Have a Valentines Contest, I thought to myself. It’ll be fun. People are pretty busy with all their various pursuits. You’ll probably only get about 3 entries – if you’re lucky to get that many – so say you’ll pick 3 finalists and you’re golden!
(Note to self – have you noticed that your brilliant ideas don’t always work out as planned?)
Yes.
Well.
My plan seems to have gone awry.
Did I mention there were 30 entries??? That’s THIRTY!
And they were SO GOOD!
So I have done the best I can. I have narrowed it to 6. And a couple honorable mentions. And a separate division for under 10. And now it’s up to you, my dear readers, to read the 6 finalists and vote for your favorite by noon on Thursday. We will see who comes out on top!
But before I unveil the top 6, I just want to say that I’m thrilled we got so many entries, and I was so impressed by the quality of everyone’s stories and poems! What a talented bunch you all are! I had so much fun hopping from blog to blog and reading your wonderful work! It was dreadful having to pluck you off, one by one! I had to get very nit-picky and really focus on the contest guidelines – appropriateness/appeal for children being the deciding factor in several cases of brilliant writing that didn’t make the final cut. So you all deserve a huge pat on the back and many boxes of Valentine chocolates 🙂 Give yourselves a round of applause!
Now. Here are our finalists, posted by entry only, no names. Please have a look and then vote for your favorite!
#1 Love Has No Point
Bill P. Porcupine had a love. Not just any love, mind you, it was the greatest love of all, but it was also a secret love.
“Oh, how I love her!” Bill sighed to himself.
Every day when Bill walked home from school he stopped by the gift shop where she worked. He tried to impress her by making his quills stand on end so he would look bigger, but she never noticed him. He’d then go home and cry.
“Boo hoo,” Bill sobbed.
“What’s the matter Bill?” asked his Mom.
“I’m in love mom, but she doesn’t know I exist,” said Bill.
“There, there, it’ll be OK,” his mom said gently.
“She is so beautifully round. Her skin is smooth and rosy. When she moves, she floats like her feet never touch the ground,” Bill whimpered.
“I think you should just tell her,” Bill’s mom suggested.
The next day, Bill marched to the gift shop with one thing on his mind. He shoved the shop door open, walked straight up to her, threw his arms open to hug her and said, “I love…”
POP!
She was gone, except for the bits of pink rubber stuck to Bill.
#2 Oops! Excuse Me!
On her way to school, Porcupine was certain nobody would be her Valentine. She waddled along, head down, when — oomph!
“Yow!”
“Oops, excuse me,” said Porcupine. “Ugh! What smells?”
“Me. Sorry. Happens when I’m startled.”
“Oh no! You’re that stinky skunk! Now you’ve made me stinky.”
“You’re that prickly porcupine! You gave me an owie.”
Porcupine sighed. “Who would ever be our Valentines?”
As they dillydallied toward school, Skunk stopped to sniff flowers. Porcupine stuck a puffy one on a quill behind her ear.
They exchanged looks.
Porcupine grabbed one for each quill. Skunk scooted around on them, scenting his bottom.
Porcupine giggled. “You look funny!”
“So do you.” They both collapsed in laughter.
“ACHOO!” said Porcupine. Quills popped out. “ACHOO!” said Skunk. Stink squirted.
They exchanged glances, and then, started shoving flowers into their noses.
ACHOO! ACHOO! ACHOO!
“No more,” said Skunk, exhausted.
“Enough! “ agreed Porcupine. “You know, I like you just the way you are.”
Skunk said, “Same here. Will you be my valentine?”
“Will you be mine?” asked Porcupine.
The new friends scampered off to school.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect.
“Oops, excuse me!” Giggle.
“Oops, excuse me!” Giggle, giggle.
But it was close.
#3 Scully And Penny: Love Stinks!
“I’ll never find love,” worried Scully the Skunk.
He was a looker–but this skunk-hunk stunk!
Yet he was determined, that whiff-and-sniff guy
“I might as well ask the next girl who comes by…..”
So when Polly the Poodle wagged by looking fine,
He forced back some fumes and asked, “Will you be mine?!!”
“Oh Scully, my nose…it is sharp as a nail!
It just wouldn’t work with your stinky-stink tail.”
