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This is where I share my thoughts and ramblings with whomever wants to listen. All opinions are my own.
It's called Saving the Rejects because life is about narrow escapes and everything and everyone deserves a second chance.
Statistics for Saving the Rejects
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap:
Thanks to Naomi Kinsman for inviting me to blog-hop with her! I loved thinking about these four questions and the opportunity to peek inside the writing process of my author-friends. And please don’t miss the three talented authors I’ve featured at the end of this post!
And without further ado, a little Q and A…
What are you working on right now?
I’m always working on multiple projects at once, but when I pick one, I work on it in bursts and make good progress, even if I put it aside to work on later. I’m working on 3 different picture book manuscripts right now, all vastly different from each other. One features the days of the week, one is about the sea, and the other is about appleseeds.
How does it differ from other works in the genre?
The one about the sea speaks directly to the reader, which is different for me, and less common in picture books than other points of view. I’m having fun with it, and am feeling good about how it is creating a sense of wonder for the reader.
Why do you write what you do?
I consider myself a writer’s writer, if that makes any sense. I enjoy writing many different things: children’s books, personal essays, corporate copy, and articles. I think out of all of those types of writing, the children’s picture book is what I’m most drawn to. It’s the ultimate challenge! I love trying to create a story that children see themselves in, or can relate to on some level, in roughly 500 words or less. Then there is the separate joy and satisfaction of seeing that story illustrated in ways more brilliant than I could have ever imagined.
What is the hardest part about writing?
For me the hardest part about writing is not getting distracted by new ideas. Oh, and maybe bringing a new project to my critique group for the first time. Fortunately, I eventually get around to all the ideas that I started. Not all of them become actual stories, but it’s a great feeling to have many to choose from when I sit down to write. That process is also helpful when my group thinks one of my ideas isn’t that strong, because I can turn to other projects while that one idea marinates some more.
Here are some other authors' blogs I think you should check out:
Hopping away now...
I wanted to share with you a video I made that I hope you'll enjoy! I've sung a parody of that fun Anna Kendrick Cups (When I'm Gone) song, called Books (When It's Done). I gave it some new writerly lyrics. I even learned the pattern (it took awhile!). Fellow SCBWI-er and my new ARA Tim McCanna, graciously helped me record my singing of the song in his studio. The rest was up to me, so I hope you like it! If you enjoy it, please like it, share it, tweet it, or whatever you want. I figure once it’s out there, there are no quitsies, so may it take on a life of its own….
In case you ever wanted to hear me talk for almost an hour straight, now's your chance!
In all seriousness, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Genny Heikka and Aaron Robbins for their Part-Time Author Podcast last week. It was so much fun! They asked me such interesting questions, I can only hope I came up with interesting answers.
Also, a peculiar thing I noticed that probably only I have ever noticed: both Genny and Aaron have two sets of back to back double letters in their name--first and last. NOW who's paying attention?
You can listen to it here.
Hear their other podcasts too.
I'm delighted to share with you that my personal parenting essay is running in the parenting/lifestyle blog of the Huffington Post this week.
We're all so focused on not over-committing our kids...but do we treat ourselves with the same respect? I certainly wasn't. But I'm trying to change that.
Read my essay The Year of The No: One Woman's Journey to the Dark Side of Yes. See you on the other side!
I'm finally getting around to posting my Google Hangout interview with Inspiration Laboratories. The technology is very cool, and hopefully the my responses will keep you from pressing that pause button. There is a slight echo--which we didn't have during the interview, but it is in the Youtube posting, so not sure what happened there. I'm sure the Goog is on it. Anyway, enjoy my talking head, and Tons of Trucks!
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Jennifer E. Morris, you've been tagged!
I'm tagging the very talented Jennifer E. Morris, the illustrator of our book that comes out this fall from Albert Whitman & Co., A Gluten Free Birthday for Me!, for the Global Blog Tour (see my previous post). Check out Jennifer's blog post to learn about all of her other exciting book projects, and see the wondrous things she can do with clay!
My parents, who are pretty much the biggest evangelists for me as an author (I mean, whose parents plug their daughter's books at golf fundraisers by sponsoring the 14th hole with a poster of her books and website address? My parents do.), are always giving my books out as gifts to their friends who have young kids or grand-kids.
