The King is Dead … Long Live the King

When Michael Jackson died, it only marked the temporary death of a culture that thrived longer than most. The Pop Culture was always trivialized as being trivial, bubblegum, if you will. But it resonated with people because well, we’re trivial too. Just call us bubblegum people.

And when I say pop, I’m not talking about Dad … or soda-pop … or soap bubbles. Pop was about popular, in that the masses identified with it. Fun, not too intellectual, pop culture was people, so its music, its ideals, its essence was that of the people. Pop was us, and we won’t go away.

Sure, we couldn’t all dance like Michael Jackson … we couldn’t all sing like Michael Jackson, but he was all of us. He was black, he was white, he was male, he was … uh, maybe something else … who knows really. But he typified the times with fun, catchy songs that stayed in your mind until your brain was ready to bleed.

And we couldn’t get enough. When the tributes to his live started pouring in, sales of Michael Jackson stuff soared, as we remembered, or in some cases, discovered his ground-breaking songs, videos and trends. We all threw away a glove, and pulled out sequins so we could emulate our fallen idol.

Well, maybe you did – I didn’t. But I would have if … well, no, I wouldn’t have worn a sequined glove on a bet. Or maybe I would, if the bet was high enough, but I wouldn’t have let anyone witness it.

As writers, we have to take culture into account. When I wrote my first young adult book …

… what young adult book, you ask? Thanks for asking, Fang Face – get your humor vampire goodness now!

(sorry, commercial break over).

… anyway, when I was writing Fang Face, I had concerns about the culture of teenaged kids, which overlaps almost seamlessly with popular culture. Was I writing a book they would identify with? Was it a slice of their lives? Kids aren’t stupid. If the book didn’t resonate with them, they’d know it and would respond as kids will - by ignoring it and letting it die.

So I asked a teen to read the manuscript, and this turned into an entire school studying Fang Face as a class project. I was invited to come in and talk to them about the story, characters, plotting and other stuff.

Can you imagine a better think-tank for a teenaged book?

You can’t ignore culture when you’re creating for the masses, be it bubblegum pop music, books or that green stuff growing in your tub. More specifically, you can’t ignore teenaged culture, which epitomizes what’s popular in society as much as anything. Teens drive the commercials you see on television, placement of merchandise in stores, art and music more than any other demographic of society.

So when you say Long Live the King, I say long live the Teen.

Norm

Norm Cowie

http://fangface.homestead.com

Presenting Fang Face by Norm Cowie

Fresh from Echelon Press for September is Fang Face by Norm Cowie:

"Hilarious, lightning-paced, and as sharp about high school as a bite to the throat. I loved this book, fangs and all." - James Rollins, New York Times bestseller of Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow.

From the back cover:
Erin has bigger worries than how she’ll do on her Trig Final.
A vampire bit her and she’s turning into an Undead.
Things could be worse, though. It cleared her complexion, she can fly and now her parents have to let her go out at night. And being a vampire is great for freaking out her little sister. The downside? … besides being dead, of course … and having to drink blood smoothies … was having to give up tanning and pizza.
And with her new edgy Goth look, jet-black hair and porcelain skin, everyone tells Erin that she’s become beautiful. So much so that the other girls in school have started calling her names…like ‘Fang Face.’
Erin wouldn’t mind checking her new look for herself. But as everyone knows…
Vampires can't see their reflections!

And here's an excerpt from between the book covers:

Alex bolted upright from a sound sleep, her heartbeat beating out a manic drum solo.

What was that? Was it real? Was it part of her dream?

There was thumping on the stairs and running footsteps in the hallway.
"Alex? Erin?" her mom called, her voice filled with anxiety.

Well okay, then. It was real.

"Girls!"

"Mom!" Alex squeaked.

The door burst open and a bright light slashed into her room followed closely by her mother. Her mom looked pumped full of the surge of adrenaline mothers use to lift cars off their offspring. Her face relaxed when she saw there wasn't a Toyota on her daughter.

"I'll check Erin," her father said as he tore past the door, a huge gleaming sword in his hand, chain armor rattling in his haste.

Not really, it was a Louisville Slugger and he was wearing pajamas.

He disappeared and a moment later they heard his squeak of horror.

Yeah, yeah, if you asked him, he would deny it was a squeak. He would say it was a grunt or some other manly noise. Uh, huh.

Her mother looked back at the doorway in alarm. Seeing Alex was safe, Beth commanded, "Stay here," and then bolted down the hallway.

Three seconds later there was a woman's scream. Her mother this time. Either that or Dad was trying to get in touch with his feminine side.

Alex froze, her mind spinning. She had been told to stay put, so like any teenager, she did what she was told without question.

Um...right.

What really happened was she jumped up and crept toward her sister's room. The door was wide open and light streamed into the hallway.

She sneaked a peek around the corner and gasped.

Erin was sprawled on her bed, eyes open and staring. Twin streams of blood pumped from puncture wounds near her jugular.

Want to read more? Like your own copy of the whole book right now?!?!!

