Bad Bag

As a former sign painter and graphic designer, hardly a day goes by when I don't see evidence of Very Bad Decisions. Here's a photo of the grocery bag currently being used at Cub Foods.

How to Write a Book Review

Like most writers, I am constantly seeking affirmation, therefore I read reviews of my own work. It can be a perilous undertaking. Even “good” reviews can be maddening when the writer fails to “get” the book. Or rather, when my book has failed to have the desired impact.

Responses to How to Steal a Car have been particularly interesting. Yesterday I came across a review—more of a commentary and analysis, really—that I thought was quite remarkable. The reviewer was a woman who blogs under the name “Daughter Number Three.” I don’t know who she is, but it’s possible I have met her under her “real” name, as she lives in the Twin Cities area, and seems to be deeply involved in the kidlit business.

What makes her review remarkable is…well, you should read it. Also, check out her thoughts on other authors and book artists. Blogs like hers give me renewed faith in the paperless future of book criticism.

Raking Through Books

If you have not been to Kieran's Irish Pub (in Minneapolis) for one of their Raking Through Books literary events, your literary coolness coefficient is deficient. Check it out this Tuesday, November 10, at 5:30 p.m., when I will be appearing with John Nielson who, I am told, produces garphic (I'm letting that typo stand) novels about toe jam and other earthy delights. It will be fun.

For more info, go here.

And don't forget about my fabulous How to Steal a Car Video Contest!

Travelogue

Last Sunday I flew to Ohio to do a couple of presentations at the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. The library worked with several schools to bus in some 300 students, so the turnout was quite impressive. I'm humbled by how hard these librarians and teachers work to get students reading.

Back to Minnesota the next day for an evening presentation at the Shakopee, Library. The audience was half teen and half adult. The adults all sat to my left, while the teens all sat on the right. That made an impression on me; I don't know why.

The next day I flew back to Ohio to give a talk at OELMA, the statewide convention for school librarians. I talked about why books should be regarded as hazardous devices. YA author Lauren Myracle was there, and she called me on some of my more outrageous assertions. I also met authors Ingrid Law, Shelly Pearsall, and a whole bunch of library folks. It was a great conference--big enough to offer a wide variety of personalities and events, but small enough to allow time for lots of one-on-one conversations.

I returned to Minnesota the next day for a presentation at the Heritage Library in Lakeville, MN, where I met two remarkable young women wearing matching handmade "How to Steal a Car" T-shirts. That's Bridgette on the left, and Brittany on the right. Don't worry, I am not undressing them, I'm just signing their shirts!

A full week--I even managed to get some writing done!

Don't forget--the How to Steal a Car Video Contest is still going on. Only four months to go!

Contest Video

I made a video about my video contest. It's really "random." Check it out.

Pete's Video Contest!!!!!

Here’s how you can become a YouTube sensation, earn extra credit at school, get experience making videos, and maybe even win a fabulous prize!

Make a short video based on Pete Hautman’s novel How to Steal a Car.

Contest is open to individuals or groups, the crazy and the sane. It could be a class project with a cast of hundreds, or just one person looking into a cell phone camera while talking about the book.

Here are some ideas:

Act out a scene from the book.

Offer a commentary about the book.

Do a spoof, like on Saturday Night Live

A photo montage with voiceover

An interview with a character from the book

A puppet show or animation

…it’s up to you!

First Prize: Full set (all ten) of Pete Hautman’s YA books, signed and with illustrations (okay, doodles) by the author

Second Prize: $50.00 gift card to your favorite bookstore

Contest Rules

- Video must be at least 60 seconds long, but not more than ten minutes.

- It must be posted on YouTube on or before March 15, 2010.

- It must be about the novel How to Steal a Car (not just a video about car theft).

- It must not contain anything that will get you or me in trouble (no porn, no slander, no bomb-making instructions, etc.)

- The title (How to Steal a Car) and author (Pete Hautman) of the book must be mentioned, and an image of the book cover must appear at some point in the video. This can be at the beginning, the end, or anywhere else in the video (for example, you could show a character reading the book).

When your video has been posted let Pete know via a comment on this blog, or by email: pete@petehautman.com

Links to all qualifying entries will be posted on Pete’s blog. Winner(s) will be announced on April 1, 2010.

First Prize will go to the video that Pete likes best.

Second Prize will go to the video that gets the most YouTube views by March 31, 2010. (Posting your video early and getting your friends to watch it will give you a huge advantage!)

Note: It is possible that one video could be awarded both prizes.

Red Balloon Bookshop

Fun event last night at The Red Balloon Bookshop. Here's the fabulous CAKE they made for the event! I just ate some of the leftovers for lunch.

I signed a lot of books for those in attendance. If you missed the event, I left plenty of signed books behind, so stop by this St. Paul landmark (25 years and counting!) and pick up a copy.

MPR Interview

Last week I spent a pleasant half hour talking with Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr.

Among other topics, we discussed where I got the idea to write How to Steal a Car, the differences between the reasons adults and teens read, and my (very) brief history as a car thief. We also talked about the movie adaptation of Godless, and writing from the perspective of a teenage girl.

You can listen to the interview on the MPR website here.

Book Trailers and Video Contest

A lot of authors are now doing “book trailers,” or teaser videos designed to sell books.

Some authors offer top quality, professionally produced videos—the video supporting Scott Westerfeld’s new novel Leviathan is a good example. Others, like me, just sit in front of their webcam and babble desperately. But there is a third type of “book trailer” that I particularly enjoy: The unsolicited third-party YouTube video.

These quirky videos are made by readers who like a book enough so that they are inspired to create short films. Check ‘em out:

Here’s a video about my novel Godless. And another.

Sweetblood has also been trailerized here and here. This one is particularly nice.

Here is an interesting video about Invisible.

My favorite so far? A video from the Netherlands based on No Limit. I like the music (Lady GaGa).

If you've made a video based on one of my books, please let me know, and I'll post a link here on my blog!

Now, I mentioned a contest. I'm going to be offering a fabulous prize to whoever posts the best YouTube book trailer video for my most recent novel, How to Steal a Car. I'm still trying to figure out what that fabulous prize will be, and the rules of the contest, and the time frame, and how to let lots of young filmmakers know about it, and so forth. So keep an eye on this blog for more info, and start thinking about the sort of book trailer YOU would like to see for How to Steal a Car!

How to Steal a Car Video

Here's a video of some guy who looks a lot like me reading from How to Steal a Car.

What was I thinking? And why is the right side of the screen cut off? If anyone knows, please tell me. In the meantime, you can go to YouTube and watch it in all its full screen glory.