Recently, I had the pleasure of reading Bug Boy, by Eric Luper. Bug Boy is the story of Jack "Shabby" Walsh, a fifteen-year-old apprentice jockey at the Saratoga Race Track. Set in the year 1934, Bug Boy introduces the reader to the fascinating world of horse racing, and the reality of life in the Depression. Here's what Eric had to say about researching and writing Bug Boy.



Website: ericluper.com
Blog: http://livejournal.com/eluper
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/eluper
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ericluper



Why did you decide to write Bug Boy?

I remember going to the track with my father when I was a young child. The track we went to was a concrete, steel and chain-link monolith. The people there wore ratty clothes, smoked smelly cigars and drank way too much. And I remember feeling frightened and repulsed and confused all at the same time. Why would people choose to go to such a place?

So of course, after I moved to upstate New York and friends suggested we go to Saratoga Race Course for a day at the races, my blood pressure climbed and the first question I asked was, “Why?”

After some cajoling, I ended up tagging along. And I ended up having an amazing day. Saratoga Race Course is unlike any other track. People dress up. People bring picnic baskets. People go with their families like they’re spending a nice day at the park. Sitting there, you can just imagine what it was like a hundred years ago, and the more I learned about Saratoga the more I was attracted to the idea of writing a novel that takes place there.

Setting a story in a 1930s racetrack must have taken a great amount of research. Tell us how you learned about racetracks, jockeys, the 1930s, and thirties slang. Where did you go for information? How did you find experts to interview?

I spent lots of time at the National Museum of Racing (racingmuseum.org). I spent time at the Saratoga Historical Society, the archives at the Saratoga Public Library, and the New York State Archives. I scoured newspapers (cartoons, editorials and advertisements were the most helpful).

I’m also fortunate to have lots of friends who are involved in racing. I know jockeys, agents, turf writers, lifelong track enthusiasts, a track bookkeeper, and several horse owners. I was also fortunate to have a few long conversations with Saratoga Race Course historian, Tom Gilcoyne, who unfortunately died at the age of 91 just before Bug Boy came out. Tom had been going to the track every day during Saratoga track season since he was 5 years old (that was 1922!). If you gave Tom a year, he could tell you what happened during track season that year. Tom was so instrumental to the development of my book that I dedicated Bug Boy to him in memoriam.

The life of an apprentice jockey in the thirties was a rough life. How have things changed, or not changed, for racetrack employees today, particularly for exercise boys and jockeys?

The life of an apprentice jockey today is also quite rough. Although awareness of the plight of the backstretch worker is more well-known today, not a lot has changed with regard to conditions. Most workers still live hand to mouth with no insurance and no job security. Benefits, which usually come in the form of a few mattresses or some donated clothes, are usually handled by local ministries and other charitable organizations. I hope that Bug Boy helps to raise this awareness, especially among those sipping champagne in the stands.

In the book, a character named Showboat is hurt when his horse bucks in the starting gate. Is the starting gate still a dangerous place for the horse and jockey? Or do most accidents happen on the track itself?

Over the years, safety in the gate has improved. Despite this fact, injuries still occur anywhere a person is on or near a horse. Due to stringent breeding, Thoroughbreds tend to be high-strung and skittish, and this leads to frequent injury among riders, other track workers and the horses themselves. Of course, the most attention goes to injuries that happen DURING races, but many more occur when no one is looking.

In Bug Boy, the main character, Jack “Shabby” Walsh, went to extremes to pare down his weight and keep it off: exercising in a rubber suit, a sweatbox, not eating, purging, etc. Do today’s jockeys still need to be mindful of their weight? Do they go to the same extremes to stay light? Or do they use other methods to control weight gain?

Weight restrictions are as stringent as they were back in the 1930s. Purging is an accepted part of the sport. So much so that some jockey rooms have toilet stalls slated for vomiting. Jockeys still use hot boxes, diuretics, enemas and extreme exercise to drop weight as well. Stimulants such as cocaine are used too. The trouble is that having lighter jockeys is unhealthy for the jockey; having heavier jockeys is unhealthy for the horse. But staying light allows a jockey to remain competitive.

Tell us a bit about what you learned about today’s jockeys. What is an average height and weight? Are jockeys “too old” after a certain age? Any idea of the range of income a jockey can expect? (Seems to me this is a very uncertain way to make a living!)

The life of an average jockey is not nearly as glamorous as that of Jack “Shabby” Walsh. Most jockeys never even get to ride a big race at a glamorous course. They eke out a living at a small course and struggle to get by. They live such hard lives that by the time they are thirty, most jockeys look more than fifty. Although many of them ride competitively into their 40s, most opt for becoming agents, exercise riders or some other track employee earlier on to preserve their health. But track living is the only way of life many of them know.

I didn’t notice any female jockeys in your novel. How common are female jockeys today? Were there any in the thirties?

Although there were no female jockeys in the 1930s, they are becoming more and more common today. Not only are they naturally smaller and so have less difficulty maintaining weight, but anatomically women have lower centers of gravity which makes it easier to stay perched up in the irons. Not to mention that some of them are darn good athletes. Riding on the back of a 1200-pound horse that’s galloping at 40 miles per hour requires incredible conditioning and coordination and women are swiftly moving to the forefront of the sport.

There were a number of twists and turns in Bug Boy, some of which really caught me by surprise. Did you plan these twists ahead of time? Are you an “outliner” or a “pantser?”

Deborah, let me put it this way: If I don’t surprise myself, I’m not convinced that it will surprise anyone else. I’ve tried to outline in the past but it always falls apart within a few chapters because invariably I think of something more interesting as I’m typing. I know good things are happening if I’m laughing, getting upset, getting stressed out or surprising myself as I write. I guess that makes me a “pantzer.”

The book introduced me to the idea of “sponging” a horse: i.e. sticking a sponge up his nose to make it more difficult for him to breathe. This was surely an illegal practice, and I doubt anyone would try it today! So, about today: are there ways that an owner or jockey could cheat?

Although most cheating these days occurs through the use of drugs illegal to the sport, sponging has been known to happen even today. In fact, I came across a news article about it happening just last year. (http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/43886/grade-iii-winner-golden-velvet-sponged) It’s way too obvious if a jockey holds a horse back and drugs can be tested for. Sponging is temporary, usually has no long-term effects (usually!) and the jockey doesn’t even have to be aware of it.

I was intrigued by the cover of Bug Boy. The front was obvious—a jockey riding a horse. The back cover was less obvious. I have my own interpretation, but I’d like to hear yours.

The cover actually wraps around. It’s an photo that was taken a few years ago at Saratoga Race Course. It was doctored a bit to take out any anachronisms and then aged so it looks old. Open the book and look at the whole spread at once and you’ll see a grouping of three horses racing in a tight pack.




Did you ride a racehorse as part of your research? Did you ride horses when you were growing up?

I took about three riding lessons when I was around five and quickly learned that I would never be entirely comfortable up there. As part of my research, I did ride a mechanical racehorse at the National Museum of Racing (see blog link at http://eluper.livejournal.com/10913.html) and developed a whole new respect for what those jockeys do!

Have you ever bet on the outcome of a horse race? Did you win?

I go to the track two or three times a year and I do bet on the horses when I go. In writing the novel, I learned a lot about reading the racing form and betting and it has served me well. I still leave the track with less money than I came with, but I’ve learned to reduce the hemorrhage to a slow bleed. And to enjoy and appreciate the sport.

Tell us a bit about your writing process. What’s a typical day, where do you work, etc.

I am a chiropractor by day. I own my own office and work a full week so my schedule is rather harried. As a result, I do not have a specific routine. Typically I’ll write on Tuesday mornings and Thursdays (these are times I’ve blocked out for writing) and on weeknights after the kids have gone to bed, maybe 9 to 11 pm. I work wherever I feel I’ll be most productive. Usually that entails being away from wireless internet or at least disabling my access. I work in the dining room of my home, at one of several local cafes or at the public library. Someday, I hope to have an old gothic house with a tower and giant windows where I can sit at a hand-carved mahogany desk and gaze out at the city (any city will do) from between two evil-looking gargoyles. Did I mention coffee? No? Well, wherever I am there always must be lots of it.

So, what are you working on next?

My next novel, which is all done and ready to go, is called SETH BAUMGARTNER’S LOVE MANIFESTO. Here is the flap copy:

Seth Baumgartner just had the worst day of his life: His girlfriend dumped him (at Applebee’s), he spied his father on a date with a woman who is not his mother (at Applebee’s!), and he lost his fourth job of the year. It’s like every relationship he cares about is imploding, and he can’t figure out what’s going on. To find answers, Seth decides to start an anonymous podcast called The Love Manifesto, exploring “what love is, why love is, and why we’re stupid enough to keep going back for more.” Things start looking up when Seth gets a job at a golf club with his hilarious and smut-minded best friend, Dimitri, and Dimitri’s sister, Audrey. With their help, Seth tracks down his father’s mystery date, hits the most infamous bogey in the history of golf, and discovers that sometimes love means eating the worst chicken-salad sandwich you can ever imagine.

It’s a romantic comedy with lots of off-color humor and it’s coming out in June 2010.

Currently, I’m working on something for younger readers. I’d say 9 to 12, but it’s totally top-secret and I’m not telling!

Thanks, Eric!

I think I changed my journal name. Let's see how it posts

Well, I'm impressed. I emailed LiveJournal support with a question, and a volunteer answered within a day!
Superb!

Okay. So here's the thing. I started this journal in 2006 or so. I was the Reluctant Blogger at the time. Now, I've jumped into the whole cyber-promotion thing. I'm on myspace (Deborah Lynn Jacobs) and Twitter (deborah_jacobs) and Facebook (Deborah Lynn Jacobs.)
So, it appears I'm the UN-Reluctant Blogger now. How can I change my journal name? And, should I? Will people have to re-friend me?

I'm sooooo excited. I successfully made my own book trailer and uploaded it to YouTube. Not bad for a techno-dummy eh?
Here it is. Please watch it and tell me what you think! Better still, link to it in your blog and rate it on YouTube.
Whoohooo!

I'm the guest speaker for a discussion about plot, over at the Institute of Children's Literature.
Drop by and join the fun. People have posted great questions, which I've done my best to try and answer!
http://institutechildrenslit.net/index.php

Today is the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. You know, the "one small step for man" moment? If you're old enough, you'll remember where you were when you watched the TV. Or, if you are younger, you might wonder what the hype was all about. The images were ghostly, with Neil Armstrong almost see-through at times, and the sound quality was terrible. But if you saw it live, as I did, it probably left you with a flashbulb memory. (I was way the heck up north, at a fishing resort (well, kind of a fishing lodge or camp), with my parents. We watched the event on a tiny black and white TV in the main lodge, surrounded by log walls and mounted fish and a moose head or two. It was magical.)

Our local paper ran an Associated Press article, saying, in the words of reporter Seth Borenstein, "how did NASA end up looking like a bumbling husband taping over his wedding video with the Super Bowl?" Incredible. In all, it's thought that 45 tapes of the Apollo 11 mission were taped over.
So now, a Hollywood studio has pieced together footage from copies scrounged from around the world: CBS news tapes, kinescopes (whatever the heck they are!) from the national archives, a video from Australia of the original transmissions, and--get this--camera shots of a TV monitor.
Why didn't they just go to You-Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4

Of course, the conspiracy theory people are having a heyday. Yeah, well, Mythbusters busted that one! Here's just one example:
Mythbusters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wym04J_3Ls0

