How to use this Page

Hi everyone.  Thank you for reading this blog.  I hope you enjoy the reviews as much as I like writing them.  I have only been doing the blog for a little over a year, so I am still learning new things all the time.   There is one thing I cannot figure out and I [...]

Trestle Press is doing it again and this time you, the readers, win!

Trestle is celebrating an anniversary, of sorts. Much like a budding young romance, every milestone is a good one. This celebration comes for the 6 Month Anniversary of The Author's Lab Collaboration series.

About six months ago, during an airing of The G-Zone, Giovanni Gelati took a call from Katherine LaHart. He never expected what she wanted to ask. Ms. LaHart suggested that Giovanni write a collaboration. From there, a new eBook series was born that has since spawned 22 installments. The stories cover almost all genres and most are ONLY 99 Cents. You can click HERE to see the list of authors from around the world.

So for this special occasion, Trestle Press wants to give you a present. That's right, you get something for FREE. Completely free. Trestle is giving away one Author's Lab story for each month of the series. (click on the title for a description, click on the author to see their other works)

Hotel Beaumont by B.R.Stateham 0 Comments on Rewards for Readers as of 1/1/1900

My Scribe Sisters and I would just like to say thank you to those of you who spread the word or bid on our crit auction at Read For Relief! You guys are seriously awesome, and to our super awesome auction winner, we can't wait to dive into your manuscript!

Thank you all!

Now, here's what's going on around the web:


The info is up for the September Secret Agent contest! This is such a fun contest and a great way to get honest feedback on your work (and really awesome things might happen if you win!). Definitely worth entering! Contest opens for entries TODAY Sept. 19th

Novel Novice is hosting a fab book giveaway! Two winners will each receive the LEVIATHAN trilogy by Scott Westerfeld! Ends today, Sept 19th, so get over there and enter!

And there you have it. If you've got any giveaways or contest to share, Mr. Linky wants your love.

I promised you all an update and Team Canterwood (and our friends, especially Alex, Lauren, Becca, Katherine, Bri, and Andi) have been so supportive with e-mails, Facebook messages, etc.

I don't want to put too much of Kate's personal medical history online, but this last visit at Mayo was good and bad. Good because we have a surgery scheduled. Bad because doctors still don't know how to stop/help her with the screaming pain she's in every day.

We're going back to Mayo for the third time the second week of October. Kate is going to have surgery where doctors will try to find a cause for her pain. It's extremely exciting to have this chance, but also absolutely terrifying because of the fear that they won't find anything.

So, we are both very nervous and anxious right now. Going back to the hospital is not fun. I don't know how Kate has done it so many times. She still edits Canterwood while living every day for the past year and a half with a pain that medication won't cover. Pain that makes her scream. It's heartbreaking to witness and there's a helpless feeling.

We thank you all for being there to back us--your support has brought happy tears to Kate's eyes more times than you know.

I ask you all to send good wishes into the universe for Kate on October 11th--the date of her surgery. I'll create a Facebook page as soon as I have time.

Thank you, guys. We love you all!

xoxo

I am involved with a new Christian radio station preparing to go on the air in Central Florida. As this is a non-profit, it will rely heavily on volunteers and pledges.

Kindness ROCKS! To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I’m participating too! Kindness is POWERFUL. Even the smallest gesture can fuel a person and keep them going. All over [...]

Did you notice my exciting new banner/header? Creativity comes in all forms and Kelly takes the cake...or maybe I should say fireworks! My blog looks like it's indeed ready to ignite thanks to Kelly's innovative artistic touch. You can visit Kelly at Convention Fans. She's amazing. Thank you Kelly!

Speaking of amazing, I had the pleasure to read Tom and Tess Hannah's book, The Endless String this past week. You never know what you are getting into when someone asks you to read a book of individual poems for children. My friend, a children's librarian, actually began to read the poems to me. The more she read, the more excited I got...The Endless String is filled with delightful humorous poems. The poems takes on life's simple problems and remind us that things like missing socks are not disasters.

Sometimes I felt like I was reading poems written by Shel Silverstein. Other times I felt like I was reading a book by Jack Pretlusky. It's worth going to amazon.com, borders.com, or barnesandnoble.com to pick up a copy of Tom and Tess's book. I promise you'll laugh out loud while you're reading to your kids!

If you haven't had time to check out the writing exercises this week, please take a peek. They're fun and easy. I would love for more of you to share your ideas about Thursday's activity (define courage). It's always interesting to get insight from creative people!. Have a great weekend!

If we were just selling widgets and we had 146 fans on Facebook, 23 followers on Twitter we’d think that was just good business.  But our little widgets for children are much more personal to us, so all of your support really means a lot.

Lately, the reviews have been coming in and as an author, it is absolutlely thrilling to hear that someone actually LIKES your book.  Here are a few of the great things people are saying about us.  Our ears are Burning!

• “Ellie really likes reading this book and we have read it at bed time almost every day.” Victoria at LifeStarringEllieAndEve.com

• “The moment our book arrived in the mail, Kaelyn wanted to read it. We read it once through and she was begging to read it again. The second time through she was pointing to the little girl and saying ‘Kaelyn’.”  Jenna at MomsBalancingAct.com

Kaelyn digging into "If I Were Big"

• “…we’ve been reading it every single night (sometimes twice) for the last week, which is more action than any of the [birthday] toys she received are getting.” – Kristin at CoolMomPicks.com

Monday Artday has been chosen as Monday's
Blogs of Note Blog of the Day!

Yep. Famed Blogger Buzz's Blog of the Day chose this little site for August 31st, 2009. Why? Well, because of YOU, of course! The fantastic artists that contribute and the viewers who come to be inspired. Never underestimate the power of art to move and inspire. This blog is made up of the talent and creativity of hundreds of contributors, fine artists and illustrators that generously share their creations with the world here, taking up challenges to inspire us all. So, THANK YOU ARTISTS! And stand up and take a bow.

Welcome Blog of the Day visitors!

 Subscribe in a reader

To offer you a quick look at the greeting card designs that were delivered just yesterday (woohoo!), I’m posting a few pages from my catalog, so you can see the kind of stuff I’ve been up to! I’m currently working on a new design for this site, complete with an online store, so soon you will be able to see all the designs in living color! Click the images below to see them larger. Note: the colors won’t be quite as neon in print. Enjoy!

Color visuals line - 1

Cartoons - 1

Sprout line - 1

© admin for It's a visual..., 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adore, anniversary, brighten, butterfly, cartoon, color, controversial, cute, dance, day, flyswatter, friend, good idea, greeting, greeting card, hi, hummingbird, learner, little, peace, personal, phoenix, place, star, strange, thank you, twist, visual

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Today marks the end of Jon Scieska's two year term as the Ambassador of Children's Literature. I would like to offer up a big thanks to him, not only for his work as ambassador, but for providing so many fun books for us to read to kids!

Some folks might wonder why here at Tweendom, I would be taking time out since most of Mr. Scieszka's work (Knucklehead aside) is for the younger set. Well, because books like The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, are laugh-out-loud funny, and help get boys (and girls) to look at reading as fun, and not just something to sit still for!

His MC-ing skills are unparalleled, and he has made the National Book Award press conference for youth and fun and sly experience for the teens and the adults in the room.

So here's to you, Jon Scieszka!

I'm very touched by all the support sent my way these past few days. The idea I've actually sold a book is still pretty surreal.

A friend who now heads up a book club I started (back in my Northern Virginia days) told me she'd sent out an email to all club members, sharing my good news and suggesting MAY B. as a read for their 2011-2012 list (that lady plans ahead!). I could stop by via Skype to answer questions. A classmate from middle/high school (isn't Facebook great?) said her book club would have no choice but to read MAY in 2011. My former principal informed me my book will be required reading in the upper grades! Still so hard to fully comprehend.

I know many of you follow Jody Hedlund. One of the things I love about her blog is the way she's walked us through her publishing experience. I'd like to do much of the same.

Today I have my first phone meeting with my editor, Nicole Geiger. I am not sure all we'll discuss, but those things that will be of benefit I'll be sure to pass on.

To my dear followers and fellow bloggers,

Coming on July 26, Aladdin is releasing a "Stable of Canterwood Crest Books" (isn't that name supercute?!) of Take the Reins, Chasing Blue, Behind the Bit and Triple Fault as a set of e-books at a great price. Here's a link to pre-order it via Kindle. I'm sure the link will be available soon for the Nook if it isn't already.

I can't wait for this to come out! I never dreamed I'd have a set of books. Ever.

Thank you so much to Team Canterwood for supporting me, Editor K and the series. It's because of YOU that this is happening. Since it's a virtual release, I'm sure I'll come up with something fun to celebrate with you all . . . :)

xo

I've been spinning my own webs for a while now. One strand is my site (www.MillerWords.com), another is Facebook (and countless other social sites) and then, of course, this blog.

As the web grows, I seem to be catching a lot of delightful little things. I often find wonderful, positive comments from you, my readers. It really makes my day to see someone respond to my words.

Another neat thing is all the people in "the business" that I connect with. There are so many authors out there trying to do what I am trying to do. I know how busy each one is, yet many take the time to reply to emails and respond to friend requests. Who would have thought I would be "friends" with James Patterson, Vincent Zandri or Dan Poblocki to name a few. Then there are the bloggers and other people that work extremely hard to make our stories part of your life, like Giovanni Gelati.

I know there are many others that I haven't listed, but thank you to all of you as well. Thank you to Comfort Publishing for giving me the first opportunity to spin this web.

I know this is kind of a random post, but that's the mood I find myself in and that's what blogs are for, right?

And thank you, reader, for getting caught in my web!

Valentina, reviewer for Midwest Book Review, has posted a very kind review of The Lost Queen on her blog.


I have to say, I am humbled by her generous words. I always enjoy hearing and reading responses to my stories. Thanks to everyone that loves reading them too!


