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This was a busy weekend! I'll blog next about the pirate shenanigans at the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Conference next, but first up, Thursday night's Guardian Children's Fiction Prize ceremony. Big congratulations to David Almond, who scooped this year's prize with A Song for Ella Grey! (Here he is with writer SF Said and me.)



David's books reworks the myth of Orpheus, whose wife Eurydice has died, about how he travels to the underworld to bring her back. (You can read a Guardian review by Marcus Sedgwick here.) I don't think anyone was surprised David had won, only that he hadn't won the prize earlier! (You can only win it once; Philip Reeve won it for the fourth book, A Darkling Plain, in his Mortal Engines quartet, so our books are disqualified.) I haven't yet read A Song for Ella Grey but I'm excited to dive in. (Click here to see the books on the prize longlist.)

Other highlights of the evening: Seeing illustrator and writer Michael Foreman and his hot-off-the-press new book spanning his career, A Life in Pictures. I think the last time I saw Michael was in 2008, one of the very first book events I went to, as a reviewer. He has an amazing career and he'd only just seen the first copy of this book; Philip and I felt honoured to get a peek. Seven Stories centre in Newcastle will be hosting a year-long exhibition of his work, tied in with the launch of the book, so if you're up there, do go along to see it! Here's a peek at some of his work on the Guardian website.



Second highlight, An Island of Our Own-shortlisted author Sally Nicholls brought along her new baby and I got to give it a cuddle. :) I've read An Island of Our Own and really enjoyed it, particularly the way she portrayed the Internet. So many stories I hear about kids and the Internet are about its dark side, but Sally focuses on the amazing power of the Internet for good, and how the young people in the story interact with it.




And one more highlight, getting to see Tall Story and Shine author Candy Gourlay. Candy's one of my favourite people but she's always surrounded by a zillion people she knows, and we're both very busy, so I see her A LOT less than I'd like to! But I did photobomb her a couple time that evening and it was great to see her a bit more at the SCBWI conference.



Hee hee! Polaroids have made a comeback! Here's one with Horrid Henry's Francesca Simon and with Philip.



A few more pics: Kate Saunders signing a copy of her shortlisted book Five Children on the Western Front, and shortlisted writer Jon Water (for My Name's Not Friday with Guardian reviewer Julia Eccleshare, Philip and last year's longlisted author Natasha Farrant</a> (for her second Bluebell Gadsby book, Flora in Love).



Shortlisted author Frances Hardinge (who always wears a good hat) and The Lie Tree which I'm desperate to read and I may have accidentally dropped that copy into my handbag. I adored her previous book, Cuckoo Song. (Here's a bit about that on my blog from earlier.)



And lots of Guardian child reviewers and shadow judges!



Big thanks to Emily Drabble (taking the photo here) and Children's Book team for inviting me along, and you can follow them on Twitter at @GdnChildrensBks and be sure to check out their website, which is packed full of the fun activities and tutorials that don't make it into the printed pages.



Find out how to draw PUGS here on the Guardian website...



Also, big thanks to Books For Keeps for featuring Pugs of the Frozen North by Philip and me in their list of essential Christmas gift books! And including Philip's Railhead in their Books of the Year list.

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For London's very first Guardian Children's Lit Fest, it seemed important to make an effort...



...or at least to MAKE AN ENTRANCE.



My co-author Philip Reeve and I were thrilled to be part of it. The Guardian Children's Book website hosts loads of amazing material in a time when children's book journalism in the major newspapers is very scarce. Emily Drabble and her team have been doing a great job of getting the word out. You can follow them on Twitter at @GdnChildrensBks. (I've done several how-to-draw tutorials for them, including how to draw a Hungry T-Rex, Jampires and a Silly Unicorn.)



So Philip and I brought along our brand new book, Pugs of the Frozen North:



And encountered several PERILS along the way:



But together with the audience's help, we plotted our way through them to reach the North Pole.



Here's a picture we drew right before the event: I drew Philip and he drew me! (It's fun working with a writer who's also an illustrator.)