A few weeks ago, they gave Tons of Trucks to a server at their club's restaurant, so she could give to her 5-year-old son, Austin. And then Austin did something for me that he didn't have to do. He thanked me with a wonderful personal note and drawing of the book.
Given that my parents are literally spending their retirement funds on my books in order to give them away (and trying their hardest to make me a bestselling author!), you'd think I might have a lot of thank-you drawings. I don't. Nor do I expect them.
That's why it was such a pleasant surprise to see that little 5-year-old Austin chose to draw and carefully write me a thank you note. Austin also happens to be autistic. Normally I wouldn't even mention that fact, because I try not to label people, especially kids. I'm sharing it because it's National Autism Awareness Month and maybe in some small way, I'm helping with that awareness by blogging about it. Awareness that children with autism are just as sweet and kind and thoughtful as, or maybe even more than--their non-autistic peers. I'm also sharing the drawing because it's totally adorable!
~Austin.
Mine too.
Thank you, Austin, for the thoughtful, beautiful illustration!
The Next Big Thing: A Global Blog Tour
1. What is the working title of your next book? The title of my next book is
Robots, Robots Everywhere! and it will be illustrated by the talented
Bob Staake, and published by Random House's Little Golden Books on August 6, 2013. I am still pinching myself that I am the author of a Little Golden Book! I have such fond memories of that shiny black and gold binding. I always knew that if my Mom or Dad pulled out a Little Golden Book at bedtime, that it would be one I liked. And now my story about robots will join that family. I'm thrilled! Here's the adorable cover:
2. Where did the idea for the book come from ? I had been toying with the idea of a book about robots, but wasn't exactly sure how to go about it. I loved the idea that there are all of these robots in our world that we often don't even recognize or realize help us with things every day. Robots that milk cows, build cars, assembly line robots and the like. Most people think of robots as the metal boxy toys, and there are so many more! My first attempt at this robots book was actually as a novelty book, because I'd just come off of revising Tons of Trucks, which is a touch and move book. My agent and I were getting some nibbles, but no offers. Then we showed it to Little Golden Books and it resonated with my editor there. She had me revise all the more abstract words out of it and focus 100% on real robots in the world. The book took shape and I'm hopeful that kids will love learning about robots in rhyme!
3. What genre does your book fall into?This is a picture book, aimed at ages 2-6, but I think adults who like robots will like it too!
4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?What a hilarious and fun question. In the book, different children explore the world with robot helpers, and they observe real robots in action. So in that case, I would have to say my sons Owen and Wyatt, my niece Erin, and my nephew Jack.
5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?Robots, Robots Everywhere! is a fun, rhyming book showing kids all the real robots in our world today.
6. Who is publishing your book?Random House Little Golden Books -- wow!
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft?Well, because I consider first drafts to be just the bare ideas on paper, first drafts usually don't take me too long. After the initial draft, it took me a couple of months -- letting it sit for a bit at times -- until I felt it was in good enough shape to share with my writing group. After they made some recommendations, I revised again. But after we got an offer, it took me another month to revise (back and forth with the editor) to get it just right. So maybe 6-8 months?
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?It's always hard to compare without sounding arrogant, but if you make me...Sandra Boynton's books and maybe Nancy E. Shaw's books -- Sheep in a Shop, Sheep in a Jeep, and so on. Just buoyant, rhyming fun.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?I love robots and my kids love them too...I have a small collection going to prove it. (an ornament, robot salt and pepper shakers, a wind-up robot, and a key chain!).
10. What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?How about a stanza or two?
Under couches, over rugs, Vacuum robots have no plugs.Working robots drill and grind.Rescue robots seek and find. And the fact that it is illustrated by Bob Staake - his art style is so fun, colorful, and vibrant!
Thanks so much for reading!
And I'll be tagging 2 other authors/illustrators soon, so come back and check!
Because I simply did not have enough on my plate....I lined up an occasional gig reviewing newly released picture books for Daily Candy Kids-and my first review ran today! Woohoo!
They're called "Book Reports."
