coterie

Before the party festivities, Anna gave all the blue rose girls blue rose rings. I particularly like how even though they are all blue roses, they are each different.


It is an interesting coterie that we have formed. When we first began the blue rose girl blog, it was mainly for professional and promotional reasons--but the bonds that formed behind the posts have become stronger than I ever imagined. These were the women that stood by me when I was running on empty, when the suffering was almost too much to bear and waited to catch me when the inevitable finally forced me to fall. These were the women that drove six hours to a foreign city for a funeral; they were the ones who madly rearranged, repainted and removed the horrors from my apartment so that I could return to a true home. These were the women who refused to let me be alone and scheduled their days to be with me; the ones who helped me pick up the pieces of my life, watched me heal, encouraged me to go forward and pushed me to look at my future with hope. They are the ones who are sincerely happy for me when I now feel joy and celebrate with delight anytime life brings me good fortune. These are the women who have taught me what true friendship really is.

I probably shouldn't need a ring to remember that. But, it's a good excuse.

A full weekend

As most of you probably know that Robert's Snow auctions ended on Friday. As sad as I was to see the project come to a close, it was fun as always to watch the bids rise and see who won which flakes! To celebrate a great project and a great cause, the Blue Rose Girls had a little get together at Grace's place. It was the most fun party I've been to in a long time, mainly because the room was full of interesting people who love books, I wish I'd gotten to talk to everyone!

Yes that is a three tiered cupcake tray in the middle of the table, Grace makes the best cupcakes ever.



From left to right below: Rebecca, Alvina, Grace, Libby, Elaine, and me:



When the festivities were over it was time to get back to work, Saturday I had a table at the RISD holiday sale. I do this sale every year, its a good way to sell some books... but mainly it gives me the opportunity to do something crafty, which always gets me in the holiday spirit. This year I framed little prints of the illustrations for the book I'm working on now (Red Shoe):



Here is me, sitting cheerfully behind my table before the mad rush of craft enthusiasts hit the scene:



Another perk of doing the show is all the other artists you get to meet, and sometimes trade with. This year I made two trades with artists Gregory Poulin and Dorothy Imagire. This is Gregory's work below, he does these amazing still lives of food and other household objects. I traded him for a beautifully rendered painting of garlic, which now hangs proudly in our kitchen.



Here is Dorothy's work. She makes these tiny photographs dipped in wax (called encaustic), I traded her for an image of a honeybear and a pastry cutter that I couldn't love more. You can see more of her encaustic work here.



I had the pleasure of sharing my booth with Karen Bessette, who makes really lovely collage/paintings such as this one that remind me of Romare Bearden:



Well that about wraps it up... I returned to Boston Sunday to spend the day painting... a deadline waits for no one!

Big Sur

I meant to write about this last Monday, but I had a few travel issues (Cancelled flight, 3+ hour layover, lost luggage...). So, a week late, here's my wrap-up of the Big Sur Children's Writer's Workshop. One of the highlights was the locale, so there are lots of photos below.

Last Friday morning, I drove my rental car down from San Francisco to Big Sur. Highway One was breathtaking, and I couldn't resist getting out of the car a few times to take pictures:


We had a lovely faculty orientation/lunch at the Henry Miller Library. It was great seeing some familiar faces, putting faces to name, and meeting new friends. The weather felt fairly warm to me then, but the temperature would quickly drop--we would be cold all weekend; good thing we had fireplaces in our cabins for heat:
Here is the view of the conference center from my cabin:
I really liked the structure of the conference. Each faculty member would facilitate three separate critique groups of 4-5 attendees. The first group would meet once on Friday, and then again on Sunday, where ideally the author would have revised according to feedback.

Each attendee would also have a one-on-one consultation with a faculty member, meaning each faculty member would have 4 or 5 consultations. One of the biggest draws of the Big Sur conference is the high faculty to attendee ratio--it's truly unlike any other conference I've been to.

One of my one-on-ones was with fellow blogger, Disco Mermaid Eve. The other Mermaids made a surprise visit for dinner Saturday night:

(me, Jay, Eve, and Rovin. I look so little next to them!)

Speaking of blogs, several attendees told me that they read and enjoyed either this blog or bloomabilities, which was nice to hear. If there are any Big Sur attendees reading this, Hello!

Saturday afternoon, most of the faculty escaped for a little R&R while the attendees had some writing time to revise. And yes, perhaps there was just a little talk about the manuscripts we had seen--but don't worry, mostly good things:Saturday evening, the editors spoke on a panel giving some background about our publishing houses, talking about the type of books we edit and what we're looking for for. It was an interesting variety of perspectives, from small publisher to large: Tricycle Press, Chronicle Books, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Dutton/Penguin were represented.

The questions asked were quite good, I thought: what a "platform" is for an author, and how important it is (general consensus: it's not crucial, but it sure doesn't hurt!); where to send "sad" books (smaller publishers may be more open to publishing more "niche" books than larger publishers); what type of books we might be seeing too much of (fantasy with Lemony Snicket-type narration, pirate books); and so on.

And after a good-bye lunch on Sunday, we were on our way home, bid farewell by a gorgeous double rainbow:

Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and I think both attendees and faculty enjoyed themselves immensely; I highly recommend it.

P.S. I still love my Sony Reader, and couldn't resist showing it around at the conference and sharing the love.

JUST A FEW HOURS LEFT!

Come on folks, it's time to bid. Sadly I have to leave for CT soon for a book signing so I won't be around to see the end of the auctions... which is probably just as well since my snowflake is one of the lowest out there. Sob. Don't feel bad for the little snowflake. It has a big enough ego to tough it out. I, however, do not... so it's just as well that I don't witness its demise! I do thank the individual who did bid on it. Thank you.

On a fun note, Lidia from the cooking show on TV bought two copies of City Hawk for her grandchildren last night. I thought that was cool. She wrote two names out on sticky-notes and walked off for a bit so I was left alone to figure out whether the first name, which started with “Man…” was for a family or an individual. So I started to write “To the M..” but stopped, afraid it was for a person, not a family. Turns out it WAS for a family. For whatever reason I forgot that I screwed up the first copy (but really didn’t screw it up) and wrote it all out again. So I hid the "screw up" in the pile of books that weren't sold. Now there’s a book that’s going to be returned that was for Lidia that says “FOR THE MAN.” Lovely. The receiving dept. is going to wonder about that one!

meghan

the value of snow

The Robert's Snow auctions end tomorrow, Friday at 5pm. Even though I have not been as involved in the project this year, it is still quite meaningful to me. In 2005, I wrote this post as the Robert's Snow auctions were beginning. As the 2007 auctions end, I thought I'd repost this as the sentiments are the same.

11/06/05: The auctions have started and I'm curious about the bidding. At the gallery, I heard an offhand comment after Ki-Ki mentioned how unique the snowflakes were. "I guess that's why they're worth so much," someone said.

But their worth really does go beyond the pretty pictures. In all the press, I emphasize the famous names, the exclusivity, the collectability of these snowflakes. Because that's good marketing. No one wants to hear the depressing stuff. But, the sad stuff is what gives these snowflakes a value beyond their starting price.

Bid for everything cancer touches. Bid for the nurses and the doctors who know their words are cold comfort. Bid for the spouses that suddenly realize that "in sickness" and "death do us part" is for real. Bid for the kids who have no hair and are pulled to treatment in a wagon. Bid for the parents who age 10 years in 10 minutes. Bid for the friendships that fade away because people just don't understand or know what to do. Bid for Chad, the boy who lost his father to cancer and flew in from Virginia just to see the snowflakes. Bid for David, an artist that dedicated his snowflake to his brother who died of cancer. Bid for Steve, the volunteer who hand cut all 200 snowflakes with his scroll saw in his garage. Bid for Jon, the computer programmer, who stayed up past 2 AM night after night working on the website. Bid for Robert who sat alone in the infusion center while all the other patients were surrounded by friends and family. Bid for yourself and all the days you'll remember and wish you didn't.

Bid for all of these reasons. Or bid for some them. Or bid for none of them at all. Just bid and know that no matter what you pay, that snowflake is worth so much more.

Only 2 days left

So far the Blue Rose Girls have been very excitedly watching the bidding (and bidding ourselves) on the Robert's Snow auctions... as we hope everyone else is too! Now that we only have 2 days before the very last auction ends and the 2007 auction comes to a close, I just wanted to highlight some of the many beautiful snowflakes that at the moment are quite the steal! Unfortunately I can't talk about all of them here (though I will post about some more tomorrow), but these are a few of my favorites that, like I said, are selling for much less than they are worth...

