tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48161668809027723342024-03-13T21:03:33.991-04:00This World We Live InSusan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-40735774622416778522009-12-06T11:37:00.058-05:002010-02-11T07:47:19.667-05:00Links To Blogs And Comments About This World We Live InI'm setting up an entry where I'll put links to blog reviews of <em>This World We Live In</em> and where you can write comments about it.<br /><br />If you wrote your comment on my other blog, I'll move it over here. It'll claim I wrote it, but I'll put your name (which is frequently<strong> anonymous</strong>) on it.<br /><br />While, of course, my dream is all comments and reviews will be favorable, this will be an honest spot, so if you read the book and feel like being critical, you have my blessing. Not my eternal gratitude, but my blessing.<br /><br />I'll start with a couple of links to blogs, and as more come in, I'll add them to this entry.<br /><br />So here goes:<br /><br />1 <a href="http://blbooks.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-world-we-live-in.html">Becky's Book Review</a><br /><p>2 <a href="http://lindasreadingblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/best-friends-forever-and-this-world-we.html">linda's reading blog</a></p><p>3 <a href="http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog/2009/12/this-world-we-live-in-susan-beth-pfeffer-young-adult-fiction-review.html">Jen Robinson's Book Page </a></p><p>4 <a href="http://readingandbreathing.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-world-we-live-in.html">Reading and Breathing</a></p><p>5 <a href="http://librarina.wordpress.com/2009/12/09/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth-pfeffer-arc/">Librarina</a></p><p>6 <a href="http://karinlibrarian.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-pfeffer-review/">Karin's Book Nook</a></p><p>7 <a href="http://teens-hamiltongrange.blogspot.com/">At The Grange</a></p><p>8 <a href="http://marjoleinbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html">Marjoleinbookblog</a></p><p>9 <a href="http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/2009/12/brief-brunch-that-looks-ahead-and-looks.html">Collecting Children's Books</a> (this one has a lot of spoilers) </p><p>10 <a href="http://genrefluentteentalk.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html">Genrefluent</a> (a 14 year old really likes it)</p><p>11 <a href="http://ckkellymartin.blogspot.com/2010/01/this-world-we-live-in.html">All My Little Words</a></p><p>12 <a href="http://aurorareviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html">Aurora</a></p><p>13 <a href="http://www.yabookscentral.com/cfusion/index.cfm?fuseAction=books.review&review_id=20388">Young Adults Book Central</a></p><p>14 <a href="http://booksandmovies.colvilleblogger.com/2010/01/15/book-review-this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth-pfeffer/">Books And Movies</a></p><p>15 <a href="http://yalibrariantales.blogspot.com/2010/01/review-this-world-we-live-in-by-susan.html">YA Librarian Tales</a></p><p>16 <a href="http://jennaesis.wordpress.com/">Little Albatross </a>(lots and lots and lots of spoilers)</p><p>17 <a href="http://kmessner.livejournal.com/137772.html">Kate's Book Blog</a> (rigorously spoiler free)</p><p>18 <a href="http://www.readingrants.org/2010/01/20/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth-pfeffer/">Reading Rants! Out Of The Ordinary Teen Booklist!</a> (more informative if you will)</p><p>19 <a href="http://teensknowbeststpaul.blogspot.com/2010/01/this-world-we-live-in.html">Teens Know Best</a></p><p>20 <a href="http://thecazzyfiles.typepad.com/the-cazzy-files/2010/01/arc-review-this-world-we-live-in.html">The Cazzy Files</a></p><p></p><p>21 <a href="http://thebookbind.blogspot.com/2010/01/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html">thebookbind</a></p><p>22 <a href="http://librarydad.blogspot.com/2010/01/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html">Library Dad</a> (someone who hasn't read either LAWKI or d&g)</p><p>23 <a href="http://seemichelleread.blogspot.com/2010/01/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html">see michelle read</a> (she doesn'tmuch like it)</p><p>24 <a href="http://librarianbyday.blogspot.com/2010/01/quick-thoughts-about-midwinter.html">librarian by day</a> (she doesn't much like it either)</p><p>25 <a href="http://dogearedandwellread.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth-pfeffer/">Dog-eared and Well-read</a></p><p>26 <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/660000266/post/30052203.html">Shelftalker</a> (publishersweekly.com)</p><p>27<a href="http://khager.vox.com/library/post/20---this-world-we-live-in.html?_c=feed-atom"> KellyVision</a></p><p>28 <a href="http://awriternow.blogspot.com/2010/01/9-this-world-we-live-in-susan-beth.html">one hundred books, one year</a></p><p>29 <a href="http://brookesboxofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/review-this-world-we-live-in-by-susan.html">Brooke's Box Of Books</a></p><p>30 <a href="http://kpl-teen-reads.livejournal.com/81914.html">Kinnelon Library Teen Blog</a> (very informative with lots of spoilers)</p><p>31<a href="http://stackedbooks.blogspot.com/2010/02/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html"> Stacked</a></p><p>32 <a href="http://www.readingwithtequila.com/2010/02/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html">Reading With Tequila</a> (the reviewer doesn't like Alex at all)</p><p>33 <a href="http://yabalbabble.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth-pfeffer/">yabal babble</a></p><p>34 <a href="http://shwetasbookjournal.blogspot.com/2010/02/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html">Book Journal</a></p><p>35 <a href="http://carriesyabookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/02/this-world-we-live-in-last-survivors.html">Carrie's YA Bookshelf</a></p><p></p><p></p>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-48509613106011669382009-12-02T15:34:00.006-05:002009-12-02T15:40:18.170-05:00The ARCs Have Arrived!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0SXPOzVQ5bMxC3PjbzxpXTXhhRiojzRR1_zjGOzdLkCsSpdVCttEOwZMIvTu1_ww3RjC6l1mQaLqDCmXvxvMB_VMfJ7BdlmqBTjS_uFVQ2F9EpPLSwz3Hk-L41YzKYdcz4LjIHWoks80/s1600-h/010.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410740146513226642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0SXPOzVQ5bMxC3PjbzxpXTXhhRiojzRR1_zjGOzdLkCsSpdVCttEOwZMIvTu1_ww3RjC6l1mQaLqDCmXvxvMB_VMfJ7BdlmqBTjS_uFVQ2F9EpPLSwz3Hk-L41YzKYdcz4LjIHWoks80/s400/010.JPG" border="0" /></a>There are 180 names in the Bolivian hat. I'll be pulling 30 out at random and emailing those people to ask for mailing addresses. I hope to start making trips to the post office tomorrow.<br /><br />I'm cautiously optimistic that a few more ARCs will become available for distribution. Harcourt knows how much I want to spread them around. and while I've given some to friends of mine, they may return them when they're finished (in which case it'll be a used ARC).<br /><br />I'm going to set up a comment zone here, so if you want to share your opinions of the book, you'll have a place to do so. And I do ask that you don't sell the ARC and you don't put it into a library system, in lieu of an actual copy. Beyond that. the ARC is yours to do with as you wish.<br /><br />Okay. The time has come to pull 30 names out of the Bolivian hat, and to start emailing the people who get selected.<br /><br />I want to thank all of you for your interest in <em>This World We Live In</em> and your patience. I truly appreciate both.<br /><br /><div></div>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-76864956961755353372009-11-16T14:47:00.002-05:002009-11-16T14:49:15.991-05:00Last Chance At The Bolivian HatI got an email today saying the advance reading copies of <em>This World We Live In</em> got shipped to me on Friday and I should expect them sometime this week.<br /><br />As soon as they come in, I'll be pulling names out of the Bolivian hat to send ARCs to. <br /><br />So if you've been thinking about doing so and haven't gotten around to it, email me using the link on the right side of the blog, and into the hat your name will go.Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-74852837386119988132009-11-01T11:17:00.007-05:002009-11-01T11:34:11.897-05:00Email Me If You Want A Chance At An ARC<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVELg0lbKzzvlSbReC5F_ctMUBs49TiZo-gi9wxelU2QdjnjsAWeMKE72zpT6h2INILFjRy9N1HGMn88abj1cZUBtB1hQboqMpsvMHb0kR1z9H2vWgKp8MCRQI296lX5wD-9XhGtlKUch9/s1600-h/001.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399170429137073586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVELg0lbKzzvlSbReC5F_ctMUBs49TiZo-gi9wxelU2QdjnjsAWeMKE72zpT6h2INILFjRy9N1HGMn88abj1cZUBtB1hQboqMpsvMHb0kR1z9H2vWgKp8MCRQI296lX5wD-9XhGtlKUch9/s320/001.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>There's been a delay in the printing of the ARCs for <em>This World We Live In</em>, and most likely I won't be getting my copies until next week.</div><div></div><br /><div>My original plan had been to suggest people email me after the copies had arrived, but I've gotten impatient, so I'm switching the order. I think I'll have a couple of dozen copies to distribute, maybe a few more, and I'll send them out just about as soon as I get them. If I get more, right away or later on, I'll keep on sending. </div><div></div><br /><div>Here's the deal. Most likely more than two dozen people are going to ask for an ARC. If there are more requests than ARCs, I'll use a lottery, as I have in the past for ARCs of <em>The Dead And The</em> <em>Gone</em> (I didn't know any of you when I got my ARCs for <em>Life As We Knew It</em>). </div><div></div><br /><div>If you want to be in the drawing, then email me, either using the email address at this blog or at the other (but not both). Leaving a comment won't do it, because what I do is copy everyone's email address and put them in the Bolivian hat (currently residing on the bathroom wall) and pull out names. </div><div></div><br /><div>If yours is one I pull out, I'll email you back and ask for your name and address. So you don't have to include them in your Bolivian hat email. </div><div></div><br /><div>Some of you have already emailed your request. I've kept all those emails in a special folder, so you don't have to email me again. </div><br /><div></div><div>I think when I get an email request I'll email back saying "Thank you," just so you'll know your email arrived. </div><div></div><br /><div>Oh, I pay for the envelopes and postage and all that. So don't worry about it. </div><div></div><br /><div>If you have any questions, feel free to comment. But again, if you want a chance at an ARC, a comment won't do it. I'd tell you what would, but I've used the word email so many times in this blog entry, I'm tired of typing it!</div>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-31969467263966430292009-10-19T20:38:00.002-04:002009-10-19T20:41:37.492-04:00ARC UpdateThe ARC update is there is no update.<br /><br />Or more to the point, there are no ARCs. At least not yet.<br /><br />My editor tells me they may come in this week. Which doesn't necessarily mean they'll be on my doorstep (let alone inside my apartment) this week. More like they may come into existence this week.<br /><br />When I get them, I'll let you know.Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-50461300290678777032009-10-11T07:46:00.002-04:002009-10-11T11:28:41.153-04:00A New Poll Is UpI'm still uncertain how many ARCS I'm going to get and when I'm going to get them, but I thought it might be helpful if I had a sense of how many of you might want one.<br /><br />So I put up a poll last night with several options (including the traditional Go Away Leave Me Alone choice, albeit more tactfully worded), and this morning I scurried to see the results and no one had voted.<br /><br />Results so far were zero.<br /><br />A woman's feelings could get hurt.<br /><br />But then I figured out if no one knew about the poll, no one would respond. So consider yourself informed.<br /><br />Oh, and I'm not asking yet for emails or anything like that. I won't until I have the ARCs in hand. This poll is just to give me a sense of whether I'm going to need to save some for you or if I can build a playroom for Scooter with them.<br /><br />ETA: Sorry if there's any confusion. I put basically the same poll on the susanbethpfeffer blog. Some people read one blog, some people read the other.Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-70226359172158658332009-10-09T14:56:00.002-04:002009-10-09T15:01:58.315-04:00Jacket FlapI got an email yesterday from my editor requesting that I remove the original plot outline of <em>This World We Live In</em> from this blog, for fear that people would feel it wasn't necessary to read the book if they'd already read the outline. An excess of spoilering.<br /><br />Personally, I love being spoilered, but out of respect for my publishing house, I make the original entry on this blog vanish. It's good to have power.<br /><br />Within an hour of making the entry go away, I got an email from someone asking me what the plotline to TW was. I informed my editor of this fabulous coincidence, and she suggested emailing back the jacket flap copy. Which I did.<br /><br />So here, for anyone else who is interested, is what will be on the front jacket flap of <em>This World We</em> <em>Live In.</em> Think of it as socially acceptable spoilering.<br /><br /><strong>The heart-wrenching companion to the bestselling novels Life as We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone. </strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>It's been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth’s climate. For Miranda Evans life as she knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the landscape is frozen, and food is increasingly scarce.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Miranda and her two brothers spend their days scavenging for food and household items, while their mother stays at home and desperately tries to hold on to the ordinary activities of their previous life. But they all know that nothing is truly normal in this surreal new world they live in.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>The struggle to survive intensifies when Miranda’s father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and as Miranda’s complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. </strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever.</strong>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-41421454033635424412009-10-05T14:15:00.006-04:002009-10-05T14:26:37.695-04:00It Takes A Lot Of ScrollingBut if you're patient (and/or obsessive), you can find the <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/20171888/HMH-Spring-2010-Juvenile?classic_ui=1">Harcourt catalog </a>entry for <em>This World</em> <em>We Live In</em>.<br /><br />Oddly enough I was patient (and/or obsessive) enough to do so, and I was rewarded by learning there's going to be a bookmark!<br /><br />My guess is it's a shared bookmark that other Harcourt titles will be on, and not its very own, but hey, a bookmark is a bookmark.<br /><br />Anyway, TW looks great in the catalog, and seeing it makes it seem more real to me. So I figured I'd let you know.<br /><br />ETA: For me at least, once it loads up, there's a little thing on the top that says click here to go straight to page 66. I clicked, and there TW was!<br /><br />If you scroll down to the next page, there's stuff about <em>Life As We Knew It</em> and <em>The Dead & The</em> <em>Gone</em>, and a very nice closeup of the bottom of TW.<br /><br />Even More ETA: Or you can type <em>This World We Live In</em> into the little search box, and it takes you right to page 66. And there's a zoom feature if you want to be able to actually read what they have to say!Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-27209128780200348122009-09-18T11:06:00.001-04:002009-09-18T11:06:39.410-04:00Feel Free To CommentSince ARCs of This World We Live In should be available by a month from now, I figured I should open this blog up to comments.<br /><br />Thank yous go to all of you who kept your thoughts to yourselves, or who commented oh so briefly at my other <a href="http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/">blog</a>.<br /><br />I will now leave a comment here to see if it actually is possible!Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-60312370555145410912009-09-10T11:41:00.000-04:002009-09-10T11:48:10.020-04:00And Now The Cover As It Really Looks<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRfw1kURlebYtSht5OSgCHMY3J12SV93y0olyKG4RpYWTiWfIShLjCrzcAthZsKMjhh61E7j5DATRqFV1kLQb2Kl71_WaziSt3BpNwBwfqMoSdisNmFwryj-tMX7o7h4D8UfWbGem14iH/s1600-h/Pfeffer_cover%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379865100608958578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRfw1kURlebYtSht5OSgCHMY3J12SV93y0olyKG4RpYWTiWfIShLjCrzcAthZsKMjhh61E7j5DATRqFV1kLQb2Kl71_WaziSt3BpNwBwfqMoSdisNmFwryj-tMX7o7h4D8UfWbGem14iH/s400/Pfeffer_cover%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>I asked my editor for a copy of the cover of Th<em>is World We Live In</em> that I could officially post.</div><br /><div></div><div>And here it is!</div>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-79902404979380029402009-08-28T14:22:00.000-04:002009-08-28T14:23:18.494-04:00This World We Live In ARC UpdateI've been harassing those nice people at Harcourt for information about the status of <em>This World</em> <em>We Live In</em> advance reading copies (aka ARCs), and now I have some (information, not ARCs).<br /><br />The ARCs will be published circa Oct. 12 and they'll be sending me a box of them that week.<br /><br />From the sound of it, I'll be getting more ARCs than I'll need, and if that's the case, I'll be sharing the extras with people here. Assuming, of course, that people here will want one. If not, I'm sure Scooter will be more than happy to shred them all over the apartment.<br /><br />When the ARC box arrives, I'll let you all know. Well, all of you except Scooter!Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-74123777889187319862009-08-04T15:03:00.000-04:002009-08-04T15:19:01.644-04:00What I'm Hoping Will Be The Tease For TW In d&gThe editor asked me recently what section of <em>This World We Live</em> In did I want to have as the tease at the end of the paperback version of <em>the dead and the gone</em> (there's a tease for d&g in the paperback of <em>Life As We Knew It</em>). If I had no particular preference, they'd go with the first five pages of TW.<br /><br />I did have a preference, although it's not five pages long, So I don't know if it's going to end up as the tease or not. I hope so, because there's nothing about the d&g characters in the first five pages of TW, and I would prefer a section that involves at least one of them.<br /><br />So the following is what I requested to be the tease. I offered as a second choice the scene the editor made me write, with Alex talking about his family to Miranda (it's in this blog, so there's no point reposting it):<br /><br /><em>I can't say the last house we went to was going to be the last one of the day. Alex hadn't said we should stop looking, and every half roll of toilet paper will make our lives a little bit better. Maybe we would have kept on for another hour or two.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>And neither one of us noticed anything particularly different about the final house we went to. I could tell right away it wasn't a summer house, but that didn't mean anything.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>We used Alex's trick of throwing a few pebbles against a door and then running for cover in case anybody started shooting. No one did, so we got closer and looked through the windows for signs of life. When we thought it was safe, we tried the doors, which were locked, and threw a stone through the living room window.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The sound of shattering glass has replaced doorbells in my life.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>It was Alex's turn to stick his hand through the window and unlock it. I love breaking in, but that's my least favorite part, since there's a part of me that's sure whoever owns the house is waiting to chop off my hand. I've had lots of nightmares about that.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>But no one came at us with an ax, so we climbed in.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>We both smelled death right away. It was like the mound of bodies only worse, because the house was all closed up and the smell had intensified.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"Please," I said. "Let's go."<br /></em><br /><em>"Wait outside if you want," Alex said.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>But I knew what I didn't see would frighten me more than what I did. "I'll be okay," I said. I've told bigger lies.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Alex took my hand. I could see his was bleeding. "You cut yourself," I said to hide the fact that I was shaking from fear and excitement at the touch of a boy's hand.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"Just a scratch," he said, but he pulled his hand from mine. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get blood on you."<br /></em><br /><em>I nodded. Alex began walking toward the smell and I followed him.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The body was in the kitchen. Once it had been human, sitting in the chair next to where we found it. Or what remained of it, some torn clothing, a belt, some flesh and muscle, hair, bones, an eyeball. By its side was a shotgun, and lying a few feet away was a dead pit bull.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>I screamed.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"Don't look," Alex said, but I couldn't avert my eyes. He walked around the corpse, took a red plaid vinyl tablecloth and flung it on top. Then he held me until I stopped shaking.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"I think we're in luck," he said. "The dog died recently, maybe even today. It's been eating its owner for a while now, but it finally starved to death. There's probably dog food if we look."<br /></em><br /><em>"I don't know if Horton will eat dog food," I said.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"Not for Horton," Alex said. "For us."</em>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-39268570407984670752009-07-09T11:04:00.001-04:002009-07-09T11:07:29.940-04:00This World We Live In Is Available For Pre-Order<a href="http://www.amazon.com/This-World-Live-Susan-Pfeffer/dp/0547248040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247151973&sr=1-1">Amazon</a> confirms its April 1, 2010 publication date.<br /><br />But really I'm posting this so you can admire the new look to this blog.<br /><br />It was time for a little redecorating around here!Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-37130753790189996302009-07-08T17:10:00.000-04:002009-07-08T17:13:01.530-04:00We Have A Cover!<div>Because I don't know how to attach a PDF (or what a PDF is for that matter) to my blog, I printed the cover on my dandy printer and attached it with needles (I couldn't find any pins) to my green chair and took photographs of it.</div><div><br />I know how to attach photographs, with and without needles.</div><div><br />The odds are when the book is published, the cover may look a little, oh I don't know, slicker, but in the meantime, I'm thrilled and can't wait to show it off. </div><div><br />So here's the cover for This World We Live In (by New York Times Best Selling Author of Life As We Knew It-Moi)! <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356200152934305282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3HBFcUgYbr5HMMcvIWJN-dnB12Az7FFVzL336pxJ-xfgIsURtG4muBgvY8Uufn5YYLqvRixdUchdW_fpifCZRyb2SDqsCWkl7vgF32MZPQpkO3x-axMeUKb48U6kV3YpU9zneGvrrwc2k/s400/013.JPG" border="0" /></div>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-58720906826841820042009-07-01T11:14:00.000-04:002009-07-01T11:17:55.366-04:00A Brand New Email AddressI'm a firm believer that one cannot have too many email addresses, so I set one up just for the thirdmoonbook blog.<br /><br />I've been keeping this a comment free zone, but if there's something you really want to tell me, now you have an address to send it to: <a href="mailto:susanbpfeffer@aol.com">susanbpfeffer@aol.com</a><br /><br />I also set up a new email account over at <a href="http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/">my regular blog</a>, because the previous email account was proving increasingly cranky.<br /><br />The only one around here allowed to be cranky is me!Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-85027399945596640942009-06-17T21:14:00.001-04:002009-06-18T08:59:42.666-04:00A Scene That Never Would Have Existed If The Editor Hadn't Asked For Rewrites<strong>June 4</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />I was in my bedroom, trying to decide what would be the absolutely safest place to hide my diaries, when I heard a knock on my door and Alex softly saying, "Miranda?"<br /><br />Even though I hadn't touched a thing, and my diaries were as hidden as they ever are, I instantly decided I needed to find an even better place for them. That was after I finished jumping at the sound of a strange boy's voice.<br /><br />"Yeah," I said, which didn't come off quite as friendly as it should have. "I mean, hi Alex. What do you want?"<br /><br />He stood in the doorway until I gestured for him to come in.<br /><br />"I hope I'm not bothering you," he said. "I was wondering if you might have some clothes Julie could borrow. Just for the time we're here."<br /><br />"Oh, sure," I said. "Julie's smaller than I am, but we can work something out." Syl already has half my wardrobe. Julie could have the other half.<br /><br />"Thank you," he said. "It'll mean a lot to her."<br /><br />"Do you want me to ask Matt if you could borrow some of his clothes?" I asked. Why should I be the only naked one in the house.<br /><br />"That would be great, thank you," Alex said. "It's just for a few days, until Julie's rested up enough."<br /><br />"There's no rush," I said. "I'll see what I can find."<br /><br />Alex looked around my room. "You have a lot of books," he said.<br /><br />"Not that many," I said. "And I've read all of them three times by now."<br /><br />"I miss reading," he said, taking my copy of Pride And Prejudice off the shelf. "I miss learning useless things. Latin. Calculus."<br /><br />"I miss friends," I said. "Friends. Family. Food. The 3 Fs." I smiled, but Alex didn't smile back.<br /><br />"I miss home," he said. "And the feeling you got in a library carrel, like nothing in the world mattered except the book you were reading." He put Pride And Prejudice back on the shelf. "I miss pride. The sin of pride."<br /><br />"I don't think it's a sin to be proud," I said, looking at my skating trophies. "Not if you've worked to achieve your goal."<br /><br />Alex shook his head. "You don't understand," he said. "It's different for you. You work to keep your house clean, and you take pride in how it looks. That's not what I mean."<br /><br />It annoyed me that Alex thought my only accomplishment in life was in the war against ash. "I take pride in lots of things," I said. "Like how my family has come together. How we've fought to keep alive. To keep our hopes alive. I take a lot of pride in that. Do you think that's a sin?"<br /><br />"No, of course not," Alex said. "But that's not the kind of pride I'm talking about."<br /><br />"Oh," I said. "You mean like vanity. Being proud because you're good looking or rich."<br /><br />"That's not it exactly either," Alex said.<br /><br />"Then what is?" I asked.<br /><br />He gazed out my window, at the perpetually gray landscape. "All right," he said. "Maybe you'll understand better if I tell you about the coin jar. We had to pay for our school uniforms, so my mother kept a coin jar. Every day we emptied our pockets and whatever change we had went into the jar. One day she caught my father taking out a handful of quarters. He was short on beer money. She went crazy. It was the worst fight I ever saw them have. My mother had ambitions for us. Every penny we saved was important to her." He paused for a moment. "My father picked up the coin jar and threw it across the room. The coins flew all over. My mother got down on her hands and knees to pick up the change, but my brother Carlos shoved me onto the floor. It was my fault, he said. I was the one they were fighting over."<br /><br />"That must have been awful," I said. Mom and Dad at their worst always let us know we weren't to blame for their problems.<br /><br />"I vowed I would never feel shame again," Alex said. "But the shame wasn't because my parents fought over me. It was the shame of crawling on the floor, sweeping pennies and nickels into a pile to pay for clothes other kids took for granted. The next day I got a job, started working whenever I could, finally got regular work at a pizza parlor. I paid for my own uniforms after that, and my books too. No more coin jar. My mother found some other way to pay for my sister's uniforms. And I felt proud. Proud I was smart. Proud that people noticed me, respected me. Proud that I was ambitious. Proud that I was too good to end up like my parents. And now I beg for clean clothes for my sister. I beg for every bite of food we eat."<br /><br />"You don't have to beg here," I said. "We're happy to share."<br /><br />"No one is happy to share," he said.<br /><br />Alex looked down then, or I looked up. I don't know how it happened, but we made eye contact, and for a moment, I was drawn into his soul. I could see everything, the depth of his sorrow, his anger, his despair.<br /><br />I feel sorrow and anger and despair. I don't think there's a person alive who doesn't. I sometimes feel like my sorrow and anger and despair burns inside me like the sun used to burn on a hot July day.<br /><br />But that was nothing compared to what I sensed in Alex. His sorrow, his anger, his despair was like a thousand suns, like a galaxy of suns. It physically hurt me to look into his eyes, but I couldn't break away. He turned his head first, and then he apologized, or maybe he thanked me. For Alex, I think they're the same thing.<br /><br />He bolted out of the room, leaving me to stare at my bookstore and think about the sin of pride and the sin of prejudice and all the other sins I'd left behind.<br /><br /><em>ETA: What Alex no doubt said was "my sisters' uniforms," referring to Bri and Julie. But since Miranda only knows about Julie, she hears it as "my sister's uniforms."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Miranda is very much an unreliable narrator in This World We Live In. She knows only what people tell her, and people don't necessarily tell her all the details. </em>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-6303340972284294102009-06-09T10:55:00.000-04:002009-06-09T11:10:39.674-04:00You Can Never Get Too Tired Of TulsaSometime after posting what I announced to be the third and final version of the Tulsa discussion, I decided Alex and Julie went to Tulsa before they went to Texas to find Carlos. Although all of this happens offstage, and Miranda only learns about it from what Alex and Julie tell her separately, the whole trip to Texas became increasingly important, and involved so many revisions that I've lost track (it's pretty much all I spent working on yesterday).<br /><br />So here's the fourth and I really really hope final version of Alex telling Miranda about Tulsa:<br /><br /><em>"Who was in Tulsa?" I asked. "Or did you just pass through there?" It was easier to ask Alex questions with us both facing forward and no danger of eye contact.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"We thought we'd find our aunt and uncle," Alex said. "They set out for there last June. We spent a few days looking, but no luck."<br /></em><br /><em>"It's hard to picture cities," I said. "Cities with people."<br /></em><br /><em>"They're not like before," Alex said. "There are bodies. Mostly skeletons now, piled up. Even the rats have died. And only some buildings have heat, so you share apartments."<br /><br />"Are there schools?" I asked, remembering my idea about places for <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">politicians</span> and millionaires to live. "Hospitals? Could you and Julie have stayed there?"</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Alex held onto the steering wheel a little tighter. "The plan was for me to leave Julie with our aunt and uncle. I was going to get to Texas, find Carlos, let him know where we were, and then go back and work at the oil fields. But I couldn't leave Julie alone, so we went to Texas together."<br /></em><br /><em>"But you didn't stay down there," I said. "Couldn't you have worked in the Texas oil fields instead?"</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"I could have," Alex said. "But there was no one to look after Julie."<br /><br />"Julie's a good kid," I said. "She wouldn't have gotten into trouble."<br /><br />"Trouble would have found her," Alex said. "We couldn't take that risk."</em>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-58966720828279234812009-06-06T21:25:00.001-04:002009-06-06T22:12:47.308-04:00Back To Tulsa We GoI've been hard at work on the revisions for <em>This World We Live In</em>, and at the editor's suggestion, have added a couple of scenes. In one, Miranda comes up with the idea that there are places for the wealthy and powerful to live, the safe towns that figure prominently in the plot of <em>the dead and the gone</em>.<br /><br />The editor also wanted more of a sense of Alex, and I put in a scene a couple of days after they meet, where Alex tells Miranda a story about his family. He and Miranda make eye contact, and Miranda gets a glimpse of the pain and anger Alex feels.<br /><br />Finally, the editor wanted more of a sense of what was going on in the world, a world Alex has seen, but Miranda knows about only from what she hears on the radio.<br /><br />With all that in mind, I revised Miranda and Alex talking about Tulsa for a third, and I sincerely hope last, time. So here's version the first, version the second, and version the last. I hope the differences, none of which are huge, have made the book better.<br /><br /><strong>Number One:</strong><br /><br /><em>"Who was in Tulsa?" I asked. "Or did you just pass through there."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"We thought we'd find our aunt and uncle," Alex said. "They'd set out for there. We spent a couple of days looking for them, but no luck."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"What was Tulsa like?" I asked. "Were there people there?"</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"Oh yeah," Alex said. "Not like there used to be, I'm sure, but there were still people."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"But you didn't stay," I said. "Could you have?"</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"I suppose," Alex said. "Maybe we should have. It's hard to know what to do with Julie. If we'd stayed in Tulsa, anywhere, I'd have had to to work, and that's okay. I don't mind that. But it would have meant either Julie would have to work too or she'd be left unsupervised."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"She's a good kid," I said. "She wouldn't get into trouble."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"Trouble would have found her," Alex said. "It wouldn't have been safe."</em><br /><em></em><br /><strong>Number Two:</strong><br /><br />"<em>Who was in Tulsa?” I asked. “Or did you just pass through there?” It was easier to ask Alex questions, since we were both facing frontward and not looking at each other.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“We thought we’d find our aunt and uncle,” Alex said. “They’d set out for there last June. We spent a couple of days looking for them, but no luck.”</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“What was Tulsa like?” I asked. “Were there people there?”</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“Oh yeah,” Alex said. “Not like there used to be, I’m sure, but there were still people.”</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“But you didn’t stay,” I said. “Could you have?”</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“I suppose,” Alex said. “Maybe we should have. It’s hard to know what to do with Julie.”</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“She’s a good kid,” I said. “She wouldn’t get into trouble.”</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“Trouble would have found her,” Alex said. “It wouldn’t have been safe.”</em><br /><em></em><br /><strong>Number Three:</strong><br /><em></em><br /><em>"Who was in Tulsa?" I asked. "Or did you just pass through there?" It was easier to ask Alex questions with both of us facing forward and no danger of eye contact.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"We thought we'd find our aunt and uncle," Alex said. "They set out for there last June. We spent a couple of days looking, but no luck."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"It's hard to picture cities," I said. "Cities with people."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"They're not like before," Alex said. "There are bodies, mostly skeletons now, piled up. Even the rats have died. And only some buildings have heat, so you share apartments."</em><br /><p><em>"Are there schools?"I asked, remembering my idea about places for politicians and millionaires to live. "Hospitals? Could you and Julie have stayed there?"<br /></em><em></em></p><p><em>Alex held onto the steering wheel a little tighter. "I could have found work at the oil fields," he said. "But I wouldn't have known what to do about Julie."</em></p><p><em>"She's a good kid," I said. "She wouldn't get into trouble."</em></p><p><em>"Trouble would have found her," Alex said. "I couldn't take that risk. So we moved on."</p></em><p><em> </p></em><p><em> </p><br /><br /></em>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-86972877819753630522009-05-29T09:48:00.001-04:002009-05-29T19:04:51.874-04:00Editorial Suggestions And Comments About This World We Live InI have received a detailed letter outlining suggestions and comments from the editor of <em>This</em> <em>World We Live In</em>. Some I agree with, some I don't, but all indicate the intelligence and thoughtfulness that I had come to expect (I know at least one writer who has worked with this editor and who has loudly sung her praises).<br /><br />The editor began her letter by telling me how she went about this particular, and not particularly easy, job. First she read <em>This World We Live In.</em> Then she read<em> Life As We Knew It</em> (which she'd read an early version of pre-publication). Then she read <em>the dead and the gone</em>. Then she went back and reread <em>This World. </em>She needed to determine how it worked as a standalone and as the sequel to two different novels.<br /><br />I'm going to summarize some of the editor's suggestions (which I'll put in boldface) and some of my personal responses to those suggestions. Please remember the editor's suggestions are not as she wrote them, but as I paraphrase them. She wrote a single spaced three page letter, and a followup one page email, so my summaries will not do justice to her thoughts. Nor will I put all of them here. As always, this entry will be rife with spoilers.<br /><br /><strong>Character and Setting Background: She would like more details about Miranda's fears and hopes earlier in the book, especially for those who haven't read LAWKI. She would also like more details about what the worldwide disasters were, and what Miranda's home and town are like. </strong><br /><strong></strong><br />All this is trickier than it might seem, but probably doable. I just have to have a delicate touch. Otherwise, the readers could get bogged down in details rather than action.<br /><br /><strong>Alex: She would like Alex to be more sympathetic/appealing/attractive earlier on in the story, so readers will understand why Miranda is attracted to him. </strong><br /><strong></strong><br />Also doable, but also requiring a light touch. Alex is a problematic character under any circumstance. I love him, but he's not particularly lovable, which frankly is one reason why I love him. And I think Miranda is attacted to him more from hormones than anything else. In addition, I want Miranda to resent her father's affection for Alex and Julie, and if Alex comes off as too sympathetic too early, then Miranda's resentment will make her less likable. Still, I should be able to put in a quick glimpse of Alex tucking Julie in, or giving Julie a little bit extra food while taking less for himself, or even helping with housework without being asked.<br /><br /><strong>The World Outside of Miranda's World: She would like to know more about what's going on in other locations, including information Miranda might have no access to. She thinks the readers would want to know more about how the government is handling things outside of Howell. She also suggests that we see the LAWKI/d&g household "rules" for survival, as they would be indicative of their own governing system (as well as a potential for conflict). </strong><br /><strong></strong><br />I was negative on this suggestion, and will most likely remain so. I don't think it's good for readers to know what the POV character doesn't know, which to some extent is unavoidable here, because some of the people who read This World will have read d&g (Miranda only knows what Alex and Julie tell her, and they don't tell her very much about their pasts). And while I love making up governmental rules and regs, I think they clutter a story.<br /><br /><strong>The Ending: She would like more clarification at the actual end of the book, and a little more hope. She has no problem with it being open ended and said nothing about the fabulous part (a great relief to me), but she was confused about just what was going to happen once the book was over.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />This is good, smart editing, and I'm already working out a slight shift in emphasis and a greater amount of detail for the last couple of pages. My agent had separately suggested the need for an additional Charlie scene, and I think I can work that in to give the new improved last couple of pages greater emotional resonance.<br /><br /><strong>The Structure: She suggested eliminating the chapters, and having each month stand as a section.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />I find this kind of funny, since when I wrote both LAWKI and d&g, I only put in chapters at my previous editor's request. But I think chapters are a good idea for This World, since the action takes place in only a three month period (four calendar months, April, May, June, July). I have each of those months as the start of a section, but I think chapter divisions within them are helpful. In any event, I put a poll up over at <a href="http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/">my other blog</a> to see what you prefer.<br /><br />I'll be working on the rewrites sporadically over the next couple of weeks, with a somewhat self-imposed deadline of June 11. Copy editing would like the book by June 15, since there's a very tight deadline if it's to be a Spring 2010 publication, which I fervently want. I will post here between now and then to let you know how the rewrites are coming along.<br /><strong></strong>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-36999254926432608422009-04-14T13:11:00.001-04:002009-04-14T13:13:18.822-04:00This World We Live In Blurb/SummaryThe following is what I wrote for the sales/marketing people to see, so they'd have some sense of the storyline for <em>This World We Live In</em>:<br /><br /><strong>It's been over a month since Miranda Evans has written in her diary, a month of relative calm for her and her family. It's springtime, and with warmer weather comes rain, and the melting of the winter's snow. The shad are running in a nearby river, and Miranda's brothers Matt and Jon leave home for a few days to see if they can catch some to supplement their food supply. </strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>When they return, Matt brings with him a girl named Syl, who he introduces as his bride. But that's not the only shock Miranda and her family have to deal with. A few weeks later, Miranda's father, stepmother, and baby brother show up at her door. Accompanying them are three strangers, a man named Charlie Rutherford, and two teenagers, Alex and Julie Morales. These five people have crossed America together, becoming, in their own way, a family. </strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Miranda's complicated feelings about Alex, curiosity, resentment, longing, and passion turn into love. Alex's feelings are equally complex. His plans to escort Julie to a convent where she can be taken care of, so that he will be free to enter a monastery, are destined for failure. He wants desperately to live up to his moral code, but his desire for Miranda is too strong. He proposes to Miranda that they take Julie and go to a safe town.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong> But before Miranda and Alex can go off together, a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and in its aftermath, Miranda makes a decision that will change forever her life and Alex's, and the world that they live in will never be the same.</strong>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-60293375811763523472009-03-13T16:34:00.001-04:002009-03-13T16:47:36.716-04:00Before And AfterThere are a couple of things I try to accomplish when I do rewrites. Well, three things, since the first is get the job done before I break down from boredom.<br /><br />The other two (more subtle) things are to solve problems and to tighten the book. Or thicken the book, since there are times when I underwrite and have to go back and make things juicier. So I guess that makes four things I try to accomplish. Boy, I work hard.<br /><br />Remember, way back when (excuse me for a moment, when I look to see way back when was). <a href="http://thirdmoonbook.blogspot.com/2009/01/mom-and-mirandas-fight-scene-and-what.html">January 8</a>, it turns out to have been. I posted a scene where Miranda and Mom fight, and there's a misunderstanding about the fate of Matt and Jon, who are away fishing for shad.<br /><br />Even at the time, I knew Mom would never refer to them as "the others," which was key to the misunderstanding. So, thanks to the miracles of my brain and computer skills, I've solved that problem. Among the dead bodies Miranda sees on the mound of bodies are two guys (never heard of before, never heard of since)- the Beasley Boys. Hold on again, while I get the description of them:<br /><br /><em>...the Beasley boys, two old guys without many teeth, who sat in front of the hardware store, good weather or bad, and chattered in some secret code to each other.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The Beasley boys were descended from Jedediah Howell, the same as Mom. The same as me. </em><br /><br />Now when Miranda and Mom have the fight, Mom refers to "the boys," meaning Matt and Jon, and Miranda, having just seen the dead Beasley boys, thinks that's who she means, and confusion ensues.<br /><br />It pays to know your corpses.<br /><br />The following is a tiny taste of both of tightening and thickening. Much of the tightening I've been doing is getting rid of the "just"s and "so"s and "really"s and "even"s, while keeping the flavor of Miranda's speech/writing. I agonize over every "just" (and there are thousands of them).<br /><br />But occasionally, there's a scene that's too clumpy and needs cutting, and then I do. Here's the version of a conversation between Miranda and Alex. It's their first time doing something together and getting to know each other:<br /><br /><em>"Who was in Tulsa?" I asked. "Or did you just pass through there."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"We thought we'd find our aunt and uncle," Alex said. "They'd set out for there. We spent a couple of days looking for them, but no luck."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"What was Tulsa like?" I asked. "Were there people there?"<br /></em><br /><em>"Oh yeah," Alex said. "Not like there used to be, I'm sure, but there were still people."<br /></em><br /><em>"But you didn't stay," I said. "Could you have?"<br /></em><br /><em>"I suppose," Alex said. "Maybe we should have. It's hard to know what to do with Julie. If we'd stayed in Tulsa, anywhere, I'd have had to to work, and that's okay. I don't mind that. But it would have meant either Julie would have to work too or she'd be left unsupervised."<br /><br />"She's a good kid," I said. "She wouldn't get into trouble."<br /></em><br /><em>"Trouble would have found her," Alex said. "It wouldn't have been safe."</em><br /><em></em><br />Now here's the edited version:<br /><br /><em>“Who was in Tulsa?” I asked. “Or did you just pass through there?” It was easier to ask Alex questions, since we were both facing frontward and not looking at each other.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em> “We thought we’d find our aunt and uncle,” Alex said. “They’d set out for there last June. We spent a couple of days looking for them, but no luck.”</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“What was Tulsa like?” I asked. “Were there people there?”</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“Oh yeah,” Alex said. “Not like there used to be, I’m sure, but there were still people.”</em><br /><br /><em>“But you didn’t stay,” I said. “Could you have?”</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>“I suppose,” Alex said. “Maybe we should have. It’s hard to know what to do with Julie.”</em><br /><br /><em>“She’s a good kid,” I said. “She wouldn’t get into trouble.”</em><br /><br /><em>“Trouble would have found her,” Alex said. “It wouldn’t have been safe.”</em><br /><p>See the difference? Well, I sure hope so. Otherwise all the work I've been doing has been in vain.</p><p>And the only thing vain around here I approve of is me!</p><p> </p><p><em> </p><br /><br /></em>Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-33547031790488859092009-03-05T16:26:00.001-05:002009-03-05T16:48:30.291-05:00Bible Lessons In B3Last week (was it only last week; it feels like a lot longer ago than that), when I worked out the new B3 ending (which I will never ever ever reveal), I put in my blog entry three things about it.<br /><br />One was that it was different from other B3 endings I'd already tried (definitely true).<br /><br />One was that it wasn't a trick it was all a dream kind of ending (definitely true).<br /><br />One was that I was going to change the Bible lesson Charlie gives.<br /><br />Well, that one I'm not so sure about.<br /><br />The Bible chapter I thought I'd have Charlie talk about is Chapter 34 in Deuteronomy (it occurs to me that the ASPCA should call their program <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Neuteronomy</span>, but that's most likely because I'm a very sick person). For those of you who can't quote the Bible chapter and verse, here's the Jewish Publication Society version (I prefer it to the King James):<br /><br /><em>And the LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 'I will give it to your offspring.' I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross there."</em><br /><em></em><br />A good deal of the last section of This World We Live In has to do with the passes to the safe town that Alex was given in <em>the dead and the gone</em>. Although Miranda is age eligible to get in, there's been no version of the B3 ending where she does. And since B3 is a book of echoes (my cousin Ellen last night said that would be a great title for a novel), I thought that particular Bible chapter would resonate- Miranda would be outside looking in at what passes for the promised land in the post-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">mooncrash</span> world.<br /><br />But now, while the passes remain an integral part of the story, Miranda's feelings about her life on the outside of the town are no longer particularly important. So I'm thinking I may still stick with Noah's children. I'll have to decide sometime next week, when I'm giving the manuscript its final polish.<br /><br />One good thing about this blog- when I wrote a couple of paragraphs up, "the last section," it reminded me I have to divvy the book into sections and chapters. That doesn't come naturally to me with these books, so I tend to forget about it.<br /><br />But I'll never forget my vow to keep the ending to myself. And to my friend <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Christy</span>. But that's it. The rest of humanity will have to wait until Spring 2010, because not telling is one vow I intend to keep!Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-68327189117876041682009-02-25T16:35:00.000-05:002009-02-25T16:37:00.362-05:00It Made Sense At One In The MorningI have worked out the ending to This World We Live In.<br /><br />You may notice there's no B3 in the blog entry title, and I'm not warning you about spoilers. That's because I decided I'm not to going to tell you what the ending is. Not now, not ever. Or at least not until the book is published, which is a year or more away.<br /><br />I came up with the idea last night during a particularly nasty bout of insomnia (I had a fine time at my cousin Danny's wedding, by the way). My brain clicked into gear and when it does that, it's hard for me to unclick it.<br /><br />Somewhere between 1 and 1/2 sleeping pills, I got up and emailed my friend Christy to tell her what the idea was. The last idea I shared with her (one I didn't tell you about), she responded to with, "Yikes." I didn't take that as a positive.<br /><br />I'm going to quote a little bit of last night's email I sent Christy, because I think it will give you a taste of what I was working through when I should have been sleeping. I'm taking my chances that you won't regard it as a spoiler:... comes to face with death, which she acknowlolrfhrd sd nojyjionhinhh moyjhinhnrdd nothingnrdd- im really drugged and sneezing0=<br /><br />My favorite part is the sneezingo. Or snee-zingo! if you prefer.<br /><br />This morning I woke up and thought about my 1 AM inspiration and still liked it a lot. I thought about it some more while I did a half hour on the treadmill, and then I called Christy and ran the idea past her. She gave it the Christy Seal Of Approval. I would quote her exact gerund but that might give away some of the essence.<br /><br />I still have some decisions to make before rewriting the ending, and I'll have to do a bit of reconstruction to get the story where I'll need it to be. I'll tell you the following three things and then I'm not going to reveal anything more about it.<br /><br />There's a little scene I quoted over at <a href="http://thirdmoonbook.blogspot.com/2009/02/sunday-services.html">thirdmoonbook</a>, with a Bible lesson, and I'm going to change the Bible story. Same basic scene, but a whole other lesson.<br /><br />The new ending isn't the same as any of the endings I've discussed here or at thirdmoonbook. It shares some elements, but it's very very different.<br /><br />It isn't a trick ending. No one wakes up and realizes it's all been a dream.<br /><br />Because to know me is to mock me, I'm going to put a poll up where you can give vent to your cynicism that I can keep the ending a secret from all of you. Which I can and I will. But mock away.I don't care. I got my ending and my nojyjionhinhh!Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-18949213728671202292009-02-20T15:31:00.001-05:002009-02-20T15:59:15.939-05:00Further Musings On The Third Possible B3 EndingHow many possible B3s have there been? Was it seven? Maybe This World We Live In will have seven possible endings all its own.<br /><br />But as of the moment, I seem quite settled into the idea of Mom mercy killing Charlie while almost every other character is there to witness it. I did briefly consider having <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Syl</span> be the one to grab the shotgun from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">LAWKI</span> house, then Mom demand <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Syl</span> hand it over, which <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Syl</span> does (and which the readers assume is because Mom is so horrified), and then Mom shoots Charlie (having taken the shotgun so the killing wouldn't be on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Syl's</span> conscience).<br /><br />But I remembered from one of the previous B3s that I should always keep things simple, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Syl</span> to Mom to boom! is one step more than is needed.<br /><br />What I'm working through right now are the consequences, and oddly enough, for the moment at least, the character most affected seems to be Alex (who's lying semi-conscious at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">LAWKI</span> house while this happens).<br /><br />For starters, there are those safe house passes (I swear those passes are as difficult for me to deal with as the never ending volcanic ash). The clever twist ending I'd come up with had Alex telling Miranda to give the passes to Lisa for her, the baby and Julie (an idea Alex had previously rejected). Then when Alex is strong enough, they go to Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Nesbitt's</span> no longer <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">existent</span> house, and Alex discovers what Miranda already knows, that the safe house passes can't be found.<br /><br />I think when I wrote the first Charlie dies version (less than a week ago, but you don't expect me to remember), the same thing happens. It didn't seem to bother me that Alex and Miranda go over to Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Nesbitt's</span> house, where Charlie has been buried alive.<br /><br />Maybe now it's because I've blown poor Charlie's brains out, going to the house to look for something seems distasteful to me. So I'm thinking Alex keeps the safe town passes in an envelope taped to his chest, in which case, the passes are available, and Alex can act on his decision to share the passes with Lisa and the baby.<br /><br />The other consequence I'm pondering is how Alex responds to Mom's killing Charlie. By Alex's heartfelt religious standards, this is a mortal sin. Miranda wouldn't see it that way, because she heard Charlie begging to be killed, and because it's her mother who did it.<br /><br />But if Alex and Miranda get into a fight over this, it can't be cute and casual. Alex, under the best of circumstances, isn't a cute and casual kind of guy, and when it comes to a fundamental disagreement over the sanctity of life, I can't see him compromising or letting love and/or hormones overcome his strong sense of morality.<br /><br />When I discussed Mom killing Charlie with my friend <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Christy</span>, she pointed out there has to be at least some hope at the ending of the book. My previous ending for both versions of B3 has been positive- Miranda frightened of the future, but believing that there will be one. If the ending is the families split up, with Dad, Lisa, Alex and Julie going off to the safe town, while Miranda, Mom (with blood on her conscience), Matt, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Syl</span> and Jon take their chances in Pittsburgh (and you have no idea how much I wish Pittsburgh were a more glamorous choice)...well that's not just open ended. That's open ended and depressing.<br /><br />So clearly there's some more thinking that has to be done. But that's the fun part of writing for me.<br /><br />Or at least that's what I keep <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">telling</span> myself!Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816166880902772334.post-61078746916144464292009-02-20T15:29:00.000-05:002009-02-20T15:30:56.182-05:00Yet Another B3 EndingAbout half an hour ago (as I was moving the sheets from the washer to the drier), I got to thinking yet again about the ending to This World We Live In. You may recall I wrote an ending on Friday, then decided it wasn't strong enough and wrote another ending on Saturday.<br /><br />Something about wet sheets made me think about my original plan for the ending of B3- Charlie not merely dying, but being killed by one of the other characters, and Miranda choosing not to know who did it. The Saturday ending simply has Charlie dying (on Friday, Charlie lived).<br /><br />I remembered that I wanted Charlie's death to be a mercy killing because I wanted something complicated to end the book with, a debatable moral issue.<br /><br />So as I moved the sheets to the drier, I considered changing the ending yet again. As of the moment, Charlie is crushed to death as he tries to get out of Mrs. Nesbitt's demolished by the tornado house. Dad declares that Charlie died immediately.But what if Charlie doesn't die immediately? What if he's only partially crushed and is crying out (as I originally planned for him to do), Let me die! Let me die!In an earlier part of the book, Miranda and Alex come across a houseful of food, and a shotgun. Miranda is the last person to carry the shotgun, which means it stayed in her house.<br /><br />So now I'm thinking Charlie's lying there in agony and (hold onto your hats), Mom goes back to the house, gets the shotgun, and kills Charlie with it.Talk about moral ambiguity!<br /><br />The other possible shooters are pretty much anybody but Alex (who's still semi-conscious). But I can't see Julie leaving Alex's side, Matt, Miranda, or Jon caring enough about Charlie to put him out of his misery, Dad leaving Lisa (who has just escaped also), Lisa, who most likely wants only to be with baby Gabriel again and Syl. But Syl, who Jon and Miranda regard as responsible for Horton's death, is too obvious a choice. Which Mom certainly is not.<br /><br />So that's where things are at this moment. The idea is less than an hour old, and I'm not going to do any rewrites until next week at the earliest, so I have time to consider and reconsider. There's an old Hollywood rule that if you establish there's a gun early in a movie, at some point later in the movie that gun will get used, and I don't like following cliche rules, so I'm not crazy about the shotgun being mentioned and then a hundred or so pages later being used.<br /><br />But I do love the image of Mom (Mom!) shooting poor Charlie's brains out. And since this blog is all about process, I figured I'd let you know where the process was taking me.<br /><br />And now I'll fold the sheets.Susan Beth Pfefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13452376506861660230noreply@blogger.com