I don't get a byline or anything fancy like that, (well, maybe a little street cred). Mostly I'm doing it because 1. I love to write, and 2. I think there are so many wonderful picture books coming out now that may go unnoticed, or simply not get the publicity they deserve. Unless they have 'hat', 'cat' or 'llama' in the title these days, I fear the masses won't hear about them. So it's my personal mission (along with Daily Candy), if you will, to discover and reveal the golden eggs being laid by talented authors everywhere.
So, I invite you to read my review of Noah Webster & His Words by Jeri Chase Ferris, illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch.
So, I know I don't blog too much (trying to get better at blogging more regularaly--it's on my new year's resolutions like everyone else), but I do want to stop and share some good news I just got, that started my week off on a high note, and then some bad news that has made me feel less than great.
Last week my agent and I heard from my editor at Little Golden Books that they want to buy my pet book. Hooray! I'm doing backflips! I'm so so happy I could fly. Not just because I sold a book (by the way, that feeling of an editor saying yes, never EVER gets old) but because this was a manuscript I'd almost written off--literally. Just sort of put it aside and wasn't sure I'd ever revisit it.
When my new office was finished, I made a point to get more organized in my writing life, starting with putting all of my final manuscripts on Dropbox (finished/published/most updated draft). And I started reading them all again. I found that I still really liked this one, and decided to give it more attention. I turned it into a real rescue story, where the family goes to the local rescue to choose a pet. I called it To the Rescue! It's since been changed to "We're Getting a Pet", which I understand, but I will say that I liked my clever title a smidge more. Anyway...I managed to work into the story my own rescued Lab, Teddy, so it is that much sweeter.
This is Teddy. We rescued him last August from the Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Rescue. How cute is he?
While on the high of the book sale, Hurricane Sandy was about to tear up the East Coast. I've learned that my sister and family are safe, but without power. My cousin Kate, however, lost her beachfront house in Rockaway Beach--the house she and her siblings (my other cousins) grew up in, and the house that as a child, I spent a bunch of time in (I grew up in NJ).
From the photos, it looks like the ocean just came in and swallowed up the bottom half of the house. They'd just finished remodeling it, and ironically, were in the process of building a sea wall. Not sure if that wall would have held back the ocean's force, but still. Makes me sick to my stomach. Makes me drop my jaw at the power of mother nature.
This is the view from the beach, looking at the house. This house was 2 stories.
I know they'll rebuild, and Kate is a very strong person, but just wish they could have come out of this unscathed. Thanks for listening.
Yes, I know I JUST posted the cover sketch for my Robots book, but I didn't realize the color version of the cover would be done so quickly! I am so excited to share this and know it means good things are coming for the inside spreads as well! I hope you enjoy looking at this as much as I do...
Bob Staake is the artist, and he does so much more than children's books.
Check out his website if you get a minute or five...
Did I mention already how incredibly LUCKY I am to have Bob Staake--BOB STAAKE!--illustrating my next book? Well, I'm super lucky!
Finding out he was illustrating it was just the icing on top of the 'Really, I'm going to be part of the Little Golden Books family?' sweet cake.
Sometimes I wonder if it is all real. I've been so very fortunate in children's books and I have such a wonderful feeling about this book. So without further ado...
Here is the winning sketch (Bob said he presented 5 or 6 to LGB) for the cover of Robots, Robots Everywhere!, due to publish in August, 2013 from Random House, Little Golden Books.
It's the burning question on everyone's mind today...How did you get your agent?
Well, maybe not burning, but if you're curious, go to Julie Hedlund's How I got an Agent blog, where I spill all about my agent hunt and eventual win. Happy querying!
I am feeling so lucky lately. And one reason for that is because my amazing illustrator for Tons of Trucks (pubs July 3) created this totally fun, sweet, book trailer that makes me wish I drove a truck. Betsy, along with her very talented husband--who happens to be an animation specialist--sent it to me and my editor this week. I'm blown away!Please watch it. Honk you like it!
I had a date with iMovie a couple of weeks ago. We created something beautiful. Well, at least, I think so. If nothing else, it's super cute!
Please check out my book trailer for A Dress for Me!, (companion book to Shoes for Me!) that comes out March 1, 2012. Hippo is on the hunt for the perfect dress. Perhaps she's going to the Oscars?
