Thursday Thrills!

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I know.  You can barely contain your excitement for today’s post.  I apologize if I’m responsible for keeping you up all night, tossing and turning, checking the clock every thirty seconds in hopes that it was morning so you could finally tune in and see who won the contest and what the surprise is 🙂

But you can stop champing at the bit.  The big moment has arrived….  Who knew Thursday could be this thrilling?

First, I am pleased to announce the winner of Monday’s Picture Book Game Contest!

(Drum roll please… Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!)

And the winner is…. Jenny!

Congratulations, Jenny, come on down!

Let’s show Jenny her prize.  In addition to the SLHill title of her choice, personally signed in any way she’d like, Jenny wins the admiration of her puzzle-solving peers, and the opportunity to have her name up in pink on this blog!  YAY, JENNY!!!  

(Jenny, please use the “email me” button in the right margin of the blog to let me know which book you’d like, how you want it signed, and what your mailing address is.  Well done!)

I think our other finalists deserve a moment of recognition for their stellar attempts, don’t you?  So we will celebrate them in runner-up orange:  Yay, Megan, Teri, and Diane!  Excellent work!

To everyone else, good try and don’t worry… there will be other opportunities to win soon.  You know perfectly well that I can’t resist making up contests 🙂

Now, for the surprise.  Really, could this day get any better?

The book trailer for April Fool, Phyllis! is at last up and running on YouTube!  Here’s the link:

April Fool, Phyllis! – Children’s Picture Book Trailer

Please turn the sound up so you can hear the catchy tune that goes with it (although I should warn you – if you’re like me, it’s liable to get stuck in your head for weeks :))

Please feel free to click “like” and share the link with every single person you know – I want to go viral 🙂  Wouldn’t that be awesome?  Probably there should be a book trailer award for homemade imovie trailers – like an Academy Award – only instead of the Oscar it could be the Phyllis… 🙂

Enjoy, everyone!  And don’t forget to join me here at 10:30 for The Writer’s Club where this morning’s topic will be… anything you feel like talking about!

Contest Update: Keep Those Entries Coming!

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Nothing like a low pressure system bringing rain, ice, sleet, and snow to make everyone feel like they’d rather play a game then work.

Actually, now that I think of it, it’s possible the weather doesn’t have that much to do with it…

But anyway, check it out!  We have 4 finalists so far – 4 people who are so familiar with children’s picture books that they were able to solve the entire list.  Not to mention, a couple others who are doing pretty well.  I’m impressed!  (And in case you are wondering why you haven’t seen their lists, I have deliberately not posted their responses yet, lest you be overcome by an irresistible temptation to peek :))  Congratulations to Megan, Jenny, Teri, and Diane!  Who else is going to join them in the pantheon of contenders for a free book?  You still have 15 plus hours to get your entry in…

(And I must add, bonus points to Jenny who responded with a challenge of her own – clearly a puzzle junkie after my own heart!)

Get those entries in, folks.  Let’s give Megan, Jenny, Teri, and Diane a run for their money!  If you’re just tuning in, you will find all the information you need in Monday’s post – Blue Monday? Bah! Humbug! Play The Write Contest! – just scroll down 🙂

The winner will be announced TOMORROW!  I suggest a reduced intake of caffeine and chocolate today lest you find yourself uncontrollably excited.  Cake should be OK though… wheat (whole grain), eggs (protein), milk (calcium)… it’s practically health food 🙂

Ouch! A Hard Day for Punxsutawney Phyllis!

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So, how’s everyone doing on yesterday’s contest?  Still hard at work, I hope?

I’ve received 2 attempts so far.  One person got 5 titles, but only 2 complete with author.  The other person got 14 completely correct – well done! (but in order to help you resist temptation, I have not published her post yet :))

Let’s give them some competition!  Remember, there’s a prize up for grabs.  If you win you can give it to a child, donate it to a classroom or library, or keep it for yourself 🙂  And I’ll give you another hint:  one of the answers is a COMPLETE giveaway.  If you don’t get that one, REALLY!

For anyone who didn’t see yesterday’s post, please scroll down and join the fun!  A contest is only a contest if people enter 🙂

Now, I have something truly horrifying to share with you…

(You think I’m kidding, but just wait until you see!)

Only a few days ago, when I was discussing the writer’s club, I mentioned my disappointment that Phyllis didn’t have a stuffedty in her honor.  Well, it turns out I was wrong.  She has one, but not created by me, or Holiday House, or Jeff Ebbeler.  That would have been awesome and cute.

Apparently the Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce has decided to embrace the idea that Punxsutawney Phil has a wife named Punxsutawney Phyllis (I ask you!) and, for the first time ever, has created a plush toy in her honor.  You have to see it to truly feel my pain.  Prepare yourself (seriously!) and click the link below:

Punxsutawney Phyllis doll

Poor Phyllis.  Her name has been besmirched.  Really, I think the only solution is for me (or Holiday House or Jeff) to make a real Phyllis stuffedty.  She should be cute and furry, with her little green overalls with the yellow flower.

Problem is, I have no idea how to go about that.  Anyone?  Anyone?  Phyllis’s honor is at stake.  She needs to be redeemed or she’s going to have a hard time holding her head up in public!

If anyone is interested, there is also an article about the wife.  Please feel free to read it… and then write to the Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce and tell them they’ve got it all wrong!  Phyllis is Phil’s great niece, she’s really cute, she already has a book about her, and she deserves a plush toy that will do her proud!  (And the Chamber of Commerce could get a lot more sales and good publicity out of a children’s book and cute toy… just sayin’!)

Shame on Punxsutawney!  But they still have time to get it right… 🙂

Now, thinking caps on everyone, and back to the contest.  There’s a prize to be won!

Blue Monday? Bah! Humbug! Play the Write Contest!

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When I was in school, back in the 1900s, I liked English (surprise, surprise!)

Math, not so much.  I mean, seriously, what are you supposed to do with this?

Well, since you asked, that is the formula for calculating the most depressing day of the year, whereby Sky Travel hoped to book a lot of vacations.

Taking into account the weather, debt, time since the holidays, failure of New Year’s resolutions, motivational level, the need to take action, and the fact that it’s Monday, the formula doesn’t actually work and is completely meaningless in mathematical terms.  And yet it still allows us to know that today, January 17, 2011, is the Most Depressing Day of this Year.  See how useful math is(n’t)?

Even though it’s totally bogus, it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Now that people know which day they’re supposed to be most depressed, they follow along like sheep.

But here’s what I think.  Bah!  Humbug!  I don’t want you to be depressed!  It’s a beautiful day (even though it’s zero!) and I have something to cheer you up!  A game!  With a prize!

Below is a list of (I think pretty) well-known picture books and their authors.  The trick is, all you get is initials.  For example:  CW by EBW (which would, of course, be Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White – yes, I realize that’s not a picture book, I’m just giving you an example – I don’t want to give away the farm!)

Get it?

So figure them all out and list them in the comments (and no cheating! – we’re on the honor system here!  Keep your eyes on your own paper because other people might be wrong, and if you copy you will not have the satisfaction of a job well done and you will feel guilty should you win!)

If you get them all, you will be eligible to win a free signed copy of whichever of my books you want (although if you choose April Fool, Phyllis you’ll have to wait a bit because I don’t have any yet :))  This is assuming anyone plays and that at least one person gets all the answers.

Since I realize not everyone reads all blogs every day, you have until midnight Wednesday January 19 to get your answers in.  You may ask for an extension if need be.  Since I am in charge, and exceptionally nice, I might consider it. And I’ll give you one hint:  these are all traditional picture books – not novelty books or early readers –  and they are all personal favorites (and that was actually two hints!)

So, you’re not depressed anymore, are you?  You’re energized, motivated, and gung-ho to beat everyone else to the finish line!

Good luck everyone!  Ready, set, GO!

