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Title: The Star

Author: Clemy Warner

Release Date: June 3rd, 2013

Genre: Young Adult, Dark Fantasy

Reveal Host: Lady Amber’s Tours

Blurb:
Abbii had been afraid of the dark for four long years. She hated the eerie silence that filled the night.

She would often try to forget by closing her eyes at night, but she would always be met by dreams of Shadows that would attack her, dragging her into the Darkness. Most nights, she would simply lie there with her bedding wrapped tightly around her, staring at the light coming in through her window, hoping that she would drift off into a dreamless sleep.

Ever since that day four years ago, the dark had frightened her; she had thought it would be a curse throughout the whole of her life, but something changed when she met him.

The dark seemed to lose its power and the moon’s light brightened.

Her dreams didn’t stop; nightmares still stole her sleep, but there was always a figure of Light that would save her and allow her to wake.

He said the same thing every night in her dreams. Keep fighting, Abbii.

She thought that he was part of her imagination, someone that she had created to save her, until she met him and was drawn into his bright hazel eyes.

His name was Nate.

Author Bio:

I was born in England in the West Midlands in 1991 where I am still currently living, growing up alongside one younger and three older brothers.

Books and writing was an interest that I began to develop from the first years of secondary school, and on my thirteenth birthday, I began to plan and design the idea to write a fantasy novel. I finished secondary school with high GCSE’s and then went on into further education to study English and all aspects of art and design. After six years of writing, planning and overall editing of the book, it was successfully completed, containing over 82,000 words, and self published in the first week of 2011.

With high expectations in myself, I immediately began to write a second novel in the series, while keeping my art and design a part of the process. The achievement of completing the first novel ‘Purest Light,’ allowed the ideas of the second to flow much easier and it was completed by early 2012. As I was writing the third and final book, New Beginnings, at the same time, the series was finished by its publication in 2013.

Writing is now a part of my everyday and I have started on my newest project, The Star, which is also planned to be the first of three. Only time will tell.

Excerpt:
Nate signalled for her to move forward, watching as she did after a brief hesitation. She stopped several strides in front of him and waited for him to speak. “How many windows are there?”

Not really understanding the relevance of counting windows, Abbii turned to count them.

“No!”

Startled by Nate’s outburst, she glared at him, more out of shock than malice.

“Without turning.” He watched as confusion took over her face. “Close your eyes and focus on the energy of the sunlight beaming through the glass.”

Abbii shuffled in her place, not really understanding, but when Nate smiled, she did as she was asked. She closed her eyes, immediately feeling self conscious that Nate’s gaze was focused onto her.

“Clear your mind of everything else. Think of somewhere you feel calm.”

Keeping her eyes closed, Abbii took in Nate’s statement. She felt her heartbeat increase and her breath seemed shallow, but as she relaxed her shoulders, the rest of her body seemed to follow. She listened to the faint breeze that circled through the large space, hearing leaves pitter-pattering against the wooden floor.

“Anywhere you feel calm.”

Although her mind was full of questions and worries and a fear that she would lose herself, Abbii found that an image began to form in her head. Bursts of blue and silver light soothed her, and once the image had focused, she realised why. She could see the lake at The Everglades, with the moon reflected clearly upon its surface. The stars were shining brightly, and the air was still. The feeling of calm which enveloped her felt uplifting.

“Now keep that feeling inside of you and focus onto the light of the sun.”

Not at all distracted by Nate’s words, Abbii kept hold of the calmness inside of her and expanded her mind in some way, feeling the energy of the sunlight. She could feel its warmth and the way it passed through the glass of the bay windows. The years of dirt and dust made no difference; the power of the sunlight beamed through it without faltering.

“How many are there, Abbii?”

Realising that she could sense several different areas of the sunlight’s energy, Abbii realised that each one represented one of the windows.

There are eight.

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Today’s post is presented by my guest blogger and science buff Betty Gail Gallender who will demonstrate how art and science join forces to create unique projects.  Here’s Betty:

I have always loved the art of creating. But what I try to understand is the “how and why” of it. This is the “Science of Art.”
Today’s experiment starts off as an art project- but helps us see that science is behind everything we make.

Our kindergarteners created the “stain glass” butterflies pictured in this entry, which inspired me to do the same lesson with the 2nd graders using “dinosaurs of the deep” as the theme.             

My questions were how did they make their “stained glass” and why did it turn out like it did?

