Hey guys!
Here are two pretty quotes from Aristotle's book: On the Soul:
“It seems that all the affections of the soul involve the body - passion, gentleness, fear, pity, confidence, and, further, joy, and both loving and hating; for at the same time as these the body is affected in a certain way.”
“The intellect seems to be born in us as a kind of substance and not to be destroyed.”
Hope everything is well and I miss you so much!!
Love you,
Lucy
Cook’s Illustrated, Sep/Oct 2009 (For a longer explanation for what to do, look for the mag at your library)
Hearty Italian Meat Sauce (Sunday Gravy) [This is a less complicated version than many. It still takes some time, but it is worth it!]
Sauce
2 T olive oil
1 side of baby back ribs, patted dry, salted and peppered, cut into 2-rib sections
1 pound spicy Italian sausage (I used hot turkey italian sausage)
2 medium onions, sliced
1.5 tsp oregano
3 T tomato paste
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes
2/3 cup beef broth
¼ cup fresh basil leaves chopped
Heat oil in large dutch oven and brown ribs and sausages. Remove.
Add onions and herbs and cook until onions begin to brown. Add tomato paste and cook until it darkens. Add garlic, then canned tomatoes. Put meats back in pot, cover, and cook in 325 oven for 2 and one-half hours.
Meatballs
Begin to make meatballs about an hour before the sauce is finished.
2 slices white bread
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup flat leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 egg yolk
½ t salt
¼ t red pepper flakes
1 lb meatloaf mix [I used 1/2 lb ground beef +1/2 lb ground pork]
1 oz thin sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 oz Pecorino Romano, grated [I used Parm]
½ cup olive oil {I think I used less]
Put first 7 items in a bowl and mix well. Add remaining ingredients [but not olive oil] and mix again. Make into large meatballs [I made them about about as big as a quarter cup]. Brown meatballs in hot oil, and add to sauce in dutch oven to cook for 15 minutes.
Dress cooked spaghetti lightly with the sauce, plate, and add a meatball, a sausage, and a section of ribs to each plate. Serve remaining meats and remaining sauce at the table for those who want them.
Hearty Italian Meat Sauce (Sunday Gravy) [This is a less complicated version than many. It still takes some time, but it is worth it!]
Sauce
2 T olive oil
1 side of baby back ribs, patted dry, salted and peppered, cut into 2-rib sections
1 pound spicy Italian sausage (I used hot turkey italian sausage)
2 medium onions, sliced
1.5 tsp oregano
3 T tomato paste
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes
2/3 cup beef broth
¼ cup fresh basil leaves chopped
Heat oil in large dutch oven and brown ribs and sausages. Remove.
Add onions and herbs and cook until onions begin to brown. Add tomato paste and cook until it darkens. Add garlic, then canned tomatoes. Put meats back in pot, cover, and cook in 325 oven for 2 and one-half hours.
Meatballs
Begin to make meatballs about an hour before the sauce is finished.
2 slices white bread
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup flat leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 egg yolk
½ t salt
¼ t red pepper flakes
1 lb meatloaf mix [I used 1/2 lb ground beef +1/2 lb ground pork]
1 oz thin sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 oz Pecorino Romano, grated [I used Parm]
½ cup olive oil {I think I used less]
Put first 7 items in a bowl and mix well. Add remaining ingredients [but not olive oil] and mix again. Make into large meatballs [I made them about about as big as a quarter cup]. Brown meatballs in hot oil, and add to sauce in dutch oven to cook for 15 minutes.
Dress cooked spaghetti lightly with the sauce, plate, and add a meatball, a sausage, and a section of ribs to each plate. Serve remaining meats and remaining sauce at the table for those who want them.
It was an exciting weekend here in Casa Cabot. Why?
Well, since I’m going to be speaking and signing at the Miami Book Festival this coming Saturday (the fair starts TODAY! Click here to see all the amazing authors who are going to be there!) the Miami Herald ...
Well, since I’m going to be speaking and signing at the Miami Book Festival this coming Saturday (the fair starts TODAY! Click here to see all the amazing authors who are going to be there!) the Miami Herald ...
Q: "What do you most enjoy about teaching literature?
Everything :) I love teaching. It's a kick in a way that nothing else ever is. A good book signing or panel has a few such moments, but teaching gave me that rush regularly. That doesn't mean every day was a traipsing thru fields of flowers thing: there were bad classes. There were students I failed to reach. There were plagiarism cases that caused me ridiculous amounts of angsting. There was one athlete I wanted to thwack on the head, & there was one addict I wanted to adopt & fix. Teaching is not always fun. Parts of it are frustrating.
Faculty meetings & dealing with faculty politics are my suggestions for adding to the circles of hell. (Really? Some of these folks have lived in their ivory towers too long. They aren't there to teach, but as a place to hang their hats while the apply for research grants or to subsidize their writing income. It's a systemic problem that I don't know how we should fix, but I DO know that it needs fixing.)
Still . . . put me in a classroom & tell me to talk lit . . . *sighs* there's nothing like it.
Q: "Do you read literature or nonfiction exclusively when you write or do you read both?"
I'm always writing so I don't limit my reading bc of it . . . except that I don't read books w potentially similar sounding premises to what I'm writing.
In faery* books, Holly Black is tops (IMNSHO), but she hasn't had a new faery book while I've been writing since Ironside (ergo I haven't had to suffer delays in reading her.). I adore her YA faery books, & I have pondered begging her to turn one of her short stories into a book (from her POISON EATERS collection). It's not faery, but it's freaking gorgeous. Back to faery though . . . I've had a few LOVE it moments in faery fiction since I started writing. In particular Janni Lee Simner's Bones of Faerie & RJ Anderson's Faery Rebels (AKA Knife). They were read when I wasn't writing, but they're also pretty far outside what I write in terms of plot. They are VERY fab & lore-based.
Obviously, I veer towards folklore based fiction (species is immaterial), but I read across the board. Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box was one of the best books I've read in years. I crush on Eloisa James' Duchess series (historical romance=yay!).
As to fic and non-fic, I'm mostly a fiction reader. I dip into very specific nonfiction (folklore, criticism, or research for a text I'm pondering). I read a lot of romance. I tend to default to historical romance, but I enjoy contemporary, time travel, & paranormal too. I'm not a fan of SciFi Romance, not bc there's anything wrong with it. Aliens simply don't appeal to me. I like mainstream fiction (T Chevalier is an auto-buy for me). I get on poetry kicks, but I don't do novels in verse or much contemporary poetry. In poetry, I default to mostly dead folk. And, of course, I get on classics kicks. Nothing tops Faulkner. I'm not a huge Jane Austen fan, but I enjoy her. I think Flaubert's Madame Bovary, most of Hardy's novels, & some Bronte . . . really I'm an 1800s-mid-1900s novel fan. My two eras in grad school were the British Victorians & Faulkner, so a lot of my reading tastes derive from the same tastes that lead to my picking them.
I still read some criticism on Faulkner, the Victorians, the PRB, & narrative structure. I subscribe to some academic journals specifically to do so. That tends to sate a lot of my nonfic needs. Well, that & kidlit theory/paranormal theory . . . and lately, mortuary science.
I have a problem with books. Fortunately, it's a healthy thing to be addicted to.
Q: "When doing research on Faerie lore and stuff, how would you recommend going about it? Is the Internet a decent source of information, or are books and stuff more reliant? Are there any books/sites that you'd recommend?"
First, *sends adoring thoughts for asking a research question*
Sacred-texts.com has a lot of old texts scanned in. If you're going Celtic faery, go here. Start reading. The Secret Commonwealth (Kirk) is essential. If you're going Welsh, read the Mabinogion. Evans-Wentz Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries is a great text. Thomas Crofton Croker, T Keightly
If you're looking for hard copy (newer but still awesome), Eddie Lenihan is a master (http://www.eddielenihan.com/). Meeting the Other Crowd is one of my favourite books.
Honestly, there's a lot of great stuff there. I like hard copy (and yes, I am anti-ebook/ebook readers as a personal choice). Free text is a goodthing when budget is a concern though. Read the old texts.
Do NOT read other novels with faeries until after you do your research. (Yes, I realize that I am suggesting that you don't read my books, too.) It's the sourcetexts that matter most. Read those. Then you can read contemp fiction--but be aware that you may get grumbly when you do so bc few things we write in fiction are as captivating as the research is.
----
* That part has been easy so far bc I'm a picky picky bitch when it comes to faery books. My family roots are in Ireland, Scotland, & a tendril in Germany. So these are my heritage. I'm particular.
Everything :) I love teaching. It's a kick in a way that nothing else ever is. A good book signing or panel has a few such moments, but teaching gave me that rush regularly. That doesn't mean every day was a traipsing thru fields of flowers thing: there were bad classes. There were students I failed to reach. There were plagiarism cases that caused me ridiculous amounts of angsting. There was one athlete I wanted to thwack on the head, & there was one addict I wanted to adopt & fix. Teaching is not always fun. Parts of it are frustrating.
Faculty meetings & dealing with faculty politics are my suggestions for adding to the circles of hell. (Really? Some of these folks have lived in their ivory towers too long. They aren't there to teach, but as a place to hang their hats while the apply for research grants or to subsidize their writing income. It's a systemic problem that I don't know how we should fix, but I DO know that it needs fixing.)
Still . . . put me in a classroom & tell me to talk lit . . . *sighs* there's nothing like it.
Q: "Do you read literature or nonfiction exclusively when you write or do you read both?"
I'm always writing so I don't limit my reading bc of it . . . except that I don't read books w potentially similar sounding premises to what I'm writing.
In faery* books, Holly Black is tops (IMNSHO), but she hasn't had a new faery book while I've been writing since Ironside (ergo I haven't had to suffer delays in reading her.). I adore her YA faery books, & I have pondered begging her to turn one of her short stories into a book (from her POISON EATERS collection). It's not faery, but it's freaking gorgeous. Back to faery though . . . I've had a few LOVE it moments in faery fiction since I started writing. In particular Janni Lee Simner's Bones of Faerie & RJ Anderson's Faery Rebels (AKA Knife). They were read when I wasn't writing, but they're also pretty far outside what I write in terms of plot. They are VERY fab & lore-based.