So, I've been revising a book and told my agent I'd send it.
"Good," he said. "I'll need a synopsis with it."
No problem, I figured. I've done them before. It's easy. Introduce all the main characters, hit on all the plot points, tell the ending, and, if possible, state the theme. One or two pages, third person, present tense.
Ah...yeah...about that...
I start off strong, using great verbs and succinct sentences. And then, in the middle, I hit the wall. You know that wall--the one with bricks of despair and mortar of I-can't-do-this? That one.
See, this book is written in two voices, with roughly parallel story lines. A lot happens. A LOT. Trying to get that into one or two pages? Well, let's just say I'm better at writing novels than short fiction....
So, out of desperation, I have come up with a strategy. I'm speed reading my ms, and writing down the major plot points. Then, all I need to do is weave them together into a compelling, brilliant, succinct synopsis.
No problem. Sigh.
If you have a strategy for writing a synopsis, please share it. I've pulled out most of my hair and can't afford a wig.

So, have you created a scene with sensual tension between the guy and the girl in your YA novel? Maybe a little flirting? A kiss? More?
Check out the Maryland Romance Writers (Maryland chapter of the Romance Writers of America) contest here:
http://www.marylandromancewriters.org/mrw/index.php?page_id=9
The final judges of the YA category are: Krista Marino, Delacorte; Lindsey McGurk, Samahain Publishing, Inc
All finalists receive a brief critique by the final round judge, a certificate, and mention in a paid advertisement in the next issue of the RWA® Romance Writers Report. First place winners receive a $50 prize.
And the deadline is June 1, 2009.
The YA category is brand new this year. Why not give it a try? Could be fun.

So, yesterday was Talk Like Shakespeare Day in Chicago. Sponsored by the Chicago Shakespeare Company, and officially proclaimed by Mayor Daley, the event was in honor of Shakespeare's birthday--or at least the day we think was his birthday!
There's some fun stuff on the Chicago Shakespeare Theater site:
http://www.talklikeshakespeare.org/
Check out the video of "Who's On First?" and the "B or not a B" here:
http://www.talklikeshakespeare.org/main.taf?p=0,10
And, if you want to follow the bard on Twitter, go here:
http://twitter.com/shakespearesays

So, what did you do for the planet today?
For some cool pics, go to:
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/

So, today was Teen Book Drop. Go here for more info:
http://readergirlz.blogspot.com/2009/04/rock-drop-report-in-authors-and-rgz.html
This is the idea. Readergirlz, GuysLitWire, YALSA and publishers dropped 8,000 new books into hospitals for teens. the organizers invited us to get into the act by dropping a book in a public place.
I dropped my books off at a local mall, at the food court. High schools are on spring break, so it seemed a logical place.

Only, after I left my books on a table, I wondered: what if no one, no teen, picks them up? What if the cleaning staff think they are abandoned, and dump them in the trash?
My poor books looked so vulnerable, so lost, so alone....
So, I went over to a table with four teen girls and two of their moms. I explained the whole book drop thing, and handed them two books. At first, they didn't quite realize they could keep the books, share them around, read them, give them to friends, etc. It was pretty cool to see their reaction when they realized these were a gift. Here's two of the teens, with their moms.

Remember how I posted recently, under a subject "No good deed goes unpunished?" I talked about running out of a coffee shop to tell a woman her trunk was up and was rewarded with a dirty look? Well, what goes around comes around. I participated in the Author's Fair yesterday, at WEMTA, and accidentally left my camera and my blood sugar monitor at the Convention Center. Well, I figured someone might turn in the monitor (value $18) and keep my nice, relatively new Canon digital camera.
Nope. Some kind, honest soul turned BOTH in to Lost and Found. The Convention Center will mail them back to me (it's an hour and a half drive, or I'd go get them.)
So, every good deed goes rewarded!
For pics on the event, visit Pam's blog at http://pamberes.livejournal.com

I'll be in Madison tomorrow, at the WEMTA (Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association) Author Fair. About 30 authors will be there to sell and sign books. Each author will have about ten minutes at the mic to talk.
Here's the link:
<http://www.wemtaonline.org/se3bin/clientgenie.cgi?geniesite=141&statusflag=gogenie&job=&schoolname=school1000292&mid=>
The very odd thing is that the author links lead to each author's homepage--but mine leads to my bio! It's my "for fun" page, showing old pics of me and stuff--not as professional as my homepage. Oh, well--I'm not complaining. I'm glad to be included, and appreciate any link to my website!

