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"If I had a flower for each time I thought of My Mother, I could walk in my garden forever." ~ Anonymous


photo by 3littlemiracles

 HOPE YOUR DAY IS DELICIOUS AND DELIGHTFUL!!

       
       Art by my niece, Julia, age 9


"Every child is born a naturalist. His eyes are, by nature, open to the glories of the stars, the beauty of the flowers, and the mystery of life." ~ R. Search

"It is at the edge of a petal that love waits." ~ William Carlos Williams

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." ~ Claude Monet

"In the hope of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet." ~ Albert Schweitzer

    
       by my nephew, Jared, age 11

Have a lovely, fragrant day!!

You have until midnight tomorrow (EST), May 8, 2009, to leave a comment at my interview with Newbery Honor Medal winner, Melissa Sweet, for a chance to win a signed copy of A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams (Eerdmans, 2008). We're also giving away a signed copy of Cheese: Quick and Easy Recipes for Elegant Entertaining by Lou Seibert Pappas, which Melissa illustrated.

   Linda Urban will present a signed copy of her brand new picture book, Mouse Was Mad (HMH, 2009), along with a box of Lake Champlain Truffles, to the winner of her giveaway. Just leave a comment at her blog to enter, stating what makes you mad, and what you usually do to make yourself feel better. As I stated in my review recently, I can fully attest to the absolute brilliance of this book, and as for those chocolates -- well, let's just say Lake Champlain is part of our regular diet, and they are superb! :9 So hurry on over -- you have until Saturday, May 9th!

Maha Addasi and me (we both have very nice butts).

This past Sunday, I threw caution to the wind, grabbed my umbrella, and drove over to the Reston Regional Library to check out the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI New Member Welcome & Regional Get-together.

There were two very good reasons for going: writer pal, Maha Addasi (The White Nights of Ramadan), was going to be on the panel, and I was told there'd be cake.

Okay, there were some additional reasons -- to see some other friends, and to meet Tami Lewis Brown (Elinor!, One Shiny Silver Key), whose posts I've been following on Through the Tollbooth. Did I mention the cake?


I finally got to meet Tami Lewis Brown!


Writer friends Ellen and Nicole.

The program was entitled, "Don't Quit Your Day Job: Writing and Illustrating for Children in Tough Economic Times." Besides Maha and Tami, the panel included Alison Hart (Bell's Star, Gabriel's Journey), Cyndy Cotten (Rain Play), and Joan Waites (What's New at the Zoo). Ellen Braaf (Regional Advisor) and Linda Wirkner (ARA) moderated.

The meeting room was packed with at least 100 people, though, since I'm very bad at estimating crowd size, it could very well have been 5,000:



After a warm welcome by Ellen Braaf, the sharing of good news (yay for Sara Lewis Holmes' new book, Operation Yes, coming in September!), and other general announcements, the panel addressed questions presubmitted by attendees. These included everything from how to submit sample illos with PB texts, what to include in queries, how to begin writing when one has so many ideas, and whether it's appropriate to include suggestions for illustration if you're not an artist (big no-no).

Alison Hart noted that a trend she's been seeing recently is a reduction in hardcover publishing in favor of paperback originals. Her advice for getting through the tough times? Find your passion, keep writing, hone your craft. Her measure of "success" is finding an idea she's really excited about and writing that first chapter. Cyndy Cotten reminded us to "give yourself permission to write junk," and that there's no substitute for Jane Yolen's timeless advice of BIC (butt in chair).

New members appreciated the general advice crucial for all beginners: keep writing, research the markets, attend conferences, join critique groups, and of course, READ widely. Maha added that aside from researching the usual sources like Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, one can find a wealth of information about writing, submitting, and promotion via online blogs.

Joan Waites, who is our regional Illustrator Coordinator, talked about illustration opportunities aside from picture books, such as magazine, cover, line and newsletter art. The advice was basic and pretty much common-sensical. It was good to be reminded that all writers and artists have periods of feast and famine, that publishing is a bizarre and totally unpredictable business -- so it sometimes pays to think outside the box for other opportunities.

