Welcome to the web page of Cecilia Galante, author of The Patron Saint of Butterflies, Hershey Herself, and Willowood. The Patron Saint of Butterflies has been awarded as a Book Sense Pick for 2008, been named Young-Adult Book of the Year by the Northeast Independent Booksellers Association, and is a Recommended Read for Teens on Oprah's website.
All works are available through amazon.com: Patron Saint, Hershey Herself, Willowood
This Saturday, May 8th, I will be having a reading/book signing for Willowood at the Barnes and Noble in down town Wilkes-Barre from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Come on out and see me, or just browse around for books - always a wonderful way to spend time on a Saturday afternoon!
* Note: The Barnes & Noble for this event is the one next to Boscov’s on South Main Street, NOT the one up by the Arena. (That one will be in June!)
Hope to see you!
Onward, always!
CG
Well, the adult novel is finished. As in rewritten, edited, revised, and sent off to my agent. It is a huge relief, along with a sense of extreme pride. I really wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it - but I did. And I really, really like it. I think it’s one of my best books to date.
My agent sent me the list of publishers it is going to be read by this week, a total of 13 in all. They include: Random House, St. Martin’s Press, Penguin/Putnam, Harper Collins, Grand Central, Grove, Graywolf Press, Viking, Bloomsbury, and Ballantine. (I can’t remember the rest.) It will be awhile until we hear back from anyone, but let’s hope 13 proves to be the lucky number it is touted to be and someone makes an offer!! Fingers (and toes!) crossed.
Meanwhile, the galleys for my second young-adult novel, The Sweetness of Salt just arrived! (Galleys are the just paperback copies that are printed first so that reviewers and book buyers can get a look at - and read - the book before it goes on to hardcover.) Copies are also sent to me, so that I can take a final read through and spot any errors before it goes to press. I also have the opportunity to send the galley to authors I know so that they can read it and provide a blurb for the dust jacket. Blurbs are those single-sentences provided by another author that praises the book in some way. For example, Jackie Mitchard who wrote The Deep End of the Ocean, provided a wonderful blurb for The Patron Saint of Butterflies, which really boosted the look of the cover.
Finally, the copyedited manuscript for my third middle-grade novel, The Summer of May, just arrived as well. A copy edited manuscript is a copy of the novel, which has been pored over with a fine-tooth comb by the copy editor at the publisher. Right now, The Summer of May is freckled with a million little red circles, question marks, and other copyeditor scribbles. I have to go through all of those scribbles and either agree with the copyeditor’s suggestion to change the thing in question, or disagree. It’s laborious work, but work I am all too eager to dive into, namely because (1) I am always open to suggestions to make the work better, and (2) a peace of mind is gained knowing that mistakes are being caught - and corrected. (There’s nothing worse than coming across a misspelled word or name in a book!)
So that’s what I will be doing for the next few days. After I’m done agreeing/disagreeing with the copyeditor, I send everything back to my regular editor, who will then send the whole thing to the printer. And then the graphic artist will begin sending me suggestions/ideas for the cover!! Another joy!
I spent most of last week on a mini-vacation in Vermont with my babies. This week, I will be spending time with my other babies. Lots of work. Lots of care and precision and nourishment and love until it’s time to kiss them goodbye again and send them off into the wide, wide world.
Until then, onward always!
CG
Ok, so “The Call” didn’t end up being all that exciting after all. Basically, the editors said they loved the main character, that I “nailed” the voice, and that if I tweaked this and that and maybe re-envisioned the background part and maybe oh, thought about another angle to take the whole thing in, they would be happy.
Um.
Right.
Basically, it was a really nice, padded NO.
I can definitely say that as the years have gone by, I’ve gotten better at hearing rejections. This means that I no longer take to bed for 2-3 days, crying like I’ve just lost a parent, and consuming vast quantities of Ben Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream. I’m not that kind of person at all anymore.
Now, I sort of just stagger around the house, blindly picking up the thousand or so unmatched socks that seem to litter every available inch of every room, and try to convince myself that although I am the author of six books, not everything I write is going to be touched with the golden publishing wand. I will open the pantry door and take out the earless, tail-less six pound chocolate bunny left over from Easter and bite off one of its paws. Maybe a little angrily. And I will tell myself, as I am rewrapping the bunny in foil that I’m not a loser. And that eventually, I will write something else that will be deemed worthy enough to be put in print. Someday.