With the addiction of a giant die, things got awfully exciting:



Sadly, I didn't get a chance to go to any of the other events, but they looked ace. On the way to our book signing, I passed Joseph Coehlo in poetry mid-flow:



And I'd seen on social media that Paul Stickland had been preparing to paint a giant dinosaur:


Photo by Paul Stickland

And I was just about to jump in and paint with him...


Photo by Paul Stickland

... but then I was whisked away, back into the sky. (Thanks for the photo, Paul!) I think Paul's posted a video somewhere of the giant T-Rex he drew; it was pretty awesome.


Photo by Paul Stickland

...Back in the sky, where I was met by my trusty steed, the Dartmoor Pegasus. Ha ha, I just had to share this one, posted by Mathew Tobin (@Mat_at_Brookes on Twitter, GrimResistance on Reddit):



Big thanks to the Guardian team, to Emily, to everyone who came along, to OUP publicist Sarah Howells, and to Stuart for carrying ukuleles, blowing up the giant die and being generally fabulous.

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I went to see "The End of the Tour," the David Foster Wallace film. I knew that, in some ways, I should not have been there. That Wallace's family vigorously opposed the film, gave no permission, did not want this famously private self to be re-enacted.

I respect that.

And. I was engaged, moved, saddened, heartened as I sat there in a packed theater watching the film. What a man, what a mind, what tender nuance was he. That bandana and those dogs. His wanting to be accurate, not shaped, not distorted by his bitter Rolling Stone interviewer, David Lipsky. His desire to live free of the self-doubt that accompanies both fame and obscurity.

This morning, in the wake of that cinematic experience, I read as much as I could about Wallace's widow, Karen Green—her art, her writing, her memoir. Having watched the film I felt it necessary to balance me out with her words.

Inside a Guardian interview, I was returned to Wallace himself, to words written to Jonathan Franzen in a 2005 email. Here Wallace is talking about the difficulty of writing past the known beats and grammar. Of continuously going out to a new edge so that one does not repeat oneself. His words brought to mind all the writers I've read who burst onto the scene with something new, refine that new over the next few books (if they are that lucky, few are), and then begin to tread the same water, return to the same tricks, become a parody of themselves, become (I have used this word a lot this summer, for I've reflected, perhaps too much, on all I've seen) a brand.

That's it, right? How do writers not become a parody of themselves? How do they avoid getting locked into their own deliberate constructions?

Wallace, who had so much to teach us, was thinking about that here:

 "Karen is killing herself rehabbing the house. I sit in the garage with the AC blasting and work very poorly and haltingly and with (some days) great reluctance and ambivalence and pain. I am tired of myself, it seems: tired of my thoughts, associations, syntax, various verbal habits that have gone from discovery to technique to tic. It's a dark time workwise, and yet a very light and lovely time in all other respects."

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The Very Short Film competition was launched in partnership with The Guardian in October 2012. The longlisted entries are now available for the public vote which will produce four finalists. After a live final in March, the winner will receive £9000 towards their university education.

By Chloe Foster

After more than three months of students carefully planning and creating their entries, the Very Short Film competition has closed and the longlisted submissions have been announced.

The competition asked entrants to create a short film which would inform and inspire us. Students were free to base their entry on any subject they were passionate about. There was just one rule: films could be no longer than 60 seconds in length.

We certainly had many who managed to do this. The standard of films was impressive. How were we to whittle down the entries and choose just 12 for the longlist?

We received a real range of films from a variety of ages, characters and subjects — everything from scuba diving to the economic state of the housing market. It was great to see a mixture of academic subjects and topics of personal interest.

It must be said that the quality of the filmmaking itself was very high in some entries. However not all of these could be put through to the longlist; although artistic and clever, they didn’t inform us in the way our criteria specified.

When choosing the longlisted entries, judges looked for students who were clearly on top of their subject. We were most impressed by films that conveyed a topic’s key information in a concise way, were delivered with passion and verve, and left us wanting to find out more. By the end of our selection process, we felt that each of the films had taught us something new or made us think about a subject in a way we hadn’t before.

The sheer amount of information filmmakers managed to convey was astounding. As the Very Short Introductions editor Andrea Keegan says: “I thought condensing a large topic into 35,000 words, as we do in the Very Short Introductions books was difficult enough, but I think that this challenge was even harder. I was very impressed with the quality and variety of videos which were submitted.