Obviously, I veer towards folklore based fiction (species is immaterial), but I read across the board. Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box was one of the best books I've read in years. I crush on Eloisa James' Duchess series (historical romance=yay!).
As to fic and non-fic, I'm mostly a fiction reader. I dip into very specific nonfiction (folklore, criticism, or research for a text I'm pondering). I read a lot of romance. I tend to default to historical romance, but I enjoy contemporary, time travel, & paranormal too. I'm not a fan of SciFi Romance, not bc there's anything wrong with it. Aliens simply don't appeal to me. I like mainstream fiction (T Chevalier is an auto-buy for me). I get on poetry kicks, but I don't do novels in verse or much contemporary poetry. In poetry, I default to mostly dead folk. And, of course, I get on classics kicks. Nothing tops Faulkner. I'm not a huge Jane Austen fan, but I enjoy her. I think Flaubert's Madame Bovary, most of Hardy's novels, & some Bronte . . . really I'm an 1800s-mid-1900s novel fan. My two eras in grad school were the British Victorians & Faulkner, so a lot of my reading tastes derive from the same tastes that lead to my picking them.
I still read some criticism on Faulkner, the Victorians, the PRB, & narrative structure. I subscribe to some academic journals specifically to do so. That tends to sate a lot of my nonfic needs. Well, that & kidlit theory/paranormal theory . . . and lately, mortuary science.
I have a problem with books. Fortunately, it's a healthy thing to be addicted to.
Q: "When doing research on Faerie lore and stuff, how would you recommend going about it? Is the Internet a decent source of information, or are books and stuff more reliant? Are there any books/sites that you'd recommend?"
First, *sends adoring thoughts for asking a research question*
Sacred-texts.com has a lot of old texts scanned in. If you're going Celtic faery, go here. Start reading. The Secret Commonwealth (Kirk) is essential. If you're going Welsh, read the Mabinogion. Evans-Wentz Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries is a great text. Thomas Crofton Croker, T Keightly
If you're looking for hard copy (newer but still awesome), Eddie Lenihan is a master (http://www.eddielenihan.com/). Meeting the Other Crowd is one of my favourite books.
Honestly, there's a lot of great stuff there. I like hard copy (and yes, I am anti-ebook/ebook readers as a personal choice). Free text is a goodthing when budget is a concern though. Read the old texts.
Do NOT read other novels with faeries until after you do your research. (Yes, I realize that I am suggesting that you don't read my books, too.) It's the sourcetexts that matter most. Read those. Then you can read contemp fiction--but be aware that you may get grumbly when you do so bc few things we write in fiction are as captivating as the research is.
----
* That part has been easy so far bc I'm a picky picky bitch when it comes to faery books. My family roots are in Ireland, Scotland, & a tendril in Germany. So these are my heritage. I'm particular.
Every time that tail passed me by I couldn’t help but grab it; a stick-straight rod with the black fuzz-ball on the end. It was as if the groomer used the width of my hand to determine where the shaved area blossomed into the fuzz. Too perfect a fit not to take advantage of. I also used to love to brush my hand over the very tips of the puff on top of his head to charge the fur with electricity. But he didn’t let me do that too often. Mostly he’d draw his lips back and bear his teeth and growl, low and rumbly, in his belly. I always thought it was a conflict for a cute poodle to growl. Though the fur on his body was usually kept shaved close to his skin, it still displayed what seemed to me like miles of swervey-curvy roads for my hot wheels to follow. In truth, our dog was the same age as me but I always thought of him as a mean old man. That was a relationship that was doomed from the start.
- Mood:
curious
Twenty (eek!) years ago, I was a freshman in college, minding my own business and doing my homework in my dorm room. Suddenly, my roommate's twin sister burst into the room, crying and yelling about something. Eventually we understood her words: the Wall is down!
We followed her downstairs to watch on TV as thousands of Germans climbed on the Berlin Wall, crossing East to West and West to East, in the largest display of euphoria I'd ever seen. In the days that followed, demonstrations continued in the surrounding Soviet bloc countries, including Czechoslovakia, where my grandfather was born and where I still have cousins.
I've lived in Germany since then. I realize that the effects of East vs. West and the resulting unification have positives and negatives. I know that the economy of the East is still weaker than the West, and that the cost to rebuild the East chafes. I get what Wolf Biermann says in his poem "Der Westn ist besser, der Westn ist bunter, und schoener und schlauer und reicher und frei/und trotz allerdem, ich sag' dir die Wahrheit/der Westn ist auch nicht det Gelbe vom Ei." (The West is better, the West is more colorful, und more beautiful, and cleverer and richer and free/but in spite of it all I tell you the truth: the West, it isn't the yolk of the egg/cat's meow.)
Still.
It's easy to look at our Greatest Dream, our personal Promised Land, and think that if only *sigh* if ONLY I could be *there* then the streets would be paved with gold, and all my troubles would be over (in the land of Solla Salloo). And then you get there and realize--the streets are polished with work, not existing gold dust, that a happy wedding is a beginning, not an end, that a book contract is the base of the trail, not the pinnacle, that finding your Life's Calling is the first step of a worldwide journey.But yet it's still worth it to celebrate that spark, that beginning, because it's the chance that makes it possible.
We don't love (and need) freedom because it solves all our problems. We love freedom because it gives us chances. Because it opens doors. Because it gives us--and sometimes forces us to develop--power we didn't have before. Power to change our lives and bless others and make something of the world around us.
Die Mauer ist gefallen. Let freedom ring.
We followed her downstairs to watch on TV as thousands of Germans climbed on the Berlin Wall, crossing East to West and West to East, in the largest display of euphoria I'd ever seen. In the days that followed, demonstrations continued in the surrounding Soviet bloc countries, including Czechoslovakia, where my grandfather was born and where I still have cousins.
I've lived in Germany since then. I realize that the effects of East vs. West and the resulting unification have positives and negatives. I know that the economy of the East is still weaker than the West, and that the cost to rebuild the East chafes. I get what Wolf Biermann says in his poem "Der Westn ist besser, der Westn ist bunter, und schoener und schlauer und reicher und frei/und trotz allerdem, ich sag' dir die Wahrheit/der Westn ist auch nicht det Gelbe vom Ei." (The West is better, the West is more colorful, und more beautiful, and cleverer and richer and free/but in spite of it all I tell you the truth: the West, it isn't the yolk of the egg/cat's meow.)
Still.
It's easy to look at our Greatest Dream, our personal Promised Land, and think that if only *sigh* if ONLY I could be *there* then the streets would be paved with gold, and all my troubles would be over (in the land of Solla Salloo). And then you get there and realize--the streets are polished with work, not existing gold dust, that a happy wedding is a beginning, not an end, that a book contract is the base of the trail, not the pinnacle, that finding your Life's Calling is the first step of a worldwide journey.But yet it's still worth it to celebrate that spark, that beginning, because it's the chance that makes it possible.
We don't love (and need) freedom because it solves all our problems. We love freedom because it gives us chances. Because it opens doors. Because it gives us--and sometimes forces us to develop--power we didn't have before. Power to change our lives and bless others and make something of the world around us.
Die Mauer ist gefallen. Let freedom ring.
Having sent what has turned out to probably be the last revision of my picture book to my editor on Saturday, I had planned to not only blog today but also work on a new book.
Unfortunately, instead of merely one previously-scheduled doctor's appointment, I ended up with four: the planned one, then a trip to the pediatrician, the radiologist, and the orthopedist.
Yep, the Pace family has its first broken arm. It belongs to the twelve-year-old male child, otherwise known as #3.
Bummer.
Also unfortunately, I had to miss a Virginia Festival of the Book planning meeting with![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
franslayton and the Festival director. Fran and Nancy met without me and have come up with something absolutely fabulous. I'm so excited -- it's bigger and better than ever with kidlit at VABook -- and we'll have deets coming soon.
Unfortunately, instead of merely one previously-scheduled doctor's appointment, I ended up with four: the planned one, then a trip to the pediatrician, the radiologist, and the orthopedist.
Yep, the Pace family has its first broken arm. It belongs to the twelve-year-old male child, otherwise known as #3.
Bummer.
Also unfortunately, I had to miss a Virginia Festival of the Book planning meeting with
franslayton and the Festival director. Fran and Nancy met without me and have come up with something absolutely fabulous. I'm so excited -- it's bigger and better than ever with kidlit at VABook -- and we'll have deets coming soon.I think that possibly I will only write about things that happen at the grocery store from now on because it's kind of more interesting than the things that happen at my house.
My house is like a bat cave:
You can guess which one I get to be. Seriously. There is no light in there. It's so bad that sometimes I step out into the driveway and realize that not only do my socks don't match, but my shoes don't match!
Yes, I do turn on the lights.
No, they don't help.
I think pretty soon I'm going to end up looking like this:
This might actually be an improvement. He's kind of cute.But this transformation probably won't go over well on the book tour because instead of talking about my books and characters and how cool it would be if NEED was turned into a movie, I'll just be all, "SCREECHING_BAT NOISE_ SCREECH!"
This may be an improvement too actually.
Anyway, the ATM/CREDIT machine broke today in the grocery store FAST/EXPRESS lane, which made it not so fast/express.
The guy behind me was:
1. Cute
2. Impatient to get to lunch
3. Buying toothpaste.
And the woman in front of me was:
1. Cute
2. Patient
3. Buying $10 worth of things.
I was merely buying this:
Yes, it is that kind of day.
So, I said to the cashier clerk man who JUST had to go through a similar 20 minute ordeal with the machine where everyone in the entire grocery store had to come fix it, "I'll buy her stuff and my Mr. Bubble Bubblebath for sensitive skin and his toothpaste."
Everyone looked at me.