Valentina says, "The characters truly shine in this one. They jump off the page, with Zandria leading the way."


Click HERE to read the full review at Carabosse's Library!

Today The Only Ones is released. I’ll be running around reminding everyone of this fact because I want you to read the darn thing. Forgive me if I even show up at your house with a sandwich board and a blow horn. A man must do what a man must do. Now there’s plenty of information about The Only Ones on this web site, and I encourage you to read and watch and listen to it all. But today, the blog will be dedicated to the people who made this book happen and continue to make it “happenin’!”

Most authors include acknowledgements, and it’s always nice to read about the people who helped turn one person’s words into something lovely and tangible and available at your local bookstore. But as an author, choosing acknowledgements can be a bit of a nerve-racking experience. Part of you wants to thank everyone, from the friendly UPS guy who delivered all the marked-up manuscripts to the friendly obstetrician who delivered you into this world. Another part of you wants to cast a light upon the select handful of people who spent hours with the book, giving their best to make it better. It’s the big vs. small wedding debate. Neither is right. The guest list is always hard.

In my book, I went with the “small wedding,” but that doesn’t mean these were the only people who had a hand in the creation of The Only Ones. I’d like to expand the list here:

In July 2009, a painting called The Mainland by Jamie Wyeth sparked my first ideas for the book. In the year and a half of writing and editing that followed, there were countless other inspirations, 99 of which I’ve cataloged on Twitter via a #99inspirations hashtag. You can see them all here.

Cate Starmer, my astoundingly wonderful wife and greatest friend, is also my #1 fan and she’s always the first to read my work. In September 2009, I showed her the opening chapters to what was then called The Lonely Ones and she offered ideas and encouragement and the assurance that she believed in this book, and in me, and in us. She is, as I like to say, a wonder.

Stephanie Sun, then an assistant at Weed Literary and now an agent to be reckoned with, was the next person to read the beginnings of the book. She astounded me when she called it “beautiful” and confirmed that perhaps we had something here.

Elisabeth Weed, the super agent who so valiantly plucked me from obscurity, added to Stephanie’s praise and provided some invaluable suggestions regarding pacing and characterization. Then she boldly took the book to the streets.

Michelle Poploff, a legendary editor who has worked on bestsellers and Newbery winners (and who has written her own books), took a chance

I first began blogging here on the 23rd December 2006. I can barely believe that it's been two years. And so much has happened since then that I would never have imagined or envisioned. If anyone had told me that in a couple of years I would be drawing and living in French countryside I'd have laughed. Loud and long. But here I am ...

I need to thank everyone who has encouraged and inspired me, taken the time to drop by to comment, chat, motivate, and turn into amazing friends whom I hugely admire both personally and artistically. I live a blessed life and appreciate it, and all of you, daily. Hourly. By the second!

Cheers and a Happy New Year to every one of you wonderful, talented, inspiring artists/friends out there! May 2009 bring even more creative sunshine into our lives.

P.S.: My Thank You Blue mug design won me a "Today's Best" Award over at Zazzle :)

I first began blogging here on the 23rd December 2006. I can barely believe that it's been two years. And so much has happened since then that I would never have imagined or envisioned. If anyone had told me that in a couple of years I would be drawing and living in French countryside I'd have laughed. Loud and long. But here I am ...

I need to thank everyone who has encouraged and inspired me, taken the time to drop by to comment, chat, motivate, and turn into amazing friends whom I hugely admire both personally and artistically. I live a blessed life and appreciate it, and all of you, daily. Hourly. By the second!

Cheers and a Happy New Year to every one of you wonderful, talented, inspiring artists/friends out there! May 2009 bring even more creative sunshine into our lives.

P.S.: My Thank You Blue mug design won me a "Today's Best" Award over at Zazzle :)

Merry Christmas! 

I, um, got behind even more with the advent, but I have some good things saved up for next year, and that will have to do.

My daughter Sara and I made these little mushroom glitter house scenes for the grandmas this year. Here's what one looks like inside a stemless wine glass, which we used for display.

 I'll include directions and templates for making your own shortly, so you can get a head start for next year's Christmas gifts (which is what I should do). Or you could make some for New Year's gifts. (After all, the mushrooms are a symbol of good luck, which works equally well for Christmas or New Year's good wishes.) Sara and I are making some more as New Year's gifts for some special folks since we liked making these so much. (And that's amazing because I have kind of a love-hate relationship with glitter. I love it because it looks so pretty and, well, glittery, but I hate how it ends up everywhere. Forever.)

I'll be back tomorrow too, with some ideas for crafting creative and heartfelt thank yous. And I have some ideas for New Year's greetings, which I'm hoping to send this year, since I never managed to finish my Christmas card.

Hope this finds all of you snug and cozy with your loved ones, whether or not you celebrate Christmas. Thank you all for reading my blog this year, and for your kind notes and the inspiration you've given me. I feel truly blessed. 

Best to all,

Carol

Forget perspective. Forget realism. Just have fun :)

Drawing in coloured pencil. The green background was digitally added after I'd scanned the drawing in.