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The amazing Mo Willems is back this year with two--count them two--more Elephant & Piggie stories. Of the pair I had a slight preference for Let's Go For a Drive, so I'll start with that.

Gerald has the bright idea to go for a drive and the friends set about preparing for their jaunt by procuring the necessary items--a map, sunglasses, umbrellas, and suitcases. Wise readers will see where this is going and won't be surprised when the pair realize they are missing one vital thing--a car. They will, however, be amused by Piggie's resourcefulness.

Piggie plays her new trumpet for Gerald, and her enthusiasm knows no bounds. Neither does her playing, which is all over the place. Gerald, when pressed to comment, tries hard not to state the obvious. At last, like good friends should, he tells the truth. "That was not music," he tells Piggie. But it wasn't supposed to be. Piggie was trying to speak Elephant in order to sound like her friend. Beginning readers will have a blast sounding out the noises issuing from Piggie's trumpet. KL-ACK! GR-ELP! GR-ICK!




Let's Go for a Drive!
by Mo Willems
Hyperion 64 pages
Published: October 2012

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The mid-November children's literacy and reading news roundup, brought to you by Terry Doherty, Carol Rasco, and myself, is now available at The Family Bookshelf. The roundups are twice-monthly celebrations of literacy-related events, literacy and reading programs and research, and suggestions for growing bookworms. 

In this week's pre-Thanksgiving installment, Terry has found lots of things to be thankful for:

Warm homes and electricity (Terry lists several links for literacy-related disaster relief efforts after Storm Sandy). 

The Cybils. Terry says: "Today we are officially half-way through Round 1 for the 2012 Children’s and YA Bloggers Literary Awards! If you follow the #Cybils stream or Jen’s Handy-Dandy List of Panelists and Judges, you’ve probably noticed lots of book references."

A host of best-of and book-gift-giving suggestions.

Literacy. Here are two tidbits from an infographic about Literacy in America: 

• "Literate individuals tend to keep themselves and their families healthier because they are capable of accessing important information and calculating medication.
• Literacy is also linked to better communication, which is an important characteristic for all key employees."

And so much more that it's difficult to stop. Please do head on over to Terry's full children's literacy roundup. She has plenty of reading material to peruse over the long holiday weekend next week. 

And, as is my usual habit, I have a few additional tidbits to share with you:

From First Book: "Thanks for voting in First Book's 'Ten Books Every Child Should Own' contest! We received over 13,000 votes, with lots of ballots cast for all ten terrific titles. But there can be only one winner, and the people overwhelmingly chose ... "Green Eggs & Ham" by Dr. Seuss!" More details here.

From Scholastic: "... exciting news about Scholastic’s new holiday campaign! For every Storia ebook purchased, Scholastic – partnering with The UPS Store and Toys for Tots – will donate a book to a child in need, especially kids who lost their home libraries in Hurricane Sandy. This holiday literacy drive is part of Scholastic’s global literacy campaign, Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life, an effort to help all children experience the love of reading and owning a book."

Melissa Taylor from Imagination Soup has a new book out: Book Love: Help Your Child Grow from Reluctant to Enthusiastic Reader. I haven't read it yet, but you can read a guest post from Melissa at The Book Chook about why kids don't like to read and what to do about it. Right now the book is only available in digital format (see this page for links to different format - it's a little confusing), but a paperback is coming. 

Speaking of The Book Chook, Susan Stephenson has a new post about Helping Kids Find Books that is well worth a look. And in similar vein, at Everyday Reading, Janssen shares her thoughts on Where to Find Picture Books for Your Child. Both posts are well worth a look. 

And that's all that I have for you today. Carol will be back at the end of the month with more children's literacy and reading news. And of course you can follow us in the meantime @CHRasco, @ReadingTub, and @JensBookPage. Thanks for reading, and for caring about children's literacy. 

This post © 2012 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

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luclatulippe:

illustratedvancouver:

Driveway, 2012 by John Ogilvy offers a dramatic perspective in this 40”x50” oil on canvas, currently on exhibit at the Ian Tan Gallery until November 29th. AND THE CRAWL STARTS TODAY!

WHOA! Lovely work by painter John Ogilvy, and you can almost see my apartment in there.

EDIT (1:12 pm): Visit John Ogilivy’s website.

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Dinotopia was selected by Buzzfeed as #4 on their list of "55 Steampunk Reads For The Holiday," right behind Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

Other authors include Neal Stephenson, K. W. Jeter, Phil and Kaja Foglio, Gail Carriger, Tim Powers, William Gibson & Bruce Sterling, Scott Westerfeld, Jay Lake, and Alan Moore.

If you remember the book but don't have the new edition, check it out, because it's got a whole making-of feature added to the back. You can order a hand-signed copy from my website store, and I'll have my trained steam-powered robots package your order for you. Or you can find a copy at your local independent bookseller or at Amazon, and maybe they'll have their pterosaur delivery crew bring you a copy.

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Here’s another coloring page for kids to color…Yes, while you baste that turkey, make that stuffing/dressing, or need your class to do a few minutes of “busy work”! Please click on the image for a downloadable pdf to print out.

May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving!

