I have an announcement to make.
Wonder of wonders, my office is really and truly ALMOST clean! I’m SO close! Seriously! I mean it!
The shelves are full and neatly organized.
All kinds of stuff is packed into labeled drawers (the idea being that I might ever find it again :))
Boxes of stuff are filed!
The desk top is partially visible.
There’s only a small Goodwill pile on the piano (and if you’re wondering why I have a piano in my office it’s partly because I love to play and mostly because it won’t fit anywhere else in the house!)
And there are just a few more odds and ends I have to clean up and decide what to do with.
SO CLOSE!
So y’all have to keep after me to make sure I cross the finish line on this job. If I do, I’ll share pictures in which you can actually see the floor!!! and we’ll have some sort of fun and fabulous party to celebrate! There will most likely be chocolate and presents involved, so it’s in all of our best interest if I get this done!
Speaking of chocolate, it’s supposed to be 92 degrees today, so I’m thinking we’d like something frosty and delightful. Shall we have chocolate milkshake this morning?
I believe we shall! 🙂 And see how I got us one with a strawberry? Health food 🙂 You’re welcome 🙂
Now, while you are sipping that delicious, chocolatey, ice-cold yumminess, let’s have a look at this month’s Straight From The Editor.
You will recall that Rachel won the July Pitch Pick with her pitch for The Curse of the Shattered Sceptre. (which reminds me that we haven’t done the August pitch pick… hmmm… better get on that!)
Her winning pitch was as follows:
After accidentally unleashing a torrent of curses, Ollie and his Book Club buddies must use their wits and imagination to unravel a series of twisted clues. In a race against time, will the boys mend the shattered sceptre, restoring the balance of nature, or will they be cursed forever?
Here is what editor Erin Molta had to say about it:
As always, many thanks to Erin for her very helpful insights. I always feel we learn something valuable!
Today’s pitch comes to us from Kathy who says, “I live on a little farm in Vermont with my husband and my grandson. Having my grandson around is kind of what led me to wanting to write pb’s. I have plenty of pets, farm animals and wildlife, so I have no shortage of thing to write about 🙂
Here is her pitch:
Working Title: The Garden Disaster
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-7)
The Pitch: What’s a bee to do? Basil’s daily chore is to collect pollen and nectar, but he never seems to collect enough. His Mom thinks it’s because he plays too much, but Basil knows it’s because of Mrs. Grady’s rotten cat. One day while Basil is in the garden collecting his pollen and nectar a new hairy beast shows up! Basil must think up a great idea to outsmart this new beast so he can finally fill his bucket to the tippy top.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
Kathy is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to Friday and the return of Perfect Picture Books, which I will be starting out with a bang and a special surprise give-away that you will NOT want to miss!!! So mark your calendars!
Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone! Happy reading, writing, teaching, parenting… whatever you’re doing today! 🙂
Don't feel inadequate, Wendy! It's taken me weeks! I am not making that up either. I wish I were 🙂 And I'm not even done! Enjoy the milkshake and the day! 🙂
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Thanks for your thoughts for Kathy, Pat. And I learned classical piano. I'm not much good at jamming with the family – they're all much better than I am! – but I can pick out pretty much any tune by ear 🙂
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Yeah. I don't think you really want me Kathy. I am NOT a good cleaner. I'm entirely too tempted to shove things in the closet and behind the piano just so they're out of sight 🙂 And I make up filing systems that make sense at the time but then later I can't figure out what my plan was 🙂
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Thanks, Stacy! You're sweet to keep up! 🙂 I hope you've been enjoying the end of summer and doing lots of fun stuff! Thanks so much for your comments for Kathy!
Thanks so much for your thoughts for Kathy, Rosi – very helpful! 🙂
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Chocolate and pumpkin probably go very well together Clar. They are both in the Halloween food group 🙂 I am burned out on office cleaning. No more!!! THanks for your thoughts for Kathy 🙂
I'm afraid to ask what might happen when a dog eats cilantro Stacy…. Thanks for your thoughts for Kathy, and good luck cleaning your office. Maybe your little helper will give you a hand 🙂
Thanks so much for chiming in for Kathy, Donna! 🙂
You are so funny, Kathy 🙂 Basil has become Jasmine… 🙂
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lol…Sounds better than what I do…lol
I just move things from one room to another and another and another 🙂
Thank you all for all your great thoughts 🙂
Thank you Susanna for letting me post a pitch here 🙂
Now I'm off to digest all this information and hopefully my brain will process it in the right direction!
Oh yeah, I do that too! And the worst thing is it's usually the office I dump things in because it's out of sight of the rest of the house – I can close the door and no one can see the disaster area 🙂 Which is how I got into this mess to begin with! 🙂
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You're very welcome, Kathy! And do check back for the next couple days – we always get some comments in after Wednesday…
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Hey Susanna! Good job cleaning your office. You are ahead of me for sure. 😉 Kathy, I like your pitch a lot. I think Basil is a darling name for a bee. So cute! I would recommend tightening the pitch to focus on the central problem. Right now you tell us (at least) three problems: trouble with his mother, trouble with the cat, and trouble with the new (undefined) beast. It's a little too much mystery for me. I want to know who and what to cheer for in a pitch. But this sounds like a wonderful story, and I would definitely keep reading. All the best!