The reviewers have spoken:
"This book sucks ... in a most delightful way! Norm Cowie's latest is boy-meets-girl-meets-vampire-meets-wow. Don't miss this gem." - Shane Gericke, National Bestselling thriller author

"FANG FACE made me laugh, and I'm not a Teen. Or perhaps I am, but I'm trapped in a grown-up's body.”- Raymond Benson, author of James Bond, The Union Trilogy

Mr. Cowie, I mean, Norm speaks to being an author...

The best part of writing is it feeds my freak. A writer is a bit of a control freak. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I decide who farts, who bites whom, and it’s up to me what a vampire is like. Does he sparkle in the sunlight? Does he need a straw to suck blood? Does he need SPF eight billion?

The worst part of writing is what I like to call, ‘the other writing.’ Extra curricular writing, like blogs. Anything that takes me away from writing fun stories. I even begrudge ‘Twitter.’ I’d much rather write a story than write about writing stories.

The craziest part of being a writer is signing stuff. I love graffiti’ing all over a book. I was always taught that we should respect and take care of a book. But now, people want me to write on a book … even better … they want me to write something weird or crazy. And I want to sign other stuff, like body parts. I know of a case where one of best-selling author Christopher Moore’s fans had one of his books tattooed onto her leg. Then she came to one of his signings and he autographed her leg. Then she had his autograph tattooed onto her leg. I want that!

What's next for Norm and his readers?

What else? A sequel. Fang Face ends a bit on a cliff hanger, though most issues are resolved in the first. I’m busy working on its sequel, WereWoof. Yep, werewolves, kinda, sorta. Count on more biters and more fun.

Thanks, Norm!

Find Norm here on Teen-Seen or at his website or the fang place blog!

Channel That Creativity

Rather than channel surf - channel your talent into a solution for a problem or situation you'd like to improve. For example:

Teens have managed to harness the energy of hamsters to charge their cell phones. The nocturnal running might bother some, but it can be a positive for everyone.

And who knew the Bubble Wrap folks (Sealed Air Corporation) sponsors a competition for young inventors? In January they announced the most recent three - here's the link for their creative solutions. What cool kids! (and they won a trip to NYC plus prize money).



People who are not yet adults have all kinds of fresh ways of looking at life and coming up with solutions both functional and fun...you did know there's a kit to make the mentos/diet pop rocket easier, right? Steve Spangler did the marketing and all the pertinent lessons (so parents would buy with the idea that it's a teaching thing), but KIDS started the phenomenon.

There's all kinds of talent in YOU! You've just gotta find the right channel to let it all out (and you'll use your creativity for the power of good, right?)

Regan

who channels her creativity into stories like the Pixie Chicks and more from Quake and Echelon Press!

Gossipy Minds Want To Know

Gus and Cynthia "Dishing The Dirt"

Cynthia and I don’t gossip, never did. We just get mad at each other and say stupid things. But, plenty of our friends do. And, this is waaaay back in the 60s! We'll gossip about things like: “Cindy’s wearing Tom’s letterman jacket!” Or, “I saw Mike walk Linda to Geometry class.”

Gossip is more difficult in mine and Cynthia's time. You actually have to physically whisper in someone’s ear! Ewwww! Oh, sure we always have the phone, but it's impossible to say anything private with my nosy brother eavesdropping. And, believe it or not, I can't take the phone into my room because the receiver is connected by a cord! I know. Hard to imagine.

You guys have it so easy today with email and texting.

“OMG. Did u c C n T :-<>” (for those of you over age 30, the symbol :-<> shows surprise).

I may just be an old-fashioned, 1960s twelve-year-old (soon to be thirteen!), but the statement above seems to lose something in the translation. On the other hand, texting might keep flu bugs from spreading. Waaahh...choooo!

Still, Cynthia and I are gonna have to study this texting thing. I just figured out that lol doesn’t mean, “lots of love!” Now, there’s a gossip topic! Think of all the people I woulda thought were sending me “love” before I realized they were laughing with (at) me! LOL!

Getting off the gossip track, so I’ll bring this puppy back around (somehow).

Do you like gossip, as long as it doesn’t involve you? Or, is gossip always mean? What’s your favorite way to gossip? Ear-to-ear ? Text-to-text?

Gossipy minds want to know.

BFF, Gus

Mary Cunningham Books

Quake

Cynthia's Attic Blog

Reading with Teens

As the electronic era has taken hold of today's society, people have begun to read less and focus instead on other activities, such as playing videogames or watching television. Yet, reading still employs a great sense of wonder and amazement as the reader engages in a new adventure each and every time he or she enters the world of the author's story.

There are many options available, not only to discover new and exciting books to read, but to discuss the story with other individuals and gain new perspectives on a story that had seemed to only have one angle to it before. A book club can offer new opportunities to find a new favorite book or to even learn new facts or opinions concerning a book that you thought you knew everything about. You can check out your local library to see if they have a book club that would be good for you to join and discuss the chosen book.

