Luke Whitney!!

It's been forever since I wrote but I have a good excuse... on March 9th my husband and I welcomed our second child, Luke Emmett Whitney. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces. It's been a tiring few months but we're all doing well and best of all Luke's big brother, Cam, is being pretty cool about having a little brother.

I haven't been writing much -- okay, at all -- but I have been catching up on some of my reading when I can. Here's what I've read lately:

Confessions of a Teenage Starlet, by Lola Douglas
Looking for Alaska, by John Greene
Hoot, by Carl Haissen
Monsoon Summer, by Mitali Perkins

I'd recommend them all! Starlet is just a really fun, fast read--especially if you're into pop culture! It's great--the perfect summer read. Alaska is more serious fare, very clever and witty. Hoot is both funny and serious at the same time--read it before you see the movie!--and Monsoon Summer is a sweet story, perfect for the summer.

Upcoming Book Signings!!

If you're in the area please stop by at my upcoming events!


Thursday Dec 15th 4-7PM
Dover Saddlery, Wellesley, MA

Sunday Dec 18th 12:30-3PM
Pegasus Tack Shop, Acton, MA

Thursday Dec 22nd 4-7PM
Dover Saddlery, Plaistow, NH

New Upcoming Events at Beval Saddlery and Fairfield Hunt Club

December 7th
First at Beval Saddlery... then at The Fairfield Hunt Club

I'll be signing copies of The Perfect Distance on Wednesday, December 7th from 3-5 at Beval Saddlery in New Canaan, CT. For more info, call Beval at 203-966-7828 or visit www.beval.com

Later that evening, I'll be speaking at a dinner event at the Fairfield Hunt Club in Westport, CT. The title of the evening's talk is From Maiden to the Medals: A Look Inside the Equitation.

I'll be reading excerpts from The Perfect Distance and talking about my experiences judging at some of the top shows in the country. Specifically I'll be talking about what judges look for in a rider and how they make their decisions. I'll also be answering any questions about judging or writing, and signing copies of The Perfect Distance, which Beval will be on hand to sell.

Members and non-members of the Club are invited to attend. Dinner is $24.95 and reservations can be made by calling 203-227-8445 ext.107

Hope to see you at either of these events!

Call for entries to the PEN New England Discovery Award!

Two years ago I was so honored to be asked to join the PEN New England Children's Book Caucus. The Caucus's mission statement is to help promote the art of writing for children and young adults in the New England area. In addition to offering other events throughout the year, perhaps the most exciting thing we do is the Discovery Award for unpublished New England authors. I am actually a past winner of the Award for the manuscript of what became my first novel, SEE YOU DOWN THE ROAD!

When I joined the Caucus, they were looking for someone to take over duties as Discovery Night Coordinator. Everyone on the Caucus pitches in with the event so it's not like I do it all on my own. What I do is send out the guidelines for the contest and coordinate the reading of the manuscripts by the judges (Caucus members) and coordinate the readings of the winner(s) by editors at publishing houses.

I was so excited when the Caucus asked me to be the coordinator because winning the award meant so much to me. If you write for adults there are lots of contests and awards for unpublished writers, but there just aren't many for young adult and picture book authors. It's so nice to be able to submit your work to a contest, especially while you're still in the process of finishing the manuscript. Having the Caucus recognize SEE YOU DOWN THE ROAD back in its early stages gave me the encouragement I needed to keep going. And then, having won the award definitely helped set the manuscript apart when it came time to shop it to publishing houses.

Anyway, enough blabbing... if you're an unpublished writer currently living in New England, check out the guidelines for this year's contest and then enter!


SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Each year, the PEN New England Children’s Book Caucus honors emerging writers and writer/illustrators with its Susan P. Bloom Children’s Book Discovery Award. Winners will present their work to the public at the PEN New England Children’s Book Discovery Evening on Sunday, April 30, 2006, and winning manuscripts will be read by editors from Candlewick, Houghton Mifflin, or Little, Brown and Company.

Entrants must be residents of New England who have not been published (with the exception of magazines or self-publishing), and the submitted work (or another work) must not be under contract. We are able to accept only one entry per person, in one of the following four categories: picture books, novels, poetry and nonfiction.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, February 1, 2006. Entries need only be postmarked by that date. If you want to be sure your entry has been received, enclose a self-addressed and stamped postcard. Please do not require a signature for delivery.

All work should be—in both format and quality—ready for consideration by a publisher. The Committee does not determine ahead of time the number of winners or the categories to be represented. Winners will be notified by late March.


To submit your work, please follow these guidelines:

1. Each submission of text should be approximately 10 pages in length, though picture books may be shorter. Please note: Manuscripts will not be returned.

Picture books: Send complete text. Author/illustrators should include sample illustrations or a book dummy, which will be returned if an appropriate SASE is provided. Do not send original artwork.
Middle grade or Y/A novels: Send one or two chapters.
Poetry: Send up to ten poems.
Nonfiction: Send one or two chapters, plus a brief outline or table of contents.

2. For longer works, submissions may include a synopsis or outline, although it is not required.

3. Include a short biographical statement about your experience and interest in the field.

4. Include a phone number and e-mail address (if available).

5. Enclose a business-sized SASE for notification of decisions.

6. Mail your submission to:
PEN New England/CBC Discovery Night
c/o Kim Ablon Whitney
PO Box 380533
Cambridge MA 02238-0533

Gifts for horse lovers!

What else can you get your horse-loving friends and family for the holidays besides a copy of THE PERFECT DISTANCE? Well, it's time for me to plug my great, longtime friend Alison Greene's jewelry business. I have enough guilt that I haven't bought stuff from her all these years because I'm a real tomboy and much to my mother's (and Alison's) dismay I don't hardly ever wear jewelry and don't even--gasp--have my ears pierced!

Alison and I became friends about, jeez, 20 years ago now! Scary how time flies. We rode at the same barn--I was probably 11 or 12, a scrawny kid who hung out at the barn all day and had an attitude that I will call spunky but probably was more like bratty. Alison was one of the "grown-ups" in the barn, but albeit a cool one. She didn't treat us kids like kids, she treated us like regular people and we loved her for it.

Alison and I remained friends all these years through various changes in our lives and various horses. She's an amazing person who I love because you always know where you stand with her. She's honest and upfront and has a great sense of humor and I love those traits in a person. She's always there when the going gets hard and she always listens and understands. She also is a big sports fan, which is an added bonus.

One of the greatest things about the riding world for me is having friends that aren't my age. When you share a passion with someone it doesn't matter if they are 15, 25, 45 or 65. Some of my greatest horse-friends are much older than me and the age-thing just doesn't matter!

Anyway, enough blabbing abotu Al. For all you horse lovers out there who also like a little bling check out her awesome website www.showstableartisans.com and/or order her gorgeous catalog! Then save me from my guilt by doing all your holiday shopping and telling her I told you all about her and her biz!

Why I love independent bookstores

Just popped into a big bad chain bookstore that shall remain nameless to see a)if they had my new book and b) if they wanted me to sign copies. Here's the exchange I had with the salesclerk, who by the way either was stoned or couldn't care less about his job. (I have yet to run into the same salesclerk whenever I go into this store.)

ME: (after waiting around forever to be helped) Hi, I have a new YA novel out from Random House (name dropping usually helps) and I thought if you had any I might be able to sign them for you.
THEM: (looking like they couldn't care less) Uh, what's the title?
ME: (smiling, trying to remain chipper) The Perfect Distance.
THEM: (searches on computer) We have one in stock. I guess I'll go see if I can find it. (Goes off, can't find it anywhere, comes back.) I can't find it. Do you want me to like, keep looking for it?
ME: Um, I guess not. I just thought I could sign the copies if you had any.
THEM: Grunt.
ME: All right then. Bye.

So I know I'm not a celebrity by any stretch of the imagination but would it kill this store to care the slightest that a local author stopped in to say hi? I'm not asking them jump on my bandwagon and put multiple copies face out or on a display table (although that would be nice) but would it have killed them to say they'd order a few more copies of my book and could I stop back in to sign them later?

This is why independent stores are the lifeblood of the midlist author. They are usually happy to meet you and do jump on your bandwagon! This is why I love independent bookstores!

Q&A up on Big Eq site

Do you know about Bigeq.com? It's a really cool website for riders. It has all the past results of the equitation finals, course diagrams of past finals, and qualifying guides, not to mention ads for horses and ponies for sale! My friend, Caraneen Smith, is the creator and manager (is that the right term in webspeak?) of the site. She also designed my website! She rides with Grazing Fields Farm and shows in the adult eq. In fact, she just placed fourth at this year's ARIAT Finals! Congrats, Caraneen!

Anyway, Caraneen was kind enough to post a Q&A with yours truly. It goes a little more in depth than my own website about my riding, my years doing the equitation, and what I think of the big eq now.

Check it (and Caraneen's site) out: http://www.bigeq.com/resources/articles/2005_theperfectdistance.html

First Review for The Perfect Distance

Reviews are one of the most anxiety-producing things about having a book come out. I never even considered how hard it would be to handle reviews back when I was just dying to get my first book published and I'm certainly not complaining. It's great to even have your book reviewed--some books by small presses or paperback originals don't get reviewed at all. Overall newspapers have cut down on book coverage significantly too--bad for book sales.