I am sooooooooo thrilled to announce that I've just sold TWO books to Golden Books! I'm over the moon. The titles that will join the Little Golden Books line are:
A Pirate's Life, about a yound landlubber who, while getting a tour of a pirate ship from the captain, earns his sea legs in battle and becomes an official pirate himself!
Robots, Robots, Everywhere!, is a rhyming collection of all the many robots of today - from toys to working robots that help us clean, explore space and sea, farm, and more.
Both are written in short, playful rhyme.
Big thanks to my wonderful agent, Jennifer Unter.
Today has been a fantastic day!!!
It's almost a month in, but I'm finally getting the chance to post that I'm participating in the 12x12 challenge started by Julie Hedlund and supported by author Tara Lazar. What's that you ask? Write 12 drafts (not necessarily submittable) in 12 months. Er, no sweat.
I'm so glad I joined because work has been giving me more reasons than ever to ignore my children's writing. I write for my job. I write all. day. long. My world is full of words, and none of them are mine! A Frog and Toad quote comes to mind: "The whole world is covered with buttons, and not one of them is mine!" That's how I feel sometimes.
So I'm thrilled to say I just finished a draft of a picture book that I'm actually super excited about. I may not write 12 stories that become actual submissions, but writing this one reminded me how fun and surprising writing can be when you just let go and write. I kept having those "oh! and then he can do this!" moments throughout--that I didn't see coming. Love that.
Anyway, glad to be writing again, not to mention, it's giving me a reason to keep up with my blog!
It's not exactly 500 words, but I've been up since 4 a.m. and I'm completely jet-lagged, so I'm cutting myself some slack. I have been reading headlines of weird news stories today to get ideas for stories. Then I remembered my friend Amy's site: The Parking Lot Confessional, and the challenge to write to prompts.
So, I checked out the prompts for this week and went for it.
This week's prompt (the one I chose): Describe a winter scene without using the words winter, cold, snow, ice or frozen.
It took me fifteen minutes just to bundle up. We hadn't had a storm like this since eighth grade. I braced myself and opened the front door. It was a good quarter mile to the mailbox. Why couldn't we have a mailbox at the end of our walkway like normal families did? Or better yet, one of those convenient slots in our garage door? No, we had to live in "the country". We were one notch above having an outhouse in the backyard.
Crap. I could see the top branches of the pines bending. This was going to suck. I started down the porch steps, holding onto the rail so I wouldn't slip. Trudging down the path took every bit of my energy and I could already feel my socks getting wet inside my boots. This had better be worth it. The wind was slapping at my face and pulling hair out from under my hat and swirling it around in front of my face, making it hard to see. It bit through my gloves, threatening to turn me back around the way I came. Squinting to keep the chilled air from drying out my eyes, I wished I'd worn my ski goggles. Finally, I reached the mailbox. I stood there for a minute, staring it down, half expecting it to laugh at me for coming all this way for nothing. Who was I kidding, anyway? No one in my family had ever gone to college. I held my breath and opened the little arched door. I fumbled three pieces of mail with numb fingers. A bill for Mom from Target, a plea for funding from the Democratic National Committee, surely signed personally by the President, and the letter. It was here. All I had to do now was open it.
Wow. I was at my desk at eBay yesterday when the publisher of Marshall Cavendish sent through a press release about their sale of the Marshall Cavendish Children's Books line to Amazon. Wow.
The release was pretty vague, so of course I had about 63 questions after reading it. I touched base with my agent to see if she could distill any more from it and she said she had as many, if not more, questions than I did. She knew as much as I did, of course. My wonderful Cavendish editor invited me to call her to find out more. So I called her this morning.
My takeaway is complicated, my feelings complex, and leaves me (and I think all Cavendish authors) in an interesting position.
On the one hand, I am sad.