And I said, "I have cash!"
Which I did! Amen! And the cute lady who I love hugged me and the cute man was all, "Thank you, you didn't have to do that." He looked at me like I was this super angel person, which I am not, but it was nice to have someone think that.
And I have decided now that cash is a very good thing.
So is bubble bath.
Bats don't like bubble baths, right? So, I am still human, right?
Just checking.
My novel, Give Up the Ghost, has a set-up that might feel familiar to fans of paranormal fiction. There’s a main character with supernatural ties. There’s a character of the opposite sex who enters her life and shakes it up. You know where this is going, right?
If you guessed that they end up in a heated romance, you would actually be wrong. But I wouldn’t blame you for assuming that. Before I even started writing the book, I knew a romance would be the expected outcome. It was very deliberate that I chose not to meet that expectation.
Comment here or there!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
Mark Tuchman took this side shot of us as we posed for this month's SLJ cover. It's particularly appropriate since Cheryl Klein and...
. . . that my new Meter Readers column for KidMagWriters.com went live as of November 1st. It's all about rhymed couplets: what they are, how to write them, and a good number of examples (including dialogue from The Princess Bride - hence my icon, which is part of dialogue in rhymed couplets between Inigo Montoya and Fezzig the Giant).
Clickety click.
Clickety click.
- Mood:
naptime! - Music:Alienation's For the Rich by They Might Be Giants (brainradio)
Back from AASL in Charlotte, NC. There's more to say on this, but I'm about to word-war with Tessa for my neglected NaNo novel. So we'll let some pictures and music say it all.
1. Music from the Ballad video is now up for download for my site. (up for down, did you catch that?)
2. Some sketches from the Sketchbook of Doom. These are from the way to and from AASL.
3. My current musical obsession: "Percussion Gun" by White Rabbits. The whole album rocks. I can't stop listening to it. It's like if Vampire Weekend had babies with The Bravery. (also, if that happened, could I watch?)
1. Music from the Ballad video is now up for download for my site. (up for down, did you catch that?)
2. Some sketches from the Sketchbook of Doom. These are from the way to and from AASL.
3. My current musical obsession: "Percussion Gun" by White Rabbits. The whole album rocks. I can't stop listening to it. It's like if Vampire Weekend had babies with The Bravery. (also, if that happened, could I watch?)
The New York Times Best Illustrated Books list is out, along with my review of The Lion & the Mouse. What a great book--I wish they had given me twice the space. When I sat down with it and my two young neighbors, the two year old boy announced, looking uncertainly at the cover, "lions are scary." His more intrepid four-year-old sister took over the narration from there ("Look out for the bird!") until the end, whereupon the two-year-old said, "lions are NOT scary." Now it's his favorite book, so we gave him a copy for his birthday, along with a little plastic lion he can carry around in his hand. What's your talisman?
I emailed something (a new scene) to someone (my agent) this morning. In an effort to stop myself from refreshing my email for the rest of the day, I'm, you know, doing other stuff. Like reading my LJ f-list.
My LJ f-list tells me that 2011 YA releases, GIMME FEVER by Cyn Balog akacyn2write and SHATTERED by Amanda Grace aka Mandy Hubbard aka mandywriter, are now on goodreads!
And that reminded me that I should let y'all know that last month, some kind, wonderful, anonymous person added my book to goodreads here. So, if you're into that sort of thing and want to add it to your list, too, I would love it.
Thank you! :-)
My LJ f-list tells me that 2011 YA releases, GIMME FEVER by Cyn Balog aka
cyn2write and SHATTERED by Amanda Grace aka Mandy Hubbard aka mandywriter, are now on goodreads! And that reminded me that I should let y'all know that last month, some kind, wonderful, anonymous person added my book to goodreads here. So, if you're into that sort of thing and want to add it to your list, too, I would love it.
Thank you! :-)
- Mood:
nervous
These are on the Simon and Schuster website, so I guess they're okay to share! Both will be out next summer....
These are books Publishers Weekly named as the best YA novels of 2009. Which have you read? I have read Catching Fire, If I Stay, The Ask and the Answer, When You Reach Me, and Lips Touch. And I’ve got more in my TBR pile.
Wintergirls
Going Bovine
Fire
Catching Fire
If I Stay
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Purple Heart
The Ask and the Answer
A Season of Gifts
When You Reach Me
Shiver
Marcelo in the Real World
Tales from Outer Suburbia
Lips Touch: Three Times
The Uninvited
Which have you read?
Which of the ones I haven't read yet do you think I should read right away?
Wintergirls
Going Bovine
Fire
Catching Fire
If I Stay
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Purple Heart
The Ask and the Answer
A Season of Gifts
When You Reach Me
Shiver
Marcelo in the Real World
Tales from Outer Suburbia
Lips Touch: Three Times
The Uninvited
Which have you read?
Which of the ones I haven't read yet do you think I should read right away?
It's always exciting when your book first pops up on Amazon--found book one of Magic Repair shops books up there today.
SOOOOOOO close to finishing book two!!!!!! Got waylaid last week by sick kids, doctor appointments and mega-carpooling.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416990
SOOOOOOO close to finishing book two!!!!!! Got waylaid last week by sick kids, doctor appointments and mega-carpooling.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416990
SLEEPLESS, coming out July 13, 2010, is finally available for pre-order on Amazon. In case you just, um, wanted to put it in your cart. Of course, if you want to wait and get it from your local Indie, I support you in that decision. :)
And even though GIMME FEVER isn't going to be available until 2011, some really quick person already added it to Goodreads (thank you ever-so-much!). Add it to your to-read list? Please?
A salute to my friends in Germany. 20 years ago you took the first, dramatic steps toward reunification. The journey has sometimes been painful, but look how far you've come.
I was so wrapped up in toddler care and pregnancy that I barely noticed the news that autumn of 1989, so now I read the articles about the fall of the wall and marvel at the brave men and women who made it happen. (Give your parents a hug for me,eretria.)
I was so wrapped up in toddler care and pregnancy that I barely noticed the news that autumn of 1989, so now I read the articles about the fall of the wall and marvel at the brave men and women who made it happen. (Give your parents a hug for me,
eretria.)- Mood:
impressed
I am married to a hunter. My husband is a man who loves nothing more than to sit unwashed and silent in the crook of a tree during the cold, wee hours of the morning in hopes of shooting a deer (or 20). Our fridge is packed with more variants of deer-based meat products than you can imagine; heads with fixed and glassy eyes line the walls of our house. Although I don’t *get it*, I accept it…. mostly.
My husband’s need to hunt is primordial and urgent and this means that during every hunting season he basically takes a mistress. I am no longer the center of his universe or the object of his affection. That passion is now devoted to THE HUNT. Within seconds of the opening of deer season my husband’s phone begins to buzz with the incessant calling of his peers – other men who dial urgently to tell my husband, quite earnestly, that they SAW a buck. Mind you, no one actually bagged the deer, they merely SPOTTED it. This news is followed by a 4-hour dinner-interrupting conversation about the *EXACT* details of this sighting: Where was the deer sitting? Did it come in from the North? Or the South? Drop tines? Rack size? Was the wind blowing? What were you doing when you saw it? What were you wearing? Ridiculous!
I mean, I love shopping, but my husband’s behavior is the equivalent of me picking up the phone to call a friend and say, “I was at Nordstroms. And I saw SHOES!!! I KNOW?? Can you believe it? SHOES? Yes. They had HEELS – at least 2 inches. They were RIGHT on the shelf as you walked into the North entrance. I don’t know, I think I was un-wrapping a piece gum – or maybe putting my car keys into my purse when I saw them. I had on my GAP jeans and a sweater. Yes, the striped one we bought last Tuesday.” I mean… really?
The other thing I hate about hunting is that in order to do it, my husband has to leave home for days at a time. And it’s during those exact days that disaster and circumstance converge at the intersection of my home. Kids who are otherwise healthy suddenly acquire a multitude of afflictions. Soccer games run concurrently to one another. Homework projects requiring architectural materials become due. Babies who have slept through the night since they were TWO MONTHS OLD suddenly decide to become nocturnal. This weekend was no exception.
Larissa took ill so I spent my days cradling a wailing baby and my nights, well, cradling a wailing baby. My sleep satiety meter plunged to new lows. The wailing baby used my cell phone as a soother and killed it dead, facilitating an emergency trip to the Verizon store (which you know how much I love!) Meals were reduced to leftover donuts from the previous day's breakfast. The kids and I became equally edgy and unruly. This is the second time we’ve endured this hardship, however. The first was less than 2 weeks after school started when my husband went on a 10-day hunting excursion to Wyoming where he was completely unreachable by any means for 90% of the time. Awesome.
This time, as the bags under my eyes became duffle-sized and my sanity began to fray, all I could picture were fantasy sequences where I was the one sitting in a tree with a gun while my husband unsuspectingly grazed in the field before me. This is mostly because my husband typically returns home from these boondoggles still in full caveman mode. After his 10-day stint he returned home 6 full hours after his scheduled arrival time and was honestly disappointed that at 1:00 a.m. I was NOT posed on the bed in Victoria’s Secret catalog layout fashion. That was indeed peculiar, because nothing makes me feel more warmly towards my husband or more keen on procreation than spending 10 days alone with our five children.
I think this time my husband started to suspect that my tour of duty was more than a little dicey when I dozed off 3 times before dinner. It’s possible that he recalled the fallout that resulted from his behavior after the last hunting trip, thus my husband made dinner, bathed the children, and put them to bed. He got out of bed twice to solve Kellan’s twilight crises of the missing sippy cup, once to reapply the crying baby’s pacifier, and then once more to provide a pre-dawn bottle. And then, after all his work was done…he asked for sex.
- Mood:
predatory
You can add it here.