A few weeks ago, a clip aired on the local news about a parent wanting to ban “gay books” at the West Bend Memorial Public Library in Wisconsin. There was a meeting to discuss it, but too many people showed up for the fire code. The meeting was cancelled, and will be rescheduled in a few weeks.
I called the young adult librarian, Kristin Pekoll, to find out more and to offer my support.
The parents, Ginny and Jim Maziarka, are objecting to a list of recommended books dealing with GBLT (gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender) issues which is posted on the library’s website. In an email to the Daily News, they state: "We believe our library should be offering appropriate, wholesome literature to our youth instead of pursuing the illegitimate goals of transforming the views of other people's children on the contentious issue of homosexuality."
Here’s the article:
< http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2009/March_09/03022009_04.asp>
Here’s the link to the list on the library’s website that inflamed the Maziarka’s.
<http://www.west-bendlibrary.org/yara.htm>
It includes a list of GBLT books under the title, Out of the Closet. You’ll notice that there are many OTHER lists as well, for good mysteries, paranormal, sports, adventure, historical, romance, and Christian books.
The parent objects to the Out of the Closet list in general, as well as the books Geography Club by Brent Hartinger, and The Perks of a Wallflower by Steve Chbosky, in particular. She wants them removed.
Now I feel a parent has the right to monitor the books her own child reads, but does not have the right to make that choice for an entire community. She also does not have the right to remove books because they go against her personal beliefs.
What can you, as a parent, an author, an illustrator, do to help? An email, sent to Michael Tyree, the Director of the West Bend Community Memorial Library, would be great. His email is: mtyree@west-bendlibrary.org. Michael will forward these emails to the Library Board in time for the next public meeting. It would be good to copy Kristin Pekoll, the ya librarian, as well, kpekoll@west-bendlibrary.org. She is feeling frazzled and could use your words of encouragement. It doesn’t need to be elaborate. Something simple is fine, such as:
“I support the West Bend Community Memorial Library in its decision to include Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Fiction and Non-Fiction in its collection. I object to the proposal to remove books in this category, including Geography Club and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
Please spread the news, and ask your friends, especially your writing friends, to send an email of support. Librarians have the right to choose the books for their library’s collections. And those of us who write books have the right to include characters regardless of their sexual orientation.
If you prefer, send me an email at deborahlynnjacobs@deborahlynnjacobs.com, and I’ll send a group email with your name on it. Be sure to include your name, and your city and state. If you are 18 or younger, please just provide your first name (not last) age, and the city and state where you live (not your full address!!!)
Don't let censorship go unchallenged! It could happen in your home town, or to your books!

So, are you watching the Oscars tonight? I am. I like seeing clips of movies, even though I usually haven't seen many of the movies yet. The problem is that I'm cheap. A movie ticket is way more expensive than ordering through Blockbuster online or Netflix. So, I see all the movies way after the awards are awarded.
This year, I saw all the movies in one category--animated. Grin. I guess that says something about me. I wonder, though, how much of the awards is subjective. Sure Wall-E was great, and I predict will win, but Kung Fu Panda was a total riot, and kept me laughing all the way through. Which was the "best?"
I saw Slumdog Millionaire yesterday, and although I liked it I really didn't think it was worth all the hype. I wanted to see Benjamin Button instead, but it was only on at 5:00 and 8:00 and is such a long movie that my movie companion (that would be my spouse) would have fallen asleep, thus wasting the price of a ticket!
It makes me think about book awards. How many times does something win an award (or NOT win one) and there I am, scratching my head, thinking, HUH?????
It's all a little subjective, don't you think?
Ah well, subjective or not, political or not, I'll be glued to my set tonight. How 'bout you?

Honestly, our local tv station gets soooo excited about the weather. A major snowstorm means they suspend daytime programming to do hours and hours and hours of snow watch reporting. It gets a little old. Yup, still snowing...still snowing...uh huh, more snow...
And then, during my much anticipated evening shows (like Idol, Supernatural, Bones--important stuff!) they have a streaming feed at the bottom of the screen about all the delays and closings. This shrinks my screen to a wee little window, and drives me nutty.
So I was happy today, in one way, when the predicted three to five inches just didn't happen. But, darn it, I'd been looking forward to SNOW. It's that ugly end of winter here. The snow is gone, the grass is gray, the first crocuses haven't pushed out of the ground (I checked.) Today's meager snowfall, a greasy, thin, slick coating, did nothing but make driving tricky.
Ah well. I set a vase of tulips where I could see them, lit a leftover Christmas candle,put on some music, and got on with the job of writing.
Five pages so far today--not bad! God, but I hate first drafts...I never know if I'm on the right track or not.

Can you recognize your favorite authors by their words? If you were handed a manuscript with no name, would you know who wrote it?
My husband and I were watching a movie on Valentine's day. It had an unsatisfying ending, one where the lovers don't get to stay together (one dies.) It wasn't surprising though. The author who penned the novel often kills off one of the lovers. It's as though he believes that we can have happiness only for a short time before fate steals it from us.
Another author I read starts her books with an exciting beginning, and she keeps the pace going well through the middle of the book. But, her endings are rushed, with new characters and new situations introduced late in the book. Her endings are happy, with everyone getting what they want, but I find them unrealistic.
Graham Salisbury once came to an SCBWI event, said that authors often struggle with an issue or theme that runs through all their books. (Apologies if I mangled that, or misquoted!) He gave the example, in his own books, of the father/son relationships. I think he said that we work out our own issues, like his father/son relationship, in our writing, in order to work out unresolved issues in our own lives.
In my own books, I work out issues of growth through struggle, people pretending to be someone they are not, and living with the consequences of our choices.
So, do authors reveal more of their own selves in their books than they realize? Do we project our own needs--the need for a happy ending, the need for a poignant story of discovery and loss, and so on? Could you recognize a favorite author's work by reading their book?

This is the face of hope.

Okay, so it's just a half-dead flower. But isn't "the face of hope" a lot more poetic?
After frost clipped a few of my impatiens last fall, I took a cutting or two and rooted them in water. This one grew roots, so I planted it and set it in a sunny window.
It bloomed for Christmas.
I thought it was surely a deader after that, but look--another bloom!
I know, I really DO know, that this plant is only fulfilling its biological imperative of reproducing before it dies. I mean, it's an annual! But look at that flower! So pretty, even though the rest of the plant is clearly riddled with disease, shriveled, dying. Remarkably, it has two more buds. That's hope.

It's like someone who keeps going, through everything, still producing, still living, even when death is near.
Speaking of which, I just read BEFORE I DIE, by jenny downham.
Two words--read it! (but have a box of tissues near by...)

So I was having a coffee with my writing friend, Shawn, when I looked out into the parking lot. An elderly woman made her way slowly to her car, leaning on her walker. A few moments later, I glanced back to see her drive away...with her trunk wide open. Should I run out and tell her?
Nah...it was cold outside, and warm inside, and my coffee was only half finished and...
So, yeah, I ran out, dressed in a top, jeans and running shoes. She didn't see me waving. She pulled out of the parking lot, and stopped at a red light.
Across the parking lot I ran, over a snow bank (sinking to my knees in the snow), and across the road. I tapped on her window, and pointed to the open trunk.
"I know!" she mouthed at me, clearly annoyed, gave me a dirty look, and then gunned the engine and took off as the light turned green, leaving me standing in the middle of the road.
So, here's my question: do you still get karma points if you do a good deed, but the recipient of the good deed all but flips you off for your troubles?