Fog-Gi: …and on a coastal walk…

Sha-Do: …and down to tide pools…yum…I’m sure there’s some good easy fishy catches there…

Fog-Gi: Like you’ve ever caught a fish…!

Sha-Do: What do you care…?

Fog-Gi: Oooh…cactus…


Sha-Do: Who you calling cactus…you want cactus…I’ll give you cactus…mrrow…!


Fog-Gi: OUCH…MEOW…I was talking about the photographs, you nimrod… cactus in the pictures…

Sha-Do: Oh…I see…hey…look at those tiny trees…I heard her say something about an elfin forest…


















Fog-Gi: Now you’re hearing things too… goodness…will you look at that… didn’t exactly starve themselves… now did they?



Sha-Do: You didn’t exactly starve yourself either…eating all my treats too…pig face…


Fog-Gi: That was only because you ate mine first, dog doo doo…


Sha-Do: Dog doo doo?


Fog-Gi: Whatever…


Sha-Do: I know!


Fog-Gi: You know nothing.


Sha-Do: OK. Be that way…I won’t tell you what I know.


Fog-Gi: What…what do you know?


Sha-Do: I know nothing…


Fog-Gi: Immature…swat…


Sha-Do: Juvenile…slap…


Fog-Gi: OK, all right stop chewing on my tail.


Sha-Do: Only if you get your claw out of my eye…



Fog-Gi: Only if you tell me what you know…


Sha-Do: I know how to keep them from leaving ever again…


Fog-Gi: Oh…tell me then…


Sha-Do: Hisst…pssst…meow….


Fog-Gi: Oh…cool…never thought of that! If we do that, they’ll have no reason to travel ever again…you’re a genius!





Rilla: OMG…OMG…OMG…!
rilla: What? Will you calm down? You’re hysterical…
Rilla: LOOK WHAT YOUR STUPID CATS HAVE DONE…!
rilla: OMG…OMG…OMG…!
Rilla: Yeah!
rilla: The camera!
Rilla: They’ve chewed the strap…
rilla: …and all the soft rubber parts…
Rilla: …it’s useless…
rilla: …won’t work anymore…
Rilla: IT WAS NEW! GOT IT AS A GIFT…CAN’T AFFORD TO BUY SUCH A NICE CAMERA…
rilla: Yeah… birthday gift…sigh…!
Rilla: That’s not all they’ve done.
rilla: No? There’s more?
Rilla: They’ve chewed through the digital pictures I took as well…!
rilla: Chewed through digital pictures…now you’ve really lost it…how can cats chew up digital pictures…that’s nuts…
Rilla: You don’t believe me?
rilla: You’re hallucinating…!
Rilla: Oh…yeah….then what’s this?????????????







Sorry Kitty Cats... but I'm on another trip... this time, half-way around the world... but don't worry... I will send you photos...

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NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

Rilla: WHAT?
rilla: What…what?
Rilla: What’s with the title …?
rilla: Title...?
Rilla: Uh-huh…the NIGHT ARTHUR LEVINE CAME TO MY HOTEL ROOM? Excuse me…?
rilla: Oh…that…
Rilla: Yes… that…WELL…?
rilla: Will you stop yelling in my ear…you’re giving me a headache.
Rilla: I’LL STOP YELLING IF YOU TELL ME WHY ARTHUR LEVINE WAS IN YOUR HOTEL ROOM…
rilla: OK…it’s a deal.
Rilla: How about if you start… right about… now…
rilla: OK…I was in the illustrators’ portfolio competition show pavilion at the conference…you know the SCBWI Summer Conference and…
Rilla: …and…?
rilla: Will you stop breathing down my neck…it tickles…
Rilla: …and…?
rilla: and Jim…the illustrator…you know Di Bartolo…the one who did those gorgeous illustrations for The Faeries of Dreamdark : Blackbringer…you know…Laini Taylor’s husband…
Rilla: What’s he got to do with this…I don’t want to talk about Laini and Jim…I want to hear about Arthur Levine…
rilla: Why? You have something against Laini and Jim…
Rilla: NO! YOU NITWIT…NUMBSKULL…NINNY…
rilla: Hey…you promised not to yell if I told the story…
Rilla: I’ll stop yelling IF you tell the story…
rilla: OK…all right…well Jim called me over and introduced me to Arthur A. Levine…you know…the editor of the Harry Potter series…
Rilla: I KNOW HE’S THE EDITOR OF THE HARRY POTTER SERIES…
rilla: Well…he’s also going to be the editor of a new illustrated novel by Laini Taylor and Jim Di Bartolo called Goblin Fruit…
Rilla: sniff…sniff…sob…
rilla: Now what…you’re blubbering? You’re upset Laini and Jim wrote an illustrated novel…
Rilla: You …sniff…are just sniff … a SADIST. I can’t take the suspense anymore. Did Arthur Levine come to your hotel room or not?
rilla: Yes… he did.
Rilla: And…?
rilla: You keep interrupting me…I’m telling the story…I’m the tale-spinner… you’ve got to let me tell the story the way I want to… without interruptions…OK?
Rilla: …
rilla: OK?
Rilla: ….
rilla: Well? Do we have an agreement or not?
Rilla: I don’t want to say anything you’ll construe as an interruption…
rilla: Whatever…where was I …?
Rilla: Jim introduced you to Arthur Levine in the illustrators’ pavilion…
rilla: Yes…Where’s your room, asked Mr. Levine…
Rilla: Oooh…where’s your room? Just like that?
rilla: Fifth floor I said…not far…come along…
Rilla: What?
rilla: So we hopped in the elevator…
Rilla: Bet it was packed…everyone staring at Arthur Levine…
rilla: No…no…just the two of us…
Rilla: Did you tell him about your writing…?
rilla: Well…he asked…what do you write…?
Rilla: And…what did you say…?
rilla: Fantasy… expectant look from Mr. Levine...Yes...?
Rilla: Fantasy…?
rilla: When it was clear nothing more was forthcoming...he asked... What kind of fantasy…?
Rilla: And you said?
rilla: Middle grade and YA...another expectant look...but it wore off quicker than the first... turning into one of disbelief, so I quickly interjected...
Rilla: Yeah…yeah…you interjected... you said something brilliant and hooky about Crystal Coffin with Amy the roller-blading, red-haired flute prodigy, and you talked about your YA fantasy with a flavor of India blended with the dreamscape of Australia and … Kalpa… gutsy… stubborn Kalpa and…
rilla: Ummm …I said … blup blup bluppity bluppity*
Rilla: Blup...blup...Wait a minute... are you telling me you had Arthur Levine ask you to talk about what you were writing and all you could say was blup blup…?
rilla: Ummm… we'd gotten to my room by then...
Rilla: Well at least you gave him what he came for…?
rilla: Said he’d left his at home…
Rilla: Oh…
rilla: So I pulled mine out…and he looked at it…and he said…
Rilla: Yeah… ?
rilla: Nope…
Rilla: Nope…?
rilla: Won’t fit.
Rilla: Won’t fit?
rilla: Not the right shape.
Rilla: Not the right shape?

THUNK THUNK

Rilla: Hey…stop knocking on my head.
rilla: Just trying to get rid of the echo in here…
Rilla: What wouldn’t fit?
rilla: The power cord to my laptop wouldn’t fit his…he forgot his own power cord at home.
Rilla: Oh…oh…didn’t he say anything else?
rilla: Yeah…he said, Sorry for disturbing you…to my illustrator roommate…
Rilla: Oh…what’s that you’re working on now…?
rilla: I’m writing a query letter…
Rilla: To Arthur Levine?
rilla: The same…I’ve decided to send him my manuscript…
Rilla: There’s one thing you’d better NOT say in that letter…
rilla: What’s that?
Rilla: Blup blup bluppity bluppity…if you do…he’s sure to say it’s NOT A GOOD FIT!
rilla: Nah… I’m going to let the manuscript do the talking for me.


* This is the mermaid's song in Steve's, of my writing group, amazing Mermaid Tale...and I figured a mermaid's song would work... sorry I borrowed it Steve ...I should have known... the mermaid only sings for you...;(



On a more somber note...there were two bomb explosions in my hometown of Hyderabad, India, today. I want to send my thoughts and condolences to all the families who lost loved ones in the continuing mindless violence that we humans insist on perpetrating on one another...
...taken from the New York Times

Terror Bombings Kill Dozens in South India

By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Published: August 26, 2007
A pair of synchronized explosions tore through two popular spots in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad on Saturday evening, killing at least 30 people and wounding 60 others in what state officials called a terrorist attack.
The blasts occurred just minutes apart. The first hit an open-air auditorium in a public park during a laser show about the history of Hyderabad, and the second was at a popular restaurant called Gokul Chaat.
No one immediately took responsibility for the attacks; the police gave no information about who might have been to blame.
The bombings were the latest in a series of attacks against economic targets in this country. Hyderabad, with a population of about four million, is one India's prosperous and fast-growing cities, home to many software and biotechnology companies.