1.  CG by HAR
2.  BAJFF by RH
3.  L,L,C by BW
4.  WTWTA by MS
5.  OBAG by PR
6.  M by LB
7.  FNATPP by JO’C
8.  MWFD by RM
9.  PP by SLH
10.  MMAHSS by VLB
11.  HTDD by GZ
12.  AATT,H,NG,VBD by JV
13.  TPE by CVA
14.  TVHC by EC
15.  TRF by MP
16.  TSOF by ML
17.  LPPP by KH

(P.S.  It’s nearly 10:30 – time for The Writer’s Club – so grab your coffee and come on over and say what’s on your mind this morning!  I’m thinking about PLOT – and how hard it is!)

The Writer’s Club

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Writing can be a lonely business – just you, your computer (or notebook and pen), your mug of coffee (or tea if you lean that way), and your thoughts (should you happen to have any :))

If you’re lucky, you might also have your dogs keeping your feet warm (or your cat lying on top of your work in that oh-so-helpful way that cats have!)

But let’s face it, as writers, we spend a lot of time alone.

Wouldn’t it be great if all us writer’s could take a break every morning from 10:30 – 10:45 and have a good old fashioned coffee klatch?  Just put our writing aside for a few minutes and chat – about writing, frustration and success, who’s working on what and how it’s going, our fears and hopes and aspirations, and the fact that the laundry is NEVER DONE?

Sometimes I think you have to be a writer to get writers.  There are a whole host of discussion topics I never tire of (How do I get through the tricky part of my current WIP?  How do I make my MC seem real?  What’s the best way to convey emotion without sentimentality?  Why did Skippyjon Jones get a stuffty when Phyllis didn’t?  Will I ever sell another ms?  What if I never have another idea in my ENTIRE LIFE? :)) that the non-writer people in my life would be more than happy never to discuss at all!

So I think we should have a club.  I’d suggest the Breakfast Club but that’s been done.  Let’s have the Writer’s Club.  Every day at 10:30, come on over here and post whatever is on your mind, and all your writer friends will chime in with sage advice, words of encouragement, or writerly commiseration.  It will be fifteen minutes of the day we can all look forward to, companionship and understanding guaranteed!

Of course, on this particular day, I will not be here at 10:30 – I have a non-negotiable appointment with my son’s laundry (what did I just say about laundry?!) – but y’all can get started without me and I’ll catch up once the washing machine is running!

Happy Writing!

The Write Facts

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Let’s begin the morning with a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday!  Scout, my beloved brown dog, is 4 years old today.  (And, I might add, she shares her birthday with McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy – coincidence…?)

baby pictures…

…for your enjoyment
(because she’s so cute!)

In case you were wondering (admit it, you were!) there will definitely be cake 🙂  (Yellow, with vanilla icing, because chocolate, though delicious, is very bad for dogs!)

So anyway…

I’m always wondering about stuff.  Just the way my mind works (and no comments along the lines of, “What?  Your mind works?”!)

I’ve been writing for years, and I’ve been fortunate enough to publish a few books.  I know a lot more than when I started about the process a book goes through from idea to bookstore/library shelf.

I used to have no idea what a proof, a galley, or an F&G was.  Now I have some of each that I can share with kids on school visits so that they can know something about the writing business.  (I would have LOVED to have an author come visit my school when I was a kid… back in the olden days… before the invention of the wheel…!)

Just this year, I got a running sheet for the first time (thanks to my wonderful editor at Walker!)  If you’ve never seen one, it’s the coolest thing ever. The whole book is printed on one huge sheet, with pages all upside down, backwards, and out of order.  But when you fold it the right way and cut it in the right place, it’s the book!

But although I’m slightly less ignorant than I was, there are still a whole lot of things about the publishing world that I want to know!

For example, how many books do you have to sell for your publisher to feel you are doing well?  (And “as many as possible” though obvious, is not a helpful answer!)  And, if you don’t earn out your advance, do publishers perceive your book as a failure?  And, with so many amazing books and authors out there, how do you get people to notice your book?

So in case you, like me, wonder about stuff, here are some interesting tidbits I found out recently:

1.  The average picture book writer will write 10 books for every 1 their agent deems strong enough to submit – no guarantee of publishing.  (And if you don’t have an agent, you can figure for yourself that 1 out of every 10 books you write will hopefully be saleable.  I don’t think my average is that good – more like 1 out of 20 :))

2.  There are about 300 editors actively acquiring in children’s books at the moment (that’s all levels of children’s books, and editors from houses of all sizes across the board.)  Of these, only 70-100 are even looking for picture books.

