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You'll have to excuse our mid-week slacking...we had a couple of crazy days (the fun kind of crazy!). Now we're back on track again and ready to announce our next October giveaway!

Same old rules: to enter just leave a comment on this post! Earn extra entries by sharing the giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or your blog, etc (but remember to tell me you did! I'm not really omniscient, even if that is what I tell the kids...).

You are, aren't you? Doesn't everybody get to thinking Halloween-y thoughts as soon as September shows its face? I should hope so!

It’s been a while, folks. In February, I traveled abroad on family business and since returning I’ve been occupied with playing catch up. Life is gradually returning to “normal.” For starters, I am involved in a fun spring event—the annual childrens book illustrator show at MOCHA (Museum of Childrean’s Art) in Oakland, Once Upon A Time. Come to the Artist Reception tomorrow, March 27, 2010, 2-4 pm. For location and more info, visit the museum online.

The following image is a pencil draft of a page in my picture book, Can You Catch A Coqui Frog? written by Vera Arita and illustrated by yours truly. If you’d like to see the actual finished illustration, then do come to the show which runs until May 7.

…we started a new year: Twenty Ten! Yay!

In honor of 20th day of the new year, here are twenty news bits and random observations. (Um, that four month gap since my last post was well worth the wait, right? ;-))

1. My geeky self is thrilled at the speed and beauty of Snow Leopard on my new Mac Mini.

2. Donated to Haiti which suffered a 7.0 quake that caused ten times more devastation than our 7.1 Loma Prieta quake.

3. Purging old stuff from my studio including books.  Making room for more.

4. Went to an amazing SCBWI Cyber Promotions retreat in Santa Barbara. (More to come~cross my heart…)

5. Started up Hula again.

6. Tackling my To Do list with some friendly help.

7. Shifting priorities with a smile.

8. Pleased that Project Runway is back in the Big Apple.

(more…)

YARN, a new online literary magazine for Young Adult readers, is seeking fiction, poetry, and essays for its debut issue. Writing should be of special interest to 14-18 year old readers, but can be written by writers of any age or background. Submissions by teens are especially encouraged. YARN’s mission is to publish the highest quality creative writing for everyone who enjoys young adult lit. Published quarterly, YARN will feature short fiction and creative essays, poetry, and an author interview. Our interactive sections will allow for comments on stories, as well as reviews of recent YA books. We distinguish ourselves from other teen lit mags by seeking to discover new teen writers, and publish them alongside established writers of the YA genre. Issue 1 will go live in Winter 2010, but a little taste of our site is currently available at www.yareview.net (where you can also find our submission guidelines).

I decided to modify a version of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus around the time I quit pursuing publishing. That was close to ten years ago. I spent several years prior with a very strong focus on picture books but that gradually gave way to frustration.

The industry was changing. While I was repped at the time, I had a hard time with the change. Externally, things looked all right. Internally, I was at odds with myself. I painted my heart out—pouring all my feelings onto canvas. I took three years off. When I returned, I was able to look at the painting with a “fresh” set of eyes.

Finding Your Path in Kid Lit

Sometimes I’m approached by people who want to write and/or illustrate children’s and YA books. I might sound like a broken record but I always utter the initials: S C B W I. It stands for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

One  thing I did upon returning to children’s books was join the SCBWI. It has been instrumental in helping me reach my goals. I do the work, stayed focused, yada, yada. However, the SCBWI provides a ton of resources and has helped me make important connections. I can’t speak highly enough of it.

Check out the SCBWI here.

Happenings this Month

The School Visit Front ::   I celebrated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Children’s Book Week with the students of Earhart School of Alameda, CA where I appeard for a full day of assemblies, a family evening presentation and some kinder book readings.

Above photo: Teaching the kids a sitting hula. * Special thanks to Principal Joy Dean and Media Center Teachers, Ana Soria-Kevy and Jeni Marr. I had a fantastic time at your school!

The Internet Scene ::  My interview with editor Tarie Sabido of Into The Wardrobe, a delightful children’s and YA literature blog is up now. This month, Tarie highlights kid lit authors and illustrators who have a unique Asian Pacific connection. She posed some excellent questions that I hope I answered well. FYI, I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, typing out my answers to the best of my ability ** note: bleary eyes but full heart** I am honored to be part of this month’s festivities. Please check out the interview and blog here.

Got this from Random House...if one of you wins, let me know! :-)

Even if you’re stuck at home this summer, you can still get away—just use your imagination!

Listening Library is sponsoring the Fantasy Road Trip Contest, challenging teens to create videos based on an imaginary road trip with characters from one of three great fantasy series.

