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By Nicholas Eskey Taking his regular seat in front of the all too familiar line consisting of convention goers, Comic-Con International’s President John Rogers readies himself for the inevitable. The “Talk Back Panel” always signifies the end of a convention, giving the chance for attendees and vendors alike to voice their opinions on their experiences; […]

By Nicholas Eskey If you label yourself a “nerd” and wear it with pride, undoubtedly you already follow Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist News. The quick witted comedian and mega-nerd took heads the podcast driven news network for nerds with a wonderful collection of colleagues and special guests, discussing everything from the current state of all things […]

By Nicholas Eskey During the tail end of last year’s Wonder Con, it was announced that the convention which had spent the last three years in Anaheim would instead next be hosted by the city of Los Angeles. The change was for a simple reason; the Anaheim convention center already had another event booked for […]

Take a good look at the Anaheim Convention Center, It might be the last WonderCon sees of it.

By Nick Eskey

For the three years that WonderCon has been in the Anaheim convention center, I’ve been very fortunate to attend it. I say fortunate because compared to my local San Diego Comic Con, this one is much more relaxed. Replacing the large media influence and the sardine-cramped spaces, there is ease and Fandom. Easily one of the industry’s conventions that is more beloved by fans.

The convention itself is very well run, usually smooth-as-silk. A few hiccups that occurred this year were the downed elevators used for celebrity talent (which was of course not the fault of WonderCon) and the last minute change of entrances for badge pickup (my press email said Hall H, only to find out I had to go all the way back to A). I did like the addition of the turn-styles at the entrance of the fountain. This did add a redundancy in checking badges, but it kept the people who were passing out advertisements and postcards away from the main doors.

I can’t really say how long I walked the convention sales floor, I just know my feet got a workout. Artists, independent publishers, and exhibitors inhabit much of the booth spaces.
Though the right side is designated as Artist’s Alley, the far left also seemed like a secondary one, with people showing off their original comics or sketches for sale. Quite a few booths were also selling handmade “geekery” like cartoon-inspired dolls, 3D printed figures, and even tentacle kitty plushies. I spent most of my allotted money on art prints (and said tentacle kitty plush).

I really do wish there was more in the way of panels this year. Last year there were a few big movie announcements shown in the Arena area, but for this one it was all smaller panels on the 2nd and 3rd floors. This is where I think SDCC is far superior. It always has the big talent and over the top showings. It is still nice to have the “how to get into the industry” or documentary panels, but a dash of excitement here and there definitely would add considerably to the lineup.

The big announcement was of course that WonderCon would not be in Anaheim next year, but in LA. From what was told at the talkback panel on the last day of the convention, lack of availability surrounding that time period forced the hard decision on the board. As luck would have it, LA’s convention center had a cancellation, and welcomed WonderCon to fill the spot. We all might be a little spoiled in how the Anaheim convention center sits in between two large hotels, as well as being in walking distance to and from Disneyland Park, but isn’t that part of the fun?

LA does boast a collection of hotels and other attractions, but come on; Disneyland. DISNEYLAND!

I’ll still be heading to WonderCon 2016, believe you me. The convention survived it’s San Francisco birth, and flourished in its Anaheim move. Because of this, I am optimistic that it will become even better in this next move. After the explosion of SDCC, CCI has learned that they need to build on WonderCon piecemeal.

Who knows, 2017 might have the convention back in Anaheim. As of now, nothing is set in stone for the far future.

President of CCI board of directors, John Rogers

By: Nick Eskey

Signaling the end of the three day WonderCon weekend, Comic-Con International’s board of directors president, John Rogers, was joined by Con-goers for the “Talk Back” panel.

As opposed to the SDCC Talk Back which normally has a litany of people with grievances, WonderCon’s is known to be almost completely made up of praises. This year wasn’t any different.

The first woman to speak said that she was disappointed that nothing big was in the Arena this year, but still had fun with the smaller panels. A few others came forward saying simply that they loved the convention, some even admitting to liking it better than SDCC.

Not all were compliments though. As it goes for questions and concerns, the issue of the why WonderCon always falls on Easter was addressed. Whether it was intentionally planned that way or not.
“Believe me, we would have preferred if it wasn’t Easter weekend,” said John Rogers. “It really comes to how everything falls when it comes to scheduling, availability, traveling, hotels… and it just turned out that we had to during Easter.”

A new addition to the convention was having badges first checked right before entering the front of the convention center with the fountain. It was asked what the intention of doing this was, as well as checking badges as you get into exhibit halls. “We were seeing that once you would get to the glass doors, people were being blocked by others with pamphlets and cards,” said Rogers. “It caused some congestion at the front. We felt that this would keep the doors free and accessible.”

Another concern was regarding the signature raffling, saying that it didn’t seem fair for those that would wait in line early, to find out that it was a raffle, putting them with equal footing for those who came later.

“The ticket raffling is the preferred method for CCI. We instruct all exhibitors that approach us regarding signings to do raffles… What we would foresee is that people would start lining up quite early, and then next time even earlier than that. This gives everyone an equal chance regardless of when they line up.”

But definitely the biggest question to come of the panel was, “Will WonderCon stay in Anaheim next year?” John Rogers straightened in his chair, and began with “Um… well.”

As it turned out, it was confirmed that WonderCon would not be returning to the Anaheim venue next year. “Unfortunately there wasn’t any availability next year for the convention center.”
Where then will it be?

“When we were looking for other venues and approached LA, it turned out that they had a cancellation and welcomed [the convention].” After being in Anaheim for three years, San Francisco before that, WonderCon will now be making the move to Los Angeles.

“This is going to be a whole new city, a whole new market, new facility… But we are thankfully foreseeing some fairly decent deals for the hotels.”

It’s sad to see Anaheim losing WonderCon. It personally makes sense to have it there with the abundance of hotels around it, and with Disneyland just being in fifteen minutes walking distance. But because the whole scheduling and negotiation of venues is a difficult business, I can understand the board’s decision to go.

With LA in the conventions future next year, we can rest assured to aspect some road bumps in its execution, and unfamiliarity from con goers. Let’s all hope for the best!

I connected with Maral on Facebook because I swoon at her artwork and because she is a huge Francophile like me. She is relatively new to children’s books, but her work has been well received: selected in Society of Illustrators (Illustrators … Continue reading →

I recently had a conversation with someone concerning those times when we get caught up in too much nothing and overrun our circuits obsessing over the things we cannot control. We try so hard to figure out the Shoulds and Oughts and the Mights. And once we’re on that path, it’s all too easy to start considering the Can’ts and the Won’ts and even the dreaded Why Bothers. Why is it so hard to start thinking about the Go-For-Its and the Why Nots and the What-the-Hecks? How do we learn to see possibilities instead of problems and to just stop taking everything so darn seriously? He calls his solution “Punching the Bag”: going back to the basics to practice, work up a sweat, and rediscover the reason you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place.

This month marked another international SCBWI-LA conference, in all of its overwhelming and overstimulating glory. This year was my third conference, and marked the end of my official year as a “Mentee” with the portfolio showcase mentorship award.The first year I attended, I had pretty much no idea what I was doing or how to illustrate (I still cringe at that old portfolio.) I couldn’t afford to stay nearby since the hotel costs a bazillion dollars a night, so I couch-surfed with strangers in all different parts of LA. I left my portfolio on the top of the rental car and it flew off in the middle of the street and was run over by cars. My takeaways? Mostly technique-related. I was too overwhelmed to absorb very much. Also noted: Don’t leave things on the top of your car.

The second year, I was a little more organized. I stayed in a hotel nearby, making it easier to meet people. My portfolio did not get destroyed during the conference. I did not get lost on LA freeways. I was totally shocked to hear that I won one of the portfolio mentorship awards, and remain convinced that I was somehow “accidentally” chosen, and that I did not belong in the group. (Imposter syndrome, anyone?) My takeaways: put together a better portfolio. Make better work. Tell better stories. Be better at being mentored. Be better in general. I felt pretty excited but oh, the pressure!

And this year? After stressing for a year about wishing I could get more done, cursing those without day jobs (I am sure they have no worries and spend their days dashing off illustrations effortlessly, right guys?) sending my work out and collecting terse rejections, refining and refining a dummy book only to turn on it a moment later as I compare it to the work of someone else–this year my illustration demons were at their best. The conference stirred up a concoction of complex emotions; I wasn’t sure whether to be excited, happy and inspired or disappointed and ashamed or even, dare I say it, bitter.Sunday afternoon came and brought the last breakout session of the conference. I had chosen to attend a talk and Q&A with Steven Malk of Writers House, about agenting in general and his thoughts on the business. Among many other things, he said the following:

1. Be patient. (Some stories need time. Some illustrators need time. Sometimes it’s not time yet.)
2. Loosen the grip of fear on your heart. (This quote speaks for itself.)
3. Focus on what you can control. (So this means my vague goals like “be successful” or “get an agent” are, um, less than helpful.)

