Holy Giveaway, Batman!

Howdy howdy everybody!  This post is LONG overdue, and I apologize for the delay. Real life kicked me in the teeth, but things are finally starting to settle down. So I've decided to do a MASSIVE GIVEAWAY!!


[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Words*]

Some of you may remember, back in May I did a walk for Kids Help Phone to raise money for at-risk kids and youth. Our single walk raised over $100 000! But I'm not stopping there. Today I want to switch my focus to an organization a little closer to home for a lot of my blog readers.

Hopeline is a non-profit group focused on suicide prevention, awareness and education. Too many people suffer through depression, anxiety and mental illness, and too often they feel as though they can't reach out. Show them there's a way out. Show them there's an end to the darkness. For these organizations, every penny counts. I work in a non-profit treatment facility for at-risk youth, and trust me when I say, EVERY donation is important. That couple minutes to fill out the form, even if you're only donating a dollar, or five, is worth it. That little bit of money means they might be able to afford one more counselor, one more phone line, and maybe, it means they can save just one more life.

Suicide is 100% preventable. So let's stand together so no more families suffer the pain of losing a loved one like this.

For this contest, we have so many prizes, it's ridiculious.

First place prize!

See that? SEE THAT? Do you know what that is? First Prize is a signed copy of Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton, Fat Kid Rules the world by K.L. Going, Bumped and Thumped by Megan McCafferty, as well as some Blood Magic postcards.

Second Prize!

Second prize is a copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lani Taylor and Immortal City by Scott Speer, as well as some Blood Magic postcards.

There will be a few runner up prizes, where a few people will receive some Blood Magic postcards. These are all AMAZING books. Trust me, you want these suckers. And all for free? C'mon people, get in on this while you can!


HERE'S HOW YOU CAN ENTER, KIDS.

1) Go to www.hopeline.com and click on the Donation button. Fill out the form and donate however much you want. The amount you donate will NOT affect this contest. If you donate $1000 or $1, you will be entered.

2) When you get to the confirmation page, hit print screen. Email me the screenshot at katiecarson@hotmail.com, and I will enter you into my list of contestants. (Note: Hopeline will also give out wristbands for donating $10, and playing cards for donating $50. That's double the prizes, man!)

3) One you've emailed me your screenshot, you will be entered into the contest ONCE. Once you've donated, you may also get more entries in the following ways:

-- Tweet this contest. Just make sure to mention me in the tweet @katieEcarson This will get you one entry for every tweet. Tweet it 50 times? Get entered 50 times.

-- Follow me on Twitter. (@katieEcarson) This will give you an extra entry.

-- Blog about this contest, mental illness, or suicide. Share a personal experience, and get the conversation going. For one blog post, I'll give you 5 entries. But please leave the link to the post in the comments, because I would love to read them!

-- Follow this blog, and you will receive another entry.

-- Anything that spreads the word will get you another entry. Tumblr post, facebook post, goodreads-- I don't care. Spread the word about this conest, mental illness or suicide, leave the link in the comments, and you'll receive another entry.

The contest will end on July 31st.



Seriously, what do you have to lose? Donate a dollar, win a million books, help out a great organization. YOU CAN'T LOSE. GET TO IT, PEEPS!

Peace,

-Katie

What's In A Joke?

So I've been following the debate concerning an incident at the Laugh Factory where comedian Daniel Tosh "joked" about rape. Full story here. Essentially, after a female audience member voiced her objection to Tosh's commentary on how rape jokes were funny, Daniel Tosh responded with, "Wouldn't it be funny if that girl got raped by like, five guys right now?"

 I've been watching the back and forth exchange between those who believe Daniel Tosh should be flayed alive, and those defending his jokes and his act. I've watched Tosh's show on Comedy Central titled Tosh.0, and I will admit, I laugh sometimes. His show is crude, his act is crude, and sometimes downright offensive. Sometimes as I watch, I cringe at his jokes, because, as some have said, this is not the first time Daniel Tosh has made rape jokes. There have been numerous times while watching his show that I thought, "Ooh... Daniel, no." And that was the same response I had when I read about this incident. I cringed inside, knowing EXACTLY that this huge debate would follow. It's like seeing your friend step on a landmine, hear the tiny click, and know they are absolutely screwed.

 To me, the debate comes down to some simple questions that we, as a society, must ask ourselves.

 1) Is it appropriate to make jokes about rape?

 2) Was Daniel Tosh's joke harmless, or did it transcend a comedian's job from making people laugh to inflicting mental anguish?

 3) What happens now?