Making their entries is a great way to engage teens in what they’re reading and encourage them to be creative. And since many families will be forgoing expensive vacations and summer camps this year, the Fantasy Road Trip Contest is a perfect (and free!) summer activity.

THINGS TO KNOW:

Ø CONTEST INFO: Teens ages 13-18 should create short films that answer the questions, “If you could go on a road trip with a character from your favorite audio series, where would you go? What would you do along the way? How would you travel?”

Ø PARTICIPATING AUTHORS: Libba Bray, author of the Gemma Doyle Trilogy (A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing), Tamora Pierce, author of, among many, many titles, the Beka Cooper series (her current series, so far it includes Terrier and Bloodhound), and Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (including the latest, The Last Olympian).

Ø HOW TO ENTER: teens can visit www.fantasyroadtripcontest.com to watch a video about how to enter, see video requirements and find out lots of information about the authors and their books.

Ø WINNERS: Authors will judge the videos, each picking a winner (for a total of three), who will receive an 8GB iPod Touch and a collection of signed audiobooks.

Ø DATES: The contest will be open from June 1-August 17; it’s a great activity to keep kids entertained while they’re home for the summer!

Got this from Penguin, thought you might like it:

We wanted to send along this new book trailer for Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. It is her first YA book and we thought your readers would be interested. Here’s the YouTube link to the trailer if you are interested in posting it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQPXGh7YYaw

Below is a short summary:

Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called the touch. (Comes in handy when youre traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie).Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows shes next. Even worse, shes got two guys hungry for her affections, and theyre not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?

Bestselling author Patrick Carman, creator of the multimedia ghost story sensation SKELETON CREEK, will participate in two LIVE web-cast events on Monday, March 23rd at 10:00AM PST and 4:30PM PST during which he’ll talk about SKELETON CREEK and answer viewer questions. Visit the site below during the webcast and participate in the LIVE Q&A.
www.mogulus.com/skeletoncreektv

About SKELETON CREEK:

SKELETON CREEK is a multimedia ghost story (the first in a two-book series). It engages middle-grade readers through a combination of written story and more than an hour of original online videos produced by Patrick Carman’s own PC Studios in Walla Walla, Washington. The story is broken into two parts, created by the book’s main characters, best friends Sarah and Ryan who, after a mysterious accident injuring Ryan, have been separated by their parents. The book is Ryan’s story, which he chronicles in a journal for Sarah. Meanwhile, Sarah sends Ryan messages via videos (links to nine videos appear interspersed throughout the book, accessed online with passwords provided in the book). Together, the book and videos reveal three things: the past is dangerous, the present is haunted and the future is deadly.
For more information please visit: http://patrickcarman.com/main/skeletoncreek/

About PATRICK CARMAN:

Patrick Carman is the author of The New York Times bestselling Land of Elyon series, and Elliot’s Park, a chapter book series for younger readers. Among his forthcoming projects is Book #5 in the bestselling multiplatform The 39 Clues series. Carman lives in Walla Walla, Washington. Visit Patrick Carman at www.patrickcarman.com.

For more information on Skeleton Creek or to arrange an interview with Patrick Carman, please contact Samantha Wolfert at [email protected] or 212/343-6847.

My first Illustration Friday for 2009

Here’s how Illustration Friday works: Every Friday, IF members receive a word prompt to illustrate. The above brush-pen image is my interpretation of the word “Contained.”

I sketched this last Friday using a ball-point pen. Today, I re-drew it in brush-pen, scanned it and added shading in Photoshop.

Remember doing Show ‘n Tell back in grade school? That’s essentially what I do when I visit schools and libraries as a visiting author/illustrator. I love sharing with young audiences the process of creating a picture book. Depending on how long I have, I take my audience through the journey of book-making from idea to publication and printing. Often, I’ll share a little bit extra about the culture and food of Hawai’i. If there is time, I’ll even perform a sitting hula like I did at Fairytale Town in Sacramento this fall. The photos above and below show the audience involvement. Fun for all ages!

I’ve performed in classrooms and school assemblies of all sizes since my book, The Sleeping Giant: A Tale From Kaua’i was released in fall 2006. I look forward to doing more school and library performances in 2009. To find out how to book me for a school appearance, please visit this link.

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! Happy New Year!

Monday, 8 AM.

Yesterday, while walking along Lincoln Avenue, I came upon this worn-out wooden knob. There was no apparent use for it other than it occupying a space atop a post, between two small Victorians. Whatever fence was previously attached to it was now completely gone. Probably torn away decades ago. I find the ratty condition of the wood quite charming–its shape and linear patterns, along with all the knicks and scratches, leading my eye into a richly-textured background.

 This week I’m playing around with my fisheye cam as much as I can. Is it the holidays or is it me? I feel like gobbling up all the eye-candy around me. The images I see today will surely show up in my paintings in one form or other. Perhaps I’ll shoot and post something everyday for five straight days. Then again. Perhaps not.

I took an online quiz and found out that I’m a Nymph with some Siren and a touch of Elf. Since I know very little about them, I did a little research.

Here’s what I found:

There are nymphs of the Eastern Celestial variety as in the above image from the 1500 year-old frescoes of Sigiriya, Sri Lanka. Then there are the Western nymphs representing beauty and grace as in the image “Nymph with morning glory flowers” by Jules Joseph Lefebvre.

And, of course, there are nymphs of the animal world kind such as the Tettigoniidae which are known in American English as katydids and in British English as bush-crickets.

Now you know my mythical creature. What’s yours ?

At our house, the BareNakedLadies holiday album gets lots and lots of play. But putting one’s Christmas lights to the BNL jingle bells tune?! THAT’S pure genius! Enjoy!

I think fondly of life in Japan and Taiwan whenever I stumble across an artifact like the above. In the 7 or so months I lived and worked there, I was tickled by all the little treasures of Engrish (or Changlish, as it’s sometimes called) that I’d see on packages, t-shirts, ads and more. Cheap entertainment for a homesick gal.

“Drifting Skills” resembles the simple sentence structure of an Early Reader book but the advanced vocabulary along with awkward sentence structure is a real giveaway. I like the notion that the language is so bad, it’s really good (said with facetious tone).

Take this line, for example:

Call for help unhurriedly while the boat turns over.

(Yikes. They’re a goner.)

Notice the spelling is flawless. Someone had obviously used spell-check. But they are way off in grammar. Given the fact that English is a universal business language, I can’t blame non-English speakers for trying.

Their Engrish is way better than my Chinese (or Japanese)!

Hats off to iconic writing great, Ray Bradbury, and his generous assessment of writing:

He is also quoted as saying:

“My job is to help you fall in love.”
—Speech at Brown University, 1995

“I am the greatest lover of other writers, old or new, who ever lived. I have never been jealous of any writer, I only wanted to write and dream like them.”

I heart Ray Bradbury. His head could be as big as the state of Texas and noone would blink twice. He is, after all, a living legend. But Bradbury’s no Diva. He gets it: it’s all about the writing.

I won my first NaNoWriMo. Yipee-Yi-Yi-Yay!

The third time’s a charm, as the saying goes. In previous years, I’d reached 35k and 14k. But this go-round I wrote beyond 50k with a story I had swimming around in my head for a while. It’s a middle-grade tale and it’s far from complete. It’ll probably end at 70-80k. Then I’m onto rewriting and editing.

The above image is a composite of Norman Rockwell’s Thanksgiving dinner with a girl typing away at her laptop. That’s me (symbolically). I typed my NaNo novel like a maniac over Thanksgiving holiday: en route to Philly, Delaware, D.C. and back. (Thankfully, my family understood.)

Venturing into NaNo-land, especially this time of year, requires a steel gut and harded-headed determination. Was I made of the right stuff? Could I pull if off? Here’s what I did: After downing several helpings of turkey and all the trimmings and favorites like green bean salad, Tex-Mex salad, pumpkin pie and my mom-in-law’s special thumbprint cookies, I tickled my NaNo reflex and purged my story in all its glory, its nouns, pronouns, verbs and adjectives, spiked with typo’s, adverbs and run-on sentences into my trusty Macbook Pro. Yes, it was far from pretty. I slogged my laptop around, hunching over the shining LCD screen with a bum wrist from tennis elbow, wherever and whenever, I could. This got the job done. Whew.

So, what had I learned? I found that the same writing muscles for PB’s are the same as in noveling, with slight differences. Both require a love of language and story and an eagerness, perhaps an obsession, for taking a risk. I discovered that my inner novelist eye could be fine-tuned with a story that reached into distant memories, while my eye for picture books was bent on something more immediate, neatly wrapped with colorful ribbons.

Also, I learned that I enjoyed writing novels, as much as, PB’s and that the 50k goal was attainable with people cheering and prodding you on like family and NaNo buddies—notably, Laura, Kailani and the NaNoWriMo crew at Verla’s Blueboards.