It’s funny how this rejection thing still stings. How, despite my modest modicum of success, hearing the word no can still put me back all the way at Square One again. The rational part of me (otherwise known as my husband) says, “But this is the business you got into! This is the way it works!” To which the irrational part of me (otherwise known as the perpetually six-year old side of me) juts out her bottom lip and says: “But I don’t care! It sucks!”
It does suck. Not having all your work embraced and loved as you do is never fun. But I told a friend of mine (during one of my more rational moments) that I had a feeling that this rejection was going to lead to something better. Which all rejections do, eventually. I just have to remember to be patient in the meantime. Have faith. Keep working.
And maybe hide that chocolate bunny a little better next time.
Onward, always!
CG
So I’ve been deeply immersed in rewriting the new book, coming up every so often for air, the occasional pretzel and peanut butter sandwich, and to spend time with my children. Then this morning, out of the blue, my agent calls.
“The editor at Random House wants to have a three way tele-conference with you tomorrow. Are you free?”
Huh? Wuzzat?
“For your series proposal,” she says patiently. “The one we submitted a few months ago? For little kids?”
I get up from my desk. Walk downstairs. Step over the cat, and then turn around and walk back up. Sit down in my chair. Months ago? That is agent/editor/literary speak for half a year ago. Try November. Or December even, when we got a few disinterested passes. It’s been so long, I’d forgotten it was even out there. I forgot I even wrote the damn thing! And now the editor at Random House wants to talk to me about writing a series for them? For real?
“Cecilia?” I hear my name on the other end of the line. “Are you free tomorrow? Can I set something up?”
“Yes!” I get up again, start pacing. “What do they want to talk about? Is it good? Do they think it’s good? Do you think they want it? Do you think they’ll make an offer?”
(I always picture my agent at this part of our discussions quietly placing her own phone down while I go on one of these rants and making herself something to eat. It’s like someone has pulled a plug inside my head, turned a light on; I go from speechless to yammering in two seconds flat.)
After a minute (or two) I settle back down, take a breath. And then she says: “I honestly don’t know yet. We’ll have to wait and see.”
I open and close my mouth with a fish. Little whimpering sounds drift out and then fade like bubbles in front of me. I have to wait? A whole day? Just to find out if they even want it?
“Yes,” my agent says. “And you’ll be fine.” (She says this a lot to me, too.)
So that’s where I am tonight. Sitting on the edge of my chair, trying to work on Chapter 23 of the new book, while half of my brain is out there, wandering around in Random House Land. I don’t have any choice but to sit back, do the work, and wait. Tomorrow at one o’clock, I’ll know more. And when I do, so will you.
In the meantime, onward! Always!
CG
Well, despite all my worries and anxiety, my mewling and puking, and all my complaining, I got a complete draft of my new novel completed. (The adult book.) And…..my agent loves it. Her assistant read it too, and said she couldn’t put it down. I’m ecstatic. Really. I am. I have the character down, her voice down, and the basic plot nailed. Which, in the world of writing, is a lot.
The thing is, I still have a lot more work to do on it. Like, a REAL lot. According to my agent’s editorial letter, a lot of my action scenes aren’t moving forward. This means that while there may be a ton of stuff going on, there’s not a lot driving it. There’s not enough at stake; not enough being risked. Sometimes, in the first rush, when I am scrambling to get to the end, I forget this. I have it in my head, but somehow I forget to transfer it to the page.
One of the more exciting things about this book though, is that I really feel as if I am being pushed. Normally I don’t like to be pushed. I’m very comfortable much of the time leaving the things the way they are. Being pushed is hard. It’s uncomfortable. It requires a shitload worth of effort - the kind that leaves you sweaty and in tears. But yesterday my agent said to me: “I’m going to push you on this one, Cecilia, because I want it to be at the top of your publisher’s pile. I want them to say, ‘This is OUR book. OUR author.’ And I know you can do it.”
For as hard as it is to be pushed, it’s harder still to ignore someone standing behind you, saying those kinds of things.
So I’m going to have to disappear for a little while longer. Don’t take it personally - I’m just diving back into the manuscript. I’ll be up to my ears in action and forward motion, risk and stake. Pushing myself to take this book as far as it will go - so that it can be the best it can be.
Onward, always.
CG
It’s a good one!!!
Yes!!!