I'm not sure who put it up on the site, but hey, someone is just as excited as I am! :-)
Also: SQUEEE! I totally love this Icon made by the talented
anywherebeyondIf you've ever wondered about the publishing process you might consider attending my From Page to Publication program this Thursday night at the Smoky Hill Library in Centennial, CO. The program is open to adults and teens. You can register for this free event at arapahoelibraries.org.
| From Page to Publication | |
 | |
| Event Type: Adults & Teens Date: 11/12/2009 Start Time: 7:00 PM End Time: 8:30 PM Description: Terri Clark, author of Sleepless (HarperCollins), will demystify the publishing process. Learn about the many stages a manuscript goes through before it hits the shelves as a book - revisions, copy edits, line edits, etc. From page to publication, contract to book shelf, Terri will share her experience and answer questions from interested writers. Library: Smoky Hill LibraryLocation: Smoky Hill Room A Registration Ends: 11/12/2009 at 7:00 PM Status: Openings | |
Orange you glad to see this? It's the cover art for my third book, My Best Frenemy. The banner across the top ("Friends for Keeps") is the brand new series name. I'm pretty amazingly thrilled to have a series name:
My Best Frenemy
Dial Books for Young Readers
May 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3501-9
The book is another friendship tale told by our fourth-grade heroine, Ida May, who is not necessarily as brave on the outside as she is on the inside. In this story we get to play a little Truth or Dare, do a little geometry (this made me sweat a bit), contemplate the work of Picasso, meet Ida's new pet, and peek inside her diary. There is also a frenemy. And a few surprises along the way.
Dare I mention that My Best Frenemy is already available for pre-order here and here? :)
- Mood:
happy
I'm not talking about censorship/sex/drugs/your neighbor thinking you act like a teenager.
I'm talking about ZOMBIES.
So last night I became one.
Seriously.
I was in Spain. At least I think it was Spain because everything was red-roofed and red streets and there were a lot of yummy smells in the air.
Smells like BRAINZ.
I was bit almost immediately and then knew (because I read THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH bycarrie_ryan) that I would turn. Quickly. And I did.
A useful side character came up (like a good side character should) and warned, "Don't look in the mirror."
So of course I spent the rest of the dream --between diving out of windows/infecting other people/hiding fromwatchmebe who was chasing me with a bow & arrow (SISTER'S RED style?)--looking for a mirror.
When I found one it was blurred and cracked like all good story mirrors are. My reflection looked something like this:
But you know, with blue eyes.
I grabbed a roll of TP (which was handy, natch) and wiped off some of the blood and brainz and got back to work doing what zombies do.
That's about when I found my family casually picnicking on green grass apparently unaware of my current state.
I watched from afar as a wolf. Who looked just like Sam from SHIVER bym_stiefvater
Except, you know with yellow eyes
So he waltzes out of the woods and BITES MY YELLOW LAB ON THE BACK OF THE NECK KILLING HIM INSTANTLY.
Am I upset?
Not really. I casually think, "He's going to morph into a werewolf later--he'll be fine."
As I am OOZING BLOOD AND BRAINZ.
I blame said authors mentioned above. And YA in general.
Needless to say, I escaped unscathed.
I had to tell The Boy all about said dream before school this morning. His comment?
"That's great nobody cut your head off--you know that's the only way to kill a zombie."
Lesson learned? YA is a world I never want to stop visiting.
I'm talking about ZOMBIES.
So last night I became one.
Seriously.
I was in Spain. At least I think it was Spain because everything was red-roofed and red streets and there were a lot of yummy smells in the air.
Smells like BRAINZ.
I was bit almost immediately and then knew (because I read THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by
carrie_ryan) that I would turn. Quickly. And I did.A useful side character came up (like a good side character should) and warned, "Don't look in the mirror."
So of course I spent the rest of the dream --between diving out of windows/infecting other people/hiding from
watchmebe who was chasing me with a bow & arrow (SISTER'S RED style?)--looking for a mirror.When I found one it was blurred and cracked like all good story mirrors are. My reflection looked something like this:
But you know, with blue eyes.
I grabbed a roll of TP (which was handy, natch) and wiped off some of the blood and brainz and got back to work doing what zombies do.
That's about when I found my family casually picnicking on green grass apparently unaware of my current state.
I watched from afar as a wolf. Who looked just like Sam from SHIVER by
m_stiefvaterExcept, you know with yellow eyes
So he waltzes out of the woods and BITES MY YELLOW LAB ON THE BACK OF THE NECK KILLING HIM INSTANTLY.
Am I upset?
Not really. I casually think, "He's going to morph into a werewolf later--he'll be fine."
As I am OOZING BLOOD AND BRAINZ.
I blame said authors mentioned above. And YA in general.
Needless to say, I escaped unscathed.
I had to tell The Boy all about said dream before school this morning. His comment?
"That's great nobody cut your head off--you know that's the only way to kill a zombie."
Lesson learned? YA is a world I never want to stop visiting.
- Location:Spain
- Mood:
accomplished - Music:Zombie music
Notes on my refrigerator
When we visited my in-laws a few weeks ago, they gave us their nearly-new Subaru Forester. Very exciting, but hmmm, how to get it home? I enjoy traveling, don't get me wrong, but epic car rides give me claustrophobia. (Are you surprised?) But my husband adores road trips. Long story short, he drove the Subaru back to Orange County via the backroads and byways of America.
On this sunny Monday morning, two quasi-related thoughts:
1) Our new silver steed is sturdy, shiny, safe. Just a few tiny scratches -- beauty marks, let's call them -- and that new car smell still lingers. I am grateful for this unexpected blessing, but honestly? I'd like to give it a little makeover. It's a sensible car, which is all well and good, but a little frivolity never hurt anyone, right? So...how can I transform my Granola Mobile into something a little more girly-girl? (No offense to those who prefer the former to the latter.)
2) My husband visited the International Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky, where he was fortunate enough to see a live performance by Bill and Maggie Anderson, I would have liked to see them in person, but my husband brought me a CD as a consolation prize. Now, I'm not all that fond of bluegrass, but trust me: it's a toe-tapping, hand-clapping platter o' down-home goodness. My favorite song on the album is "God's Refrigerator." This video features a different artist, but I think you'll get the picture.
Yeah, it's as corny as all get-out, and maybe a bit too twangy for my ears. But the metaphor's kinda cute, don't you think? No matter your religious beliefs, I think everybody understands the significance of love made visible. And--please forgive me for this shallow interpretation--I'm wishing my story was ready to tape to the refrigerator. You too? Well, let's get cookin'!
On this sunny Monday morning, two quasi-related thoughts:
1) Our new silver steed is sturdy, shiny, safe. Just a few tiny scratches -- beauty marks, let's call them -- and that new car smell still lingers. I am grateful for this unexpected blessing, but honestly? I'd like to give it a little makeover. It's a sensible car, which is all well and good, but a little frivolity never hurt anyone, right? So...how can I transform my Granola Mobile into something a little more girly-girl? (No offense to those who prefer the former to the latter.)
2) My husband visited the International Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky, where he was fortunate enough to see a live performance by Bill and Maggie Anderson, I would have liked to see them in person, but my husband brought me a CD as a consolation prize. Now, I'm not all that fond of bluegrass, but trust me: it's a toe-tapping, hand-clapping platter o' down-home goodness. My favorite song on the album is "God's Refrigerator." This video features a different artist, but I think you'll get the picture.
Yeah, it's as corny as all get-out, and maybe a bit too twangy for my ears. But the metaphor's kinda cute, don't you think? No matter your religious beliefs, I think everybody understands the significance of love made visible. And--please forgive me for this shallow interpretation--I'm wishing my story was ready to tape to the refrigerator. You too? Well, let's get cookin'!
I went to
When we landed, I practically burst out of the plane and went to visit my friend Melissa and her one-year-old daughter. Later that night, I met up with Wendy and we had dinner – we ordered about six different meals between us, just so we could taste everything (reminiscent of trips to Kate Mantilini in LA with Arielle). The next morning I headed to Jefferson Junior High in
The good: I know for sure some kind librarians nominated FAR FROM YOU for the YALSA 2010 book lists (Best Books for Young Readers and Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers) because they told me so. THANK YOU kind librarians!!!
The not-so-good: It didn't make either nomination list, which means it didn't get the necessary second from a committee member. I'm sad, but oh well. I'm thrilled so many awesome books are on the lists and many of our LJ friends, includinglkmadigan and jbknowles , have books there.
The good: The book I've been working on for the last 8 months, HOPE FOR NIMBUS, is done. For now. And I'm going to send it to my agent today!
The not-so-good: I wanted to be a lot further along on my new novel-in-verse than I am, and I'm so busy at work this month, I don't know that I'm going to have much energy to work on it during my off-hours. But, I guess I can only do what I can do.
The good: I was browsing the new S&S Children's Catalog for Spring 2010 and on the CHASING BROOKLYN page, it says, "12-copy mixed floor display (Includes 8 copies of CHASING BROOKLYN and 4 copies of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME) for $159.88." A floor display will be available for my books!!
The not-so-good: Will any bookseller really buy one? I often see news like this and think the worst. What is up with that?
The good: Day off today!
The not-so-good: I have a to-do list the size of a foot-long sandwich. I better get to it.
Happy Monday all! And in case I don't get a chance to say it tomorrow, Happy Anniversary Sesame Street!!
The not-so-good: It didn't make either nomination list, which means it didn't get the necessary second from a committee member. I'm sad, but oh well. I'm thrilled so many awesome books are on the lists and many of our LJ friends, including
lkmadigan and jbknowles , have books there. The good: The book I've been working on for the last 8 months, HOPE FOR NIMBUS, is done. For now. And I'm going to send it to my agent today!
The not-so-good: I wanted to be a lot further along on my new novel-in-verse than I am, and I'm so busy at work this month, I don't know that I'm going to have much energy to work on it during my off-hours. But, I guess I can only do what I can do.
The good: I was browsing the new S&S Children's Catalog for Spring 2010 and on the CHASING BROOKLYN page, it says, "12-copy mixed floor display (Includes 8 copies of CHASING BROOKLYN and 4 copies of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME) for $159.88." A floor display will be available for my books!!