Winning NaNo is only the beginning, so I’ll close the post with an inspirational tag that has followed me throughout the years a la my French college roommate, Eliane: Reagis bon sang! Loose translation: React. Do it now. Make today count.

readergirlz is having a blog-o-hunt for Native American Heritage month. It's totally easy to participate! Simply check out the questions as posted in this month's issue of readergirlz, then email your responses to [email protected] with the subject line "rgz blog-o-hunt" by November 30th. The first 25 correct entries will win rgz buttons and bookmarks!

The questions and info have also been cross-posted at my blog.

I did it! I’m almost caught up on my words as I did a lot of NaNo writing today—chalking up over 6k words! Not an easy task for an AR *anal retentive* writer like me. Usually, I stop every thousand words or so and whittle down to the basic bones of the story.

Like I’ve said before… NaNo writing requires a large degree of commitment and risk-taking. You write a story dictated entirely by your muse. No questions asked. It’s like diving into a pool blindfolded with no idea of how deep it is or what lies at the bottom. Okay, maybe the blindfolds are off if you have a loose outline.

I’m very close to 20,000 words (yipee!), so I’m posting two things to help mark the occasion:

1. Just a fun pic of me (above) dressed as a RoboCat at a New Orleans Halloween event last month with halau Na Lei Hulu. I promised my costume maven friend, Sandra, that I’d post a pic so… voila! I’m posing with Lela, a character from Futurama, AKA Rose from halau. Yes, I’m like a B-movie RoboCat.

2. Here’s a paragraph from my NaNo middle-grade novel called Between Friends. Thanks to my NaNo buddy, Laura, who has posted sentences from her novel, I’m inspired to post an entire paragraph from mine. Disclaimer: This from my first draft. Just a first draft…

“I dunno. I’m just making up something,” she says. I know and I’m a bit wary about what she’s making. I inspect the floor to see if there’s anything from the kitchen. The last time Deanna made her concoctions, or whatever it is she calls them, she used real milk in some of those bottles. Then she stored them under her bed and forgot all about them. A week or so later there was a gross smell. Worse than that were these little maggots, horrible spindly white things, crawling out from under her bed. Deanna refused to sleep in her bed for weeks, long after the mess was cleaned up.

I aim to get to 30k words by mid-week. Stay tuned…!

Steady progress is easier said than done with NaNoWriMo. I started out writing every day, then I dropped down to every 2 or 3 days with wordless spurts in between. I found out that didn’t worked. I slipped further and further behind.

So, yesterday I went from 7.5k to 11k words. How was that possible? By turning off internet access and tying myself to a chair at the local Starbuck’s.

And thanks to my NaNo system of support–my Nano Buddies and fellow Nano BlueBoarders–seeing their progress inspires and motivates me.

I also heard from notable author, Katherine Paterson, who sent a goodwill email blast to those of us in NaNoland. Her message, laden with encouragement, melted away my feelings of despair:

I aim always to get to the end of the first draft even though all the time I’m telling myself that I’m writing nothing but garbage that no one on earth would ever want to read, especially me. But I tell myself that this poor little attempt, this garbage, deserves a chance.

Just as our beautiful dog Annie, who was the runt of her litter, grew into the most beautiful, loving dog anyone would want, so there may be hope, even for this pitiful mess of words I’m accumulating. So I say to myself: Don’t read back too far, don’t try to start rewriting, just get to the end.

Alas, my story is a runt. It is a middle grade novel and I call it Between Friends. I’m enjoying the process of writing it but sometimes it’s scary. I’m doing the whole thing as a rough draft and I can’t slow down to edit or even spell check. One might say it’s a homely little runt, at this point, but I’m committed to feeding and caring for it and I’ll watch that puppy grow! The half-way point of 25k is this weekend. I must speed up my typing like my story depends on it. (It does!) Wish me luck!

Feel free check out my Nano page and novel-in-progress here.

I came across this cartoon while browsing the net for updates of Obama’s historic win. I can’t remember the article or blog but in the comments section someone simply wrote: “This says it all” with a link to the cartoon. Perfect.

Loved it at first glance. Then I had an idea. So, I contacted the political cartoonist, Steve Sack, for permission to post his cartoon. He not only gave his blessings but he sent me the jpeg! (Thanks, Steve!)

Pinch me. I’ve not only posted the coolest election cartoon from the net but Senator Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the USA! He will be the first African-American. first Hawai’i born citizen to hold the country’s highest office.

I’m still savoring Election Night. Anyone else?

I volunteered for a huge GOTV phone-banking campaign at the Convention Center/Marrott Hotel in Downtown Oakland. When they announced Obama’s victory, close to a thousand people danced, shouted, cried and hugged one another. I phoned my family and they, too, were celebrating.

Oakland Mayor, Ron Dellums, who is African-American, gave an impassioned speech saying, “As a young person, I could not have conceived of this moment… But it’s here; this is the human family. You’ve elected a man who sees the world as it is.”

The room buzzed with a rambunctious, gleeful vibe. However, everyone quieted when Obama showed up on two monster-sized TV screens. We squeezed in closer, eager to hear his words. Obama did not behave the “victor.”  Rather, he exuded a serious, mindful demeanor—an acceptance that his winning encompasses everything: the wonderful, the worrisome and the ugly—the challenges facing America today. He didn’t fail to delight, however, with news of a puppy for Malia and Sasha. (How about a cute little mutt?)

I walked out of the convention center to music blasting from a nearby restaurant. People spilled onto the sidewalks and streets, dancing and shouting in jubilation. I drove away as the honking began. It started as a faint beep in the distance and grew louder and louder, bouncing from car to car until it came to me. Of course, I joined in. We tooted car horns in a “call and response,” all the way to the Oakalnd Tube, past the cops blockading access to Jack London Square. Yes we did!

That’s right: NaNo. Short for NaNoWriMo aka National Novel Writing Month.

Here’s how it works: You pledge, along with a trillion other crazy writers, to write your own 50k novel within 30 days, in the month of November.

Whatever you write is your call. For example, I’ve got a middle grade story brewing in my head. I’ve no outline, no character studies and no particular theme in mind. I’ve only the audacity of trust that a novel will sprout from a few lines of notes.

My method certainly doesn’t suit everyone. Some writers begin with a high degree of preparedness. They arm themselves with enough research and source material to dig themselves out of trouble–even they expect surprises along the way. For other writers, surprises are the way. They have no inkling of the story that will surface as they are 110 per cent reliant on their muse.

There is no right or wrong way to start. It’s all about the writing.

I know I’m in for a wild ride. I did NaNo twice before. Got to 35k in 2005 and 14k in 2007. (I skipped 2006, the year my PB came out.) Not bad for a picture book writer, eh?

Okay, so if I didn’t make it to the finish the first two times, what makes me think I’ll do better this time?

I have a few things figured out. Besides having learned something from the previous times, and the growing vault of Nano wisdom tricks and tips, I have three things in place:

1. A laptop. I am the proud owner of an Intel Macbook Pro—my main computer since my beloved workhorse PowerMac died last spring. Have laptop, will travel… and this laptop shall remain near my fingertips the entire east coast family trek come Thanksgiving break.

2. Goodies. This includes rewards and self-administered bribes. I’ve grown wise to the fact that I need the carrot, as well as, the stick. So, some weekly rewards or incentives are in order, starting with a new chocolate brown NaNo t-shirt. Love its cool front design and 10-year anniversary pronouncement on the back!

Other potential rewards: A new book, a visit to a local day spa and chocolate. I could get used to this!

Of course, completing a 50k first draft is it’s own reward.

3. It’s the 10-year Anniversary. NaNoWriMo reaches a new milestone year so I’m pumped up and inspired to succeed. Nevermind the two trial runs I’ve had as a participant. Three’s a charm, right?

One of the perks about NaNo are the friendships and cameraderie that develop. I have my talented friend, Laura, to thank for telling me about NaNo back in 2005. She is a NaNo winner two or three times over and the coolest NaNo buddy one could ask for.

Kai, my daughter, is also taking the NaNo challenge. With her natural gift for words and storytelling, I’m curious to see what she’ll write.

With a heap of inspiration from Laura, Kai and others in NaNoland, I’m fixing my eyes on the 50k finish-line. If I hardly blog, it’s because of NaNo. If I skip meals or forget to floss, blame NaNo.

For all you dear, brave and crazy fellow NaNoers:

May your fingers fly to the finish!

September came and went, but I’m baaack! Lots to share and pictures to post—next time!

Meanwhile, I discovered how to make a word cloud from my picture book, The Sleeping Giant: A Tale From Kaua’i. (The above image resembles a fish, doesn’t it? Thanks to the online program, Wordle, you too can create a special word cloud from your text of choice. All you have to do is copy it into an online form and the program will conjure up a unique word cloud that represents your text, based on frequency of word usage. You can edit the word cloud by typeface, color, layout, etc.

It’s easy and fun. Give it a try here!

Wonder how an old love letter or school report might look? Hm, could be interesting... but I’ll leave that up to others. If you decide to make a word cloud, I’d love to see it. Just leave a comment with a link.

Go here to create your own word cloud. Feel free to post it in a wordle gallery—like I just did!