Welcome to the web page of Cecilia Galante, author of The Patron Saint of Butterflies, awarded as a Book Sense Pick for 2008, and Hershey Herself.

Both works are available through amazon.com here and here.

Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!

Oh……shit.

I was just informed by my agent yesterday that the good people at Simon & Schuster have offered me a two-book deal! After accepting, I spent a good deal of the morning dancing around the kitchen with my kids, eating vast quantities of chocolate, and calling all my friends.

Then I sat down and realized, for the first time, that I was going to have to write two more books. Within a specific time period. Don’t misunderstand me: I am, after years and years of rejection, finally living out my dream. To have already published two books, and then be given the opportunity to write and publish two more is something that I did not even imagine myself doing in my wildest dreams. And I am abundantly grateful. Really I am.

But….it’s SCARY.

All of a sudden, I am being expected to produce! And produce well! I don’t know if any of you other writers or readers out there have ever experienced the daily, crushing feelings of self-doubt when you are in the middle of a project, but after the initial dance/chocolate/phone call morning, those kinds of feelings have been consuming me. What if I can’t do it? What if no new ideas come? Or what if I get an idea and somehow pound out a manuscript and it turns out to be utter garbage? What if my editor at Simon & Schuster reads the new manuscript and brings it to the publisher, shaking her head and saying, “Um, excuse me? You did tell me this girl could write, right?”

I am hoping that these doubts leave, eventually. Or at least become a little quieter in my head. Maybe, like the initial stage of euphoria, they will serve their purpose and then move on. And then, when things get still again inside and my alarm goes off at 4 a.m., I will pull back the covers, pour a ginormous cup of Spanish coffee and sit down at my desk.

Here’s to two more!!

Cecilia

Yesterday was our last day of school, which means that summer has officially begun! For me, this means that I will have much more time to work on my new book. This also means that for the first time in about eight months, I can give my house a good, hard look - and try not to despair.

I read something once that of all the excuses writers give themselves for not writing, one of the most common is that their house is a mess. I have three kids, a cat, and an adorable but messy husband. If I cleaned my house after the tornado that blows through here on a daily basis, I wouldn’t have time to write a word.  Still, I hate it when my house is a wreck. It makes me squirrely. I don’t think I’m obsessive about it, but I function best when things are in their place, smelling good, and quiet. It’s just that it’s not always possible. Actually, it’s not possible most of the time.

And I’ve come to make peace with this. (As I sit here writing this, there are stacks of clean laundry on my bed, dirty towels on the floor, and about 60 of my husband’s mismatched, black socks all over the living room floor.) Part of me wants to scream. The other part of me says “Relax. Light a candle, shut the door to your room and write. All of it will be there when you’re done.”

And that, my friends, is what I am going to do.

Happy Summer!!

Cecilia 

Home from the West Coast again, where I spent three days with some of the loveliest people on the planet. This all took place amidst the hubbub and chaos of Book Expo, which is basically thousands and thousands of publishers, agents, authors, book sellers and book buyers, all congregated under one roof for one reason: BOOKS!

Some highlights:

1. Eating a “tatertini,” (a martini glass filled with mashed potatoes, truffle butter and sour cream), behind the Kodak Theater in L.A., while talking to Sherman Alexie and Nikki Giovanni (two of my all time favorite authors in the world). The sun was setting, the air was soft, and for a brief moment, all was right with the world.

2. Going for a six a.m. run through the back streets of Beverly Hills and turning down a street filled with purple jacaranda trees. I’d never seen real jacaranda trees before and the sight of them made me stop dead in my tracks. They are the closest thing to perfection - especially in early morning light - that I will ever know: tall, wide, with plum-colored blossoms that look enormous from afar, but upon closer inspection, are really clusters of many tiny, trumpet-shaped blooms. Magnificent.

3. Hearing Judy Blume speak at the the Children’s Book Breakfast. She is one of my biggest inspirations as a children’s writer, and to see and hear her in person was fantastic. Although she is 70 years old, she doesn’t look a day over 50, and for all her accolades and fame, was one of the sweetest, most self-depracating people I have ever met. She even seemed a little shy! She talked about where she got her ideas (from her family, from life) and how one rainy day, as her children were running and yelling around the house, she wrote down on a little slip of paper “The Pain and The Great One.” Years later, it turned into one of her best selling books. Just goes to show: write EVERYTHING down!!

