The Secrets of the Moon Singer by B Roman

The Secrets of the Moon Singer by B Roman

Publisher: Lulu February 26, 2012

I will be reading this book next. The author writes that The Secrets of the Moon “is a metaphysical adventure series which involves a deaf teenage boy who comes to realize over time that his 'disability' is also his greatest gift.  But this realization does not come easily - or even in the first book of the trilogy… The stories speak to unconditional love, family loyalties, dealing with tragic loss, and experiencing unexpected miracles.”

Book Description

In Adventure One of the trilogy, young David Nickerson deals with a series of family crises: his father's unemployment, his deafness after a serious illness and now, the mysterious disappearance of his sister Sally, crippled in the crash that killed their mother. Desperate to find her, David experiments with sacred crystals, and conjures up the supernaturally-powered clipper ship Moon Singer, which takes him on a fantastic journey to an uncharted mystical island filled with danger. The people David encounters all have a soul connection to him and their lives are destined to intertwine many times over. When he must rescue a young princess with the gift of healing in her song, held prisoner in a palace tower, David believes he will also rescue his sister Sally. Strangely, too, in this "other world," David finds he can hear for the first time in years. This gift foretells his destiny: to explore the contrast between goodness and evil, and to save a life that means more to him than his own.

Interview with Flying to the Light author Elyse Salpeter

Flying to the Light by Elyse Salpeter

Publisher: Cool Well Press, Inc. (November 10, 2011)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

[Paperback & Kindle Edition available]

Description

How far can you run, until you just can’t run anymore?

Seventeen year old Michael Anderson and his deaf kid brother, Danny, find themselves in mortal danger after their parents are kidnapped by ruthless biophysicist, Samuel Herrington. Michael discovers Danny has a powerful gift-he knows what happens after a person dies-and now others want to know, too. The brothers must outwit and outrun Herrington, the FBI, and even fellow Americans in a harrowing cross-country chase, because whoever gets to Danny first will have the power to control the fate of every person on earth.

 

Elyse Salpeter’s Flying to the Light is told through the perspective of older brother Michael who until a few days before the story begins is an average high school student with parents who work as scientists and a little brother Danny who just happens to be deaf and uses American Sign Language to communicate. The entire family is fairly fluent in ASL and the characters attempt to gain Danny’s attention through visual clues. Salpeter explains that Danny’s deafness wasn’t intended as a disability. “It is simply a part of who he is, but I do make him special…” In fact, Danny is so special that older brother Michael’s world is completely changed in this science fiction thriller.

Danny has special powers. I won’t give this away but readers discover the impact of these powers through the eyes of Michael who is confused and unsure whom to trust especially because he learns that his parents and little brother aren’t exactly the family members he always though they were. He seeks assistance from friends of the family, and even his teachers but again and again discovers the magnitude of situation.

I am a sucker for supernatural elements and I really, really, really want to tell you about some other aspects of the book but you’re going to have to read this for yourself.

Check out my interview with author Elyse Salpeter whom I learned on her website that she had published a short story in a Vampire magazine. If you’re interested in vampire stories, she co-edited one and was a contributing author to Nights of Blood 2. I will point out that this wasn’t a tease. Flying to the Light does not include any vampires…. Or does it?!? Bwa ha ha ha ha ;)

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SP: What influenced your decision to have Danny be a deaf character who uses sign language?

ES: When I was first thinking about writing FLYING TO THE LIGHT, I was staring at a group of birds and imagining this unique idea about them. It was so quiet and peaceful as I watched them and this vision of a little boy came into my head. I wanted to make him special, to have this great ability. When I decided for him to be deaf, it wasn’t because I wanted him to be perceived as having a disability, but simply be a part of who he was. His family and the people around him don’t treat him any differently, they just have to learn how to communicate with him effectively to find out all the wonderful things he knows. I also don’t see a lot of deaf characters in mainstream fiction and I thought it would be a unique and interesting concept for people to read about.