“You’re probably right” – Scully Skunk gave her that.
And as soon as he spoke, he spotted a cat.
It was Kitty LaPretty; she stretched out her spine.
He squeezed back some stench and asked, “Will you be mine?”
“Oh Scully, my nose…it is keen as my ears,
“I just couldn’t stand smelling skunk-funk for years.”
“You’re probably right” – not the first time he’d heard,
Then all of a sudden, down fluttered a bird.
It was Penny the Parrot, bird-beauty divine,
He sucked in his stink and asked, “Will you be mine?”
“Well, of course, handsome Scully—been hoping you’d ask.”
“I’ve searched for so long – finding love’s a real task.
“And please don’t you worry, this will work out well…
My peepers see more than my sniffer can smell.”
#4 Underwater Bliss
A shark saw his mark when he spied a wee fish,
‘I’ll have her for my dinner. She’ll make a tasty dish.’
But as the shark gave chase, the stronger his emotion
Changed from one of hunger, to love and pure devotion.
‘Look at how she swims. She darts with style and grace.’
Each swish of her tail, made his ol’ heart race.
‘Your eyes are round and beautiful, your scales are just divine.
I promise not to eat you, if you promise to be mine.’
The fish, who’d tired of swimming, succumbed to his charm.
And as the shark promised, she never came to harm.
But she’s ever so careful when she gives her love a kiss,
Lest those razor sharp teeth of his accidentally miss.
#5 Frankenstein Valentine
Won’t you be my Valentine?
And say, “I love you, Frankenstein?”
Love my ragged, jagged hair?
Love my bloodshot, frightening stare?
Won’t you be my Valentine?
And say, “I love you, Frankenstein?”
Love my grisly, garish grin?
Love my lumpy, warty skin?
Won’t you be my Valentine?
And say, “I love you, Frankenstein?”
Love my stitched-up, crooked scar?
Love my brain from Victor’s jar?
Won’t you be my Valentine?
And say, “I love you, Frankenstein?”
Love my garbled, boorish talk?
Love my lumbering, stilted walk?
Yes, it’s your chance, my Valentine
to be my Mrs. Frankenstein.
What???
G-r-r-r-r-r-r!!!!!
You say that you will NOT be my mine?
Will NOT love this Frankenstein?
Then…just forget this love-fest scene
I’m heading back to Halloween!
#6 Whom Do I Love?
Whom do I love?
Quizzed the cloud-covered moon.
I love the dish that ran off with the spoon.
Whom do I love?
Posed the run-away dish.
I love the silvery stream-swimming fish.
Whom do I love?
Slurped the shimmering trout.
I love the rock-hopping toad that jumped out.
Whom do I love?
Croaked the hip-hopping toad.
I love the waddling duck on the road.
Whom do I love?
Quacked the web-footed duck.
I love the pig on the rusty farm truck.
Whom do I love?
Oinked the curly-tailed pig.
I love the floppy-eared dog that can dig.
Whom do I love?
Barked the diggity-dog.
I love the bee in the hollowed-out log.
Whom do I love?
Buzzed the bumblely-bee.
I love the mouse that lives under the tree.
Whom do I love?
Squeaked the scurrying mouse.
I love the curly-haired boy in that house.
Whom do I love?
Asked the sweet little lad.
I love my momma and I love my dad.
The poll is below. Please vote for your choice of winner!
I’d also like to give Honorable Mention to Heather for Daisy Loves Fred, and Eric for Puffy Pancho and Pretty Paulita: The Perfect Penguin Pair.
And a tie in the (hastily added) junior division (under 10 years old) between Isabella for Puppy & Kitten Love and Gabby for How Miss Mouse Became A Door Mouse will result in a prize each which I have yet to determine 🙂
Congratulations to everyone for excellent entries! Now go ahead and vote! We will all be waiting anxiously for your choice of winner! Thank you all for sharing your wonderful writing!
Throw pink confetti! Open the chocolates! It’s here! It’s here!
The VALENTINES DAY CONTEST!!!!
And do you know why I’m so excited?
It’s not because I’m about to publicly humiliate myself with my sample entry. (Although I suppose that does beg for a certain amount of excitement.)
