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Busy spring!

Lots going on lately in our household with birthdays, Mother’s Day, spring winery trips and the end of the first year of preschool. So, I have also had a lot of web happenings that I’m late on reporting. Here’s a round-up:

• Caught Between Two Curses (CBTC) news: I’m so excited that YA author Brian Katcher reviewed CBTC over at Foreveryoungadult.com  and he said, “There’s a lot of creepy stuff going on in the wings, with baseballs flying out of nowhere and the grim specter of death hanging over Julie’s family. But they’re Cubs fans. They’re used to living in hell.”  He also said, “Dill does a great job of linking Julie’s family curse to the cursed Chicago team. Can Julie and Matt stop the curse that is destroying her family? Will the Cubs go all the way this year? Keep in mind, this is a work of pure fiction.”
• I was also lucky enough to be featured as the Indie Spotlight on Reading Teen, writing about how I got my idea for CBTC and how I wanted to explore the question of destiny and why some people survive accidents and others don’t, as well as the Cubs Curse. You can read about that at the link above. I also was lucky enough to answer some questions about writing fiction on the St. Louis Writers’ Guild blog, The Writers’ Lens.
• News-Gazette Book Reviews: As many of you know, I write a Sunday Book Review column for the News-Gazette. I recently reviewed two very interesting books, one science fiction and one non-fiction parenting book. To check these out, both written by strong and interesting women, click on the titles: The Self-Esteem Trap (parenting) and Zero Time (science fiction).
• Over at WOW! Women On Writing, I posted about writing in multiple points of view, how to do it well, books that do it well, and why authors may consider using more than one character’s point of view to tell the story. We have an interesting conversation going on The Muffin and on our Facebook page!
• 

  At Lit Ladies critique group on May 5

  Lit Ladies blog: On the Lit Ladies blog, I am blogging about strong women and girls (GIRL POWER!) on Tuesdays now, and I talked about a book that changed my life, Half the Sky! Put it on your summer reading list. Find out how you can help women and girls find their voices around the world. I also blogged about my friend Kelly who exemplifies the Margaret Mead quote about never doubting what a small group of citizens can do.

And last but not least, I am currently organizing a blog tour for myself and my YA, Caught Between Two Curses. If you have a blog and want to participate, I have some dates in July! I am writing guest posts about young adult topics, writing, strong girls and women, baseball, curses, adult illiteracy and more. Please email me at margo (at) margodill.com if you would like to participate. You get a free ecopy of CBTC for your participation!

My daughter at princess tea

On the Lit Ladies blog, I am starting a series of posts about girls, strength, gender identity, uniqueness, strong females and more. I started with a topic currently near and dear to my heart–princesses. I think they are currently getting a bad rap from many, and so I’m sticking up for them here. Here’s my take on the obsession with princesses and why it’s not so bad: http://www.thelitladies.com/the-truth-about-princesses/

Besides this, if you are a writer, I also blogged on WOW! Women On Writing about coming up with a marketing plan for your book that makes sense. If you are in the throes of  marketing or even thinking about marketing, here’s what I had to say here: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2014/04/coming-up-with-marketing-plan-that.html

I also reviewed two funny books that would be perfect for gift books for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or graduation here: http://www.news-gazette.com/arts-entertainment/local/2014-04-20/give-gift-laughter.html

If you are a children’s writer and live near St. Louis/St. Charles or within driving distance (or you have frequent flier miles), consider coming to the Fall SCBWI Missouri Conference on September 6 and 7. It is going to be awesome. I can’t wait! In attendance will be agents, editors, art directors, published authors, and published illustrators. You can pay for critiques and pitch sessions, too. The Saturday non-member rate is $175 and you get so much stuff for that, you don’t even need to add more on to get a good value. Check out all registration information starting on this page: https://missouri.scbwi.org/events/2014-fall-conference/

Finally, I am participating in the Arthritis Foundation Walk on May 16 in St. Louis, and I am so close to my fundraising goal! I am walking in honor of my mom and my friend’s elementary school aged son! Please consider donating to this amazing foundation that helps people from ages 0 to 100. Here’s my page: http://stl.walktocurearthritis.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1095770&lis=0&kntae1095770=2DA0A7A304F64CE1B2E178573D47321A

Thanks, everyone! If you haven’t had a chance to buy Caught Between Two Curses yet, check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Caught-Between-Curses-Margo-Dill-ebook/dp/B00J8UWR4K

Reaper: YA urban fantasy written by St. Louis area author, L.S. Murphy, is the story of sixteen year old Quincy Amarante who will become the fifth grim reaper. Quincy is concerned about one thing before Death enters into her life–being popular and going out with a gorgeous guy. But Death won’t leave her alone and neither does her childhood best friend, Ben–whom all readers will be swooning for by the end of the book. Here’s what I think: I really enjoyed this book from the beginning until the end–it’s one that I found myself anxious to read and getting in the way of the things that I should have been doing, such as work. I know Quin is self-centered at the beginning and mostly concerned with being popular. But I liked her–she had some endearing qualities and was pretty funny actually. I loved the love triangle, the grim reaper aspect, the main character learning about what is actually important in life, and the ending. WOW! no spoilers here, but I was not expecting that ending, and I love it! I would read another YA by LS Murphy in a heartbeat.

