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Before we talk cumulative tales with guest author Brenda Reeves Sturgis, it’s time for a little blog business. The winner of EXTRAORDINARY WARREN is: 

SUSAN CABAEL!

Congratulations…and be on the lookout for an email from me.

Now let’s get to a LOON-y interview with Brenda…

Your newest book, THE LAKE WHERE LOON LIVES, is a cumulative tale (like The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly), where each new scene builds upon the previous ones, all repeated in the text. What inspired you to write a cumulative picture book…and what special considerations does a writer have when writing such a story?

I didn’t set out to write a cumulative tale, but just set out to write what I heard in my head and in my heart.

I live on a lovely little lake in Maine and I am always elated when the loons come back to the lake in the spring. Their haunting hoots and wicked wails always leave me breathless wanting to hear more, and so when the story came to me as a gift in the middle of the night (which is my usual writing time). I just began writing, and writing and writing and what appeared was THE LAKE WHERE LOON LIVES.

In a cumulative story, each line builds and stacks on the previous sentence, and loon is written in rhyme so that made it even more challenging because every time I changed a word, the story would start to crumble and I would have to rewrite not only the sentence that I was revising but also all of the sentences before it, so that I would keep the right rhythm and meter.

I wanted to depict what a day in the life of a loon might be like, so I put in chicks, a fly, a fish that would snap at the fly, a boy on a dock that would give fishing a try, a cast, a struggle, and a splash and a swish, and then after a HUGE RUCKUS, the story starts to unwind where Mama Loon finds the SPOT on the lake that she loves best. She tucks her chicks in tight, and just like all loving Mama’s do, she reads her babies a goodnight story before she settles in with a nice cup of tea by her campfire.

Little did I know when I wrote it that the illustrator would illustrate LOON so totally different than I had pictured, and I am so very glad that she did. Because in this loon story mama loon LOVES to waterski, she is daubed white and black because her chicks used her as a canvas with Loon White waterproof paint. I think the illustrator, Brooke Carton did a fabulous job with her loose illustrations which compliment the tight text very nicely.

I hope your readers will enjoy reading THE LAKE WHERE LOON LIVES as much as I enjoyed writing it. Islandport Press has been wonderful to work with, and they had a book launch for LOON at The Maine Audubon Society in May, and I’ve been busy with signings and events almost every weekend since.

Why are cumulative tales beneficial for young children?

Cumulative stories teach word repetition and children therefore know what to expect in the story, which then helps them learn languague and pick out familiar words. This enhances their reading abilities, making for a stronger student and a more confident learner. A cumulative story is a perfect tool to teach a reluctant reader.

Tell us about Islandport Press. How did you find them and why was this story such a good fit for their list?

I’d heard about Islandport for years, and when I started researching their books I saw that they were Maine-and-New-England-themed, so on a whim, I submitted to them on my own, then sent an e-mail to my agent Karen Grencik saying, “By the way, I submitted to Islandport!” She answered back, “GREAT, fingers crossed!”

I got the acceptance e-mail while sitting in the Biddeford Library. I went outside, sat on the curb and cried, because up until that point, I didn’t know if I got published on a fluke, or if I had any kind of talent or chance at another book at all. It was a wonderful process, and I am so grateful to Dean Lunt the publisher, and Melissa Kim my editor. They have an amazing marketing staff, they are kind and thoughtful and amazing to their authors!

Also, on the back of LOON, something I am most proud of is a nice blurb by author Chris VanDusen.

What’s next for you, Brenda?

TOUCHDOWN, after 7 years, after winning Smart Writers, after being rejected 50 times (not once because of the writing but because of the marketing “hook”) has become a finalist for the MeeGenius Author Challenge, and whoever wins will be awarded $1500.00.

Good luck, Brenda! And thanks for giving away a copy of LOON to our blog readers. 

Comment below by August 29th or a chance to win! And feel free to ask Brenda questions about cumulative stories or her work.

I am thrilled to be a finalist in the 2014 MeeGenius Author Challenge! MeeGenius is a digital children’s book publisher that offers hundreds of picture eBooks via the MeeGenius app which is available for download to all the major operating systems and devices. MeeGenius creates enhanced eBooks that captivate young readers by sporting “read-along word highlighting, rich illustrations, and engaging story narration”.