      
         The lovely Cyndy Cotten.

Then it was time for cake: carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. Uh-huh. Yeah. Mmmmmm.


It has been scientifically proven that cake enhances creativity.

After stuffing ourselves and making small talk, we settled down to a great Q&A with author/recently turned Editor-at-Large at Abrams/Amulet, Erica S. Perl. She showed off her hilarious new picture book, Chicken Butt, and modeled her hand-knitted chicken hat (which she had specially made). Loved hearing her tell about how her first version of the story raised eyebrows with the chain bookstore people, who didn't want to see a book with the word "butt" in the title displayed in their pre-school section. *cough*

        
            Erica butting in.

So, Erica wrote another version, targeted for a slighter older demographic, which has been brilliantly illustrated by Henry Cole (review forthcoming).

As for what she wants to acquire for her own list: books for 6 and under that are in keeping with the overall feel of the Abrams publishing program (which has traditionally featured artsy, innovatively designed titles). Think short, funny, fresh, surprising, kid-friendly. Yes, she's accepting non-agented submissions (with an approximate turn around time of 3 months).

The gathering ended with a booksigning -- I scored copies of
Chicken Butt, as well as Cyndy Cotten's Rain Play and Abbie in Stitches. 


Alison Hart with Maha at signing table.


Another local writer friend, Lois, with Maha.

A pretty nice way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon, with friends old and new. Thanks to all who helped organize this get-together, and be sure to look for Erica and some chicken butts on her blog tour this month. Bawk Bawk!

In case you missed my review of Maha's excellent PB, The White Nights of Ramadan, click here. My interview with Maha is here.
 

              

            Extra, extra, read all about it! 




Three very cool kidlit bloggers -- Jen Robinson (Jen Robinson's Book Page), Susan Kusel (Wizards Wireless), and Pam Coughlan (MotherReader), are now blogging at the PBS Parents website! They will be working with Gina Montefusco and other guest contributors to share kidlitosphere and literacy news, book recs and suggestions about how to encourage young readers. So far, they've introduced themselves and listed their top ten favorite picture books. Be sure to bookmark this site. You can read Jen's exciting announcement here, and Pam's hilarious version of it here.

 Speaking of favorite picture books, Fuse 8 is in the final countdown of the Top 100 Picture Books this week -- did you enter her contest for guessing the top ten? I've been loving her posts about each and every book in the top 100 -- great to remember old favorites, and learn about new titles.

    
      One of the dolls for sale at Alkelda's Shop on Etsy.

Just a few days ago, Farida Dowler (Saints and Spinners), who is a musical storyteller in Seattle, officially opened her shop on Etsy.com. She makes lovely dolls for use in storytelling or the nature table. They are perfect for fairy tales, folk tales, saints' legends, and more. In honor of her grand opening, she's including a small gift with each order placed between now and May 15th.

Mary and Robin are celebrating Indie bookstores all month long at Shrinking Violet Promotions. This is their third annual extravaganza, featuring various stores around the country. You can participate by nominating your fave store for Indie Bookseller of the Year, becoming a Field Reporter and profiling a store, and of course, spreading your indie love by buying some books and encouraging others to do the same. Click here for more details about Indie Month, including how to enter a drawing to win a $100 Indiebound gift certificate. To start things off, check out this profile of The Book Loft by Sherrie Petersen!


 Finally, I wanted to mention the Bridget Zinn auction. In case you haven't heard, Bridget, a YA author who lives in Oregon, was recently diagnosed with a very aggressive form of colon cancer. To help defray expenses for her medical treatments, several of her friends have organized an online auction. You can bid on signed books, critique services, handmade articles, promotion services, and other things all month long -- and, if you have an item you'd like to donate, please email Jone MacCulloch: macrush53 (at) yahoo (dot com). All you have to do to place a bid is leave a comment at the post featuring the item. To learn more, click here. You can also visit Bridget's personal blog here.