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Friday, November 9, 2012

Author Crush: Why RL LaFevers Does It Right

I first fell in love with the books of RL LaFevers because of the little girl to the left. Her name? Theodosia Throckmorton. Theodosia's parents run the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London, and Theodosia saves the world from dark magic throughout this wonderful historical fantasy series.



RL LaFevers (also known as Robin)
That's where RL LaFevers concentrates much of her writing~ the intersection of history and fantasy~ real-world places with magical and/or supernatural influences.

Why is this author my hero? Because she has a successful series in chapter books/lower middle grade, middle grade, and young adult categories (she writes young adult under the name Robin LaFevers)~ the age groups that I love to  focus my own reading and writing on. 

She's put in her dues in terms of working on her craft, and it's paid off in a big way. She queried agents and publishers before getting her break at a SCBWI conference, where super-agent Erin Murphy critiqued her manuscript for a contest. The rest is fantastic history :)

Why the massive crush? Because this is an author who I adore both for her pure writing ability AND for her career path. For me, Robin/RL is a perfect example of putting in tons of hours/hard work to build a career over time. And it's really great for fans who have been with her for awhile~ the young readers she first hooked with her Nathaniel Fludd series are now ready to devour her new YA series.

Finding your niche and executing it well, then being able to expand your interests/age groups and still sell books...well, that's the dream (by the way, I also love Sharon Creech's ability to write such a variety of single-title books, but that's a post for another day).

Ms. LaFevers is also a founder/contributor of Shrinking Violet Promotions, a blog dedicated to marketing for introverts. As an introvert, I really appreciate any guidance in this area. Since April of this year, the blog has been converted to a monthly column with Writer Unboxed, a blog about the craft and business of fiction.

If you're not following Writer Unboxed, get over there and correct that. The current post (written by Robin LaFevers) is:

Transformational Journeys: Working with Archetypes


Here are her websites: 

RL LaFevers, Children's Author

Robin LaFevers

Some of her books:

Nathaniel Fludd Series~


This series is a must read if you're looking to study an excellent voice in the category of chapter books/lower middle grade.

Even if you write for an older audience, I highly suggest buying one of the books in the series to keep as a reference on how to keep a plot moving with a minimum of words while really making your characters shine. I re-read these books from time to time because I tend to write long drafts that need to be stripped down to essential elements, plot points, and dialogue.

Theodosia Series~
I mentioned the Theodosia series above. She's a great middle grade character, full of curiosity, bravery, intelligence and vulnerability.






His Fair Assassin Series~
Um...this YA series is about assassin nuns in medieval France. If you're not the slightest bit intrigued by that, then I'm not sure what else to tell you.

WHO DO YOU HAVE AN AUTHOR CRUSH ON?

26 comments:

  1. She sounds awesome! Thanks for introducing me to her books.

    Author crush? Hmmm. I love all of William Trevor's books, but I'm not sure if that's a crush. J.K. Rowling, maybe? Or Nick Hornby? Now you've got me thinking!

    Have a great weekend, Jess!

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    1. I'll have to check out William Trevor~ I haven't read any of his books~ thanks for the recommendation, even if it's not quite in crush territory :)

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  2. I was not aware of Robin's other MG books and was introduced to her via Grave Mercy. I devoured that book. Assassin nuns? Freakin A! And yes, the writing kept my attention throughout. I'll check out her other books because I am beginning an MG project and could just some great go-to books where the MG voice shines.

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    1. Oh cool! Yes, I absolutely love her MG series :)

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  3. Thank you for this post. I will for sure jot her name on paper, and take it with me the next time I hit Barnes. Which hopefully, will be very soon.

    Have a most excellent weekend :-)

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    1. Great! I'm going to a Barnes today, but it's to meet a friend for coffee and browse the children's section and check out possible X-mas gifts. I don't have enough in my budget right now for a personal splurge :)

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  4. OMGosh!!! I am so gonna check these out! Wow. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

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  5. I ADORE R.L.LaFevers! I have such great respect for her abilities, and I've found she loves helping writers to write better. There are very helpful posts and articles on her website that really nail explanations of craft and give terrific advice. She's awesome! :-D

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  6. I can't wait to read Grave Mercy...Robin has had a great career, but she's the first to tell you it hasn't been all roses and perfume. Before I switched agents, we were both at EMLA and she shared candidly about her struggles. She souds like a great person.

    My author crush?? Juliet Marillier OR Lauren Oliver. So prolific and awesome.

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    1. Lauren Oliver, for sure! I'll have to check out Juliet Marillier~ thanks for the recommendation!

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  7. I adore Robin. Nathaniel Fludd is one of my favorites. And I really love her blog posts--they're just so smart.

    So many crushes it's hard to choose, but I do love Grace Lin's work right now.

    Shelley

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    1. Excellent choice with Grace Lin! And I agree that Robin's posts are always very smart :)

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  8. Oh, I LOVE the Nathaniel Fudd series. They are fabulous. And she sounds fabulous, too! I can see why you admire her so much. Thanks for the tip about her site, too. I'll head on over there.

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  9. The Shrinking Violet site sounds interesting. I like Writer Unboxed, but I hadn't heard of this one. I'll check it out.

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    1. I think the website might be kind of stagnant right now, but it probably has lots of great archived info/posts!

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  10. Okay, your assessment of Fair Assassin? ROFL. It sounds awesome! :D I've read Theodosia, but none of the others. I'll have to work on that.

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    1. The Nathaniel Fludd books are quick reads, but I really do think they're a great reading choice for any middle grade writer (ps~ when is PB&JF coming to a bookstore near me??? I want to get my hands on it! :))

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  11. Thanks for the link to Writer Unboxed; I subscribed :)

    As for my author crush, well, I have a lot of them of course but Andrew Smith would be right up there along with Laini Taylor and Erin Morgenstern.

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    1. Laini Taylor...*sigh* love her writing. I'll need to read books by the other two~ this is great~ I'm getting all of these fantastic recommendations!

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  12. Great post!! I have an author crush on so many people it's ridiculous. Last year, I was obsessed with Jonathan Auxier because my son freaked out over his book Peter Nimble and insisted I read it. I don't read a ton of MG, but I read it right away and OMG it was amazing. What a brilliant writer.

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    1. I really enjoyed Peter Nimble! I need to keep track of what else J. Auxier has published~ thanks for the reminder :)

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  13. Going to her Shrinking Violets website always felt like going home, or going out to tea with a good friend. I have admired her for years, too, and simply devoured her latest, Grave Mercy and am now eager to read her MG books too. Neat to hear more of her publication path here.

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  14. Hola! Comment sta? Si. Muai bien! (Et vous? - French). That's about all I know in Mex/Spanish. Aren't they basically the same? HawrHawr --- GREETINGS, EARTHLING!! Gottawanna run back to the Elysian Fields soon, but take anything and everything you wanna from our wonderfull, plethora-of-thot to write the next, great masterpeace -if- I can but kiss your gorgeous, adorable feets and/or cohesively cuddle withe greatest, ex-mortal-girly-ever to arrive in Seventh Heaven. Think about it. Do it! Get back with me Upstairs, k? God bless you, doll: pleasure-beyond-measure is waiting in the Great Beyond for you and eye. Love you. PS: the musical term MORENDO means ‘dying-away in tone-and-time’. How very apropos for U.S. …thewarningsecondcoming.com

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