4. Having an amazing Japanese meal with my brother Herb, who works at Hyperion in the sales department, and all his Hyperion buddies. The people at Hyperion rock!! They made me laugh so hard I almost had sake come out of my nose! Afterwards, when we walked outside for our car, we saw P. Diddy. He was surrounded by an entourage, and although it was pitch black out, he was wearing very dark sunglasses. I don’t understand that, really. I guess it’s part of the persona.

5. Getting to hang out with two other Bloomsbury authors: Carolyn Hennessey, who not only writes the Pandora series and is also an actress on General Hospital, but is also completely gorgeous and ridiculously funny, and Cylin Busby, author of The Year We Disappeared. Cylin is amazing as well; just so easy to be with, and I found myself shaking my head more than once to realize that I was part of this trio.

5. Giving my speech at The New Voices Luncheon. I’ve saved this for last because it was the most memorable thing for me. The Patron Saint of Butterflies was selected as  New Voices Pick for 2008, along with Marie Rutkoski’s The Cabinet of Wonders. This was basically the whole reason I was in L.A: to talk about the book’s recognition and “say a few words.” Yeah, right. I’m no blonde. (Actually, I am.) I know what “a few words” means to people in the literary world. To say that I was terribly nervous about it would be a grave understatement. I fretted it about it  for weeks beforehand, agonizing over what I was going to say - and not say. I didn’t sleep well the night before and as people were filing into the room and the noise level began to increase, I thought I was going to faint. I literally had to restrain myself from pulling on Deb (my publicist’s) arm and saying, “You know what? I can’t do this. I’m sorry.” And then bolting out of the room. I didn’t do any such thing, of course. I sat down instead, drank copious amounts of water, and tried not to wet myself as I waited for my introduction.  

Finally, it came. I walked up to the podium and looked out into of a room full of expectant, upturned faces. My knees buckled. I held on to the podium so that I wouldn’t fall over. And I began to talk. There is a weird thing that happens sometimes when I talk to people - especially when it is about something I care passionately about. It is as if another part of me - a part I was not aware existed - takes over completely and the rest of me, the nervous, shaking, flushed faced rest of me, stands to the side and watches. It is a marvel, really, this thing, whatever it is, but it got me through my speech that day - even when my voice broke at one point and I paused, sucking in air so that I would not cry - and as I walked back to my table amidst the thunderous applause of the room, I sat down and breathed and said thank you. It was over and I knew, despite all my fears, that I had done all right.

No small thing, these conquering of fears. No small thing at all.

Until next time - Cecilia

It seems the Appeals Court in Texas has ruled in favor of the FLDS cult parents today, decreeing that because their children are not in “imminent” danger of being physically and/or sexually abused, they should be removed from foster care and returned to them.

“Even if one views the FLDS belief system as creating a danger of sexual abuse by grooming boys to be perpetrators of sexual abuse and raising girls to be victims of sexual abuse … there is no evidence that this danger is ‘immediate’ or ‘urgent,’” the court said.

This is a tough one. On the one hand, it is difficult to defend the separation of little children from their parents, but on the other hand, aren’t these same children only being groomed for what lies ahead? Even if they are not being physically or sexually abused right now, isn’t that their fate in a few short years? Why is that not considered? If children were being raised in a concentration camp, condemned to die at the age of sixteen, would this same ruling apply, only because their impending murder was years away?

I’ll be thinking of these things as I head to California tomorrow morning to attend the BookExpo in L.A. It seems the amazing people in the book industry have selected me and another author named Marie Rutkoski who wrote The Cabinet of Wonders as “Original New Voices of 2008.” I have to give a speech which makes me want to throw up every time I think about it. I’m not sure why I’m so nervous - I just want to have a really good idea of what it is I am saying - and present it as clearly as possible. There’s nothing worse when you have to listen to someone drone on and on about something.

Wish me luck!

Cheers!