 

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Another painting study.

My nose is red raw and I can’t stop sneezing.

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Here are some highlights from the literacy and children's literature-related links that I shared on Twitter this past week or so @JensBookPage. (I was traveling last week, and so didn't have a links post at all.)

Cybils-Related:

On the #Cybils blog: Midterm Progress Report.1374 total nominations, 83.8% already read by at least 1 person http://ow.ly/fkBS9

Interview Wednesday Part One: Meet Three #CYBILS #Poetry Panelists by @JoneMac53 http://ow.ly/fiNt9

RT: @polking: My Nerdy Book Club post about being a Cybils YA fiction panelist is up today. Read here: http://goo.gl/rpOkv .

Tips for Growing Bookworms:

Suggestions for #Literacy Blogs worth following from Growing Book by Book http://ow.ly/fiObR

A very useful post on Introducing Children to Books, Part II @delightchildbks http://ow.ly/fg4uD  #literacy #litrdup

Delightful! Ten Ways to Raise Readers by Julie Falatko @NerdyBookClub http://ow.ly/fetfa #literacy #kidlit #litrdup

RT @imaginationsoup: Do you need more ideas for reading with your kids? Here are my favorite #Pinterest #reading boards

Book News, Lists and Views:

Washington Post Best Kids Books 2012 via @tashrow http://ow.ly/fkBMY #kidlit

Interesting thoughts from @haleshannon (and her readers): Does Twilight damage young readers? http://ow.ly/fiNRG  #yalit

Debut Author William Alexander Nabs 2012 National Book Award for Young People via @sljournal http://ow.ly/fkvQ9  #yalit

Books like 'Hunger Games' make reading cool again reports @GreenBayHub http://ow.ly/fkvHY  #yalit

Stop Calling Books for Kids YA! asks @medinger http://ow.ly/fiNE5 #kidlit #yalit

Stacked: Contemporary #YALit 2012 Book List of 2013 Contemporary Titles to Watch For from @catagator http://ow.ly/fiN0E

A fine review of the Gregor the Overlander series (which spouse + I both loved) by @library_jim http://ow.ly/fibJL  #kidlit

10+ Thanksgiving Chapter Books For Kids from @momandkiddo http://ow.ly/fibmX  #kidlit

Stellar Four: Let's Hear It for the Boys (& Girls) in YA (books where they are equals) http://ow.ly/fibcE via @bkshelvesofdoom

So many books to covet! Librarian Preview: @HarperChildrens(Spring 2013) from @FuseEight http://ow.ly/fi9g6 #kidlit

Kinda cool. @scholastic is releasing the first 20 Babysitters Club books as ebooks, with "classic covers" #kidlit @charissemeloto

Why We Need Diversity in YA Fiction from @CherylRainfield http://ow.ly/f0KmA  #yalit

Plus a couple of links that I am instead sharing in the children's literacy and reading news roundup post that I'll have up later today. Thanks for reading!

This post © 2012 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

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This is a character I have drawn for years. I am now working on a mini-comic of it. I first drew him in grade school, he looked very different though. Now it has a bit of Jeeves and Wooster, Downton Abbey, cats and mice...

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I remember the old Choose Your Own Adventure -type gamebooks. I always thought they were fun, although usually the story was light and character development almost non-existent. William Fincher has spent ten years creating something new: a gamebook which looks like it will be much richer and more complex than any created previously. I haven't seen it, other than the few samples posted on the Kickstarter page, so I can't vouch for the quality, but it looks intriguing. William claims to have focused on aspects of storytelling including character development, and there are detailed illustrations throughout. You can play as one of three different characters, each with their own strengths and flaws. He even created a Tabletop RPG-like combat system which is incorporated into the story at various points!

The book is almost done, but William is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to get it published, including professional editing, game testing, printing, and digital conversion. The project has reached its initial funding goal of $5000, but it's not too late to become a backer and earn rewards ranging from a copy of the book to signed original art.

There are additional goals and levels of funding, so backing this project could still make a big difference. If it reaches $8000, an app will be created in addition to the book. There are only three days left to become a backer, so don't delay.

Click here to read more about the Maelorum Kickstarter project and become a backer.

Note: I don't know William and am not connected to this project in any way. He emailed me about it through the blog, and I just thought it looked interesting. I backed it at the $28 level to get a print copy of the book and a pin of the cool-looking logo above.

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Author: Linda Elder
Illustrator: Kathy Abney
Publisher: Foundation For Critical Thinking
Genre: Children / Cats
ISBN: 978-0-94458-347-0
Pages: 48
Price: $9.95

Buy it here

Fran discovers three small black cats outside her school, foraging at the dumpster. She tries to befriend them, but they’re too scared and run away. Concerned for their well-being, she brings this matter to her teacher. He advises her that they are feral cats, and will never be able to be pets. But with the help of the principal, she and others arrange for their care and neutering.

In this unique book, children are alerted to the plight of homeless feral cats in their neighborhood. They learn about the concept of trap-neuter-return, so the cats won’t continue to reproduce. (See Alley Cat Allies website for more information on this program.) Compassion and caring are encouraged to be sure these small strays will live healthy lives, while their population diminishes.

Along with Fairminded Fran, kids meet Selfish Sam, and Naive Nancy, who have differing opinions on these cats. Critical thinking is used to determine the right way to handle this situation. Fairminded Fran and the Three Small Black Community Cats would be a great classroom resource, not only to let kids know about feral cats, but also to encourage the process of critical thinking. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

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I read a Cybils book the other day wherein the villain was so clearly and easily identified that I lay the book down in reproach. (I couldn't throw it, but I thought about it.) Really? I asked it, Is that all you've got? Well, I didn't have to ask... Read the rest of this post

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Utah Fans - The Outlets at Traverse Mountain are opening today!  I had a chance to attend a special preview event last night, and I have to say they did a great job.   The layout is easy to navigate.  The bathrooms are top of the line.  And even though all of the stores are outside, they even have a glass ceiling in between elements to protect shoppers from the elements.

Join them for the Grand Opening all Weekend Long.

Friday, Nov 16th
10 a.m. - Ribbon cutting
10:30 a.m. - Performance by Flying Aces, olympians and acrobatic athletes.
6:30-8:00 p.m.: Eclipse performs
7 p.m. - Christmas tree lighting and Santa arrives! (And the Christmas tree is huge)
7:30 p.m. - Fireworks

Saturday, Nov 17th
4:30 p.m. - Lone Peak High School Choir – Exact performance time TBD
 6:00 p.m. - Conn Curran


All the stores weren't open yesterday, but I'm excited to go check them out again when they are!  My husband was especially disappointed that Johnny Rockets wasn't opened.  He wanted to enjoy some classic American Burgers and thick shakes.

Confirmed stores include - Banana Republic Factory Store, Calvin Klein, Carter’s Babies & Kids, Chico’s, Children’s Place, Clarks Bostonian Outlet, Coach, Columbia Sportswear, Famous Footwear Outlet, G.H. Bass, Gap Outlet, Gold Toe, Gymboree Outlet, IZOD, J Crew Factory, Johnny Rockets, Journeys, Kitchen Collection, Lane Bryant, Levi’s Outlet Store, Loft Outlet, Maurices, Men’s Wearhouse Outlet, Michael Kors, Nike Factory Store, OshKosh B’Gosh, Perfumania, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Pro Image Sports, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Samsonite Company Store, Skechers, Tommy Hilfiger, Ultra Diamond, Van Heusen, Vans Outlet, Wilsons Leather, and Zumiez

 For more information, visit outletsattraversemountain.com or facebook.com/outletsattraversemountain

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Dr. Norene M. Moskalski writes about the intrigues and perils of university life. She strives for authenticity in her writing by visiting and researching all of the international places and university settings that she describes in her novels. Each novel presents a variation on a theme, using literary techniques and musical innuendos to move the action forward. Her plots revolve around the unexpected: what if the most beautiful things in the world turned out to be the most dangerous? Iridescent bubbles of sea foam – what exactly is sea foam? Your best friend next door – what does she actually do for a living?

Tell everyone a little about yourself, Norene.

Norene: I enjoy walking the beaches of the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, collecting sea glass, minerals, unusual shells, and artifacts from colonial shipwrecks. A naturalist and environmentalist by nature, and a medical diagnostician by avocation, I have a Ph.D.  in University Administration from Penn State University, a Master’s Degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Slippery Rock University. I’ve presented my peer-reviewed, published research on faculty work at international business and engineering conferences, and served as administrator, professor, researcher, grant writer, and mentor at research universities for over fifteen years. I am a member of various writing and environmental organizations, such as The Eastern Shore Writers Association, The Nature Conservancy, The Sierra Club, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, The National Wildlife Federation, and The Smithsonian Institute.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Norene: I fell in love with the idea of writing a novel in elementary school when my English teacher taught us how to recognize the literary elements in the book she assigned for our class to read. The hunt began! After that experience, reading novels held a whole new dimension for me, not only reading for enjoyment but analyzing how skillfully the author used those techniques. When I became an English teacher, I realized we needed more contemporary novels suitable for classroom use that held the students’ attention while they learned how to analyze a novel. I often thought, “I really ought to try writing one,” but as a working Mom, my time constraints were prohibitive. Once the children were grown and off on their own, though, I began writing in earnest.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish?

Norene: My goals for writing during my professional career very much depended upon the current task, whether writing a successful grant proposal or a doctoral dissertation.  My goals for writing fiction are very different: I seek enjoyment in wordsmithing, peace in passing on life’s lessons, and inspiration from God.

Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

Norene: Each novel I write in the Kate and Jake Connors Series will examine critical contemporary issues through multiple perspectives. I want my readers to understand that there are many variables in life that affect a person’s decisions to act the way they do.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

Norene: The Kate and Jake Connors series begins with Nocturne, Opus 1: Sea Foam, an international eco-thriller. Kate and Jake are university research professors at Atlantic University’s Institute for Public Policy and Safety in Dover, Delaware. They are also covert operatives for a secret, scientific subdivision of the Institute known only as the Agency. While vacationing at Venice’s Lido Beach, they witness the collapse of Kate’s sister on a sea foam covered beach. Her illness propels them into a seventy-two hour race against time and across continents to find the cure for Bacillus nocturne, the rogue scientist who created it, and to stop the bacteria from contaminating the world’s aquifers.

