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Oh goodness. It has been over a month, a month? since I've posted and I'm so sorry. That means I've done NO book review Wednesdays for a month. Ack. (And I thought those would keep me blogging.) March has been a month of deadlines and to excuse my absence I quickly fill you in on some of the deadlines that I've been meeting and working towards. If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably see a lot of this already so my apologies.

March 1: Final illustrations for the book Fufu and Fresh Strawberries You can see some of those illustrations here.
Forum assignment for my Picture Book Certification Semester at Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA)

March 15: Final egg paintings for the Great Goose Egg Auction. You can see the eggs here.

March 17: My 2nd packet was due for VCFA

March 22: Forum assignment for my Picture Book Certification Semester at VCFA

March 23: I did my first multisport event. An indoor triathlon at the Naval Air Station Brunswick. The event was a 1000 meter row on an ergometer, a 5 mile bike on a stationary lifefitness cycle, and a 1.5 mile treadmill run. You can see pictures of me and Mike (the gentleman paired with me)  in the event and read more about it in the captions here. I used this indoor triathlon to train for an event that I am doing in May, The Tri for the Casco Bay Y. If you'd like to donate a small bit to the scholarship funds and to my team the MIghty Mamas, please take a look at our fund raising page where you can donate online. I'll be swimming and cycling and my friend Rachel will tag off to do the 5K run.

This past week I've been revising and polishing the first 10 pages of my novel, working on the synopsis and query letter for the deadlines associated with the New England SCBWI spring conference critiques and quick queries. While the Friday and Saturday registration is full, there are still spots for Sunday so check it out.

I also just got back from the post office, where I was sending a picture book to for the April 1st scholarship deadline at VCFA and a trip to the library where I was stocking up with a new load of 25 picture books for VCFA Packet 3!

All of this with my husband out of state for the first three weeks of March and two kids who need me.

So you see, I've been an extremely busy Writer/Mom/Triathlete but we'll see if April, with its extended sunshine hours, allows me to find more time to blog. Happy Passover to all who celebrate. Look for my Wednesday review of the book: The Matzoh That Papa Brought Home.



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I have been amazingly productive in the last couple of weeks because I have an actual deadline (two weeks away) to send 25 pages of my MG novel off for a conference critique. It got me thinking about how important having a deadline is, and even though I set completely arbitrary deadlines for myself to keep things moving along, I secretly know they're NOT REAL. 

So, what do you all do to keep things moving along without any real deadlines?

by Jim

I’m glad someone finally found a way to effectively help writers meet deadlines: the threat of punishment.

Write or Die. Because sometimes encouragement just doesn’t cut it anymore.


(via Nathan Bransford)

Happily, my Moleskine did show up (it had gotten shoved way under one of my studio cabinets), so Sunday-tiny-Moleskine-perched-upon-the-knee resumed today.

In other news, I must immediately return to work - book #9 interiors and my Christmas promo need to both be finished by tomorrow...

bye again...

Where has the month of October gone?

This year in many ways has been very LONG. When I think about all the things that have happened, 2009 stretches miles long. But then when I think of it in other ways, 2009 has flown by leaving me breathless wondering where the time went.

My goal for October was to finish my Act 1 revision. I’ve gotten some headway but I’m not finished so I don’t think I’m going to make my goal.

I would usually say “That’s okay.” But really it isn’t. I believe that I must be more diligent with myself. I need to be my own drill sargent. Because really I need to start meeting some deadlines.

So, I’ve decided to embark on 25 scenes in 25 days. That’s a scene a day. I need focus and I think tackling these scenes on a daily basis will help me get this Act 1 into shape. And even with my hectic work schedule, I should be able to carve some time to revise a scene. I’m sure to revisit these scenes again during the next revision round, but at least for this round, I can do it and move on to Act 2, which by the way has approximately 36 scenes.

So from October 24th until November 17th, I will concentrate on one scene per day.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress on Revision Update Wednesdays.

These covers, which took *much* longer than I had anticipated, are finally 'in the mail'. (Which is also an amazingly time-consuming process: pressing, scanning, labeling, slip-covering, wrapping in plastic, reinforcing with cardboard, packaging in yet more board, labeling, and then taking it out to a FedEx shipper! *whew* It's always another half-a-day just to get mailed. Some days, digital art looks appealing...)

I have from now 'til the end of the year to hurry up and finish all the interiors! It's going to continue to be crazy-busy for the next few months....

Sorry. I miss you....

My brief church stint seems to be the only life drawing I'm getting in now that I'm back to working on flying horses for the Wind Dancer series. The covers are going well, although fairly complex, so they may take me awhile to fully complete (there are 4 in this set).

So, busily-illustrating life resumes... I hope to have enough breaks to keep ahead of the berry picking at least.

It's the sunset on yet another year.

Happy 2009.

I guess to make up for the temperate time we've been having thus far, the temperatures dropped about 30 degrees in a matter of hours. It is absolutely frigid out there. And supposed to be staying sub-freezing for days on end. (Unusual for our seasonal averages). I'm having to go out a couple of times a day to break the ice on the chicken's water.

I know, I know, we are totally cold-weather wimps here, but it is more impactful when you are not really acclimated (and barely have appropriate winter gear with which to deal with it). Snowfall and freezing temperatures are rare enough that there is only the barest minimum of street clearing/salting equipment and those only hit the major roads. The rest of us are stuck with treacherous, icy surfaces and little practice in dealing with them. More than a few inches of snow, and nearly everything closes down.

Well, I need to be staying *in* and working anyway, so as long as we keep power (always iffy when it storms) and Internet connection, there will be heat and light in the studio, hot tea and twitter to keep me company.

Back to painting. See you in a few weeks.

I have a short deadline reprieve - I've submitted the last of my sketches and now need to wait for approvals (or revisions) before I can move forward. SO -I'm going to update you on an eggstremely happy happenstance -

Jasper, the americana chicken, has also started laying!

When I went out to check the laying boxes in the coop, Jasper came charging in - and gave me 'the eye'.

She seemed quite proud of her accomplishment (here she is pointing out her contribution).

So, now I am getting *three*, rainbow hued eggs a day. (This first one of Jasper's was rather oddly shaped and a bit mottled. They are more uniformly shaped and colored now. A lovely, near celadon green).

I'd better get my desk cleared and the studio tidied before my reprieve is over. Ok, one mug of hot chocolate first.

Bottoms up.

Relief: New client + 13 map illustrations + 3-1/2 weeks for finished art + fed ex didn't lose the box = deadline met/happy client/happy me.














Reward: New Notebooks! Which color to use first? (Why, red, of course!!!)














Random Happy Puppy: Well, wouldn't you be happy to have your own matching plush?

Douglas Adams said it best: "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

When I first started writing, I never ever heard that whoosh. In fact I think it took me about 15 years to graduate to stretching out that promised delivery date, but I'm glad to say I've now got the technique down pat.

The most important tip is to wake up at 3 am worrying about it so you are too tired to work in the morning.

The second is one I haven't ever experimented with before: set a deadline to coincide with publicity for a film, and sprinkle media interviews liberally through your writing time. The only problem with this one is that you can't complain about it, because a) most interviews are fun, and b) it's normally very difficult for children's writers to get any publicity, so it's best to enjoy it while it lasts!

However, there comes a time when the excuses all run out... a draft of my new story is now with my publisher.

Hooray!

Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan, 2007

I always enjoy a Pam Munoz Ryan book. Her novels make me hum with happiness and invite me to sit down for a cozy read. She also seems to write about things that I have a personal connection to.

Esperanza Rising is a book that continues to resonate with readers. Just this week, I was with a group of high school girls who sighed with happiness as they recalled reading Esperanza Rising in elementary school and junior high. I always felt a bond with this book myself because Esperanza's mother is treated in the Kern County Hospital where several events in my family's life went down in the 1950s. The fascinating story of Charlotte Parkhurst in Riding Freedom is graced with the compelling cover art of Brian Selznick which draws readers to the book. Becoming Naomi Leon is a sweetheart of a story about family.

So, at a recent library sub job, when I heard a very nice volunteer parent (who happens to work at the local bookstore Blue Willow Bookshop) offering an arc of this new PMR book to the library aide to read, I'm afraid I began to make piteous little mewling sounds which put her in the awkward position of having to offer me the arc first.

The title, Paint the Wind, evokes the beloved, King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry and the book will have great appeal for those same horse loving book readers. The story opens as the mare, Artemisia, is about to give birth. Artemisia is worried about the baby as her last foal was stillborn.