The “How” involves some pre-work on the part of an adult. First cut out the shapes you will use on black construction paper leaving a wide outline. Trim away the inside of the design. (I used an exacto knife.) Glue the outline onto a sheet of wax paper. Turn old crayons into shavings using a pencil sharpener, a sharp knife or pair of scissors to scrape them like a carrot.

Divide the shavings by color. Then, let the kids lightly sprinkle the shavings into the open spaces on the back of the wax paper design. (Don’t use too much–a little goes a long way!) Cover the picture with another piece of wax paper. Help them place the prepared picture between a towel or a folded piece of heavy paper.
Have an adult iron over the towel covered wax paper until the crayons melt and seal the design to the second piece of wax paper. Trim the design along its outer edges and hold it up to a window to reveal your “stained glass.” Take another copy of the cutout design and glue to the back to give the picture support and a finished look.

The “Why”—your work of art looks like stain glass is due to the heat and pressure of the iron combined with the translucent qualities of the melted crayons and wax paper. The heat melts the crayons turning a solid into a translucent liquid while the pressure spreads the liquid out. The wax paper is always translucent.

Things to discuss with your kids:
Explain to them that while unmelted crayons are solids that you cannot see through, the wax paper and melted crayons become translucent. This means that you can see through them, but not clearly because they diffuse the light that is passing through them. Point out that the glass in the window is an example of something that is transparent- you can see clearly through it.
Ask them why the crayon shavings changed and discuss how heat and pressure from the iron caused the crayon shavings to melt and spread out.                                                                    

I love experiments like this because they are a perfect example of ways to engage your kids in fun projects that are both educational and entertaining. Science is not boring or hard- it’s all around us. It is something that becomes obvious when we look into the how and why of the things we make and do.
I hope you enjoyed my guest post. If you try this experiment, I’d love for you to leave a comment here or over at sciencefunwithmom.wordpress.com.

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More photos from the author variety show (contributed by and used with permission of the school):

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Last night in New York City, the ASIFA-East Animation Festival Awards were presented for the forty-fourth year in a row. The Best in Show prize was awarded to the NYU student short Based on a True Story directed by Jacob Kafka. In the Independent Film category, first place went to Celia Bullwinkel’s Sidewalk. Other prizes in the indie category were handed out to films by Mark Kausler, Arthur Metcalf, Bill Plympton, Richard O’Connor and David Chai.

New York veteran Candy Kugel took home first place in Commissioned Films for her TEDEd short Sex Determination, while first place in Student Films went to Michelle Ikemoto’s Tule Lake, produced at San Jose State University.

The complete list of winners is below:

BEST IN SHOW
Based on a True Story
Directed by Jacob Kafka

INDEPENDENT FILMS: FIRST PLACE
Sidewalk
Directed by Celia Bullwinkel

INDEPENDENT FILMS: SECOND PLACE
There Must Be Some Other Cat
Directed by Mark Kausler

INDEPENDENT FILMS: THIRD PLACE (TIED)
It Took A While To Figure Shit Out
Directed by Arthur Metcalf

INDEPENDENT FILMS: THIRD PLACE (TIED)
Drunker Than A Skunk
Directed by Bill Plympton

EXCELLENCE IN ANIMATION
It Took A While To Figure Shit Out
Directed by Arthur Metcalf

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN
Christmas Day
Directed by Richard O’Connor, designed by Kelsey Stark

EXCELLENCE IN WRITING
A Knock On My Door
Directed by David Chai

EXPERIMENTAL FILMS
The Productive AniJam
Produced by Katie Cropper & Cynthea Diaz

COMMISSIONED FILMS: FIRST PLACE
TEDed: Sex Determination
Directed by Candy Kugel

COMMISSIONED FILMS: SECOND PLACE
Quiet Loud (Sesame Street)
Directed by Bob Boyle

COMMISSIONED FILMS: THIRD PLACE
Sniffles
Directed by David Cowles & Jeremy Galante

STUDENT FILMS: FIRST PLACE
Tule Lake
Directed by Michelle Ikemoto

STUDENT FILMS: SECOND PLACE
Chasing Unicorns
Directed by Deena Beck

STUDENT FILMS: THIRD PLACE (TIED)
The Crawler
Directed by Seth Brady

STUDENT FILMS: THIRD PLACE (TIED)
Good Night Guard
Directed by Janice S. Rim

STUDENT FILMS: HONORABLE MENTION (TIED)
Mirror
Directed by Q-Hyun Kim

STUDENT FILMS: HONORABLE MENTION (TIED)
Register Rap!
Directed by Josh Weisbrod

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2013 GradeReading.NET Summer Reading Lists

Keep your students reading all summer! The lists for 2nd, 3rd and 4th, include 10 recommended fiction titles and 10 recommended nonfiction titles. Printed double-sided, these one-page flyers are perfect to hand out to students, teachers, or parents. Great for PTA meetings, have on hand in the library, or to send home with students for the summer. FREE Pdf or infographic jpeg. See the Summer Lists Now!