How do you draw your characters?

Norene: I draw my characters from real-life experiences with people I have met recently or known a very long time. Usually my characters are a composite of all those intriguing personality traits people have.

How do you develop the settings in your stories?

Norene: My settings are all places I have visited and researched in order to make them as authentic to the reader as possible. I want my readers to feel like they are in the scene right beside the character.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

Norene: Kate is the most likeable character in the story because she has achieved great heights in her career, yet inside is just like everyone of us coping with life’s variables and having our own flaws.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

Norene: Oh, no, I wish I did! Because I write from inspiration, I often have to rearrange scenes to put them into a more exciting order. That takes considerable time because suddenly, a statement in Chapter 32 doesn’t fit the story line anymore. I’ve never been big on outlining, so I’m always looking for a way to handle this problem. A seminar that Lisa Gardner gave at ThrillerFest a few years ago helped me a great deal. I adapted it to my “flat filing system” (on the floor), and now spread out printed chapters on my office floor, moving them around to get the best order of events and to see where I need to add a few more chapters.  What fun! What a mess!

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Norene: Immensely! We’re always taught to write about what we know, and I always thought that nothing really adventurous was occurring in my life, so how could I write about what I know? Now I understand–that statement really means to put what you know about in the descriptive details of your story. If you know what the sun feels like shining on your face on a very cold winter day, put that in your scene. If you’ve driven a clunker of a car driving on fumes past Empty, have a character do that. If you know about rocks and minerals, add a few to your scene details. If you love gold gemstone jewelry, wrap your character in it. It works and you get to write about some of the things you love.
Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve ever had.

Norene:

 ”I forgot I was reading a work of fiction. The characters were so real.”

What are your current projects?

Norene: The next novel in the series and a nonfiction book about cats. Hmmmm. Maybe I can combine the two!

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Norene: My website is www.NoreneMoskalski.com and my publisher’s website is www.DivinityPress.com
My book is at http://www.amazon.com/Nocturne-Opus-1-Sea-Foam/dp/0988381176

Thanks for joining us today, Norene.

Norene: Thank you for the opportunity to answer your interview questions.

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It’s exciting to see a series come together. It’s this long process that involves a lot of different folks all pulling on the same oar. But, like, we’re on different boats. Or something like that.

I just got my first peek at the rough cover for book #2, I Scream, You Scream. This is not final art; it’s basically a very tight sketch with all the design elements in place. First, let’s look at the covers for the first two books together — that’s a eureka moment right there, when finally you see that it’s a series.

……………….

The art and design are critically important for these books because we made a decision that each book would be completely different. New characters, new setting, and sometimes new genre. Over time, if we are lucky enough to find readers, this series could include not only “horror,” but also science fiction, thrillers, historic fiction, and more. We’re trying to paint on a very large canvas, rather than limit ourselves to a rigid formula. Each book its own unique story. And yet, they are held together by certain qualities: for starters, each book delivers a dependable kind of reading experience, a twist, an elevated heart rate. Some storytelling techniques will be consistent from book to book, the use of the intro and outro, the length, the illustrations. I believe the brilliant work of illustrator Iacopo Bruno truly holds the series together. And it’s awesome, too.

Here’s a larger shot of the rough cover, designed by Rich Deas, where you can really see the unfinished quality. Below you’ll find the one-page introduction. Can you hear that I’m channeling my inner Rod Serling?

Fun, isn’t it?

Enter the world of Samantha Carver. An ordinary kid who loves amusement parks, the smell of popcorn, and the joyful terror of a heart-pounding ride.

Sam’s got a ticket in her pocket for a very special ride. Soon this ticket, ripped in half, will signal the beginning of a most unusual adventure –- and leave Sam, along with a boy named Andy, screaming for their lives.

So, come along. Take a seat. Buckle up, nice and tight. It’s sure to be bumpy ride. And if you need anything –- anything at all — just scream.

The intro page will look something like this:

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Do You Have a Head I Could Borrow?

Part VII (of VII)

By Sara Dobie Bauer

They did as they were told, moving a few feet away from where Marie stood—all except Rupert, who seemed dazed and jolly behind his wife. Suddenly, he clapped his hands. “Oh, this will work out just fine!”

“Rupert …” Bernadette had her hands on her pale cheeks, mouth half-open in shock.

“Dearest Bernadette, did you know we murdered your husband?” Rupert was practically gleeful; Angie noticed he did a little hop before he continued. “Car accident? It wasn’t a car accident. We knocked him out and shoved his car into the Hudson! Marvelous!” He cackled.

Angie could see it took all Jonathan’s resolve to not go running across the room. Meanwhile, Bernadette began to sob, falling to her knees on the floor.

“Why?” Ellis’s voice was barely a whisper. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“Because we want the family fortune, of course,” Marie replied.

Angie was getting tired of the headlock. She struggled slightly, but the gun only pressed tighter against her skull.