Five Famous Mice Meet Winston Churchill: This is a picture book by Jean Davies Okimoto and illustrated by Jeremiah Trammell. It’s a sequel to Winston of Churchill. In this book, five mice go on a quest across Canada to let people know about climate change and how it affects everyone. Here’s what I think: The illustrations in this book are great, and the mice are cute. I like how determined the mice are to get noticed, and the ends they go to–to see the polar bears–to have their voices heard. I think this is better suited for K-2. My 3-year-old loved the mice but had a little trouble understanding why people weren’t listening to them and why they had to go to the polar bears. If I taught K-2, I would definitely use this in my classroom for Earth Day.

Time and Forever: This is Susan B. James’s first romance novel,  and it is great. It’s a time travel romance, full of twists and turns. I wrote an entire review for it for The News-Gazette. You can find that here at this link.

Excelsior:  This is a new YA book by George Sirois, who is published by the same publisher as me (Rocking Horse Publishing). In George’s book, high school senior Matthew Peters, Excelsior – savior of faraway planet Denab IV – is becoming an Internet sensation as the main character of a popular online comic strip. But before Matthew can enjoy his burgeoning success, a beautiful older woman arrives at his school and tells him that not only is she from the planet Denab IV, but that Excelsior’s lifeforce lives within him.  Here’s what I think: I love books that start in the real world and then go into the fantasy world–and Excelsior delivers on this promise. I also love that Matthew is an everyday hero who turns into the best hero ever! I did feel a little sorry for him that the comics he created were actually memories—but you’ll have to read the book to figure out how. I also like that the author did not steer away from modern technology in a fantasy book. Since he sets it in the real world in the beginning and teens are into technology, it was a must he include it and he did not disappoint. (Plus of course, new gadgets were created!) FINALLY, I liked that the adult in Matthew’s life also had to get involved and didn’t just disappear. I think there really are some teenagers who don’t mind an adult or two around every once in a while. . .I’m excited that the author is planning a series.

Coming in June from FIRST STREET: Sleep Tight, Anna Banana!

*Picture book, contemporary for preschool through second grade

*Young girl as main character

*Rating: This is such a great picture book–my daughter who is 3 absolutely loved it. We read it several nights in a row. She is big into her stuffed animals. And so is Anna Banana, so I think she saw a lot of herself in the book .I love it when authors/illustrators capture childhood moments in a book–this one is bedtime and imagination rolled into one!

Short, short summary: In Sleep Tight, Anna Banana, Anna is reading a funny book in bed with her stuffed animals arranged around her, and they want her to turn off the light and go to bed. They try to escape one by one, but Anna is too fast for them and makes them stay in their spots until she’s ready to turn the light out and go to bed. But once this happens, the stuffed animals decide to give her a taste of her own medicine and make a lot of noise. She tries to get them to settle down, to no avail. Eventually, they work out their differences and settle down to sleep.

The book will be available online everywhere June 17, 2014.

So, what do I do with this book?

• Problem/solution: What’s Anna’s problem? How does she solve it? What’s the major problem in the book? Solution?
• Emotions: Do you ever feel like Anna–like you aren’t ready to go to sleep? How do you settle down? Do you read? Sleep with animals?
• Discussion: Why do the animals keep Anna up at night? What are they trying to show her?
• Fun with books: What do you think of the stuffed animals’ names on the title page? Do these names fit? Why or why not?
• Sequence: What order do the events happen in the book?

Happy birthday to my new young adult, light paranormal, baseball, romance novel titled, Caught Between Two Curses. I AM EXCITED! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! Rocking Horse Publishing did an amazing job with the cover, and they have been super to work with. Thank you! I hope that you will order a copy from them today for a teen in your life or for yourself. You can do so here: http://www.rockinghorsepublishing.com/new-release.html.  OR if you live in St. Louis, come to the book launch party on Friday evening. Those details are right here: https://www.smore.com/v4a3

Some of you are over here because you read my post at the Lit Ladies and you are looking for the actors whom I think could play Julie, Gus, and Matt. So, I won’t keep you wondering any longer. . .

This would be Gus, played by Matt Lanter. (This photo is courtesy of GreginHollywood on Flickr.com.) If you check out Julie’s list I revealed on the Lit Ladies site today, you can see that this actor here fits many of the qualities of Gus. So, you can see why Julie is a bit torn between the two guys in her life, if this is what Gus looks like.

Julie and Matt are on the cover of my book above, but if I had to choose actors, I would choose.. .Chord Overstreet, who plays Sam on Glee.  He would be my first choice for Matt. (Photo is courtesy of vagueonthehow at flickr.com) And for Julie, I would love Ellen Page, but she’s probably a bit too old now, so we’ll have to go with. . .India Eisley who plays on the show, The Secret Life of The American Teenager.  (photo from abcfamily.com)

So, what do you think?

To read a short excerpt and a back cover book summary, check out the Lit Ladies post!

This morning, I am so honored to be on Meg Miller’s website, talking about revising the beginnings of novels and picture books. My “thesis statement” (WHAT? BLOG POSTS HAVE THESIS STATEMENTS?) is that “Yes, your beginning really is that important.” Hopefully, I convince you if you are a writer to pay attention to your beginning, and I offer tips to help you. We all know revision is a beast. But it’s crucial.

I revised the beginning of Caught Between Two Curses more times than I can count, but then I finally got a publishing contract. And if you’ve been in a closet, it will be out on March 18 from Rocking Horse Publishing. You can preorder here: http://www.rockinghorsepublishing.com/new-release.html 

Plus, take some time to check out Meg’s site and the other useful revision tips she has posted. This winter, Meg sponsored a ReviMO, and she gave away prizes. I was lucky enough to participate as Editor 911 and give away a free critique. So, really, check her out!

Here’s the link: http://megmillerwrites.blogspot.com/2014/03/margo-dill-guest-post-petite-revimo.html