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As a children's author, many things make me smile. Working in my fuzzy cat slippers, being able to do something I truly love every day, seeing kids connect with my books, hearing from parents that my books hooked their child into reading. Oh yes, and let's not forget the big bucks we children's writers make (yes, I'm joking about that one!).

This morning, friend and writer  Jean Ann Williams, sent me this photo of one of my books that has been in her family and passed down from child to child. Seeing this love worn copy of Blackberry Banquet just makes me smile from ear to ear, and reminds me that of all things that make a children's writer smile, seeing a well-loved copy of your book is truly at the top of the list!

This link came across my desk this morning. Don't you just love Squidoo? If you're not familiar with it, it's a site where folks can post articles. For example, this one is about "Picture Books about Bears" and features a few favorite titles of the author's. And of course, Blackberry Banquet is featured!

Click here to find a Squidoo article that I wrote called, Ten Things to Do with a Children's Book.

You can find almost anything on Squidoo---now keep in mind that anyone can post an article, and there's a sort of "honor system" that people write about things with which they actually have some expertise--in other words, reader beware! I wouldn't want my doctor gleeming info from this site about practicing medician, if he's written a book and wants some book promotion ideas, then let him have at it!

I'm delighted to announce that Blackberry Banquet has been named on the National Wildlife Federation's Grab Bag list of recommended books.

I've always respected the NWF as a sensible animal conservation organization so I'm very proud to see my book included on their list. AND if you order a book through their website, NWF received a portion of the payment to help their efforts in conserving wildlife. How cool is that???

So please, hop on over and check out their Grab Bag list and learn more about their fabulous organization while you're there.

Just a quick note--check out the new photo on the right, Blackberry Banquet's # 1 Fan. Isn't that just too cute? Now, that's what I call putting your nose into a good book! Thanks to my writer friend, S.W., for sharing the picture of her adorable granddaughter while reading her favorite book.

This morning I discovered some fun art activities to use with Blackberry Banquet, on the Growing & Learning by Leaps & Bounds blog. This clever mom showed her children how to paint with blackberries AND they created blackberry Playdough. How fun would that be? I can just see the little berry-stained hands of small children and the berry-scented Playdough as it squishes through their fingers. Definitely worth checking out!

Sylvan Dell, my wonderful publisher of Blackberry Banquet, has launched its "new, improved next generation ebooks" on their site. Company publicist Sara Dobie has all the details on her blog. Check it out!

My recent book, Blackberry Banquet, is a terrific spring and summer title, but that doesn't mean it has to hibernate for the winter.

Can't wait til November to vote? Then head on over to the New Covey Book Trailer Awards and cast your vote for the Blackberry Banquet book trailer! It's entry #3, so you'll have to scroll down a bit (and check out some of the other "steamy" looking trailers--nice work!).

My sweet little Blackberry trailer definitely is different, but I don't think anyone could find a juicier pick!

I had a nice book launch on Saturday. Not a huge turnout, but lots of fun with the wee folks and their parents who did attend (next time, will someone please remind me when Labor Day is!). The kids (and grown-ups) all seemed to enjoy squeaking, tweeting, slurping, yipping, and chomping along with me as I read the story. Blackberry cookies and candy abound, and there were bear bracelets created and works of art in progress.

One of the things I love about being a writer is seeing my books used for good causes, and I recently read about an idea that just about knocked my socks off because I loved it so much (thank you, Mary Hershey!). Mary had the terrific idea to use her latest book launch as a means to donate books to Girls, Inc., a local girls' organization in Santa Barbara, CA.

When I read about this, I called my local bookseller and shared Mary's idea. She loved the idea too, so together Red Rock Books (in Ridgecrest, CA) and I are going to be donating books to The High Desert Women's Center, as part of my book launch. The Women's Center is a non-profit organization that helps women and their children who have left abusive home environments, and helps them get started on a fresh, new life. Because that kind of a situation can be so uncertain and a bit scary for young children, we thought that having each child receive a new book of their own would perhaps offer them a little comfort (and on a separate note, a quilting local club donates homemade quilts, so this way each child will receive a new quilt and a new book).

Red Rock Books is making available to the public a chance to purchase a gift certificate in the amount of $10.00. The certificate will be designated to buy one copy of Blackberry Banquet and that copy will be donated to the Women's Center. You can call Red Rock Books at (760) 375-3454 and request to buy a $10.00 gift certificate for the Terry Pierce signing for The Women's Center. This will allow children at the center to get their own autographed copy of the book. How easy is that?

And of course, if anyone wants to join in the festivities of the launch, the date is Saturday, Aug. 30 at 11:00 AM. I'd love to see you there (and of course, if anyone wants to buy copies for themselves, that's okay too :-).

Cheers,
Terry

The Children's Book Council has featured Blackberry Banquet on its 2008 July/August "Summertime Fun" list! Check it out--the ten books are about all kinds of summer fun. Pick yourself a reading treat from the list, pour yourself a frosty glass of lemonade, and settle down into a shady spot for some fun and relaxation.

