Date: 2009-12-01 09:39 Subject: Just want to share... Security: Public

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson

Date: 2009-10-26 10:19 Subject: Fingers Crossed Security: Public

Bringing the Boy Home is on the preliminary list for the 2010/2011 Mark Twain Award!

I'm SO excited. There are twenty five books on the list now and the final twelve will be announced in January. Fingers crossed.

There are some great books nominated. Some really prolific, talented, award winning authors. Some Newbery Award winning authors. Wow.

It's a Missouri state award and--being that I grew up in Missouri, that makes it that much more special. Go-the Show Me State!

Date: 2009-10-16 12:31 Subject: Vote for your favorite YA book trailer in Kirkus Reviews 2009 BOOK VIDEO AWARDS, Security: Public

Wow, there are some talented film students out there! Thanks to their amazing book trailers, I now have three new YA books to add to my stack!

Go vote. It was incredibly difficult to chose a fave.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/kirkusbva/

Date: 2009-09-15 09:57 Subject: Today's Gonna' Be a Good Day! Security: Public

I 'know' you all are going to appreciate this amazing video that I just came across. This was performed at Oprah's season opening ceremony in Chicago. Pay attention to the girl in the front.

It made me cry from happiness. All those people dancing just gave me chills. Enjoy.

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090908-tows-flash-mob-dance

Today's gonna be a good day!

Date: 2009-08-04 18:40 Subject: Gotta' Have Faith Security: Public

Everytime I get discouraged or frustrated or argh!!!! with my writing, I read this.

Oprah interviewed different people on what FAITH means to them. This is what Alice Sebold said:

GOTTA HAVE FAITH

The Flash from Heaven
By Alice Sebold

In some sense, faith is what I'm all about and also what can disappear in the blink of an eye. For a writer, it is as simple as words coming easily one day and failing you the next. During bleak times, when my characters sound like so many holiday-drunk relatives—and not the garrulous kind—I reassure myself that writing, like dreaming, is a function of my unconscious and will never leave me entirely on my own. I wake in the very early morning and like to start an hour or two before sunrise as if to catch the tailwind of my dreams. Also, pragmatically, I prefer to start when all the judges are still sleepy, including the harshest one—myself.

A difficult lesson, which I fought at every turn, is that what often must substitute for faith is discipline. Faith has a lovely ease about it, an ethereal ring. Discipline is the rod, the staff, your insecurities internalized and spouting rules and limits on your life. Why can't I just have faith that books will be completed? Why isn't faith alone enough? I hear my Southern roots respond. Faith doesn't dig ditches, they say; faith doesn't scrape the burn from the bottom of the pot. Ultimately, faith gives freedom, and discipline, its sister, makes sure the job gets done. Authors, when alone, often talk of page counts or word counts or how many hours they spent working that day. Rarely do we discuss our own attempts at poetry even though it is the poetry of others that routinely charges us with enough faith to go on.

Waking at 4 a.m.—3 a.m. when I am truly driven—is surely no fun for anyone, but having an image sneak up on you before the rest of the world wakes up is heaven. A small and precious secret that no one can see in the dark. Hours later, when the house stirs, and I hear my husband making a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen, I begin to feel the pressures of the day invade. I feel as if the air around me literally changes, and the work that comes then is harder and driven by will, not grace. I finish up for the day—always in the middle of something with notes jotted down that make no sense to anyone (and if I leave my desk for more than a day, that often includes me)—and go into the world of responsibilities where that necessary if often oppressive goddess of discipline takes center stage.

The work I leave behind in my study is unfinished and unknowable almost every day. Characters come alive and die in an instant, metaphors wobble, and sentences shift meaning without my fully understanding how. After all, conscious thought is the death of creativity and to have faith in one's unconscious is the ultimate need of a writer—at least this one. Dreams go unfinished while we sleep but can be completed upon waking if we both have faith and are willing to do the grueling work of follow-through. In this way faith is a figment, a dream, a creation—something beautiful I never hope to lose.