It’s because I’m going to get to read all of your FABULOUS entries!!!
At least I hope I am. Was anyone able (or willing?) to write one?
We shall see…
For any who may not have heard yet and who might like to join us in our contest, all the info is HERE. (Please scroll down below the slugs, and please note the word count, slightly raised from the original.)
Meanwhile, for your roll-on-the-floor-and-possibly-die-laughing-at-me pleasure, here is my sample:
Fishing Valentine
So it’s Valentines Day and we’re in the Secret Clubhouse. We is me, my little brother Ty, and our dog, Leroy. Not Bronwyn. I’m boss of the club because I can talk. Ty and Leroy are perfect sidekicks because they can’t. Bronwyn wore a dress to school today. Traitor. “Here’s the problem,” I tell them. “Valentines Day is so full of silly it ruins the only decent girls.” “Lala,” says Ty. “Exactly,” I say. “Pink overload. It’s probably poisonous.” Ty and Leroy do not disagree. “Luckily, I have a plan.” Here it is: 1. Cancel Valentines Day. I am a master of simplicity. Someone bangs on the clubhouse roof. It’s Bronwyn. “Go away!” I say. Ty eats some dirt. Leroy wags his tail. Traitor. “I’ve got worms,” says Bronwyn. “Want to do some Valentine fishing?” Fishing Valentine? Maybe her mother made her wear that dress. “Okay,” I say. As we head for the fishing hole, I make up a Valentine for her.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Girls are gross
Except for you.
Yikes! Looks like the pink poisoned me, too!
SO. After that, I think everyone should feel pret-ty confident they can do better! I had trouble getting an idea I could squeeze into such a low word count. This was 22,067 words at the outset. (Well. I may be exaggerating a little :))
This time I am remembering the link list on the first try (yay me!) so get your entry-specific links right on there so we can all come applaud your genius! I can’t wait to read everyone’s stories!!!
Remember, this post will stay up until Monday evening, and you have until 5PM EST Monday to post your link. Then we’ll have a special post Tuesday with the finalists for you to vote.
Ready?
GO!!! (Oh, and P.S. I am being featured today, February 11, on Kai Strand’s blog, on the topic of industry love! Should you care to pop over and have a look, I wrote about my indie :))
Also, please check the comments – there are at least 2 entries posted there, one under jrzoch and one under my name due to posting trouble.
I hope you’re all feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning (and really, don’t ask me what being “bushy-tailed” means exactly or what it has to do with being awake… :))
Since it’s Monday, I assume some of your bushy tails look like this:
google images
and some like this:
google images
But if you’re feeling like the second one, never fear! You’ve come to the right place! We have donuts 🙂
And, as you know, we always have plenty of fun around here! Today is extra-especially fun because of all the winning! Ready?
First off: this week’s Fun Foto theme is HIBERNATION! So scout around for a child-friendly photo that says hibernation to you and get ready to post it on your blog Friday for everyone to enjoy and use as a story prompt 🙂
Next up: the October Pitch Pick. The winner, whose pitch will be sent to the awesome editor Erin Molta for evaluation and comment, is none other than KIM!!!!! Congratulations, Kim!!! Well done!!! And congratulations also to Carla, Christie, and Tracy, our other brave contestants, who put their work out there for everyone to see and critique. As always, all the pitches were wonderful, and I’m sorry that everyone can’t win. But please, keep those pitches coming. It’s great practice, and who knows? You could be a winner next time! Stay tuned for Straight From The Editor coming up whenever Erin’s comments happen to arrive… 🙂
Next: the winner of which book will go on a journey around the world is Can’t Sleep Without Sheep! If you would be interested in having Can’t Sleep come to your neck of the woods, please sign up in the comments. I will either choose one person to start with (possibly by a contest of some kind… mwah-ha-hah!) and let them send it on, or if enough people from enough far-flung places sign up, perhaps I’ll just put together an itinerary. The idea is for the book to travel around and be signed with a first name, location and date (and a tiny message if you like) and then come back to me eventually to share with kids on school visits!
illustration copyright Mike Wohnoutka 2010
Finally: here are the Halloweensie Contest finalists for you to vote on. Boy did this turn out to be way harder than I expected! Everyone’s entries were so good! In the end, though, my assistant judge and I narrowed it down with heaviest emphasis on what a child would most enjoy since the point is, after all, to write for kids, with secondary consideration to how close you came to the 100 word count. So here are the 3 finalists, identified by number. not name. Please read them and vote for #1, #2, or #3!
#1
Oh Judy!
A gaggle of boys and girls dressed like soldiers, dancers, animals and one lone devil walked down the street in search of Halloween treats.
Before they reached Judy’s house, a ghost darted out of the bushes.
“Boo!”
A ballerina jumped throwing her candied apple into the air.
A bear cried as the gooey treat fell on his furry head.
The devil stumbled over a jack o’lantern into the bushes.
The group joined together to return the devil to his feet.
“Oh Judy,” they yelled.
“What?” she cried from her front porch, as a shadowy figure slipped into the bushes.
#2
Red candied apple dripping in goo.
Orange carved pumpkins spelling out BOO!
Yellow glowing jack o’lantern’s grin,
Green as the wart on an ugly witch chin!
Blue satin Cinderellas looking for a shoe,
Purple bubbling cauldron of stinky witch brew.
Black is the cat, white ghost in flight,
A rainbow of colors on Halloween night!
#3
Boo smirked and pulled Jack O’Lantern to the spooky looking house. “Come on. Let’s go here.” Jack O’Lantern gasped at skeletons and ghosts hanging from trees. The eerie sound of a wind chime, the only noise. “Maybe we should have come out earlier,” said Boo, shivering in the cold and dark. Circumnavigating a hanging ghost to reach the door, Boo dared to ring the doorbell. Just as the door creaked open, a gust of wind blew the hanging ghost into them. “Aargh!” They screamed as two candied apples were thrust toward them. The boys ran and called back, “Thank yoooooooo!”
So please vote for your favorite today or tomorrow! (Poll will close Wednesday November 9 at 5 AM EST so I can post the winner on Wednesday morning.)
<a href=”http://polldaddy.com/poll/5648197/”>Halloweensie Contest</a> The winner will receive a signed hard cover copy of Haunted Party by the incomparable Iza Trapani! And as I said, all of the entries were fantastic – I was so impressed with the quality and with how imaginative people could be within the constraints of the writing requirements! I’m looking forward to the Thanksgiving Contest I’ve had requests for which I will post as soon as I think up what it is 🙂
Don’t forget to vote for the Halloweensie winner, let me know if you’d like to have Can’t Sleep journey to your house, and pick out a hibernation foto for Friday!
Due to our freak snowstorm, this post is interrupting Would You Read It Wednesday, so if you haven’t seen today’s Would You Read It, please scroll down or click here so Christie gets her pitch feedback! Thank you!
Once upon a Halloweensie, 2 feet of snow fell out of the sky and caused all manner of trouble!
So, the good news? Those of you who would like to enter the Halloweensie Contest and didn’t get around to writing your stories yet still have a chance to join in the fun! I’ll give you until the end of tomorrow – Friday November 4. For those of you who might not remember, the contest is for a 100 word story (in poetry or prose) suitable for children, using the words boo, candied apple, and jack-o-lantern. The story can be a little under 100 words but must not go over! If you don’t have a blog and want to enter, just copy and paste your story in the comments.
Here’s my sample, just for fun (because obviously I can’t enter my own contest :))
Mom was out, so Caitlyn was babysitting for Dex and Jax.
“Is it time yet?” asked Dex.
“Not yet,” said Caitlyn.
They put two dozen candied apples on a tray.
“Is it time yet?” asked Jax.
“No,” said Caitlyn.
They poured three jumbo bags of mini chocolate bars into the cauldron.
“Now?” asked Dex.
“Nope,” said Caitlyn.
They hung fake cobwebs around the door.
They turned off all the lights. Caitlyn lit the jack-o-lantern.
It was dark and spooky.
“Is it time yet?” whispered Dex.
“Yes!” Caitlyn whispered back. “One. Two. Three…”
“BOO!” they all yelled.
Boy was Mom surprised!
