Guset Post: Sherry Shahan

Hello everyone! Today we have the author Sherry Shahan stopping by for a visit! She wrote the book Purple Daze, which about the the war, love, and the 60's baby!

It’s 1965: Do You Know Where Your Country Is?
Sherry Shahan is the author of more than 30 books, including adventure novels
“Frozen Stiff” and “Death Mountain.” When not snorkeling with penguins in the
Galápagos, or riding horseback with zebras in Africa, she can be found studying
ballet at a local dance studio.

 (Ms. Shahan's yearbook photo!)

Purple Daze (Running Press Teens) is her first verse novel. Set in 1965, Purple
Daze is a story about a volatile cultural revolution -- war, riots, feminism, racism,
rock ‘n’ roll, love and friendship -- as experienced by six high school students.
The themes are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago.

“Talk About a Revolution” The Beatles
While cleaning out my office one day, I found an old shoe box filled with letters.
Most of them were written by a friend who was in Vietnam during the late 1960s.
I’d kept his letters nearly 50 years, carting them with me every time I moved.
I spent hours rereading Bill’s (Phil in the novel) gut-wrenching account of his
daily hell. I began to think about my wild high school days.

Like the character Cheryl, I used to sneak out at night to meet friends. There’s a
poem early on where the characters drive to downtown Los Angeles during the
Watts Riots. They’re looking for a break in the National Guard barrier, hoping to
experience things firsthand. We were such adrenaline junkies!

“A Change is Gonna Come” Sam Cooke
People ask my why I decided to tell this story in verse. I wanted to be inside the
heads of each character to explore their innermost thoughts and feelings, so I used
journal entries, letters, free verse and traditional poetry. To me, verse mirrors the
pulse of adolescent life. Condensed metaphoric language on a single page reflects
their dramatic, tightly-packed world.
Here’s a piece from the viewpoint of Ziggy.

Fat tits + quick wit
does not = stupidity
if that’s what you think.

I think this three line poem sums up her emotional state better than if I’d written a
full paragraph in margin-to-margin prose.

The following two-line poem is from Phil’s viewpoint. Here, he’s been in
Vietnam nearly a year:

Pages of the new testament fill my pillow,
gospels on a recon in search of a soul.

“California Dreamin’” Mamas & Papas
In one scene, Cheryl and Ziggy are piercing each other’s ears. They’re using
frozen potatoes to numb them, sort of like an earlobe sandwich. In the background
the Animals wail, “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.”

Once I began writing, memories assaulted me twenty-four-seven. It wasn't until a
later draft that I began adding descriptive accounts of historical events, such as the
Students for a Democratic Society’s (SDS) first antiwar demonstration and the
FBI’s all-out war to discredit Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These entries are
juxtaposed against narrative pieces about sixties rock music.

I wrote this poem during a particularly depressing time in high school. It went in
the book.

Graveyards and headstones
are merely a lie.
People never live
therefore they can’t die.

Visit: www.SherryShahan.com

Praise for Purple Daze:
"Shahan's “Purple Daze” puts us on the front lines of funky times, from Los
Angeles to Da-Nang. A far out, implosive, psychedelic trip that ends in
indictment. This is spectacular." -- Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy
Summer, National Book Award Finalist, Newbery Honor, Scott O'Dell Historical
Award, Coretta Scott King Author

"A raw and stunning portrait of the 60’s. For those who lived them, Purple Daze
will bring your past to life. For those who didn't, this story will make you feel as
though you did." -- Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of 14 novels, including Pay It
Forward

Thank you Ms. Shahan for being here today! Be sure to go out and pick up her book!

Happy Reading!

Guest Post and Giveaway: C. Fern Cook

Hello and today I want to welcome author C. Fern Cook, author of the Wild Series. And the floor is all yours....

How the wild series evolved

 

"The Wild series began when I was a patrol deputy in the Colorado Mountains. I worked

in a county that was cattle country. As charming as that seems, many of the ranchers

killed anything that crossed their property they didn't like.

This did not sit well with me, the great animal lover that I am, I believe all animals have

right to live on this planet. As a patrol deputy, I could do nothing about it unless it was an

endangered species or poaching involved.

I have always been the storyteller, I imagined a rancher that shared his land with all

creatures including the dreaded wolf. This turned into a skin walker or werewolf story.

A good story always takes on a life of its own. While I was writing the series, the story

developed in ways I had never imagined when I first set out to write the first book.

What would happen if you were attacked by a vicious animal? What if that animal turned

out to be human, a changeling? Would you tell the cops about the person you killed in

self-defense? Would you hide the body and tell no one? Who would believe your story?

How would this affect the rest of your life? How could you put this behind you and just

forget about it? Wouldn't you be on edge? Suspicious of everyone? How could you live a

normal life from then on, especially if you became the creature that attacked you?

Wild Evolution is about how Dan chooses to hide the body because he thinks no one

would believe his story. He worries that if anyone found out, he would be charged with

murder. It is hard to be a mellow when you are obsessed with keeping your secret a

secret.

Wild Justice is the continuation, how Dan tries to live a normal life and get married and

have family. How he tries to live the American dream of owning his own business.

Wild Legacy continues with Dan's attempt to raise a family and try to blend in with the

rest of the community. This is how the Wild series evolved.

The characters are composite of people I have met through my real life experiences. The

first in the series has a great deal of crime scene processing in it. The law enforcement

officers are composites of officers I had worked with. The crime scene processing is as

real life as possible; this comes from my experience as a crime scene investigator when I

worked with Boulder PD.

Just like my books, I have also evolved as a writer doing this series. I have learned a lot

from the feedback from readers. I enjoy hearing from readers and hear about what they

think. I invite any questions you might have about the series, my writing, or experiences

in law enforcement."

 

Thank you Ms. Cook for being here. And is she is also giving away a copy of her latest ya novel Wild Legacy. For US ONLY. ENDS NOV 8. 2010

 

ENTER HERE!

 

Good Luck and Happy Reading!