YA books don't often get reviewed by big national newspapers. SEE YOU DOWN THE ROAD was reviewed (well-yeah!) by the Chicago Tribune and that was really cool. But YAs generally only get reviewed by industry pubs like Publisher's Weekly, School Library Journal, KLIATT, Booklist & VOYA, among others.

Anyway, I do feel very lucky that SYDTR got reviewed by all the industry pubs. I got some really great reviews for it (star from Booklist) and some reviews that I take issue with (SLJ objected to some of the language). Getting not-so-stellar reviews is hard--kind of a like a ballplayer (think Kevin Millar this season) getting booed. I tried to write an amazing book, maybe you didn't like it, but I did try, I swear! And tastes do vary.

With SYDTR I told myself to enjoy the great reviews and not stress too much about the other ones. All writers get some not so stellar reviews. Of course this is easier said than done!

Well, the first review of TPD has come in from KLIATT and it's starred! I'm so excited. The reviewer, Claire Rosser, really "got" my book and I felt almost weepy as I read it. Anyway, I'm pasting it below. Cross your fingers for the rest!

The tension and self-doubts experienced by athletes at the top of the national horse
riding competition (the under-18 category)are the foundation of a moving, suspenseful
reading experience for YAs. It’s a world Whitney knows about firsthand, which
makes the story all the more powerful. The details of the competition itself, of
caring for horses, of parental pressure on children to succeed, of fierce rivalry,
create the strong structure on which the plot itself rests. The main character, Francie Martinez, is a top competitor. She has grown up with horses; her father is a Mexican immigrant who started as a groom and has risen to be the barn manager for a top trainer. She receives lessons in exchange for being a groom in the stables, which sets her apart from the mostly wealthy riders who are her competitors. Francie
never feels good enough and yearns for the praise of the verbally abusive, selfcentered trainer Rob, for whom winning is everything.

Any adolescent in any highly competitive arena, whether it is basketball or gymnastics, dance or musical performance, will recognize the truth of Francie’s story. Whatever a young person perceives as his or her own weakness will surely loom
large as the stress of performance mounts. In the course of the story, Francie experiences realistically described relationships and dilemmas: for instance, her close relationship to her father, a single parent who has done a wonderful job raising his daughter, puts her into a difficult position when she sees insurance fraud and immigration violations in the stables her father manages. And her father is so afraid she will repeat her parents’ mistakes, he forbids her to date Colby, a boy her age who has come to train at the stables and compete in the same competitions.

Obviously, all YAs who love horses and horse stories will eat this up. It also will
appeal to a larger group of YA readers who like stories of competition and excellence. Winning takes on a whole new meaning in Whitney’s competitive world — -the perfect distance may be an individual journey of growth.
--Claire Rosser, KLIATT

My Very Own Boyfriend List

My friend, E. Lockhart, author of a really fun YA novel, THE BOYFRIEND LIST, about a girl who shares the scoop on all the boyfriends she's had, asks readers to send in their own boyfriend lists and she posts them on her really cool site: www.theboyfriendlist.com. Well, I made my very own boyfriend list and she's going to put it up on her site. But in the meantime, I'm also posting it here.

The Married Girl’s Boyfriend List

Who says when you get married you have to stop having boyfriends? Okay, so mine are imaginary and our relationships live in my head. But it’s still fun!

1. Bill Meuller of the Boston Red Sox. Whether his hair is longish sticking out of his helmet, or sheared short as of late, he’s completely hot to watch turning a double play or smacking a triple. Guys in uniforms in general are hot, but baseball uniforms top my list. Added bonus: he’s supposed to be a really nice guy. If he was my boyfriend I’d go to every home game and some away games too, and of course I’d have really good seats!

2. Michael Vartan from Never Been Kissed. I know he’s in so much more now, Alias, and all that. But I just want to date the guy he was in Never Been Kissed. Sweet and adorable, and it doesn’t hurt that he was off-limits because he was Drew’s teacher—there’s always something appealing about the ones you’re not supposed to have.

3. Napoleon Bonaparte, that pesky little Emperor. Everyone needs a bad-boy boyfriend, don’t they? Well, mine takes us back in history to the late 1700’s when Napoleon ruled France and tried to conquer Europe. I fell in love with Napoleon in 10th grade history class. I’m pretty sure in a past life I was one of his mistresses. (Interesting Napoleon fact: supposedly the widespread notion of Napoleon’s small stature lies in the inaccurate translation of feet from French to English. Apparently, he wasn’t 5’2”, but 5’6”.)