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I just got home from ten days in Europe and I am ready to write. Why?
Because getting out of my writing cave makes me bump up against people, against history, against emotional struggles.

One place we visited is a memorial for the Belzec (Bee AWA zhek) Death Camp in eastern Poland, the first and worst of the Nazi camps which tried to exterminate Jews, gypsies and handicapped people. Over 600,000 people died here in 1941-1943. Then, the Germans flattened the camp and planted trees, in an attempt to hide what they had done.

This is history and deep emotions rolled into one poignant visit. For example, there was only one survivor of the camp–only one!–and his stories are heartbreaking. One quote was from a young boy who had entered the gas chambers and was heard to cry out, “It’s dark, it’s dark. Mama, haven’t I been good?” His last words.

For a writer to experience a sobering memorial something like this is to plumb the emotional depths to which a character might be forced to go.

One place we stayed was a horse farm in eastern Poland and one morning I walked out with my camera to see what was around. Under the eaves of the horse barns were nest after nest of barn swallows. I like trying to find the small, hidden things to photograph, because as a writer, it reminds me to pay attention to the landscape, to notice the “telling details” that could make a story come alive.


I snapped this photo while we were stopped for a break along a country road. Writers need to remember that there are common emotions and thoughts across all languages and cultures, they are common to humanity. Fear of dogs is one of those things.



And you can find beauty across the world, too, beauty in the common things of life such as a window.

The trip was amazing: as a writer, the trip reminded me that stories are universal, that evoking emotions–both happy and sad–is universal, and that beauty is found in the common things of life.

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We are excited about a new project we have in the works with Kidlit Frenzy, Great Kid Books, and 100 Scope Notes. Read Mary Ann Scheuer's introduction to our new series, and be sure to check back on Wednesday, May 22nd to read the reviews. Introduction to Common Core IRL: In Read Libraries by Mary Ann Scheuer at Great Kid Books

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Celebrate at will. I recommend a good book and a good beer.

Image credit: http://chrishallbeer.blogspot.com

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Imagine an alternate universe. A place where kids that are good at computation and reading skills are cute but are good for "elective classes" taking a back seat to the required art, drama, and music classes. Imagine getting in trouble for bringing home failing grades in drawing 1 and Choir but pointing out that you did well in math as a consolation. Imagine not getting into the college of your choice because your SAT or ACT scores were low in art. Imagine the disappointment on your teacher's face when you turned in bad drawings. How would you feel if you were told that your future earnings depended on how well you did in art classes? That your value to society was based on how well you could paint a portrait?

Isn't this what we're doing in public school? We only count the grades on a few subjects like English, math, and science and focus on the same skills for standardized tests. How does that make a kid feel who's strengths lie in the arts? I'll pull some adjectives from my childhood and young adult life: unwanted, unworthy, inadequate, dumb, stupid, valueless, low, under achiever, disabled, incapable, and invisible.

So my question is this: How can someone who regularly received below 2.0 GPA's in Jr high and high school achieve as much as I have in the past 20 years? I've worked for numerous fortune 500 companies, Illustrated 2 games for Hasbro, big publishers like Random House & Simon Schuster, hundreds of consumer magazines, been included in the Society of Illustrators, taught high school art, teach at two Universities, published ebooks and apps, started my own online video tutorial company, and become an avid blogger.

I've been told by some that the reason I did so poorly in public school is that I was lazy. I can assure you I have never been lazy. Uninspired? -guilty. Bored? -guilty. -but never lazy.


I write about this on my blog because I feel that this is an issue we must come to terms with if we are ever going to truly support artists. I write about this to continue my healing process and to hopefully help those who find themselves in the same situation I was in - unwanted. Our current system selects for a few skills (reading & math) while discarding everyone else -and they make no apologies.