The not-so-good: Will any bookseller really buy one? I often see news like this and think the worst. What is up with that?
The good: Day off today!
The not-so-good: I have a to-do list the size of a foot-long sandwich. I better get to it.
Happy Monday all! And in case I don't get a chance to say it tomorrow, Happy Anniversary Sesame Street!!
I just finished my first NYC school visit. I spoke to a group of sixth graders at Pershing IS-220 and we had a fun visit. They even gave me flowers--so sweet! I ran through my Power Point and the kids asked great, engaging questions.
The best part? I didn't spill coffee on my skirt (and I mean a LOT of coffee) until I was heading down the stairs to leave. Win!
Thanks so much to Lucia Greenberg for being a fantastic host. She took photos of the event and got releases from the students' parents, so I'll be able to post pics to my blog soon.
Gotta do some writing before heading into Manhattan for an appt. Happy Monday!
- Mood:
relieved
Hello all. I had some news I wanted to share in the November newsletter, but due to the timing (we couldn't announce it anywhere 'til 11/2), I couldn't share my news there. If it's okay with everyone, I'd love to share it here, especially for people interested in new ways of publishing and how editors deal with slush.
First, the big news: a comic I created with artist Niki Smith, “In Maps and Legends,” is live on the Zuda Comics site!
Zuda is the online comics line from DC Comics, the same folks who brought us Batman, Superman, the Sandman, Justice League, Wonder Woman, and countless other amazing characters and stories.
Zuda offers an interesting twist on how comics are chosen to be published.
( Read more... )
First, the big news: a comic I created with artist Niki Smith, “In Maps and Legends,” is live on the Zuda Comics site!
Zuda is the online comics line from DC Comics, the same folks who brought us Batman, Superman, the Sandman, Justice League, Wonder Woman, and countless other amazing characters and stories.
Zuda offers an interesting twist on how comics are chosen to be published.
( Read more... )
I'm so needed outside to rake, haul and help hubby with some measuring of the land. I'd so much rather be moving forward with my sci-fi middle grade. After rewriting the first four chapters with the new characters, I went back and totally overhauled the middle and end plots. New places to explore, new people to talk to. A simplified ending . . . I'm soooooo in love with this project again!
And speaking of projects, B finished his Egypt report. He had three weeks to create the written portion, a 3-D piece and a poster board of information. But three soccer practices/games a week + one boyscout meeting a week + two big merit badge projects (all of which in the month of October) = very, very little time.
So he really, truly started the project last Monday, once soccer was done and the merit badge projects were turned in. He chose to work on Mummies. I wasn't surprised . . . dead things, organs being extracted, brains mashed and taken out the nose, fingers and toes falling off . . . what boy wouldn't want to do a mummy project?
He did his report first, 'cause he finds that the most boring. Then he did his 3-D, and then the poster was worked on aaaaaallllll day yesterday
I learned so much right along side of him . . . very interesting stuff! I thought his 3-D would be the sarcophagus or he'd wrap a mummy. But he chose a canopic jar, in the shape of the jackal headed god, Duametef. It houses the stomach so the pharoh or other elite could have it in the afterlife. There are three others which house the liver, intestines and lungs. The Egyptians threw the brain away, it wasn't important I guess. And the heart stayed as it housed the soul.
B is sooooo proud of that jar! Then, on the way out the door this morning, he tried to help me carry something, and he dropped the top. An ear and nose broke off . . . he was soooo upset.
But good news!! We quickly super glued it back on and you couldn't even tell it'd come off.
All hail the Super Glue!!
Okay, hubby is tapping his foot and looking at his watch . . . I have to run!
- Mood:
grateful
- Mood:
thought I was a comma ace
Should Walt Whitman be used to hawk jeans? Well, maybe not, but at least these commercials are beautifully filmed and thought-provoking. And hey, crazy folk on the right are saying they promote anarchy, homosexuality, and fascism.
This commercial was shot in Portland. The agency is Weiden & Kennedy - I have partied in their fantastic office space [Full disclosure: so have a lot of other authors, for Wordstock.]
This commerical features what is believed to be his voice.
Was a wax cylinder recording made of Walt Whitman reading one of his poems in 1890? The cylinder seems lost to history, but nearly 20 years ago a scholar in Texas found a recording made in 1951 of a radio show that featured what the host said was Whitman reading one of his poems. There’s no clue to negate the idea, and people find it compelling that the poem is an obscure one - if you were going to dummy it up or simply have an actor record a poem, it would probably be a well-known one.
You can read more about this mysterious wax cylinder here.
This commercial was shot in Portland. The agency is Weiden & Kennedy - I have partied in their fantastic office space [Full disclosure: so have a lot of other authors, for Wordstock.]
This commerical features what is believed to be his voice.
Was a wax cylinder recording made of Walt Whitman reading one of his poems in 1890? The cylinder seems lost to history, but nearly 20 years ago a scholar in Texas found a recording made in 1951 of a radio show that featured what the host said was Whitman reading one of his poems. There’s no clue to negate the idea, and people find it compelling that the poem is an obscure one - if you were going to dummy it up or simply have an actor record a poem, it would probably be a well-known one.
You can read more about this mysterious wax cylinder here.
We had a wonderful time at the gallery opening last night. A woman came up to me and asked, "Which piece is yours?"
I pointed to the wall and responded, "I painted the Wild Things." Her jaw dropped, her eyes widened.
"Oh my. I'm sorry. I never knew your face!"
I quickly realized what had happened. "Oh no, I just painted a picture of the Wild Things. I didn't invent them."
Made it to the coffee shop! But the Internet is now distracting me. Must get to work!
Now, I really shouldn't go around saying What Would Judy Do? as if I'm on a first name basis with Judy Blume, but I find myself rereading her books before I revise to ask myself how she handled different storytelling elements--like plot, dialogue, pacing. She's never let me down. I just reread Blubber last night. This is my original edition that I got when I was in fifth grade. At the time, I cringed with the escalating bullying of the main character, Linda. Reading it again some years later, I'm still cringing. Now that's sharp writing.
The story runs just over four weeks. Some chapters are stuffed with scenes in the same day and some chapters blow by a week, but it's done so smoothly it never feels jarring to go from scene to scene or hurried. What it mostly feels is real. My current WIP runs over the course of eight months, with an escalating conflict between a girl and her new stepmother. I have to condense the time frame, so while in the midst of my revisions this week I'll frequently be thinking WWJD?
How about you? Do you have a favorite author giving you a writing workshop through their books?
The story runs just over four weeks. Some chapters are stuffed with scenes in the same day and some chapters blow by a week, but it's done so smoothly it never feels jarring to go from scene to scene or hurried. What it mostly feels is real. My current WIP runs over the course of eight months, with an escalating conflict between a girl and her new stepmother. I have to condense the time frame, so while in the midst of my revisions this week I'll frequently be thinking WWJD?
How about you? Do you have a favorite author giving you a writing workshop through their books?
The Miami Book Fair is coming up and I was just asked to introduce two great authors Joan Biscupic (Biography of Justice Scalia) and Barry Friedman (The Will of the People) who will be doing a panel talk on Satuday afternoon. Seems that I was chosen since I am both a lawyer and author, so I guess the law degree comes in handy even for promoting my new writing career.
Anyway, now the important decision will be...what to wear? The event is being taped by C-SPAN Book TV and so the question becomes even more critical (although I will probably be edited out of the taping). My wonderful Tenner cohorts have suggested I do the following: wear a tweed sportsjacket with elbow patches and a monocle, carry a pipe, sit by a fireplace and play some background mood music.
Hmm, methinks I will definitely stand out... but not in a good way! A thorough scan of my closet (and that of my sister's) may be in order. Perhaps even a bit of retail therapy will be necessary.
Regardless, I hope everyone in the Miami area comes out for this wonderful event. There's something for everyone (from kids to monocled, tweed-sportsjacketed, pipe-smoking book lovers). Here are some pictures from past years (from the fair's website).
Anyway, now the important decision will be...what to wear? The event is being taped by C-SPAN Book TV and so the question becomes even more critical (although I will probably be edited out of the taping). My wonderful Tenner cohorts have suggested I do the following: wear a tweed sportsjacket with elbow patches and a monocle, carry a pipe, sit by a fireplace and play some background mood music.
Hmm, methinks I will definitely stand out... but not in a good way! A thorough scan of my closet (and that of my sister's) may be in order. Perhaps even a bit of retail therapy will be necessary.
Regardless, I hope everyone in the Miami area comes out for this wonderful event. There's something for everyone (from kids to monocled, tweed-sportsjacketed, pipe-smoking book lovers). Here are some pictures from past years (from the fair's website).
I see it all the time... on blogs, on Twitter, on forums... agents say they get more queries than ever before. And I see a few folks reply that its probably the economy that has kick started so many people to finally write a book.
WRONG! (In My Opinion, of course)
Agents get more queries for one reason and one reason alone (In My Opinion, of course)...
Because its Easier to Write a Book. (Notice I didn't say 'good' book or 'okay' book... that part is as difficult as EVER. Believe me/you!)
Don't believe me. Talk to someone who's been writing for more than ten years (like myself).
Now hear out my reasoning.... I could, of course, be wrong.
1. Research.
I remember when I started to write back in 1994, a fantasy book. I wanted to research castles and such. I had to go to the library. Many libraries. Go through the card catalog. Dig through shelves. Or go to the bookstore and PURCHASE a book on castles.
Today it's a click away. You can research ANYTHING if you have the Interent. Easy, peezy, Mac and Chezzy. It's actually fun to research. And go in depth. It's fast. And convenient.
2. Setting.
The first book I ever finished (BALLOON SMUGGLERS... I still think it's good), takes place in Los Angeles, CA. Hardly any libraries had anything other than tour books about the City. I didn't know anyone who lived out there. It wasn't easy trying to make my setting a part of the book. Turned out, for me, that my brother-in-law was going to a week long conference out there and had an extra bed in his hotel room. My wife gave me the green light and I spent a week drving around the city.
Physcially going to the setting of your book is still the BEST way to learn about it, but its not necessary anymore. With the Internet, Digital Photos, Blogging... most of us can dig up all kinds of information about our setting without leaving the house. Amazing.
3. Software.
When I started to write BALLOON SMUGGLERS, I bought a few pens and a few spiral bound notebooks... and proceeded to write by hand. Then I would type it into a Brother P-touch typewriter and it would print out the manuscript. Took! For! Ever!
Now we have Word and Wordperfect and Notepad... so much easier. Spell and Grammar Check and, jeez, it's amazing how much easier it is to create a manuscript. And printing is so FAST!!! Some authors still write by hand... God Bless them... Everyone.
4. Agent Research
The only way I could research agents way back when was to go to the bookstore and purchase a copy of Writers Digest Guide to Literary Agents. About 20 bucks. And then to send out material... I had to label everything by hand, purchase postage... it was a real pain in the patoot.
The Internet has made finding information about agents very, very easy. But you have to go to the right sources... I'm sure there is also a LOT of bogus information out there.
*****
I know I'm missing a bunch of stuff... If you can think of anything else, please feel free to comment and I'll add it to my list.
I think the inundation of queries is due more to these reasons than to the economy. At least a lot of it.
- Mood:
hopeful - Music:Wouldn't it Be Nice - The Beach Boys
This past Thursday I flew down to the AASL (American Association of School Librarians) conference in Charlotte, NC to meet some fellow ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
debut2009 authors, hang out with my agent, drive up to visit cesario, and maybe, if all went well, get to sign a few of my books at the AASL PitStop. Those were my expectations, and they were modest and practical ones, and I had no idea that there was even the possibility of anything more. Especially since I'd left my laptop at home, my Canadian cell phone doesn't work in the US, and I wouldn't have access to e-mail or Internet until I got back Sunday night.
So I was wholly unprepared, when I met the Debs for breakfast on Friday morning, to find out fromcarrie_ryan that Knife has been nominated for one of the most prestigious children's book awards in the English-speaking world. The Carnegie Medal. We are talking the British equivalent of the Newbery or the National Book Award, people. C.S. Lewis won it for The Last Battle. So did Richard Adams for Watership Down.
I may have stared blankly at Carrie for about thirty seconds before I started flailing. And then I spent the whole weekend in a happy daze and I haven't come down since.
Congratulations to my fellow nomineessarahtales (The Demon's Lexicon) and halseanderson (Chains)!
debut2009 authors, hang out with my agent, drive up to visit cesario, and maybe, if all went well, get to sign a few of my books at the AASL PitStop. Those were my expectations, and they were modest and practical ones, and I had no idea that there was even the possibility of anything more. Especially since I'd left my laptop at home, my Canadian cell phone doesn't work in the US, and I wouldn't have access to e-mail or Internet until I got back Sunday night.So I was wholly unprepared, when I met the Debs for breakfast on Friday morning, to find out from
carrie_ryan that Knife has been nominated for one of the most prestigious children's book awards in the English-speaking world. The Carnegie Medal. We are talking the British equivalent of the Newbery or the National Book Award, people. C.S. Lewis won it for The Last Battle. So did Richard Adams for Watership Down.I may have stared blankly at Carrie for about thirty seconds before I started flailing. And then I spent the whole weekend in a happy daze and I haven't come down since.
Congratulations to my fellow nominees
sarahtales (The Demon's Lexicon) and halseanderson (Chains)!- Mood:
ecstatic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to
marirene74and
mela_lyn
As regular readers of this blog know, I watch a lot of Sesame Street since I had my daughter. Before that, not so much, at least, not since my own childhood. But I am part of the original Sesame Street generation: it turns 40 this year---this week is the beginning of the new season---and I turn 40 (gulp) this coming summer. I was pretty much raised on Big Bird and Snuffy and Oscar, learning letters and numbers with them, and I love that my own kid is doing the same, now. (Although right NOW she is watching Barney, which I hate. I know, I know, that's mean. But I can't help it.) Personally, I will be THRILLED for the new season to begin, if only because we have watched all the ones from last year multiple times. As much as I love Neil Patrick Harris as the Fairy Shoeperson, and Sandra Oh as the Cookie Fairy, I'm ready for some new material. Although I never really get tired of Prairie Dawn. I just love that girl.
In other news, how much did I love Taylor Swift on SNL this weekend? I thought she was beyond fab, especially her monologue. If you missed it, it's here:
There was also a great send-up of the Twilight movie, although I kind of missed a lot of the joke because I, um, haven't seen it. I know, I know. I really should, especially with the second one about to come out, for professional research reasons if nothing else. I mean, it's a great thing when a YA book does this well. But honestly, I'm kind of suffering from Twilight burnout even WITHOUT seeing the movie. I mean, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are everywhere these days, and I feel like every time I turn around there's another series about vampires on TV or in the new releases on the bookshelf. And I am just not a vampire/werewolf kind of person. It probably makes me seem wholly unimaginative, but I like stories about real people and real life. This is why I never got into Harry Potter, either (and why my husband maintains I am a Muggle. But whatever).
Finally, on a more serious note, I'm sitting here watching a segment on domestic violence on GMA, and it's breaking my heart. They're talking specifically about teenage girls, and what they are calling the "Rhianna effect," i.e. that since she came forward and talked about being beaten by Chris Brown on Friday night, calls to domestic violence lines---and specifically teen targeted ones---went up considerably. This is an issue close to my own heart, because I wrote a book about a girl in a similar relationship, and since then I have literally gotten hundreds of emails and letters from girls telling me about their own stories with abusive boyfriends. It's a terrible, terrible thing, that this happens, and I so respect Rhianna for coming forward and shedding some bright, needed light on the subject. I was never in an abusive relationship. But several of my close friends, in high school and since, were, and they were not weak women. They were strong and smart and just got overwhelmed. It happens. But it doesn't HAVE to. There are resources and help out there. So if you need it, speak up. Tell a friend, a parent, a clergyperson, a teacher. Tell SOMEONE. Please. The number for National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline is 1-866-331-9474. Their website is here.
I hope you all have a great day.
In other news, how much did I love Taylor Swift on SNL this weekend? I thought she was beyond fab, especially her monologue. If you missed it, it's here:
There was also a great send-up of the Twilight movie, although I kind of missed a lot of the joke because I, um, haven't seen it. I know, I know. I really should, especially with the second one about to come out, for professional research reasons if nothing else. I mean, it's a great thing when a YA book does this well. But honestly, I'm kind of suffering from Twilight burnout even WITHOUT seeing the movie. I mean, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are everywhere these days, and I feel like every time I turn around there's another series about vampires on TV or in the new releases on the bookshelf. And I am just not a vampire/werewolf kind of person. It probably makes me seem wholly unimaginative, but I like stories about real people and real life. This is why I never got into Harry Potter, either (and why my husband maintains I am a Muggle. But whatever).
Finally, on a more serious note, I'm sitting here watching a segment on domestic violence on GMA, and it's breaking my heart. They're talking specifically about teenage girls, and what they are calling the "Rhianna effect," i.e. that since she came forward and talked about being beaten by Chris Brown on Friday night, calls to domestic violence lines---and specifically teen targeted ones---went up considerably. This is an issue close to my own heart, because I wrote a book about a girl in a similar relationship, and since then I have literally gotten hundreds of emails and letters from girls telling me about their own stories with abusive boyfriends. It's a terrible, terrible thing, that this happens, and I so respect Rhianna for coming forward and shedding some bright, needed light on the subject. I was never in an abusive relationship. But several of my close friends, in high school and since, were, and they were not weak women. They were strong and smart and just got overwhelmed. It happens. But it doesn't HAVE to. There are resources and help out there. So if you need it, speak up. Tell a friend, a parent, a clergyperson, a teacher. Tell SOMEONE. Please. The number for National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline is 1-866-331-9474. Their website is here.
I hope you all have a great day.
I had the most wonderfully amazing, once in a lifetime experience Sat. I had my reading/signing at the Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, MA. When we arrived, there was a cage next to my signing table. The lovely folks at the zoo had arranged to have an African Crested porcupine pup come play for the day. I got to hold it while I read my book. The kids got to pet him. He was born over the summer, and is still bottle fed. He spent much of the time sucking on my finger. His tongue felt like a cat’s (sand papery). I spend some time talking about the porcupine page in my book, so it was fun to tell the kids my facts while having the real thing in my arms. Yes, he did have quills. They harden about an hour after birth. We also got to see him get nervous. He shook his quills. The “tail” ones are hollow and rattle together like a rattle snake. My oldest son came with me, so he got to witness it all. He was a great help because really, how can you hold a porcupine AND a book to read? LOL Profuse thanks to the great folks at Southwick’s Zoo for a great day.
- Mood:
excited
This weekend my husband had a conference to go to in Boston, so E and I decided to tag along for the free hotel and the promise of fun in the city. Our good friends Sue and Pete invited us to spend a night with them in Cambridge, too, so there was a lot to look forward to.
On Friday, E and I dropped Peter at his conference and headed to the Museum of Science, which is one of E's favorite spots. What he didn't know, was that there was a special exhibit there. An exhibit he didn't even know existed.
When we got to the parking garage, there was a flat-screen tv outside that was advertising exhibits and the Harry Potter image flashed by. E said, "That's weird. They just showed a picture from Harry Potter." And I said, "Yeah, weird." ;-)
Then we parked the car and figured out how to get into the museum. As we were walking down the long corridor from the garage to the museum entrance, a little girl dressed in Hogwarts robes skipped by us. E looked at me and said, "Um, that was random."
"Totally," I said.
Then we got to the ticket lines and he saw the big Harry Potter screen again. And he read out loud "Harry Potter Exhibit" and he caught his breath because just then, he turned and saw this:
And he pretty much didn't stop grinning for the rest of the day. The exhibit was so cool. I think you've got to be a true lover of the books and movies to really, really love it. And since E and I both are, we did. When he sat in Hagrid's chair, he rubbed the armrests over and over saying, "I just can't believe I'm sitting in HAGRID's CHAIR!"