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

Rilla: WHAT?
rilla: What…what?
Rilla: What’s with the title …?
rilla: Title...?
Rilla: Uh-huh…the NIGHT ARTHUR LEVINE CAME TO MY HOTEL ROOM? Excuse me…?
rilla: Oh…that…
Rilla: Yes… that…WELL…?
rilla: Will you stop yelling in my ear…you’re giving me a headache.
Rilla: I’LL STOP YELLING IF YOU TELL ME WHY ARTHUR LEVINE WAS IN YOUR HOTEL ROOM…
rilla: OK…it’s a deal.
Rilla: How about if you start… right about… now…
rilla: OK…I was in the illustrators’ portfolio competition show pavilion at the conference…you know the SCBWI Summer Conference and…
Rilla: …and…?
rilla: Will you stop breathing down my neck…it tickles…
Rilla: …and…?
rilla: and Jim…the illustrator…you know Di Bartolo…the one who did those gorgeous illustrations for The Faeries of Dreamdark : Blackbringer…you know…Laini Taylor’s husband…
Rilla: What’s he got to do with this…I don’t want to talk about Laini and Jim…I want to hear about Arthur Levine…
rilla: Why? You have something against Laini and Jim…
Rilla: NO! YOU NITWIT…NUMBSKULL…NINNY…
rilla: Hey…you promised not to yell if I told the story…
Rilla: I’ll stop yelling IF you tell the story…
rilla: OK…all right…well Jim called me over and introduced me to Arthur A. Levine…you know…the editor of the Harry Potter series…
Rilla: I KNOW HE’S THE EDITOR OF THE HARRY POTTER SERIES…
rilla: Well…he’s also going to be the editor of a new illustrated novel by Laini Taylor and Jim Di Bartolo called Goblin Fruit…
Rilla: sniff…sniff…sob…
rilla: Now what…you’re blubbering? You’re upset Laini and Jim wrote an illustrated novel…
Rilla: You …sniff…are just sniff … a SADIST. I can’t take the suspense anymore. Did Arthur Levine come to your hotel room or not?
rilla: Yes… he did.
Rilla: And…?
rilla: You keep interrupting me…I’m telling the story…I’m the tale-spinner… you’ve got to let me tell the story the way I want to… without interruptions…OK?
Rilla: …
rilla: OK?
Rilla: ….
rilla: Well? Do we have an agreement or not?
Rilla: I don’t want to say anything you’ll construe as an interruption…
rilla: Whatever…where was I …?
Rilla: Jim introduced you to Arthur Levine in the illustrators’ pavilion…
rilla: Yes…Where’s your room, asked Mr. Levine…
Rilla: Oooh…where’s your room? Just like that?
rilla: Fifth floor I said…not far…come along…
Rilla: What?
rilla: So we hopped in the elevator…
Rilla: Bet it was packed…everyone staring at Arthur Levine…
rilla: No…no…just the two of us…
Rilla: Did you tell him about your writing…?
rilla: Well…he asked…what do you write…?
Rilla: And…what did you say…?
rilla: Fantasy… expectant look from Mr. Levine...Yes...?
Rilla: Fantasy…?
rilla: When it was clear nothing more was forthcoming...he asked... What kind of fantasy…?
Rilla: And you said?
rilla: Middle grade and YA...another expectant look...but it wore off quicker than the first... turning into one of disbelief, so I quickly interjected...
Rilla: Yeah…yeah…you interjected... you said something brilliant and hooky about Crystal Coffin with Amy the roller-blading, red-haired flute prodigy, and you talked about your YA fantasy with a flavor of India blended with the dreamscape of Australia and … Kalpa… gutsy… stubborn Kalpa and…
rilla: Ummm …I said … blup blup bluppity bluppity*
Rilla: Blup...blup...Wait a minute... are you telling me you had Arthur Levine ask you to talk about what you were writing and all you could say was blup blup…?
rilla: Ummm… we'd gotten to my room by then...
Rilla: Well at least you gave him what he came for…?
rilla: Said he’d left his at home…
Rilla: Oh…
rilla: So I pulled mine out…and he looked at it…and he said…
Rilla: Yeah… ?
rilla: Nope…
Rilla: Nope…?
rilla: Won’t fit.
Rilla: Won’t fit?
rilla: Not the right shape.
Rilla: Not the right shape?

THUNK THUNK

Rilla: Hey…stop knocking on my head.
rilla: Just trying to get rid of the echo in here…
Rilla: What wouldn’t fit?
rilla: The power cord to my laptop wouldn’t fit his…he forgot his own power cord at home.
Rilla: Oh…oh…didn’t he say anything else?
rilla: Yeah…he said, Sorry for disturbing you…to my illustrator roommate…
Rilla: Oh…what’s that you’re working on now…?
rilla: I’m writing a query letter…
Rilla: To Arthur Levine?
rilla: The same…I’ve decided to send him my manuscript…
Rilla: There’s one thing you’d better NOT say in that letter…
rilla: What’s that?
Rilla: Blup blup bluppity bluppity…if you do…he’s sure to say it’s NOT A GOOD FIT!
rilla: Nah… I’m going to let the manuscript do the talking for me.


* This is the mermaid's song in Steve's, of my writing group, amazing Mermaid Tale...and I figured a mermaid's song would work... sorry I borrowed it Steve ...I should have known... the mermaid only sings for you...;(



On a more somber note...there were two bomb explosions in my hometown of Hyderabad, India, today. I want to send my thoughts and condolences to all the families who lost loved ones in the continuing mindless violence that we humans insist on perpetrating on one another...
...taken from the New York Times

Terror Bombings Kill Dozens in South India

By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Published: August 26, 2007
A pair of synchronized explosions tore through two popular spots in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad on Saturday evening, killing at least 30 people and wounding 60 others in what state officials called a terrorist attack.
The blasts occurred just minutes apart. The first hit an open-air auditorium in a public park during a laser show about the history of Hyderabad, and the second was at a popular restaurant called Gokul Chaat.
No one immediately took responsibility for the attacks; the police gave no information about who might have been to blame.
The bombings were the latest in a series of attacks against economic targets in this country. Hyderabad, with a population of about four million, is one India's prosperous and fast-growing cities, home to many software and biotechnology companies.

Add a Comment

One of my favorite times of the conference...the last day...when authors and illustrators sit down to sign their books for you...talk to you...draw for you...answer your questions...give of themselves...promising that one day you will be where they sit today...you only have to dream...dream big...dream big as Hattie's Sky...there is no other way to go...













Words of wisdom from Kirby Larson:
"Sometimes when life gives you lemons, it shops at Costco," but "I applied a liberal dose of 'bum glue' and wrote through the bad stuff." You have to write through the bad stuff...

Add a Comment

One of my favorite times of the conference...the last day...when authors and illustrators sit down to sign their books for you...talk to you...draw for you...answer your questions...give of themselves...promising that one day you will be where they sit today...you only have to dream...dream big...dream big as Hattie's Sky...there is no other way to go...













Words of wisdom from Kirby Larson:
"Sometimes when life gives you lemons, it shops at Costco," but "I applied a liberal dose of 'bum glue' and wrote through the bad stuff." You have to write through the bad stuff...

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction



Susan Patron, 2007 Newbery Award Winner and John Green, Michael Printz Award Winner -- Whoa!





Rilla: Umm…
rilla: What?
Rilla: ARE WE EVER GETTING DOWN FROM HERE?
rilla: Oh…I’m still floating…
Rilla: …without a concern for my vertigo…typical…it’s all about you…all the time…
rilla: You don’t like floating? OK, I guess we can…
Rilla: NO!
rilla: Now what? I thought you wanted to get back down to earth…
Rilla: Not here, don’t come down right here…
rilla: Why?
Rilla: There’s a puddle underneath us…
rilla: A puddle?
Rilla: Yeah…all that drooling…
rilla: …drooling?
Rilla: The drooling you did over Kadir Nelson…
rilla: OH…oh…oooohhh…OK then, no problem we can just keep floating…not difficult at all…all I have to do stay up here is to read all the incredible blog posts of all the wonderful people I met and heard at the conference… Click here to go to links

John Green: All Writing is Rewriting
Author: Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines

As hilarious and wise as you would expect of John Green:
“I feel like an elephant who’s been asked to talk about how to be an elephant, to a group of elephants.”

“Writing is as much translation as it is creation.”

About boarding school in Alabama:
“It’s exactly like Hogwarts except for brooms we had beer.”

Some exceedingly vague ideas about writing:

“Never settle for catching small facts when there are bigger truths in the pond.”

“The truth does not lie in artifice.”

“The great book does not happen by accident.”


Emma Dryden: An Editor’s Guide to Writing a Novel
VP and Assoc Publisher of Margaret K. McElderry Books and Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Maintain voice, it must be consistent throughout, ring true and keep the reader hanging on.

“Dialog is action.” The character must come out through talk and action as much as possible.

“10 strong scenes are better than 10 strong scenes plus 2 weaker ones…make choices.”

The details must be memorable, poignant and particular.

Characters and setting should be clear and believable.

A felt novel is a successful novel.

Linda Sue Park and Dinah Stevenson: Beyond the Slushpile
LSP: Author: A Single Shard, Project Mulberry, When My Name Was Keoko
DS: VP and Publisher Clarion Books

Linda Sue Park’s words of wisdom: “If you want to write, you have to read, no exceptions.” So what’s in my To Be Read pile: I'm reading Book Thief, next is Holes, and Elsewhere, Twilight, Hattie Big Sky, Clementine, Beka Cooper, A Single Shard, Millicent Min, Sea of Trolls, Flipped, Sold… Thanks Linda.
More wise words:
“Finish the story.”
“Story is how a character changes as a result of the plot.”

When I’m struggling with two different ways I can resolve an issue in my writing, her smooth steady voice comes to mind: “TRY IT.” Try everything and see what works the best. Thanks Linda.
Dinah Stevenson: “Publishing is a process not an event.”

SeaHeidi

Laini Taylor

Stephanitely

Colorado Writer

Lisa Schroeder

Tammi Sauer

Kid_Lit Kim

Lisa Yee

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction



Susan Patron, 2007 Newbery Award Winner and John Green, Michael Printz Award Winner -- Whoa!





Rilla: Umm…
rilla: What?
Rilla: ARE WE EVER GETTING DOWN FROM HERE?
rilla: Oh…I’m still floating…
Rilla: …without a concern for my vertigo…typical…it’s all about you…all the time…
rilla: You don’t like floating? OK, I guess we can…
Rilla: NO!
rilla: Now what? I thought you wanted to get back down to earth…
Rilla: Not here, don’t come down right here…
rilla: Why?
Rilla: There’s a puddle underneath us…
rilla: A puddle?
Rilla: Yeah…all that drooling…
rilla: …drooling?
Rilla: The drooling you did over Kadir Nelson…
rilla: OH…oh…oooohhh…OK then, no problem we can just keep floating…not difficult at all…all I have to do stay up here is to read all the incredible blog posts of all the wonderful people I met and heard at the conference… Click here to go to links

John Green: All Writing is Rewriting
Author: Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines

As hilarious and wise as you would expect of John Green:
“I feel like an elephant who’s been asked to talk about how to be an elephant, to a group of elephants.”

“Writing is as much translation as it is creation.”

About boarding school in Alabama:
“It’s exactly like Hogwarts except for brooms we had beer.”

Some exceedingly vague ideas about writing:

“Never settle for catching small facts when there are bigger truths in the pond.”

“The truth does not lie in artifice.”

“The great book does not happen by accident.”


Emma Dryden: An Editor’s Guide to Writing a Novel
VP and Assoc Publisher of Margaret K. McElderry Books and Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Maintain voice, it must be consistent throughout, ring true and keep the reader hanging on.

“Dialog is action.” The character must come out through talk and action as much as possible.

“10 strong scenes are better than 10 strong scenes plus 2 weaker ones…make choices.”

The details must be memorable, poignant and particular.

Characters and setting should be clear and believable.

A felt novel is a successful novel.

Linda Sue Park and Dinah Stevenson: Beyond the Slushpile
LSP: Author: A Single Shard, Project Mulberry, When My Name Was Keoko
DS: VP and Publisher Clarion Books

Linda Sue Park’s words of wisdom: “If you want to write, you have to read, no exceptions.” So what’s in my To Be Read pile: I'm reading Book Thief, next is Holes, and Elsewhere, Twilight, Hattie Big Sky, Clementine, Beka Cooper, A Single Shard, Millicent Min, Sea of Trolls, Flipped, Sold… Thanks Linda.
More wise words:
“Finish the story.”
“Story is how a character changes as a result of the plot.”