4. Robbie Turner from Atonement by Ian McEwan. Poor Robbie. Can’t this guy catch a break? First he’s falsely accused of rape, then he’s sent to prison. He survives that only to head to the front lines of World War II. There’s nothing like a wounded man.

5. Matt Whitney, currently starring in my life! Of course he’s not my boyfriend anymore, he’s my husband so I think that means he can count for inclusion on my list. I’d take Matt over anybody, fake or real. Here’s a guy who’s hot, smart, caring, goofy, does laundry, cooks, does home-fix-it projects, loves dogs and kids, and, oh yeah, loves me! What more could I want?

Judging at Lake Placid

I just returned from judging the second week of Lake Placid. What a great show and it wasn't as overun this year, at least not the second week. Days ended pretty early. I got to judge with some great judges: Sue Ashe, Scott Williamson, and Mindy Darst. I also got to judge some great equitation classes, which is always my favorite thing to judge. I did two sections of the USET and also the Kathy Scholl Equitation Championship. The Kathy Scholl went first thing on Sunday morning (it was supposed to take place Saturday on the grand prix field but was moved to Sunday in the Hunter Annex because of rain).

I have fond memories of doing this class myself as a junior. You have to qualify by placing first or second in one of the big eq classes during the two weeks of showing. I can't remember what place I finished exactly the year I did it but I think I was second or third and it was lots of fun. I do remember I worked off in the test, which included a bounce, against Lauren Hough, among others. It's pretty fun when people you used to show against go on to ride in the Olympics!

Anyway, the Kathy Scholl went first thing in the morning this year and perhaps some of the juniors were out a little too late the night before, as they tend to do at Lake Placid, because there were some pretty big mistakes from good riders. But there were also some great rides, namely from Julie Welles and Harden Towell. Sue and I judged the class together and she is just such a great judge and so much fun to work with! We agreed perfectly about everything.

The first round is judged numerically and then we brought back four to test: Julie, Harden, a girl who rides with Bob Braswell, and Kimberly McCormack. We were going to do a usual test but then decided to spice it up and have the four turn around in the ring so they couldn't see each other go. The test was to execute these four things between fences 1 and 6: canter a jump, counter canter a jump, halt, and hand gallop a jump. You could do them in any order you wanted but you had to do them all.

Harden Towell dropped from second to fourth when he jumped one too many fences. Julie Welles nailed it for the win with a beautiful test. My prediction: she will win one of the finals this year. She's really a great rider--workmanlike and no-nonsense.

All in all, it was a very fun class to judge and a fun week. Now I'm home for a few weeks before heading off to judge Vermont.

Red Sox prospects

Caught a Portland Sea Dogs game this weekend--they are the AA affiliate of the Red Sox in Portland, Maine. Unfortunately, one of the best prospects--Hanley Ramirez--was injured and didn't play. But I got to see Dustin Pedroia, the second baseman. He looked very good--probably we'll see him in Fenway before too long. I didn't get to see Charlie Zink pitch either and I really wanted to--he's the team's knuckleballer. I was extra eager to see him pitch because the novel I'm working on now involves a knuckleballer! Portland's a great place to catch a game--I highly recommend it. Tickets are really cheap (ours were $6), the park is really nice, the baseball is good. While I love going to Fenway I also love seeing the minor league affiliates. I've been to a few Pawtucket games, a few Portland games, and a few Lowell Spinners games. All have been very cool!

Back from Judging at HITS

I just got back from five days judging the HITS horse show in Saugerties, NY. Man, was it hot--temperatures approaching 100 degrees all week! The show is about fifteen minutes from Woodstock--yes, THE Woodstock. Lots of art galleries, tye-dye, and long hair, even today. I judged schooling hunters, lows and pre-greens during the week, and then children's hunters, junior hunters and amatuer-owner hunters on the weekend. I saw some really nice horses. It's always fun to see the young ones coming up, like a very fancy pre-green horse ridden by Ainsley Vince. Pre-green day seemed to be jumper riders in the hunter ring day: Ainsley, Anne Kursinski and other grand prix riders. Doing the juniors and the amatuers is also always fun. All I can say is Addison Phillips can really ride!

While I was away the Red Sox went on a major slide but now that I'm back things seem to be looking up. I guess they needed me to watch them!

Website Update

Welcome to the newest addition to my website. Along with tbe beautiful new redesign on www.kimablonwhitney.com, I am also planning to utilize this page to make live updates. Hope you enjoy!