Good Morning Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend in which you did not get trampled by angry mobs stampeding through their holiday shopping at the mall or run over by those same angry mobs vying for parking spaces 🙂
In case you’re wondering what I did, I had a very exciting weekend. I got to babysit for my granddaughter (oops, sorry – I’m physically unable to resist one tiny photo :))
… and I confess I was forced to go to the mall (a truly hair-raising experience – really, what happens to people?) but not because of holiday shopping. No. It was much more serious. We had to get basketball shoes. And not just ANY basketball shoes, the RIGHT basketball shoes. Because when you are on the court, playing hard, racing up and down against the other team, it is certainly not all about function. It is about fashion! I am happy to report that in spite of grave risk to life and limb, out mission was successful!
I also spent WAY too much time on our holiday card. I don’t know about you folks, but somewhere along the line I got sucked into these holiday cards filled with family pictures and produced by a company whose name starts with S but I am not plugging anyone 🙂 So this is what I do every year: I sort through the family photos. Usually I have virtually no decent ones and that is a huge challenge. This year I had so many good ones I had the opposite challenge – 2 graduations and a new baby in the family will do that to you 🙂 Anyway, once I get the photos, I spend about 3 solid days messing around with card design until I’m completely cross-eyed. Then I usually end up choosing the first card I made. Do not say I could save a lot of time by just doing one and pressing order. Really. Do not say it.
So that was my exciting weekend. I know. It may take me days to recover 🙂
So now, on to today’s excitement! The November Pitch Pick! One lucky Would You Read It participant from November is going to get her pitch read by the fabulous Erin Molta. So let’s get right to it!
First, our pitch refresher:
#1 Christie
Working Title: The Tooth Fairy Star
Age/Genre: Picture Book
The Pitch: Tiffany Faye loves being the tooth fairy, but when all the other fairies complain about her terrible dancing, she has to find a way to dance without being clumsy or else give up her job as the tooth fairy.
#2 Dee
Title: Hating Ric
Age/Genre: YA Verse
The Pitch: On the day of his brother, Jason’s funeral, 17 year-old Ric’s anger explodes, and he races Jason’s car through the streets, crashing and badly injuring jogger, Kate. Ric is sent to a juvenile justice centre, where survivor guilt and grief set him on a reckless destruction course. Help comes through his music and from an unexpected source in Kate who is struggling to put her own life back together.
#3 Halli
Working Title: SIMBIOTE
Age/Genre: YA Sci-Fi
The Pitch: Kal is a donor in the illegal bulb trade. He donates his own symbiotic bulbs to the humans on the multi-million dollar black market. Their addictions can cost them a pretty penny, but what does it cost Kal? What does he suffer every year at harvest time? When he gets caught he realizes the risks he has put upon himself, his potential girlfriend and his family are far worse than he ever imagined.
#4 Ashley
Working Title: Prelude To An Apocalypse
Age/Genre: YA Literature
The Pitch: Jack wakes up in the hospital to find a mysterious man offering to take her in, to teach her everything she needs to know about being a Wizard, but something deep inside tells her she can’t trust him.
Please place your vote now! Poll will be open until Tuesday December 6 at 11:59PM EST so I can announce the winner on Wednesday!
Have a great Monday 🙂 And P.S. I hope everyone is hard at work on their Holiday Contest entries (please scroll down that link for the rules) so they’ll be all ready before the mad holiday rush – you wouldn’t want to miss your chance at a great prize! 🙂
You stayed up all night watching the minutes tick past, waiting for this post to be up so you could find out who won the Thanksgiving Contest and share your thoughts on this week’s Would You Read It pitch since skipping last week sent you into withdrawal 🙂
And we’ll get to both of those things in one second…
First, I have to say that I am such a complete space cadet that I forgot to mention Monday that I was being interviewed on Julie Hedlund’s blog for her How I Got My Agent series. I know many of you are Julie’s devoted followers and have already read it, but if you haven’t please pop over and visit. Julie writes an awesome blog at Write Up My Life and I think you’ll find her How I Got My Agent series (although not necessarily my part in it :)) very illuminating and helpful! Thanks, Julie, for inviting me to take part and sorry I forgot to mention it Monday!
Second, I have just realized that tomorrow marks my first blogiversary. I can’t believe it’s been a year! I should probably be doing something wildly and crazily amazing to celebrate, but I’m fresh out of ideas at the moment. If any of you have suggestions, feel free to share! 🙂 But I want to thank everyone for being so wonderfully supportive. I have so enjoyed getting to know so many people who are both talented and nice! 🙂 I think, at the very least, this calls for some celebratory cake! Please help yourself to a slice, because cake definitely counts as a healthy breakfast – milk (calcium), eggs (protein), wheat (grains)… need I say more?