“Ranging from artistic to zany, I learned a lot, and had lots of fun watching them. The longlist represents both a wide range of subjects — from the history of film to quantum locking — and a huge range in the approaches taken to get the subjects across in just one minute.”

We hope the entrants enjoyed thinking about and creating their films as much as we enjoyed watching them. We asked a few of the longlisted students what they made of the experience. Mahshad Torkan, studying at the London School of Film, tackled the political power of film: “I am very thankful for this amazing opportunity that has allowed me to reflect my values and beliefs and share my dreams with other people.  I believe that the future is not something we enter, the future is something we create.”

Maia Krall Fry is reading geology at St Andrews: “It seemed highly important to discuss a topic that has really captured my curiosity and sense of adventure. I strongly believe that knowledge of the history of the earth should be accessible to everyone.”

Matt Burnett, who is studying for an MSc in biological and bioprocess engineering at Sheffield, used his film to explore the challenges of creating cost-effective therapeutic drugs: “I felt that in a minute it would be very hard to explain my research in enough detail just using speech, and it would be difficult to demonstrate or act out. I simplify difficult concepts for myself by drawing diagrams, often spending a lot of time on them. For me it is the most enjoyable part of learning, and so I thought it would be fun to draw an animated video. If I get the chance to do it again I think I’d use lots of colours.”

So, what are you waiting for? Take a look at the 12 films and pick your favourite of these amazingly creative and intelligent entries.

Chloe Foster is from the Very Short Introductions team at Oxford University Press. This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk.

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Recently, the Guardian reported the story of author Terry Goodkind, who "turned to Facebook to name and shame a fan who pirated a digital version of his latest novel".  As usual when a case of theft is revealed, there were arguments on both sides, regarding whether words should be free or authors should be entitled to protect their work and earn from it. Paulo Coelho is quoted as calling on "pirates of the world" to "unite and pirate everything I've ever written". Coelho has every right to say this of his own work - he is exercising the degree of control (or lack of) that he chooses.

However, I do not recall him calling on pirates of the world to pirate steal everything that anyone else has ever written. 

And this is what the proponents of the "words should be free" argument so often forget. Surely the choice should be made by the creator of the content? Otherwise it's theft.

Recently on my Crabbit At Home blog, I linked to an excellent but long piece arguing why illegal downloading is morally wrong, but to be honest, when will we stop making the arguments so complicated?

Taking something without the owner's permission is theft and theft is wrong. I grant that if you'd die without the stolen item, it's forgivable. But it's still theft. And last thing I heard, books may be important but you don't generally die for the lack of one.

It really is that simple.  

Recently, I downloaded the remarkably wonderful Adblock program, a piece of free software which instantly removes all adverts from my internet experience, including those dreaded "belly-fat" ads on Facebook. After I'd downloaded, I was given the option of paying a contribution, if I wished. I paid $5.

A few days later, I received this email (my bold):

Hi Nicola
I wanted to say thanks for paying for AdBlock at http://chromeadblock.com/pay. I wrote AdBlock hoping to make people's lives better, and you just told me that I managed to do it :) Thank you very, very much! &nbs

10 Comments on Caught read-handed... by Nicola Morgan, last added: 7/24/2012

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verytessatangent said, on 7/24/2012 12:44:00 AM

Well said. A theft by any other name would still be wrong.

JO said, on 7/24/2012 12:45:00 AM

I think it's about respecting the work of others.

Just because it is relatively easy to steal written material is no excuse for doing it. And I think the same goes for photographs - someone has gone out with camera, done clever twiddly things with it, then played with digital whatnots to make it as wonderful as he/she can, before offering it for us all to enjoy. We don't have the right to appropriate these images any more than we do to steal the written word.

Nick Green said, on 7/24/2012 1:14:00 AM

Well, I reserve the right NOT to pirate Paulo Coelho's work, or for that matter buy, borrow or otherwise read it by accident.

'Words should be free?' What a disingenuous thing to say. Of course WORDS are free, but that's not what we as writers are selling, any more than musicians are selling vibrating air molecules. What we are selling are the stories and ideas represented via the medium of words in a chosen combination. That is artistry, that takes vast amounts of time and effort, and that (unless the author says otherwise) should never be free. It's WORK.