If you don’t want to tweet, or facebook, or blog, or whatever, then don’t! If you want to keep you day job for now because you need the financial security, then keep it! If you aren’t ready to write as well as illustrate a book, than just stick to your portfolio for now!

It was a liberating moment: the first time someone had given me permission to do it my way. I don’t have to be an overnight success. I can be a really gradual success. Or I can make my own definition of success. We don’t all have to be an Erin Stead or a David Diaz, hitting a home run on the very first try.

So now I’m trying to loosen the grip of fear, and stop caring so darn much. I’m reading more picture books, not because I should, but because I like them. I’m drawing more, not because I need to practice, but because it’s fun. I’m experimenting and trying new things. And when each day is done, I may not have done something huge or impressive or spectacular or perfect, but at least I punched the bag.

The conference was wonderful! Seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and hearing Judy Blume speak!! OMG, Judy Blume! Oh, and at one point, I saw Judy Blume and Fonzie (Henry Winkler) together. Whoa! That was strange, but so cool!

There’s usually a theme emerges when I go to conferences. It’s not anything planned by the speakers, but arises from the sessions I attend and the advice I need at that moment. I’m not sure what the theme for this conference is, yet. But if I had to pick a theme, I might go with Heart (making sure your stories have it), or Embracing the Suck (of first drafts), or Specific=Universal. Here are the notes (cross posted to my other blog).

Bruce Coville: He started off the conference with a keynote that was both funny and serious. Some of his advice was:

“Marry rich.”

“Take your art seriously but also take yourself seriously as a business person.”

“Make your own rules.”

“Don’t be afraid to show your heart; put it on the page.”

Liesa Abrams: (Aladdin/S&S) She talked mostly about middle grade. Her list focuses on fantasy.

On Plot, Theme, and Voice: Think about what matters to a twelve-year-old, what they see and care about, and what’s at stake.

Sees too many subs where kids are really self aware (keep them believable, even when they do stuff out of their age range).

Hook is just as important in MG as it is in YA.

Young vs. Older MG is about tone and sophistication.

Libba Bray: keynote and breakout session

“Embrace the suck (of first drafts). Your book is there, buried under the one you hate.”

“You don’t have to make it perfect; you just have to make it better (one little bit at a time).”

“In the particular is contained the universal.”

“Mediocre fiction is usually where the character isn’t well developed.”

“It should cost you something (emotionally, to write the novel). You want to be a different person on the other side of the book than when you started writing it.”

“Be who you want to be/allow yourself to play/explore humanity.”

“Think of characters like nesting dolls with many layers.”

On revision: It’s like “standing on the edge of the plane waiting to jump, thinking, ‘this could all end badly, but it’s a good day to die.”

Lin Oliver and Henry Winkler: talking about writing with humor and heart – I missed the beginning of the session because of my critique, but the end was well worth going to. Lin’s voice was going out, so Henry did most of the talking. One of the highlights was when he talked about how he created the character of Fonzie. “Aaaaaaa.” But they both  talked a lot about writing and making things funny. The biggest take-aways:

general=not funny / specific=funny

“If you don’t laugh, cut it.”

Emma Dryden: talking about the digital landscape

“The story matters most.”

“Adults have to re-educate and re-tool to maneuver new landscapes. Children have nothing to unlearn about digital. It’s where they live.”

Judy Blume (talking with Lin Oliver): During her talk, it became clear that Judy Blume is a writer’s writer. She’s one of us.

“I’m so sucky at plot. That’s not how it comes to me.”

When she begins a book, she knows where it starts and thinks she knows where it’s going. She doesn’t know anything else and loves the surprises along the way.

“The stuff that’s going to matter, going to work, and touch the readers has to come from someplace deep, deep inside.”

“The first draft is

Ok I am off to LA this week...yay!

This year, I am much more confident than last year.

1) I know my roommate this time. Kimberly and I are roomies again. Last year, we took a chance and roomed together after only knowing each other through our blogs (weird right?) This time, I know she is not really a hairy man in skivvies. I also know she doesn't snore. So I cant wait to see my wonderful friend. (who i just found out put me in her acknowledgements! That's right - me. Im moving up!)

2) I have gotten over my fear of meeting bloggers in person. It was such an amazing experience last year, that I have nothing to lose.

3) I have plans this time. yes I am soooo popular these days that I have plans already lined up. Some for breakfast, some for drinks (water of course :) and some for dinner. Ok sat night doesnt count b/c its the SCBWI party so EVERYONE is invited. But so far Im meeting Robin Mellom, Gretchen McNeil, Daisey Whitney, Suzanne Young, Stephanie Perkins, Kiersten White, Lisa Schroder (which still freaks me out b/c she's like one of my fav authors!), Lindsey leavitt, Sherrie Petersen, Carolina Valdez Miller, and Casey McCormick (who Im especially excited about meeting b/c she and Corey schwartz were two of my first followers long ago so I have a special place in my heart for them :) and more.

