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!

Date: 2008-07-15 09:02 Subject: I Heart the Fairfield Public Library Security: Public

Look what Nicole, the teen librarian and the rest of the Fairfield Library Staff sent me for the launch of BRINGING THE BOY HOME. They opened up just in time for my launch party this past weekend.

Aren't they beautiful? And the roses are pretty too.

Date: 2008-06-23 18:14 Subject: Juicy info alert! Security: Public

Ever wonder who does the reviews at ALAN Online , Teens Read Too, YA (& Kids) Books Central, The Edge of the Forest , Fuse # 8, Reviewer X, Off to Turn Another Page, Book Chic, Slayground, Reader Rabbit and many other places?



They're usually the ones who interview us, but for one week we turn the tables on several YA & MG book reviewers and ask them the hard questions! We even tackle bad reviews. You don't want to miss one answer!



Please check out the Class of 2k8's blog for the Book Reviewer Hot Seat! http://classof2k8.blogspot.com/



And if that isn't enough, we're giving away Class of 2K8 books--Two-A-Day! So please visit our blog be sure to leave comments after each interview and you could win! (Deadline to enter is midnight June 29th, winners will be announced on Monday June 30th)

Date: 2008-05-27 10:41 Subject: Kirkus review of BRINGING THE BOY HOME! Security: Public

So yesterday, Google Alerts happened to alert me to this from Kirkus:

Nelson, N.A. BRINGING THE BOY HOME
June 01, 2008 - Told in two distinctive voices, this imaginative and beautifully realized novel, set in the Amazon, tells the story of two boys from the fictional Takunami tribe, who on the eve of their 13th birthdays must endure the soche seche tente, a test of... (see full review)


But (GAH!) I couldn't read anymore b/c I don't have a membership, so I emailed my editor last night and begged her to tell me as soon as she got in what came after those three little dots
(as if she didn't have a million other emails to answer after a three day weekend!)

And, wonderful person that she is, she got back to me first thing with THIS:

"Told in two distinctive voices, this imaginative and beautifully realized novel, set in the Amazon, tells the story of two boys from the fictional Takunami tribe, who on the eve of their 13th birthdays must endure the soche seche tente, a test of manhood. If a Takunami boy successfully completes this ordeal, he will have warrior status in the tribe and be allowed to meet his father, who psychically guides him during the experience. Tirio, who was ousted from the tribe because of a bad foot, has not been formally trained. But now that his birthday approaches, he has been hearing the voices of his ancestors and knows that despite his lack of preparation, he is being called upon to meet his destiny. Luka, who has spent his childhood working toward this moment under the tutelage of his strong-willed mother, is ready. Their stories connect in a surprising yet totally believable way, giving psychological depth to this richly hued novel about the winding turns of destiny and the bonds between father and son, tribe and family."--Kirkus


Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy. Whew!

Date: 2008-05-19 13:35 Subject: i'M SHIFT-ING IT INTO GEAR, just not with those little clip pedals! Security: Public

Oh, my gosh. I'm so far behind in talking about books that I can't wait to read, but the only way to catch up is to start, so....

Jen Bradbury SHIFT




CanNOT wait to get my hands on this. It's out now, but I don't have it...yet.

I love to bike.
I love road trips.
I love road trips with friends.
I love Chris Crutcher. Chris Crutcher loves to bike. Chris Crutcher loves this book.
I hate those clips you clip yourself into when you are biking...they scare me a(lot)little.
I'm hoping this book will help me love those little clips.

You never know. It's worth a try.

I bet thats why it's getting all those starred reviews and accolades. It's helping everyone-all those reviewers and readers-get over their fear of "clipping-in-and-falling-over-into-oncoming-traffic-or-over-a-bridge-or-in-the-middle-of-a-very-busy-intersection."

Yup.

I. Just. Bet.

I'll let you all know.

Date: 2008-05-16 22:54 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

Head on over to nancy_v and enter her "too cool for science school" contest!

Later this month, Nancy and her book, Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head, will be heading to BEA! I'm so jealous :) Have fun, Nancy, and watch that Samantha...she's going to cause all sorts of commotion at BEA!



My elementary school science teacher taught me_that my maiden name of RUST was also known "scientifically" as IRON OXIDE, so instead of NINA RUST, in science class I was known as NINA IRON OXIDE-(and you thought only kids made up names for each other.)



Move over, Ramona Quimby…
Samantha Hansen is ready to ROCK!
Look for Nancy Viau’s middle-grade novel, Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head, this September. Get your signed ARC at BEA or ALA this summer! http://www.nancyviau.com
http://www.classof2k8.com

Date: 2008-05-14 09:38 Subject: Thank you so much for being a part of my 3-Day Journey Security: Public

Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful comments and generous donations to my 3Day Walk!

Between my kid's two school classes and the LJ community, people donated over $800 this past Mother's Day weekend to help me STOMP out breast cancer.

I am thrilled!

My final words on the matter: