project'' features two main characters whose parents are scientists and doctors trying to solve climate change issues. The incentive is climate, but the outcome is science fiction, so the novel combines a little bit of both sci-fi and cli-fi, Becker said.
''There are no aliens or trips into outer space, but the work being done in the labs is definitely out there," Becker added.
There might be a sequel in store for her first YA novel, too, Becker told me.
"Originally this was written as a stand-alone book, with the possibility of a sequel,'' she said. "I love that it has an open ending, but a lot of readers are really anxious to know what happens next. I recently sent in a proposal for a sequel, and I’m hopeful the publisher will pick it up."
NOTES FROM OUR INTERVIEW:
My two girls are 10 and 12. My older one is a voracious reader and my younger one is a voracious listener. They are both really into fantasy and adventure books, although my older one will pretty much read anything engaging from historical fiction to science fiction to the classics. I have just introduced her to Jane Austen, and I was surprised by how much she enjoyed it. My younger daughter has just discovered Percy Jackson, and she is hooked.
''The Stellow Project'' was 8 years in the making from start to finish and it began post Hurricane Sandy 2012. The hurricane hit just before I was supposed to drive home, from Michigan to Boston. I got halfway home, when I hit the first detour sign. It sent me hours out of my way. Entire highways were decimated. I was totally lost in the countryside. At night. In the dark. Just me and my girls. The GPS wouldn’t work. The detour signs were few and far between. And it seemed like I was just getting farther and farther off track. I started to cry in the car and called my husband begging him to try and help me figure out where I was. Afterwards, I couldn’t stop thinking about my crazy drive home, about our changing weather and climate change. What did it mean for the world? I started to think about what it might mean for a girl who has health challenges. What would it mean to be someone who has to live in a climate controlled space. I envisioned a scene in my head about a girl stuck in a glass house. And I wrote it down. It was the beginning of ''The Stellow Project.''
My agent did the whole normal submission process, pitching it to a variety of publishers and editors. We were calling it contemporary science fiction. It was bought by Skyscape, and it was their PR folks who realized that this was really a climate fiction book. Cli-fi.
The Stellow Project is probably a little of both, sci fi and cli fi. There’s a lot of mystery in the story, so I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but the two main characters’ parents are scientists and doctors trying to solve climate change issues. The incentive is climate, but the outcome is science fiction, if that makes sense. There are no aliens or trips into space, but the work being done in the labs is definitely out there. Actually, Skycape is labeling the book YA, Cli-Fi.
What kind of promotions for her novel is Shari doing?
ANSDWER: You know, it’s quite challenging being a debut author these days. My name doesn’t sell books ... yet. (Here’s hoping.) The book got great reviews from School Library Journal, Booklist and Examiner.com, but it’s still hard to get the word out. As a YA writer I rely so much on word of mouth. I had a hugely successful book launch party at a local bookstore, and then I had another reading at a bookstore in Montreal. My publisher had me do a blog tour, where I essentially wrote guest pieces on about a dozen YA blogs. I’m out there on social media trying to create a presence. I see all these debut authors out there, hustling, trying to sell their books, traveling all over to conferences, but there are huge costs to that - time and money. I’m not convinced that helps book sales anymore. I’m trying to stay focussed on building a library of content. If a kid likes my book, I want them to be able to go into a library or book store and say, “What else did she write?” So I’m trying to stay focussed on new projects and think of this as a long, slow journey instead of a sprint.
Originally the book was written as a stand-alone with the possibility of a sequel. I love that it has an open ending, but a lot of readers are really anxious to know what happens next. I recently sent in a proposal for a sequel, and I’m hopeful the publisher will pick it up.
BONUS QUESTION. How to find time and space, to write, as a mom a wife and a novelist ? What's yr secret to finding making time?
SHARI: ''A complicated question. It’s really about time management and self discipline. As my kids get older, finding time to write is getting easier. There were many years where I was totally unproductive because someone was sick all the time or because preschool ended at noon. I still only work during the school day, so my time is limited. I try not to over schedule myself, and I have learned to say “no” to invitations for lunches or coffees, and sadly even to volunteering for my kids’ schools or for organizations I really support. I have to guard my short work day fiercely. Of course, not sleeping is another way to be productive. Sadly, one of my biggest secrets to making time is my most unhealthy life habit, and that is doing a lot of work between the hours of 9 and 11 PM. It means I generally only get about 6 hours sleep. It’s one piece of my puzzle that I really need to figure out.''
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