Catherine Butler said, on 7/24/2012 1:50:00 AM

I'm coming round to thinking that people are quite primitive creatures in this regard, and don't truly deeply regard something as theft unless it involves a physical object. This applies to piracy, but also to tax evasion. Many people who evade tax would probably jib at stealing fivers directly from the purses of pensioners, even though that's effectively what they're doing. Without the physical object, it lacks the moral heft to pull on your guilt strings.

The other aspect is replicability. If you have 12 apples and I take one, you've only got 11 left. Whereas, if I download your book, you're "no worse off than before".

In a world where more and more possessions are in non-physical form, this is an area where people are going to have to catch up fast.

peterdomican said, on 7/24/2012 1:50:00 AM

The problem is the internet / digital. When things are physical, no one seems to have a problem with the concept of theft but once online, a lot of people seem to create a ‘moral’ differentiation / justification to take / use work and use as they see fit.
I did a National Crime Survey recently with an interviewer. We spent 30 mins talking about crime in the neighbourhood but there were no specific questions about on line theft and I had to type a mini essay into her computer about my credit card being phished and my photos taken without my permission online.
If the Government doesn’t recognise fully recognise it as crime, it’s no wonder people think it’s ok.

Richie Brown said, on 7/24/2012 1:52:00 AM

It's very much a conscience thing - that's why 1% of people who find free software useful pay a donation. Sadly, it's this 1% who will agree with what is written in this blog post, while the other 99% won't even read it. They'll be too busy reading their illicitly-gained copy of 50 Shades - not that the 50 Shades franchise is losing out.....

The issue of illegal downloading has affected the music industry arguably much longer than literature and we should look to see how sites such as bandcamp allow bands to distribute their material often on a "pay what you think it's worth" basis.

Of course, this method (the Radiohead method as it's often known as) means you have to rely a lot on self-promotion to even reach those who are willing to pay.

There is now an entire generation online who do not see illegal downloads as theft and it will be difficult to ever change their minds.

In the meantime, the only people making a fortune are those who run those 'Facebook fat' ads which these illegal download sites are plastered in.

Susan Price said, on 7/24/2012 1:52:00 AM

Hear, hear, Nicola. My impression is that those who defend pirating - 'everything should be free' - are thieves and know themselves to be thieves, just as pickpockets, shoplilfters and burgulars do. But the downloaders like to hide behind this nice, shiny defence. 'It's about freedom!'
I'll believe them on the day they defend their bosses' right to get a long year's work out of them for nothing - and a book often takes longer than a year to write.

Nicola Morgan said, on 7/24/2012 2:21:00 AM

Susan - "My impression is that those who defend pirating - 'everything should be free' - are thieves and know themselves to be thieves, just as pickpockets, shoplilfters and burgulars do." Absolutely.

Richie - "the only people making a fortune are those who run those 'Facebook fat' ads which these illegal download sites are plastered in." Yes, indeed. That was the powerful aspect i took away from the very long article I linked to. It's very interesting that people are happy to knock big business at the same time as stealing from small people in a way that only helps big business.

Catherine - yes, this is the really hard bit to explain, isn't it? It doesn't look as though it hurts us, especially when people don't realise that this is not a hobby but the way we feed ourselves. So, one theft is a deduction from my income.

Dan Holloway said, on 7/24/2012 4:25:00 AM

The only issue I have with this whole debate - this specific one with Terry Goodkind, that is - is that there has been too little discussion of the actin he chose to take. Authors - as your post attests - are desperate for piracy to be taken seriously as what it is - a crime. Which means the correct response is to report instances to the authorities. By not doing so (with any other crime, if someone decides to act on their own initiative we call them a vigilante), Goodkind is weakening authors' claims that this is a crime to be taken as seriously as other crimes so the way he has been championed (not here, I should add) really does no favours.

And excellent for you for paying for Adblock

Nicola Morgan said, on 7/24/2012 7:35:00 AM

Dan - when I started writing the post, I was going to go into that but a) I decided that the post was going to be too long and b) I decided that the important parts to me were not the rights and wrongs of retaliation but the wrongs of the thief and the rights of authors. If I disagree with TG's actions, I do so very mildly and on a theoretical level that doesn't really grip me. I don't blame him even if i don't agree with his action; I do blame the thief, and I don't want to detract from that.