4) I got into the YA Master class. OMG I had been wanting this so bad. But they said I was a few down on the waiting list. So the chances were like 0%. I cant wait to hear Krista Marino, Random House/Delacorte, and her brilliance. editor for THE ALCHEMYST, THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, THE MAZE RUNNER, and KING DORK. See what I mean?

5) A weekend away. Though I love my kids dearly, I need a small break. A weekend where I am not talking about boo boos, poops, lack of poops, wants, needs. And if I have to watch Backyardigans's Robot one more time, I'll scream.

So even though I wont' be here blogging much - I will come back with some great notes I'll share. I also have some great guest posts coming this week, so give them some love.

See you on the other side. :)

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Yay - so it's official. I'm going to BEA and LA. NOt sure how long for BEA but I'm definitely going.

Can't wait.....

I love going to these places where book groupies hang out. The books, the knowledge, the energy, the people.

Mostly because I love all you guys and want to support all my blogger buddies who have books coming out at BEA and hang out with the masters of the business in LA.

Both are so worth the money! Plus BEA - can you say ARCS!

My goal is to set up some kind of happy hour at each place for bloggers or tweeters (or blogger/tweeter groupies :)

A Blogger Blowout. A Tweeter Throng (not to be confused with thong - look it up! ":)

So tell me, who is going to BEA and who is going to LA?

Leave me a comment so if/when I plan a Blogger Bash at each - you will be on the list.

PS ON a side note - my new business (marketing, book publicity) site is now up! Check it out!

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After a doing a little shopping in New Orleans and visiting some of the uber-scary places we saw the night before,






Old Ursuline Convent


we hit the road for Cut and Shoot, TX to meet up with my brother and his family at my sis-in-law's family picnic celebrating the 60th anniversary of her Aunt and Uncle.



Awesome Elvis Impersonator



We had a great time. All her relatives were so sweet to us, so welcoming, and there were at least a hundred people there. Fun to catch up with all that's been going on with Mike and his family. It was Memorial Day weekend, and, in honor of our fallen soldiers, those assembled stood and sang, "Dixie." I only knew some of the words. Such an amazing moment. A Southern moment. Mx had to leave though, the emotion of the day brought tears to her eyes. Her cousin Cody and his good friend David had called a day or two before to let her know that they were being deployed to Afghanistan that weekend.

After the wedding we crashed in our beds in San Antonio, we stayed at The Omni San Antonio, but were barely there twelve hours because we were headed off to Carlsbad, New Mexico the next day. On our pillows were little oval wooden boxes with tiny dolls inside and a note that read:

"Legend has it that the Yanaguana Indians, a peace-loving tribe of native San Antonians, extended their hospitality to Spanish settlers by presenting them with these handcrafted worry dolls. According to tradition, by transferring one worry to each doll before bedtime, and placing them under your pillows your worries would disappear by dawn's light."

We were selling our our house at the time, so I transferred my worries about the sale and Cody's safety to my little dolls knowing full well that the Spaniards of long ago had similar concerns about shelter and survival. Timeless worries, I guess.

We knew that New Orleans needed its own day and we were so happy that we took the time to enjoy this amazing city. Could spend so much time here, but, since Mx had a job to get to, we did what we could with the time we had.

First up? The Cemetery Tour. Highly recommend The Haunted History Tour of New Orleans. We took two of their tours and both had fantastic tour guides who were so entertaining and knowledgeable.

Our tour guide started off by saying that the streets of New Orleans are named after Saints and Bastards. One thing I loved learning about was that voodoo was the religion that developed among the slaves. They found that their gods and goddesses were similar to the Catholic saints, and were able to keep their religion alive by associating their gods and goddesses with the saints of the Catholic church. St. Expedite is an example of such a saint. I saw his statue in the Catholic Church just outside of the French Quarter. St. Expedite is no longer recognized by the Catholic church, and his history tends to be a little murky, which is why I like him so much.

A few photos from our day in New Orleans:



After some bignets at Cafe Du Monde [AWESOME!] we took in the sites,







had a little dinner,





then we went on The Vampire Tour,





Mx and our guide. Lemme just say. Creepy. Creepy. Creepy. To many stories to share, but we did discover that Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is the best bar in the city. Hands. Down.

Of course, when I travel, I love to get books. I usually lean to books with stories about women, but I had to get "New Orleans Ghosts, Voodoo, and Vampires Journey into Darkness" by Kalila Katherina Smith.

We. Love. New Orleans.

This leg of the road trip was short for one huge reason: We wanted to tour some plantations. And while we expected them to be grand, like the Monmouth [must take the house tour and the complimentary Southern Breakfast was fabulous], we didn't quite expect The Longwood Plantation. Even with all the movies I'd watched about The Civil War and all the school lessons I'd had [well, suffered through, wasn't a fan of history as a kid], the Longwood Plantation gave a rare insight into what happened to one family caught in the midst of war. Never finished, the Longwood stands as a reminder of people who had thought all their dreams were about to come true, and didn't. Our wonderful tour guide described the feeling I got while touring The Longwood like this, "You know when you wake up too early from a dream?" And, because my husband and I own a construction project management company, Elliott Management, I found this haunting example of east-meets-west architecture infinitely intriguing. The furniture was purchased, the exterior finished and the interior work had begun when the war broke out. Everything has been preserved as it was then, as much as possible. Even leaving buckets where the workers had dropped them the day they fled. The Pilgrimage Garden Club, who maintains the property and runs the wonderful tours, has one provision for their care of the property, that no one ever try to complete the construction.

When our tour guide discovered that Margaux was at school in New York City, the tour guide said, "I got a joke for you: A bunch of Yankee ladies were sitting around a fancy table eating chicken with their forks and knives and raised their eyebrows when the Southern women ate with their hands. Why do you Southern ladies eat with your hands? They asked, horrified. The Southern women said, 'Because you Yankees stole all our silver.'"

We didn't quite laugh. The southern ladies on tour with us just shook their heads. Being told that joke in the midst of the shell of The Longwood and, well, being Yankees, it was a little, um, awkward. But the guide was lovely and did a wonderful job of bringing the era to life for us.







Josephine, the cat

Stopped one more time for a look at the Mighty Mississipi:





For some bizarre reason we got all turned around in Natchez and even with GPS, we had a hard time getting on the road to New Orleans. Once there, hotel troubles ensued. All I wanted to do was stay in a room with a balcony in The French Quarter. I was told that's what I had reserved at The Saint Louis Hotel. But, even after confirming and calling and reconfirming that we had our balcony room, they didn't have one for us. And instead had a room, well, more like a cave with a view of a massive tarp covering their courtyard. Yuck. And, the weather, although it turned out to be FANTASTIC, was supposed to be very rainy that weekend. After inquiring about another room, which was worse, we went to stay at The Omni Royal Orleans, where I was told over the phone that they had a balcony room available. When we got there it wasn't. This was a little bit of a low point for me. While we did a have a beautiful view of a magnolia tree,



I was tired and disappointed. Mx went down to complain and the Concierge was from Brooklyn. He totally understood our saga. Gave us some drink tickets and gave us a room rate reduction. So, I let the whole balcony room thing go. But, next time, I will get my balcony room...if you want French Quarter charm with a balcony room in New Orleans I'd suggest these places: The Hotel Provincial, or The Chateau Hotel. Both of these hotels give you charm and a little bit of quiet to enjoy your stay in The Crescent City.

After I got over the balcony drama, we went for a walk down Bourbon St., which didn't disappoint.





Turns out we were there during The New Orleans Wine and Food Experience and want to go back next year for it too. Must go. Great wines and fabulous food.

Later on in the evening we went to Sing-Sing, where we enjoyed awesome blues music and people seemed to read our minds all night, but that's another story...



Had a little etouffee and plopped into bed, at our usual 2AM.

Today seemed like a longer day.

I think it was because I was not focused on my book so much.

Started out with a coffee meeting with Southern Breeze Region - shout out to Donna and Jo! :)

Met Sherry (Write it out) and Katie for breakfast.

First session was Karen Cushman -

Nuggets of Brilliance:
"I wrote because I couldn't dance."
* To focus on your writing, you need to:
* You have to show up - take time to fantasize, give power to your thoughts. Be present everyday.
* Pay attention - look around, stuff yourselves with sounds, words, images, conversations. Focus on what you love or hate - those bring out the deepest emotions and you get an honest reaction. Read blogs, interviews, books to learn about the market
* You must tell the truth - look for facts, do your research to add believability
make people connect through the realness of your book

Break out with Ari Lewin (Hyperion) - Acquisition process
1) read submissions. Agented only.
2) Take work to Editorial Board - everyone in department. She pitches book. Discuss book. what awards can they potentially get. what is the audience. what is the hook? when is best to put it out - what can we tie book promotion to (dates, events time of year etc).
3) Goes to Acquisitions - includes all publishers, sales, marketing and publicity. They can make or break a sale, especially in this economy. Goes in with flap copy to pitch. At this point, she does not yet call agent b/c she does not want to tip them off to any possible offer. They do not like auction situations. Fill out acquisitions form - what is the sell sentence.
4) Money - how many will sell. advance is based on that. Don't want advance too high so author can earn out advance.
5) Gives offer to agent - negotiates terms
6) sometimes takes right on, sometimes I do a noncontractual agreement which states what I think needs to be done to book for me to acquire it. If author agrees, they work on revisions with hope I will like it in the end.
7)Contract Request Form. Fill in for contract that has been accepted. Fill in subrights, rights, Lewin only gets 1 out of 7 manuscripts for various reason.

Earn out formula- retail price X royalty X # copies

Fyi on top contract clauses:
Look for option clause, high discount royalties, foreign rights, audio rights, Out of print clause.

Blogger buddies here is who I have met so far:
heather Hanson
Amanda Morgan
Cindy Pon
Cynthea Liu
Tammy sauer
LK Madigan
Lisa Shroeder
Shana Silverman
kathleen duey
Bill cochran
Christy Raeke
Jill Corogan
Suzanne Young
jess Jordon (finally :)
Sherry Peterson

Anica Rissci - Simon Pulse/Krista Marino (Delacorte) - Teen trends

*long series going away - buy very view open series; usually focus on trilogy, 2 books, quartets
* teens follow authors today, not series
* teens like reality-based but in fantastical ways (example Hunger Games, Twilight)
* No more Bitch Lit - dropping name brands on book
* teens like dark books right now. Not as much funny stuff.
* advances for large books staying high. advances for their authors - going down.
* saving money by doing digital galleys and digital catalogues
* Galleys cost 3 times more than books to make.

Wendy Loggia - Delacorte - 7 reasons she rejects a book
We have to be mean to be nice.
1) good writing but no story. No plot. heavy on telling.light on action. It is not EZ to reject a great manuscript when you see potential.
2) too similar to other novels on list or has worked on in past. If it is similar - it must be better.
3) unsure of who target audience/reader is? who do I market the book to?
4) If writer seems difficult or negative. Googles to find blogs and see if they are bashing fellow editors, agent friends, any of her books, authors, negative reviews or complaining about process. writers who belabor process. do not share anything about number of rejections online. If I know 20 houses have passed, I wonder why I should not pass.
5) love concept but cannot connect to voice
6) submitting too early - before work has been done
7) will not stand out on list.

I went outside and read with a glass of wine. Talked to Sarah Davies for a while.

Went to Blue Moon Party. Best costume went to an alien octopus (don't ask). Other costumes: blue man group, astronauts, aliens, blue butt

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Book Update: Bright is backin hadns of Awesome Agent. Cross your fingers! I feel its done - I rewrote beginning and ending in addition to edits _ added material resulting in an additional 12,000 words. Now tween book is at 63,000

It is 10 pm (LA time) and our day really just ended.

Went for breakfast this morning with Lindsey Leavitt, Katie Anderson, Sarah Francis Hardy, and Kimberly Derting. (SFH had the best egg pizza - yum! and LL had a tower of sticky buns!! Yum yum! Me? the healthy oatmeal boring. Tomorrow I am going all out :)

The morning started off with Sherman Alexie, author of ...Diary of Part Time Indian...

he was so funny. But under all the humor was a guy who turned his painful childhood into a dream existence. A kid with brain damage, bad vision, poor, lived on an Indian reservation. A kid who found a way to escape from his hard childhood with books.

Here are some of my "Ah ha" moments (for more detail you can go to scbwi's blog.)

"when you give a kid a book he naturally identifies with than you expect him to connect with it. But when you give a kid a book that is outside his normal comfort zone, and he finds a way to connect with it - that is when you begin changing the world."

"The power of books is amazing. They find a way yo the people that need them the most. Whether its 1 person or 100,000. Every book has the destiny to change at least one person."

"As a children's author - you must accept responsibility of writing for a young audience; prepare to be lonely because it is hard work, and know when you write it - it will impact people."

Next was David Weisner (Flotsam)

"He talked about the films and books that impacted his illustrations and writing. He showed a journey of how he got to Flotsam. How all of his books led up to that one."

"Writing is a personal journey. We don't write with a certain kid in mind. We write from our kid. From our hearts, experiences, and memory. Kids just happen to be touched by them."