(click here to go to the auction)

Barbara Lehman has a really gorgeous snowflake in this auction- its hard to tell in the photo, but the tiny shutters in the painting stand out from the window in 3D, so lovely. Right now here snowflake is less than $300! As she is a Caldecott award winning author/illustrator, my guess is her illustrations sell for thousands of dollars...

Each of the following snowflakes is currently less than $200:

Another gem is Connie McLennan's 'flake... when I saw this one in person at the galleries I was surprised at how striking it was... in person it has a three dimensional quality, its so photo realistic you feel like the butterfly is going to flap its wings and fly away.

Another snowflake that inspired everyone who saw it at the gallery shows is the one created by Consie Powell. Again, hard to tell from the photo, but the back side of this snowflake is actually a hand carved wood block that the artist used to print the image on the front of the snowflake. So not only do you get the block the artist printed with, but a beautiful hand colored edition of one... so creative!

Giles Laroche has created an amazingly intricate snowflake- if you know his work you know that he hand cuts and assembles paper sculpture to illustrate his books and he's done the same with his snowflake. Both the angel and the bird he has sculpted are hand cut and assembled- each tiny feather on the bird's wings has been glued in place with meticulous craftsmanship.

Laura Graves is another artist who really went above and beyond- the painting she has hung from her snowflake (which is quite large by the way), is absolutely beautiful. It is soft and sweet and so intricate in its detail... it reminds me of the fairy tales by Mercer Meyer I used to love as a kid.

I wish I could buy all these snowflakes myself, but since I already own three I have to use some self control!! There are so many gorgeous ones to choose from, the artists have made it really hard this year to resist!

PS

I recently put up a "how I made my snowflake" page on my web site here for a behind the scenes sneak peek! Yay Robert's Snow! Its been so fun watching the auctions go... who else has won snowflakes so far?

Cutest thing ever

An old friend of mine who is a Montessori school teacher recently showed me this video of one of her little students reading one of my books, SO sweet. Apparently she has read the The Three Little Kittens with them so much that she has memorized it and is quietly reciting it to herself (at times not so quietly). I love how she keeps turning the pages while she looks around the room to see what everyone else is doing!

BTW I have permission from her mother to post it for those concerned.

Robert's Snow 2007: The Final Auction

Bidding will begin on the final auction of Robert’s Snow 2007 on Monday, December 3rd. One hundred percent of the auction proceeds will go to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for sarcoma research. All but $25 of each winning bid is tax deductible.

Robert’s Snow 2007 Auction 3

- Bidding begins at 9:00 AM Eastern Standard Time on Monday, December 3rd.

- Bidding ends at 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on Friday, December 7th.

- Starting bid price: $150

- Bid increment: $25

Wish me luck! I’ll be bidding on a number of snowflakes in the third auction.

Read about all the illustrators who contributed to this auction at the sites linked below. (The order presented is the same as on the auction page.)

Consie Powell at Becky’s Book Reviews

Anna Alter at The Longstockings

Adam Rex at Booktopia and Welcome to my Tweendom

Julia Denos at Interactive Reader

Giles Laroche at Book, Book, Book

Matt Phelan at A Year of Reading

Brooke Dyer at Bookshelves of Doom

Barbara Lehman at The Excelsior File

Scott Magoon at Just One More Book!!

Alissa Imre Geis at Wild Rose Reader

Judy Schachner at Kate's Book Blog

Laura Huliska Beith at Just One More Book!!

Genevieve Cote at a wrung sponge

Ruth Sanderson at Book Moot

Susan Kathleen Hartung at Wild Rose Reader

Linda Graves at Your Neighborhood Librarian

Diane DeGroat at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup

Susan Mitchell at Check It Out

R.W. Alley at at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup

Wendell Minor at Wild Rose Reader

Melanie Watt at Whimsy Books

Elisa Kleven at Rozzieland

Sally Vitsky at Shelf Elf: read, write, rave

Jimmy Pickering at Shaken & Stirred

Jeremy Tankard at the excelsior file

Mark Teague at The Miss Rumphius Effect

Annie Patterson at Check It OutAshley Bryan

Diana Magnuson at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Bill Carman at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Elizabeth Sayles at AmoXcalli and Cuentecitos

Grace Lin at In the Pages

Dan Santat at Writing and Ruminating

Jarrett J. Krosoczka at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Jeff Ebbeler at Sam Riddleburger's blog

Margaret Chodos-Irvine at readergirlz

Nancy Wallace at In the Pages . . .