I think about 6 or 7 people that I know of wrote their entries and posted them on time. I’m hoping they’ll all see this (or I’ll try to contact them) and get the addresses of their Halloweensie posts into this linky list so they’re easy for everyone to find in one place. And I hope you’ll all go read the stories they worked so hard on! And, while I’m hoping, I also hope a few more of you will be inspired to join – especially all you fellow PiBoIdMo folks whose creative thoughts are flowing right now! Remember, the prize is a signed copy of Haunted Party by the one and only Iza Trapani 🙂
And just so you know? I’ve decided to make this an annual contest! Of course we’ll use different words and have a different prize each year, but you might as well go ahead and mark your calendars now for Halloween 2012 🙂 It will give you something fun to work toward. While I’m at it, I’ll probably do this for most of the major holidays because it’s fun, good practice in writing, educational for all us writers honing our craft, and a chance for me to give away signed books by authors I know and love 🙂 Better start thinking about Thanksgiving 🙂
Greetings, folks! Apologies for being absent from the blogosphere yesterday and late in posting Would You Read It today! Yesterday was a C-RAAZY day!
First, I went to the New York State Readers Association Conference in Rye Brook, NY to mingle, sign books, and give a talk to actual professional grown-ups (and any of you who have been around here long know what terror talking to actual professional grown-ups strikes into my pitter-pattery little heart!) I would be sharing a photo of me with fellow writers Lesa Cline Ransome and Ann Burg, but I don’t have one yet! (I’ll add it in when I get it, or post it Friday along with my fun foto :)) The talk, much to my surprise, went well – such lovely people attended! – and I ended up having a really nice time.
When that was done, I high-tailed it home, picked up my daughter, drove her back to college after her long weekend (a 4+ hour drive), turned right around and drove back home. By my reckoning, close to 550 miles of driving in about 11 hours in one day. Thank goodness for my 3 month free subscription to satellite radio which allowed me to listen to a comedy station on the long drive home alone! I felt like a cartoon. Toward the end, near 11 PM which is WAY past my bedtime, I had to get out and run around the car a few times in the cold night air to wake up 🙂 If only I had video footage – it would be so entertaining! I could post it on YouTube and go viral… but I digress!
So anyway, fueled up on coffee and imaginary chocolate donuts, I am here at last to post this week’s Would You Read It 🙂 Just first, I want to mention that the theme for this week’s Fun Friday Foto Fextravaganza (which I keep thinking I should abbreviate to FFFF but it’s too much fun to say fextravaganza!) is HALLOWEEN! What a surprise 🙂
I also want to remind everyone about the HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST which will be taking place on Monday, which actually is Halloween – how apropos 🙂 A bunch of people seemed enthusiastic, so lets hope we get some entries – I already have the signed book prize in my hot little hands and I’m looking forward to the fun!
OKAY. Time to welcome today’s pitcher, Kim, a former journalist and current Communications professor who loves to write creatively.
Working Title: Henry Hears You Age/Genre: YA The Pitch: 13-year-old boy finds his voice as the new advice columnist for the school newspaper only to discover that some problems don’t have easy solutions when he gets a letter from a kid threatening to kill himself if the gay bashing doesn’t stop.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Kim improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read Itor on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.
Kim is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
Don’t forget to join us Friday for Fun Foto (Halloween), and get right to work on your Halloweensie Contest entries!!! I know they’ll be spooktacular 🙂
Has anyone seen the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (you know, the good one with Gene Wilder?)
There’s a scene where Charlie’s teacher says, “I’ve just decided to switch our Friday schedule to Monday, which means that the test we take each Friday on what we learned during the week will now take place on Monday before we’ve learned it. But since today is Tuesday, it doesn’t matter in the slightest. Pencils ready!”
That’s what I feel like this week 🙂 Columbus Day threw a monkey wrench in my “schedule” (can’t really say that with a straight face because, really, I don’t have much of a schedule :)) So today we’ll have Would You Read It as planned, and then I’ll slide Straight From The Editor in with the Fun Foto Fextravaganza on Friday. Or maybe just save it for next Monday. Who can say? The test will be last Tuesday 🙂
Oh, and BTW, the theme for this week’s Fun Foto will be MIGRATION. So start rooting around for those 0-12 year-old-friendly photos that shout migration to you!