I think of the poor souls like me who might have turned to substances or other means of coping with the feelings of their perceived inadequacies. I'm one of the lucky ones because I had parents who supported my desires to pursue illustration. I'm lucky because they had the means to send me to school. I'm lucky because I happened to attend a university with a great illustration program. I'm lucky because I married a woman who supported my crazy dream to become an illustrator. I'm lucky because every one of the 2,000 plus commissions I've received over the years has been a pat on the back.

I write this for my son Aaron - who's self portrait was graded with a BIG red "F" by his 4th grade teacher 9 years ago - all because he drew extra personality traits into his picture...because he didn't want his art to look like everyone Else's - apparently he understood art much better than his teacher.


Some have questioned my sanity in criticizing the very system of teachers and librarians who make up a large portion of my children's book audience - and school visits for illustrators and authors can boost their income and help promote their books. Am I really going to bite the hand that feeds me? If I abuse a dog and it bites me back should I get mad at the dog or realize my mistake and change?


I could sit back and keep my mouth shut in hopes of snacking from the scraps provided by the very system that ignored me -OR- I could do what I feel is right and speak up for the innocent children we feed to that machine every year. I've met parents with kids just like me who ask, "what should I do with my child who just wants to draw?" Should I turn my back on them in hopes of booking more school visits? When did doing the right thing go out of fashion?

I love presenting in schools because I feel that I might actually be able to make a difference in a few of the budding artists in the crowd. My feelings towards the broken system do not prevent me from working within it's framework - just like many of the committed teachers who get up every day trying to make a difference in spite of having to teach in handcuffs. I hope anyone reading this will understand that I'm passionate about illustrating children's books, teaching, and helping people realize their potential in unlocking their talents and inspiring them to work hard to achieve their dreams.

If you don't have any idea what I'm talking about there are many great discussions online: Check out Ken Robinson and what Seth Godin has to say about this topic.

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Author Grant Overstake scratched his head when a shipping invoice showed multiple copies of Maggie Vaults Over the Moon had been sent to Festus, Missouri. The mystery was solved when he discovered, to his delight, that the order had been … Continue reading →

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by Cindy R. Williams

My family loves basketball. In fact, my husband says that basketball is the Celestial sport. The rest of the Williams' clan either laugh or step away to avoid a possible strike of lightening.

He may have a point though. Check out this quote I wrote.

Basketball is like life. You can be the ball and leave your fate up to others to control, or you can be a player and take control.

Make your choice, are you the ball or the player?

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Peace, by artist Wendy Anderson Halperin is a visual and poetic meditation on the subject of peace. The book is dedicated to our senses, and that dedication sets the tone for the book – peace is real, and it can be sensed with our whole bodies and expressed with our words, actions, and thoughts. There is a very short text which can be read aloud, along with quotes from famous peacemakers spread throughout, and panels of illustrations depicting scenes of peace.

Halperin chooses quotes from people like Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and Anne Frank. I like that many of the quotes focused on the small ways we can work toward peace: “When people talk, listen completely” (Ernest Hemingway); and “Friendship is the only cure for hatred, the only guarantee of peace” (Buddha). The many illustrations, too, while wide in scope (they depict children and nature around the world), also depict small scenes of peace. Some of the images contrast to illustrate the concept. For example, one scene shows a grandmother washing dishes while her granddaughter lounges on the couch. A few pages later, we see the same grandmother washing the dishes with her granddaughter at her side helping her. Another scene depicts an elderly man boarding a bus as everyone continues to read their paper. Later on in the book, we see that a child has risen from his seat and offered it to the man. We also see children reading in tree houses, planting vegetables, sharing meals with their families, and quietly observing a heron.

The book is one to read and look at over and over again. It may spark discussions about kindness, friendship, stewardship of the earth, and about standing against all those things that destroy peace – like anger, apathy, ignorance, and jealousy. I can see this making a soothing bedtime book for all ages, and while it would be difficult to read the book aloud to a classroom (too many small details), it would make a good book for small groups to read and discuss in the classroom.

Posted by: Parry

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       SaharaReporters has a Q & A with Wole Soyinka -- mainly about Chinua Achebe.
       Interesting stuff, including his early doubts about the Heinemann African Writers Series (whereby Sri Lanka might not be the best example -- given how little-known Sri Lankan literature remains abroad, a series might have been damn helpful ...).
       Of course the Nobel comes up, too -- which Soyinka won and Achebe didn't. As I noted a few days ago, the Swedish Academy has just settled on the five finalists for this year's prize. As a laureate, Soyinka can submit a name each year -- not that he gives much away here:

As a 'club member,' however, I can nominate, and it is no business of literary ignoramuses whom, if any, I do nominate. My literary tastes are eclectic, sustainable, and unapologetic.