Robin Brickman at Greetings from Nowhere

Joy Allen at Check It Out

Christopher Demarest at Writing and Ruminating

Mary Newell Depalma at Wild Rose Reader

Derek Anderson

Peter Brown

Rebecca Guay at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Jui Ishida at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Kathy Jakobsen at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Linda Bronson

James T. Williamson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Kristina Swarner at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Vladimir Shpitalnik at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Linda S. Wingerter at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Meghan McCarthy at A Fuse #8 Production

Carin Berger at Chasing Ray

Salley Mavor at ChatRabbit

Amy Young at Kate's Book Blog

Rebecca Doughty at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Brian Lies at Greetings from Nowhere

D.B. Johnson at Lessons from the Tortoise

Jeff Mack at AmoXcalli

Selina Alko at Brooklyn Arden

Sean Qualls at Brooklyn Arden

Randy Cecil at ChatRabbit

Jeff Newman at A Year of Reading

Mo Willems at MotherReader

Karen Lee at sruble's world

Shawna Tenney at Kate's Book Blog

Julie Paschkis at the excelsior file

Victoria Jamieson at AmoXcalli and Cuentecitos

Juli Kangas at Sam Riddleburger

Connie McLennan at The Shady Glade

Kelly Murphy at ChatRabbit

Remember that Auction 3 is your last opportunity to win one of the wooden snowflakes created especially for Robert's Snow 2007. Each snowflake is a unique work of art. Please help to support this special fundraiser by bidding on your favorite snowflake(s)!

Whose image is it anyway?

My editor (NOT Alvina, an editor I've been working with on a non-fiction project) and I discussed the author photo for a book about South America. I said I thought it would be fun to have a picture of me in Cuzco, Peru, instead of just the usual boring head shot. She agreed.

So I sent her the picture, warning her that *I* looked kind of dorky but that thought the background (the light and that beautiful Inca stonework) was worth it. She agreed: well, she didn't say "You're right, you do look like a dork," she said it was "a nice picture" and that she liked the idea of the picture going along with the book, too. [NOTE: The images are sharper and the colors are deeper in Photoshop than here on blogger.]



So I asked what size they wanted, she found out, and I sent her this, as instructed, a little bigger than the final print sized so the designer could crop it:


A few days later I got an email from her saying:
"So much for thinking outside the box," and then giving the designer's comments....I better not quote them, but the gist was that they wouldn't use the picture because:
*the eyes were closed
*the sun was shining right on my face (that was the whole point, it was in the Temple of the Sun I'd written about in the book)
*all the other author photographs were head shots
blah blah blah

I'll get another picture taken, I should have a real one anyway -- but it seems bizarre to me that when the author and editor both like a picture we can't use it. If I don't mind looking like a dork why should the designer? I WILL get a professional to take a real author photograph; but I don't expect to be going to Peru anytime soon so it will have to be taken here. I have mixed feelings about how important it all is anyway: has anyone ever not bought a book because they didn't like the author's photograph, or bought one because they did? But come to think of it, probably how you look does have a lot to do with whether or not you're invited to schools, and red isn't the best hair color for me (what was I thinking?)so it will be just as well to have a better photograph. But I still think the picture should be up to the author.

Robert's Snow auction #2- last day to bid!

Just a reminder that the second round of Robert's Snow auctions ends in a mere few hours at 5 pm EST! There are a surprisingly large number of really reasonably priced 'flakes up right now (many under $200)... children's book artists don't often sell their original art, so this is a really great chance to snag a beautiful piece of kid's book art for a great cause!

Click here to see the snowflakes and bid.

starting a new blog

Some of you may know that my personal blog is Fireside Chat. Lately not much has been said on "the chat." This is because I've been pretty sick off and on. Perhaps some of you will have trouble believing that statement. As my aunt said "You look really good." Yeah. So what? I suppose if I feel sick on the inside I should be covered in green boils or something equally gross on the outside. Sadly, that isn't the way it goes.