Okay. So back to our regularly “scheduled” programming…
Oh, but first, remember that surprise I promised? Do you? Are you still interested? Actually, the surprise is likely a lot more fun for me than it is for you, but I have to share it anyway!
You know my story Not Yet, Rose? It’s about a little girl who is waiting for a new sibling and isn’t sure how she feels about it. Well, ROSE has been picked up by Frecklebox.com, a website that creates all kinds of awesome personalized gifts for kids. The result? As of right this very minute you can order Not Yet, Rose in either hardcover or paperback, for the girl of your choice, as in Not Yet, Olivia, Not Yet, Alexandra, or Not Yet, Brunhilda! How fun is that?
Even if you don’t want to order one, you can play around with changing the name and see how it looks, which is totally fun 🙂
But should you ever have a little girl in your life who is about to become (or has just become) a big sister, now you can make a very special gift just for her. Plus, I know the author, so I know how you can also get your book personally signed 🙂 The book is exactly the same as the original, with all of Nicole’s beautiful artwork. They just change the name for your special girl. And there’s a place for you to add your own printed dedication, too.
So, apologies if you were expecting a better surprise than that, but it seems very fun to me!
Now. Onto today’s Would You Read It!
Today’s pitch comes to us from the amazing Christie, who blogs about picture books and holds picture book contests over at WRITE WILD. Here is her pitch:
Working Title: Gleek Age/Genre: MG Contemporary The Pitch: A math whiz but not great at reading and writing, eleven-year-old Art Schaeffer unknowingly stumbles upon the school bully’s rule-breaking science fair project and must find a way to expose him before the judges make their final decisions.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Christie improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read Itor on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.
Christie is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
And don’t forget to join us Friday for Fun Foto (Migration) and Straight From The Editor!
(Oh, and should you happen to order a personalized copy of ROSE from Frecklebox, you will earn major brownie points and possibly even be elected King and have a servant whose only job is to bring you fresh donuts whenever you snap your fingers, but of course, you know, it’s up to you :))
Geez, Louise! I’ve got so much to share with you today! And none of it has anything to do with anything else, hence the Mish Mash Monday theme 🙂
First things first: the Would You Read It Official Snack Poll is here! You have until 11:59 PM EST (unless we’re on EDT because honestly I never know which is which) tomorrow night (Sept. 27) to cast your vote. I know! Not much time! So get right on it! Because of course we need to have the answer ready for Wednesday morning and Would You Read It with Aimee and her YA pitch! Ready? GO!
Second: We have a winner in the Present Game from last Monday! Since I am too cheapbroke smart to pay for Random.org, I assigned each entry a number and the used the free sequence generator to pick the winner. And the winner is *drum roll**dramatic music* *confetti**wild cheering*ROSALIND!!! Rosalind, please use the handy Email Me button in the right hand sidebar to let me know your choice of prize – any one of my books signed however and for whoever you’d like, or a $10 Amazon gift card.
Third: This is so much fun I can hardly stand it. Kerri over at Craft Junkie is running a Choose Your Own Adventure Bloghop on Monday October 24 and I AM IN IT!!! I hope you’ll all save a little time to choose your adventures that week. I think there are 24 of us participating in this thrilling tale and it promises to be a most enjoyable experience. Check out the awesome badge created by Mel:
I’m guessing that sea serpent has you pretty much tingling with excitement and anticipation! 🙂
Fourth: the theme for this week’s Friday Fun Foto Frenzy Festival Fextravaganza (yes, it’s true, we haven’t decided on a name yet – I know you couldn’t tell) is: OOPS!
So get those wheels turning and start looking for an entry. We would love to have more than 1 participant this week 🙂 (Although I think the one, Debbie, should get bonus points for being the first to join in :))
So please, hang around, join the fun, have an as-yet-to-be-decided snack! It’s all fun and games around here 🙂
First, we had our present game on Monday, which got a way bigger response than I expected! I think I will leave it open until the wee hours of Friday morning and then post the winner on Friday, just in case anyone else wants to join in and hasn’t had a chance yet. (If that’s you, go here.) I got so many amazing, original responses – it was like opening presents for me to see what you all said!
Second, my friend Catherine Johnson and I want to try something fun on Fridays. We will post a theme for the week and then on Friday, you put a photo on your blog that represents that theme and put the url to that post in our comment section (hers or mine or both until we figure out how to do a linky list – turns out they don’t seem to work with Safari, which is what I have so…) and then everyone can visit each other’s photos to see how they interpreted the theme! I think we might get more than a few writing prompts from this 🙂 Since we both write kidlit, we want to keep the photos in a range appropriate for ages 0-12. This will also separate us from other similar photo game/lists because, as far as we know, no one does a kid one. We hope you’ll all think this is fun and join in! This week’s theme is “CONFUSION” So search around and find a photo that represents that. It can be a family photo or one you find elsewhere. As we continue, the game may evolve to writing captions or using the photos as prompts, but for now, we’re starting simple, and the first week is a bit of a trial run, so please bear with us – but do join in so we can see if it works 🙂
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… *dramatic music* … It’s time for Would You Read It!!! (And no, we have not yet decided on an official snack – although muffins warm from the oven are sounding pretty good right about now…. Maybe I’ll put up a poll. Or maybe I’ll just decide all by myself. But I digress…)
Today’s pitch comes to us from the lovely and talented Catherine from Canada – yes! the very same Catherine I’m doing the photo game with (how serendipitous is that? :))
Here is the pitch:
Working Title: The Fairy Wood Age/Genre: MG The Pitch: Annabel gets distracted by flowers and fairies and cannot find her family in the woods, but the mystery of the disappearing flowers distracts her even more. Annabel has no idea how close her family really are or who to trust.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Catherine improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read Itor on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.
Catherine is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
And we are both looking forward to your contributions to the photo game on Friday so please come join us 🙂 (With the added incentive of finding out who won the present game!!!)
(Today’s post contains 3 very important items: 1) the first Pitch Pick Winner, 2) 5 great writing opportunities, and 3) my First Campaign Challenge entry. If you’re in a hurry, please feel free to scroll down to the part you’re most interested in 🙂 Also, for those who haven’t had a chance to comment on this week’s Would You Read It, please go here. Okay, here we go!)
My fingers are actually tingling!
And, NO, it’s not because I’ve had too much coffee.
Really.
It’s 5:30 AM. How much do you think I could have drunk already?
No, my friends! I am tingling because the BIG DAY is finally here! The BIG DAY on which I will announce the winner of the first Pitch Pick, the one whose pitch will be sent to editor Erin Molta for comments and insight. Ah, the thrill! The excitement! The suspense…
But first, I want to tell you a story about paint drying.
You see, we need to paint our downstairs hallway…
Tee hee. I’m just foolin’ with you 🙂 (We do need to paint our downstairs hallway, but I’m not going to tell you a story about it. Not now anyway. Not while you’re dying to know who the winner is. That would just be cruel.)
Okay. Are you ready?
Really? Are you sure?
Alrighty, then. Drum roll please!
The winner of the first Pitch Pick for July/August 2011 is none other than the fabulous
ALISHA!!!
Congratulations, Alisha!!! Your pitch will wing its way across cyberspace momentarily and land in Erin’s inbox, ready for her priceless expertise!
Before we move on to item 2 of today’s smorgasbord, I just want to say, congratulations and good work to everyone who participated. You all wrote strong pitches, and your books all sound wonderful! I’m sorry there could be only one winner. But please remember – you are of course allowed to send more pitches! So feel free to try again for a spot in Erin’s Inbox!
Item 2 on today’s agenda is about fun, fun, fun for the writers in our audience. There are a number of opportunities either currently running or coming soon that I think you might find interesting:
The Lucky Clover Picture Book Writing Contest: Held by Christie at WRITE WILD, this picture book contest is run four times a year (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), with categories for Early PBs, Regular PBs, Non-Fiction PBs, and Rhyming PBs. The prize is a free critique, and entries for the Summer Contest are open until the end of September.
TheSynopsis/Query Stand Out: Held by Cynthia at RANDOM THOUGHTS, Stand Out Synopsis/Query is a weekly feature posted on Mondays where authors can get help on their synopses and/or queries. It is a slightly different take on Would You Read It Wednesday 🙂
The Hooked On Hooks Event: Held by Kimberly at ZOOKBOOKNOOK, the Hooked On Hooks event is a chance for writers to hone their hooks. Stop by on September 30 and add your hook to the linky list!