Cecilia

What to do when you are ten minutes late for your first book launch party, the rain is coming down in slanted sheets and you are stuck in New York City traffic? Get out and run of course, high heels in hand! This is exactly what I did Friday night, as my ever-patient husband continued to navigate through traffic (eventually finding his way a short time later.) Swerving through puddles, holding my raincoat above my head with one hand while trying to flag down a taxi with the other,- (who knew how hard it can be to find an empty taxi on a rainy Friday night in the Village?) - a yellow finally pulled over. By this time my wide legged black pants were soaked up to the knee and my hair had officially gone flat, but our destination was reached.

And what a destination! The Dove Parlor is a beautiful, dark, Victorian themed bar with gold sconces on the walls and a cherry wood bar lining the far left side. I sat down on a forest-green velvet couch, mopped off and felt the last remnants of dampness leave as friend after friend, and my sisters and brothers, began to make their appearances. It was an amazing night, with copies of Hershey Herself and The Patron Saint of Butterflies passed around and signed. Everyone laughed and drank and made introductions and talked about who they liked best in the books. By the time we parted ways, my pants and hair were dried, and I was the warmest inside out than I can ever remember being.

Cheers!

Cecilia

Well, I am coming to the close of my first book tour, and while I am a little sad that it is ending, I am so happy to be going home to see my kids!! The last three days have been spent in Seattle and Portland - both gorgeous cities - and with amazing groups of kids, librarians, booksellers and even some fans! It has been a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.

As I speak, the FLDS kids in Eldorado are being shipped to foster care. I did read in a news article that they are not going to be required to go to public school (thank goodness) because authorites are concernced that they will be bullied (which they would.) Instead, they will continue to be home schooled. They will also not be pressed into wearing anything other than the long dresses they came out of the ranch with, if that’s what they want. 

At a dinner the other night with some booksellers, one of them asked me what I thought those kids needed most right now. I’m certainly no expert, but I would have to say that one of the most important things they will need is to be allowed to stay on contact with one another. The bonds that I formed with the group of children I grew up with in the commune were incredibly strong. They were my first family. Having to leave them when everything fell apart was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever gone through. I think the FLDS kids will have a better chance at surviving this ordeal if they are allowed to remain close with each other, maybe get to visit, or even just phone. Every little bit will help. Like Honey and Agnes, these kids’ whole lives are each other.

And that is no small thing.

Cheers - Cecilia

I had an incredible experience last night in Petaluma, where a group of teenage girls met with me to talk about Patron Saint and eat pizza. They had reserved a back room in a little pizza joint in town and decorated it. Someone had strung lights on the back wall and at everyone’s place at the table, there was a butterfly barrette! I was so touched. It was just so lovely. The discussions were fun and lively; we laughed until our stomachs - full of pizza and garlic bread! - hurt! They kept taking pictures of me on their cell phones too, which I am still not used to - I barely know how to turn my cell phone on!! It was such a marvelous night.

However, it was with a heavy heart that I set out on my run this morning, knowing that it would probably be the last time I get to run through this gorgeous city for some time!! And maybe that made the experience even more memorable - as I cut through Chinatown and Cannery Row, I ended up on the piers again, where I stopped and watched about 150 seals laying out on the docks!! Seals are hysterical; they remind me a lot of toddlers, the way they bark and bite and shove each other all over the place. They also smell bad.

After two signings this morning, I headed out to an all-girls school in Menlo Park. As I entered the room where about 75 of them were waiting for me, the girls stood up and screamed in unison: “Hi Cecilia!” I just burst out laughing; I have never in my life received such a welcome! After my presentation, I got to meet with 8 of the girls who are in a writing class and talk one on one with them about Patron Saint. The majority of the girls loved the book, but there were two of them who did not, which, instead of making me feel bad, really intrigued me. I mean, it’s bound to happen, right? They said it was too “choppy” and that Agnes was an incredibly frustrating character to read about. I agreed with them; Agnes is hard to take at times, which is why I decided to start the book over about halfway into it and rewrite it in two voices, instead of just hers!

I am still checking the news for progress on the FLDS situation in Eldorado; now, apparently the children and their parents will have to undergo DNA testing to verify who belongs to who. The kids are in foster care and I think of them every day, as they must be struggling to make this enormous leap from the only world they have ever known into the outside world, where everything is new and strange and probably frightening. Maybe I could start some sort of letter writing campaign to these kids; have people from all over write to them and let them know that we are thinking of them and pulling for them. Just so they know they are not alone and that the world they have been taught to think of as evil is full of good people too. What do you think?