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Please welcome my guest blogger today, Robin Helm...

I started writing in earnest only about a year ago. Before last March, I dabbled a bit, but I was too busy teaching high school, working in music at my church, and traveling with my daughters’ sports teams and ensemble groups to have the necessary time to reflect and think enough to write a book. Empty nest syndrome combined with leaving my full-time teaching position provided me with the needed free hours, and encouragement from friends and family boosted my courage.

Writing my first book was fairly easy, though it morphed into a trilogy before I could tell the complete story. Guardian, my first book, had so many of my own life experiences woven into the narrative that it was mainly a matter of putting the words on paper and polishing the writing. My second book, SoulFire, was more difficult, because nearly all of it came from my imagination. I am now more than half finished with the third and final book in the series, Legacy, and I am learning how to keep myself motivated.

It is fortunate that I did not depend on making money to keep me writing in the early stages, because, though I published Guardian in August, I did not see any royalties until October, and those were very small amounts. When I published SoulFire in December, sales of Guardian shot up, and the royalties are now fairly significant for both books. Knowing that Legacy will further boost sales helps me to stay focused on writing, and I already have two more books planned in my mind to begin as soon as I finish.
However, money has never been a main motivator for anything I have done in my life. The approbation of friends, relatives, and other readers means more to me – particularly e-mails and messages from people whom I have never met. Particularly inspiring are the people who write me and say that my books have encouraged them and helped them in their everyday lives.

The actual act of writing itself requires a different type of motivation and inspiration. Oddly enough, typing the chapter heading on a blank document gives me a sense of accomplishment. I feel that I have begun when I see the name of the chapter and save it into my book file. After that, I usually look at my outline, decide what must be in the chapter to move my story toward the desired end, and begin to visualize the scene in my mind.

I write the scene as it unfolds in my head, not worrying too much about details or dialogue as I rapidly put the words on the screen. After an hour or two, I go take a shower or do a simple household task that does not require much of my attention, and I think about what is happening in that chapter. Within an hour, I am back at my computer, and I write for another three or four hours. Though I know where the chapter will go ultimately, the way that I get to that destination unfolds in my head as I write.

Mornings are the most productive times for me, so I usually begin to write as soon as I get out of bed three or four days a week. I am a disciplined person, and I write a chapter per week. Making myself stay on target keeps me from feeling anxious or pressured about accomplishing my goals: to publish Legacy by the end of April and to write and publish at least one more book this year.

I also reward myself. After I finish a chapter and send it to my editors, I allow myself a day or two before I begin to write again, and I do other things that I enjoy, such as reading or watching a movie. Thinking of that down time as within reach keeps me racing toward it. I know that if I allow writing to become a drudgery, I will eventually stop, and I have too many stories to tell to allow that to happen.

About the Author:

Robin Helm has published the first two volumes of a trilogy (The Guardian Trilogy), Guardian and SoulFire, and is presently writing Legacy, the third and final volume, posting as a work in progress on four different forums. She has also published three Regency short stories.

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Darla Jade and the Balance of the Universe is part of an exciting YA series for fans of fantasy, adventure and Christian literature.

The story begins in a cemetery when 13-year old Darla Jade's soul is 'raised from her grave' by Striker, the creature that calls the souls at the resurrection before they're to go to either Heaven or Hell. Darla is sent to Heaven while another boy, Johnny, is sent to into the vortex of Hell. Once in Heaven, Darla must attend school for training as a Guardian Angel--or Guardian, for short. There, she makes friends but also has a tough time controlling her temper and rudeness. She keeps getting demerits for bad behavior. However, Darla is brave and good at heart and this is what matters, especially because, as the story develops, it becomes clear that she is 'The One,' the Guardian who will save the world from Evil. In the Heaven academy, Darla learns a lot from famous teachers such as Leonardo DaVinci, Tesla and Benjamin Franklin.

