For the rest of July, my middle grade children’s novel, If That Breathes Fire, We’re Toast! is on sale at Smashwords. Specifically, the e-book is free if you use the coupon “SFREE” when you purchase it. Pretty good deal, eh?

This morning I was amused to notice that the book is technically a Smashwords bestseller, in the category of children’s books, priced at $2.99 or under, and over 20,000 words.

So if you would like the e-book for free, click here. Happy reading!

©2016 Jennifer J. Stewart

Add a Comment

This month, my first children’s novel went out of print. If That Breathes Fire, We’re Toast! had a nice long run. When it debuted, Voice of Youth Advocates put it on its best fantasies of the year list, and Oklahoma librarians made it a finalist for the Sequoyah Book Award. It also garnered quotable reviews from trade journals.

I had a lot of fun writing the book. My daughters had urged me to write about a dragon. The one I invented, Madam Yang, had a wit to match her fangs. This week, summer campers at SAAVI (Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired), asked me how I first got published. Here’s the story in a nutshell:

I pounded out the first draft, and then wondered, what’s next?

So I submitted it to a contest and received third place.

Pretty good, I thought, but not good enough. I revised and rewrote and then submitted to a second contest. My manuscript got second place.

Better, I thought, but not quite good enough. I revised and rewrote again and submitted to a third national contest. This time, my manuscript took first place.

After that I submitted it to a New York publisher (whose editor had judged the second contest), and lo and behold, AFTER TWO MORE REWRITES, it became a book.

And now it will be one again. I’m reissuing the book under my own imprint, Hummingbird Press. You can buy it here in paperback. It’s also available as an e-book and an audiobook.

©2016 Jennifer J. Stewart

Add a Comment

I enjoy listening to sisters Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft’s Happier podcast, based upon Gretchen’s book Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives, a book I highly recommend. One “Try this at home” tip was to come up with one word to describe your focus/goal/direction for 2016.

I didn’t come up with a word immediately (yeah, like it’s June already, but you can listen to a podcast at anytime, people). It bothered me. I want almost more than anything to have another book under contract, to be messing around with revisions and galley proofs. Okay, technically, I did have a manuscript under contract, a piece in an anthology, but it’s been under contract a long time, and my part’s all done. But you can’t will yourself to be published or for editors to respond faster.

I so get that the only thing under my control is the writing.

I was still out of sorts, grouchy even. I supposed that because I couldn’t come up with a word that it meant that I was out of touch with my essential mission. I also had had a horrible virus, which robbed me of essential brain power.

This morning, though, the word appeared—not quite like an angelic host holding up a glowing neon sign, but pretty close.

The day before I had been cleaning out the closet in my office, and while I recycled LOTS of paper, I realized I was performing an archaeological dig of my writing career. Glancing at correspondence from 2003(!), I realized that some of the fun I had had with writing—bantering with editors, agents, and writing friends—doesn’t exist anymore.

Where had the fun gone? Then, when I looked around my office, I thought this isn’t a fun place to be, or in which to create. It’s too cluttered. I have too many manuscript drafts all over the place. I haven’t filed papers that need filing, and the piles are making me feel guilty. No wonder I’m having trouble focusing. Also, here’s a tip for you: always date your manuscripts, so you know which version you’re reviewing. That way you can file your drafts in order of creation, from oldest to newest.

People don’t talk much in public about what happens to a writing career that seems to have stalled out, or worse.

But maybe I needed to. My word is “reboot.” Following closely are “reimagine” and “revision.”

This is perfect for me. I’m at that mid-life stage—not old, not young, but solidly in-between.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what is within my power to change, and what brings me up instead of dragging me down.

Some of the things I realize is that social media doesn’t substitute for real life relationships—for writing friends who get that you are struggling. Social media has a way of painting bright shiny pictures, when we all have our ups and downs, and mostly, people just share the ups. And usually, I’m that upbeat, eternal optimist.

So I did stuff. I went to Kindling Words West—I missed last year. I hadn’t made enough money to justify forking out the cash, so my pride kept me from going. This year, I did make the money to attend, but it hasn’t been from my seriously funny children’s books. I started ghostwriting—think company blog posts and content marketing. It was something different, some writing muscles I hadn’t flexed in a long time, and mostly it has been fun, so whatever I do during my reboot, it will no doubt include more articles for a grown-up audience.