"Think about all the stuff that you thought was cool when you were a kid. There is a story in each thing that stood out to you."

Ingrid Law - Savvy

Write with creativity and courage
Read the book "Spunk and bite"
Push voice further than you thought possible.
exercise: write a crazy sentence - then ask questions. This is how Savvy started - one crazy sentence and a bunch of questions.
Trust your instincts, be wild and playful, have a beginner's mind, be courageous, take risks, and don't be afraid to break the rules - you can always rein them in
pretend you are always a tourist and see things with a new eye.
be sure to look up when you walk around so you can observe the nuances of life

Sarah Davies - Greenhouse Literary (love her!!!)

world rights - all languages in world
world english rights - english language anywhere in world
hard to see Us fiction in UK. less space for YA market

Ways to spread international buzz:
Scouts - represent foreign publishers
Publishers marketplace - sign up and watch foreign right sales
understand foreign market
Pub weekly features on international authors
Bologna Frankfurt conferences/book fairs

Advice for global sales
consider world when you write
have market in mind
middle grade needs strong sales
YA fiction with unique voice and premise

Audio Books
1) primary - when they exploit own rights
2) secondary - sells rights to someone else

what helps international sales
global appeal
unique voice
Non fiction and PB do not sell as well as MG/YA
unusually ideas
awards/sales figures
love young boy fiction
concepts and setting that transcends cultures

see you tomorrow!

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Just got into LA!

Whew my plane did not go down so I have to send a shout out to my guardian angel :)

Left this morning about 8am. Got here at noon. Who loves a time change! (I do! At least today I do!)

Luckily it was after my kids left with hubby for camp so the goodbye was not traumatic (for me that is). All the kids care about is if I am bringing them back anything. Daughter's request: ice cream sandwich (uh not going to happen) and son's - same as usual (truck. Oops A big truck!) My hubby always brings back great gifts for kids when he travels so I'll have to upstage him (not that it is a competition :) Since my hubby always seems to bring me either airport chocolate or free shampoo - who knows what he will get. ;)

Now that I am here - i've realized the following: I forgot my sunglasses so I had to buy 15$ pair. (how is that possible when going to LA?), forgot my camera! (again, how is that possible) and forgot my iPod (no music for 5 days?). I guess I was too busy packing 10 pairs of shoes (dont' ask. I will say I blame Katie at Plot this!) and 10 outfits (yes for 5 days. Again Katie's fault). hey if Delta is going to make me pay 15$ for a bag - I might as well take all I can. I think my bag weighed in at 51 lbs (*sigh*) so I had to throw out my contact saline solution to get it under the weight limit. (another sacrifice for fashion) Sad I know but at least I'll have wardrobe choices (I don't know if I said this but it is KATIE's fault! ;) Besides, for those who know me, I am forever spilling stuff on my shirt - coffee, salsa, or ketchub. It's true. So this is safer.

Flight was uneventful except the normal stuff - screaming baby, man in front leaning too far back threatening to kill my new MAC (yeah you heard me and no I refrained from taking him out), and 3.5 peanuts. No wonder I'm full.

BTW - why is it when you travel you feel hungrier than normal? Is it the altitude?

I think I saw the Grand Canyon from the window but its hard to tell at 30,000 feet up. I know it was a mountain though :)

Got here in the allotted time of 4 hours and 2 minutes (could they not just round up?).

So what have I seen so far? no agents to befriend, no editors clamoring for my book, and certainly no stars. *sigh*. I did see one of my regional advisors!!!! woot woot!! (Hey Donna!)

Now, I am sitting outside in shaded deck, overlooking pool, pretending to work (on free wireless!!!) so I don't look like a loser, and waiting for someone/anyone to recognize me from my blog photo or college mug shot - whichever comes first - beggars can't be choosers right? (Just kidding people! :)

I'm excited to get started and waiting for Kimberly to arrive in a couple hours. Ready to bask in brilliance, Ready to enjoy some time away from hustle and bustle of kids/schedules. Ready to meet new friends.

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Fresh, fun, French-lined gig-posters by LA/Montreal-artist, Christine Hale. Lovely stuff.

Marketing Muse - All Hands on Deck
Have you heard of "Tweet Deck"? It is an application that makesit easy to follow people on twitter. I love it. It organizes your tweets and if you want - you can put a tone so you know when a tweet comes in. INstead of going to twitter - you just view your Tweet Deck and can see everything from tweets, replies, to direct messages. Try it!


LA Bound

I've made the leap!

