How to use this Page

CALL FOR ILLUSTRATIONS: Still need illustrations for the month of April/May. Would love to show off your illustrations during one of my daily posts. So please submit your illustrations: To kathy (dot) temean (at) gmail (dot) com. Illustrations must be at least 500 pixels wide and include a blurb about you that I can use. 

GUEST CRITIQUER’S for APRIL 2014 – Jenna Pocius and Samantha Bremekamp

JENNA POCIUS, Assistant Editor, Bloomsbury

Jenna Pocius is an Assistant Editor at Bloomsbury who works on everything from picture books to YA. Before joining Bloomsbury, she worked for Abrams BFYR. She has edited numerous books including Dragon’s Extraordinary Egg by Debi Gliori, A Soldier’s Secret by Marissa Moss, and the upcoming Mad Scientist Academy series by Matthew McElligott. She’s most interested in YA with strong voice and emotional depth, and she is particularly interested in contemporary realistic fiction, magic realism, and well-crafted fantasy and science fiction with a contemporary voice. She’s interested in middle grade that is quirky and character-driven, particularly girl-centered stories. And she loves picture books that are poignant and sweet or humorously clever. She is also a sucker for dog stories.

Samantha Bremekamp is starting out as an agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency. She started her career in publishing in 2008, and quickly realized that she preferred working directly with authors from the other side of the industry. She runs critique groups and writing groups for fun, as she also loves to write and help others to fulfill their writing ambitions. She is fully aware of how hard of an industry it really is in this day and age.

Her favorite writing is children’s, middle grade, young adult, and new adult. There is something so pure about each building block of life these book groups represent. Although there may be a difference between a three year old and a 33 year old, maybe, Samantha finds that all of life’s challenges in these age groups really show the potential for amazing growth in a character.

Samantha’s background is in English literature, communications, and Spanish. She really thinks that if a writer is confident and believes in their work, their work will show that without having to showboat to prove it via a pitch.

Follow Samantha on Twitter at @LiterallySmash

Samantha loves reading Children’s, MG, YA, and NA fiction. She is open to any genre within those age groups, but prefers speculative fiction, mystery, and quirky romance.

Below is the April picture prompt for anyone who would like to use it. 

The above illustration was done by Elizabeth Alba. She works in watercolor and gouche. Elizabeth was featured on Illustrator Saturday in March. Here is the link: http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2014/03/08/illustrator-saturday-elisabeth-alba/

Here are the submission guidelines for submitting a First Page in April: Please “April First Page Critique” or “April First Page Picture Prompt Critique” in the subject line. Please make sure you include your name, the title of the piece, and whether it is as picture book, middle grade, or young adult, etc. at the top.

Please attach your first page submission using one inch margins and 12 point font – double spaced, no more than 23 lines to an e-mail and send it to: kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail and then also attach it in a Word document to the email.

DEADLINE: April 24th.

RESULTS: May 2nd.

Use inch margins – double space your text – 12 pt. New Times Roman font – no more than 23 lines – paste into body of the email

You can only send in one first page each month. It can be the same first page each month or a different one, but if you sent it to me last month and it didn’t get chosen, you need to send it again using the April’s directions. Of course, it doesn’t have to be the same submission. It can be a first page from a work in process or you can use the picture prompt above.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

CALL FOR ILLUSTRATIONS: Still need illustrations for the month of April/May. Would love to show off your illustrations during one of my daily posts. So please submit your illustrations: To kathy (dot) temean (at) gmail (dot) com. Illustrations must be at least 500 pixels wide and include a blurb about you that I can use. 

ANYONE HAVE AN EASTER ILLUSTRATION? Would love to use it for Easter.

GUEST CRITIQUER’S for APRIL 2014 – Jenna Pocius and Samantha Bremekamp

JENNA POCIUS, Assistant Editor, Bloomsbury

Jenna Pocius is an Assistant Editor at Bloomsbury who works on everything from picture books to YA. Before joining Bloomsbury, she worked for Abrams BFYR. She has edited numerous books including Dragon’s Extraordinary Egg by Debi Gliori, A Soldier’s Secret by Marissa Moss, and the upcoming Mad Scientist Academy series by Matthew McElligott. She’s most interested in YA with strong voice and emotional depth, and she is particularly interested in contemporary realistic fiction, magic realism, and well-crafted fantasy and science fiction with a contemporary voice. She’s interested in middle grade that is quirky and character-driven, particularly girl-centered stories. And she loves picture books that are poignant and sweet or humorously clever. She is also a sucker for dog stories.

Samantha Bremekamp is starting out as an agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency. She started her career in publishing in 2008, and quickly realized that she preferred working directly with authors from the other side of the industry. She runs critique groups and writing groups for fun, as she also loves to write and help others to fulfill their writing ambitions. She is fully aware of how hard of an industry it really is in this day and age.