Humour, to me, seems like such a delicate subject in general, simply because a person's sense of humour is very personal, and yet, if done well, even those who take offense to a subject can admit a comedian has made it laughable. That's what comedy is. We take these sometimes touchy subjects, or the unspoken subjects, and we make light of them. We make it OKAY to laugh at them. We look our demons of divorce, death, family issues, racial problems, prejudice, and laugh at them. In this sense, comedy can be very powerful. But there's a difference between effectively creating a joke about a sensitive subject, and insulting someone and adding at the end, "What? You're upset? GOD, I was just KIDDING."

Our first question remains: Is it appropriate to make jokes about rape?

My answer: Yes.

Some of you may be looking at me a little oddly. Let me explain. I'm a huge fan of South Park. Those two words probably conjure images of fart jokes, obscene images, and low-brow humour, but South Park is so much more than that. Every subject Matt Stone and Trey Parker address in their show rides a fine line. Often their subjects are controversial, and something we wouldn't speak about, but they always search for the truth in those subjects. What is the truth about bullying? Well, simply that it's everywhere. South Park addressed this by showing that while the kids made a video to stop bullying in schools, bullies exist everywhere, not just with children. Before we can hope to teach our children to stop bullying, we, as adults, have to show a good example and stop bullying each other.


Can rape jokes be done? Yes, and they can be done well. The problem is, this is such a sensitive subject. 1 in 5 women are raped, sometimes by a stranger, but most often by someone they love and trust. Let me paint a picture for you: They've been violated in the worst way possible. They've been beaten, used as an object, and most often seriously hurt physically and mentally. Meanwhile, we live in a society which shows sex as something to be desired. It's something fun. You WANT to have sex, because it's pleasurable, it's a connection with another person, it's love, ect. ect. Sex is everywhere in our society. And this can add so much confusion to the whole mess. Rape victims have survived a horrible abuse, and everywhere they go, they're reminded that sex is good, sex is awesome. Since rape is reminiscent of sex, the victim often hears that their rape is good, their rape was awesome, ect. Not to mention our rape culture, in which victims often are attacked for the rape "being their fault", "they wanted it", "they shouldn't have worn those clothes or flirted with him that much," ect. Everywhere they go, this victim is hearing that their most traumatic experience is right, and in fact, IT'S THEIR FAULT. This is more than just a simple mugging or getting beaten up by someone at the bar. Rape causes serious, long-lasting effects on the individuals.


Because of this, comedians must tread very carefully, just as writers, actors, and anyone else that is representing a subject that could cause serious pain to someone. A great comedian can take a controversial subject and make those who have lived through the pain see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just as easily, comedians can poorly represent a subject and, instead of admitting their own faults, insist the person just "Didn't get the joke."


Which brings us to our next question. Is this what Daniel Tosh did? Did he take a sensitive subject and create a joke that lets us laugh at our demons?

My answer: No.

Daniel Tosh didn't make a joke. I'm not a comedian, and I'm not even a comedy writer, but saying "Wouldn't it be funny if that girl got raped right now?" is no different from me saying "Wouldn't it be funny if my cat chased a dog up a tree?" Admit it, a little kitten chase a dog up a tree would be entertaining to SEE, but my question is not funny, BECAUSE IT IS NOT A JOKE. It is only suggesting that some abstract situation is funny. There was no set-up, no punch-line, no bit of insight to the truth about rape in Tosh's "Joke."


Bottom line: No, Daniel Tosh, your rape joke was not funny simply because it was not a joke.


Daniel Tosh's apology, as well, was complete rubbish. He shows no remorse for what he did to a person, but that doesn't surprise me. He's been in the mind-set of "rape is funny" so long that, apparently, just the mention of it will send him into giggles. Of course he doesn't realize what simply talking about the subject brings up for some people. So, no, I'm not angry at Tosh for his crappy apology. I'm just saddened that he doesn't realize what effect he has.


This brings us to our final question: What happens now?


Some people have begun a petition to get Tosh.0 off the air. So far, it has received 29 000 signatures. Is this the answer? To try and destroy this man's career because of something he said? Sorry people, this isn't the way. Why? Because taking one person off the air who perpetrates rape culture will not stop others from doing it. This is a truly sad fact. If we take Tosh.0 off the air, those comedians and others who support Tosh, who believes his "joke" was actually funny, those people will only believe in their cause more fully. They'll believe that Tosh is a victim, that he is being punished unfairly by people who "oppose free speech." This will not show them that the jokes and rape culture pose a serious problem.


I believe in being kind to my enemies. Tosh.0 should stay on the air, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything. What Daniel Tosh has done, in a way, is actually a good thing. I love it when someone in the public eye says something really dumb, because it opens up so many avenues to TALK about these things, instead of letting them remain in the shadows.


We can't let Daniel Tosh, or anyone else who wants to perpetrate rape culture, think we will allow them to say these things without speaking up. Daniel Tosh has no doubt seen the backlash from this, and perhaps next time he will consider what comes out of his mouth. Even if he doesn't understand why people are getting so upset about his little joke, at least he can understand that continuing down that road will put him in some serious trouble.


The best thing we can do is talk about the issue, explore our feelings, and realize AS A SOCIETY that this is something we shouldn't do. Straight punishment will not change the rape culture. Only education, compassion, and a hell of a lot of conversation can fix that.


Peace,


-Katie

The Fault in Our Stars and "Transcending" YA

Let me tell you a story about The Fault in our Stars by John Green.

When I was 11 years old, my brother was diagnosed with bone cancer. A tumor grew on his spine, pressing on his spinal cord and paralyzing him. The next year and a half, my little family went through hell. It was me, Mom, and Matt, and there were 39 blood transfusions, 31 surgeries, 16 rounds of chemotherapy, 25 rounds of radiation, which fried his throat to the point he couldn't eat, and had to have a feeding tube installed (the doctors let him starve for a few months first, the bastards), and he died once on the operating table to be resuscitated with paddles. It's nothing short of a miracle that he's still alive.

So naturally, when I head about TFioS, I had to read it.

If you haven't heard of it, (or perhaps are blind, deaf and without internet, in which case, how are you reading this?) it's a story of a young girl named Hazel Lancaster, who has terminal cancer. The tumors are lodged in her lungs, though she's been granted a few extra years thank to an experimental drug. In a support group for cancer patients, Hazel meets Augustus Waters, a boy who lost his leg to cancer. In essence, the plot seems trite: girl meets boy, girl doomed to die, and together they fall in love, discover truths about life, dying, and being remembered, and set out to meet the author of their favorite book.

It was hard to read, but also freeing. Through Hazel, I saw things as my 15-year-old brother must have as he spent month after month dying in the hospital. More than that, Hazel let me glimpse something I never had before: how my mom must have felt. I started to understand what it must've been like to have a child with cancer, instead of a sibling.

After I read the book, I wasn't quite sure how to put my feelings into words. Stars has amazing crossover potential, but it's also firmly rooted in YA, showing off the best parts of the category, and why I devote myself to it. I spent a few days quietly mulling over it before, one evening with my mother, I told her I wanted her to read it.

My mother is not a reader. She reads, but probably one book a year, maybe two. This was the first book I've asked her to read, because I know although I love my books, she doesn't have the same tastes as me. Stars was different, though. I knew she had to read it, partly because it was a cancer book, but also because I thought she needed to read it. As it helped me understand her, I hoped it would help her understand Matt better, and some of the things he experienced.

When I asked her, she said she'd love to, but as I explained the plot of the book, her face drained of color. Before I finished, she was in tears. She said to me, "What are you doing? Are you trying to tell me something?"

I, of course, had no idea what she was talking about.

Then she told me she had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from our year and a half from hell. She won't touch cancer books or movies. Not to say she avoids the subject, but it's certainly something she doesn't often talk about. We talked for a while then, and I learned a few things Stars couldn't teach me, things only my mother knew.

After that, something even more amazing happened: she read the book.

I'd hoped she would be blown away and it would spark a wonderful conversation about our shared experiences. It... did not. After my mother finished the book, she didn't talk about it for weeks, aside from answering, "Oh, it was good," whenever I asked her about it.

This past weekend, my grandparents came down to visit with us, and while we were gathered around the table talking, my mother brought up The Fault in our Stars. She explained the plot to my grandmother, and talked about the book with gusto. I've never seen my mother talk about a book like this. She went on to tell me how she spent that weekend reading and crying her eyes out. Her least favorite scene? The gas station scene. Something very similar almost killed my brother once, too.

Then, like watching some inspirational film, my mother said, "I think you should read it."

And my ADHD grandmother, whose worse for reading than my mother, said, "Okay," and took the book home with her.

Green's book is powerful. It's life-changing. More importantly, it's a good story. Shortly after reading, I saw a review of TFioS, in which the author wrote: "The book is being pitched as Green’s breakthrough out of the young-adult ghetto and to a wider audience..."

The insult aside, this review got me thinking. When the book was released, a lot of people were talking about its crossover appeal, as well as saying that it "transcended the YA category." It was better and above anything else in YA. Most of these comments seemed to come from individuals who didn't read YA much, so the bit of prejudice is sad, but not surprising.