I am definitely going to LA this year for the SCBWI Summer Conference. I wanted to go last year but hemmed and hawed so I've already booked my hotel room at the conference rate. Room with a View!

And I found a great deal on Air Tran for about 300$ RT. What?!

Now I am just anxiously awaiting the schedule. I am up for a speaker role in LA, but not sure if it will pan out. We will see. Waiting to hear from Liz on that front. I'm already scheduled to speak at MidSouth this fall. Carolinas asked but it is the same weekend so I think I'll be doing that one in 2010.

Only bummer about the LA trip is that I have to take the red eye back on Sunday night. So I will miss Monday. Poop! Of course - my daughter's school starts early this year. And her first day in Big Girl Kindergarten is that same Monday. I cannot - will not - miss that.

So I'll be going in on Thursday morning to pal around and will have to jet out on the 10 pm Sunday - arriving at 5am Monday (please don't let it be late or cancelled!)

I'm feeling it this year. I am ready to put the investment into going. I am so excited and cant wait to meet some blogger friends. I know Suzanne Young is going as well as some others.

Who else is going? Leave me a comment and let me know. Maybe we can all have a meeting place. I feel like I know some of you so well. Its like Internet dating right. It'll be weird :)

Anyone looking for a roomy? I'm not sure yet if I am going to stay alone or with a roomy. Can't decide!

Doesn't matter. I have a room with a view and hope in my heart.

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We’ve rented a convertible for this California trip, and I had this great idea that we would spend the five hour drive to LA with the top down relaxing and getting a tan.

Well, that was before the thermometer hit this big ole number:


At that point we pulled into a 7-11, bought a huge iced drink, put the top up and blasted the A/C for the rest of the drive to LA.

We’ve been busy tourists in LA. Yesterday we hit the Petersen Auto Museum, where we saw an exhibit of Hot Wheels Cars, the BatMobile, and lots of really cool cars, including this funky looking car that was built to try and break the land speed record:



We also saw two cars that I’m supposed to buy the Webmeister if I ever become as rich as JK Rowling, a Ford GT and a Bugatti Veyron. (I’m also to buy him a Tesla, but they didn’t have any of those in the museum. We did pass a showroom, but since I haven’t made even a scintillion of enough for a down payment, we just drove on by.)

From the Petersen it was on to Universal, where we met up with our old friend:



We saw the damaged caused to Hill Valley (the Back to the Future Set) by the recent fire – all the more sad because we’ve recently been enjoying watching the BTTF trilogy with the kids:


Then I got into a bit of a fracas with Itchy and Scratchy outside the new Simpsons Ride (which is really good except that I got a bit motion sick – but the Webmeister went on it twice).




Stay Tuned: Tomorrow…Saraclaradara hangs with the LAYA’s!!

After Rochelle and Jenna and Laura. Some of these are by choice and some are just… weird broken parts of my brain but it hardly matters which now, does it?

• I can’t set the time on the clock in my car and it’s set to some crazy time [i.e. not like an hour or two off]. I’d like to, but this time of year if I’m not driving the car it’s too cold to be in it. Erica?
• My bank is in Washington state. While I do a lot of e-banking with them, I generally mail my paychecks to my bank to deposit them. This isn’t strictly technological in nature, but it’s definitely an old-fashionedness that looks like a tech-not.
• I can barely use my cell phone. I can take a picture. I can make and receive phone calls. I can text, but I still try to answer it when someone is text messaging me. I like to think I’d be a better study if the thing worked in my house.
• I have very little e-book curiosity. My interest in e-books is purely professional.
• I have an iPod I rarely listen to. I have an iPhone I don’t use much (both were gifts). I like to have them, but I usually just listen to the radio in my car and iTunes on my laptop at home.
• I have created more podcasts than I have listened to.
• I don’t play online games much. I play Scrabulous (come find me on facebook!) and that’s pretty much it. When you have a job that’s online, spending more time there just doesn’t seem as appealing.
• I use my TV to watch movies only, and even then pretty rarely. I was a Nielsen family earlier in the month and I sent the whole book back blank.
• I don’t have voice mail, just an answering machine. No caller ID, so please tell me who you are when you call.
• When I have to set the alarm to wake up, which happens rarely, I’m as likely to set it for PM as for AM. This is more of an absentminded professor thing than a tech-NO, but I’ve sortof never gotten the hang of setting an alarm on something without hands
• And lastly, because I grew up in the country, I pretty much don’t understand locks. I have a heck of a time with any door that locks, remembering which direction to turn the key, or rememebring my keys period.

I can do pretty much anything with any sort of computer, but that doesn’t mean I know everything or do everything with technology. How about you?