The scene shifts to Pasadena, California (another personal stomping ground) where Maya lives with her stern and autocratic grandmother. Photos of her father abound throughout the house but all images and mentions of her mother are forbidden. Maya has only the haziest of memories of her early childhood but she treasures a box of plastic horses that belonged to her mother.

The grandmother's sudden death brings many things to light, including the news that Maya was supposed to have been spending her summers with her mother's family in Wyoming all these past years.

Emotionally withdrawn after her years with her grandmother, Maya has a hard time responding to the warmth and love of her grandfather, great-aunt and great-uncle. Her keen interest in horses helps her find her place and even tolerate the hostility from her cousin, Payton. He is used to being the only kid at the family camp along the Sweetwater River during the summer. With the help of her Aunt Vi she begins to learn about her mother and family.

Maya's story is inter-cut with scenes of Artemisia, her colt and the rest of the wild mustang herd. Maya and Aunt Vi see the herd captured in a "gathering" of wild mustangs but the mare and her colt evade the round-up. Without the protection of a stallion, the horses are vulnerable to attack from predators so Maya spends long hours in the saddle looking for them. When a disaster traps Maya in a remote area and she must win Artemisia's trust in order to survive and get home.

PMR tells the story in four parts, "Walk," “Jog," "Lope," and "Gallop" which match Maya's emotional growth and happiness. Parts of the storyline felt a little forced. I wondered why Maya’s grandfather had never challenged the custody arrangements for his granddaughter. But again, the author hit another personal note with me as there is a history of ranching in Wyoming in my family.

This is a book for horse lovers. Fans of Terri Farley's books will be familiar with the discussion of the controversial "gathering" of wild mustangs. There is a glossary and a list of websites, media, and books for readers who want to know more about the subject.

Paint the Wind celebrates swimming in a river, days of horseback riding, camp chores and caring for the horses -- a summer vacation that any horse loving kid would give their iPod and Playstation III to enjoy.

Esperanza Rising
Author: Pam Munoz Ryan
Publisher: Blue Sky Press
ISBN-10: 043912042X
ISBN-13: 978-0439120425

Winner of the 2001 Pura Belpre Award, Esperanza Rising is a magical riches to rags story of Esperanza Ortega, a young girl growing up in Mexico. Esperanza’s father is a rich landowner and the life she leads is one of privilege unlike her friend Miguel the son of servants.

When Esperanza’s father is killed by bandits her evil and powerful uncles impose themselves on the property and on Esperanza’s mother. They are determined to keep the ranch and try to force Esperanza’s mother to marry one of the uncles. When she refuses, they set fire to the family home endangering everyone and forcing Esperanza and her mother to flee with the servants. They leave everything behind and start anew in the farm camps of the United States during the Depression.

While her mother handles her changed circumstances with dignity and grace, Esperanza has a hard time adjusting. The work in camps is hard, her life is so different and it’s hard for her to take. The other girls in the camp think she is spoiled but she does manage to make some friends.

Ryan uses the experiences of her own Mexican grandmother as the basis for this compelling story of immigration and assimilation, not only to a new country but also into a different social class. It’s an amazing story of grace, honor, determination and hope.

Esperanza Rising
Author: Pam Munoz Ryan
Publisher: Blue Sky Press
ISBN-10: 043912042X
ISBN-13: 978-0439120425

Winner of the 2001 Pura Belpre Award, Esperanza Rising is a magical riches to rags story of Esperanza Ortega, a young girl growing up in Mexico. Esperanza’s father is a rich landowner and the life she leads is one of privilege unlike her friend Miguel the son of servants.

When Esperanza’s father is killed by bandits her evil and powerful uncles impose themselves on the property and on Esperanza’s mother. They are determined to keep the ranch and try to force Esperanza’s mother to marry one of the uncles. When she refuses, they set fire to the family home endangering everyone and forcing Esperanza and her mother to flee with the servants. They leave everything behind and start anew in the farm camps of the United States during the Depression.

While her mother handles her changed circumstances with dignity and grace, Esperanza has a hard time adjusting. The work in camps is hard, her life is so different and it’s hard for her to take. The other girls in the camp think she is spoiled but she does manage to make some friends.

Ryan uses the experiences of her own Mexican grandmother as the basis for this compelling story of immigration and assimilation, not only to a new country but also into a different social class. It’s an amazing story of grace, honor, determination and hope.