Willowood Cecilia Galante. S&S/Aladdin, $16.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-4169-8022-3
Galante (The Patron Saint of Butterflies) writes a heartfelt story of friendship and change. When Lily’s single-parent mother gets a new job, the fifth-grader isn’t happy about moving to a bigger city (“Their lives had been so perfect back home in Glenview, where everything was quiet and green”). Lily sorely misses her best friend, Bailey, and their secret place under a willow tree. With her mother working long hours and Bailey too busy to talk on the phone, Lily’s closest confidante might be Weemis, her pet gecko. Although some people—her babysitter, Mrs. Hiller; Gina, the class nerd; and a pet shop owner who offers Lily a part-time job—make kind overtures, Lily doesn’t recognize the value of their friendships until actions she takes result in hurt feelings and misunderstandings. Galante has a knack for small details (like Lily contemplating that neither she nor her mother know how to braid hair) and fully formed characters that make the story inviting and authentic. Lily emerges as a likable, realistically flawed heroine; her courage and integrity, illustrated in her determination to make things right, will win readers’ respect. Ages 9–13. (Mar.)
Thank you, Publishers Weekly!!
Onward!
CG
My third novel, Willowood, will be released into the wide world tomorrow morning! It’s exciting and terrifying too - almost like letting a child of your own go out there and have to navigate all those treacherous hills and valleys without very much help. So to those of you who may go out and buy the book, be gentle! It’s my little girl one, and she has to be treated with much kindness!!
Also, see me talking a little bit about the book here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvvEvKDylDI
Onward, always.
CG
One of the first reviews for my new novel, Willowood, which will be debuting in stores March 9, 2010, is from the Library School Journal and very, very positive!!
Read for yourself:
GALANTE, Cecilia. Willowood. 272p. S & S/Aladdin. Mar. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-8022-3. LC number unavailable.
Gr 4-6–Eleven-year-old Lily is not happy when her single mother decides to move them from a small town to a city. Her mother’s long hours at her new job and a class bully don’t help. But Lily has a gecko that she loves, and her neighbor and sitter, Mrs. Hiller, introduces her to the owner of a pet store, Bernard, and his adult son, Nate, who has Down syndrome. The characters, including Lily’s new friend, Gina, the class nerd, are fully realized individuals. Nate is especially well drawn, and he becomes a true friend to Lily. As the story develops, she begins to understand that life is not always fair. With its finely tuned plot and poetic language, this novel compares well with Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie (Candlewick, 2000) in character development and plot. Children will enjoy the story of Lily’s first few months in the big city.–Wendy Smith-D’Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD
I’m really, really thrilled with this, most notably because I am somehow in the same paragraph with the goddess Kate DiCamillo, who I have admired, adored, (and yes, envied) from afar. It’s sort of surreal, to be compared to someone that good. It makes me really proud and really, really grateful.
Thank you, School Library Journal!!!
Onward!
CG
So I was reading an interview last night with the speedskater Apolo Ohno who said that when he failed to make the Olympic team in 1998, he retreated to a cabin off the coast of Washington State. He was, he said, “at my lowest point, physically and mentally.” And then this happened: “One day, I went out for a run. It was rainy and cold. Right in the middle of it, I stopped and asked myself how much I wanted to be a speed skater. If I was going to fulfill my dream, I knew that I needed to finish the run I was on right then, no matter how many blisters I had or how bad I felt. That was the turning point for me.”
Sometimes I think the small things - like choosing simply to finish a run when everything inside of you says quit - become the big ones. They set the groundwork for future disappointments, build up a resevoir of insurance. YOu can look back, say to yourself, “You know, I kept going that day when I really wanted to stop. Maybe I can do it again.”
I’ve decided to do that now with this book. I feel so much like quitting. Like I’m in the middle of this spinning vortex that is just sucking me down. It’s hard, this one. I have to write like an adult, for adults. Not for kids. I worry that I sound stupid, not “adult” enough. I fret over the use of certain words, every scene, each movement of my characters.
But I also know what it’s like to get to the end of something - finally - when you’ve been thrashing and floundering throughout the process. There’s nothing else like it in the world. Nothing.
And so I’m going to finish this run, even though the blisters are stacking up, and I’m wet and cold and reallyreally tired. I’m going to push through - until I see my own finish line waiting there for me at the end. It’s a turning point for me, choosing to keep on. A medal in itself.
Onward, always.
CG