Reading can open many new doors, so why not go and pick up a book to read today!

Alyssa Montgomery
Author of Where Are You? and Mr. Mysterious

Ebooks Catching On With Kids

Ebooks catch on with children, according to a Los Angeles Times article,

After he's finished his homework and his chores for the day, 8-year-old Skye Vaughn-Perling likes to read Dr. Seuss. He's a particular fan of the hijinks that ensue when the elephant Horton hears strange voices emanating from a dust speck in "Horton Hears a Who."

He doesn't read from a dog-eared copy of the children's classic, though. Skye, who lives in Agoura Hills, often reads on his computer, pressing the arrow button when he wants to turn a page. Sometimes the characters move around on the screen like animated cartoons on TV. If he wants, Skye can have the computer read a book to him while he's curled up in bed.

"It's a whole new level of exploring the books," said his mother, Victoria Vaughn-Perling.

Readers and publishers alike are embracing a digital future. Electronic-book sales increased 73% in October compared with the same month last year, according to the Assn. of American Publishers, while sales of adult paperbacks decreased 23% and children's paperbacks declined 14.8%. Sales of higher-education books, including textbooks, fell 443%.

And, according to the article, the children's book market is especially ripe for the wonders of the digital world. And, even large publishers such as Harcourt, Harper Collins and Random House are getting in line.

Although I find it somewhat foreign to read an e-book (I’m rapidly getting used to it!) children and young adults today consider iPods and Kindles second nature and are eagerly embracing e-books.

Today's kids, after all, have grown up around technology and don't think twice about learning from computers and sleeping with their iPods. In some cases, watching a book on a computer might even make them enjoy reading more, publishers say.

How about you? Your kids? Are they reading e-books?

Save a tree! Read an e-book! Quake's got 'em!

Mary Cunningham - Cynthia's Attic 'Tween series

Fictionwise

Teen Slang...Anyone?

I'm needing teen slang for my latest book, but I can’t seem to find anything that’s “suitable.” I’m from the “groovy” generation, so you can imagine the depth of my problem.

Please help, if you can. I need acceptably clean words for:

Dork

Cool

Friend

Family

Awesome/Great - I did find that the teen slang word for this is “Sick.” Right? Although there seems to be some disagreement on this one. With most teens, awesome seems to be, well, still awesome! So, maybe I'm not so out of touch.

Want to find out your slang I.Q? Here's a fun test on, of all sites, Good Housekeeping! But, it's an easy way to find out if you’re “Groovy” or simply "Awesome."

Happy to hear some other suggestions, too, so my next book, "The Magician's Castle" can be simply "awesome!"

You can also check out the Urban Dictionary of Slang

Mary Cunningham

Mary Cunningham Books

Cynthia's Attic Blog

Quake Books

The Perils of Team Projects

It was probably Socrates, or some equally impressive scholar and mentor, who came up with the grand plan of partnering students for a single project, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. There wasn't a school year that went by that didn't involve at least one of these ominous team efforts. If the word on the street is right, partner projects seem to torment students today as well.

Oh, it all starts out fine, especially if you like who's on your team, but then someone (usually the person with all the notes) gets sick, someone else's dog eats the diorama, or someone just 'forgets' their part. Knowing you'll share the final grade, do you cover the weak link on the team, or just cross your fingers and hope for a miracle? When it's over, do you prepare a power point and take your case to the teacher, clearly labeling everyone who dropped the ball?

Partner projects are supposed to teach us how to work with others, how to organize an effort and how to blend individual talent into a cohesive presentation. Nice theory, but how do you make it happen? How do you influence others to participate when they'd rather use group research time to catch up on their sleep?

Looking back, I have to wonder if partner projects weren't created just for the amusement of the administration. It might have started as a social experiment complete with hidden cameras: leave children alone with an assignment and watch the sparks fly – from a safe distance. Or maybe those pesky projects gave the super smart kids a chance to be popular. Everyone envied the group with the genius, especially if they could convince the genius to do all the work.

I suppose partner and team projects are really opportunities to learn how to learn and there's no doubt it takes lots of practice to learn how to play nice with others. I'm trying to recall a team project that went smoothly…and coming up empty. Unless marching band counts? That's where I learned to apply humor, compassion, and snack foods in equal measure to soothe the wounded and weary during long practices and competitions.

Are there any perilous team tales in your past - or present?

Regan

Download the first Pixie Chicks story at Quake today and find more adventure with Regan's Dream Works novella in the Missing anthology available now from Echelon Press.
To learn more about Regan visit her website or her blog.

Gotta get Goth

I know you're out there...lurking, maybe even spying on us. Well, I need you to come out of the woodwork and answer some questions for me. I am in the beginning phases of a new series called "Nemesis Force."

I am doing some research and I need some good solid information on the teen Goth scene. Forgive me, but I'm old--42 this year.

I need to find out about the music, the clothes, and what really makes a girl Goth and not just a crappy dresser. I am especially interested if you are anywhere near Baltimore.

Please help me

Karen