[New post] My DragonCon schedule & where to find me

janinekspendlove posted: " As most of you know DragonCon is looming & I once again have a packed schedule. I'd really love to see those of you that are going, so if you can make it to one of my panels, that'd be great! If not, please stop by to say hello. I'll most often be in" New post on Ailionora My DragonCon schedule & where to find me by janinekspendlove As most of you know DragonCon is looming & I once again have a packed schedule. I'd really love to see those of you that are going, so if you can make it to one of my panels, that'd be great! If not, please stop by to say hello. I'll most often be in the Kaleidoscope Track room during the day. For those of you looking to purchase one of my books I will have some on hand for sale, and of course, if you bring your own copies I'd be happy to sign them. Oh, before I forget, most of our panels will feature a giveaway of some sort (especially my reading with Bryan Young - LOADS of giveaways there... some lucky attendee is going to walk away with all of Silence in the Library Publishing's currently published books, to include Bryan Young's Operation Montauk and my War of the Seasons novels!). Hope to see you there! MY SCHEDULE: Title: Princess, Fairies, and Pirates Time: Fri 10:00 am Location: A708 - Marriott (Length: 1) Description: A discussion of favorite Disney characters: Snow White to Merida, Prince Charming to Captain Jack Sparrow. Title: An Hour with Charlie Schlatter Time: Fri 11:30 am Location: A601 - A602 - Marriott (Length: 1) Moderator / MC for panel Description: A discussion of Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, the Emmy nominated animated TV show on Disney XD. Title: Secondary Characters in The Hunger Games Time: Fri 02:30 pm Location: Hanover C - E - Hyatt (Length: 1) Description: From other tributes to Capitol dwellers, even the minor characters are well-drawn enough to inspire strong feelings. Title: Fan Works and Beyond: Taking it to the Next Level Time: Fri 07:00 pm Location: A707 - Marriott (Length: 1) Description: A discussion of YA fan inspiration that has evolved beyond fanfic and fanart to Wizard Rock, fan musicals, Wattpad, and Kindle Worlds. Title: Reading - Janine K. Spendlove & Bryan Young Time: Sat 02:30 pm Location: Roswell - Hyatt (Length: 1) Loads of giveaways!Tell your friends - let's pack the room! Title: Come Meet Geek Girls Run Time: Sat 04:00 pm Location: A708 - Marriott (Length: 1) Description: The group fosters self-improvement, healthy living, and a community where strong women inspire and encourage each other. *There is also an associated fun run, Friday morning at 0830 in front of the Marriott. See you there!* Title: Whatcha Doing, Danville Chicks? Time: Sat 05:30 pm Location: A601 - A602 - Marriott (Length: 1) Moderator / MC for panel Description: Get the Phineas & Ferb inside scoop from two of its greatest chicks. Title: Geek Parents Unite! Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: A708 - Marriott (Length: 1) Description: Exchange ideas & stories with other parents and nerds just like you. Title: Read-a-Likes Time: Sun 02:30 pm Location: A708 - Marriott (Length: 1) Description: Turn your child's love for TV into a love of reading. Title: Phineas & Ferb, Come to Danville Time: Sun 04:00 pm Location: A601 - A602 - Marriott (Length: 1) Description: Danville has everything from Fireside Girls to secret agents to evil scientists. Discuss your favorites. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Need a copy of one of my books? As it happens you can buy them here. janinekspendlove | August 23, 2013 at 3:16 am | URL: http://wp.me/p3LiH2-hJ Comment    See all comments Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.ailionora.com/2013/08/23/my-dragoncon-schedule-where-to-find-me/

[New post] Don’t tell me what to write

janinekspendlove posted: "I recently came across a Tumblr post with tens of thousands of notes that said the following "petition to make young adult authors stop writing about girls whose lives change when they meet a boy." My initial reaction was (as I'm sure what it would be fo" New post on Ailionora Don’t tell me what to write by janinekspendlove I recently came across a Tumblr post with tens of thousands of notes that said the following "petition to make young adult authors stop writing about girls whose lives change when they meet a boy." My initial reaction was (as I'm sure what it would be for many authors): Don't tell me what to write. If you don't like what a book, that's the beauty of books - there are always MORE. Simply set it aside & try another. Hopefully that one is more to your taste. Once I got over my initial "YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME" reaction, I realized that the above post probably had more to do with certain tropes that are often found in YA Lit - specifically the whole "I can't believe a guy like you would notice me!" trope. There's also the "All women are lustful," "All girls want bad boys," "Distressed Damsel," and the "Dulcinea Effect." I'm going to stop here, because if I keep going someone will need to go into to TV Tropes in a few days and pull me out! Now, if the original post had said all that that, I probably would have just kept scrolling on Tumblr a bit irritated (because I still don't like the idea of someone telling me what to write), but not perturbed enough to say anything. But it didn't say that. It said, specifically "make young adult authors stop writing about girls whose lives change when they meet a boy." So, what I'd like to know is what is so wrong about writing about a person whose life changes when they meet another person who turns out to be significant in their life? Whether it's a boy meeting a girl, or a girl meeting a girl, etc, that's what stories essentially are about: RELATIONSHIPS. My most recently published story is all about a girl whose life changed when she met a boy. Her brother. It completely, utterly changed her life because of the love & acceptance he showed her, something she'd never had in her life before that moment. BTW, it's a superhero story. BTW, she's the one with the super powers. Ultimately it's a story about unconditional love, and in my opinion, love is what gives any story its heart. I'm not saying stories need focus on love, but I am saying I think love - whether platonic or romantic - gives a story depth and an emotional anchor. So, no, I'm not going to stop writing stories about girls whose lives change when they meet a boy, or stories where a girl's life changes when she meets a girl, or any combination you can think of. I'm not going to write the stories anyone "tells" me or tries to "make" me write. I'm going to write the stories I feel need to be told. I'm going to write the stories that speak to my heart. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Need a copy of one of my books? As it happens you can buy them here. janinekspendlove | August 14, 2013 at 12:24 pm | Tags: short story, tropes, ya lit, you are not the boss of me | URL: http://wp.me/p3LiH2-hG Comment    See all comments Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.ailionora.com/2013/08/14/dont-tell-me-what-to-write/