I love the idea of children being able to communicate and while I think lip-reading is a great skill, I always liked the idea of a parent being able to communicate with their children at a very young age. Kids want so badly to express themselves and to be understood, so knowing and using sign language was something I wanted the parents to have used with my character from the very beginning. I explore Danny talking a little bit and lip-reading in the novel, but I concentrate on sign language mostly.

SP: What is your experience with American Sign Language and Deaf people? (did you consult anyone or any websites to learn about deaf people/deaf characters?)

ES: I took ASL classes for two years at Stony Brook University. My professor, who was deaf and didn’t speak, was wonderful and taught us so much. I remember one evening walking to an evening study group and we were all moving through the Student Union building and in one of the side rooms music was BLASTING. It was incredibly loud and my professor started dancing to the beat and I stared at him, confused as to how he could hear the music. He saw my expression and immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me to the floor, pressing my hands against it. The floor was literally pounding and vibrating from the bass of the speakers and we just sat that way for quite a while “listening and bopping to the music” as people walked all around us.  That’s where I got one of the ideas in the book for Michael and Danny to get away, by making a television super loud.

I tried to be true to the character. I remembered things my teacher taught us, I watched videos to learn, read about products and talked to a lot of different folks in the community on Twitter. I’m sure I might have made some mistakes or taken some liberties in the book, but I tried very hard to be as accurate and true to Danny as I could. I’m hoping that if I do finish a sequel, I’ll be even more true to the character.

There are times I utilized my own personal story as reference as well. I have lost about 40% hearing in my left ear. We’re not sure why, but it’s slowly getting worse. I find I have to strain to hear people at times, face them so I can read their lips and see if I can catch all the conversation. It’s a struggle in my own home, especially when my family is calling me from another room, while the television is on, and I’m running water to do the dishes! I have to stop everything, walk up to them and speak to them (geez, you think they’d come to me!). And, if I’m having a hard time falling asleep, I’ll turn to my right side. If I’m on my left side, I can hear everything, but if I turn over and cover my good ear, the house is suddenly very quiet and I fall right to sleep. Not great when I need to hear the kids, though. I used a baby monitor for years after I really needed to, just to make sure I could hear one of my children whose room was on the far side of the house. I also have to be really careful in my office. If I put the phone to my good ear to hear, I have no idea I’m actually speaking much more loudly than I need to. One of my co-workers literally pounds on the wall to let me know I’m probably shouting!

SP: Would you discuss a bit of your process. How do you begin writing? What research did you do?

ES: Writing to me must come first from an idea. I’m always amazed at writers who MUST write a sequel for a book because it’s in their contract. That kind of pressure to find a compelling enough idea and produce something seems overwhelming. For me, it’s like a muse appears… suddenly an idea pops into my head and I’m inspired and just have to get the idea out. With FLYING TO THE LIGHT, I started thinking about birds and maybe they really aren’t what all of us think they are. And then I thought, who could be the hero for this who knows all about these birds? That’s how Danny came into my head. I wanted to make him wonderful and special and just like any other six year old, but to have this powerful knowledge that makes him stand out from everyone else.

SP: What do you hope that readers will learn or take away from the book?

ES: I wanted this book to also be more than just about Danny and his abilities. I wanted it also to be about his older brother, Michael. This seemingly naïve seventeen-year -old boy had a charmed life and suddenly the world was ripped out from under his feet. His parents had been kidnapped, an evil biophysicist was after his brother and he finds out there have been major secrets hidden from him. Through all of this, he had to find reserves in his inner character and I really think readers will enjoy how he matured over a week’s period.

I also wanted to explore the relationship between the two brothers. I believe it’s realistic and the fact that Michael would do anything for his little brother was something I wanted to explore in the book.  

SP: What advice would you give to young people who are reading your books for the first time?

ES: I want young people to realize that within each of us is a special ability. Not everything can be seen on the surface and we must trust in ourselves in all that we do. I really believe when you put your mind to something, you can achieve it and you should never give up on a dream, even if it takes years to accomplish. You must trust in yourself, always.