When I’m struggling with two different ways I can resolve an issue in my writing, her smooth steady voice comes to mind: “TRY IT.” Try everything and see what works the best. Thanks Linda.
Dinah Stevenson: “Publishing is a process not an event.”

SeaHeidi

Laini Taylor

Stephanitely

Colorado Writer

Lisa Schroeder

Tammi Sauer

Kid_Lit Kim

Lisa Yee

Add a Comment

Day TWO:

Kadir Nelson: Words and Paintings
Illustrator – Henry’s Freedom Box, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

Not too many artists are more beautiful in person than their work is. Kadir Nelson is one of them. And that’s not because his art isn’t…beautiful…it’s magnificent.

Some of Kadir’s wisdom:
“When things make you angry, you have a choice of doing something negative or positive about it.” He chose to do something positive…oh yeah!
“Visualize your own success!”
For all those writers who believe they just have to get ‘there’ and then they’ll be made…they’re first book, their first contract, their first publication…according to Kadir “there’s really no ‘there’. You have to keep on working.” Mmm…
While doing research on a story about a slave who escaped in a box, he went down to look at cotton plantations in the south and found that “cotton is really beautiful if you don’t have to pick it!”
When I look back at my notes on his talk, I see a great big ‘WOW’ in red ink by his name and that sums up my impression of Kadir Nelson quite succinctly.

Dinah Stevenson: Inside Clarion
Vice President and Publisher Clarion Books

Clarion is one of the few publishing houses that is completely open to unsolicited manuscripts in their entirety. Manuscripts she is impressed by usually have the following attributes attached to them – creative, distinguished, destined to become a classic!
She says, “if I don’t respond to the work, not all the presentation and packaging can make me buy it.” Some extravagant packaging was on display – artwork that arrived in a plastic orange fish, in a green high-heeled shoe – the packaging is remembered long after the work has been returned and the sender forgotten – OUCH!

Rubin Pfeffer: A Publisher Examines the State of the Industry
Sr. VP and Publisher Simon & Schuster Children’s Trade Publishing

Revenue from sales of children’s books has been and is projected to increase through 2009, however, number of units peaked in 2006 and is declining.

“A great book,” said Rubin, “is one that sends a kid off to read another book.”
Lifelong readers decrease illiteracy.
He exhorts us as writers to follow David Diaz’s advice: “It’s not enough to be yourself, you have to be your best self.”

Rachel Griffiths: How to Catch an Editor’s Attention
Editor – Scholastic, formerly with Arthur A. Levine, an Imprint of Scholastic

Choose the editor to whom you send your manuscript carefully. Look for a match, for someone with the same sensibility as yours. You need to “work with someone you trust.”
Go to bookstores and find the books most similar to yours and look up who edited them.
Resources:
Publisher’s Lunch
Publisher’s Marketplace
Publisher’s Weekly which is free on Thursdays.

Tips for the good query letter:
-- Talk about the protagonist in the protagonist’s voice
-- Write the description of the book in the style of the book, similar to flap copy
-- Editors love for you to talk about the books they’ve done in your query letter.

Things she is interested in: “a really rotten villain,” stories rooted in emotion, voice and character driven manuscripts.

Ellen Wittlinger: How Can a 58-Year Old Write Books For Teenagers (And Why Does She Want To?)
Author – Hard Love, Sandpiper, Parrotfish, What’s in a Name

One of her tips on where to listen to teenagers talk – the Registry of Motor Vehicles!

“You must have memories not just in your head but in your heart and in your gut to sound realistic.”

“The heavy inner life” of your protagonist – the basement – is the foundation upon which we build.

On why she writes about gay and transgender issues:
“Once you know someone, your prejudices fall away.”

And then it was time to PARTY by the light of the silvery moon...

The best roomate in the world -- award winning illustrator, Stephanie Roth!

Zariah the belly-dancing illustrator from Hawaii!

My dance-partner for most of the evening...

LJ Bloggers forever!

Blue Malibu, SeaHeidi

So wonderful to meet the people you blog with. So much to say...so little time.

Stephanie Blake -- Colorado Writer -- Winner of the First Annual Disco Mermaid Scholarship!

Laini Taylor still rocks!

Marie Antionette, winner of the contest!

Jay Asher, Disco Mermaid extraordinaire!

SCWBI LA rocks!

Gotta love em Disco Mermaids...oops...where did Robin go?

Oh! There she is, along with the lovely fairy -- Colorado Writer.



Lisa Yee Forever!

Add a Comment

Day TWO:

Kadir Nelson: Words and Paintings
Illustrator – Henry’s Freedom Box, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

Not too many artists are more beautiful in person than their work is. Kadir Nelson is one of them. And that’s not because his art isn’t…beautiful…it’s magnificent.

Some of Kadir’s wisdom:
“When things make you angry, you have a choice of doing something negative or positive about it.” He chose to do something positive…oh yeah!
“Visualize your own success!”
For all those writers who believe they just have to get ‘there’ and then they’ll be made…they’re first book, their first contract, their first publication…according to Kadir “there’s really no ‘there’. You have to keep on working.” Mmm…
While doing research on a story about a slave who escaped in a box, he went down to look at cotton plantations in the south and found that “cotton is really beautiful if you don’t have to pick it!”
When I look back at my notes on his talk, I see a great big ‘WOW’ in red ink by his name and that sums up my impression of Kadir Nelson quite succinctly.

Dinah Stevenson: Inside Clarion
Vice President and Publisher Clarion Books

Clarion is one of the few publishing houses that is completely open to unsolicited manuscripts in their entirety. Manuscripts she is impressed by usually have the following attributes attached to them – creative, distinguished, destined to become a classic!
She says, “if I don’t respond to the work, not all the presentation and packaging can make me buy it.” Some extravagant packaging was on display – artwork that arrived in a plastic orange fish, in a green high-heeled shoe – the packaging is remembered long after the work has been returned and the sender forgotten – OUCH!

Rubin Pfeffer: A Publisher Examines the State of the Industry
Sr. VP and Publisher Simon & Schuster Children’s Trade Publishing

Revenue from sales of children’s books has been and is projected to increase through 2009, however, number of units peaked in 2006 and is declining.

“A great book,” said Rubin, “is one that sends a kid off to read another book.”
Lifelong readers decrease illiteracy.
He exhorts us as writers to follow David Diaz’s advice: “It’s not enough to be yourself, you have to be your best self.”

Rachel Griffiths: How to Catch an Editor’s Attention
Editor – Scholastic, formerly with Arthur A. Levine, an Imprint of Scholastic

Choose the editor to whom you send your manuscript carefully. Look for a match, for someone with the same sensibility as yours. You need to “work with someone you trust.”
Go to bookstores and find the books most similar to yours and look up who edited them.
Resources:
Publisher’s Lunch
Publisher’s Marketplace
Publisher’s Weekly which is free on Thursdays.

Tips for the good query letter:
-- Talk about the protagonist in the protagonist’s voice
-- Write the description of the book in the style of the book, similar to flap copy
-- Editors love for you to talk about the books they’ve done in your query letter.

Things she is interested in: “a really rotten villain,” stories rooted in emotion, voice and character driven manuscripts.

Ellen Wittlinger: How Can a 58-Year Old Write Books For Teenagers (And Why Does She Want To?)
Author – Hard Love, Sandpiper, Parrotfish, What’s in a Name

One of her tips on where to listen to teenagers talk – the Registry of Motor Vehicles!

“You must have memories not just in your head but in your heart and in your gut to sound realistic.”

“The heavy inner life” of your protagonist – the basement – is the foundation upon which we build.

On why she writes about gay and transgender issues:
“Once you know someone, your prejudices fall away.”

And then it was time to PARTY by the light of the silvery moon...

The best roomate in the world -- award winning illustrator, Stephanie Roth!

Zariah the belly-dancing illustrator from Hawaii!

My dance-partner for most of the evening...

LJ Bloggers forever!

Blue Malibu, SeaHeidi

So wonderful to meet the people you blog with. So much to say...so little time.

Stephanie Blake -- Colorado Writer -- Winner of the First Annual Disco Mermaid Scholarship!

Laini Taylor still rocks!

Marie Antionette, winner of the contest!

Jay Asher, Disco Mermaid extraordinaire!

SCWBI LA rocks!

Gotta love em Disco Mermaids...oops...where did Robin go?

Oh! There she is, along with the lovely fairy -- Colorado Writer.



Lisa Yee Forever!

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NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

We started out with the faculty traipsing up onto the stage and saying one word they thought important. They were funny, inspiring…, but one raised the bar and set the tone for the rest of the conference…

Susan Patron
Author of The Higher Power of Lucky, winner of the 2007 Newbery Award

“Scrotum”

Then we went into keynote speeches and breakaway sessions. Here are a few tidbits…


(Inspiring) Walter Dean Myers: A Passion for Detail
Author – Somewhere the Darkness, Scorpions, Jazz

What inspires me to write? I want to create a world – be God!
In order to do this convincingly, you the writer need to “give sufficient detail to allow the reader to recreate your world in their minds. The reader needs to recognize the details as truth.”
You must have a passion for details – search for the right details that will make your reader believe in and care for your characters.

(Awesome) Emma Dryden: Sailing Away from the Safe Harbor: Connecting Young Readers with Books in a Media-Driven Society
VP and Associate Publisher of Margaret K. McElderry (pron. Mack-el-dary) Books and Atheneum (A-then-aum) books for Young Readers – imprints of Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

We read stories to explore, to journey, to relax, to escape fear. “If we don’t explore our world with stories, we will cease.”
“Story matters most. Write what you know, write what you feel, write what you care about.”
“The confirmed sailor goes on tacking forever.”


(Hilarious...OK and anal) Tamora Pierce: Developing Cultures in the Fantasy Novel
Author – The Circle of Magic Quartet, The Song of the Lioness Quartet

On why she writes fantasy – “Well, duh, I like magic!”
“The immature artist imitates – the mature one steals!”
Details make the world you create, yet must avoid drowning the reader in them.
Tip: A great resource for researching historical costumes and customs:
Google – Amazon, Pickling and Dry Goods

(Informative) The Panel: Professional Criticism: How to Receive it and What to Do With It
Arthur A. Levine: VP at Scholastic Inc and Editorial Director of Arthur A. Levine Books, Elizabeth Parisi: Exec. Art Director at Scholastic Books, Mark McVeigh: Editor Alladin Paperbacks, Krista Marino: Editor at Delacorte Press in the Random House Books for Young Readers division.