I am one of ten finalists. In September, a winner will be selected who will receive a cash prize. Regardless of who wins, all of the finalists stories will be published in digital format and available at www.meegenius.com. Click on the MeeGenius logo at the top to see all of the finalists. And stay tuned to find out when my story Dinosaur Tag will be available and if I win the contest!

by Ashley Fedor, Editor and Director of Content at MeeGenius

In the next few weeks MeeGenius, the #1 app with over 700 e-books, will be kicking off our Author Challenge—an open challenge for aspiring authors. I wanted to let you know about it in advance and invite all aspiring authors to participate. I exchanged some emails with Tara prior to writing this post and we thought it would be a great opportunity to share some aspects of our publishing process.

At MeeGenius, the publishing process begins—where else?—in the slush pile! As the editor, I read through hundreds of submissions, looking for stories that I know will resonate with our readers. This could mean unique characters, an engaging voice, a topic that will be particularly powerful to parents, or simply great writing.

Once I decide to acquire a manuscript and the contract is signed, then the fun part begins! I work with the author on 1-3 editorial passes. We collaborate to take the manuscript from something good to something great. This can take anywhere from one week to several, depending on our timelines.

Once we have a finished manuscript, I assign it to an illustrator and provide art direction. The illustrator sends a round of sketches, which I review with an eye for editorial accuracy (if a character is supposed to be wearing a dress but she’s wearing snow pants, we need to fix it!) as well as layout (if it’s a landscape picture, will the text fit on the page?).

At the same time, the manuscript is sent out for narration and cues (word highlighting). Once all assets are completed, it’s time to build the book! Our production team works tirelessly to create beautiful e-books, QA them across platforms to catch any issues, and finally, to send the book out into the world.

Previous Winner: The Secret Police Dog

Thank you so much Tara for giving us the stage here to share this exciting opportunity with your audience.

Here’s a post by our CEO Wandy Hoh that shares what we’re looking for in “MeeGenius authors”.

All other challenge details can be found here.

The challenge kicks off next Monday, June 16th!

Good luck!

Hi folks, this is the last weekend to VOTE for THE BIG FUZZY COAT. I appreciate any and all support. :)

For golden advice, I'm going to recommend that you spend some time mining your material to help you create your best possible book. What does that mean? You may have created a book with thick veins of gold running through it, but if you don't mine the gold, your book will be one of those full of good ideas but never quite pulling any of them off.

Mining is about cutting through the layers of inessential that hide the gold. This is about embracing a story length that showcases your story. Yes, it often requires the tossing of reams of wonderful material, but the refinement makes the best parts shine. And that should be the goal of very writer.

Mining also is about making the most of the material available to you. Is there something in your current work-in-progress that is just not being utilized to its full potential? You need to make sure you are making the most of every opportunity. I find the mining often rises out of the quirks and desires of my main character.

Finally mining is about making pathways to the gold. Deep shafts lead to the mineral deposits mines. Other mines strip everything away, leaving minerals exposed and easy to access. One job of the novelist is to make the gold of your story accessible to your readers. There many different ways to make stories approachable: save the cat, make your characters suffer, make your main character lovable, clarify goals, up the stakes, and up them again and again, try pinning that point of no return to the novel's center,get to the story's core.

Dig deep this week! Seize the day! See you next week.

My doodle this week: "Teddy."




Here is a quote to think about.

Mining is like a search-and-destroy mission. Stewart Udall

MeeGenius!–a e-picture book app for young readers for iPhone, iPad, iTouch, Google TV, and the web–have just kicked off a contest.

They are searching for the next great children’s book author, and is extending an invitation to aspiring and published authors to submit a manuscript. Winning manuscripts will be beautifully illustrated, professionally edited, and published online at MeeGenius. It’s as simple as writing, submitting, and having MeeGenius’ online community vote.

Open to both aspiring and published authors, the MeeGenius! Author Challenge 2011 will award one winner $1500 and a publishing contract as well as offering a MeeGenius! library to the school of the winner’s choice. Three runners-up will win $500 and publishing contract.

Submissions will be posted on the MeeGenius! website where visitors can vote on their favorites. The most popular picks become finalists.

Length

• Stories should be between 10 and 20 pages in length.

Submit Your Story by November 1, 2011

No illustrations.

Manuscript Voting Round

November 28 – December 18, 2011

Finalists Round

January 31 – February 21, 2012

Winners Announced!

March 7, 2012.

Make sure you check out this link for a sample manuscript, since they do not want it submitted in the standard format: http://meegenius-static.s3.amazonaws.com/challenge/01/ManuscriptFormattingExample.pdf

For complete rules and guidelines, visit www.MeeGenius.com.

Here are some good reasons to enter:  Everyone has a chance to win.  They are not asking for a entry fee, and you have over a month before the deadline, so I expect to see a lot of your stories on line at the end of November.  Good Luck.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy