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Certain words just make me want to write.
Autumn makes me think of pumkins and harvesting and cool breezes.
Spring makes me think of flowers, rain, and splashing in puddles.
And of course when I hear these words, I want to write a story of that type.
Does this happen to other people, too?

I am going to just post these rascals and get them out of the way....




Lake Jackson c Lois Toureen 2009



Rose c Lois Toureen 2009



Butterfly c Lois Toureen 2009

Photo by Lois Toureen c 2009

Hope everyone is having a lazy kinda day :)

Photo by Lois Toureen c 2009


Photo by Lois Toureen c 2009

I have to post these somewhere so I can see what they will look like. The only place I have is here :)

Photo by Lois Toureen c 2009


I have been practicing for the NWF 2009 photo contest. The pics I have taken so far aren't good enough to enter. Oh well.

Love this post from asuen: Babbles from Scott Eagan: Brand Yourself http://ow.ly/9m7B.

This info in Mr. Eagan's post is especially great --
"Writers, whether they are new or old, need to think about how they want to see their writing "branded". In other words, what does that writer want to be known for?"

It's got me thinking that's for sure.... Read the rest of this post

Yay! I get to do one of my most favorite things. Research!

Skippetty-do.... Read the rest of this post

I have finished book #1; and I'm getting set to send it out this week. Sending it along with another manuscript I've been wanting to sub.

Half-way done with outline for book #2. Yay! I never really thought you had to really outline PBs. I was wrong.

Book #3 -- ONE PLUS ONE IS TWO a concept book

Book #4 -- UNTITLED but is a contemporary fantasy about a dragon and his boy.

Book #5 -- JOASH, BOY KING OF JUDAH a fictional account of the first boy king in history

Hope you all have a wonderful day :)

Yippee! I am finally done with manuscript #1.  I know it may seem to some that it shouldn't take so long to write a picture book, but it does. At least it takes me a long time to write one. I think I've learned a lot this time, however; so I'm hoping the rest won't take so long.

Back to work :)

Marigold is a small, pink piglet with a BIG imagination. And she loves to talk like the other critters on the farm. All by herself. She likes to cluck like the chickens, squeek like the mouse, caw like the crow, and quack like the duck. All by herself. But then one day a fuzzy, yellow duckling shows up. And she follows Marigold. Everywhere! Inside the barnyard. Outside the barnyard. All around the farm! What will Marigold do? Will she make the newcomer stop tagging along -- or will she let her join in the fun?


After a lot of headaches and irritations, I was finally able to sort out my story issues. Whew.... And I had a nice surprise thrown in to boot. I discovered I was actually working with two stories, not one. Yay! MARIGOLD THE PIGLET AND HER BIG IMAGINATION is story #1; MARIGOLD'S MOST FAVORITE PLACE OF ALL is story #2. The plot for it is:

Marigold the piglet likes to play in all her favorite places on the farm. Every morning. And she loves to play in all her very favorite places on the farm. Every afternoon. So when the afternoon of the Big Rain comes and Marigold has to come in early, she is heartbroken. Until she unexpectedly discovers a pleasant surprise.

Why do I let myself get so confused?

I have been working on one -- one -- manuscript for a few weeks now, and I'm no farther with it than I was at the start. The embarrassing thing is that this is a picture book for toddlers. Few words. Lots of pictures. And I can't even get a handle on it. Grrrrr!!!!

On the upside, I think I might have finally made a breakthrough on it this morning, though. Whew. And I have developed 3 other story plots while trying to sort out this one! Yay! I think the problem has been the format. I've been thinking skill-related book and have been outlining it in fiction format. The mixing of the two have been confusing me.

I hope I can move forward now. Well, off to work we go. Hi-ho hi-ho!


XOXOXO

According to PW:

Stephen Roxburgh, founder and former president and publisher of Front Street, Inc., and former publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers, has launched namelos, a consortium of publishing professionals who will offer an array of publishing services. Namelos will develop children’s books independently with authors and artists and place them with agents, editors and publishers. The firm will also work with publishers on projects that need outside development....

Okay. I just signed up for HC's first look reading program. This ought to be a lot of fun :)

Madalyn (Maddie) Williams
Jan 09, 2009
7:17 PM
7 lbs 15 oz
21 .5 in long

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDBABY #6 !!!!!!!!!!!

In illustrating news:
I have discovered an illustrator tool that is wonderful for me. Yay! It is a dry-eraser board. Pencil and paper never gave me the sense of freedom I am experiencing with this board. I am able to draw very loose-handedly because my mind knows that a simple swipe of a tissue and poof! I can correct my mistake :) Yay for DE boards!

In writing news:
A particular story has attached itself to me, and I am once again happily engaged in a CWIP. Yippee!

In holiday news:
I am wishing all my LJ buds a wonderfully-satisfied-turkeyfied Thanksgiving Day!

Hugs,
Lois and family :)

I am finished with my CWIP. It has been sent to one agent, one editor. So today I am goofing off.

The reason behind that, however, is not a good one. As strange as it may sound, I like this book better than any I have ever written. I can't really take any credit for that; the story has been done before. It is about the Nativity, and I believe a couple of men have already penned it beautifully. I am hopeful though that the editor and/or agent will see that I have focused my version in a different direction.

Now I am having trouble getting a grip on a new idea. I have several mulling around in my brain, but I am having issues with zeroing in on one specific one. I think I am intimidated by the story I just finished. I'm not for certain I can write another story that will turn out as good as I think that one did.

Am I being stupid? Does anyone else ever have this problem?

Hey everyone! A new friend has joined LJ. She's bookwormlady at http://bookwormlady.livejournal.com/. Stop on over and say "hi". Don't forget to add her as a friend. She is looking for some writerly friends as great as all of you!
 :)

This is a poem written by my 10 year old grandaughter. I hope you like it :)

I am Beautiful
by Jenna Towery

I am beautiful
I wonder if I will change
I hear animals
I see animals
I want to be a vet

I am beautiful
I pretend I am a lion
I feel free
I touch the ground
I worry about nothing
I cry a-little-bit

I am beautiful
I understand alot
I say alot
I try to smile
I hope I am smart

I am beautiful

to my eldest daughter, April!! She is the one on the right in my user pic. Thirty-one years old today. Yikes!!

I found out today that one of the women in my church has been writing Christian adult fiction. How cool! She was just as surprised as I to find a writing sister so nearby. She has gotten two short stories pick-up, and writes a weekly column for our area newspaper (I don't read the news usually so I didn't know that).

Turns out she was at a seminar in Oregon recently and met up with Miriam Hees. Miss Hees read ten pages of her Christian mystery and requested to see the rest. How Exciting! I just thought it was funny that I have an acquaintance with K and she has one with Miriam. Small world :)

THE PEOPLE AND THEIR INVENTIONS: A YOUNG READER'S GUIDE TO SOME WELL-KNOWN AND NOT-SO-WELL-KNOWN NEW YORKERS WHO PIONEERED OUR CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS by Lois Toureen


Introduction...
     Back in the old, old days (about 7000 years ago as-a-matter-of-fact) everyone in the world spoke the same language and had one common speech. For the dreamers and thinkers of the time, this made sharing ideas easy. Then one day, the people of Shinar (an area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers known as ancient Babylonia) got together, shared some ideas, and came up with a dramatic plan.
     You're probably wondering what this has to do with a book about Christmas and people from New York. Hold on, and I'll explain. Dreamers and thinkers have been a part of history since the dawn of mankind. Their ideas have influenced great civilizations; governed cities, towns, and neighborhoods; and shaped cultures, religions, and celebrations. So for us to better understand how the ideas of the thinkers and dreamers in this book fueled the modern-day holiday we call Christmas, we have to travel back to a time when civilization was rocked by an unexpected change....

I feel very disconnected right now. You might remember that my laptop died a couple of months ago, and even though I have this here desktop, I just don't feel obliged to use it as much. It's my fault I haven't been on line, of course, but that may soon change.

I have been writing like crazy. That's good. Maybe not so good that it's the introduction to my NF that I've been working on for a month now. Maybe I will actually get it done soon so I can begin work on the rest of my proposal. One can only hope.

Miss you all.
Hope you're having a good writing day :)