Time is sailing by during my visit to Oregon. I had a fun reading of Blackberry Banquet last weekend at the Hood River Library, followed by a book signing at the Waucoma Bookstore, a fabulous indie located in downtown Hood River. The folks there are terrific and I’m happy to say the store is going strong. They have a nice children’s section and are they’re very supportive of local educators. It's my kind of bookstore!

I also wanted to remind folks that only two days are left to enter the Blackberry Recipe Contest I’m holding here on my blog. The deadline is July 10. Please scroll down to find the contest details. I’m salivating just thinking about all of the delicious recipes I get to make in helping me determine a winner; and for those of you who are waiting to the last minute (perhaps adding a final touch to that perfect blackberry cheesecake recipe), I’m looking forward to receiving your recipes soon.

Happy baking!

How does that old saying go? Well, slap my face and call me silly! Yesterday, it was pointed out to me that Valarie Giogas, author of In My Backyard (Sylvan Dell Publishing), had hosted me on her blog as part of my book blog tour a few days ago. Thank you, Valarie, for bringing it to my attention! :-}

Valarie had asked me some really fun questions for the interview, so please hop on over to her blog for a look (scroll down to June 13)!

Thanks, Valarie!

Mmm-mm-mm! Check out Mary Ann Dames's blog. Today she's posted a very kid-friendly recipe, Bear's Crunchy Blackberry Treat, to go with Blackberry Banquet!

What a great way to start the summer~ reading and preparing food with kids!

We all know how much mice love cheese, and the little mouse in Blackberry Banquet loves blackberries too. So I asked myself, if Mouse had opposable thumbs and could make himself a dessert, what would he have? Here’s what he told me:

Ooo! I love cheese, I really do! And berries are my favorite summer food to forage, so my most delicious dessert would be berry cream cheese pizza! I could nibble the entire thing in minutes, but I usually invite my forest friends to come into my burrow at the base of the tree and feast with me. But I don’t invite Bear—he eats too much and besides, he couldn’t possibly fit through the hole. If you want to squeak with delight, try this recipe!

Mouse’s Blackberry Cream Cheese Pizza
(makes one 7” x 11” pizza)
Here’s what you need to gather:
1 can of reduced fat crescent roll dough
1 package of reduced fat cream cheese (softened to room temp)
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups of fresh berries or *1 bag of frozen blackberries (thawed and drained)
½ cup of vanilla chips
½ teaspoon of canola oil

Here’s what you do with it:
1. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees.

2. Spread the dough over a cookie sheet, pressing the seams together with your paws to form the crust.

3. Bake this for 10-15 minutes until it’s the color of my fur, a light golden brown.

4. Use oven mitts to protect your paws and remove the cookie sheet. Let it cool completely.

5. Mix together the cream cheese and sugar. Spread this all over the cooled crust.

6. Now gently place the berries onto the cream cheese. No nibbling!

7. One minute at a time, melt the vanilla chips and oil in the microwave, blending after each minute (this is hard work for a little mouse). Lightly drizzle over the pizza.

Chill and enjoy~ it’s so berry, berry good, it’s a mouse-ter-piece!

I just found out from Lee German of Sylvan Dell that Blackberry Banquet can now be pre-ordered and shipped out mid-May. That's a two month jump on it's release date! I feel like I'm going into my eighth month of labor, eagerly anticipating the birth of my baby (only this won't involve any pain and I'll get to sleep through the night :-).

I recently posted my book trailer for BLACKBERRY BANQUET (click here to view) and I was surprised at the response from other writers. Some wanted to know how I did it; some said they impressed because they could never do such a thing. Well, I’m here to say that YOU CAN! It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be—the main thing for me was to go into it with a learning attitude. Play around, tinker, and don’t pressure myself. I told myself it could take months to complete.

Here are some tips and tidbits of info, based on my own experience:
I used Windows Movie Maker. I didn’t realize I even had it on my computer, until someone pointed it out to me. I found it by clicking on the START button (lower-left corner), went to PROGRAMS then ACCESSORIES then voila! There it was. Because I'm generally one of those people who reads the instructions before starting something, I first read about the program from the HELP menu, just to get an overall sense of what I was in for .

Next, I did thumbnail sketches of what I wanted on a notepad. I knew I wanted to keep it around 60 seconds (like an average TV commercial) and I didn’t want to have more than 20 images, including the text-only images. Once I had my thumbnails (aka, roadmap), I used Adobe Photoshop to select and size my images (note: I had already contacted my publisher about the project and received permission to use the artwork—she was so happy about my doing this that she not only gave permission, she ultimately resent all of the art images in higher resolution images).

In WMM (Windows Movie Maker), I figured out (from the Help menu) what frame size the program uses, and I made my images conform to that size. I knew this would make the transition easier later, when I would import the images into WMM. In Photoshop, I also created the text-only frames. Note: Be sure to include a frame with your publisher’s website, your website and book ordering info. After all, you are trying to promote your book!

Next, I opened up WMM, and began importing my images. That was the easy part. Once they were all there, I had to determine the length of time on each frame (by clicking on the thumbnail image at the bottom and dragging it to the desired time), and what kind of transition effect I wanted from one frame to another (by right-clicking on the thumbnail image then clicking on “Video Effects”). This is where the real fun began—lots of tinkering and playing around!

Once I had the frames in place and was pleased with the overall look, I did a music search. There are all kinds of royalty-free music sites on the internet. I found mine on “The Music Bakery” but as I said, there are many out there. I should add too, that this was probably the lengthiest part of the entire process—finding the perfect music. I purchased the music (prices vary), but once I did, it was mine to use and I won’t have to worry about copyright issues.

Downloading the music to my computer then to WMM was a bit tricky for me, but some great websites on the internet guided me through. One of my favorites was the Papa John site. A couple of times, I also Googled my questions and was able to find the answers.

Once I had the music downloaded, I put it to the video clip, and then tinkered with the timing. I shortened some transitions or frame lengths, doing what was necessary to make it all fit.
Once I was finished, I saved the file to my computer (the file in WMM is a project file, so you have to save it separately onto your computer to be able to email or upload it to the internet). I sent it to my editor, for her opinion. With a tiny bit more tinkering, I was completely finished.

The entire process took me about four days, but as I said, it really was fun and gave me a chance to indulge in a whole new kind of creativity (plus, I saved myself about $300-400, what I had found was the fee for a professional to make one for me). So, don't sell yourself short--give it a try! Since I shared this with my fellow Sylvan Dell authors, another author, Sherry Rogers, has created her own (click here to view). And if you want to see a terrific sampling of many wonderful children's book trailers, click here.

Happy movie making!

Well, I did it! I plunged into the deep, dark waters of video promotion (where I'd never swum before) and made a book trailer for Blackberry Banquet. And it was really fun! I was surprised at how easy it was for me--it took about ten hours to create, plus another couple of hours to tinker with (it reminded me of writing a story~ how I "think" I'm finished but then I keep going back to tweak it here and there until I have it exactly like I want it).

So, here it is! Drum roll, please (drrrrrr...drrrrrr...drrrrrr)!

Blackberry Banquet was sent to the printer today. Yea! Now that the writing is complete, the illustrations finished, and the design and layout all done, it's in the hands of the printer. Now, one might think this is when a writer can lean back, sigh and take a rest, but au contraire. Now is when a whole different kind of work begins--promotional marketing!

In January 2007, I received an acceptance call from Sylvan Dell for Blackberry Banquet. Last week, I received a preview of the finished artwork for the entire story (publication date July 2008). Sorry folks, no sneak previews here, under strict orders from my publisher. However, I can say that the artwork is adorable. Dare I say it? Okay, I will—it’s CUTE! Very cute! I think preschoolers will love this book.

Seeing the artwork made me think about the time involved in creating this book. Consider this—I wrote the first draft of the story in the summer of 2002 and began subbing it to publishers in late 2003. Sylvan Dell accepted it in January ’07 and a year later I'm now viewing the finished artwork. It will take seven more months for the finishing design (editing, text layout, etc.) and printing. That’s six years from when my pencil touched the paper until the publication date. Yes, it takes time all right!

Once, three months after I’d stopped teaching and had begun writing, someone asked me if my first book was out yet. Heck, I was still learning how to format a manuscript! But herein lies the “problem.” I think it’s a common misconception that picture books are easy to write, easy to draw and easy to publish. Uh...pardon me while I go pound my head against the wall.

I often say that this business works in glacial time. During a recent visit to Yosemite National Park, I pondered the glacially carved granite walls of Yosemite Valley and thought about the publishing business--how it too involves great amounts of time in the creation of something amazing. It takes months to years to write a picture book and sell it to a publisher. The average time from acceptance to published book can range from one year (which is very fast) to three years or more, in some cases (I currently have an easy reader that is now at four years after acceptance with no pub-date in sight).

Why such a long production period? A few reasons, actually. First, how long it takes the publisher to determine the right illustrator for the project (matching art style to story is key). Second, how quickly the illustrator can get to the project (successful/popular illustrators might be booked with other projects for months or years). Third, how quickly the illustrator can finish the project (creativity takes time). Fourth, how fast the publishing company itself works. Fifth, the baseball factor (whether the sun gets in your eyes, the grass is too tall or your mitt is too tight)—meaning, all of the other extraneous things that can happen to slow things down.

But the good news is, approximately five thousand children’s books are published annually, so despite global warming, the kid-lit glacier is still inching forward. And with that movement is the hope that your story will become one of them. It may take some time, but it can happen!

Good luck in 2008 for finding your publishing successes!

Earlier today we shared an essay by Elizabeth Beck, one of the authors of In the Shadow of Death: Restorative Justice and Death Row Families. Beck has been kind enough to answer a few questions for OUP about her experiences with death row inmates and their families.

OUP: Do you think there is a theme that ties the defendants on death row together, other than their alleged crimes?

Elizabeth Beck: Yes, I have intimate knowledge of the psychosocial background of close to 20 capital defendants. I often say that the murders can almost be viewed as a logical occurrence to psychosocial histories riddled with mental health and family backgrounds that lined up in an unique and devastating confluence. (more…)

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