It was a very quiet day at the museum and we were able to spend as much time as we wanted at the exhibit. Tons of people passed us, rushing through. But I think were were in there for almost three hours. It was fantastic.
The next day, we headed to our friends' house. The last time we stayed with them, I got a call from my agent to let me know I'd sold my third book. This time, I got great news again!
1. Jumping Off Swings was nominated for BBYA! This was the last month to get on the list and I was pretty sure all hope was lost. So that was a BIG and wonderful surprise!
2. My new editor had e-mailed to tell me her edits for PEARL are coming my way!
I told Sue and Pete we really need to visit more often. ;-)
Sue and Pete live near Fresh Pond in Cambridge, which has a wonderful walking path around it. And apparently it is THE place to go if you have a dog. We love going for walks there with their two dogs, Allie and Katama. It's like doggie social hour:
It's so much fun to see all the shapes and sizes. And all the dogs are so friendly! :-)
We had such a lovely weekend. Full of happy surprises, laughter, and conversation with friends. It made me realize how precious these moments are. And how it would be great to fill our lives with more of them. I'm going to try really hard to do that.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
Describe a dog you remember from your childhood. Either yours, a relative's or a friend's. What's your fondest or most powerful memory of that dog?
On Friday, E and I dropped Peter at his conference and headed to the Museum of Science, which is one of E's favorite spots. What he didn't know, was that there was a special exhibit there. An exhibit he didn't even know existed.
When we got to the parking garage, there was a flat-screen tv outside that was advertising exhibits and the Harry Potter image flashed by. E said, "That's weird. They just showed a picture from Harry Potter." And I said, "Yeah, weird." ;-)
Then we parked the car and figured out how to get into the museum. As we were walking down the long corridor from the garage to the museum entrance, a little girl dressed in Hogwarts robes skipped by us. E looked at me and said, "Um, that was random."
"Totally," I said.
Then we got to the ticket lines and he saw the big Harry Potter screen again. And he read out loud "Harry Potter Exhibit" and he caught his breath because just then, he turned and saw this:
And he pretty much didn't stop grinning for the rest of the day. The exhibit was so cool. I think you've got to be a true lover of the books and movies to really, really love it. And since E and I both are, we did. When he sat in Hagrid's chair, he rubbed the armrests over and over saying, "I just can't believe I'm sitting in HAGRID's CHAIR!"
It was a very quiet day at the museum and we were able to spend as much time as we wanted at the exhibit. Tons of people passed us, rushing through. But I think were were in there for almost three hours. It was fantastic.
The next day, we headed to our friends' house. The last time we stayed with them, I got a call from my agent to let me know I'd sold my third book. This time, I got great news again!
1. Jumping Off Swings was nominated for BBYA! This was the last month to get on the list and I was pretty sure all hope was lost. So that was a BIG and wonderful surprise!
2. My new editor had e-mailed to tell me her edits for PEARL are coming my way!
I told Sue and Pete we really need to visit more often. ;-)
Sue and Pete live near Fresh Pond in Cambridge, which has a wonderful walking path around it. And apparently it is THE place to go if you have a dog. We love going for walks there with their two dogs, Allie and Katama. It's like doggie social hour:
It's so much fun to see all the shapes and sizes. And all the dogs are so friendly! :-)
We had such a lovely weekend. Full of happy surprises, laughter, and conversation with friends. It made me realize how precious these moments are. And how it would be great to fill our lives with more of them. I'm going to try really hard to do that.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
Describe a dog you remember from your childhood. Either yours, a relative's or a friend's. What's your fondest or most powerful memory of that dog?
We are pleased to announce Holidaze With the Debs, a series of author events in the U.S. and Canada this holiday season. At bookstores, libraries and schools in the New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto areas, members of the 2009 Debutantes will talk about their own books and other 2009 favorites. A full list of events is available below.
"Publishers are working with shrinking promotional budgets in this economy," notes Rhonda Stapleton, author of STUPID CUPID (Simon Pulse). "As first-time authors, we know that much of our promotion is going to have to come from us, and over the last year we've also learned how much fun it is to do events together. So we're especially excited to be able to talk to readers directly this holiday season."
2009 DEBUTANTES' HOLIDAZE TOUR
NEW YORK
Dec. 6, 1-3 p.m.
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th St.
New York, NY
Including: Megan Crewe, Sarah Cross, Deva Fagan, Neesha Meminger, Kate Messner, Shani Petroff, Jon Skovron, Michelle Zink
CHICAGO
Dec. 5, 1-3 p.m.
Borders
161 N. Weber Road
Bolingbrook, IL
Including: Cynthea Liu, Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Kristina Springer, Darcy Vance, Lara Zielin
Dec. 5, 7-9 p.m.
The Book Cellar, Inc.
4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL
Including: Cynthea Liu, Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Kristina Springer, Darcy Vance, Lara Zielin
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
Dec. 5, 3-4 p.m
Borders
588 Francisco Blvd. West
San Rafael, CA
Including: Lauren Bjorkman, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, Malinda Lo, Sarah Quigley
Dec. 8, 7 p.m.
Menlo Park Public Library
800 Alma St.
Menlo Park, CA
Including: Lauren Bjorkman, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, C. Lee McKenzie, Sarah Quigley, J.A. Yang
Dec. 9, 12 p.m.
Petaluma High School*
201 Fair St.
Petaluma, CA
Including: Lauren Bjorkman, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, Malinda Lo, Sarah Quigley, J.A. Yang
* Open to the public, but visitors should check in at the school office when arriving
Dec. 12, 2-4 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
119 Colma Blvd.
Colma, CA
Including: Lauren Bjorkman, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, Malinda Lo, C. Lee McKenzie, Sarah Quigley, J.A. Yang
TORONTO
Jan. 9, 2 p.m.
Indigo
Eaton Centre
220 Yonge St.
Toronto, Ontario
Including: R.J. Anderson, Megan Crewe, Sarah Ockler, Rhonda Stapleton, Lara Zielin
"Publishers are working with shrinking promotional budgets in this economy," notes Rhonda Stapleton, author of STUPID CUPID (Simon Pulse). "As first-time authors, we know that much of our promotion is going to have to come from us, and over the last year we've also learned how much fun it is to do events together. So we're especially excited to be able to talk to readers directly this holiday season."
2009 DEBUTANTES' HOLIDAZE TOUR
NEW YORK
Dec. 6, 1-3 p.m.
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th St.
New York, NY
Including: Megan Crewe, Sarah Cross, Deva Fagan, Neesha Meminger, Kate Messner, Shani Petroff, Jon Skovron, Michelle Zink
CHICAGO
Dec. 5, 1-3 p.m.
Borders
161 N. Weber Road
Bolingbrook, IL
Including: Cynthea Liu, Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Kristina Springer, Darcy Vance, Lara Zielin
Dec. 5, 7-9 p.m.
The Book Cellar, Inc.
4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL
Including: Cynthea Liu, Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Kristina Springer, Darcy Vance, Lara Zielin
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
Dec. 5, 3-4 p.m
Borders
588 Francisco Blvd. West
San Rafael, CA
Including: Lauren Bjorkman, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, Malinda Lo, Sarah Quigley
Dec. 8, 7 p.m.
Menlo Park Public Library
800 Alma St.
Menlo Park, CA
Including: Lauren Bjorkman, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, C. Lee McKenzie, Sarah Quigley, J.A. Yang
Dec. 9, 12 p.m.
Petaluma High School*
201 Fair St.
Petaluma, CA
Including: Lauren Bjorkman, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, Malinda Lo, Sarah Quigley, J.A. Yang
* Open to the public, but visitors should check in at the school office when arriving
Dec. 12, 2-4 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
119 Colma Blvd.
Colma, CA
Including: Lauren Bjorkman, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, Malinda Lo, C. Lee McKenzie, Sarah Quigley, J.A. Yang
TORONTO
Jan. 9, 2 p.m.
Indigo
Eaton Centre
220 Yonge St.
Toronto, Ontario
Including: R.J. Anderson, Megan Crewe, Sarah Ockler, Rhonda Stapleton, Lara Zielin
Learn about Alan Cumyn.So far, what's the most fun you've ever had working on a book? Why?
I have to say that working on this latest book, Dear Sylvia (Groundwood, 2008)(excerpt), was the most fun.
I often struggle to find the right voice for a particular project, and when I do a sequel (or, in this case, the third of a trilogy) I'm highly conscious of having to be as or more original than the original(s).
The Secret Life of Owen Skye (Groundwood, 2002) I wrote for my girls when they were young, and the natural voice for those linked stories was a hybrid adult/kid third-person narration--they are told in the spirit of a father exaggerating slightly about a loved but distant past.
After Sylvia (Groundwood, 2004) uses the same voice, but it is more of a classic novel in form and story arc.
In Dear Sylvia, Owen is writing letters to his true love, Sylvia Tull, who has moved way, and it felt awkward to be describing the letters in the old narrative voice.
Once I let Owen's direct voice take over, in the letters, the book began to write itself.
Like me at that age, Owen is no boy-genius writer. His spelling is especially idiosyncratic--trooley atroshus--so much so that my agent balked when she tried to read the first draft.
Oh, how I remember the pain and sweat of early boyhood attempts to read and write! Owen's letters get more elaborate as he progresses as a writer, but throughout it's the same fierce, funny, achingly honest heart that was so joyful to tap into.
How have you come to thrive in such a competitive, unpredictable industry?
It comes back to first principles for me, which revolve around love of story. I grew up immersed in stories, I've always turned to stories when trying to figure out this bewildering life, and I expect I will always write or make stories no matter whether I get paid to do it or not.
I've been an athlete longer than I've been a writer--though never a professional--and I know about competition in sports. The rules are defined and agreed upon, score is often scrupulously kept, there is usually a winner and a loser, but afterward you go out for a beer and talk about other things.