And I applied for and accepted a work for hire project to do a children’s nonfiction book, so that’s under contract. It turned out to be a challenge with a steep learning curve, but I did it, and now I’m waiting for revision comments to show up in my in-box.

I’m still that upbeat, eternal optimist, and I’m working in my decluttered office right now, and liking it, even though I have a few more file cabinet drawers to clean out, and perhaps one file cabinet to donate entirely—or give to a local writer—when I’m done.

Onward.

You know that’s a nice word, too.

©2016 Jennifer J. Stewart

Add a Comment

Forgive me if I wax philosophical.

Some of the most creative, talented people I know never get anywhere.

They keep postponing their work, making excuses, one after another.

“Oh, I’ll do it when I’m settled in our new house.” Which they’ll acknowledge in the next sentence might take a year.

Or there are children to raise. “When they go into preschool, I'll have time.” Then, “when they’re in elementary school.” And so on.

It doesn’t stop.

These people never seem to put themselves first, for anything. There are meals to make, books (and not the kind you read) to keep, always the never-ending business of living to be seen to, and somehow, the creative person in the marriage or partnership is the one who takes all the busy-ness on.

They have so many obligations that keep them from the one thing that would make their souls sing.

I see this squandering of talent more in women than men. I think men learn early on that it’s okay to say no, while women are taught to say yes, to be pleasers. Truly, I do know how hard it is to do it all.

There are consequences to talented people not using their talents. The years go by and their creative skillset gets rusty. Their making art or books muscles atrophy. There’s a medical term—sarcopenia—which means the natural loss of muscle tissue as you age. I wonder if there’s a term that defines when your creative muscle—your moxie if you will—shrivels and disappears? The urge you forget that’s still there, because you never think to use it. It’s like you stuck it in the deepest, darkest part of your psyche.

But I can tell you the never using your creativity hurts. The regret shows.

People will let you down. People will betray you.

Don’t let yourself be one of those people.

Don’t break promises you’ve made to yourself. Don’t betray your dreams.

©2015 Jennifer J. Stewart

Add a Comment

A while back, I wrote a letter to my gym, detailing my reasons for quitting. And allthough I didn’t intend to quit my fitness goals, that’s kind of sort of what happened for a few months.

The trouble lay in having to make too many decisions. With the gym, I just needed to drive down there, and then pick my poison: the treadmill or the elliptical. Now, there were far more choices. Would I work out in the morning or the evening? Which of three parks would I power walk in? Or would it be better to go for a hike? And then I’d have to figure out where to hike. And if I was going hiking, I needed to pack water, and a snack, and so on. Enter mental exhaustion.

Then there was the part where to exercise first thing in the morning, I had to get dressed, I had to smear myself with sunblock, and then of course, I was starving, so I had to eat breakfast, too.

After that, this being Tucson, it started to get hot. That will really derail outdoor exercise. Soon my six day a week fitness habit had devolved into three times a week workouts. If I was lucky.

There had to be a better way, and I found one.

Taking Gretchen Rubin’s wise advice from her book Better than Before about making my exercise habit convenient, I invested in an indoor rowing machine, specifically the Concept 2. Pricey, certainly—about three times the cost of my cut-rate gym membership—but I’ve been very happy with it.

Every morning now, except for Sundays, I get up and put on my exercise clothing. I head to the kitchen and make myself a mug of English Breakfast tea, spiking it liberally with almond milk.

Then, I get on my Concept 2, and row, row, row hard for 30 minutes. I listen to music, but it’s familiar music, so it’s good thinking time. Writers need lots of uninterrupted thinking time.

I’ve lost a smidgen of weight, but I’ve put on muscle and gotten stronger, and I notice everything is tighter, except my pants.

Add a Comment

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson—An international bestseller, and deservedly so, the novel follows the lives of Ursula Todd. Yes, lives—Ursula gets do-overs. Particularly compelling are the sections set during the London Blitz. I’ve also read the sequel—really companion novel—A God in Ruins, and enjoyed it too.

Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt—What happens when the bully gets bullied? K.A. Holt distills everything in free verse. Bonus: you’ll learn some wicked ways with books.

Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley—Oh, man, does this book have it all, and it’s written in funny accessible prose. I got this from the library, but I’ll have to get my own copy. Yes, it’s that good. If you adored Stephen King’s memoir On Writing, I’ll bet you’ll love this book.

Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give a F*ck—Okay, I am not the greatest cook. Understatement. In fact, there is a lot of swearing going on when I cook, and when I’m finished the kitchen resembles a crime scene. Sometimes it even catches on fire. So a cookbook with liberal four letter words sprinkled in? I’m all over it. The recipes are really not that complicated, plus I always keep a fire extinguisher handy.


P.S. These aren't books, but I subscribe to “One Thing New” that delivers a couple articles in my email in-box weekly. A couple months ago, the lead article was “Productivity Tips for the Real World” by Kimberly Weisul and Emily Brower Auchard. Whatever the subject, I’m always intrigued and entertained. I also like to listen to Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Smart's weekly podcast. This week's episode covered creativity, and the special guest was Rosanne Cash. Gretchen is the author of Better than Before, and Elizabeth writes for television.

Add a Comment

I have been doing a lot of soul searching about helping Nepali people, particularly the children, who are most vulnerable. Many of you know that years ago my family worked in Nepal as medical volunteers, and that I wrote a children's novel out of those experiences. I want to urge everyone to donate to the charity of your choice (The New York Times has a good list). I want to do more, and I am figuring it out. Perhaps all profits from school visits in the next year will be dedicated to this cause? That sounds about right. Stay tuned.

Add a Comment

Attention, Arizona schools!

The deadline to apply for a Barbara Park Memorial Literacy Grant is April 21st, five days from now. Barbara Park was best known for her Junie B. Jones series. Twenty grants of $400 each will be awarded to buy books for your school library.

The application is here. Good luck!

Add a Comment

I wrote a personal essay for Revolvist, out today. It's called "Dear Gym." Hope you enjoy it!

Add a Comment

So I think I've come up with the most boring new year's resolution ever.

On the other hand, it's probably doable, and it's not a huge change. Okay, my new year's resolution is to eat a salad every day.

I probably eat salad every other day already.

There, aren't you underwhelmed? 2015, bring it on!

Add a Comment

Two years ago, in Newtown, Connecticut, innocent lives were taken by gun violence. In Tucson, we witnessed our own tragedy nearly four years ago.

We can recite these places where gun violence occurs like a litany.

Shockingly, when the second anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings takes place next Sunday, 60,000 more Americans will have died from gunshot wounds.

St John on the Desert Presbyterian Church in Tucson is partnering with the Newtown Foundation, Washington National Cathedral, States United to Prevent Gun Violence, and Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence. Across the nation, from December 11-14, there will be special events and services in remembrance of the victims.

St John is my church, and I will be there for the worship service, followed by a candlelight vigil, for the victims of gun violence.

Gun violence affects all of us.

I hope you will join me.

Friday, December 12th, 6-7 pm
St John on the Desert Presbyterian Church
2695 N. Houghton Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85749

Add a Comment

If That Breathes Fire, We’re Toast! by Jennifer J. Stewart (that's me) is now available as an audiobook, from Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. If you get the book as a new Audible listener, it’s free!

I also have FREE Audible download codes. Please email me (jennifer at jenniferjstewart dot com). I will send them out while they last, along with easy instructions for using them.

Miranda Stewart narrated the audiobook. It’s good to have a family member in “the business.” Miranda also narrated another of my middle grade children’s novels, The Girl Who Has Everything, as well as Wendy K. Williamson's bestselling memoir, I’m Not Crazy Just Bipolar. I am sure Miranda will narrate many more books! Have a listen
to a sample.

When If That Breathes Fire, We’re Toast! first came out, VOYA put it on its Best Fantasies of the Year list. It was also a finalist for Oklahoma’s Sequoyah Book Award.

Trade review snippets:

This enjoyable, slapstick story has tongue-in-cheek humor and interesting characters that suspend reality and will captivate its audience. VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES

...the sharp, funny phrasing and the likable, believable characters give the book freshness and zip, and the eye-catching cover will help it circulate in libraries. BOOKLIST

The story beautifully blends fantasy and reality. This book is tough to put down! CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

Relaxed, readable debut... tongue-in-cheek humor will keep readers turning pages. KIRKUS

The dialogue is fresh, and the characters are likeable, including the adults... A quick, fun read. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

I hope you enjoy the audiobook, and if you do, please consider leaving a review if you have time. They matter. Thank you.

Add a Comment

In no particular order, these are websites that are helpful for writing people, unorganized people (imagine a Venn diagram here showing how these two intersect), and people who just want to have a little fun, which includes everyone.

TeuxDeux—This virtual ‘to do’ list keeps me organized and on track. Now it comes in colors and with a flying unicat!

Number Five Bus—Interesting conversations between interesting people, all of whom happen to be picture book creators—authors, illustrators, or author-illustrators. You will learn a lot.

Drew Weing's webcomic, The Creepy Casefiles of Margo Maloo—Make sure you start from the beginning. Perfect for Halloween!

We Need Diverse Books—If you haven’t heard of this group, you need to, whether you are a part of the children’s and teen literature community or not. It matters. Their indiegogo campaign is here. I donated. Please join me.

The Minimalists—They’ve helped me clear the clutter and think about all my stuff in a new light. Perhaps they will help you. Plus, playing the #minsgame on twitter is fun.

Which websites are your favorites? Also, as the possessor of a new smartphone, are there apps that I shouldn't miss?

Add a Comment

Back in August, I wrote about my beginning experiences playing the #minsgame, an idea dreamed up by The Minimalists. On the first of the month, you rid yourself of one item, two items on the second, three on the third, and so on. It’s a way to pare down your possessions, and clear the clutter from your home, in order to make room for what really matters—which usually isn’t a material thing.

I have never been successful at clearing the clutter before because I looked at it as a chore, one that I never seemed to get around to, even by bribing myself. It just wasn’t fun.

It’s different now. It’s is fun, because (1) it’s a game, and (2) you tweet about what you’ve recycled, given away, or dumped, and (3) through twitter, I’ve met some like-minded people all around the world doing the same thing. Some of the #minsgame players post photos; one man arranged his collection of gift boxes on his bed so that they looked like a Mondrian painting. We inspire each other and look forward to hearing about each day’s haul. It gets tough towards the end of the month, and that’s when having a social network really helps.

So I guess what I’m saying is I needed my uncluttering process to be social, competitive, and accountable, and most of all, FUN, which is why #minsgame fits the bill.

So, two months in—I played #minsgame for August and September, my home is less cluttered, and my mindset about hanging onto things just in case has changed. There are a few shelves in my house with nothing on them. Even my husband finds me things to give away.

One thing surprised me. I didn’t resort to culling my massive book collection yet, which will be the hardest for me, along with all my late mother’s things.

I’ve slacked off this month because while on vacation, I caught a dreadful cold, but now that I’m feeling better, I am planning on jumping right back in come November.

If you want to join me on twitter, I’m at @JenniferJStweet.

Add a Comment

Maybe the editor’s on vacation—after all, it was Labor Day last week—and that’s why my agent hasn’t heard anything on my submission which has been out for three whole months.

Maybe she’s off riding an elephant in Thailand, and maybe a baby elephant sat on her laptop.

Maybe she’s actually in the office, but her assistant accidentally spilled his iced almond funky monkey all over the keyboard. The whipped cream is proving particularly difficult to remove.

Maybe the keys for Y-E-S mysteriously went missing.

Maybe she was riding in a hot air balloon and it suddenly popped over the Bermuda Triangle.

Maybe she sprained both wrists, plus she was already on crutches from bunion surgery.

Maybe she’s taking an e-break from email, and as you know, telephones are the devil’s invention.

Maybe she hasn’t read the manuscript yet. Maybe she had a stack of 293 books to be read on her nightstand, and this morning they toppled over onto her head and caused a severe concussion, which means she can’t read anything for the next three weeks.

Maybe the manuscript needs to be discussed in an editorial meeting, but the intern whose job it is to give a report on the manuscript is on vacation. In Antarctica.

Maybe the editor secretly writes sexy romances on the side, and they’ve become so popular, she’s going to leave children’s publishing and move to a tropical island, or a Greek one; she can’t decide. Maybe she’ll buy one of each. Island paradises never go out of style.

Maybe she became addicted to Farmville, Words with Friends, and Sudoku all at the same time.

Maybe she is taking a personal day so she can sacrifice a goat on the steps of the New York Public Library, the one where the lions guard the entrance. No, don't ask me why she needs to sacrifice a goat. She just does.

Maybe she was a close, personal friend of Joan Rivers and is set to give JR’s eulogy.

Maybe she opened her wardrobe yesterday morning, and found that it was the wardrobe that leads directly into Narnia. So she went there, and may never come back, although if she’s wearing lipstick, Aslan might have a problem with that.

Maybe I’m going to go crazy waiting.

Add a Comment

Last Friday, the audiobook of my middle grade novel, The Girl Who Has Everything
was released. It is now available for purchase from Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. You can listen to a free sample at any of these sites.

The audiobook is narrated by Miranda Stewart, and no, it’s not a coincidence that she and I share the same last name. She’s my daughter. Miranda is a director/model/actor/website designer living in downtown Los Angeles, and now she’s making use of her voice talent, too. She uses professional level equipment for recording and editing.

It is so much fun to hear my characters come to life!

It couldn't have been an easier set-up on my end, as I signed up to have the audiobook produced through www.acx.com, and then chose Miranda to narrate the audiobook. I approved samples along the way and modified my book cover to fit the square format display (think: CD case). Every time I am forced to use photoshop I practically get hives, but with technical assistance (my husband), I was able to get the cover uploaded, and it really wasn't all that hard.

This is Miranda's first audiobook production, but it won’t be her last, as she has already gotten another gig, based on the work she did for me.

Thanks, Miranda!

Add a Comment

It’s seven days into August as I write this, and by the end of the day, I will have given away, recycled, or trashed 28 items in my house. I gave away one item on August 1st, two on August 2nd, and so on. Today’s goal is seven things. By the time August is over, the total will hit 496 items, if I’ve done the math correctly. That’s right, by month’s end, my house will have nearly 500 fewer things in it.

I’m playing a game, specifically the #minsgame. Conceived by The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, it’s a way to unclutter your house or apartment and get you thinking about how nice it would be to have fewer things—the idea being that once you shed your possessions, you’re more open to what really matters.

It’s called minimalism.

To be honest, I’m more about having less to dust and store. I’m not likely to move into a tiny house. Still, minimalism appeals to me in many ways, and not least in terms of possessions.

I think many writers may practice it unconsciously, hoarding (heh) their time for what matters, for getting the words down on paper or typed on a computer screen. Saying no keeps distractions from encroaching upon that precious writing time—because we all only have 24 hours in a day, and adding a commitment means skimping on something else. I’ve tried to skimp on sleep, and that never ends well. You start feeling like a rat in a laboratory experiment focusing on the effects of too little refreshing REM sleep. And sometimes, at night, in a dream is when I get my best ideas. There’s something about going to bed with the story and my characters fresh in my mind, and bingo, in the morning, I have a snippet of dialog, or an idea for what could happen next.

I’ve tried decluttering for 15 minutes a day before, and I find if I have to force myself to do something, it tends to languish on my to do list (actually, my teuxdeux list), rolling over to the next day for weeks (let’s feel a little guilty) or even months (let’s feel massive guilt) on end.

But this is a game, and I’m competitive—I want to report my progress on twitter and see what others are tweeting goodbye to—and I don’t want to lose, either. I intend to stay on track.

The #minsgame gets more challenging as you go, obviously, but my ace in the hole is many thousands of books, which definitely need culling, if I should run out of other things. But I’m not sure I will.

In fact, I may need to play the game in September, too.

Add a Comment

Last week, I was in Los Angeles for our daughter’s wedding. I thought I would give a shout out to some of the places and experiences I enjoyed.

First off, my daughter and I enjoyed hours of pampering at Wi Spa in Koreatown. This is a traditional Korean spa, and we got ourselves buffed and massaged on slippery pink vinyl covered tables. My skin was so soft after! Like baby butt soft! Then we were given relaxing facials (I nearly drifted off to sleep), and finally, long lasting manicures and pedicures. Mine are still going strong and they weren’t the gel type. If you go, expect to strip down to nothing but your locker wristband in the women’s area. The coed area has various sauna rooms, including one where you lie down on large crystals of salt. I was tempted to lick one, to see if it was really salt, but my daughter pointed out how many people had perspired all over the salt, and that stopped me. The restaurant is also very nice, particularly the kimchi and shave ice with fresh fruit, which aren’t eaten together. We saw many people enjoying a full day, napping, playing games, and we realized that with the price of rent in #DTLA, you could almost live there, since it’s open 24/7. It’s very quiet as people talk in hushed voices.

The Grand Central Market has been around for a long time, and if you can’t find something you want to eat there, there is clearly something wrong with you. Many of the wedding guests, who got in a day early, had breakfast and lunch at the market.

Another great place to eat is Orochon Ramen in Little Tokyo. Wedding guests enjoyed visiting the Japanese American National Museum nearby. Currently it has a tattoo exhibit. The permanent exhibit, detailing the history of the internment camps during World War II is very moving.

Union Station's Fred Harvey room was the setting for the wedding. Designed by architect Mary Colter of Grand Canyon fame, it was perfect. Jennie Cooks catered the delicious vegan food, which was served family style.

And, if that’s not enough, there are cars with pink mustaches driving around! The bane of cabdrivers, because they underprice them, they are part of the Lyft service, and your first ride is free. All you need is an app for your smartphone. Alas, my phone is not clever enough, but maybe by my next visit.

Add a Comment

It happens to all of us. Maybe we have our whole story resting on a certain place we want to go to school, or a city where we want to live, or the idea that we’ll write a book, or get married, or have kids. What do we do when it doesn’t work out? What do we do when we don’t get what we thought we wanted? We can either choose to feel like it’s the end of the world, or we can choose to decide it’s the beginning.

That's from Packing Light: Thoughts on Living Life with Less Baggage, a memoir by Allison Vesterfelt.

My sister-in-law calls it when life throws you something out of left field, that thing you weren’t expecting. That wasn’t even on your radar. The thing that suddenly puts your whole life in perspective. That you didn’t prepare for, because how could you?

Because you couldn’t even imagine it.

But it isn’t a question of whether it will happen; it’s a question of when. We know how to prepare for natural disasters, but personal ones? I think maybe we protect ourselves by not being able to imagine some of the dark places we can go.

And maybe it’s okay if we’re unprepared.

Because when things don’t go the way you planned, that’s when you really grow up. That first curve ball knocks you off your pedestal of expectations.

Can you bend, but not break? When you buckle to your knees can you still manage to move forward? I think of Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Summer Day,” and her question, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

One of the wonderful things about reading Maya Angelou, who died this week, is that she had so many of life’s curve balls thrown at her, and yet she both survived and thrived, and she took on so many roles in her long life: author, mother, artist, dancer, activist, teacher. She gave the commencement speech when I graduated from college, and I remember her reciting “Still I Rise.” I had already read many of her books, but I didn't know her poetry.

I’d had a couple curve balls thrown at me by then. I’ve had a lot more thrown at me since.

And while I’m not dealing with anything in particular now—it’s some of my friends who are reeling from what life has thrown at them—I’m going to go listen again.

Add a Comment

"I think there might have been a misunderstanding. What I really wanted was for you to publish my story, and send me fifty thousand dollars. Didn't you realize that?"
—Snoopy
upon receipt of a rejection letter

I was in Nepal when my first novel came out. I remember reading the Kirkus Review in an internet café in Kathmandu, and thinking to myself, well, that’s nice.

I had never heard of The Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators. I had never heard of marketing collectives of authors banding together to cross-promote their work.
I don’t think I was even aware that I should promote my work.

When I came back, somehow I was invited to come sign my book at the Arizona Library Association Conference. I remember very clearly receiving the brochure in the mail, with my name highlighted with a long list of books. None of which I had written. That was my first experience with my doppelganger, the author Jennifer Stewart without the crucial middle initial J.

It seems to me that there is another whole level of pressure nowadays. Like your book has to be the first out of the gate, as if it were a racehorse, and that it has to lead the whole way, and there is no winning by a nose, it had better be by lengths.

As if when you go to the Olympics, you’re only going to be satisfied with a gold medal. Come on, you went to the Olympics!

You had a book published!

I suspect I might sound like a crotchety old-timer, but honestly, the amount of pressure debut authors put on themselves—not to mention what happens to their blood pressure—would be better channeled elsewhere.

Like go write another book.

Add a Comment

If you love books, you need to come to the Tucson Festival of Books this weekend at the University of Arizona campus. Now in its sixth year, it’s the fourth largest in the country, and the weather’s going to be perfect.

Tomorrow I’m moderating a writing workshop called “Crafting a Conversation” with teen novelists Erin Jade Lange and Tom Leveen at 10:00 a.m. Later in the afternoon, at 4:00 p.m., I’m moderating the panel “Other People, Other Times, Other Places” with Ann Hood, Kathleen Krull, and Lenore Look. But in between there are lots more workshops and presentations.

You want to be there.

Add a Comment

You want to feel like a rock star?

Visit schools and get up in front of children and speak into that microphone. Today I’m preparing for the Arizona Young Authors Conference (AYAC) in Casa Grande on Saturday, a school in Oro Valley on Monday, and another school in Chandler on Thursday.

I hadn’t planned on teaching writing workshops at AYAC this year, but another presenter had to drop out, and since I am a nice person and I love this event—I’ve gone multiple times—I’m filling in for her. The children who come are hand-picked by their schools. They like writing, and they want to spend their Saturday sharing their stories with each other and writing new ones.

I’m all over that.

I could recycle a writing workshop I’ve given in the past, given that there isn’t much time, but I think I’ll pick highlights from a few, and try to come up with at least one new exercise or prompt to try.

Wish me luck! And when I’m all through next Thursday afternoon, I’m going to hit IKEA. It is curated so nicely, so that I can almost picture my imaginary people living there, besides being a nice place to chill and have a meal and a bit of caffeine before getting on I-10 and driving back to Tucson. Without having to talk to anyone but the cashier, if I don't want to.

I take off my rock star attire and I'm back to being a writing hermit. Until the next time.

Add a Comment

Friends, family, and local Tucson indie Antigone Books came together to help author-illustrator Adam Rex make a book trailer for his funny fantasy series, the Cold Cereal Saga. The third and final volume of the trilogy—Champions of Breakfast—has just been released by HarperCollins. The first two books in the series are Cold Cereal and Unlucky Charms, respectively.

You can watch the trailer here. I’m the woman in sunglasses who takes everything that Adam says a little too literally (it's pretty easy for me to play clueless). If you think the trailer's funny, you should read the books... Read the rest of this post

Add a Comment

Writing takes time, nobody questions that. But it takes more time than you might expect. There’s thinking time, there’s mulling things over time, there’s waking up in the middle of the night time (hate that), besides the sitting in front of your computer time typing words that might someday become a book.

And it’s easy for a writer—okay for this writer—to lose sight of that, and to over commit. But, but, but they are all good causes. And they are. I give of my time most notably to MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS and to my church (St John on the Desert Presbyterian). But I get easily sucked into other good causes, too, and that’s when the problem begins.

The to do list gets longer and longer (I use Teux Deux, and I start waking up feeling anxious in the small hours of the morning, because I don’t think I can get it all done. And really, I can’t.

Not without ignoring the one thing that means the most to me. The one thing that will make me wake up even more early mornings if I ignore it. What I figure I was put on earth to do.

To write.

I think writers—writers like me—need to get good at saying no. It’s not always easy. I like to help aspiring writers, but I can’t read their manuscripts anymore. I need to concentrate on those that my critique partners write, and only those.

When a friend asked if I would look at a picture book manuscript for a friend of hers, I took a deep breath, and five minutes later said no. Without saying I was sorry.

Because time is finite, and I can’t stuff more of it into a day. It felt good. I slept well, too.

Add a Comment

My nightstand overflows with ALA Youth Media Award winners and honor books, so I have been working steadily through my pile. I also have five authors whose books I need to be familiar with, as I’ll be moderating them when they present on panels at the upcoming Tucson Festival of Books. Two write gritty teen fiction, and the others write middle grade fiction and nonfiction. It will be fun for me to read something out of my usual modus operandi.

The book festival is now the fourth largest in the nation, and the way I see it a must attend event for anyone who is interested in writing for children and teens. All the events in this genre take place in the University College of Education Building on March 15-16. Usually there is a special afternoon event the Thursday before the festival as well.

Add a Comment