Her favorite writing is children’s, middle grade, young adult, and new adult. There is something so pure about each building block of life these book groups represent. Although there may be a difference between a three year old and a 33 year old, maybe, Samantha finds that all of life’s challenges in these age groups really show the potential for amazing growth in a character.

Samantha’s background is in English literature, communications, and Spanish. She really thinks that if a writer is confident and believes in their work, their work will show that without having to showboat to prove it via a pitch.

Follow Samantha on Twitter at @LiterallySmash

Samantha loves reading Children’s, MG, YA, and NA fiction. She is open to any genre within those age groups, but prefers speculative fiction, mystery, and quirky romance.

Below is the April picture prompt for anyone who would like to use it. 

The above illustration was done by Elizabeth Alba. She works in watercolor and gouche. Elizabeth was featured on Illustrator Saturday in March. Here is the link: http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2014/03/08/illustrator-saturday-elisabeth-alba/

Here are the submission guidelines for submitting a First Page in April: Please “April First Page Critique” or “April First Page Picture Prompt Critique” in the subject line. Please make sure you include your name, the title of the piece, and whether it is as picture book, middle grade, or young adult, etc. at the top.

Please attach your first page submission using one inch margins and 12 point font – double spaced, no more than 23 lines to an e-mail and send it to: kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail and then also attach it in a Word document to the email.

DEADLINE: April 24th.

RESULTS: May 2nd.

Use inch margins – double space your text – 12 pt. New Times Roman font – no more than 23 lines – paste into body of the email

You can only send in one first page each month. It can be the same first page each month or a different one, but if you sent it to me last month and it didn’t get chosen, you need to send it again using the April’s directions. Of course, it doesn’t have to be the same submission. It can be a first page from a work in process or you can use the picture prompt above.

Talk tomorrow,

Two Weeks ago I featured John Mander on Illustrator Saturday. John was busy getting ready to attend the Reuben Awards dinner in Pittsburgh, PA. and didn’t have time to finish the answers for his featured post. John won the Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award that Saturday night for illustrating Jack and the Giant Barbecue. .Here is the link to read john’s interview answers that were added duribg the week: http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/illustrator-saturday-john-manders/  Congratulations John!

Bloomsbury Children’s Books has promoted Caroline Abbey and Mary Kate Castellani to senior editor, while Brett Wright and Laura Whitaker move up to associate editor. Both Castellani and Whitaker move over from Walker Children’s, which will shift its focus to that of a boutique imprint under publishing director Emily Easton, publishing 18 titles per year with an emphasis on nonfiction and select fiction for preschool through young adult.

Phoebe Yeh will join Random House Children’s Books as vp, Publisher, Crown Books for Young Readers on June 21, reporting to Barbara Marcus. Yeh was most recently editorial director at HarperCollins Children’s. ““I have known Phoebe for many years and admire her as a highly creative and versatile editor with an excellent track record for discovering and nurturing new voices,” said Marcus in a statement. “I am so pleased to welcome her to Random House, where her expertise in nonfiction and commercial middle-grade books will perfectly complement and further strengthen our list.”

Sarah Harrison Smith has been named children’s editor at the New York Times Book Review. She was most recently on the paper’s metropolitan desk.

Tara Gelsomino has joined F+W Media’s Crimson Romance digital/POD imprint as executive editor. She was most recently executive marketing manager at AudioGO.

At BEA, HarperCollins announced their new in-house program to provide and manage digital galleys as well as promotional copies of their ebooks (including providing authors with multiple ebook “copies” of their books). Called the e-Insider Program, it works from a new website — e.hc.com — and uses Adobe Digital Editions (and thus requires a free Adobe ID to read the ebooks).

Authors will be given a set of one-time use of codes, each good for a single ebook download. For trade shows, like this one, “rather than distributing physical copies of books, HarperCollins can now provide a code that will bring promotional finished e-books or galleys directly to key constituents.” They used the platform to provide titles from Avon, Avon Impulse, Harper Teen and Harper Teen Impulse at the convention.

On Friday at BEA, the Publishing Hackathon awarded first prize to Evoke — which maps how characters in fiction are emotionally similar to each other as a way of discovering new books (and characters) to enjoy. The founders described it at the event as a “social recommendation algorithm that associates characters with each other based on reader preferences.”

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Today we bring you our weekly sampler of the cool youth media and marketing gigs. If your company has an open position in the youth media or marketing space, we encourage you to join the Ypulse LinkedIn group, if you haven’t yet, and post there... Read the rest of this post

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin is a YA novel with crossover appeal.  The cover is gorgeous and the story quickly draws you in.

The blurb:
Her parents are dead.  She can't remember what happened.  And now she's in love with the most dangerous creature in the forest.

The only thing Avery Hood can remember about the night her parents died is that she saw silver -- deadly silver moving inhumanly fast.  As much as she wants to remember who killed them, she can't and there's nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together.

Then Avery meets the new boy in school -- Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels a connection like nothing she's ever experienced.  Ben is a werewolf, but Avery trusts him -- at first.  Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash an inhuman silver.  And she learns that she's not the only one who can't remember the night her parents died.