- Think of the editor as an equal who is trying to help you improve your work.
- It is a partnership, be nice!
- Keep an open mind, critiques are meant to help
- Don’t debate.
- Don’t get defensive
- Ask them questions, pick their brain.
- Be willing to take risks.
- DO NOT WEEP!
A. Levine – “It’s not about obedience, it’s about respect”



LJ Bloggers Unite!
Lisa's Little Corner,KidLit-Kim,Tamarack






The wonderful Laini Taylor and Jim Di Bartolo of Faeries of Dreamdark -- Blackbringer fame that I raved about in my last post. LAINI SOLD A BOOK TO ARTHUR LEVINE AT THE CONFERENCE!!!! Is that amazing or ... what!! Good on ya, Laini and Jim!

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

We started out with the faculty traipsing up onto the stage and saying one word they thought important. They were funny, inspiring…, but one raised the bar and set the tone for the rest of the conference…

Susan Patron
Author of The Higher Power of Lucky, winner of the 2007 Newbery Award

“Scrotum”

Then we went into keynote speeches and breakaway sessions. Here are a few tidbits…


(Inspiring) Walter Dean Myers: A Passion for Detail
Author – Somewhere the Darkness, Scorpions, Jazz

What inspires me to write? I want to create a world – be God!
In order to do this convincingly, you the writer need to “give sufficient detail to allow the reader to recreate your world in their minds. The reader needs to recognize the details as truth.”
You must have a passion for details – search for the right details that will make your reader believe in and care for your characters.

(Awesome) Emma Dryden: Sailing Away from the Safe Harbor: Connecting Young Readers with Books in a Media-Driven Society
VP and Associate Publisher of Margaret K. McElderry (pron. Mack-el-dary) Books and Atheneum (A-then-aum) books for Young Readers – imprints of Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

We read stories to explore, to journey, to relax, to escape fear. “If we don’t explore our world with stories, we will cease.”
“Story matters most. Write what you know, write what you feel, write what you care about.”
“The confirmed sailor goes on tacking forever.”


(Hilarious...OK and anal) Tamora Pierce: Developing Cultures in the Fantasy Novel
Author – The Circle of Magic Quartet, The Song of the Lioness Quartet

On why she writes fantasy – “Well, duh, I like magic!”
“The immature artist imitates – the mature one steals!”
Details make the world you create, yet must avoid drowning the reader in them.
Tip: A great resource for researching historical costumes and customs:
Google – Amazon, Pickling and Dry Goods

(Informative) The Panel: Professional Criticism: How to Receive it and What to Do With It
Arthur A. Levine: VP at Scholastic Inc and Editorial Director of Arthur A. Levine Books, Elizabeth Parisi: Exec. Art Director at Scholastic Books, Mark McVeigh: Editor Alladin Paperbacks, Krista Marino: Editor at Delacorte Press in the Random House Books for Young Readers division.

- Think of the editor as an equal who is trying to help you improve your work.
- It is a partnership, be nice!
- Keep an open mind, critiques are meant to help
- Don’t debate.
- Don’t get defensive
- Ask them questions, pick their brain.
- Be willing to take risks.
- DO NOT WEEP!
A. Levine – “It’s not about obedience, it’s about respect”



LJ Bloggers Unite!
Lisa's Little Corner,KidLit-Kim,Tamarack






The wonderful Laini Taylor and Jim Di Bartolo of Faeries of Dreamdark -- Blackbringer fame that I raved about in my last post. LAINI SOLD A BOOK TO ARTHUR LEVINE AT THE CONFERENCE!!!! Is that amazing or ... what!! Good on ya, Laini and Jim!

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

Rilla: Today I am interviewing, children’s author, rilla, about a book for young adults she recently read – Faeries of Dreamdark- Blackbringer by writer and artist, Oregon dweller, Laini Taylor.
rilla: Wow, you sound good. Very professional – I think…
Rilla: Ahem. Thank you. So, rilla, what attracted you to Laini Taylor’s book other than the color of her hair?
rilla: Well, I first read about Laini’s book in a rave review on the blog of Fuse#8.
Rilla: I mean – magenta? Really…what exactly would possess…?
rilla: I love magenta.
Rilla: Magenta? For hair…? You’re not thinking what I think you’re…?
rilla: Are you going to ask me a real question …?
Rilla: Sorry?
rilla: A real question about Laini’s book?
Rilla: Umm…OK…ummm…

TAP TAP

Rilla: Will you STOP tapping on my head.
rilla: Can we get the REAL interviewer in here please. This apprentice is wasting my time…?
Rilla: I AM the real interviewer.
rilla: NOT IF YOU DON’T HAVE A QUESTION TO ASK.
Rilla: Wait, wait, I have one…Why would anyone in their right mind read fantasy?
rilla: Sheesh. I’ll just take it from here …
Blackbringer is a tale of an unraveling world – a world that was woven as a dream tapestry by the Djinn masters, where mistakes in the form of devils were locked up in bottles by the faery champion of old, Bellatrix.

So, a thousand years later, why are the bottles coming uncorked and the tapestry failing? Magpie Windwitch, alone of faeries, knows of the devastation caused to the world by a new, undreamed of species, humans. Immune to the ancient spells they are busily opening bottles in the hope of finding a magical being to grant them their wishes. Magpie must follow in their messy footsteps trying to undo the damage. But now they have gone too far.

Someone has opened the one bottle sealed by the Djinn king, Magruwen, himself. The faeries have forgotten the wisdom and lore of their kind in the long peace. They have no idea what the Magruwen thought important enough to leave his mark on. Magpie and her band of cheroot-smoking, gypsy-caravan-toting, play-acting crows must fight an evil that will settle for no less than world annihilation. Before she can defeat it, she must discover what it is, and most importantly, who she is herself. An immense task for a tiny lass – will she manage before it is too late?

Rilla: So does she?
rilla: Does she what?
Rilla: Save the world?
rilla: Read the book.
Rilla: What’s the point of getting you to review it if you won’t tell me how it ends?
rilla: The point is to get you to READ THE BOOK. I recommend it. The magnitude of Laini’s vision transported me into a colorful world of tattooed faeries and nose-picking imps, cursing crows and dastardly devils, and one small, tough faery who won’t take no for an answer. It is a powerful and imaginative creation-myth that brings home to us the destructive nature of our species and the unraveling of our own tapestry or ecosystem. Yet, it gives us the hope that the courage of a few determined individuals, no matter how small, can stop the devastation and begin the healing process. As a reader I was captivated – as a writer I was inspired to follow my own muse the way Laini has done to such effect. Dreams, she insists, are everything.
Rilla: Faeries and dreams, huh? Sounds a bit frou-frou to me.
rilla: It isn’t. The villains are frighteningly real, the tension mounts throughout, the story is every bit as thrilling as you would want. And it proves that strong female protagonists can come in all sizes even ones no larger than will fit comfortably on the back of a crow.

In short, Laini’s book reminded me once again why I LOVE fantasy…

Some of my favorite lines:
“It was an evil bramble, taller than tiptoes and dense as a mermaid’s braid…”
“Batch moved on, a pendulum of drool swinging from his lower lip.”
“It was a formless thing, unfixed, the edges of it bleeding into the night like watercolors on wet paper.”
“In the southern reaches of the great wood, Magpie and the crows sat around a fire with a clan of hedge imps, trading wind songs for scamper ballads and sipping spiced wine.”

Recommended Musical Accompaniment: Afro-Celts: Volume II and Solas
Recommended drink: Spiced Wine…preferably red and from Oregon
Recommended food: Fondue…cheese to be melted on a stick held over a campfire or over the more upmarket version of the campfire…the backyard grill…whichever way…it must be under the stars and moon followed by copious amounts of chocolate.

Laini Taylor's Blog -- Grow Wings

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

Rilla: Today I am interviewing, children’s author, rilla, about a book for young adults she recently read – Faeries of Dreamdark- Blackbringer by writer and artist, Oregon dweller, Laini Taylor.
rilla: Wow, you sound good. Very professional – I think…
Rilla: Ahem. Thank you. So, rilla, what attracted you to Laini Taylor’s book other than the color of her hair?
rilla: Well, I first read about Laini’s book in a rave review on the blog of Fuse#8.
Rilla: I mean – magenta? Really…what exactly would possess…?
rilla: I love magenta.
Rilla: Magenta? For hair…? You’re not thinking what I think you’re…?
rilla: Are you going to ask me a real question …?
Rilla: Sorry?
rilla: A real question about Laini’s book?
Rilla: Umm…OK…ummm…

TAP TAP

Rilla: Will you STOP tapping on my head.
rilla: Can we get the REAL interviewer in here please. This apprentice is wasting my time…?
Rilla: I AM the real interviewer.
rilla: NOT IF YOU DON’T HAVE A QUESTION TO ASK.
Rilla: Wait, wait, I have one…Why would anyone in their right mind read fantasy?
rilla: Sheesh. I’ll just take it from here …
Blackbringer is a tale of an unraveling world – a world that was woven as a dream tapestry by the Djinn masters, where mistakes in the form of devils were locked up in bottles by the faery champion of old, Bellatrix.

So, a thousand years later, why are the bottles coming uncorked and the tapestry failing? Magpie Windwitch, alone of faeries, knows of the devastation caused to the world by a new, undreamed of species, humans. Immune to the ancient spells they are busily opening bottles in the hope of finding a magical being to grant them their wishes. Magpie must follow in their messy footsteps trying to undo the damage. But now they have gone too far.

Someone has opened the one bottle sealed by the Djinn king, Magruwen, himself. The faeries have forgotten the wisdom and lore of their kind in the long peace. They have no idea what the Magruwen thought important enough to leave his mark on. Magpie and her band of cheroot-smoking, gypsy-caravan-toting, play-acting crows must fight an evil that will settle for no less than world annihilation. Before she can defeat it, she must discover what it is, and most importantly, who she is herself. An immense task for a tiny lass – will she manage before it is too late?

Rilla: So does she?
rilla: Does she what?
Rilla: Save the world?
rilla: Read the book.
Rilla: What’s the point of getting you to review it if you won’t tell me how it ends?
rilla: The point is to get you to READ THE BOOK. I recommend it. The magnitude of Laini’s vision transported me into a colorful world of tattooed faeries and nose-picking imps, cursing crows and dastardly devils, and one small, tough faery who won’t take no for an answer. It is a powerful and imaginative creation-myth that brings home to us the destructive nature of our species and the unraveling of our own tapestry or ecosystem. Yet, it gives us the hope that the courage of a few determined individuals, no matter how small, can stop the devastation and begin the healing process. As a reader I was captivated – as a writer I was inspired to follow my own muse the way Laini has done to such effect. Dreams, she insists, are everything.
Rilla: Faeries and dreams, huh? Sounds a bit frou-frou to me.
rilla: It isn’t. The villains are frighteningly real, the tension mounts throughout, the story is every bit as thrilling as you would want. And it proves that strong female protagonists can come in all sizes even ones no larger than will fit comfortably on the back of a crow.

In short, Laini’s book reminded me once again why I LOVE fantasy…

Some of my favorite lines:
“It was an evil bramble, taller than tiptoes and dense as a mermaid’s braid…”
“Batch moved on, a pendulum of drool swinging from his lower lip.”
“It was a formless thing, unfixed, the edges of it bleeding into the night like watercolors on wet paper.”
“In the southern reaches of the great wood, Magpie and the crows sat around a fire with a clan of hedge imps, trading wind songs for scamper ballads and sipping spiced wine.”

Recommended Musical Accompaniment: Afro-Celts: Volume II and Solas
Recommended drink: Spiced Wine…preferably red and from Oregon
Recommended food: Fondue…cheese to be melted on a stick held over a campfire or over the more upmarket version of the campfire…the backyard grill…whichever way…it must be under the stars and moon followed by copious amounts of chocolate.

Laini Taylor's Blog -- Grow Wings

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

Rilla: The Lives of Others
rilla: Pardon? Others? What’s wrong with our life?
Rilla: It’s the title of a movie…
rilla: Oh. What about it?
Rilla: Saw it last night. Where were you?
rilla: Watching Ratatouille.
Rilla: The animated movie? By Pixar??
rilla: That’s the one.
Rilla: Well at least we were on the same continent.
rilla: Huh?
Rilla: I was in Germany, you were in France.
rilla: Yeah, but I was in heaven and you must have been in…
Rilla: …hell a.k.a. East Germany, before the wall came down. What a story. The fear…the corruption…bugged apartments…big brother watching you even when you make love…your loved ones ratting on you to save their own skins... government sponsored terror at its best.
rilla: Well thank goodness they don’t have that anymore.
Rilla: Too bad that we do.
rilla: What do you mean we do? Government wiretapping is illegal here. That was amply proven by Nixon’s resignation.
Rilla: Which fairy wonderland do you live in? Oh, I forgot. Last night you were dreaming of rats who are chefs and the gourmet food they create. Well wake up, honey, and smell the coffee. On this continent, the president has declared that he is above the law and can wiretap whomever he wants to just because he is the president. Sounds so like what I saw in the movie last night…maybe we’re not there yet, but if we don’t watch out…we sure will be. What a ghastly world it was.

rilla: Mm…makes you wonder. How does an entire country relinquish its rights and allow itself to be dehumanized, abused and raped by its own government…the people who are supposed to be serving the public’s best interests?
Rilla: It’s a slippery slope and we’re on it. Starts off with good intentions…the justification for the GDR was protection of their own revolution, of their people. It ended up with persecution of anyone who spoke out against the government, labeling any intellectual an unpatriotic traitor and throwing them in a cell with no right to representation. In this country it is in the name of protection against a shadowy terrorist threat, that we are willingly allowing our government to rise above the law. Routinely, those who speak out against the government are labeled unpatriotic and undemocratic. We’ve even ratified a law that allows the government to label people and throw them into jail with no right to a fair trial. Sounds frighteningly similar. Either way, we the people are the ones terrorized, doesn’t really matter if it’s by foreign terrorists or homegrown ones…
rilla: See…now that’s why I watch fantasy. I stay away from horror whether it is fiction or non…
Rilla: Escape! How’s that going to help you? If you run away, who’s going to protect your rights, huh?
rilla: How’s watching distressing movies going to help?
Rilla: I actually enjoyed that ‘distressing’ movie very much. I believe that seeing such movies will remind us what can happen if we are not constantly vigilant, watching for abuses of power at every level of government. One other thing in the movie really bugged me though…
rilla: Pun intended?
Rilla: Why is it constantly depicted that the woman is the ‘weak’ one who can’t hold up in the face of oppression. Women, who at great cost to themselves, gave birth to humanity, and ever since have stood in the face of all kinds of oppression, discrimination, subjugation and death to protect their families. I mean really, I’m a little tired of the same scenario – the poor damsel in distress, all the time, either needs rescuing or puts her dear innocent mate in harm’s way. Reality versus fantasy, again. Is that what we think of our sacrificing mothers?
rilla: Started right there at the beginning with Eve…makes for a good story, IF you are male …
Rilla: How about your movie? You obviously enjoyed it.
rilla: Oh. Yeah! Baby! Good food, fabulous animation, great aspirations…a rat who doesn’t conform to rattiness but dreams big and conquers the gastronomic world against all Health Inspectors’ efforts. But, yeah, even in this movie, come to think of it, the supporting actress at first deserts her beau when he reveals he’s being led by a rat. Actually, when was the last time an animated movie had a genuine strong female lead protagonist?
Rilla: You mean the movies by Pixar?
rilla: Well, let’s look at Pixar movies…Toy Story – male lead, no real females to mention, A Bug’s Life – male lead, Toy Story 2 – male lead but interesting female supporting role, Monster’s Inc. – cute little girl, but monster leads are male, The Incredibles – more evenly distributed, but the Father is still the lead, Cars – definitely male lead, Finding Nemo – The only female character, Dory, is the most interesting, yet, she has a supporting role, and now Ratatouille – two male leads, one somewhat interesting supporting female… If an alien species knew nothing about us and only watched our movies, they’d come to the conclusion that our world has very few women…
Rilla: ...well, it seems to be what we believe as well, otherwise why would we, the majority, be so dominated by a minority? That's the reality... but coming back to virtual reality, of all the animated movies you’ve seen lately, have there been any female leads at all?
rilla: Hm…Shrek, no, Shrek 2, no, Shrek 3, no, Ice Age, no, Ice Age 2, no, Over the Hedge, no, even the next Pixar movie, Wall-E, is about a MALE robot! I can’t think of a female lead in the newer animated movies…can you? Pocahontas, Ariel, Anastasia, Mulan…where, oh, where have you gone?

NSA Watch
Read C. K. Kelly Martin's (a fellow blogger) article on harrassment of women on the web.
The Tall Poppy Syndrome

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

Rilla: The Lives of Others
rilla: Pardon? Others? What’s wrong with our life?
Rilla: It’s the title of a movie…
rilla: Oh. What about it?
Rilla: Saw it last night. Where were you?
rilla: Watching Ratatouille.
Rilla: The animated movie? By Pixar??
rilla: That’s the one.
Rilla: Well at least we were on the same continent.
rilla: Huh?
Rilla: I was in Germany, you were in France.
rilla: Yeah, but I was in heaven and you must have been in…
Rilla: …hell a.k.a. East Germany, before the wall came down. What a story. The fear…the corruption…bugged apartments…big brother watching you even when you make love…your loved ones ratting on you to save their own skins... government sponsored terror at its best.
rilla: Well thank goodness they don’t have that anymore.
Rilla: Too bad that we do.
rilla: What do you mean we do? Government wiretapping is illegal here. That was amply proven by Nixon’s resignation.
Rilla: Which fairy wonderland do you live in? Oh, I forgot. Last night you were dreaming of rats who are chefs and the gourmet food they create. Well wake up, honey, and smell the coffee. On this continent, the president has declared that he is above the law and can wiretap whomever he wants to just because he is the president. Sounds so like what I saw in the movie last night…maybe we’re not there yet, but if we don’t watch out…we sure will be. What a ghastly world it was.

rilla: Mm…makes you wonder. How does an entire country relinquish its rights and allow itself to be dehumanized, abused and raped by its own government…the people who are supposed to be serving the public’s best interests?
Rilla: It’s a slippery slope and we’re on it. Starts off with good intentions…the justification for the GDR was protection of their own revolution, of their people. It ended up with persecution of anyone who spoke out against the government, labeling any intellectual an unpatriotic traitor and throwing them in a cell with no right to representation. In this country it is in the name of protection against a shadowy terrorist threat, that we are willingly allowing our government to rise above the law. Routinely, those who speak out against the government are labeled unpatriotic and undemocratic. We’ve even ratified a law that allows the government to label people and throw them into jail with no right to a fair trial. Sounds frighteningly similar. Either way, we the people are the ones terrorized, doesn’t really matter if it’s by foreign terrorists or homegrown ones…
rilla: See…now that’s why I watch fantasy. I stay away from horror whether it is fiction or non…
Rilla: Escape! How’s that going to help you? If you run away, who’s going to protect your rights, huh?
rilla: How’s watching distressing movies going to help?
Rilla: I actually enjoyed that ‘distressing’ movie very much. I believe that seeing such movies will remind us what can happen if we are not constantly vigilant, watching for abuses of power at every level of government. One other thing in the movie really bugged me though…
rilla: Pun intended?
Rilla: Why is it constantly depicted that the woman is the ‘weak’ one who can’t hold up in the face of oppression. Women, who at great cost to themselves, gave birth to humanity, and ever since have stood in the face of all kinds of oppression, discrimination, subjugation and death to protect their families. I mean really, I’m a little tired of the same scenario – the poor damsel in distress, all the time, either needs rescuing or puts her dear innocent mate in harm’s way. Reality versus fantasy, again. Is that what we think of our sacrificing mothers?
rilla: Started right there at the beginning with Eve…makes for a good story, IF you are male …
Rilla: How about your movie? You obviously enjoyed it.
rilla: Oh. Yeah! Baby! Good food, fabulous animation, great aspirations…a rat who doesn’t conform to rattiness but dreams big and conquers the gastronomic world against all Health Inspectors’ efforts. But, yeah, even in this movie, come to think of it, the supporting actress at first deserts her beau when he reveals he’s being led by a rat. Actually, when was the last time an animated movie had a genuine strong female lead protagonist?
Rilla: You mean the movies by Pixar?
rilla: Well, let’s look at Pixar movies…Toy Story – male lead, no real females to mention, A Bug’s Life – male lead, Toy Story 2 – male lead but interesting female supporting role, Monster’s Inc. – cute little girl, but monster leads are male, The Incredibles – more evenly distributed, but the Father is still the lead, Cars – definitely male lead, Finding Nemo – The only female character, Dory, is the most interesting, yet, she has a supporting role, and now Ratatouille – two male leads, one somewhat interesting supporting female… If an alien species knew nothing about us and only watched our movies, they’d come to the conclusion that our world has very few women…
Rilla: ...well, it seems to be what we believe as well, otherwise why would we, the majority, be so dominated by a minority? That's the reality... but coming back to virtual reality, of all the animated movies you’ve seen lately, have there been any female leads at all?
rilla: Hm…Shrek, no, Shrek 2, no, Shrek 3, no, Ice Age, no, Ice Age 2, no, Over the Hedge, no, even the next Pixar movie, Wall-E, is about a MALE robot! I can’t think of a female lead in the newer animated movies…can you? Pocahontas, Ariel, Anastasia, Mulan…where, oh, where have you gone?

NSA Watch
Read C. K. Kelly Martin's (a fellow blogger) article on harrassment of women on the web.
The Tall Poppy Syndrome

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction


Weigh in on the debate...leave a comment...see the SCORE so far.

rilla: Just don’t understand how so many people who write for children can say they don’t like fantasy…
Rilla: I hate fantasy…
rilla: You don’t count.
Rilla: Excuse me?
rilla: I said…you don’t count…
Rilla: Well, really, and how do you figure that?
rilla: You ARE fantasy…just a figment of my imagination…poof… and you’re gone!
Rilla: Umm…I’m still here…
rilla: POOF…GONE!
Rilla: Try abracadabra…
rilla: Still here? Oh all right…hang around then…do you like fiction?
Rilla: Of course I like fiction…
rilla: But you don’t like fantasy?
Rilla: HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REPEAT…?
rilla: OK…I get the point…what do you not like about fantasy?
Rilla: Only the hard facts for me…reality…that’s what I like… none of this airy-fairy…
rilla: Did you say reality?...hard facts?
Rilla: You heard me.
rilla: But you like fiction…
Rilla: Is there an echo in here?
rilla: Help me out …you want hard facts and reality from fiction…can I point out the problem with your logic? Reality, fact, is the antonym for fiction …and speaking of fiction...it’s a very fine line between creating an imaginary character – your standard, normal fiction – and giving her wings and letting her fly a teensy bit farther.
Rilla: Not big on flying,either.
rilla: Huh, a hundred years ago, the idea of flying would have been in the realm of fantasy…
Rilla: Now you’re talking science fiction…not my style.
rilla: Ever stopped to think that what you consider ‘normal’ fiction today includes planes and phones and cell phones and computers and…
Rilla: So? That’s what’s real…none of this winged stuff.
rilla: If you’d lived a hundred years ago, you’d turn your nose up at today’s fiction because it’d be science fiction…but, since you do read today’s fiction, and like it at that, technically, that makes you a fan of science fiction…
Rilla: OK…OK…science fiction’s all right, I guess. Still. I like my fiction to be real.
rilla: So how do you define fantasy then?
Rilla: I like the world I’m reading about to be real…all the rules should be what I’m familiar with…change the rules and you enter the realm of fantasy…
rilla: You mentioned reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
Rilla: Yes, now that’s real.
rilla: Real?
Rilla: Real scary.
rilla: But it’s an imaginary world where all the rules are different…sounds like fantasy to me…
Rilla: The setting’s real…Cambridge…
rilla: You didn’t say anything about setting…you mentioned rules…Take my trilogy for example…it’s set in what is now known as Sydney and Australia…a setting you’re familiar with…just as familiar with as Cambridge…haven’t you ever enjoyed a book set in a location you don’t know anything about?
Rilla: No, no, it’s not the setting…I love new settings…it’s the rules, just because they are unfamiliar and different, doesn’t make it fantasy…
rilla: What does make it fantasy then…?
Rilla: The rules in fantasy are not only different…they don’t have to be consistent…that’s what makes for the problem…
rilla: I see…so the rules don’t have to be real…just consistent…
Rilla: Yes…consistency is the key…real structure…
rilla: I was just reading what Wikipedia has to say about fantasy and I quote: “Within a given work, the elements must not only obey rules, but for plot reasons, must also contain limits…or the story would become unstructured.” In other words, good fantasy has both rules and structure…
Rilla: I still don’t like it…give me an unknown setting with unfamiliar rules and I’ll enjoy it AS LONG AS IT IS REAL!
rilla: Real fiction.
Rilla: Yes.
rilla: So you want your fiction to be just that…fiction.
Rilla: That’s what I said.
rilla: You’re just proving my point…
Rilla: What point?
rilla: ALL fiction IS fantasy!

Weigh in on the DEBATE...
Where do you draw the line in the sand?
Leave a comment: Do you a) Love Fantasy b) Hate Fantasy c) Indifferent d) None of the Above...

The Score so far:
Love Fantasy -- Four -- rilla, LynNerd, Laini Taylor, TBS
Hate Fantasy -- One -- Rilla
Indifferent -- Three -- Sha-do, Fog-gi, C.K.
None of the Above -- One -- LindaBudz

Wikipedia's definition of fantasy
Read about The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction


Weigh in on the debate...leave a comment...see the SCORE so far.

rilla: Just don’t understand how so many people who write for children can say they don’t like fantasy…
Rilla: I hate fantasy…
rilla: You don’t count.
Rilla: Excuse me?
rilla: I said…you don’t count…
Rilla: Well, really, and how do you figure that?
rilla: You ARE fantasy…just a figment of my imagination…poof… and you’re gone!
Rilla: Umm…I’m still here…
rilla: POOF…GONE!
Rilla: Try abracadabra…
rilla: Still here? Oh all right…hang around then…do you like fiction?
Rilla: Of course I like fiction…
rilla: But you don’t like fantasy?
Rilla: HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REPEAT…?
rilla: OK…I get the point…what do you not like about fantasy?
Rilla: Only the hard facts for me…reality…that’s what I like… none of this airy-fairy…
rilla: Did you say reality?...hard facts?
Rilla: You heard me.
rilla: But you like fiction…
Rilla: Is there an echo in here?
rilla: Help me out …you want hard facts and reality from fiction…can I point out the problem with your logic? Reality, fact, is the antonym for fiction …and speaking of fiction...it’s a very fine line between creating an imaginary character – your standard, normal fiction – and giving her wings and letting her fly a teensy bit farther.
Rilla: Not big on flying,either.
rilla: Huh, a hundred years ago, the idea of flying would have been in the realm of fantasy…
Rilla: Now you’re talking science fiction…not my style.
rilla: Ever stopped to think that what you consider ‘normal’ fiction today includes planes and phones and cell phones and computers and…
Rilla: So? That’s what’s real…none of this winged stuff.
rilla: If you’d lived a hundred years ago, you’d turn your nose up at today’s fiction because it’d be science fiction…but, since you do read today’s fiction, and like it at that, technically, that makes you a fan of science fiction…
Rilla: OK…OK…science fiction’s all right, I guess. Still. I like my fiction to be real.
rilla: So how do you define fantasy then?
Rilla: I like the world I’m reading about to be real…all the rules should be what I’m familiar with…change the rules and you enter the realm of fantasy…
rilla: You mentioned reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
Rilla: Yes, now that’s real.
rilla: Real?
Rilla: Real scary.
rilla: But it’s an imaginary world where all the rules are different…sounds like fantasy to me…
Rilla: The setting’s real…Cambridge…
rilla: You didn’t say anything about setting…you mentioned rules…Take my trilogy for example…it’s set in what is now known as Sydney and Australia…a setting you’re familiar with…just as familiar with as Cambridge…haven’t you ever enjoyed a book set in a location you don’t know anything about?
Rilla: No, no, it’s not the setting…I love new settings…it’s the rules, just because they are unfamiliar and different, doesn’t make it fantasy…
rilla: What does make it fantasy then…?
Rilla: The rules in fantasy are not only different…they don’t have to be consistent…that’s what makes for the problem…
rilla: I see…so the rules don’t have to be real…just consistent…
Rilla: Yes…consistency is the key…real structure…
rilla: I was just reading what Wikipedia has to say about fantasy and I quote: “Within a given work, the elements must not only obey rules, but for plot reasons, must also contain limits…or the story would become unstructured.” In other words, good fantasy has both rules and structure…
Rilla: I still don’t like it…give me an unknown setting with unfamiliar rules and I’ll enjoy it AS LONG AS IT IS REAL!
rilla: Real fiction.
Rilla: Yes.
rilla: So you want your fiction to be just that…fiction.
Rilla: That’s what I said.
rilla: You’re just proving my point…
Rilla: What point?
rilla: ALL fiction IS fantasy!

Weigh in on the DEBATE...
Where do you draw the line in the sand?
Leave a comment: Do you a) Love Fantasy b) Hate Fantasy c) Indifferent d) None of the Above...

The Score so far:
Love Fantasy -- Four -- rilla, LynNerd, Laini Taylor, TBS
Hate Fantasy -- One -- Rilla
Indifferent -- Three -- Sha-do, Fog-gi, C.K.
None of the Above -- One -- LindaBudz

Wikipedia's definition of fantasy
Read about The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Add a Comment

Sha-Do: What’s she doing?


Fog-Gi: I’ve no idea.


Sha-Do: It’s not time for her mid-morning nap.


Fog-Gi: Nor her mid-afternoon nap.


Sha-Do: Can’t be her early evening nap either.


Fog-Gi: But she’s lying down.


Sha-Do: On the floor.


Fog-Gi: She never takes a nap on the floor.


Sha-Do: And look at that grimace on her face.


Fog-Gi: Hmm…she doesn’t notice us.


Sha-Do: Hey, what if I jump up on the banister…


Fog-Gi: …nothing.


Sha-Do: OK, what if I get up on the couch…


Fog-Gi: …nothing.


Sha-Do: So what if…


Fog-Gi: Wait a minute. You’re having all the fun…it’s my turn…


Sha-Do: What are you going to do?


Fog-Gi: I know… the kitchen counter…


Sha-Do: …nothing! Hey this is cool.


Fog-Gi: Way cool!


Sha-Do: What do you think happened?


Fog-Gi: No idea… why don’t you research what might have caused her to writhe like that on the floor and then we can do it again…


Sha-Do: …and again…at will. OK, let me see…


Fog-Gi: How about the cupboard. I’m going to try that.


Sha-Do: Hmm…what did she do differently…hmm…


Fog-Gi: I’m inside and I’ve got all the plastic bags out…scrunch…scrounch…


Sha-Do: Let’s see…how long has she been down there?


Fog-Gi: Hee hee, look at me, I’m stretched out on the coffee table.


Sha-Do: Since the morning I’d say…so maybe something she did yesterday?


Fog-Gi: Wheeeee…I’m half way to the ceiling climbing up the window screen…


Sha-Do: The guests were still here yesterday, they all barbecued outside while we were locked up in the bedroom…


Fog-Gi: Hey, hey, hey…I’m all the way up the curtain…


Sha-Do: Hmm…hang on a sec…I’m doing all the hard work. Get down here and help me.


Fog-Gi: Wheeeeeee…I’m sailing through the air…


Sha-Do: Stop that and help me figure this out or else…


CRASH…BANG…BLUP.

Fog-Gi: OUCH! Mrrrowwww.


Sha-Do: You prize idiot! You’ve broken the vase. Now look what you’ve done, she’s getting up from the floor.


Fog-Gi: Not moving very fast…and with one hand on her back…she…how’s she…ha ha ha


Sha-Do: Oh no, oh no, she’s reaching for the water spraygun…


Fog-Gi: Guess she can use that with one hand…MEEEEEEOOOOWWW!


Sha-Do: Serves you right! HEY! She’s coming after me too…! MRROWWW!


Fog-Gi: OK…OK…she’s crumpled onto the floor again.


Sha-Do: Guess we should take this game out of her sight.


Fog-Gi: What can we do?


Sha-Do: I know…let’s play on the computer…she hasn’t been there in days…


Fog-Gi: Cool idea…she can’t see us up here…


Sha-Do: Hello all you peeps in blogland…


Fog-Gi: Rilla can’t come to the computer right now…


Sha-Do: She’s stuck on the floor with an icepack on her back…


Fog-Gi: Yup! And you’re stuck with us!

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Sha-Do: What’s she doing?


Fog-Gi: I’ve no idea.


Sha-Do: It’s not time for her mid-morning nap.


Fog-Gi: Nor her mid-afternoon nap.


Sha-Do: Can’t be her early evening nap either.


Fog-Gi: But she’s lying down.


Sha-Do: On the floor.


Fog-Gi: She never takes a nap on the floor.


Sha-Do: And look at that grimace on her face.


Fog-Gi: Hmm…she doesn’t notice us.


Sha-Do: Hey, what if I jump up on the banister…


Fog-Gi: …nothing.


Sha-Do: OK, what if I get up on the couch…


Fog-Gi: …nothing.


Sha-Do: So what if…


Fog-Gi: Wait a minute. You’re having all the fun…it’s my turn…


Sha-Do: What are you going to do?


Fog-Gi: I know… the kitchen counter…


Sha-Do: …nothing! Hey this is cool.


Fog-Gi: Way cool!


Sha-Do: What do you think happened?


Fog-Gi: No idea… why don’t you research what might have caused her to writhe like that on the floor and then we can do it again…


Sha-Do: …and again…at will. OK, let me see…


Fog-Gi: How about the cupboard. I’m going to try that.


Sha-Do: Hmm…what did she do differently…hmm…


Fog-Gi: I’m inside and I’ve got all the plastic bags out…scrunch…scrounch…


Sha-Do: Let’s see…how long has she been down there?


Fog-Gi: Hee hee, look at me, I’m stretched out on the coffee table.


Sha-Do: Since the morning I’d say…so maybe something she did yesterday?


Fog-Gi: Wheeeee…I’m half way to the ceiling climbing up the window screen…


Sha-Do: The guests were still here yesterday, they all barbecued outside while we were locked up in the bedroom…


Fog-Gi: Hey, hey, hey…I’m all the way up the curtain…


Sha-Do: Hmm…hang on a sec…I’m doing all the hard work. Get down here and help me.


Fog-Gi: Wheeeeeee…I’m sailing through the air…


Sha-Do: Stop that and help me figure this out or else…


CRASH…BANG…BLUP.

Fog-Gi: OUCH! Mrrrowwww.


Sha-Do: You prize idiot! You’ve broken the vase. Now look what you’ve done, she’s getting up from the floor.


Fog-Gi: Not moving very fast…and with one hand on her back…she…how’s she…ha ha ha


Sha-Do: Oh no, oh no, she’s reaching for the water spraygun…


Fog-Gi: Guess she can use that with one hand…MEEEEEEOOOOWWW!


Sha-Do: Serves you right! HEY! She’s coming after me too…! MRROWWW!


Fog-Gi: OK…OK…she’s crumpled onto the floor again.


Sha-Do: Guess we should take this game out of her sight.


Fog-Gi: What can we do?


Sha-Do: I know…let’s play on the computer…she hasn’t been there in days…


Fog-Gi: Cool idea…she can’t see us up here…


Sha-Do: Hello all you peeps in blogland…


Fog-Gi: Rilla can’t come to the computer right now…


Sha-Do: She’s stuck on the floor with an icepack on her back…


Fog-Gi: Yup! And you’re stuck with us!

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

rilla: Ribbit.
Rilla: Rabbit?
rilla: Ribbit.
Rilla: A frog?
rilla: Croak.
Rilla: OK, you do mean frogs.
rilla: The frogs croaked.
Rilla: That’s what they tend to do…
rilla: More than one meaning to the word croaked …
Rilla: Oh… you mean croaked.
rilla: Frogs croaking all around the world.
Rilla: But not all of them are saying Ribbit?
rilla: No, they’re saying HELP, we’re dying, someone do something.
Rilla: Huh? So what? Don’t much care for the nasty, slimy things.
rilla: Ever hear about the Gastric Brooding Frog in Australia?
Rilla: Nasty slimy things…
rilla: They swallowed their own fertilized eggs and the frogs would hatch inside the parent’s stomach.
Rilla: Nasty slimy things…
rilla: Somehow the parent turned off its own gastric juices so that the eggs wouldn’t be digested.
Rilla: How’d they get out then?
rilla: Through the parent’s mouth…pop…pop…
Rilla: You mean puke, puke…nasty slimy things.
rilla: Remember that empty swimming pool in our first school.
Rilla: Never had any water in it.
rilla: Yeah, and the only ones who went swimming there were…
Rilla: … frogs, millions of them, tadpoles turning into froggies in the monsoon.
rilla: You had nothing against them then. I remember you climbing down those steps and laughing in delight when the little frogs jumped into your hands…
Rilla: Humph…frogs…swallow their own eggs huh?
rilla: Don’t anymore.
Rilla: Why? They got hungry and started eating them?
rilla: Nope, they’re extinct, along with the Golden toad of Costa Rica and species everywhere are dying out.
Rilla: So what? If the frogs outside our window would die out, we’d sleep better at night.
rilla: Frogs are the barometer of the health of an ecosystem, the proverbial canary in the coal mine. And it’s because they are slimy and have permeable skins that they’re so vulnerable to pollutants in water and the sun as global warming heats up the planet.
Rilla: So they’re croaking.
rilla: Yup, they’re telling us our ecosystems don’t work anymore. That means the end of more than just the frogs you know.
Rilla: Someday, all these animals we know might be memories too?
rilla: Myths we tell our grandkids about…
Rilla: …sitting around the digital campfire.
rilla: We used to have tigers prowling in our jungles.
Rilla: We used to have elephants roaming our savanna.
rilla: We used to have polar bears hunting on our ice caps.
Rilla: We used to have jungles.
rilla: And savanna.
Rilla: And ice caps.
rilla: And frogs.

Sad reflections on the state of our planet after watching the BBC series Planet Earth. If you haven't already, see it. The DVD set is on sale at Costco right now and always at Amazon.

Facts about frog populations declining
Interesting article on the adaptability of frogs
For Kids

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

rilla: Ribbit.
Rilla: Rabbit?
rilla: Ribbit.
Rilla: A frog?
rilla: Croak.
Rilla: OK, you do mean frogs.
rilla: The frogs croaked.
Rilla: That’s what they tend to do…
rilla: More than one meaning to the word croaked …
Rilla: Oh… you mean croaked.
rilla: Frogs croaking all around the world.
Rilla: But not all of them are saying Ribbit?
rilla: No, they’re saying HELP, we’re dying, someone do something.
Rilla: Huh? So what? Don’t much care for the nasty, slimy things.
rilla: Ever hear about the Gastric Brooding Frog in Australia?
Rilla: Nasty slimy things…
rilla: They swallowed their own fertilized eggs and the frogs would hatch inside the parent’s stomach.
Rilla: Nasty slimy things…
rilla: Somehow the parent turned off its own gastric juices so that the eggs wouldn’t be digested.
Rilla: How’d they get out then?
rilla: Through the parent’s mouth…pop…pop…
Rilla: You mean puke, puke…nasty slimy things.
rilla: Remember that empty swimming pool in our first school.
Rilla: Never had any water in it.
rilla: Yeah, and the only ones who went swimming there were…
Rilla: … frogs, millions of them, tadpoles turning into froggies in the monsoon.
rilla: You had nothing against them then. I remember you climbing down those steps and laughing in delight when the little frogs jumped into your hands…
Rilla: Humph…frogs…swallow their own eggs huh?
rilla: Don’t anymore.
Rilla: Why? They got hungry and started eating them?
rilla: Nope, they’re extinct, along with the Golden toad of Costa Rica and species everywhere are dying out.
Rilla: So what? If the frogs outside our window would die out, we’d sleep better at night.
rilla: Frogs are the barometer of the health of an ecosystem, the proverbial canary in the coal mine. And it’s because they are slimy and have permeable skins that they’re so vulnerable to pollutants in water and the sun as global warming heats up the planet.
Rilla: So they’re croaking.
rilla: Yup, they’re telling us our ecosystems don’t work anymore. That means the end of more than just the frogs you know.
Rilla: Someday, all these animals we know might be memories too?
rilla: Myths we tell our grandkids about…
Rilla: …sitting around the digital campfire.
rilla: We used to have tigers prowling in our jungles.
Rilla: We used to have elephants roaming our savanna.
rilla: We used to have polar bears hunting on our ice caps.
Rilla: We used to have jungles.
rilla: And savanna.
Rilla: And ice caps.
rilla: And frogs.

Sad reflections on the state of our planet after watching the BBC series Planet Earth. If you haven't already, see it. The DVD set is on sale at Costco right now and always at Amazon.

Facts about frog populations declining
Interesting article on the adaptability of frogs
For Kids