Headed to the airport tonight and am writing now from my hotel in Seattle. The next three days are chock full of presentations, signings and the like, so I will try hard to keep you updated!

Write in when you can!

Cheers!

Cecilia

Well, nothing I’ve been told about San Francisco even comes close to how beautiful it actually is. Nothing. This city is incredible in every way, from the funky Mission District to the gorgeous running trails along the piers. Both mornings I have gotten up early to run along the water, and watched the sun come up behind the Bay Bridge. The water is as still as glass and the morning air, still blue with dew, just shimmers. Everywhere you look, in every direction, you see something that takes your breath away. It is just extraordinary.

I’ve had several events here - from the usual signings, a radio interview, several high school reading group discussions and dinners with booksellers. After each one, I just come away more grateful than before. People have been incredibly generous with their praise and interest in the book and we have so much fun talking about it. I am also the guest author for a week on a blog called Book Divas in which kids from all over the country write in and ask me questions. It’s been fabulous!

Tomorrow we head out to Seattle and then Portland, where I will finish up the tour.

Hope to hear from some of you.

Cheers!

Cecilia

Well, I am off for the West Coast again this week to talk about Agnes and Honey and The Patron Saint of Butterflies. I am so excited to be visiting San Francisco, as I have never been there. People have sworn up and down that it is one of the most incredible cities in the world and that the food is to die for! I will also be going to Seattle and Portland, both of which I am sure will be fantastic.

I have a few more stomach-butterflies of my own this time around, since the Eldorado FDLS sect situation has been so prominent in the news. As of today, and after 21 hours of testimony, the judge in the case has awarded temporary custody of the children to the state of Texas. This means that the kids will be staying in foster care until things can be straightened out permanently. My heart literally hurts when I think about how hard it will be for them, since they have been raised to believe that everything in the outside world is evil. Also, they will probably miss their parents terribly. It is so odd that my book has come out while all this is happening, and that whole chapters of it may even be mirroring what these children will come across in the ensuing weeks and months. If by some act of God, any of these kids get their hands on Patron Saint during this interim and see themselves in Agnes (or Honey), I hope so much that they will either find comfort or empathy in the story.

Publisher’s Weekly actually published an article this week about the bizarre timing of my book in relation to the events in Texas, (see http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6552034.html?nid=2788). Maybe the reality of my books being donated to this non-profit organization will, in fact, make all this possible. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I will check in as the week progresses with updates on the tour. Please write in if you have a comment, idea, suggestion, or just want to say hello! I love hearing from you!!

Cheers!

Cecilia
 

There is a quote from Czesaw Milosz on the very first page of The Patron Saint of Butterflies  which reads: “In a room where people have unanimously maintained a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.” I chose this quote for my book very deliberately, because it sums up for me what the truth - even a word of it - can do to years and years of silence. Like a shattered mirror, the truth is the only thing in the world that can splinter the glass facade people live behind.

But it’s no easy thing, this truth-telling.

I’ve been continuing to follow the situation down in Eldorado very closely, and, as more details continue to emerge, find myself getting frustrated and increasingly worried. Highest on my list of concerns is the 16-year old girl who made the initial call to a domestic violence center - and who still has not been located. I’m sure she is somewhere amid the vast majority of children who have been placed in foster care or who are still being held awaiting placement, and that she is simply too terrified to identify herself.

I keep thinking back to the scene in my book where Agnes struggles so desperately whether or not to reveal the evil secret of Mount Blessing to the police who have come to investigate. It is an enormous decision, with mind-boggling consequences. The choice paralyzes her - until her little brother, who has been mute for a week, tugs on her sleeve.

“Please Agnes,” he says. “Please tell them.” 

And this is my hope for the 16-year old girl down in Eldorado - that someone, maybe a child, or a friend, will in some way simplify the truth for her and help allay the fears that may now be keeping her silent. Speaking the truth, especially when so much is at stake, is a terrifying thing. I wish I could find a way to let this brave girl know that I think of her every day. And that, with every cell of my body, I am hoping she will find her voice - and use it - once more.