March 19, 2016 In Power of Story, Queer and Trans Literature By Rachel Gold

The My Year Zero cover explained

I get more input on my covers than most traditionally published authors. This is because I have a marketing background and access to an amazing graphic designer, and because my publisher is awesome. So I can actually tell you some of what went into that cover. I worked with Kristin Smith, who designed the covers for my two previous YA novels, and brought in illustrator Alexis Cooke. Alexis was particularly ideal for this project because her illustrations frequently have mental health themes in them. Go check out more of her art here, I'll wait. The layout I wanted to do something different from the Being Emily and Just Girls covers to show that this is a different story. Also the main character is an illustrator, so it seemed natural to have an illustration on the cover. We looked at a lot of popular book covers that utilized illustration -- and that’s as far as my thinking went. The layout was all Kristin’s genius. I asked Kristin how she came up with the idea of two off-center pages: Since we wanted the cover to showcase the two main characters, and already had the page with Lauren’s drawing, we decided to add a second sheet

March 15, 2016 In Book News & Events By Rachel Gold

Upcoming reading events

If you live in or near the Twin Cities, there are four chances for you to hear me read from My Year Zero in the near future. (If you live far away, I will be posting a video reading!) Important note: there are two official launch events for My Year Zero – an open house and an after party. You are welcome at both! See below for details. The Loft Literary Center Winter 2016 Teaching Artist Reading Wednesday, March 16 at 7 pm 1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis Listen to me and other very cool Loft instructors read short selections from our work. More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/188383148204460/ The Quatrefoil Library’s annual Women’s Author Event Saturday, March 26, 1 - 4 pm Elmer L. Andersen Library, 222 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455 I’ll be reading close to 1 pm, so come early if you want to hear me and then stay for a great roster of local women authors. More info at: https://www.qlibrary.org/event/womens-author-event-3/ https://www.facebook.com/events/188383148204460/ My Year Zero Open House at Addendum Books Saturday, March 26, 2-5 pm (reading at 2:30 and 4 pm) 478 S Cleveland Ave, Saint Paul Addendum is bookstore dedicated to young adult and children’s books. Because it’s small, we’re encouraging people to come through when it’s convenient for them and I’m reading twice at 2:30

March 10, 2016 In Uncategorized By Rachel Gold

Book research part two

Welcome to the second of my research posts, covering books that went into the making of My Year Zero (MYZ). Below you'll find two more books about bipolar disorder, one about emotional neglect, and one about girl sex. Should I really be talking about mental illnesses and sex in the same post? Absolutely! People with mental illnesses like sex as much as neurotypical people – and some of us are at greater risk for engaging in unsafe behavior, so leaning how to work your brain goes hand in hand with learning how to talk about safer sex. Mood Charting for everyone The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, Second Edition: What You and Your Family Need to Know by David J. Miklowitz Most books on bipolar recommend mood charting. I liked the way this one did. He uses a -3 to +3 scale (which you’ll see Blake uses in the book too). That felt very manageable to me, although a lot of people use a -5 to +5 scale. On the whole this book took a very hands-on approach. I listened to it on audio, so I’m not including a big quote, but here’s an image from the sample mood chart that comes with the audio

March 3, 2016 In Uncategorized By Rachel Gold

Bipolar disorder research highlights

In my novel, My Year Zero, one of the most important characters has bipolar disorder. Since that's not my disorder, I set about researching it before I started drafting and throughout the editing. I read a half-dozen books, plus tons of blogs and studies. I also worked with a consultant who both has bipolar disorder and writes about it. I wanted to make sure that the character of Blake came across as realistically as possible. Of course doing all this research, I discovered great insights and tips that I want to share. I started using some of these with my friends and myself. They work not just for bipolar disorder, but for a variety of disorders and plain old challenging day-to-day mental states. Yes, you can date people with bipolar disorder Natasha Tracy's blogs: Bipolar Burble and HealthyPlace's Breaking Bipolar I found Natasha online while looking at popular bipolar blogs. I liked what she was writing, but the decision that I definitely wanted to work with her came after viewing her video about dating people with bipolar disorder. I thought she'd be an ideal advocate for Blake. And if you're curious about that video, here it is: Check out her blogs: Bipolar Burble and HealthyPlace's Breaking

February 25, 2016 In Book News & Events By Rachel Gold

My Year Zero book trailer

My publisher put together a dramatic book trailer so you can get the feel for the main character's plight in My Year Zero. And I've got the first two chapters of the novel below if you want to read a sample and get excited for the launch with me!   Want to know more about the book? You can read the first two chapters here. Read the interview about the book on GayYA.org. Read my blog post about why I'm writing about mental health. I'll be live blogging on launch day so feel free to send me questions via the comment section below, or Facebook, Twitter (@rachelgold), Tumblr or email me at beingemily at gmail.

February 18, 2016 In Book News & Events By Rachel Gold

I’ve signed the contract for a Just Girls sequel

My third book is about mental health, not trans or gender issues, but if you loved those aspects in my first two books, never fear! This week I signed the contract for a sequel to Just Girls, due out spring of next year. (I even remembered to put the contract in the mail back to my publisher.) The sequel will start right at the end of Just Girls and follow the story of Tucker and Nico. Here’s how I pitched it to Bella: Tucker has been through the worst year of her life and only wants to put it behind her. Recovery time? Therapy? Who needs that? She wants to get back to normal life, but when she tries to be more than friends with Nico, she panics. Having lived genderqueer for years, Nico’s used to getting strong reactions, but isn’t prepared for this to come from Tucker. Plus a medical decision Nico’s been putting off for years can’t be delayed any longer. Nico’s body becomes a battleground for yos family, crushing Nico under conflicting pressures and the desire to have a relationship that could last. You’ll also get a look into Nico and Ella’s relationship when they were in high school together and

February 11, 2016 In Embodied Neurodivergence, Flourishing in the Margins By Rachel Gold

How to forget people’s names

I know, Dale Carnegie says, “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” I’ve read that a number of times over the years and every time my reaction is, “If that’s true, I’m screwed.” I’ve got a lot of valuable tips for you about how to forget names — a skill I’m extremely good at. But first let me set up some context about anxiety and ADHD and the overwhelming amount of information that comes with meeting people. My full diagnosis is ADHD and Anxiety with OCD traits. (That means I do OCD stuff but not at a level that screws up my life

February 4, 2016 In Flourishing in the Margins, Power of Story By Rachel Gold

Mental health and brain news – January 2016

As a brain geek, I like to keep up with what’s new and noteworthy. Below you’ll find headlines and highlights from last month. Click on any of the headlines below to read the whole article. From vicious cycles to virtual cycles: Bear with me through the two bad news items below to see two positive articles about ways to combat racism and how that helps everyone! Race a factor in repeated victimizations of people with mental illness African Americans who are mentally ill are at greater risk of being repeatedly victimized than are mentally ill white people, according to criminologists. Stress of Discrimination Can Harm Mental Health “In 2015, Gee and colleagues performed an analysis drawing from approximately 300 studies conducted around the world over the last three decades. This meta-analysis concluded that self-reported racial discrimination is consistently related to poor mental health.” Poor treatment based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other factors can occur through interpersonal insults as well as through more insidious routes. “If you don’t get a job and you’re left to wonder whether it had to do with your race or gender, that can have an impact on your mental health,” Gee said. More recently, Mays has collaborated on a study showing that experiencing

http://geek-lantern.com/new-x-men-dans-la-collection-marvel-now/
January 28, 2016 In Embodied Neurodivergence, Power of Story By Rachel Gold

Disorder or superhero?

How do you talk to yourself about yourself? Out in the world, you might be someone with a disorder. But what do you tell yourself about your brain and who you are? How do we navigate a world in which it’s sometimes useful and necessary to think our ourselves as having a disorder — and then drop that label when it’s not empowering? I was lucky in some ways because I got labeled “gifted” when I was a kid. Some of my ADHD behaviors were (accurately) attributed to the fact that I was bored in school. But being a gifted kid didn’t explain why I was being bullied or why I struggled with simple tasks. It was a good label for making me feel powerful but it was a poor map for navigating the reality of my life. Would “ADHD” have been a better map and label? Maybe, but it comes with a big downside. Studies are beginning to show that when kids identify with the ADHD label, they perform more poorly on academic tasks. Jerome Schultz writes, “I believe that when a student does not understand his or her condition (in other words, his or her label), this can lead to a

January 21, 2016 In Embodied Neurodivergence By Rachel Gold

Why is this novel about mental health?

If you read the interview over at GayYA, you’ll know I wrote My Year Zero in honor of my first girlfriend. (If you haven’t read the interview, feel free, I’ll wait.) When I met her we were both 16, both Scorpios (born nine days apart), both dark-haired and bright-eyed. And both struggling with our mental health. She was the first person I’d met who was forthright about having a diagnosis. From my perspective, she was totally cool about it. (From her perspective, I’m sure it felt a lot less cool.) She had bipolar disorder and was on meds for it and would talk about it openly. She was also great at listening to me without judgment and without a lot of advice. To understand how important this was to me, let me tell you a bit of my story. Bipolar’s not my disorder — ADHD is (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Despite the name, ADHD isn’t just about paying attention. It’s a change in how the brain’s executive functions work that pervades areas of focus, engagement, social cues, emotional regulation, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Lately there have been more books and articles about ADHD in women and girls, and these reflect my experience very accurately.