Date: 2009-07-29 14:47 Subject: Lisa Schroeder Security: Public

Some people amaze me. Lisa Schroeder is one of them. Have you seen her list of books? If not, let me just list them for you so you can all be as impressed as well. (It's like printing out your finished story...when you have all those pages in your hand, you just feel like: WHOA! I did all that!)

Well, WHOA! Lisa did all this:

I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME came out in JAN 2008
FAR FROM YOU, came out in JAN 2009
CHASING BROOKLYN comes out in JAN 2010

AND ALSO arriving at a bookstore near you in 2010—a mid-grade novel, IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES, AND, AND, AND a picture book titled LITTLE CHIMP'S BIG DAY.

That's five books in three years!

Oh, my gosh! She's super-human. She can write in verse, from a tween's point of view, a teen's point of view, a boy's view point, a girl's viewpoint...even a monkey's view point for goodness sakes!

And I'm not even going to go into the fact that she facebooks, blogs, tweets, reviews, speaks at schools, works another job, has a family, and still smiles calmly in all her pictures.

A-mazing. Lisa, I salute you. And now that I've written something about cupcakes, I MUST have one...power of suggestion and all. It would be nice to have the book IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and be eating a cupcake, but I guess I'll have to wait until next year for that delight.

Date: 2009-03-20 09:51 Subject: How cool is this? Security: Public

Thanks to BUST mag for bringing this to my attention! http://www.bust.com/blog/2009/03/19/where-the-wild-things-are-poster-revealed.html#more-1794

Date: 2009-01-23 16:13 Subject: Bringing the Boy Home was deemed NOTABLE by Smithsonian Magazine! Security: Public

This post is a little late in coming, but that doesn't make it any less exciting for me to write:

Bringing the Boy Home was named one of Smithsonian Magazine's Notable Books for Children in 2008!!!!

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Smithsonian-Notable-Books-For-Children-2008.html?c=y&page=3

I am so excited! The local newspaper just ran an article about it today and I feel like I'm living the excitement all over again.

Just had to share. :)

Congrats to fellow 2k8'ers--Laurel Snyder and Elizabeth Bunce whose books were named as well!

Date: 2008-11-21 17:26 Subject: TWILIGHT! Security: Public

I'm going to see TWILIGHT at 7 pm with my babysitter and the teen librarian from my town. I. Can't. Wait!

Date: 2008-11-12 11:29 Subject: Muncha Muncha Muncha Security: Public

Is it just me or is everyone else going into hibernation mode and eating everything in sight?

This morning, I was looking out my kitchen window and chowing down when I realized how much I looked like the squirrel in our yard doing the same thing.

Date: 2008-11-11 08:53 Subject: Go, Stacy, go! Security: Public

It's launch week for Stacy Nyikos and her book Dragon Wishes. Go check her out at http://classof2k8.blogspot.com/

Date: 2008-11-10 20:17 Subject: Review from SLJ! Security: Public

Bringing the Boy Home got reviewed by School Library Journal! Yay!

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6611757.html?industryid=47067

NELSON, N. A. Bringing the Boy Home. 211p. HarperCollins. 2008. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-06-088698-1; PLB $16.89. ISBN 978-0-06-088699-8. LC number unavailable.

Gr 4–8—This story unfolds in alternating chapters, written from the viewpoints of two young members of an Amazonian tribe. On their 13th birthdays, Takunami boys must face a rite of passage into manhood, guided through danger by a spiritual connection with their fathers, whose identity remains a secret until after the trial. Though they have lived very different lives, Tirio and Luka are both preparing for this mentally and physically demanding test. Considered weak because of his disabled foot, Tirio was placed on the river in a "corpse canoe" by his mother at age six and rescued and adopted by an American anthropologist. Now almost 13, he feels drawn back to his village and longs to prove himself a Takunami man. Though Luka has been training for the test his entire life, he wrestles with unexpected events that threaten his success. A clever plot device links the characters and their personal struggles together. The setting is strikingly described and provides a vivid backdrop for the action. The language, rituals, and beliefs of the Takunami are well developed, and will have many readers looking for further information about them. Youngsters may feel duped to discover, in an appended author's note, that the tribe is imaginary, "based on an idea, and not a representation of any known Amazonian people." Nevertheless, this is a fast-paced and remarkable adventure story with surprising twists along the way.—Genevieve Gallagher, Buford Middle School, Charlottesville, VA

Date: 2008-11-06 21:01 Subject: Caia Koopman Security: Public

Thumbing through my UNCOMMON GOODS catalog and came upon some stuff that stopped me in my tracks. How cool is this girl's stuff?








Her name is Caia Koopman http://www.caiadesign.com/caiaHome.htm and she's an artist/skateboarder/snowboarder/wakeboarder who's been designing/decorating things for that industry for awhile now. I think she'd be a great kids book illustrator!

Deep sigh. I wish I could draw.

Date: 2008-11-05 09:34 Subject: A fun-filled day in NYC Security: Public

courtneywrites is a do-er. A do-er is a person who, when they say to you on the phone, "We should do lunch sometime." and you say, "Yeah, that would be great!" they then follow up with "Okay. What day looks good for you?" and then you go, "Oh. You mean actually get up out of this comfy chair that I'm sitting in and look at the calendar and set a date?"

A do-er makes you set the date. And a measurable writing goal. And tells you definitively that you need an agent...like, now. That's a do-er and that's Courtney. Some people call them a$$-kickers.

Regardless of wht you call them, everyone needs a 'do-er, a$$-kicker' as a friend.

Here's a picture of my 'do-er, a$$-kicker', friend signing copies of her newly released novel, MY SO-CALLED FAMILY!
(ahem, MY SO-CALLED FAMILY received a starred review Publisher's Weekly and a Gold Star Award of Excellence from TeensReadToo!)

We had just:
*had lunch at Alice's Teacup (as in Alice in Wonderland),
*went to Dylan's Candy Bar (Willie Wonka meets New York City),
*visited the Pokemon store in Rockefeller Center (also the home of the TODAY show)

and then went to the nearest Barnes and Noble to sign our books.


She's smiling because she had just taken down a whole shelf of books as she tried to find a place to situate herself. The area around her looks organized now, but believe me, she caused a book avalanche two seconds earlier.

Date: 2008-11-03 09:45 Subject: Sebastian Junger Security: Public

This Friday, for date night (although it was actually during the day), my husband and I went into New York City. On the train ride in, he asked me where I wanted to go. I said, "Marc Jacobs down on Bleecker St."

*Side note: When I did the Breast Cancer 3Day walk in Seattle, the staff all wore these really cool striped fingerless gloves and when I asked where they got them, one of the girls said Marc Jacobs. I've been hankerin' for some fingerless gloves, so I decided, 'what the heck' let's see what Marc's got in stock.

So we took the 6 subway down to Bleecker and walked. It was a long walk b/c 382 Bleecker is not near the Bleecker subway stop, but it was a nice day and we weaved in and out of stores. Well, when we got near Marc Jacobs, there was a line...I kid you not...it was insane. But he has three stores close to each other, so we went to one w/o a line and I went in. No fingerless gloves, so we left and kept walking north toward 23 and 10th. The Half King. The Half King is a bar opened by Sebastian Junger, author of THE PERFECT STORM. If I'm remembering correctly from what I've read, he built it so writers could come in, make themselves comfortable and write. I DID have my journal with me and I told my husband earlier that I would like to write when we got there. Well, after bellying up to the bar, I changed my mind. By this time it was 6 o'clock and it felt too 'open' to really write, so I ordered a drink instead.

Then my husband, who was looking over my shoulder, said, "I think that's him."
And I knew who he was talking about, but I asked anyway, "Sebastian Junger?"
And my husband said "Yep. By the door."
So, slyly I looked around and sure enough, Sebastian Junger was standing by the door.
"Go talk to him," my husband said.
"About what?"
"Tell him you're a writer."
"Nah," I said, thinking 'Yeah,I'm sure he's heard THAT before.'
"Tell him you appreciate him opening a place like this."
"Well, I do, but then what?" I ask imagining the awkward silence that would follow. I suppose I could have said,"I loved your book," but still that's not really original either. I guess I just wasn't feeling so carpe' diem.

So anyway, to make a long story short, I saw Sebastian Junger. No one else seemed to notice him or realize it was him or even care that it was him...New Yorkers are like that, but not even the staff acknowledged him, but it WAS him. He's got very distinct eyes.


And now I kind of wish I 'would' have talked to him b/c that is the reason he opened The Half King--for writers, but he disappeared and we didn't see him again before we left. Ah, well. Perhaps next time I go to The Half King, I will write. I will write and I will talk to Sebastian Junger. There's always next time.

Date: 2008-11-02 10:43 Subject: MY DAILY LITERARY QUOTE Security: Public

I have my google page set up so I get a daily literary quote. Sometime the quote resonates with me, other times it inspire me, sometimes it makes me scratch my head and go hmmmmmm.

On Friday night, after a massive trick-or-treating adventure, I lay down, turned off the light and tried to sleep. But then a perfectly, fantastic, witty and wonderful paragraph for my WIP popped into my head, so I jumped up, grabbed my computer from my study and added the paragraph. Pleased, I repeated the "lay down and turn off the light" part smiling and pleased. Today, when I read my google daily literary quote, I nodded and thought, yep, Saul Bellow you're right.


"YOU NEVER HAVE TO CHANGE ANYTHING YOU GOT UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO WRITE."~SAUL BELLOW

Date: 2008-10-31 21:11 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Date: 2008-10-30 08:54 Subject: Sierra Magazine Mention! Security: Public

Sierra Magazine mentioned three 2K8'er books: Samantha Hanson has Rock In Her Head by Nancy Viau nancy_v, Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different by Kristin Tubb http://www.kristintubb.blogspot.com/ and BRINGING THE BOY HOME by ME!!!!

Here's the link if you are so inclined: http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200811/mixed-media.asp

I grew up in Missouri where magazines like Missouri Conservationist, Ranger Rick and Sierra Magazine were the ones in the bathroom reading bin...if you know what I mean, so it's now came full circle for me.

Thanks so much Kerry Madden mountainmist for the mention!

Date: 2008-10-29 21:42 Subject: 'Breaking In' at the New Canaan Library Security: Public

Spoke at the New Canaan Library today on a panel called BREAKING IN: HOW TO GET AN AGENT AND A PUBLISHER IN THE 21ST CENTURY. It was PACKED and the audience had great questions! The panel includes four authors and an agent with all varying experience in the literary field. I speak on behalf of children's book authors and focus on "THE THREE C'S OF BREAKING INTO PUBLISHING THE NON-TRADITIONAL WAY: CONTESTS, CONFERENCES AND CRITIQUE GROUPS."

The other panelists are:

*Jessica Bram, NPR commentator and author of Happily Ever After Divorce:
Notes on a Joyful Journey as the moderator

*Lucy Hedrick, five-time nonfiction author -- on the nonfiction book proposal

*Prill Boyle, author of Defying Gravity: A Celebration of Late-Blooming
Women,

*Denise Marcil,President, Denise Marcil Literary Agency, Inc.

Here we are:
(from left: Prill Boyle, Jessica Bram, ME!, Lucy Hedrick, Denise Marcil)




Our next appearance will be at the Ridgefield, CT Public Libary on Dec 10 at 7 pm. If you're in the area, please come!

Date: 2008-07-30 09:53 Subject: We're not in Kansas anymore... Security: Public

Ever wondered how to get to magical land of a NYC publishing house? Does it seem more difficult than Dorothy's trip to the land of Oz? We might not have a tin man, a cowardly lion, or a scarecrow to guide us, but we have someone better: Andrew Karre, acquisitions editor for Llewellyn Worldwide and FLUX.

Head on over to http://classof2k8.blogspot.com/ to hear Andrew explain how to traverse the "yellow brick road" to the land of publishing.

Ruby red slippers not required, but wear 'em if you've got 'em!