       That sounds promising, at least.

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As I wrote in a blurb for Sourcebooks, “Readers will fall in love with eleven-year-old Rachel, nick-named Ratchet by her car mechanic-environmentalist Dad, as she writes from her Life in her Home School Language Arts Journal, wanting to repair what’s broken, needing to replace the missing parts, so her very own engine can run true and on course.  Ratchet’s journal proves a user-friendly Instruction Manual for readers – and especially writers – eager to discover the wonder of their own life stories.”

Be sure to enter our TeachingAuthors Book Giveaway for AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF This Journal Belongs to Ratchet.  Include a shout-out for your Favorite Car – real, imagined, long-ago, present, fictional, cinematic, even longed-for.  The deadline to enter is June 3. See contest details following the interview below.





We first worked together privately in the early 90’s when you were just beginning “your race to the finish line,” on two picture books that still remain in my heart and on my brain’s Hard Drive.  Do you recall what you were hoping to learn – and – what you indeed took away – about writing, the Children’s Book World, publishing - so you could keep on writing?





Enriching experiences (researching topics, attending meetings, conferences, workshops, and retreats)
The satisfaction of always having something to strive for
Small successes along the way (having articles and short stories published in magazines and books)







                                                               * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And now, for the giveaway details:

Our blogiversary giveaway was such a success that we're again using Rafflecopter to run this giveaway. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, you may want to read their info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and/or the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

To enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of This Journal Belongs to Ratchet (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky) log into Rafflecopter below (via either Facebook or an email address). You'll see that we've provided three different options for entering the giveaway--you can pick one or up to all three. The more options you choose, the greater your chances of winning. While we haven't made it a requirement, we hope that everyone will pick the first option--subscribing to the TeachingAuthors blog. If you're already a TeachingAuthors subscriber, you still need to click on that button and tell us how you follow our blog, which will give you THREE entries in the giveaway! (If you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to enter.)

As it says in the "Terms and Conditions," this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. You must be 18 or older to enter. And please note: email addresses will only be used to contact winners. The giveaway will run from now through June 3, 2013. Winners will be notified June 4, 2013.

If you have any questions about the giveaway, feel free to email us at teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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       Tomorrow 21 May at Sotheby's in London, at 19:30, there will be An auction of fifty contemporary first edition books, annotated by their authors, with all proceeds benefiting English PEN .
       Check out all the lots -- some great stuff here -- and if you're in London you can view the items before the sale, today and tomorrow.
       See also the Sotheby's official page.

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Lots to be thankful for this Monday... Thanks to you, THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! spends it's 3rd week on the Indie Bestseller List (#6) and the New York Times Bestseller List (#4) and is joined on the NYT List by LET'S GO FOR A DRIVE! (#8). Thanks, you! Here is a brief interview about humor, the Sid Fleischman Award, and GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS from SCBWI in which I discuss

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Throughout the U.S., teachers and librarians are talking about what it means to implement the Common Core State Standards in their school. Five of us -- librarians and literacy experts -- are working together to show what the Common Core means for school libraries in real life. We’re calling the series Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries.

Today, I’m laying out some of the groundwork for our thinking. Come join all five of us on Wednesday, May 22nd, as we launch this new project:

• Alyson Beecher, district literacy specialist: Kid Lit Frenzy
• Louise Capizzo, children’s librarian: The Nonfiction Detectives
• Travis Jonker, school librarian: 100 Scope Notes
• Cathy Potter, school librarian: The Nonfiction Detectives
• Mary Ann Scheuer, school librarian: Great Kid Books

As teachers have worked to make sense of these new standards, many have focused on the overarching shifts in teaching that the Common Core standards are calling for. EngageNY, a collaborative platform for teachers in New York, has developed several presentations on these shifts. Two key shifts are particularly important to me as an elementary school librarian:

• the call for balancing informational and literary texts, and
• the focus on helping students read increasingly complex texts.