SP: Do you have any plans for a follow-up?

ES: I actually have written two chapters of a sequel to FLYING TO THE LIGHT. It takes place when Danny is now thirteen years old. It’s in the beginning stages right now, so I’m not even sure if THAT will change, but so far so good. (no pressure, folks!)

SP: Anything you'd like to add?

ES: I have this wonderful little ferret named Whiskers, who is deaf. We didn’t know the first few days we had her, but one morning my twins, who were seven years old at the time, were screaming at each other, right next to the cage. Our little ferret slept through the entire thing. When she woke up, we tried a lot of different things, crumpled paper, turned on the vacuum, squeaked toys and soon realized she couldn’t hear at all. Now we knew why she was so nippy, why she didn’t respond to us, why she was startled at times when we would walk up behind her.

We started our research immediately on how to communicate with her, reading a bunch of sites on how to train deaf ferrets. We began to use some very basic signs for her. If we wanted her to use the litter box, we’d get down to her level and point at it. Then put her in the litter box. She’d come out and we’d repeat it. If she nipped, we held her away from us, her watching us and would put up our finger and shake our head no, with a firm face. We did this over and over and in a few days, she learned that a stern face with a pointed up finger meant don’t nip and if we pointed to the litter box, she’d go in! We try to be respectful of her and not sneak up behind her… in fact, we’ll stomp on the floor a bit, or clap our hands if she’s walking around, just so she knows we’re coming up behind her so she won’t get startled.  

She’s just the greatest little pet and to let us know how much she loves us, she licks our faces, necks, you name it! Just like a puppy! She chases us around the house, steals our socks and gloves and is just the greatest little thing ever.

For more information about the author, check out her website.

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Interview with Wonderstruck author, Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick

637 pp. (Middle grade; ages 9 to 12)

Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 13, 2011)

ISBN-10: 0545027896

I’m so 2011! September 2011, to be precise. I didn’t stumble upon this book myself and I wasn’t the first to announce to the world how much I actually enjoyed it. Basically, when I posted about Brian Selznick’s Wonderstruck  in October 2011, it was already old news. I mean, the New York Times had already reviewed it.  Nevertheless, I decided that I needed to at least read it and added it to my pile of “fun” reads that never get read when you’re a professor teaching at a university in hard economic times. Wonderstruck is not light reading. I mean, the book itself weighs (pauses, goes into the bathroom scale to weigh the book) 4.5 lbs! I’ve mentioned that I’m a commuter and a 4.5 lb book is not something I want to lug about on the train. AND, while it is available for my Kindle, I actually wanted to hold this book and read it from non- e-ink. When I finally heard from Mr. Selznick (I actually had to stalk him, I mean, contact him the old fashioned way… wow, he really locked down his email address fast!) in November, it was nearing the end of the semester and I was preparing to go to London for a conference so I had to put him on hold (I know, can you believe I had the nerve to do that! I wasn’t trying to be too self-important, I just knew I couldn’t take on anything else at the moment… especially not with the focus that I would need for Wonderstruck). So, here I am at the start of the year talking about last year’s book.  If you haven’t read Wonderstruck, you should. It’s a charming story with Deaf Characters.  It’s visual. It includes American Sign Language. It’s a book that the masses will see and apply to real life Deaf people (i.e. that was a great deal of pressure on Mr. Selznick). Fortunately for us, he did his research and created a beautiful book that I hope to include in one of my future courses. Below is my interview with him. He’s down to Earth, incredibly cool, and I believe he is having the time of his life!  He actually responded to one of my emails from Paris during the Hugo premiere. This was after being in London and meeting Prince Charles in which he wrote, “holy cow!!” See, I told you he was cool.

SP: I have my own interpretation but I'm curious if you could discuss your decisions to use words for Ben's story and pictures for Rose's. 