“And we all know the family fortune only passes to Crane men, don’t we?” Rupert did a little spin. “And I’m not a Crane man, grandmother; I married into the family, so I don’t count.”

“But what if there were no Crane men left?” Marie continued.

“Yes.” Rupert pointed. “There’s only you, son, and there is someone outside who desperately wants to see you.”

“No!” Angie and Bernadette bellowed the word at the same time.

“In fact, he wants to see all of you. Somehow, dear Marie and I will be the only Cranes to survive the horrible massacre.”

“Sadly.” Angie looked up to see Marie putting on a fake pout. “All it took was a girl, Jonathan. A girl made you go outside, and now, you’re all going to die because of her.”

“You wanted me to go out tonight,” Jonathan said through gritted teeth.

“Of course I did. It’s why I helped you sneak out, isn’t it?” Marie danced back and forth with Angie. “We dug up the skull ages ago, of course. Have been planning this for years. And as my dear husband pointed out, it’s all working out just fine!”

Angie’s mind spun. Could she work a spell with a gun to her head? Hmm. It was possible. There was that one spell her aunt liked to show off at Christmas when it got cold outside. She might end up dead, sure, but at least she could save Jonathan. Speaking of Jonathan … “Hey.”

The sudden entrance of the witch in the conversation made them all shut up.

“Jonathan. I think I’m falling in love with you.”

“I’m falling in love with you, too.”

“Cool. Just wanted to get that out of the way …”

“How sweet. A Halloween Romeo and Juliet.” Rupert made a raspberry noise with his tongue.

Again, Angie had to think and think fast. First, get the gun off her head. Second, get the gun away from Marie. Third, find the skull and make Brom Bones go the hell away. She hadn’t used telekinesis in a while, and granted, she’d always kind of sucked at it, but it was worth a shot.

In her head, she concentrated on Jonathan and said, “Can you hear me? If you can, blink twice.”

Well, he almost gave them both away when he tripped over his own feet and fell into a table. He did, however, have the presence of mind to blink, twice.

“I’m going to do something that will make your bitch of an aunt let go of me immediately. When she does, take her down, get the gun, and let’s find that freakin’ skull.”

He blinked, probably about four times, she noticed.

Then, Angie closed her eyes and said the words in her head, just like her aunt taught her. Within seconds, she lit up like a dried out Christmas tree in bright orange flames. Marie screamed and batted at her burning clothes. Through the smoke, Angie saw Jonathan swoop past her and tackle his screaming aunt. Bernadette and Ellis watched Angie, horrified, and Rupert went sprinting from the room.

“Ange?”

“Mm?”

“You can … put out the fire now.”

She sighed, and the flames disappeared, leaving her skin and clothing completely unscathed. Jonathan had the gun pointed at Marie, who lay on the floor, smoldering. Beneath her burnt clothes, Angie saw melted skin, which put a smile on her face. She glanced at Jonathan.

“Can you never do that again, please?”

“Saved your ass, didn’t it?”

Ellis shuffled forward. “Where’s Rupert?”

“He ran upstairs.”

Angie took off, not stopping even at the sound of Jonathan’s voice shouting her name.

ψ

“Here. Take this.” He handed the gun to his mother, whose hands shook. “Don’t let her move.” He gestured toward his aunt, who had possibly passed out from the pain. She didn’t look like much of a concern, but one can never be too careful. With the downstairs situation under control, he took off after his crazy witch girlfriend.

Upstairs was pitch-black, so when he reached the top of the steps, he ran right into Angie. “Sorry,” she said. “Aren’t there any lights up here?”

Jonathan flipped a switch to their right, illuminating fancy green and gold wallpaper, a long hallway, and about a dozen closed doors.

“Great,” she muttered.

Luckily, Rupert was an idiot without his wife, and within about two seconds, they heard someone stomping around the attic.

Jonathan’s eyes looked up.

“Any guns up there?”

“Who knows? This house has been in our family since the freakin’ Civil War.”

“If I get killed by an antique, I’m going to be really pissed.”

Jonathan led the way down the hall to the attic door, which squeaked like a ghost when he swung it open.

“Guess we don’t have the element of surprise,” she said.

“Stay behind me.” He turned and pointed his finger right in his face. “I’m sick of you saving me. I’m the one who’s supposed to save you.”

“This ain’t Washington Irving, babe. It’s 2012.”

“Just stay behind me.” He turned and crept up the old, wooden steps. It comforted him when Angie reached up and took his hand.

There was light up there, reflecting off the myriad boxes and dust-covered furniture. It came from a single bulb, lit with the pull of a white string, in the center of the massive room that stretched the length of the entire mansion. There was no sign of Rupert, which made Jonathan considerably nervous.

“Where is he?”

“Shh,” he whispered. When a box moved in the corner, they both ducked, but Rupert still didn’t show his cowardly face. At that point, Jonathan had had enough. “Rupert. Get the hell out here.”

“It was her idea, you know.” His voice came from the direction of the box. “All her idea. I was a pawn.”

“Apparently, the truth serum wore off,” Angie said, crossing her arms.

“Just give me the skull.”

“And you won’t hurt me?”

“What? No, I won’t hurt you. Give me the damn skull.”

It appeared above the box, held in the center of Rupert’s palm like some Shakespearian prop.

“Stand up, Rupert.”

“She’s going to zap me.”

Jonathan glanced at Angie. “She’s not going to zap you.” He lifted his eyebrows at her to insinuate, “Don’t zap him.”

“You promise?”

Jonathan elbowed Angie.

“Yes. I promise, you little weasel.”

Finally, Rupert stood up. His hand shook so much, he almost dropped the skull, which Jonathan was quick to grab and hold like a newborn child. He turned to Angie and handed it to her before knocking his uncle unconscious with a fist to the face.

“Nice punch.” She kicked Rupert’s foot with her platform shoe.

“Thanks.” He took the skull back from her fingers, and together, they walked down the steps.

“Oh, thank God,” Ellis said when she saw the ancient bones.

“Where’s Rupert?” Bernadette asked. She was calm now, and cold, Jonathan noticed. She looked ready to kill, especially since she now knew how her husband had really died.

“Jonathan knocked him out.”

“Good job, son. Now what?”

“We give him back his head.” He turned away from his mother and grandmother but hesitated at the front door.

Angie was at his side. He could feel the warmth of her skin. Her perfume was back—lavender and vanilla—and her fingertips on his arm, as usual, spread a cool calm through his chest. “What?” she asked.

“What if he still kills me?”

She reached down and took the hand not holding the skull. “Then, I’m going with you.”

They stepped out into the night. A frigid breeze blew the edges of Angie’s black hair against Jonathan’s face, but the air had nothing to do with his shivers. A headless Brom Bones sat not ten feet in front of them, sword in hand, with a cornucopia of dead heads tied to his saddle.

“Oh, my God,” Angie breathed.

Jonathan squeezed her hand and held the skull high in the air. “Brom Bones.”

The horse reared back and screamed at them.

“I have your … head.” He cleared his throat. “Do you want it back?”

The horseman dismounted, and Jonathan realized he would probably have a heart attack before the ghost even had a chance to cut his head off. Angie was practically squeezing the feeling out of his fingers as the horseman stomped toward them, sword drawn, shoulders vacant of a head where some sort of readable expression would be.

Jonathan was sure their number was up. After all they’d been through that night, it was finally time to die. But then, Brom Bones sheathed his sword and viciously grabbed the decayed skull from Jonathan’s shaking fingers. The horrible Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow held up one leather-gloved finger as if to say, “One moment please.” He then walked back to his horse and hid in the darkness.

Jonathan looked down at Angie; Angie gawked up at him.

It was a minute later that the horseman reemerged, no longer headless at all. In fact, he was probably their age, with flowing brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a sour expression on his unshaved face.

As he approached, Jonathan shoved Angie behind him and prepared to be destroyed.

The horseman grunted as he walked and stopped so close to Jonathan that Jonathan had to lean back to avoid the smell of a dead man’s breath. Then, the horseman said … nothing.

Jonathan had trouble swallowing, but he managed the words that needed to be said: “You know I’m not Ichabod Crane, right?”

The man once known as Brom Bones considered this. Then, he made Jonathan jump when he started to laugh—a deep-belly, hearty laugh of a man after two many pints. “You? Ichabod Crane? Ichabod Crane could not run five feet, let alone with the speed with which you ran across yonder field.” He gestured toward the backyard, the scene of Jonathan’s earlier near-death experience.

“Oh. So. We’re good then?”

Brom Bones scratched his broad, furry chin. He blew out a breath of stank air and walked back to his worthy steed. He leapt onto the horse’s back without the aid of stirrups and turned to ride away. Halfway down the driveway, he stopped. He pulled his silver sword from its sheath and spun it in the evening light.

“I was not really hoping to get your head, Crane,” he shouted. “I was hoping to get your whore.” With that, Brom Bones growled at his long dead animal companion, and halfway down the driveway, they disappeared, quite literally, to God only knew where.

Angie stepped forward beside him. “Do I look like a whore?”

“A really expensive whore.”

She sighed.

Over the sound of incoming police sirens, Jonathan asked, “Do you want to get a drink?”

“Sure.”

He took her hand, and they walked away from Crane Manor and hid in the bushes when the cops sped by. Family drama could wait until tomorrow. After all, it was only midnight, and for the first time in his life, Jonathan Crane felt safe on Halloween.

THE END

Happy Halloween!

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We are so delighted to be guest blogging here at Two Writing Teachers. We know many teachers who use this invaluable resource and are honored to lend our thoughts on writing. It’s that… Read More →

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What can you do in just four hours? Author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka can put together a really nice TEDx talk. Here is the proof.

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We plan to have some built-ins installed--a china cabinet in our dining area and bookshelves in our upstairs den/office--before we move in. I really need a place to put the thousands of children’s books that I have acquired over the years. I want to keep them for Julia. She LOVES books! She so enjoys looking through her books, pointing to things in the illustrations, and talking as if she is actually reading them. It is such fun to watch and to listen to her—and to have her sit on my lap when I read her the same books.

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Allie Jones, a Round 1 judge for Graphic Novels, has a blog title we can all relate to: In Bed With Books. You might know her by her online handle Liviania; on her blog she reviews a wide range of books and graphic novels, both YA and grown-up, and also posts interviews and other items of kidlit interest. Fun Fact: when she was a kid, she was on a competitive ice skating drill team.

One of the Cybils GN nominees she reviewed was Cardboard by Doug TenNapel, whose name will be familiar from past Cybils nominee and finalist lists (and, for those who like video games, he was the creator of Earthworm Jim!). In this latest offering for MG readers, some cardboard creatures made by a young boy and his dad come to life and run amuck. In her review, Allie says:

CARDBOARD can be enjoyed many ways, from creepy adventure to morality play.  Although aimed at children, there's plenty for adults to enjoy.

Click here to read the full review.

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Since “facebook” has come into each one of our lives do you feel your writings, blogging and keeping up your website last slowed down – I do. Facebook is good for a short note to connect with your fans, people with the same interest and family. But, do we get too involve trying to fill an hour or two of lonely space when we should be writing? How many articles or books would you have started or finished if you had stayed off the internet? Oh, I am sooo guilty. I do continue to write my monthly column, "Twin Lakes Area Writers" for the Ozark Regional Arts Council's newsletter.


I feel blog posting is important, very important to promote yourself and your products (writing, books or other creative forms). Interweave some of your personal interest; I love to garden, draw and photograph nature. Continuously writing blog post, books, or articles in my head does no one any good, most of all me. It causes me to feel I am failing as a writer and I know keeping up a blog does jump start my writing. I love to write, but distraction can slow me down to a snail’s pace. I have several children fiction book manuscripts finished and a few nonfiction books outlined to include photographs.

Kids Magazine (ezine) Writers, edited by Jan Field closed. I wrote an article on how important blogging was for her last issue. I just discovered author Evelyn B. Christensen
(http://evelynchristensen.com) is continuing to provide information on magazines that
have closed and submission guidelines to ones that are open.

I spoke on the basics of creating a blog and how it can promote you and your work Wednesday, November 7th at The Spring River Branch of the League of American pen Women. President, C J Clark and members made me feel at home and I enjoyed hearing what has been happening in their lives. On Saturday, November 17, at the Twin Lakes Writers, I will be speaking beyond the basics of having a blog, including connects I have made by starting a blog before my first book was release. I hope a few of the writers will find this useful.

Ideas? My head is full of them, one after the other, but they serve no purpose there. They must be put down on paper, one after the other. - Camilo Jose Cela

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Submissions invited: If you’d like a fresh look at your opening chapter or prologue, please email your submission to me re the directions at the bottom of this post.

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The Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective.

Note: all the Flogometer posts are here.

What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 or 17 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below.

A word about the line-editing in these posts: it’s “one-pass” editing, and I don’t try to address everything, which is why I appreciate the comments from the FtQ tribe. In a paid edit, I go through each manuscript three times.

Storytelling Checklist

Before you rip into today’s submission, consider this list of 6 vital storytelling ingredients from my book, Flogging the Quill, Crafting a Novel that Sells. While it's not a requirement that all of these elements must be on the first page, they can be, and I think you have the best chance of hooking a reader if they are.

Evaluate the submission—and your own first page—in terms of whether or not it includes each of these ingredients, and how well it executes them. The one vital ingredient not listed is professional-caliber writing because that is a must for every page, a given.

• Story questions
• Tension (in the reader, not just the characters)
• Voice
• Clarity
• Scene-setting
• Character

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Jill has sent the first chapter of The Truth Reflex.

The weird thing was this: Sesh’s hair was blond again.

Like in the documentaries, before the murders.

Rhino stood with the aloof, heartsick girl inside a hollow Douglas fir, breath-puffs apart, his heart pounding so hard he felt it in his eardrums. Fir needles speckled her hair, tears single-striped her cheeks—and a golden bullet, lipstick-tube long, lay in her upturned palm.

Rhino reached for it, brushing Sesh’s icy hand. Holy ultra touch of heaven.

Suddenly the bullet became a mirror. What the—  Rhino looked into it and froze. No. Holy no. It can’t be. He dropped the mirror, struggled for breath—and woke, gasping loudly.

Whoa! Not a good way to start the day.

Gulping down a swallow, he heard Tracker’s sheets rustling below, Michael’s wheezy snore across the darkened room. See? Calm down. You’re okay. He sucked in air again. You’re Rhino Rodgers. You’re at the School of Benevolent Leadership. You’re sixteen. You’re on a sweat-soaked mattress on the top bunk. Your best friend is thrashing in his sleep beneath you. You’re obsessed with a girl who will hate you if she finds out who you are.

Much better. Yes. Reality. Rhino closed his mouth, trying to calm his breath and slow his heartbeat, and suddenly the simmering ingredients of his dream coalesced and Rhino stopped breathing altogether:  He knew where to find a Mind Changer. A bullet that turned into a mirror.

Would you turn Jill's first page? Be tough. Comments help the writer.

Yes

I know that there are those who think it’s never appropriate to open a story with a dream, but I’m not one of them. Full disclosure: my novel, We the Enemy, opens with a dream. But, like this one, it’s only a few lines long, and it does impact the story.

The writing is strong, and so is the voice. And, for me, a couple of story questions were raised that I wanted more about—the girl who would hate him and why, and what a Mind Changer was. brief notes:

The weird thing was this: Sesh’s hair was blond again.

Like in the documentaries, before the murders. a good tease, promises more—be sure to deliver, though.

Rhino stood with the aloof, heartsick girl inside a hollow Douglas fir, breath-puffs apart, his heart pounding so hard he felt it in his eardrums. Fir needles speckled her hair, tears single-striped her cheeks—and a golden bullet, lipstick-tube long, lay in her upturned palm.

Rhino reached for it, brushing Sesh’s icy hand. Holy ultra touch of heaven.

Suddenly the bullet became a mirror. What the—  Rhino looked into it and froze. No. Holy no. It can’t be. He dropped the mirror, struggled for breath—and woke, gasping loudly. I found it frustrating to not be allowed to see “it”—whatever it was that he saw in the mirror that caused him to drop it. I think you should show the reader—after all, the goal is to immerse the reader into the character’s experience, and you can’t do that if you leave key parts out.

Whoa! Not a good way to start the day.

Gulping down a swallow, h He heard Tracker’s sheets rustling below, Michael’s wheezy snore across the darkened room. See? Calm down. You’re okay. He sucked in air again. You’re Rhino Rodgers. You’re at the School of Benevolent Leadership. You’re sixteen. You’re on a sweat-soaked mattress on the top bunk. Your best friend is thrashing in his sleep beneath you. You’re obsessed with a girl who will hate you if she finds out who you are. So now I want to find out what he is, too.

Much better. Yes. Reality. Rhino closed his mouth, trying to calm his breath and slow his heartbeat, and suddenly the simmering ingredients of his dream coalesced and Rhino stopped breathing altogether:  He knew where to find a Mind Changer. A bullet that turned into a mirror.

Comments, please?

For what it’s worth.

Ray

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Submitting to the Flogometer:

Email the following in an attachment (.doc, .docx, or .rtf preferred, no PDFs):

1. your title
2. your complete 1st chapter or prologue plus 1st chapter
3. Please format with double spacing, 12-point font Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins.
4. Please include in your email permission to post it on FtQ.
5. And, optionally, permission to use it as an example in a book if that's okay.
6. If you’re in a hurry, I’ve done “private floggings,” $50 for a first chapter.
7. If you rewrite while you wait for your turn, it’s okay with me to update the submission.

© 2012 Ray Rhamey

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I love “By the Book”, a semi-new section of the Sunday New York Times Book Review. Each week, a different author shares his or her favorite books, the books on their nightstand, who they’d like to eat a meal with, and various questions on writing ~ and each week, I manage to glean a few useful gems from each author.
The author profiled last weekend was Orhan Pamuk; author of “The Innocence of Objects” and “Silent House”. What caught my attention was the interview question: “How has your training as a painter informed the way you write and read your books?” When I read that, I knew I struck gold!
Orhan’s response: “As I wrote in my autobiographical book, “Istanbul”, and now in “The Innocence of Objects”, I was raised to be a painter. But when I was 23-years-old, one mysterious screw got loose in my head and I switched to writing novels. I still enjoy the pleasures of painting. I am a happier person when I paint, but I feel that I am engaged more deeply with the world when I write. Yes, painting and literature are “sister arts” and I taught a class about it at Columbia.”

Orhan points out the five things that the painter in him taught the writer in him:

1. Don’t start to write before you have a strong sense of the whole composition, unless you are writing a lyrical text or a poem. 
2. Don’t search for perfection and symmetry --- it will kill the life of the work. 
3. Obey the rules of point of view and perspective and see the world through your characters’ eyes --- but it is permissible to break this rule with inventiveness. 
4. Like Van Gogh or the neo-Expressionist painters, show your brushstrokes! The reader will enjoy observing the making of the novel if it is made a minor part of the story. 
5. Try to identify the accidental beauty where neither the mind conceived of nor the hand intended any. The writer in me and the painter in me are getting to be friendlier every day. That’s why I am now planning novels with pictures and picture books with texts and stories. 

Now, tell me that you didn’t grab an inspirational gem from that.
While writing my manuscript the past year, I’ve been aching to paint. I even have a board on my Pinterest page titled “Things that make me want to paint”. If I look it from Orhan’s perspective, I shouldn’t be berating myself for not painting… on canvas --- guess I was painting on Word.

Later in the day last Sunday, I watched part two of the David McCullough interview with Morley Safer on 60-Minutes. Truth be told, I have a little author crush on David. The Great Bridge helped me immensely while writing my Emily Roebling chapter. Turns out David originally started studying painting in college. He even drew a picture of Another gem!
The book "The Writer's Brush: Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture by Writers", written by Donald Friedman, is filled with many paintings by our favorite writers, but I had never made that writing/painting connection that Orhan pointed out. So, now that my manuscript has been sent in and another looms in the future, I think I will try to switch to some canvas work. Question is: acrylic or oil?

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