Review:
Low Red Moon opens with the violent murder of Avery's family.  Avery has blocked out most of the details of the attack.  The first responders found Avery covered in blood -- trying to piece her parents' bodies back together.

With her home deemed officially  a crime scene closed off to her, Avery moves in with her grandmother, Renee, in a house in town.  Avery is slow to adjust:  she misses the home her parents built and their life in the middle of the woods.   The constants of her old life are gone from the solar panels to the walks in the dark and quiet woods.  Avery starts out awkward with Renee but as she comes to understand the her family history, things improve.  The interaction between Renee and Avery is one of the book's strengths.  Devlin captures the  nuances and tentativeness of their relationship.

My favorite part of the book is the love story between Avery and the mysterious new student Ben.  From the first time that Avery sees him to the excitement and elation when they discover their mutual attraction and their later heartbreak, Low Red Moon a captivating and engrossing story of young love. It's a book to share with teens and adults alike.

ISBN-10: 1599905108 - Hardcover $16.99
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (September 14, 2010), 256 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author:
Ivy Devlin is a debut author. Learn more about her at http://www.i

"It goes without saying that brothers and sisters often share things with each other, like knock knees, turned-up noses, freckles, the measles, and - if they are kind and generous - toys and bags of sweets; but apart from sharing the same father and mother, Athene and Zachary Enright, aged twelve and six respectively, didn't share anything at all." p.7

So we begin. Athene has a deep rooted hatred for her brother. There's no particular reason for it, but it is there. He says black, she says white. He wants to go on a camping vacation, Athene begs to go to a farm. Athene, as usual, gets her way.

She is bratty enough to convince her parents that they should share a room with Zach, and she should have a room all to herself. Once there, however, she realizes that being alone in a room in a strange space is a bit disconcerting. Athene decides that she will go find Crumbs the farm cat to keep her company, and she heads outside. Upon looking for the cat, Athene notices a kid walking around. She assumes that it is Zach and goes to catch him and tell him what an idiot he is. The thing is, the "person" she catches up to is not Zach at all. Instead, it was the oddest little man that Athene had ever seen. "His skin was striped and speckled, his eyes shone like pearl buttons and his broad, bat-like ears were inclined to flap and twitch." (p. 24)

Athene has happened upon a Humble Gloam. The Gloam are nocturnal creatures who live in seclusion in the country-side. They call humans the "Glare" and they do not interact with them at all. Athene makes sure that she gets befriended by this Gloam named Humdudgeon. It is the most exciting thing that has happened to her. That is until little brother Zach comes along and finds her with the Gloam.

But Athene hatches a plan. There is a group of Gloam called the Low Gloam who live underground and keep anyone who enters their realm bound there with magic. The entrance to the Low Gloam is not too far away. Athene tricks Zach into seeking shelter in the fallen tree entrance. He quickly disappears. Maybe forever.

Athene is quite surprised to be taken by a guilty conscience about Zach. Will her Humble Gloam friends help her find her brother? Will the Low Gloam keep her underground?

Anna Dale has written a magical little story that fans of light fantasy should take to. Athene is quite despicable at first, and the Gloam are quirky and interesting. It's a fun adventure tinged with magic that younger tweens will enjoy.

Peiling is dreading the Christmas break. She hates hearing all of the other kids talk about Christmas, when her family does not celebrate the holiday. She always wanted to celebrate Christmas, but was afraid that her stodgy dad would say "no". With a little pushing from her Uncle Samson, Peiling approaches her parents who to her surprise say "yes" to Christmas this year.

Peiling has the perfect Christmas in mind...one that she imagines would be happening over at Laura Hamilton's house. It has Christmas cookies, carols, a perfect tree and a turkey for dinner. When Peiling's mother invites Peiling's teacher Mrs. Rosenweig for dinner, Peiling is suddenly embarrassed by her family. The mahjong and karaoke are bad enough, but when she realizes that mother has added Chinese elements to all of the dishes, she is put over the edge. It's hard enough being the only Chinese girl in her class...why does it have to be so hard at home too?

Pauline Chen has written a quintessential culture clash story with Christmas as a catalyst. Readers get to see well-meaning Mrs. Rosenweis use Peiling as an example of multiculturalism, as well as the everyday under the radar racism that kids face. We get a real sense of Peiling's family and culture effortlessly, and the story is sweet and readers can easily relate to Peiling's sense of embarrassment, no matter what culture their families are from.

Raising my head from the drawing table for a sec...
During the wee hours, I'm currently working on my next story. It's to be published in a top secret anthology that I can't name yet... Soon, I think...;)

Some thoughts on the heroine of the tale:



And some on her dance partners:

Well I've hinted at this a bit previously, but I've got the okay to actually show a couple of pages!
These are from a short story I have in the upcoming comics anthology "Parable".

Mike Maihack posted the cover here earlier: