Who is responsible for stealing our time?

Don't you often feel like someone or something is stealing your time? Like you thought you had an hour before work, and suddenly it's time and you are already running late? That is so the story of my life. I'm always "hey! where did the time go?" (I'm kind of a dreamer / space cadet too so that doesn't help). (Oh beans, that term space cadet really dates me, I'm afraid).

The premise of the newly release Middle Grade adventure The Time Fetch  by debut author Amy Herrick is about a bunch of little creatures - time foragers - that are usually contained but are sometimes let out to forage extra time from around the world (I can't tell you what they use the extra time for, it's pretty cool though).  But occasionally these foragers escape and get out of control and start to seriously steal time, totally messing with the fabric of space-time.  When I read the blurb for this book, I just about fainted with happiness, that is such a NEAT PREMISE!!! Finally I know what's happened to all the extra time I thought I had! And messing with time? I ADORE time-twisty stories.

The Time Fetch was a pleasure to read in so many ways. I give it 5 stars, the rating I save only for books I know I'll want to read again. Just fair warning: this is a very eccentric book.  If you love mind-bending and eccentric books (and eccentric characters) like A Wrinkle In Time, you will probably love this book. Mrs Whatsit, move over for Feenix and Edward and Aunt Kit and host of other oddballs in the Time Fetch.

This book takes some unexpected directions and has a lot of set-up that might be not-so-easy to get through, but take your time (ha! pun intended!) and enjoy the romp through Brooklyn and science and folklore and the fabric of space-time.

Any book that can playfully toss around words like discombobulated along with serious scientific terms makes me happy down to my toes. 

So about those eccentric characters: Edward has a very odd philosophy of life (it was all dancing atoms; nothing was real) his Aunt Kit is crazy superstitious and babbles about the Great Web; Danton and his little brother have some off-the-wall morning rituals; and Feenix has an imagination that can deflect poison brain-wave darts with her invisible force-field shield. I just love eccentric characters that naturally repel each other but when circumstances bring them together, there is a synergy of nerdy fizzy chemistry. 

The first part of this book will seem like a series of random odd events, but there's the promise that they will eventually fit together - not neatly, like puzzle pieces, but in a grand, messy, truly creative way. So I was willing to inch my way through the lengthy set up, and was truly most excellently rewarded.

I could also see all the lectures of Mr. Ross's and Aunt Kit's being a stumbling block for many. I found them deeply entertaining and I'm sure that reveals what a nerd I am at heart. I got the delightful suspicion early on, with Edward's horror that Mr Ross and his Aunt should ever meet because of their absolutely opposite world views, that it would be a simply wonderful thing if Extreme Science did meet Extreme Superstition. How they meet I can't spoil: is it an explosive clash? a melding of minds? a riff into new hybrid philosophies? Ha, read and find out. 

And, oh, the time. The Time! We have grand scale messing with the fabric of space-time in this story, alongside very applicable everyday issues of how life seems so *rushed* these days, and more noticeably during the holiday season. Sprinkled with philosophical musings that pop up here and there, like:

What is time? Does it move? Or do we just move through it? Is it a made-up thing or does it really exist?

And from Aunt Kit:

Any scientist worth his suspenders knows that every time you untangle one ball of yarn, the universe sends you another.

And from Mr. Ross:

And food! What a wonderful area of study! I envy you. The great chain of matter and energy, each always transforming, one into the other. So fascinating. But how do you achieve this airiness in your bread?

Which reminds me, I simply must mention the food. This book will make you hungry. Ah, for some pfeffernusse! Or spanakopita! The rich sensory details come at you left and right in this book; it's hard to believe at times this all on paper (or on screen) and not real surroundings. And related to the food, the description of Aunt Kit's kitchen is To. Die. For. And I'm not even a gourmet, a gourmand, or a decorator. 

I could heap scads of more quotes into this review, and rave on and on, but I will try to limit myself to four, no five favorite things:

1) I love books with an unlikely team of characters. I dearly hope there will be a sequel to get to enjoy Edward, Brigit, Danton and Feenix some more, with a side helping of Mr Ross and Aunt Kit.

2) The mythical creatures. They don't get a lot of spotlight in this story, but when they do show up, it's quite electrifying. I certainly count the panthers. 

3) I love books that use the old fairytale device of tokens. The spider and the spider silk, the apple, the anchovy paste (who knew!) and the vanilla beans - some of them I could guess; others showed up in delightfully unexpected places. 

4) the Holly and the Ivy

5) and sort of related to that, Brigit's song

I received a digital copy of The Time Fetch for my honest review. I was not paid or in any way compensated for raving about it. I truly, honestly, deeply enjoyed this book. I plan to buy myself a copy to always keep, but thank you to the publisher for giving me a sneak peak. 

Do you feel like something out there might be stealing time? seriously!

My Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters

I had a teensy bit of a problem narrowing down exactly what defines a secondary character. Not a love interest like Mr. Rochester; not an antagonist, like the Darkling. Do team characters count as secondary characters?  I mean, would you really call Han Solo secondary to Luke Skywalker? Or Gandalf secondary to Bilbo or Frodo?  Is Minnie a secondary character in the Help or one of three main characters?

Hey, look at that, I totally cheated. I just named some favorite "sort of" secondary characters in addition to my actual top ten list, below.

 Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish blog with a different top ten list theme (all related to books) every Tuesday (see the full list here).

I couldn't rank this list by number, just so you know.

Orma from Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman. Because he's like a medieval version of Spock. And he's a dragon.

Brimstone from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Because he's scary and secretive and mysterious and compassionate and hopeful. Here's a great deviant art picture of him.

Puck and Grimalkin from The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. A smug know-it-all fairy cat and an irreverent fairy prankster. They go together so well.

Tumnus the Faun, from the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.  I would have tea with him any day.

Gollum, from the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. He's such a despicable, slimy, nasty little character that he's almost endearing in a twisted way. I also really like Smaug the Dragon, even though he only has one conversation, it's so wickedly conceited.

Mogget and the Disreputable Dog from The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix.

Buruu from Stormdancer, by Jay Kristoff.  The ultimate mythical creature, with attitude to boot.

Hagrid from the Harry Potter series.

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert from the Anne of Green Gables series. Because all the others were mythical creatures/persons of sorts, I had to throw in two real people just for fun.

Oh, and one more real person: Grandfather from Heidi, by Joanna Spyri

Who's your favorite secondary character?

Perspective on winning and losing streaks

“What’s Up Wednesday” is a fun weekly meme started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. From Jaime: It’s similar in some respects to the Currently… post, but it’s been whittled down to only four headings to make it quicker and more manageable on a weekly basis. You’re invited to join us  and visit other bloggers participating. 

What I’m Reading: I just finished The Time Fetch by Amy Herrick and loved it! It's a bringing together of four unlikely friends, in a superstition vs. science play through the fabric of space and time. Any book that can playfully toss around words like discombobulated along with serious scientific terms makes me happy down to my toes. I've also recently read the best-selling The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker, because I can't resist mythical creatures and, AND! BONUS! it's historical fantasy, my absolute favorite genre. Transplant a Syrian Jinni and a Polish golem (a female golem, no less) in 1890's New York City and watch their very different natures clash with each other and the cultures around them.  I just started reading a digital ARC of Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts. It's an intense beginning of the end of everything. 

What I’m Writing: I'm changing the ending to my Star Tripped (YA SF) manuscript after having one of those wonderful inspirations  wherein I discovered how much more character I could develop AND how much twistier I could make the ending. 

What Else I’ve Been Up To:  I'm still catching up with all the wonderful posts and videos from last week's WriteOnCon.  I did submit my query (which still needs work) and first 250 words to the forums and got some excellent feedback, and just as helpful was reading and giving feedback on other queries. You guys, there are some seriously amazing premises out there! On the one hand I'm intimidated, especially because there were so many YA science fiction queries (competition!) but on the other hand, the ideas were so good, I want them to get published so I can read them.

I learned a TON from watching kidlit agents Suzie Townsend and Kathleen Ortiz give their instant feedback on a huge variety of twitter pitches (twitches, a new writerly word!). It was fascinating to see their facial expressions as they listened to/read the pitch for the first time and then to hear their comments (mostly they would agree; sometimes they didn't!). Great insight into what's hot and what's not in the current YA market, and what ideas really spark them individually, as well. 

My 18 year old stepdaughter also listened to a few of the pitches with me, and it was interesting how she was intrigued by the New Adult pitches, and "so over" the YA pitches. 

What’s Inspiring Me Now:  Elana Johnson's recent post Winning Streak or Losing Streak. From her post, quoting a professional development speaker: 

... he said it only takes two (TWO) events to get on a streak, either winning or losing. Two successes to feel confident... to feel like we know what we're doing... two successes to think, "Hey, I might be good at this." 

... then he said that it only takes two disappointments or failures to be on a losing streak. Two failed tests. Two instances where a student couldn't perform what they were asked to. And this is the dangerous spiral. When you're on a losing streak, you want to give up. You criticize yourself mercilessly. You have no confidence and no motivation to keep trying. Not only do we start to think, "I can't do this," we continue that thought to "I can't do this, because I'm not good at it." 

Why I find this inspiring is that if you recognize what two disappointments can do to you (with writing it could be rejections, or a harsh critique, but this could apply to your day job too, or school, or relationships), you can fight the temptation to give in. You can recognize them for what they are: a form of progress, part of the learning curve, and not a sign that you are "no good" or "not meant for this." You can also learn to recognize small successes (like a new idea that makes your story much stronger) and start tying them together into a winning streak of your own. 

What are you learning this week? 

The Writer's Baker's Dozen

I am taking the plunge this year and plan to enter MSFV's Baker's Dozen Contest, which I've followed avidly every fall for several years now, but never felt ready enough with my manuscript to participate. Until now.

The Baker's Dozen Agent Auction is MSFV's biggest event of the year. Sixty 250-word entries, hand-picked by Jodi Meadows and Authoress, will be placed on the auction block for agents to bid on (with requests for pages, up to a full manuscript request). It bears the name "Baker's Dozen" because the original auction in 2010 included 13 agents--a baker's dozen.

As per Authoress' request (Miss Snark's First Victim herself) I am posting this to help spread the word about the Baker's Dozen auction.

Fellow writers/readers, this auction is GREAT entertainment to watch. It is so much fun to pick which books you'd bid on, and then see what agents agree and if a bidding war starts.

And it's incredibly helpful (as was WriteOnCon, which I participated in this year) for figuring out what's hot in the market and what's not, and to get familiar with individual agents and their tastes.

If you're interested in more about the Baker's Dozen, here's the link again!

Update: here's my entry for Star Tripped!