After spending my time trying to put my thoughts about this book into words, I felt this story better explains the power of a book like this. Yes, The Fault in our Stars appeals to readers young and old. Does it overshadow our "YA ghetto?" No, just the opposite. Stars illustrates everything good about YA. It opens the category up to people who turned their noses down on us.

Does the Fault in our Stars transcend YA? No, it IS YA, with every awkward bumble, every shy smile, every time Hazel lives life and learns from it. It's a book of firsts and learning the hard way the tragedies of life. Some would like to take TFioS from us, but just because something's good doesn't mean it's no longer children's fiction.

TFioS is a universal story. It's a tale with powerful emotions behind it. It comes from the pages and pulls it from the reader. It doesn't turn off certain readers due to particular taste. It's a very plain story at it's base, but the things it addresses are those every human deals with at some point in their life. We all wonder, "What will happen after I die? Will I be remembered?" and though TFioS doesn't have the answers, it makes us feel not so alone in wondering about them.

Walk So Kids Can Talk

So, this past December something pretty amazing happened. I started work at a child and family services facility working with kids with mental health problems, those who've been abused, suffering from sexual exploitation, drug issues, ect. ect. I'm currently working as a temp until the end of June and to say it's been life-changing would be an understatement.

As a teenager, I went through a lot of my own problems. Like every kid, I had my ups and downs, and more than once I relied on places like Kids Help Phone-- a charity organization that ensures kids have 24/7 access to counseling, information, and assistance. Kids Help Phone saves lives. I've seen first-hand the effects these organizations have from both sides of the coin, and it only makes me more determined to support them.

So, this May 6th, 2012, I will be joining the Kids Help Phone 'Walk So Kids Can Talk' to help raise money for youth mental health and well-being. I will be donning my YA Saves t-shirt and representing the young adult community in my walk. I'm planning on making a kickass sign (Just got to figure out how to make "Young adult authors kick serious ass" sound classy.) I plan on raising awareness not just for youth mental health, but I also want to spread the word on YA fiction, because hey, it saves lives too.

So how can YOU HELP?



I need all the help I can get. Feel free to donate here.

Any amount of money is good. Seriously. Pop a penny on that account and watch me hover out of my seat with glee. My goal right now is a humble $100, though I'm determined to raise as much money as possible in the next 32 days. If you can't donate anything, that's okay. You can still help by spreading the word about the fundraising.

As the date rolls closer, there will be more updates. Expect photos as well, when the big day comes around.

As a pre-emptive strike: THANK YOU. Not just for donating, not just for spreading the word, but clicking on my page and reading all the way through. It means a super-duper lot to me.

So, what are you waiting for? Let's get started! Let's raise that first $100! Go! Go! Go!

Teaser Tuesday

A little snippet of Riot I wanted to share, because I really love how this passage portrays Tom, my main character. I'm almost finished with the first draft of Riot, and I can't wait to share it with you guys.

My lips tremble. I wish I could stop crying. I wish I could use duct tape to keep the pieces of me together. “You know, there’s this… situation proposed by this philosopher that Chris told me about. It’s called the trolley dilemma, and it’s trying to explain morality and whatever. So imagine you’re in a train barreling down the tracks. The breaks are busted, and there are five workers about to be run over. You can’t warn them, but you can pull the lever to change the track. There is one worker on the second track further down. So, what do you do? Do you pull the lever and intentionally kill someone, or do nothing and let five people die?”

Dr. Laser blinks, and her brow furrows. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

“That’s been in my head ever since she died, you know? I’ve been trying to find the answer, the right answer, and I keep coming to the same conclusion. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what you do because no matter what someone’s gonna die and their family and friends will suffer forever. Maybe you could lesson the amount of suffering, but can you really measure it like that? No matter your choice—act or don’t, it’s gonna kill someone. There is no right answer.”

I scrub a hand over my face and take a shuddering breath. “There are no right answers anymore.”

Poor Tommy.

Peace,

-Katie

Know your Writing

Whoa. Been a while. *blows dust off blog* How're all my lovelies out in the blogsphere tonight? It's been a while since I've posted anything, but it's not because I haven't been doing anything. I've finished ZAP, my YA steampunk with dragons, and got the crits back from Le Agent. I'm waiting to dive into it, but first up I'm finishing Riot, my YA thriller/sci-fi/I don't know what the hell it is. These two books have soaked up my attention for quite a few months. They're very different, and I've learned a lot from both of them. Mostly about the importance of knowing your novel. It seems like a pretty basic things for writers to do, but I don't think writers are diving deep enough into the story. They don't realize that as the creators of these worlds, writers should know absolutely every detail.

ZAP was a first attempt for me. Not necessarily my first steampunk, but definitely the first time I'd written a book so clean. It was heavily a romance, (new) and had a girl MC, which is often unusual and frightening for me. It's a tale of first love, competition, family, and dragons. There's lots of action, lots of characters.... and a lot of issues.

Riot, on the other hand, is a first person, present tense (new) novel from the POV of a boy growing up in Colorado. There are NO supernatural elements (new) and it's almost contemporary the way it's coming out. (new) It's the night to ZAP's day, dealing in edgy content, mucho death, and some nasty POVs on some touchy issues.

ZAP just came back from the agent with a lot of edits. It's a fun story, but it's not perfect. I spent a total of six months writing, editing, tweaking, and reading over ZAP, and by the time I sent it to Michael, I got a tepid, "I like it, but yeah, no." It can be salvaged, but it will take another whole draft and a hell of a lot of rewriting. The trouble is, I knew something was wrong with the foundation of the story when I was writing, and then editing, I just had no clue how to fix it.

Riot, though it's still being written, is a much more solid book. The characters are stronger. The plot makes more sense. It's all around a better book, and I have confidence it will go far. I haven't had such feelings for a book since I wrote Shell, the book that won me my agent.

So I've been thinking over these last few days: what am I missing? What component do Shell and Riot have that's missing from ZAP? And then it hit me.

With both Shell and Riot, I spent at least two months planning before writing anything. I planned out characters, I planned out the settings, background info, foreground info. I did research, I planned out some of my scenes, I did a bit of outlining. Granted, I did all this with ZAP. What I didn't do with ZAP was acquaint myself 100% with my story.

I didn't know every detail of ZAP's world. I didn't know every little thing about my MC. I knew most of it, but when it comes down to it, most of it doesn't isn't good enough.

As an author, no one knows our books better than ourselves. It's our job as the story's creator to know the world we're building, know the characters-- every little detail.

I couldn't tell you what Charlotte's (ZAP) favorite color is, because I didn't take the time to get to know her, her motivations, her dreams, her passions. I didn't look at where she came from or tried to think of how she reacted to events in her past. What did these events do to her? How has that shaped who she is now?

Whereas Riot? Ask me anything about my main characters. You could ask me what their favorite fish is, and I could tell you. I don't have to know every detail about the boys, but I do have to know them well enough to make an educated guess on what it would be.

So writers, here's my tip: Know your writing. If you think you know everything you can about your book, its characters and its rules, then ask a friend to test you out. Explain your book and have them ask questions. Anything from the functions of your world (How do the people get food? How do they travel?) to what your characters like to do for fun. You should be able to answer pretty much anything they ask you. If you can't-- especially to big, vague questions like "what is your character's biggest dream?" then you have more work to do.

I wrote ZAP when I wasn't certain on it, and it led to big problems. But starting Riot and Shell, I knew what I was writing, and it made the words-- and confidence-- flow a hell of a lot easier.

Peace,

-Katie

Teaser Tuesday: Riot

I want to get caught up on some of my blogging now that ZAP's officially in the agent's hands. (Yay) I figured I'd do a teaser tuesday for Riot, my new WIP, which is YA/adult/thriller/contemporary/dystopian/sci-fi with a bit of cooky animal facts thrown in the midst. Unfortunately, I don't have a professional pitch written. But Riot is the story of how 4 boys go down the wrong path and become "the bad kids."

It being Valentine's Day, I figured I should post something fluffy and romantic, and if you're looking for any of that here, I'm afraid to say you're SOL. Sorry! Guess I'm super unromantic this year. ;)

Here it is, lurkers, your teaser:

Chris waves off the joint and lights himself a cigarette. I close my eyes and listen to a mud dog howl. Its cry is long and sad and lonely. When I open my eyes, Chris twirls his cigarette, then holds it like a pen, the burning tip aimed to his left hand, the unscarred one. Just when I think he’s going to burn himself, he spins the cigarette and takes another drag.

“You know,” Chris says, simple as that, easy as pie. “I think I want to kill my parents.”

I stare at him until he turns to look at me. His face is smooth—no anger, no jest—and his eyes are a clear, watery blue. He looks at me and I look at him and I think, yeah, no one deserves to kill their parents as much as you do, Chris.

Then Chris cracks a smile. The laugh that bubbles out of him is smooth and easy, and I can’t imagine him as the kind of person that would actually hurt anyone. He doesn’t have scars or disfigurements. He’s not hanging out in alleys and beating up kids for extra change. He’s not a monster; he’s just a kid.

Then again, what do I know about monsters?