Meantime, down in Hell, Johnny and other demons are planning to tip the Balance of the Universe in the forms of a evil storm on earth. For this to succeed, Darla must be destroyed, for she is the only one who can stop it and bring the Balance back.

I have a lot of good things to say about this YA fantasy: the pace is quick, with lots of dialogue and action scenes; the worlds of Heaven and Hell are rich, intriguing and imaginative. Author D. L. Reynolds certainly has a flair for world building. What I especially like about it is that the world building doesn't come in information dumps that slow down the pace, but instead it's incorporated into the scenes with the action and dialogue. One aspect that got my attention, though--and this is only an observation--is that the first several chapters of the story read more like middle grade (for ages 8-12), and it is only after some time that the plot acquires more 'heavy' elements which are more suitable for the YA audience (13 and up). Overall, I'd say this is a novel for the tween and YA audiences and not for middle graders.

Darla Jade and the Balance of the Universe was a surprisingly interesting and pleasant read and I look forward to the 2nd book in the series.

Visit the author's websites:

www.theguardians.co

www.darlajadeandthebalanceoftheuniverse.com

www.dlreynolds.co

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Reviewed by Donna M. McDine for the National Writing for Children Center

Title: Guardian
Written by: Katie Hines
Ages: 9-12
Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC
Print ISBN: 9780984070886
Published: January 2010

The promise to his dying mother intertwined with the talk of a treasure and one’s destiny at first intrigues Drew, until mysterious events plague Drew and his friends. Sent to his Grandpa Ian’s for his own safety, Drew convinces his friends to tag along for what he believes will be the chance to uncover a long ago lost treasure.

“I guess Dad is going to ship me off to Grandpa Ian’s. He lives close to the island where the treasure is, so maybe I can hunt for it.” His face brightened as a thought occurred. “You know what? Mom didn’t say I had to hunt alone. Why don’t you guys come along?”

En-route via ferry to Grandpa Ian’s and upon their arrival bizarre occurrences continue and Drew’s doubts grow. What is he to do? Forgot about his promise to his dying mother and return home or discover the lost treasure and his true destiny? Good versus evil is at every turn. Knowing who to trust and who to be wary of is a constant struggle for Drew and his companions. The internal dilemma of trusting ones instincts above what the Guardian says and what the Brother says sends Drew into a tailspin. Who wins out, good or evil? Find out in this fast pace fantasy within reality.

Come along for this roller coaster ride through the mysterious old age sect and discover who is truthful and Drew’s true destiny.

To learn more about author Katie Hines visit: www.katiehines.com or katiehines.blogspot.com
Look for her on Facebook
Follow Katie Hines on Twitter

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His way of eating and driving are driving his Guardian Angel INSANE!

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When I was a kid, the best thing I could imagine getting for my birthday or Christmas was a book. My family was, shall we say, “economically challenged,” and there wasn’t a lot of money for expensive presents, so books were the perfect gift. As far as I’m concerned, they still are. What else will keep you occupied for hours and days after the unwrapping frenzy has passed? After all, you can only use the Pedi Egg so often. And that chopping device your aunt gave you has “regifting” written all over it. But, open a book, wrap yourself in a blanket (or the Snuggie your cousin, Marge, gave you) and pour yourself a glass of wine or cup of cocoa and you’re set for a delightful time. Here are some book lists to shop from:

Michiko Kakutani's Top 10 Books of 2009
NPR's These Aren't Your Geek's Graphic Novels
The Guardian's Top 10s
PW's Best Children's Books of 2009

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Hey, I'm getting some little badges made for the Thing next weekend!



DFC Issue 42 arrived today with its striking Donny Digits cover by Woodrow Phoenix, obviously. I don't want to dash through this one, I am going to savour it tomorrow, since there are only two more DFCs left to read, [sob]. But man, don't it look good! I think the DFC's grown up a whole lot since the first issue. Even the fan art is amazing this week: Moosa Weekly by Cai Dickinson. In fact, Woodrow and I make photocopies of several pages of Moosa Weekly when we were up at DFC Headquarters because we were so impressed with it. Cai sent in pages and pages of comics with amazing layouts and sophisticated colouring, I could learn a few things from it. Right now Cai sells it at school for 40p on Fridays. But keep an eye out for that name!



SCBWI Illustrator Series still has a few places left! I sadly can't go to the masterclass with one of my favourite illustrators and lino cut experts, Chris Wormell because it's on 25 April, the same day as the Crystal Palace Children's Book Festival. But both events will be amazing. Also there's a Portfolio Review masterclass on 20 June and ... this is exciting, Making the Graphic Novel: A masterclass on the practices and principles essential to graphic novels with Kev Hopgood. If there's anyone who knows to to turn making comics into a legitimate, family-supporting business, it's that guy. It's not til 10 October, but best to book it fairly soon so you don't miss out!

Don't forget to check the Family section in the Saturday Guardian for Super Animal Adventure Squad and Vern and Lettuce! Hey, the weather hamster is predicting sun tomorrow! Maybe I can take my super-valuable DFC to Greenwich Park for a read.

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Hurrah, another Saturday and another Vern and Lettuce, and Super Animal Adventure Squad by eruditebaboon in the Guardian!




Stuart was doing the ironing last night and made some slightly odd mewing noises. I asked him what was wrong and he said,
'You know, the sad thing about the DFC ending is that the animals don't have any more adventures unless you draw them.' He ironed a shirt collar, then said, I can't bear that.' He ironed the sleeves and remarked thoughtfully, 'No wonder people like comics'.



It's interesting to see the ways Vern and Lettuce have changed in shape over 40 episodes. And the paper's so different to that in the DFC; I was having a chat with Woodrow Phoenix and we agreed that the paper makes it almost look like a different comic. So even though his Donny Digits has run in the Guardian, it looks totally fresh in the DFC. (And at least we'll get Donny for another three weeks.)

Hey, I spotted this fab clickable interactive comic over on elio's site; go have a look, it's brilliant.

And the llama print sofa cushion in the top photo was made by Meg Hunt (exitwounds). It is one of my all-time favourite textile prints.

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The Guardian has a long article about what the mechanisms are that keep local library catalogs form being effectively spidered and Googleable. They dip into the complicated area that is policies around record-sharing and talk about OCLCs changed policy concerning WorldCat data. This policy, if you’ve been keeping close track, was slated to be effective in February and, thanks in no small part to the groundswell of opposition, is currently being delayed until at least third quarter 2009.

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I love short weeks. When Friday comes it feels like a nice surprise. Below are some links to help you ease into another weekend.  As for me, I’m off to D.C. and if you are local you should check out the Capitol Celebration at the National Mall, Regina Spektor is just one of the great acts that are part of the celebration.

A harsh critique of J.K. Rowling from an author who has his own series about a little boy with extraordinary powers.

The coolest bookstore in Beijing.

The best cartoon for geeks like me. (A long day in front of the computer and I end up like this.)

Can you teach writing? Kureishi says no.

Twelve years of reading magazines.

The biggest drawing in the world!

The NYTimes embraces the internet.

What was your camp experience like? I was never as miserable as this author.

How to unleash your creativity.

Just how many calories are in that bite?

Wow this is installation art I really want to see.

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I know I've been MIA a lot lately.  I really don't have any writing news for you . . . well . . . except that Guardian  is "out there" being subbed to editors. My agent approved the final changes I made. 

Now I'm concentrating on getting this campground up and running . . . and it's been a 14/7 job the last three weeks.  The late melting snow kept me from getting into my store (a little water on the floor - and cold temps) over April Vacation, so everything seems like it's out of place, but I'm getting there.  Forty plus campers are checking in today!  Ack!

In lieu of writing news, I do have some interesting bird pictures for you . . .

Dave was able to snap a pic of the pileated woodpecker Tuesday!  While out cutting trees, Dave heard his unmistakable rat-tat-tat-tat echoing through the woods.  He ran for the camera, but found that bird to be elusive!  The woodpecker kept putting the tree between him and Dave until they were going around and around and around it . 

Finally, Dave had JMoney move around the tree while he stood still with the camera.  Bingo!  The woodpecker hopped into sight:





They will sometimes drill a hole so deep (looking for ants), that small trees break in half!  You can tell a Pileated Woodpecker has been in your neighborhood by the dusting of wood slivers at the base of a tree.

Also, my Baltimore Orioles are back!!



isn't he gorgeous!!???   I have a soft spot for these birds .. . my Grandfather used to sing to them from the base of his apple tree.  The orioles sang back to him.

Dave and Ben saw this guy hanging out at the feeder two weeks ago:



We think it's a red-tailed hawk.   He only hung around for about a week or so, and we haven't seen him since. 

Sooooooooo, do those photos make up for my absence?  

I really miss you guys!

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Before digging into Guardian - I immersed myself night after night in the railroad life setting, revisiting old websites, discovering new ones. Reading first hand accounts of rail people.   Familiarizing myself with railroad slang.

 I pulled out old photos and the sensory detail notes I'd taken after riding The Narrow Guage Railroad in Portland .  I looked up photos Dave had taken of a locomotive and some cars in a rail yard in Auburn Maine





We even went to the Maine State Museum Wednesday and I was tickled to see an 1846 Lion (steam locomotive for hauling logs) in the lobby!  I put a whole entry about the museum on my campground blog . . . link to the right.

I went over my character notes, bios and questions.  Why did they do this?  And why did they feel that? 

I wanted this revision to be a biggie.

But when I started digging in, something didn't seem right.  I didn't have what I needed for my characters.  They still felt flat in some way. 

Then today . . . while I was vacumming of all things, it hit me over the head!  I hadn't been digging deep enough into their emotions (Caryn, I'm so sorry it took so long to get that!)  I hadn't added the angst . . . and it's partly because at their age I felt their particular angst and perhaps didn't want to revisit it. 

But revisit it I must! 

Now I can move ahead like a "ball of fire" fast run!  And I'm not just "blowing smoke" boasting.  I'm sure I'll have to work late into the night by the light of the "hay burner"  lamp.   And I might have to "fly light" miss a meal once in awhile, but I hope to finish this manuscript by mid-April, before camping season begins.

And you're all invited to "call me on the carpet" discipline me if I don't.

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We had a snow day yesterday . . . 10 inches of the white stuff, sleet for a couple hours, rain and more rain after that. 

Just as I finished up a critique last night for a friend, (on a very clever PB, I must add)  the power went out!   Luckily, I was able to save it before I had to shut down.

We were without power for 12 hours!  Ack!

Dedicated writer that I am . . . I spent the night brainstorming by lantern light, scribbling new ideas for Keeper   Guardian revisions using good old fashioned paper and pencil. 

This morning the sun dawned gloriously, it looked like a million diamonds hung from every tree.  We had a two hour school delay, so B and I went out to investigate.  I must say, I hadn't seen ice like this since the ice storm of  . . . what was it?  '98?

There was still ice on the trees at 5pm tonight, despite the 30 degree weather.

Here are some pics I captured today . . . if A taught me correctly, you should be able to click on them for a larger image.

Oooooorrrrr . . . should I say, if I learned from A correctly, you should be able to click on them for a larger image.

   

   

  




  



There's more pics on my camping blog . . . link is on the right - 

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17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill & Nancy Carpenter, 2006

This child's exploits are in the vein of The Wild Things' Max or Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes. She is a "dickens" and a "scamp" who unrepentantly goes her own way. She staples her brother's hair to his pillow, glues his slippers to the floor, substitutes her favorite animal, the beaver, for George Washington in her school report, treats her mother like a waitress, and gets in trouble with the crossing guard for walking backwards to school--to just name some of the 17 things she is not allowed to do anymore. After each incident, she is forbidden to use that tool or that perform that action again (stapler, glue, beavers, walking backward.) She just continues to go her own way though.

Even her "I'm sorry" to her mother on the final page is qualified by her inspiration "to say the opposite of what I mean to trick everyone."

Nancy Carpenter's pictures are a wonder. She incorporates photos of items like the stapler and glue bottle and embeds them with her drawings. The cover illustration is perfect for a story picture book, literally foreshadowing the action as we see the girl's mother's shadow, hands on hips, looming over a slyly grinning child.

The fun of this book lies in the fact that WE ALL know this child. In fact, the young lady I know could have modeled for Nancy Carpenter's illustrations. This is NOT a cautionary tale, except for folks in her path. To them we say, "Look Out!"

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