Anyhow, my new blog is going to be all about what I’ve been dealing with, perhaps in graphic detail, with some fun photos thrown in... which I think I'm going to do anonymously. Why is this? Because I need to deal with what has been going on with me but I still don't want everyone to know everything and furthermore, why would anyone care to read about it? No one wants to read the sad details. But for me I need this. I'm considering it therapeutic. This way I can keep the fireside chat and this blog illness free. No more talk about it! Right now being sick is a very big part of my life but I think it will be fun to separate it. Besides, my website blog is supposed to be funny, not awful. I'm cutting out the awful. I'd also like strangers to read my new and anonymous blog in the hopes that it will help them, if they're dealing with something similar. And believe me, those people are out there. I found a blog called something like MS or Lyme? I have a lot of the same symptoms so reading it is comforting for me.

My other worries--on the topic of making books I'm worried. What will happen if I don't have the creative energy to do it anymore? A lot of people who have the type of neuropathy that I do go on disability. I REFUSE to do that so I drag my sorry self into B&N even when I'm really sick--dizzy, ready to vomit, in severe pain.... But the problem with making books is that it's harder to do than to drag oneself into a mindless job. Creativity takes mental clarity. I think it also takes a certain POSITIVE mindset, at least when making kids' books. I'm not in the mindset right now. And what will happen? I only earn 150 or so per week at B&N. I can't live off of that! Being freelance is a scary thing and an endeavor that I sometimes regret entering.

But let's forget about all of that. On to more cheerful things! My blogs will be my split life/personality from now on. No more depressing talk.

meghan

Poetry Friday: A Hanukkah Poem

I don’t miss many Poetry Friday posts—but I was really spent last week after all my preparations for Thanksgiving dinner for a dozen people at my house. I am sure my overindulgence in rich foods and the sampling of too many calorie-laden desserts helped to bring on my overall feeling of lethargy last Friday—so I took a poetry vacation.

Since Hanukkah falls in early December this year, I thought I’d post a poem for the holiday that was written by one of my favorite children’s poets—Aileen Fisher

Light the Festive Candles
by Aileen Fisher
(For Hanukkah)

Light the first of eight tonight—
the farthest candle to the right.

Light the first and second, too,
when tomorrow's day is through.

Then light three, and then light four—
every dusk one candle more

Till all eight burn bright and high,
honoring a day gone by

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

Note: I found Fisher’s poem thanks to Lunchbox Poems, an online journal feature at the website of the Poetry Foundation. The article was written by two fabulous kidit bloggers—Julie Danielson and Eisha Prather of 7-Imp. I suggest all you poetry lovers head on over to the website and read their piece.

Quoting from Julie and Eisha: "Poetry can be a great way to connect with children. Why not, as Kenn Nesbitt suggests, slip some verses into your children’s lunchboxes to share a giggle or remind them that you’re thinking of them? To get you started, we’ve paired a few poems with momentous days of the school year."

In their article, Jules and Eisha include links to more than twenty poems that would be great for a parent to print and pack in a child’s lunchbox or bag. The poems would also be fine for sharing in an elementary classroom.


I have reviews of two Hanukkah books for children at Wild Rose Reader today: Hanukkah Lights: Holiday Poetry and I Have a Little Dreidel.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Two Writing Teachers today.

author-slash-illustrator

So, I received the official hardcover of the Year of the Rat! With my second novel and a third one on its way, I feel like a I can honestly call myself an author/illustrator, instead of "just" an illustrator. This is much like Fabio in the movie Zoolander:

"Yes! Yes! With this 'slash' award, it means that you consider me the best actor/model, and not the other way around. "

Ebooks

It was very synchronistic that Alvina posted about her Sony reader yesterday as I was listening to this really interesting show on npr last week when the Kindle was released, which got me thinking about reading and technology.

I remember when I was going to art school one of my parent's friends asked me how I felt about the fact that I was going off to study a dying art form (book illustration). I said that even though technology changes the context of art, that doesn't mean it has to die. Photography changed the nature of representational painting (when we could take photographs, painting suddenly evolved to serve a different purpose than capturing reality), but this didn't cause people to stop painting.

I wonder how much that metaphor can be applied though, now that technology like ebook readers are getting closer and closer to the experience of reading a book. So my question is, what is it that is special about reading a printed book?

I can quickly list the tactile things that I love about reading paper books: the weight in my hands, the smell of the ink and the old browned paper. The anticipation that builds as you turn a page, the sound of that page turning, like the flap of a bird's wing.

I can also quickly bring to mind the things I hate about reading on a screen: the haze that comes over your eyes from long stretches of staring at something bright, the lack of design (most web sites use the same, universal type faces for the text). The confusing mish mosh of information and advertisements that, when poorly designed, can be overwhelming.

But apart from these tactile differences, which technology promises to overcome at some point (as the show above points out, it was only 50 years ago that a single computer filled a room), what about reading a printed book would be lost if all goes digital? Ultimately when you are really lost in a story, does it matter in what form you read it? Is there an inherent difference when it comes to children's books in particular?

Because picture books are so much about the art, it seems that the readers out right now are a far cry from catching up to duplicating the experience of a printed page of artwork... so perhaps printed picture books will live a longer life than printed novels. But it does beg the question, what do we value about reading with children, and how will the essence of this change or stay the same as we move away from printed books, if this is the trend?

One of the guests on the show points out that these new devices help us connect with authors more, since we have access to more information about them... blogs for instance open up the writer/reader relationship in a whole new way... more and more it seems necessary that writers actively interact with their audience for their books to be successful. Do ebooks provide ways to further this connection?

If reading a book must increasingly be an interactive, participatory event for the reader, so that they can feel part of the story and the author's world... and if technology makes this easier, does that take some responsibility away from the author/illustrator to accomplish this with the skill of their craft alone?

I love my Sony Reader

I'm still on vacation in CA and am recovering from Thanksgiving, but wanted to give a quick shout-out to the Sony Reader. Right before I left for vacation, my company passed out 50 Sony Readers throughout different departments, and I was one of the lucky volunteers selected for the trial. We're testing the usability of the Readers, and also to see how they helps in terms of saving paper and money when it comes to reading manuscripts.

Well, I love it so far. Most agents nowadays prefer sending submissions electronically, and while I generally tell them, when given the choice, that my preference is still receiving a hard copy, it certainly saves time and shipping costs to email. In the past, when I've received an emailed submission, I've forwarded it on to our receptionist to print out and log in. Apparently, each 400-page novel that we print out costs the company $7, not including the environmental impact. And this is such a waste, especially considering that the entire manuscript might not get read (for the record, I tend to give a novel at least 30 pages to pull me in, but if it doesn't do it for me by then, I stop reading). Every time we bring a manuscript to our acquisitions meeting, we copy and distribute approximately 20 copies. That's $140, and 8,000 sheets of paper (is my math correct?). That's crazy.

We're trying to go Green. Or, at least greener. And I think this is a great first step. I loaded up my reader with a bunch of novels in anticipation of my vacation--it takes Word documents, in Rich Text Format. No longer am I lugging heavy, bulky manuscripts across the country in my suitcase. All I have is a very portable, attractive gadget. The screen is great, you can read it in sunlight, I've read one and a half manuscripts so far, and it hasn't bothered my eyes one bit. In fact, I often bring my hand to the top corner of the machine, forgetting that I need to push a button to turn the page.

I'm in love.

A few wishes: that there was a backlight so I could read in the dark, that the pages loaded a tiny bit faster (although it's not bad at all), that the page turn buttons were a little bigger, that I could actually edit the file on screen--then I could use the Reader not just for reading submissions, but for actual editing as well. Maybe in the future...

I'm curious--has anyone else used an ebook reader? Any other publishing folks starting to use them? There's been some recent buzz about Amazon's Kindle as well. My assistant and I had lunch with an agent recently who told us that all of the agents in her company use ebook readers now. She loves it, too. I don't know if the Reader will replace actual books for me, at least not for a while, but as for manuscript submissions? I'm ready to get rid of them immediately. The hard copies, I mean. ;)

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone gave thanks, and ate to their stomach's content...or perhaps discontent.

Just curious--did anyone win a snowflake? I was bidding on a bunch, and hoped to win at least one, but I totally forgot about the time difference now that I'm on the West Coast and wasn't able to bid again before the auctions ended! Bummer. Can't wait till next week...I MUST win another snowflake!

my owl

So, I finally finished my owl for Keene State. Just a little late...

Painting in progress continued

Last week I showed the first steps in making a painting for the book I'm working on, What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe? You can view last week's post here.

I left off establishing the color relationships and patterns:



Next I started layering some texture onto the bunny's fur, laying grey highlights over a black foundation:



This is the finished painting. I tightened up the edges, finished off the textures, and filled in the remaining colors:



Here is the poem that goes with this illustration:

Jack’s blanket was stained,
it was damp,
it was done,
A mere ghost of a blanket,
made pale from the sun.
The fabric had worn,
a soft gauze to the touch.
Jack gave it a squeeze
for he loved it so much.

Snowflakes and NCTE

There was a chance of rain mixed with wet snow flurries on Saturday night and also today, and although I don't think there's any snow outside (I'll know in a few minutes when I walk to work), it's certainly snowing in a different way now! This morning at 9 am EST is the start of auction #1 for the Robert's Snow for Cancer's Cure fundraiser. Thank you everyone who has help spread the word for this wonderful event, now is the time to BID! So, go here and bid now. Let's make this year's fundraiser the biggest ever!

****

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Conference went on this past weekend here in NYC, and the ALAN workshop is continuing now. I spent most of Saturday at the conference, having to be at the ALAN breakfast at the ungodly hour of 6:45 am. The breakfast started at 7. I felt really sorry for all of the West coast teachers for whom it felt even earlier. But the event was well worth it. Jerry Spinelli was the keynote speaker, and his speech was hilarious and inspirational. One moment in particular that I loved was a question Jerry said that a kid once asked him: "Did being a kid prepare you for being an author?" His answer was "hell yes." (Okay, he didn't actually say "hell yes")

Jerry signed copies of Eggs, Maniac Magee, and Space Station Seventh Grade at our booth in the afternoon. It was great to hear how many schools had made Maniac required reading.

Wendy Mass also signed in the afternoon--we had all four of the books she's published with us available: A Mango-Shaped Space, Leap Day, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, and Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall. A Mango-Shaped Space was by far the book that most people were familiar with. One woman hadn't been familiar with it, but was extremely ecstatic when she heard that the book was about synesthesia--she said she had a student who had synesthete, but when she tried to tell her students about it, they thought she was making it up.

Wendy and I walked the floor quickly after her signing (we only had a half hour until the floor closed), and got books signed by Peter Sis at the Harper booth, and then Pale Male by Meghan McCarthy, and said hi to authors Holly Black and Sarah Beth Durst.

Last night I attended the ALAN cocktail party--it was packed with publishing folk--agents, editors, a ton of authors, teachers, marketing folk, etc. I won't name drop like crazy this time, but will mention two things. Thank you to Betsy Bird for introducing me to Susan Beth Pfeffer. I loved her books as a kid, especially Kid Power. Another highlight was giving Sara Zarr a hug for her National Book Award nomination for Story of a Girl. Sara and Sherman Alexie had been in the office here and there last week for the various festivities, but I hadn't had the chance to actually say hello.

And on that note, Congratulations Sara and Sherman for your National Book Award nominations, and congratulations Sherman for the Medal for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I absolutely love both of their books, so if you haven't had a chance to read them yet, I highly recommend them--they are both absolutely amazing.


And now go bid for your favorite snowflake and help fight cancer!

POETRY FRIDAY: Poems for Thankgiving

I have selected two poems I thought would be appropriate for sharing at Thanksgiving time. The first poem, which I found at Poetry 180, is by Mac Hammond. My second selection is a poem translated from a traditional Iroquois prayer.

Thanksgiving
by Mac Hammond

The man who stands above the bird, his knife

Sharp as a Turkish scimitar, first removes

A thigh and leg, half the support

On which the turkey used to stand. This

Leg and thigh he sets on an extra

Plate. All his weight now on

One leg, he lunges for the wing, the wing

On the same side of the bird from which

He has just removed the leg and thigh.

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

The Thanksgivings
by Harriet Maxwell Converse
Translated from a traditional Iroquois prayer

We who are here present thank the Great Spirit that we are here
to praise Him.
We thank Him that He has created men and women, and ordered
that these beings shall always be living to multiply the earth.
We thank Him for making the earth and giving these beings its products
to live on.
We thank Him for the water that comes out of the earth and runs
for our lands.
We thank Him for all the animals on the earth.
We thank Him for certain timbers that grow and have fluids coming
from them for us all.
We thank Him for the branches of the trees that grow shadows
for our shelter.
We thank Him for the beings that come from the west, the thunder
and lightning that water the earth.

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

At Wild Rose Reader, I have a review of a collection of Thanksgiving poetry for young children and three Thanksgiving poems.

Kelly has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Big A, little a this week.

Finally... my Texas trip!

I went to Texas a few weeks ago. Let me tell you, Texas librarians are SO friendly! They made my first potentially scary author trip wonderful. And it was hard because I'd just had a car accident and was getting dizzy/balance-problem spells.

Oh, the waiting....



There was a rain storm and I sat in the plane for 3 hours on the tarmac!



When I got off the plane I was greeted by a friendly Texan who took me to my hotel, which was wonderful and spacious!

Then a librarian picked me up and brought me to dinner. We at by the water at a crazy place that was half amusement park and half eatery. This is a picture of a scary but beautiful looking wooden rollercoaster.



Then the next day I did my big talk. I think it went well. Unfortunately I forgot my camera! What I want most is the photo of the giant construction paper George Upside Down that was in the lobby of the school---very cool indeed!

After the talk several librarians took me to NASA since I said I was doing an astronaut book. I had a lot of fun. This is a photo of one of the Texan librarians pointing to a wall with all of the US astronauts on it.



There are lots more photos to come. Lots of cool rocket photos! Stay tuned. I'm also going to write more about the trip on my personal blog--the good ol "fireside chat."

Until then...

the best thing about being an author and visiting NYC

Another "Red Shoe" painting in progress

Its been awhile since I've posted any works in progress, so I thought the blog was due for another "process" post. As I've mentioned in the past, I am working on illustrations for my upcoming book What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe?, a cross genre poetry/craft/recycling book. Below are the steps I went through to paint Jack the bunny, who is very attached to his blanket.

This is the sketch originally shown to my editor:



Next I transfer the sketch to my painting surface using tracing paper:



Once the sketch is transferred, I tighten up the sketch once more:



Next I start laying in washes of color:



Working up the color more, adding a pattern to the blanket and a border:



To be continued next week!

Horn Book podcast and other unique marketing tools

Grace and I were interviewed by the Horn Book's Lolly Robinson last Spring for the new Horn Book podcast, and the interview is up now. Listen to it here. Thanks to Lolly and Kitty for the invitation to be interviewed!

Podcasts seem to be a growing new way for authors and illustrators (and editors!) to promote their work, and last night I witnessed another exciting marketing tool.

Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon has launched a documentary film series Out of the Book. These are half-hour (approximately) films about notable authors. The first in the series featured Ian McEwan, and the second film which debuted last night at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater featured the late (and great) David Halberstam's The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War.

It was was a beautifully directed and produced film, featuring interviews with David's wife Jean Halberstam and such notable authors as Joan Didion, Anna Quindlen, Bob Woodward, and more. They read aloud passages of the book, and talked about David's life and writing, reporting, and about the Korean War in general. There was also archival footage of the war throughout.

The movie was preceded by a dramatic reading of a passage from the book, and followed by a panel discussion featuring a Korean War veteran who had been interviewed in the book, an author friend of David Halberstam (I apologize for not recalling their names), and producer Dave Weich, who also called on the film's director James Lester to comment. Overall, it was such an interesting, different event, and even though I'm not a huge history reader and wouldn't normally pick up a 700+-page book on the Korean War, it made me want to read the book, and others by Halberstam.

I was invited to the event by a friend who is good friends with the producer Dave Weich, who was also the brain child behind the series. But otherwise, I would have never heard of Out of the Book, which is a shame. Dave said that in the past, most book marketing had been text-based, and text is so cerebral and a solitary experience, and he wanted to find a different way to engage readers with the books and authors. The way it works is that the publisher of the featured book/author pays the budget for the film, and the film is shown around the country in partnership with book stores, not unlike an author tour. It seems perfect for authors who don't want to or can't (as in Halberstam's case) tour.

As with podcasts and book trailers, I'm excited that there seem to be novel ways (pun intended) to market books being developed. I'm looking forward to the next installment of Out of the Book (perhaps one day a children's author will be highlighted), and to see what new marketing techniques are developed.