Sad for the wonderful booksellers of the world. But I'm sad for them for 2 reasons. One is that I'm reading that now they will 'never buy another Cavendish book' for their stores again. Basically, as an FU to Amazon. I totally get that, and understand and empathize with their anger. But then, how many amazing books will your customers miss out on because of this boycot? (I'm not saying this to toot my own horn - Cavendish books won several awards this year). Will booksellers be doing their customers a disservice to not carry MCCB books, just to take a stand against Amazon? Again, I don't fault them for feeling this way, as I might do the same thing. In my humble opinion, it's all about that personal touch and being able to recommend that perfect book for a child, and maybe that perfect book won't be on their shelves because they refuse to buy from Amazon.
Sad because I fear that my editor may have to change roles, not be my editor anymore (down the road), or even perhaps at some point be out of a job. Then I will be assigned an Amazon person who has never acquired or edited a children's book as my 'point of contact' within the behemoth company. That makes me a bit nervous.
On the other hand, I am a little bit excited.
Amazon has reach like no other company out there. Where Cavendish had a small marketing staff and essentially I was/am my own publicist, perhaps Amazon may promote my books to their enormous customer base. Maybe my book will be in homes I could never have reached myself because I am simply one person and don't have the manpower or funds to tour the world.
They will likely make my book an eBook - which was only an inkling of a possibility before. It could be a color eBook for the new Kindle Fire. I like the idea of having a print and electronic version of my book.
Maybe I'll make more money with Amazon, and maybe not. But as I said to my agent today, no authors get into the children's book industry to 'make it rich.'
All I can hope for is that my books will still be relevant - to bookstores, to parents, and to children everywhere. I hope booksellers don't unintentionally punish the hardworking authors and illustrators who had no say in this decision. I hope with all my heart that my local bookstores - at least - will still allow me to do events in their stores, because I am still me.
I just want to keep sharing my books with children. Because that's all that really matters in the end.
I was asked to write a round-up of my favorite picture books right now. It was a fun project and I was so happy to be able to spread the word about some of my favorite books - old and new. Check it out here at Circle of Moms.
I recently changed over to blogger, and since there appears to be no easy way to transfer a livejournal blog (or any blog for that matter) to a blogger blog, I've decided to scan my old blog posts and choose some of my favorite posts.
2010
I've blogged for several years, but just set up this Blogger blog. Forgive me for the limited number of posts! I am trying to figure out how to transfer my blog posts with another provider over to Blogger, but the process has been wonky. Clearly I'm still figuring it out. Silver bullets welcome! Seriously - I need help. I may live in Silicon Valley, but that doesn't mean I have engineers on speed dial.
If you know an easy way to transfer a blog, I'm all ears.
Cheers!
My family just went camping for 3 days in Sequoia National Forest. We saw a mule deer, a garter snake (not poisonous, much to my 8 year old's dismay), lots of water (rivers and waterfalls), magestic mountains that seemed to rise out of nothing and never stop, sequoias that wouldn't fit in my camera lens, and a black bear. I'd never seen a bear up close, and fortunately, this one was quite a ways up the hill from our campsite. But I've now checked it off the list, too.
But one of the best things I saw was before we even arrived at Dorst Creek. We were stopped at one of those construction points along the road where they have one lane closed, and they put up a temporary light, so that one lane of traffic can go through. Then your light turns green and it's your side's turn.
We were in pole position at the red light. I watched an older man pull over, get out of his car with a small piece of cardboard, about 9"x12", and prop it up against the construction sign. He put his hands on his hips, adjusted the sign a bit, then stomped back to his car. On the cardboard, scratched in black pen was "Finish the Bridge!"
My husband and I laughed, recognizing that this bridge must have been under construction for an eternity - and still is - and this is a local guy about as sick of this section of road as he can get.
It got me thinking about unfinished things. Unfinished projects...unfinished manuscripts. I have a novel I've been working on for a year now. It's more like a chapter book, but I like to call it a novel because I feel like the word 'novel' can give people the impression that it is very, very long, and that is why, of course, I have not finished it yet. The truth is, I'm just not applying myself to it like I should be. I'm the lady in the orange vest on the side of the road, directing traffic, sipping on a strong coffee, waiting for someone to finish the book for me. I mean, the road. Did I say book?
I thought to myself how great would it be if I had someone standing over me, watching me write my novel, occasionally putting a sign up: Finish the book!
I think that I would. And I think that I will.
MY SON IS NOT AUTISTIC! PLEASE TAKE THIS DOWN NOW!