3.  This year, 150,000 authors will finish their masterpiece, but only about 1/3 of all new titles sell more than 100 copies.

4.  Only a small percentage of published books earn out their advances.

I’m not trying to depress you!  It’s just, I wonder about this stuff, so I thought you might too.

Anyone who has any other interesting facts on file, please share!  I’m always interested!

Have a wonderful day, and eat some cake in honor of Scouty Brown – yours can be chocolate – she won’t mind 🙂

Write On.. and On

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Phyllis announced this morning that she wants another story.

Apparently the fact that she’s got a new story coming out in a few weeks has only whetted her appetite for further adventure.

The thing is, I love Phyllis.  I would be more than happy to write her another story.  (No doubt she will bug me until I do, so there’s that incentive as well… :))

The question is, how much is enough?

Fancy Nancy appears to be able to sustain interest book after book after book.  Same with Pinkalicious, Lilly, Harry the Dirty Dog, and Curious George.  For other characters, one story is enough.  You don’t see the continuing sagas of Ferdinand or Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouak, Pack and Quack.

So how does a writer decide whether to revisit or move on?

In my own writing, most picture book ideas are stand-alones.  But Phyllis seems to be a character who doesn’t quit at one story.  When I wrote the first one, I never thought of a sequel, but a couple years later she felt she had more to say 🙂  And now I find a little piece of an idea niggling in the back of my brain, rolling around, turning over and over, investigating itself the way your tongue explores the space where a tooth used to be, wondering if there’s anything to it.

I don’t know yet.  Is the world ready for a third adventure in Punxsutawney?

Phyllis thinks so!!!

Getting Started

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First things first:  here’s a link to the CLN annotated list of ALA winners from yesterday, in case you haven’t seen it yet.  There are many books here that I’m looking forward to reading, especially the Michael Printz winner and honor books!

Second things second: yes, I have finished the new book trailer for April Fool, Phyllis! but no, it isn’t up yet because there is a sticky part that isn’t playing correctly and I can’t figure out why.  If there are any technological geniuses out there who understand the nuances of imovie please feel free to share your expertise in the comments and up your karma quotient for the day 🙂

Now, on to today’s important topic: getting started.

I told you I was taking a writing course.  It officially began yesterday.  My assignment for the week is to either rewrite a scene from something I’ve already written, or write something new.  I think I’m going to go for option B – write something new.

Which leads me to “getting started.”

There are a lot of “getting started” moments in a writer’s day.  There’s getting yourself started – not so easy at 5:30 AM when it’s dark and 9 degrees… again… 🙂  There’s getting the coffee maker started – that one is easy 🙂  There’s getting the Dog Mobile started to meet the school bus – always tricky because a) the Dog Mobile is unpredictable and cranky and b) we live 6/10 of a mile from the bus stop (so no visual contact), the bus driver is unpredictable and cranky, and when it suits her (like yesterday) she leaves without us…  This in turn can affect getting the work day started by as much as an hour and a half.

Then there’s getting the coffee maker started again in order to fuel getting work started which involves
     a) computer on, butt in chair
     b) a strict self-command to stop checking email and stop reading other people’s interesting blogs and get inspired for the day, and
     c) actually getting started on writing, which involves either getting started from where I left off yesterday or getting started from scratch on something new.  (BTW, I think they call it “starting from scratch” because of the amount of time spent staring into space scratching your head (literally or metaphorically) while you try to think up something to write :))

For many writers, the blank page is intimidating.  Luckily, I am under strict orders from myself to “be inspired at 9 o’clock every morning” (see yesterday’s post:)) so I have no excuse!  I confess, though, that on many days I am not that inspired at 9:01…  When that happens, I just write.  Anything that comes into my head.  It’s like priming the pump.  If I can just get the words flowing, I have a hope of directing them where I want them to go.  Eventually.  Some days it works out, others I do a lot of deleting.  But as David Eddings said, “A writer’s apprenticeship usually involves writing a million words (which are then discarded) before he’s almost ready to begin.”  This helps me convince myself that no writing is wasted – it takes a long time to get to a million words!

Today, for my course, I’m going to get started on something new.  I wonder what it will be?  I’m pretty interested to find out!  I hope it’s good!

What are your “getting started” moments?  Which are hard and which are easy?  How do you deal with the hard ones?

Writing Inspiration

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Some call it inspiration.

Other’s call it the muse.

Still other’s might say it’s a caffeine and chocolate overload 🙂

But whatever its name, it is a writer’s best friend.

Where writing is concerned, there are few things to equal the euphoria of a great idea, the feeling that you have something so wonderful to express that your fingers can’t fly across the keyboard fast enough.  Those moments when words and ideas flow effortlessly are pinnacles of the writing life, something we, as writers, look forward to and hope for every day.

The problem is (at least in my experience!) those moments are few and far between.

If I personally waited for inspiration to strike, I might only write once or twice a year 🙂

Therefore, I go by the words of Peter DeVries:  “I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired to write at 9 o’clock every morning.”  Words to live by!

So it’s 9 o’clock, and here I am, ready to make my own inspiration for the day.  But today I have a little boost and I will share it with you!  It’s award day!  At 10:45 EST, the ALA will announce the Newbery, Caldecott, Michael Printz, Coretta Scott King, and numerous other awards.  It’s a chance to see, and be inspired by, the best in children’s books.

ALA AWARDS

So tune in, see who the winners are, be inspired by success and great writing, and then sit down at your own keyboard or notebook and make some magic.  Who knows?  The words we write today might be the award winners of the future!

After the awards are posted, comment below on your favorites!

Snow Day!

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Breaking news:  we are having our first official snow day of the year!  And it is actually snowing (which is not always the case – in these days of doppler radar (don’t you love it when I use technical terms I don’t really know the meanings of?) the school districts have been known to jump the gun with a little too much enthusiasm.)

I love snow days!

I’m no longer a kid (I know that comes as a shock :)) and I don’t attend school, so snow days shouldn’t be that different from regular days.  I still have plenty of work to do.

But somehow, snow days are still great.  The kids can sleep late and have a fun-filled, relaxing day.  We can have a fire in the fireplace before evening – so cozy:)  There’s an almost lazy feel to the day because if the school buses can’t venture out then I am certainly not going to endanger society by taking the Dog Mobile out of the garage!  So, no errands.  And something about being holed up, warm and dry, while the snow falls peacefully outside is very conducive to writing stories.  At least for me.  As long as I don’t get side-tracked into reading stories instead 🙂

Aside from writing, I have a special project for today.  I’m almost finished with the book trailer for April Fool, Phyllis!  I know you’ve all been counting the minutes until you can see it, so this is surely thrilling news 🙂  It just needs some more of that nit-picky tweaking I’m so not fond of, and then it needs some complimentary music.  Anyone have any ideas?  I’m open to suggestion.  I can’t wait until it’s completely done and I can share it with you!

Also, I hope you all noticed the totally cool count-down thingy on the right side of the blog page.  It’s counting down to the release of April Fool, Phyllis!  So fun, don’t you think?

In other news, I have allowed myself to be talked into joining Month of Poetry.  Yes, it’s true.  My apologies to all the real poets out there.  I wrote my first Haiku poem yesterday.  It was not good.  Maybe today I’ll try a limerick…  There once was a dog on the hill/who loved to chase after a squirrel…  Maybe not.

But I’m thinking of dogs and squirrels because, at this very moment, Jemma is climbing a tree.  I am not making this up.  A squirrel ran up it (well, let’s be honest – she chased it there) and she’s doing her darndest to get up after it.  Four sets of claws are doggedly (:)) clinging to bark, and it is obvious she intends to catch that squirrel by sheer force of will.  Oops.  Sliding.  If only I’d been a little quicker with the camera!  Story idea here?

So it’s time to get to work (as soon as I take dem dogs for a snowy walk and give the squirrels a little break!)  I hope I’ll have the new trailer to share with you by Monday.

Have a great weekend, and if you live around here, happy snow day!