BS: The structure of the book actually came before the plot and the story. After I finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret I was trying to figure out what to do next, and how to use what I'd learned in Hugo without repeating myself. I remembered a puppet show that a friend of mine made in which two separate stories were told, one wordlessly with Japanese Bunraku style puppets and another with only spoken language, told by a storyteller sitting on the side of the stage (this show, Hiroshima Maiden, was made by Dan Hurlin and based on a book written by my boyfriend David Serlin). The idea of two stories told simultaneously but with completely different modes intrigued me and I wondered if I could separate the words from the pictures and tell two different interlocking stories. The goal with Hugo was to tell one single narrative, with words and pictures alternating, and this new idea seemed like a logical, if difficult, next step. 

   Once I had this idea I had to figure out WHY I would be telling one story just with pictures. In Hugo the story is about the cinema so telling the story "like a movie" made sense (and of course I had no idea at the time that an actual movie of Hugo would ever be made, but that's another story!). But what would make sense for this new book? I then remembered a documentary I saw on PBS called Through Deaf Eyes and remembered a quote from a Deaf educator who said that the Deaf are the "people of the eye." I took this to mean that when you can't hear what you see becomes even more important, and sign language is a language that you look at to understand, so suddenly I thought it might be interesting to tell the story of a Deaf person just with pictures so we experience her story in a way that reflects how she might experience her own life. That's when my research into the Deaf community began.

    The other story, the one in text, is about a boy who becomes completely deaf at age twelve. He begins his life deaf in one ear but identifies as hearing. The text in his story is sometimes reflected in the pictures in the other story, and vice versa until the two stories eventually come together at the end. Much of the story is about the difficulty of communication and finding one's place in the world and one's community, so the use of different ways of communicating to tell the stories seemed to make sense.

SP: Several of the illustrations include signs of the ASL alphabet. You mentioned in your Acknowledgements that you learned this when you were younger. Since your work on Wonderstruck, have you learned more American Sign Language?

BS: I first learned the sign language alphabet from Remy Charlip's book Handtalk, which I loved as a kid. I memorized the letters and thought of it as a kind of secret language. When I was on tour for Wonderstruck most of my presentations had sign interpreters and I asked each of them to teach me a few words. By the end of the tour I was able to sign a rudimentary welcome to the Deaf audience members in the room. Since the tour ended I've been practicing very hard to learn sign. I'm teaching myself right now, mostly by looking at websites like Signing Savvy and watching people sign to pop songs on YouTube, which is oddly helpful. My favorite is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmKnQjBf8wM

Everything by this guy, Stephen Torrence, is amazing. I know that a lot of times the signers of songs on YouTube are using Signed Exact English, but I think I've heard this guy does a good job, plus even SEE is helpful for a beginning to learn vocabulary, which is basically what I'm building right now. I don't have any idea yet about ASL grammar. Once I have more of a vocabulary I'll look into actually hiring a teacher, although that's hard because I travel a lot. My cousin teaches Deaf kids so she's been helping me and I've become friends with some Deaf folks I met on tour and I've signed with them which is most helpful. Also, my boyfriend teaches with Carol Padden and Tom Humphries at UCSD. They are two of the leading Deaf scholars in the country and we are friends with them (they also helped a huge amount with Wonderstruck), but I haven't seen them since I started to learn sign. It'll be very fun to sign with them though when we get together in the new year. One thing I really have to practice though is fingerspelling. Because even though I've known the alphabet my whole life practically I find it really difficult to spell fluidly and quickly. And my receptive skills are terrible! It's much easier for me to sign myself than to understand what someone is signing to me!

SP: Would you discuss a bit of your process. Did you create Rose's story first and then Ben's story, or did the stories grow simultaneously? Did you sketch out the story or did your art and story flow organically?

BS: Once I knew I was going to have two stories, one in words and one in pictures, I began by writing BOTH stories in outline, present tense. I built the plots for both stories together and once I had the basic arc of the stories I then translated the story meant in pictures INTO pictures. The plot of each story changed a lot depending on what was happening in the other story. For instance, in the boy's story, which is all text, he's in a lightning storm. I really wanted to draw lightning, but there were no drawings in his story. So I thought, maybe I can just put some lighting in the girl's story. But why would there by lightning in her story? I decided to have the lighting appear on a movie screen in her story. But why would she go to the movie theater? I then invented a silent movie star named Lillian Mayhew for the girl to be obsessed with, and suddenly THAT became the central thing in the girl's story. And it all happened because I wanted to draw lightning. 

SP: Do you have any plans for a follow-up? 

BS: here won't be a direct follow up or sequel to Wonderstruck, but I'm working on my next book which will also use words and pictures in some experimental way that I haven't quite settled on yet. Each of my books are designed to stand on their own so I usually don't think about sequels. 

SP:  What do you hope that readers will learn or take away from the book? 

BS: My goals are always very basic when I'm making a book. I want readers to like the story and care about the characters. I hope people get caught up in the emotional lives of the characters. I always write about things that are interesting and important to me (in Hugo it was the cinema, machines and Paris, in Wonderstruck it was museums, Deaf culture and New York), so if readers are intrigued by these subjects and want to follow up on their own afterwards to learn more, that would make me very happy! 

SP: What advice would you give to young people who are reading your books for the first time? 

BS: I once heard the author M.T. Anderson say that books teach you how to read them. I thought this was a really interesting thing. Once you have a book in your hands, you are holding an entire universe, and you are the only person who can bring it to life. If you don't open the cover the book will just sit there. But once you open the cover and start turning the pages, well, you could end up anywhere in the world, with all sorts of interesting, strange, dangerous, loving characters. Hugo and Wonderstruck are BIG books, over 500 pages long, but of course much of the books are pictures. Once you start turning the pages, the book will tell you what to do next. It'll ask you to think in a new way, to go places you otherwise wouldn't go, to try to make connections you otherwise wouldn't make. I try to leave space in my books for the reader to interpret the story. I don't want to tell every single thing to the reader. I want the reader to have to work a little! But "work" in a good way hopefully, not in a way that feels like work. I want people to understand that you have to read pictures the same way you read words. Each reader will interpret them slightly differently, and that's exciting. And I've built all sorts of connections in to the plot of each book, little clues and hints that reveal themselves if you read closely. So don't be afraid of diving in and discovering what's there waiting for you.

CODA author Kambri Crews, Burn Down the Ground:A Memoir (2012)

Burn Down the Ground: A Memoir by Kambri Crews
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Villard (February 28, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345516028
ISBN-13: 978-0345516022  

Book Description
Publication Date: February 28, 2012
In this powerful, affecting, and unflinching memoir, a daughter looks back on her unconventional childhood with deaf parents in rural Texas while trying to reconcile it to her present life—one in which her father is serving a twenty-year sentence in a maximum-security prison.
As a child, Kambri Crews wished that she’d been born deaf so that she, too, could fully belong to the tight-knit Deaf community that embraced her parents. Her beautiful mother was a saint who would swiftly correct anyone’s notion that deaf equaled dumb. Her handsome father, on the other hand, was more likely to be found hanging out with the sinners. Strong, gregarious, and hardworking, he managed to turn a wild plot of land into a family homestead complete with running water and electricity. To Kambri, he was Daniel Boone, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ben Franklin, and Elvis Presley all rolled into one.

But if Kambri’s dad was Superman, then the hearing world was his kryptonite. The isolation that accompanied his deafness unlocked a fierce temper—a rage that a teenage Kambri witnessed when he attacked her mother, and that culminated fourteen years later in his conviction for another violent crime.

With a smart mix of brutal honesty and blunt humor, Kambri Crews explores her complicated bond with her father—which begins with adoration, moves to fear, and finally arrives at understanding—as she tries to forge a new connection between them while he lives behind bars. Burn Down the Ground is a brilliant portrait of living in two worlds—one hearing, the other deaf; one under the laid-back Texas sun, the other within the energetic pulse of New York City; one mired in violence, the other rife with possibility—and heralds the arrival of a captivating new voice.