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1. Thank you to mountainmist   (Kerry Madden) and jeannineatkins   for awarding me the the Premio Dardos award. I am touched and, as often happens in the blogosphere, amazed at the time of such gifts. Just when I needed a kick in the pants. I will have to ponder some on who to pass it onto next. Thank you.

edited to add -
I shouldn't have posted after coming home from the poetry workshop as I was tired and left a few things out - like the reason I needed the kick in the pants was because I was feeling down on myself and you kicked me to remember that one of my goals for 2009 was to try and see the me that other people see because I don't think we're very intimately acquainted.

2. It was lovely to attend the NYMBC event at Books Inc yesterday to launch Mitali Perkins's new book, THE SECRET KEEPER. I drove over withbeckylevine and we had every intention of being there in plenty of time. Alas we were talking so much we missed the turn off and had to backtrack. Mitali, sorry for being late. But it was lovely to seeliteraticat , d_michiko_f  , seaheidi, Lynn Hazen, Sharon Levin, Jen Robinson, Jim Averbeck, Emily Jiang, and Diane Davis. I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Alas, Lynn and I were so busy catching up that didn't get to do much chatting with anyone else. And when I looked up again Mitali had already left and I had neglected to say goodbye. Must learn to control talking.

3. Speaking of control, Mitali did a writing exercise to get us to work on showing a vivid setting. I knew that I had misplaced my ability to write away from home but I hadn't realized how lost it was until I tried to do the exercise. I simply could not write. Oh, I wrote, the same sentence over and over again, but no scene. Which made me sad when I listened to all the wonderfully vivid scenes read outloud.

4. In order to improve #3, I am trying to make some writing dates away from home. I think if I start with when I know what has to be written next, I might have a better chance of success. We'll see. I just know that until I can learn how to write away from home again I will not be able to indulge in things like writing retreats.

5. Tomorrow I start installing all the programs on my new computer (purchased a couple of months ago, lost by DHL, replaced, etc.) I am not looking forward to the transfer process, especially iTunes which I expect to be a pain.

And a bonus - some of you already know that beckylevine  has a second blog that is more focused on writing. It's called Moving Forward on the 'Writing Path. I added a LJ feed for that blog so you can view it on your friends list and not miss a single post. You can add it here:writingpath

Poetry session update to follow in a bit.

 
Good morning!

Enjoy a nice cup of Kona coffee while you peruse these five cool things:

 Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, has been declared a National Day of Service by President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden. On the eve of their inauguration, they are calling on all Americans to commit to service in their own communities. Just by entering your zipcode on this website, you'll see lots of great things you can do right in your own neighborhood -- ranging from simple book and food donations, to blood drives, volunteering in shelters or soup kitchens, or meeting with other like-minded folks to discuss your hopes, dreams and opinions about the new administration. You can even host your own event!

Congratulations to author Maha Addasi, on having her first picture book, The White Nights of Ramadan (Boyds Mills Press, 2008), named a 2008 Smithsonian Notable Book! My interview with Maha is here.

The Class of 2k9 has this cool page full of recipes inspired by all their new books coming out this year! Vegetarian Pot Stickers! Ethel's Favorite Mac and Cheese! Grandma's Blackberry Jam! Yum.

Just a reminder: today is the last day to place a bid on this painting with a proverb created by Grace Lin. It's the first in a series of monthly paintings offered in Grace's new Small Graces Charity Project benefiting the Foundation of Children's Books.

Finally, Grace Lin recently made Yang family dumplings! She's doing delicious research for a new WIP, "Dumpling Days," and will be trying different dumpling recipes to find her favorite. The Dumpling Diva will supposedly try the Lin family recipe next. Click on over to see the fun, but be forewarned, it involves cabbage murder!

Have a great weekend!!

Here, take a malasadas for the road :9!

1. This is the new tree bench we got for the backyard. On clearance no less! Now if I could only find some chairs I liked on clearance too.
(I'm debating removing the rock path. It feels a bit overwhelming with all that rock right now.)

2. I had a few pieces of slate from our old house that I had moved over to this house then decided I didn't need it. For the heck of it I put it up on craigslist and someone came to buy it from me. He kept canceling when he was going to come over but something told me to stick with him. He came today and picked up the slate which means now I have a bunch of extra space on the sideyard.

3. Same guy saw all the empty black nursery pots - lots and lots of them - and asked if I wanted to get rid of them. I said yes and he took most of them. I kept some for as I try to propagate plants.

4. Same guy took the single aggregate stepping stone and two cement piers.

5. Turns out the guy used to be a contractor. One of his new sidelines is building custom raised planter boxes. He's going to build me a 7 foot long box for the courtyard for our herbs. His price for the one big one, raised, which will work better and look nicer is cheaper than the 4 I would have had to buy elsewhere.

A bonus item not yard related. I had a bunch of clothes all bought and ready to wrap for my husband who comes out and shows me his list for Macy's that he is just getting ready to order because he needs clothes. So I had to give him his Christmas stuff early. Tell me other people's husbands do the same thing?

And a second bonus item not yard related. I trained Cassie to ring the bells to go outside but today it has been too much of a good thing. I think she rang the darn bells 25 times and only two of those times was because she actually had to go to the bathroom.

 

I've been laid off for 3 weeks now and the money freakout has begun.

1. Today I got my first severence check. The company has it all screwed up which means I get to spend a bunch of time on Monday, on the phone, trying to get things straightened out. This is to add to the mess they made with the benefits stuff. I hate that place.

2.  I wasn't going to go to the Asilomar conference because it is so expensive and I'm not writing and it is so expensive and I don't feel like a writer and I would feel guilty if I went because it is so expensive.

3. Paula called and convinced me to go to the conference. I asked husband who said yes, you should do this. You love this. This is your career.

4. So I signed up. Paid my money. Tried not to freak out. Tried to trust the Universe.

5. Husband just comes to tell me that by the way, the company he is working for (he's a contractor) is shutting down for a week. What that means is no paycheck.

I can hear the Universe laughing.

1) From the Horse's mouth. I read a few post this week that gave direct feedback from kids to adults writers about what they like and don't like about books. In Publisher's Weekly , a 13 year old boy tells what boys like and don't like about today's books for boys. At the Crow's Nest, Nina summarizes what teens like and don't like about the books they read. She is a high school teach and grabbed some great insight. (how much do we owe you Nina!) I found it very insightful and it make me wonder: Why don't we Children writers find more time to talk with kids. We seem to spend alot of time reading about how to write, how to publish a book, how to get an agent, and how to do school visits. Great idea for next conference, get a panel of teens!

2) Commenting Challenge. I have way surpassed my quota of 5 comments a day. Bad news - more people have proof of how goofy I am. Good news - I made a few Bloggie friends this week. Special shout out to Literary Rambles (CaseyMcCormick). When the challenge is over, my goal is to continue visiting new blogs and meeting new efriends. After all, an introvert can never have too many cyber-friends.

3) Eight is Enough. Now I usually do not blog about politics. But I watched a video on Grow Wings - Laini Taylor's blog - that I found insightful. I am not here to give a "Prop 8: to be or not to be" speech. But here is a link to Keith Olberman's commentary on Prop 8. Whether you agree or not, he has some funny lines and good points. Plus I love his passion. (Thanks for the heart check Laini!)

4) My WFFs (Writer Friends Forever). It is so rare to find people that you connect to that love your writing and want you to succeed just as much as they want to succeed. Another special shout out to a few people who have been supporting me non-stop as I finish my book and start getting requests for fulls from a few selected agents. Katie Anderson for offering to read my entire YA novel in a week. She has provided amazing insight and I wholeheartedly appreciate it. Check out her blog - Plot This (along with writer friend Sarah Francis who is also reading my book for me). Jessica Dehart, a fellow writer and friend who started this journey with me. She recently gave up an afternoon to sit down and simply brainstorm a few plotting issues. She also has an amazing foundation that teaches kids to lead brilliant lives. To the rest of my critique group - The Calliope Circle - Thanks for all your patience and words of encouragement. Too bad you all aren't agents. I'd be rich! :) Lindsey Leavitt, who has an amazing blog and is one of my new WFFs (writer friends forever). Thank you for taking me under your wing - even if you did not mean to or did not know you were- and guiding me through this crazy process with advice and cheering. My HHF (Hot Hubby Forever) - for everything you do and everything you are to me.

5) Sunny Days. Since I have a 4.83333 year old (I am not ready to say 5 year old yet :( and an 18 month old. Sesame Street is always on at our house (of course within the 2 hr TV limit recommended by the APA ;) This is their 39th season. I am (cough cough) so I grew up with them. They always make the show fresh and hip. Cool singers, new stars and new characters. I am personally in love with Abby Cadabby - the little fairy. For a public run show and station, they rock. Thanks for the sunny days.

Have a good weekend!

1 -  We bought rocks yesterday, two of them column like for water features. Some small boulders. As much weight as the four-runner could carry. $400. Yikes.

2. We bought rocks today. Medium cobbles and large cobbles and pebbles and drain rock. And mulch. And flagstone stepping stones for next to the driveway. Only for the front yard. Another $700. To be delivered between 7am and 9am tomorrow. Wanna guess who isn't going to be sleeping in tomorrow?

3. I am pretty sure the flagstone is too orange. Hubby things it works with the charcoal and brown driveway pavers but I'm not so sure. Either way it is what we have for now because I don't think they are returnable. That would be $130 of the $700 in #2. I anticipate replacing them down the road.

4. There is a fair probability that there are too many medium cobbles for main part of the creek bed. I followed the guidelines and asked the guys at the rockyard but I seem to have a habit of ordering way too much rock. And there is a fair probability that the bottom half of the creek bed has not been tapered enough at the top (hubby and I disagree about this) and we won't find out until we start working tomorrow and I have to ask him to do the pick axe thing some more. Sigh. We'll see. I'm guess the creekbed will not be done tomorrow. Maybe Sunday. I'm not much good moving rock with my bum arm. Mulch I can do so while hubby is doing the creek I'll be sheet mulching and then adding the regular mulch.

5. The water features both need pumps. Solar pumps. Good ones. I'd prefer to run a battery too so they could run longer but I don't know. $500 for one pump and solar panel and solar safe for battery back-up. Sigh. $1000 for the water features. Ouch.

1. It's my anniversary today. 9 years. Every day I wake up next to my very best friend in the whole world and I just can't believe my good fortune. He gave me the most beautiful long, gold earrings, hard to describe but absolutely gorgeous, from our favorite jewelry store in Santa Cruz, The Vault. He said I needed something that would stand out when I was on stage speaking as I would be doing more of that in the coming future.

2. Dell has finally agreed with DHL that DHL has lost my new computer. Never mind that DHL admitting this 4 days ago. Dell is shipping out a new computer in the next, oh, 2 weeks or so. Grrr.

3. I went to open the duet blinds in the kitchen nook. Only about 14 months old. They have one of those continuous loops. The loop broke. Now they don't go up and they don't go down. This would be on the patio door that we use ALL THE TIME to go out to barbecue, go out on the courtyard, etc. Called the guy who sold them/installed them and I think he is out of business. Sigh.

4. My daughter called last night and now I am turned inside out with fear and worry and not a damn thing I can do about it.

5. I am waiting on a query that has only been out for a week and I had forgotten how hard that waiting thing is.

1. I got an ARC in the mail this week that made me very, very happy.



This one is for older readers (12+) than Lisa Yee's earlier books, and it's terrific so far. More when I finish...

2. Sarah Miller, author of Miss Spitfire, posted a video-blog about her use of Darci Pattison's shrunken manuscript revision technique this week.  If you're looking for a way to see the big picture on a finished draft of a novel, you'll want to check it out.

3. My 7th graders are doing a literature circles unit this month, and there have been some great moments in their discussions.  Their selections this time include The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages, The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin, Cracker by Cynthia Kadohata, and The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex, among others.  I had to deliver Kleenex to the table reading Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson yesterday.  If you've read it, you know why.

4. I am plugging away on my new MG novel, Sugar on Snow.  I was stuck last night but got on the treadmill for about twenty minutes, and that managed to shake loose an idea for Chapter 6.  My goal is a finished draft by the end of November.

5. And finally, in what I can only appreciate as a brilliant twist of irony on the part of the universe... 

I have very recently finished revisions on my Fall '09 middle grade novel for  Walker Books, The Brilliant Fall of  Gianna Z.  It's about a 7th grade girl whose school leaf collection project is ruining her life.  I have been eating, breathing, and sleeping leaves since I started writing this book two and a half years ago.  The day after sent in my line edits, my 7th grade son came home with a packet for me to sign from school... the requirements for a ginormous leaf collection project, due at the end of October. 

As authors, we talk a lot about "hand sales" -- when a bookseller personally recommends a book to a customer in the store.  But that's not the
only place hand selling happens. 

I often give quick book talks in my 7th grade English classroom.  I'll pull a pile of new or favorite books from my classroom shelves or the school library and give quick pitches for them at the end of class.  My students keep a list books they want to read, so if they like the idea but are already in the middle of something, it goes on their to-read list.  It's a great way to share new books with kids and make sure they always have a steady supply of recommendations.

In that spirit, here's my Friday Five -- a list of the most-snatched-up books from this week's book talks, in no particular order:

~Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor -- I read this last June, loved it, and couldn't wait to share it.  The kids are loving it, too.
~Alabama Moon by Watt Key -- One of my favorites for kids who ask for "something like Hatchet."
~First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover and First Daughter: White House Rules by Mitali Perkins -- Super high-interest novels about a Pakistani-born girl whose dad runs for President of the United States. These books give a fascinating and incredibly timely look at life on the campaign trail and in the White House.
~Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney -- This one consistently wins over the I-hate-reading crowd.
~The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson -  I loved this book, and it's a title that some of my more advanced readers have a LOT to say about when they come by to talk books after school.

As for me, I'm immersed in the 1918 flu epidemic, with an ARC of Winnie's War, Jenny Moss's 2009 debut from Walker Books.  I'm halfway through and (aside from feeling feverish now and then because I'm so impressionable) LOVE the book.  Teachers who use historical fiction in the classroom will want to snatch this one up when it's released in February.

What about you?  What new titles are you hand-selling this week?

1 - Jim Averbeck, author of IN A BLUE ROOM, is blogging! You can read my (your) interview with Jim here. I added a feed to LJ so we don't miss a post. You can add it too:jimaverbeck  I also added a feed for Lynn Hazen, author of Shifty, Cider Rabbit, and more! You can add her here: lynnhazen Just remember when you read posts via a feed and you want to comment, it is best to click through to the actual blog to post or they won't see the comments.

2 - I am entering 3 days of insanity as I have determined I WILL finish the work-for-hire stuff by the time I go to bed Sunday night. That would be early and a week ahead of schedule but I need that stuff out of my head now.

3 - I am planning the garden, front and back. It will be easier once the cement is out next week (provided I survive all the jackhammering.)

4 - Even though it is already 93 degrees on my patio I am drinking hot chai. I don't know why except I am a creature of habit and cold chai just doesn't do it for me.

5 - I am filled with guilt that I forgot to post about the wonderful contest that newport2newport held last week. I had a big post written in my head that didn't make it to the page. To that end, I want to challenge everyone to post a note of encouragement that to another blogger in spirit of newport2newport and give that blogger a shout-out in someway. Not because there's a contest, but because we can and should encourage each other. It's a tough world out there. It helps to have a friend to hold your hand when you cross a busy street.

There is still a little bit of Friday left so here's a little bit of what has been going on around my house.

1 -  We got bids on replacing/upgrading our furnace and AC systems.  We have two separate systems, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. This house is an odd assortment of things so we expected surprises. I didn't expect it to be quite so much money but, like I said, we have two systems and need two systems because there's no way to tie the ductwork from one to the other. The last guy was very good and even came up with a way we could add another vent to my office (down the road.) Right now the two AC units sit on the seldom used sideyard. I thought that was a good thing because I didn't have to design the landscape around them. Turns out they are too close to the fence to pass code. Gee, what a big surprise. Now they have to go in the tiny backyard and I have to design the landscape around them. Plus that means all the electrical and plumbing needs to be rerun correctly under the house and out the other side. Sigh. And if we're going to the trouble and expense of all of that, well we might as well replace the ductwork which most likely has asbestos that will require special handling. Sigh. And we have to try and figure out how long we will be without AC here in the midst of summer - hopefully only a couple of days but the whole job is going to be more like 7 days.

2 - We got bids on replacing the roof. Sheesh. We had people who told us the roof was fine and we just needed to pressure wash the shakes and all would be good for another 10 years. We had someone only pushing composite. We had someone only pushing metal. Everyone did agree however that our funky additions in the library and my office makes the roofing/insulation a must do.

3 - We got bids on removing concrete (of which there is much) and replacing the driveway with pavers. We had one guy price it so high that he must not have needed the business. Actually so high that I figured we wouldn't be able to do it at all. We finally found someone more reasonable and that looks like it's a go in the near future. Which is a good thing since the furnace/AC guy would have needed to break up some of the concrete on the sideyard anyway and if we do this in the right order, it will be helpful to him. He is also going to redo the courtyard patio in pavers so everything matches which means now is the time to have that trenched in places so we can run the downspouts into the planting area rather than letting it just wash across the courtyard.

4 - I have been working on the design of the front yard. It's hard for me to picture it with the aggregate gone and the one remaining tree taken out.  We will be taking out the lawn which means I need to decide what to do with the sod when we take it up. I think I can use most of it in the backyard where I will let it compost in place for a long time. There's no way we'll get the entire yard in this fall so I can have a lasagna compost pile and plant wildflowers on the top of it until it breaks down.

5 - I have been working on the design for the backyard. I'm trying to figure out the best combination of plants to bring the most amount of birds and butterflies to the yard. I'm debating whether it makes a difference if I have a swing or a glider under the arbor. I'm trying to decide if I want an actual patio area or just pockets of places with benches. The yard is very small but has the potential to be something nice. At least the way I see it in my head.

Illustration Friday: Moon

An oldie and one of my first attempts at making an ATC:

Reproduction postcard, collage, acrylic and ink

Artist Trading Cards

I am new to the world of Artist trading cards, but I can see the appeal. Miniature works of art that you trade with other artists. They are typically around 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches - about the size of playing cards. Sometimes they have a theme such as the first one I have taken part in called The Faerie Zine, run by Lisa Kettell

As you can probably guess by the name Faerie Zine , the theme is fairies, pixies or sea fairies. We can make three or four to trade and will receive the same number back from different artist's.

I have done three:

La Lune

Cardboard, collage, acrylic and ink


Lily of the valley
Cardboard, collage, acrylic and ink

They are a little like my tags but with a bit more collage, which was fun to do.


The Key

Cardboard, collage, acrylic, ink and glitter