In this sense art is not competitive--it carries the same or greater call to excellence, but it's much freer. Any attempt to make it competitive--by giving awards, by counting and comparing sales or advance dollars--is artificial and probably hurts the art.
Who's the better artist, Shakespeare or Mozart? Who cares? Enjoy, ponder, grapple with their works. The question is absurd.
So I "thrive" by not defeating myself. I don't rely on sales entirely for my income. I apply for grants, I teach, I live simply. My kids' education is not wagered on me getting a big advance.
I don't pre-sell a book--I write it for the love of writing it, because it's the book I really want to read that hasn't been created yet. I try to be true to the characters and the problems they're faced with.
When and if the book gets published I do my best to share it with the world, but with the understanding that a large part of reviews, awards, sales, fame will be beyond my control.
Usually soon enough some other story is pulling me back to my desk. I need to write it down so I'll know what happens...
In the video below, Alan reads from Deer/Dear Sylvia. Note: "Featuring Kimba Gifford as Owen Skye. Directed by Jasmine Murray-Bergquist."
Cynsational Notes
The Craft, Career & Cheer series features conversations with children's-YA book creators about positive aspects of their creative and professional lives.
I'm a Turkey!by Jim Arnosky
Scholastic
ISBN: 9780439903646
What is it?
A picture book about our nation's favorite dinner...oops, we mean our nation's favorite bird, of course...by folk singer and naturalist Jim Arnosky.
What do we love about it?
In addition to learning about how turkeys live in the wild, young readers will have fun peeping, squawking, squabbling and talking turkey throughout the book. Or download the song here for a turkey-talking singalong!
What does it remind us of?
Dinner. (We cannot tell a lie.)
What is it perfect for?
A fun Thanksgiving read aloud, but it would also work any time of year since there is no specific reference to the holiday.
What do we say about it?
This one's a fowl favorite! Two feathers up!
ISBN: 9780439903646
What is it?
A picture book about our nation's favorite dinner...oops, we mean our nation's favorite bird, of course...by folk singer and naturalist Jim Arnosky.
What do we love about it?
In addition to learning about how turkeys live in the wild, young readers will have fun peeping, squawking, squabbling and talking turkey throughout the book. Or download the song here for a turkey-talking singalong!
What does it remind us of?
Dinner. (We cannot tell a lie.)
What is it perfect for?
A fun Thanksgiving read aloud, but it would also work any time of year since there is no specific reference to the holiday.
What do we say about it?
This one's a fowl favorite! Two feathers up!
So the Sunday before last, I lost my digital camera at the Texas Book Festival. I was majorly bummed. I'd lost all my pictures from my trips to Lubbock, Houston, and from the Festival. Plus, I'd lost my camera. I usually try not to get too attached to material items, but this camera took good pics and vids, rarely needed a flash, and had a wide field of view (or whatever you call it).
I immediately sent out emails to pretty much everyone I'd come into contact with at the Festival. I knew where I'd left it/lost it -- in the signing tent, either under my seat or on the table. Would someone find it? Would someone honest find it? I knew the Book Festival had a lost and found, and I knew they were diligent about returning lost items to their owners, but this was a camera. I wanted to be optimistic, but at the same time, by Monday afternoon, I was online browsing Best Buy and Amazon.
For the remainder of my trip and school visits, I would have to rely on my iphone.
Here's Jesse, an awesome fourth grade teacher at Caraway Elementary, and Melanie, the equally awesome librarian:
I also had to rely on others for pics and vids. Here's a great vid that was taken during one of my Fourth Grade Writing Camps:
www.youtube.com/watch
But then came word that my camera had been returned. I was beyond elated. It took a few days to coordinate getting it back, but finally, on Friday, Blair, the Super Intern from the Texas Book Festival, brought it to me. She arrived during one of my presentations. So of course, we dropped everything and took a bunch of pics!
I immediately sent out emails to pretty much everyone I'd come into contact with at the Festival. I knew where I'd left it/lost it -- in the signing tent, either under my seat or on the table. Would someone find it? Would someone honest find it? I knew the Book Festival had a lost and found, and I knew they were diligent about returning lost items to their owners, but this was a camera. I wanted to be optimistic, but at the same time, by Monday afternoon, I was online browsing Best Buy and Amazon.
For the remainder of my trip and school visits, I would have to rely on my iphone.
Here's Jesse, an awesome fourth grade teacher at Caraway Elementary, and Melanie, the equally awesome librarian:
I also had to rely on others for pics and vids. Here's a great vid that was taken during one of my Fourth Grade Writing Camps:
www.youtube.com/watch
But then came word that my camera had been returned. I was beyond elated. It took a few days to coordinate getting it back, but finally, on Friday, Blair, the Super Intern from the Texas Book Festival, brought it to me. She arrived during one of my presentations. So of course, we dropped everything and took a bunch of pics!
This is how to start the week off with a smile: CHAINS has been nominated to the longlist of the Carnegie Medal! What is the Carnegie Medal, you ask? It is the top award for children's novels in England, sort of a combination of the Newbery and the National Book Awards. I am completely blown away by this - honored, stunned and very, very happy.
British hardcover 
British paperback
I had a blast at the American Association of School Librarians conference this weekend. I signed thousands of books, met countless friendly and passionate librarians and gave a speech. Thank you to everyone who made my conference so much fun.
Half a ballroom of librarians. (The other half of the room was filled, too!)
Many people asked me to post my speech online. We will be doing that soon. Here are a couple of snippets that people responded to the most. Permission is granted to reproduce, with proper acknowledgments, of course.
I talked about the recent censorship challenges my books have faced and then said this:
I hope my words might help, a little.
One last conference note. The other banquet speaker was Charles R. Smith Jr. Do you know his work? Have you heard him speak? If not, go out RIGHT NOW and pick up some of his books. Then arrange to have him visit your school - he is the best speaker I have seen in a very long time.
Charles and I sitting on chairs that look like thrones.... it was approaching midnight and we had just finished signing a kajillion books and so we look a bit tired. But how can you turn down the chance to be photographed in a chair that looks like a throne?
British hardcover British paperbackI had a blast at the American Association of School Librarians conference this weekend. I signed thousands of books, met countless friendly and passionate librarians and gave a speech. Thank you to everyone who made my conference so much fun.
Half a ballroom of librarians. (The other half of the room was filled, too!)Many people asked me to post my speech online. We will be doing that soon. Here are a couple of snippets that people responded to the most. Permission is granted to reproduce, with proper acknowledgments, of course.
I talked about the recent censorship challenges my books have faced and then said this:
"I believe that every time a library budget is cut, every time a librarian’s hours are cut - or the position is eliminated completely - it is another form of censorship. It is stealing from children and interfering with their education.
Taking books out of libraries and taking librarians out of libraries are just like ripping the roof off of a school. And maybe that’s how we need to describe it, in the dire, stark terms of reality. You can't run a school that doesn't have a roof. You can't run a school without librarians and libraries.
Book people – like you and me – tend to be a little uncomfortable with conflict. We value discussion, we respect other opinions. We avoid fights.
“Don’t you ever start a fight,” Mother said. “But if somebody picks a fight with you, by God, you finish it.”
The people who do not value books or librarians have picked a fight with me. That was a mistake.
They are ripping the roof off our libraries, off our schools. They are exposing our children to ignorance and condemning them to poverty. When they rip the roof off of libraries, they weaken our country."
[I'm cutting out a little from this section]
"Those of us who truly, deeply care about the health and happiness of kids and teenagers have a sacred obligation to help them along their path to adulthood. We are charged to create and to find the very best books for these children.
To hand a book to a child or a gawky adolescent is to rescue her from the unforgiving isolation of illiteracy and transport her to the joyful and rewarding kingdom of an open mind.
I cannot think of a job more difficult or more important than yours. Reading is not a subject matter. It is a survival tool, the requirement of modern living. Libraries are not luxuries. Libraries are the lifeblood of our schools and the foundation of our culture."
I hope my words might help, a little.
One last conference note. The other banquet speaker was Charles R. Smith Jr. Do you know his work? Have you heard him speak? If not, go out RIGHT NOW and pick up some of his books. Then arrange to have him visit your school - he is the best speaker I have seen in a very long time.
Charles and I sitting on chairs that look like thrones.... it was approaching midnight and we had just finished signing a kajillion books and so we look a bit tired. But how can you turn down the chance to be photographed in a chair that looks like a throne?Profile
- mindyalyse
- Mindy Alyse
Page Summary
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- juliebowe : My Best Frenemy cover art [+2]
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- lisa_schroeder : The good/The not-so-good [+26]
- jessicaburkhart : First NYC school visit [+0]
- fangs_fur_fey :: michaeljasper : New Urban Fantasy comic up at Zuda Comics [+0]
- tamra_wight : Quick Post and Grateful for Super Glue [+2]
- jodyfeldman : Proposed Dictionary Addition [+0]
- aprilhenry : Levis commercials feature Walt Whitman poems - including his voice? [+0]
- jjk_synd : Mistaken Identity [+0]
- jengt : (no subject) [+0]
- karenbschwartz : What Would Judy Do? [+6]
- cdgred_umbrella : Miami Book Fair- What to Wear? [+0]
- brian_ohio : Why Agents Get more Queries than ever before! [+6]
- rj_anderson : I went to North Carolina and all I got was this major award nomination [+51]
- onegrapeshy : BIRTHDAYS! [+7]
- writergrl : (no subject) [+24]
- giogas : A GREAT day [+2]
- jbknowles : The magic of Harry, Sue and Pete [+19]
- debut2009 :: anywherebeyond : Introducing Holidaze with the Debs [+8]
- cynleitichsmith : Craft, Career & Cheer: Alan Cumyn [+0]
- 3_silly_chicks : I'm a Turkey [+0]
- philbildner : The Lost Camera, Happily Ever After [+0]
- halseanderson : Marvelous Monday! [+4]