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

Rilla: What are you working on now?
rilla: LynNerd has given me an assignment.
Rilla: Is that a euphemism for being tagged with another meme?
rilla: If I say yes will you go for a loop and explode again?
Rilla: I never explode. I have a calm disposition, what they call even-tempered…
rilla: OK then, yes.
Rilla: See…no explosion…you…really…do…me…an …injustice…
rilla: Why are you holding your breath?
Rilla: not…holding…breath…
rilla: You’re going blue…
Rilla: Phoooooo...ooooooooooo...oooooooo...ooo…
rilla: Hey! Isn’t that cool? She just blew away…note to self…discovered a great way to get rid of Rilla…must try more often…OK…where was I. Yes. LynNerd wants me to describe my muse…hmm…let’s see… my muse … my muse… what does my muse look like…my muse…
Rilla: Yes?
rilla: Groan…you back? That was quick…note to self…method not very effective…keep searching.
Rilla: So that’s your ‘assignment’ is it? Your muse?
rilla: Know what a balrog is?
Rilla: A balrog? Never heard of one.
rilla: You know. From The Lord of the Rings.
Rilla: Told you once, told you twice…I don’t do fantasy.
rilla: Oh, you must be buddies with Debra Garfinkle…
Rilla: Now there’s someone who thinks the way I do…fine, fine author…
rilla: Balrogs…
Rilla: Huh?
rilla: We were discussing balrogs.
Rilla: Sigh…if you insist…what is a balrog?
rilla: Something was coming up behind…a great shadow…in its right hand was a blade like a stabbing tongue of fire; in its left it held a whip of many thongs…the dark figure streamed with fire…the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings…it raised the whip, and the thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils… That’s from The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien.
Rilla: All right…OK…enough already. I get the picture. This balrog is an immense, winged, fire-breathing, whip-cracking monster…
rilla: That’s a lot of adjectives.
Rilla: Is that what your muse looks like?
rilla: No.
Rilla: Then why’d you…?
rilla: That’s what YOU look like.
Rilla: So now I’m a balrog? Nice. Hmm… been called worse. A balrog…not bad. Quite like the sound of it to tell you the truth…
rilla: Oh, that’s just like you.
Rilla: So this muse of yours…how does it appear to you? I’m curious now.
rilla: Hard to describe really. That’s one tough assignment there, LynNerd.
Rilla: OK. What does it feel like?
rilla: Kind of amorphous …
Rilla: Like a vast shadow?
rilla: Yeah, it is immense. A shadow that overtakes me and…
Rilla: Fills you with a fiery passion?
rilla: Fiery is right. Hot and addictive, it’s relentless…
Rilla: Driving you to write…?
rilla: Like a whip cracking over my head.
Rilla: Prodding you?
rilla: With a flaming sword…
Rilla: Does it have wings?
rilla: Oh, yes, takes me on one wild ride, flies me to places and settings and vistas on the horizon of imagination…
Rilla: Hmm…this muse of yours…
rilla: Yes?
Rilla: Either it’s something you’re on…
rilla: …and you want some?
Rilla: Or…
rilla: Or?
Rilla: It’s ME!
rilla: Huh?
Rilla: Yeah. Prodding, fiery-tongued, whip-cracking… I AM YOUR MUSE.
rilla: How? Oh…I get it…you…balrog…muse…you sure fly to conclusions…
Rilla: Yup! Face it. I…am…your…muse!
rilla: Groan…no wonder I get so many rejections…

Add a Comment

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

Rilla: What are you working on now?
rilla: LynNerd has given me an assignment.
Rilla: Is that a euphemism for being tagged with another meme?
rilla: If I say yes will you go for a loop and explode again?
Rilla: I never explode. I have a calm disposition, what they call even-tempered…
rilla: OK then, yes.
Rilla: See…no explosion…you…really…do…me…an …injustice…
rilla: Why are you holding your breath?
Rilla: not…holding…breath…
rilla: You’re going blue…
Rilla: Phoooooo...ooooooooooo...oooooooo...ooo…
rilla: Hey! Isn’t that cool? She just blew away…note to self…discovered a great way to get rid of Rilla…must try more often…OK…where was I. Yes. LynNerd wants me to describe my muse…hmm…let’s see… my muse … my muse… what does my muse look like…my muse…
Rilla: Yes?
rilla: Groan…you back? That was quick…note to self…method not very effective…keep searching.
Rilla: So that’s your ‘assignment’ is it? Your muse?
rilla: Know what a balrog is?
Rilla: A balrog? Never heard of one.
rilla: You know. From The Lord of the Rings.
Rilla: Told you once, told you twice…I don’t do fantasy.
rilla: Oh, you must be buddies with Debra Garfinkle…
Rilla: Now there’s someone who thinks the way I do…fine, fine author…
rilla: Balrogs…
Rilla: Huh?
rilla: We were discussing balrogs.
Rilla: Sigh…if you insist…what is a balrog?
rilla: Something was coming up behind…a great shadow…in its right hand was a blade like a stabbing tongue of fire; in its left it held a whip of many thongs…the dark figure streamed with fire…the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings…it raised the whip, and the thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils… That’s from The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien.
Rilla: All right…OK…enough already. I get the picture. This balrog is an immense, winged, fire-breathing, whip-cracking monster…
rilla: That’s a lot of adjectives.
Rilla: Is that what your muse looks like?
rilla: No.
Rilla: Then why’d you…?
rilla: That’s what YOU look like.
Rilla: So now I’m a balrog? Nice. Hmm… been called worse. A balrog…not bad. Quite like the sound of it to tell you the truth…
rilla: Oh, that’s just like you.
Rilla: So this muse of yours…how does it appear to you? I’m curious now.
rilla: Hard to describe really. That’s one tough assignment there, LynNerd.
Rilla: OK. What does it feel like?
rilla: Kind of amorphous …
Rilla: Like a vast shadow?
rilla: Yeah, it is immense. A shadow that overtakes me and…
Rilla: Fills you with a fiery passion?
rilla: Fiery is right. Hot and addictive, it’s relentless…
Rilla: Driving you to write…?
rilla: Like a whip cracking over my head.
Rilla: Prodding you?
rilla: With a flaming sword…
Rilla: Does it have wings?
rilla: Oh, yes, takes me on one wild ride, flies me to places and settings and vistas on the horizon of imagination…
Rilla: Hmm…this muse of yours…
rilla: Yes?
Rilla: Either it’s something you’re on…
rilla: …and you want some?
Rilla: Or…
rilla: Or?
Rilla: It’s ME!
rilla: Huh?
Rilla: Yeah. Prodding, fiery-tongued, whip-cracking… I AM YOUR MUSE.
rilla: How? Oh…I get it…you…balrog…muse…you sure fly to conclusions…
Rilla: Yup! Face it. I…am…your…muse!
rilla: Groan…no wonder I get so many rejections…

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NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

rilla: I’ve been tagged.
Rilla: Tagged?
rilla: Yeah, with a meme…
Rilla: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute…is this like that movie Groundhog’s Day? You already said that in the last post…the one you’ve been stuck in for a week. Thought you’d be stuck in memory lane forever. Now it turns out we’re in an infinitely repeating loop of tag instead.
rilla: Quite the flair for the dramatic you have. Ever heard the term Drama Queen?
Rilla: What meme is it this time? Don’t tell me it’s that eight things about you meme that’s popping up everywhere…that’s haunting cyberspace…
rilla: Now who’s stuck in memory lane?
Rilla: Well is it?
rilla: That’s the one. I got tagged by Scribbly Katia.
Rilla: Oh… well what are you going to write about?
rilla: I’ve no idea. How about, I love dark chocolate…
Rilla: Sheesh…be original…everybody likes chocolate…
rilla: Not Sandra…she hates chocolate. I just can’t understand that…can you? I mean how…
Rilla: Ahem!
rilla: …can you hate chocolate. It has to be one of the most universally liked…
Rilla: Ahem!
rilla: What?
Rilla: Meme? Remember? Eight things about YOU…not about Sandra?
rilla: Oh…yeah…it’s so difficult. How about that our Aunt Mattie was the first woman ever to achieve the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army? Does that count?
Rilla: There you go again, talking about OTHER people. Here…read my lips…it’s called the EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOU MEME!
rilla: OK…here’s a good one…YOU’RE FAT!
Rilla: OH YEAH? WELL YOU’RE UGLY!
rilla: There now, we’re off to a great start. We have already identified two of the eight things…let’s see …what else…?
Rilla: No encounters with celebrities…brushes with fame?
rilla: Can’t think of anything…oh wait a minute? Does Indira Gandhi count?
Rilla: You mean the late Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi…?
rilla: Are there other Indira Gandhi’s you know about? Might make an interesting…
Rilla: Go on then…I know what you’re remembering.
rilla: Well, it was you.
Rilla: Was not…
rilla: Was too…
Rilla: Was not…
rilla: You’re the one who saw her arrive at our cousin’s wedding and ran to her screaming “Aunty Indira, aunty Indira,” like she was some kind of far lost relative who had magically appeared to deliver you from shipwreck off an island…


Rilla: I was FIVE. OK?
rilla: You never let her hand go the whole evening…ha ha ha…poor woman…bet she never went to another wedding voluntarily…
















Rilla: Let’s see…what can we talk about that is actually INTERESTING…?
rilla: More interesting than you grabbing hold…
Rilla: How about you let go now and tell us something else about yourself…
rilla: My hair…
Rilla: Are you going to sing about it?
rilla: NO! Mom made Dad PROMISE to pass on his curly hair to me. Mom always wanted her little girl to have curly hair unlike hers.
Rilla: Dad didn’t keep his promise did he?
rilla: Well, at first Mom thought he had, because I was born with black bushy hair that stood up straight on top of my head. Brought the concept of Mohawk straight home…got Mom to wishing I had NO hair right quick.














Rilla: But she was so disappointed when it all grew out and your hair was straight as pins after all…she’d spend hours curling it…ah the sweet smell of ammonia…when was the last time you had a perm?

rilla: Well the thing was that in India people appreciate straight-as-a pin hair and they LOVED mine..
Rilla: Can we quit talking about hairy issues?
rilla: OK. Here’s something else…I have a non-addictive personality.
Rilla: Meaning?
rilla: Meaning that I can’t ever get stuck on doing just one thing…non-addictive…
Rilla: There’s a better term for that trait…
rilla: Yeah?
Rilla: Nowadays they call it ADD! Attention Deficit Disorder.
rilla: I don’t have ADD!
Rilla: Do too. I spent my entire life working tirelessly to put us through college with degree after degree and got ourselves a cushy professor job and you went promptly and blew it all…not creative enough for you, poor little sensitive soul, not much into economics and finance…you need to flex that foofoo muscle…
rilla: Foofoo what? You mean just because I went off to school to learn how to design video games…? A Doctorate in Doom...?
Rilla: Video games…yeah…who the #$%& goes to school to make video games? And then it was art school and web design and now it’s all about writing fiction…for children…good grief! That’s what I call ADD. And have you ever heard about staying in one place huh? You should try it sometime…it works…but no…you’ve been through Eight schools, Eight universities,
rilla: Hey, all those eights tie in nicely with this meme thing don’t you think?
Rilla: Eleven cities on Three continents, Eighteen houses…ADD at its supreme best…
rilla: Three-quarters of our life…
Rilla: What?
rilla: You heard me…three-quarters of our life!
Rilla: Umm…care to elaborate?
rilla: That’s how much time you took up doing your little economics and finance stunt. How about my turn, hey? HEY?
Rilla: Three quarters of our lives?
rilla: Yeah, you’re the mathematician, you do the math…
Rilla: OK…you’re right…but you’re still FAT!
rilla: No worries, mate…you’re still UGLY!

Hmm…I’m guessing that little rant revealed way more than eight things about us…but hey who’s counting…NOT rilla. Well, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I’m supposed to tag eight friends to tell us a bit about themselves.
Rilla: You don’t have eight friends…
rilla: That’s you…you don’t have ANY friends…

…before I get distracted again, I’m going to be tagging people who may or may not have their own blogs –

Blog People:
Stephanitely
Writing YA
Editorial Anonymous – changing it to the Eight Things I See in a Manuscript That Make Me Say I’LL TAKE IT!
Kook

Non-Bloggers – leave your eight things about me meme in a comment on my blog…please? Pretty, pretty please?
LynNerd
Wub2Write
IntuArt
Rahul
FJS

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