As a school librarian and parent, I want to provide many opportunities for our students to read about the world around them. Young children are fascinated by so many different things in the world - animals and their habitats, faraway places, different people’s customs, famous people’s lives. It is important that we provide our children with access to materials that interest them. I am convinced that if children are encouraged to read more nonfiction of their choosing, they will develop skills that will help them read and think about nonfiction as they grow older.
As the Common Core document states for ELA Standard 10,

“Building knowledge systematically in English language arts is like giving children various pieces of a puzzle in each grade that, over time, will form one big picture. ... The knowledge children have learned about particular topics in early grade levels should then be expanded and developed in subsequent grade levels to ensure an increasingly deeper understanding of these topics.”

So what does the Common Core mean in real life? In our series Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries, we are choosing high-interest subjects and looking at how we can support elementary students as they read increasingly complex texts around a subject. We want to provide both stimulating read-alouds, especially for young students, and just-right books of increasing complexity.


As Lucy Calkins writes in her Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop,

“We want to encourage our students to be researchers of the world and to know that reading can be a source of information to grow knowledge both about subjects they are experts in and ones that are newer to them.”

Lucy Calkins writes about curriculum that spirals from grade to grade, level to level. We are taking this idea to the library, suggesting that we look at our collections for an interesting topic and provide interesting reading materials that spiral up, gradually increasing in the complexity of the text. This allows students to build on knowledge, revisiting favorite books and then stepping into more complex material. It allows them to delve into a topic with more depth, becoming an expert in an area that interests them. But in order to do this, we must be conscious of the reading levels of the materials we select. As Calkins writes,

“It is important to get slightly easier books if the topic is new. While shopping for new books this month, keep in mind that a child can read a just-right book on a topic she may be familiar with—like cats. But if that child decides to read books on a topic about which she has no foreknowledge, like gemstones, it will benefit her to begin with books that are easier than her just-right reading level. As she builds up her vocabulary and background knowledge about gemstones, she’ll move on to reading with success books that are at her just-right level (or slightly above that level).”

In our special segments, Common Core IRL: In Real Life, we will share our favorite books on a common topic, spiraling up through the elementary grades. In the School Library Journal, Marc Aronson and Sue Bartle have suggested that school libraries develop clusters around high-interest topics. We are taking this one step further, providing suggestions for increasingly complex texts, both as read-alouds and independent reading books.

See the Common Core in action at Common Core IRL: In Real Life. Come visit Kid Lit Frenzy, 100 Scope Notes, Great Kid Books and The Nonfiction Detectives on Wednesday, May 22nd, to learn all about frogs as we suggest resources for spiraling up, gradually increasing in the complexity of the texts.

©2013 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

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"The arm belonged to one Jim Smith, a small-time crook who, funnily enough, hadn't been seen recently"


Some time ago Fabulous Gary Corby mentioned a crime that was solved by a shark. Naturally I perked up my fins and asked for details.  This morning Gary posted the story here on his blog.

Of course it cracked me up completely, as I hope it does you.

And if, like me, it reminds you of how much fun it is to read Gary Corby's work, well, we're all in luck there. SACRED GAMES, the third book in the Nico series, is being published tomorrow 5/21 and you're in for a treat. Publishers  Weekly thinks so too and in addition to the starred review (even calling it "the best thus far"--and both his other books were starred reviews as well!), ran an interview with Gary.

Available whereever you buy your Fabulous books!

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Do you have a manuscript—picture book, novel, or nonfiction—that needs work? Do you wish you could learn techniques that would help you revise not only this manuscript, but future ones?

Then come to the KBR “Editing without an Editor” workshop in Westport, CT. Learn how to revise like an editor by working with two experienced editors, who have distilled the methods they’ve used in editing manuscripts with individual clients and in the online Kid’s Book Revisions class. To create a framework, they’ll compare “reader response” theory and the lit. crit. approach, and explore ways to gain objectivity and to focus on different aspects of manuscripts. You will pick up and try out methods for making critique groups work better. After lunch, you will learn and try out a variety of techniques for self-editing, from big picture revision down to copy-editing, working on your own or with a partner.

Critiques are available for those that want them, but are not included in the standard package, to keep the price as low as possible. The workshop fee is $175 through May 21st, and $225 after that. A critique of up to 15 pages is $40; longer manuscripts can be critiqued by arrangement.

The workshop will run from 9 AM to 5 PM on  Sunday, June 30, at the workshop space, Write Yourself Free/The Editing Company, 252 Post Road East, Westport, Connecticut, (the little red schoolhouse).

Schedule:

In advance: Student preparation: You will need to bring copies of up to 5 pages of your manuscript for use in model critique groups and hands-on work. We will tell you how many copies are needed ahead of time.          If you want a critique, submit manuscript when you register but no later than two weeks before the workshop, to allow ER or HU time to review and comment. See details following the schedule.

• Class “textbook”: Writing It Right!, Sandy Asher. We will give copies of this to all students.
• Also useful: A Family of Readers, ed. by Roger Sutton and Martha Parravano. Find it at your local library.

9:00   Welcome, introductions, and review of schedule.

9:15   Introduction: Reader Response vs. Lit. Crit–different ways to respond to a manuscript and what you get from them.

10:00   How Critique Groups Work and Don’t Work–introduction and discussion.

10:30   Critique Group Practice and Feedback. Break into critique groups to dive into “what lies underneath.” Focus on trying out a specific technique and getting peer critiques and editor feedback. (Eileen and Harold will lead and take part in a group.)

12:00   Lunch: Sign-up sheet available at lunchtime for impromptu critique groups or work with partners, etc., during 3:30 to 4:30 individual meeting time.

1:30   Big Picture Revising – Some techniques and what they do for you. Hands-on practice with your manuscript.

2:45   Sweating the Small Stuff – Yes, the details matter!  Again, techniques and what they do for you. Hands-on work.

3:30   Individual meeting with editors for those students who signed up for them. When not in meetings, students can write, revise, meet with a reading partner or impromptu crit. group, or do creativity exercises we provide.

4:30   Lessons Learned—what you’ve learned about yourself and your manuscript, and what do you do next? Discussion. Final questions.

Click link for more information, and registration details:http://www.kidsbookrevisions.com/editing-without-an-editor-2013.htm

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: authors and illustrators, Conferences and Workshops, opportunity, Process Tagged: Editing Workshop, Eileen Robinson, harold Underdown

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In Out of the Easy, Ruta Sepetys had me at hello. It begins:

My mother's a prostitute. Not the filthy, streetwalking kind. She's actually quite pretty, fairly well spoken, and has lovely clothes. But she sleeps with men for money or gifts, and according to the dictionary, that makes her a prostitute.

Seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps. She's known that for years, and even though she still works at the same brothel as her mother—cleaning rooms, mind you—and even though she's on good terms with Willie Woodley, the woman who owns it, she's independent enough that she's kept her own apartment since she was eleven years old.

She works part-time at the bookstore below it, and she dreams of going to college. But when Josie dreams, she dreams big: she wants out of New Orleans, to start over somewhere up North, somewhere where she can reinvent herself—where no one knows who she is or what her mother does.

LOVE: THE DIALOGUE. Out of the Easy is set in 1950, and Sepetys' characters sling slang without sounding phony or overblown, and the dialogue zings back-and-forth like in an old movie. The characters speak in distinctive voices, and unlike in Strands of Bronze and Gold, those differences in vocabulary, rhythm, and diction are affected by economic class, vocation, and education, rather than being purely dictated by the color of one's skin.

LOVE: JOSIE. Her narration has a touch of the noir hero: deadpan, world-weary, and with an understanding of ironic humor. Unlike a noir hero, though, she is open about being emotionally affected by... things that are emotionally affecting. She's smart, she's canny, and rather than blushing and wanting to melt into the ground in embarrassing situations, she treats them as opportunities—I cheered out loud when she turned one around by becoming an impromptu blackmailer, and I swooned during another when she threw herself into a cute boy's lap to save herself (and him, to a degree) from some catty mean girls. 

LOVE: HER MOTHER. Well, no, actually, I loathed her mother. But I loved that she wasn't the Pretty-Woman-hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold, I loved that she wasn't secretly sympathetic, or selfless or particularly smart. She was completely self-absorbed, and while her behavior makes her come off as rotten and somewhat stupid, it's important to remember who's telling the story: Josie isn't exactly an objective party. The other women who work for Willie are a mixed bag of funny/serious/witty/quiet/ruthless/rude/mothering/mean/sensitive and everything in between, and it's easy to imagine that if another person had told the story, Louise would have come off as more human. Maybe. Then again, SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST TERRIBLE.

LOVE: THE BOOKS. Josie works in a bookstore, and she and her best friend Patrick have an ongoing game where they predict what sort of book customers will want. There are references to Dickens and Keats, Capote and even L'Engle. And, tangentially, Poe: Josie ends up with a dead man's watch—THAT'S RIGHT, ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE, SHE INVESTIGATES A MURDER—under her floorboards, and she swears she can hear it ticking, ticking, ticking. Which, of course, evokes The Tell-Tale Heart.

LOVE: EVERYTHING ELSE. Sepetys is true to the era and her characters in how Patrick's story plays out; the romance is sweet and heartfelt; the details about 1950s life and culture work themselves in fluidly; Josie wants what she wants so badly that I was never quite sure about how far she'd go to get it; and while the ending certainly has some fairy-tale elements, there's enough bitter in the sweet to keep cynics (like me) from getting all up on their high horses.

Oh, I loved this book. As it's got the same combination of fantastically-rendered historical atmosphere—the dialogue is TO DIE FOR—and mystery elements, I highly, HIGHLY recommend it to fans of Judy Blundell's What I Saw and How I Lied.

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Author page.

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Amazon.

Publisher.

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Book source: Review copy from the publisher.

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       Telegram Books have been publishing Icelandic author Sjón's books in the UK for a while now, and now he finally gets the proper treatment in the US as well, as Farrar, Straus and Giroux brought out a trio of his novels last week; two of them are the most recent additions to the complete review:

• The Blue Fox
• The Whispering Muse

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This spring, the team decided it was high time to hold a party for our 1000 Books Before K Club kids. We thought: May, nice weather, a bus or historic trolley - PIGEON!!! Thus was the pigeon party born.

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Book Review: A Boy and His Dragon by Michael J. Bowler
Print Length: 613 pages
Publisher: Michael Bowler (September 23, 2011)
ASIN: B005P9G0UA
Rating: 4 Stars
Age group: YA 13+

Bradley Wallace Murphy just turned thirteen, and life sucks. He doesn’t fit in at school, he’s no good at sports, a bully torments him, he’s a disappointment to his parents, and his only “friends” are fictional characters on a TV show called “Dark Shadows.” He’s growing up but wants to stay a boy, like Peter Pan. Then he finds the egg and everything changes. From this egg hatches Whilly, a supposedly mythological dragon that bonds with him physically, emotionally and spiritually. The sudden responsibility of hiding a rapidly growing dragon in a small California city in 1970 forces Bradley Wallace to grow up whether he wants to or not. Feeding a hungry dragon involves lots of raw meat, and the horrible reality of death sickens Bradley, turning him vegetarian, and upsetting his mother. Through their adventures together, boy and dragon learn the true nature of their symbiosis, and Bradley Wallace comes to understand that he is not just a misfit kid who happened to find a misfit creature from some other time. He is something far more dangerous, a ‘super-hero’ with powers he didn’t know he had. He could be killed if the truth comes out. When the attacks begin, Bradley Wallace realizes he is up against overwhelming evil forces. Can he and Whilly survive?

What an amazing, magical adventure. Everyone who has ever imagined having a dragon, flying with it, and befriending this wonderful mythological creature will jump right into this book. Author Michael J. Bowler has such a gift for recreating the experiences and muddled logic of a 13-year-old self-confessed misfit. He also brings the Seventies to life in wonderful detail, a time of Drive-ins, Eskimo Pie, Star Trek, and long summer holidays. I loved this story and the delicately flowering relationship between Whilly and Bradley Wallace is peppered with humour, misunderstanding, forgiveness, and a lot of acceptance (after Bradley discovers what happened to the neighbourhood cats…). The author cements the bonds that must survive the terrible tests facing the boy and the dragon. The story sucks the reader right into Bradley’s life, along with his slightly dysfunctional family, his bossy older sister, and the school bullies. Kids will love this adventure and adults will relish remembering being 13 again. The book is long but all the elements merge into a satisfying whole to perfectly capture the boy-dragon symbiosis. This book is intended as the first in a trilogy and I am sure young fans will eagerly await more from Bradley Wallace and Whilly. Highly Recommended.

(The book mentions definite adolescent physiological changes so I advise parents to stick to the age recommendation)

First reviewed for Readers Favorite

Reviewer’s bio: Fiona Ingram is an award-winning middle grade author who is passionate about getting kids interested in reading. Find out more about Fiona and her books on www.FionaIngram.com. She reviews books for the Jozikids Blog.

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As of November 20, 2012 (that is, Midnight Eastern Time tonight) I am closed to queries. I will reopen to queries January 7, 2013.

If I already have your work, you should hear from me by January 7. (That's the point of taking the break, I have to catch up!)

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<!-- START INTERCHANGE - ONE CRAZY SUMMER -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garica, as you can see by crowd of awards (Coretta Scott King Award, Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Medal, Newbery Honor

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