And, last but not least, the new Choose Your Own Adventure: Fun for writers and readers alike, Kerri Cuevas at CRAFT JUNKIE is hosting her 2nd Choose Your Own Adventure Story. 19 writers (including Yours Truly!) will be participating in this fun, fabulous bloghop. (I believe the list is now closed, but if you want to join, ask Kerri. She originally said she would take as many as 30, so there may still be a possibility of spaces.) It will take place at the end of October. More details to come 🙂
Item 3 on today’s agenda is my entry for Rachael Harrie’s First Campaign Challenge which, as of the time of this late writing already has 352 entries! The Challenge is: 200 words beginning with the words, The door swung open and ending with the words, The door swung shut. Here is my entry:
The door swung open with a hiss and a clunk.
Red and yellow lights flashed a warning.
“Up you go, Liam,” Mom said with a smile.
Liam looked at the steps. Steep steps. BIG steps. Steps he might trip on. Steps that led into the rumbling yellow belly of a monster.
“No!” he said.
He was not going forward.
Liam wanted to turn around and hold on tight to Mom, but eyes watched him. Lots of eyes. Maybe a hundred!
He could not turn back.
Mom squeezed his hand. “It’s going to be all right, Liam,” she said. “I promise.”
Liam looked up at her. He wanted to say something, but his throat was too tight for talking. He had to blink six times in a row to make sure no tears spilled out.
Mom ruffled his hair and gave him a gentle nudge. “Go on,” she said. “You can do it.”
Liam took a deep breath and stepped into the monster.
He looked down the monster’s throat.
Hey! There was Connor. And Justin!
“Hi, Liam!” they shouted.
Liam sat next to Connor, waved to Mom and smiled.
This might not be so bad after all.
The door swung shut.
Phew! Sorry for the long post! I told you it was a smorgasbord! Please post your comments for our Pitch Pick winner below, as well as your comments on the Challenge piece. And please enjoy a few minutes checking out the writing opportunities!
Have a great weekend everyone 🙂
P.S. For any fellow campaigners, should you happen to like my Challenge piece enough to “like” it on Rach’s site, I’m number 355. (I’ve discovered I’m having trouble finding people on there so thought this might be helpful!)
Fasten your seat belts and put your tray tables in the upright position! It’s time for the highlight of everyone’s week… Would You Read It! (I really wish I could make that flash and sparkle, but since I don’t know how, you’ll just have to imagine that it’s very fancy!)
Before we get to today’s pitch, I’d just like to thank everyone who has voted so far for the July/August Pitch Pick (and for those of you just joining us, that’s the vote on whose pitch was best and will get sent to editor Erin Molta for valuable comments and feedback!) I’m so interested in how the votes are falling, and it’s REALLY hard to keep a secret and not give you hints….
… OK. You twisted my arm. How about one hint. The current leader pitched a picture book. That’s not too much of a hint since 4 of the 6 pitches were for PBs 🙂
But it’s still definitely a competition, so if you haven’t voted yet, please do! Go here and scroll to the poll.
Alrighty then. It’s time for today’s pitch, our first YA to date, and the first of the September competitors for Erin’s reading time!
Today’s pitch comes to us from the awesome Kimberly, who has lived a very interesting life, part of which was spent in a hut in the rainforest with a lot of wildlife I wouldn’t want to meet too up close and personal! She writes a terrific blog (ZookBookNook), so feel free to hop over and get to know her. For our fellow campaigners, she is also participating in the Writer’s Platform Building Campaign. So here it is:
Working Title: Surfacing In Clouds Age/Genre: YA The Pitch: Rigo and Esteban struggle to survive in a land without electricity, but when they set out to reach a world consumed by technology their friendship is ripped at the seams. This story chronicles the remarkable resilience of human nature in the face of losing what was once taken for granted: silence, privacy, and a connection with nature.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Kim improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read Itor on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. (I figured y’all would get tired of me rewriting the same paragraph every week about the rules of the game so I put them up there :))
Kim is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
P.S. Tune in Friday for the results of the vote and find out who the winner is!!! And don’t forget, if you haven’t voted, please do! Vote here.
Susanna Leonard Hill 
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