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Now on to all that excitement you stayed up all night waiting for!
I want to thank each and every person who submitted an entry to the Thanksgiving Contest as well as everyone who took time to read and vote. I think I speak for all of us when I say we so enjoyed reading everyone’s stories and they were all so wonderful. As you know, my assistant judge and I had a terrible time narrowing down the finalists, but we did at last and now your votes have spoken.
The winner of the Thanksgiving Contest, with a delightful, creative, and original story, is
Penny!
(That’s entry #2!) Congratulations, Penny! You have officially knocked our socks off 🙂 Please email me (susanna [at] susannahill [dot] com) or use the handy Email Me button on the right hand side of the blog and let me know if you’d prefer the $15 Amazon Gift Card or the hardcover copy of Balloons Over Broadway!
And now, on to Would You Read It!
This week’s pitch comes to us from the lovely Ashley who, until October of last year, considered herself a person who didn’t like to write but has now discovered she loves it!
Working Title: Prelude To An Apocalypse Age/Genre: YA Literature The Pitch: Jack wakes up in the hospital to find a mysterious man offering to take her in, to teach her everything she needs to know about being a Wizard, but something deep inside tells her she can’t trust him.
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 Ashley 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.
Ashley is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
Please join us Friday for Perfect Picture Books, and I hope everyone is hard at work on their Holiday Contest entries! Who knew practicing our craft could be so companionable and fun with such great prizes? 🙂
Happy Monday everyone! We’ve got all kinds of fun in store today, but first I have to share something totally off topic that made my day 🙂
Isn’t that just the nicest thing? 🙂
OK. Now on to today’s important business!
I had no idea what I was letting myself in for when I started the Thanksgiving Contest.
Seriously.
To begin with, there were more than twice as many entries as for the Halloweensie Contest – 19 all together in case you were wondering (the 20th was in there just for fun, but because the author is related to the judges it could not in fairness be considered :))
To top that off, you are all so creative and talented! I could have found a reason to make any of the entries a finalist. My assistant judge and I couldn’t even come to a consensus on which 3 it should be, so in the end, as senior judge, I made the call. I just want you all to know it was really hard, and I wish I could give everyone the prize!
Entries were judged on appropriateness as a children’s story, originality, and Thanksgiving-ness (that is too a word!)
So without further ado, here are the 4 finalists because I just couldn’t decide between 2 of them and make it 3, so I’m cheating and leaving it up to you guys 🙂 They will be identified by number only. Please vote for your favorite!
#1
They were set to go to Grandma’s
For their big Thanksgiving feast,
But the blizzard came in fast
Growling, howling like a beast –
Hurled itself around the house
Rattling windows, banging doors.
They laid a fire in the hearth
Against the blizzard’s wicked roars.
They couldn’t roast a turkey.
Electricity went out.
They ate tuna for their meat,
For their veggie – sauerkraut.
They wrapped themselves in blankets
Lit some candles, played some gin.
Dessert was pumpkin out of cans
With some cinnamon stirred in.
They started telling stories
Scary, funny, tried and true
Til the fire turned to embers
And the clock struck half past two.
They stoked the fire to blazing,
Snuggled close and rested heads.
That fire was so darned cozy
That they did not miss their beds.
They formed a sleeping circle
With the dog curled up inside.
Slept so soundly through the night,
They did not hear the storm subside.
They woke up the next morning
To a dazzling, blinding light.
Snow had piled up to the rafters,
And the world was frosted white.
They threw on coats and snowsuits
Raced out straight into the snow.
Threw some snowballs, built a snowman
Came back in with cheeks aglow.
They sat sipping some hot chocolate
When they heard the doorbell ring.
Behind the door was Grandma
With a giant turkey wing!
That Thanksgiving sure was different.
Many folks would call it lame.
But they made the most of family
And were thankful just the same.
#2
“They were supposed to go to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving, but the blizzard came in fast.
The weatherman said, “It’s best to stay inside until this storm is past…
In fact don’t heat the oven. Make sandwiches instead
With pumpkin flavored jelly spread on a piece of bread.”
That’s when I said with a look of great suspicion,
“That funny looking weatherman knows nothing of tradition.”
And what is that he’s wearing? A faux-feather suit!
And that…That’s a waddle dangling down from his snoot!
“DAD! Call the station! Quick! This guy is a fraud!
The whole blizzard thing…it’s just a big facade.”
So, as they snatched Mr. Gobble right off the TV station,
We loaded up and headed out for Thanksgiving vacation.
“Grandma we’re coming. There’s really not a blizzard.
But you can’t blame a turkey when he tries to save his gizzard.”
#3
They were supposed to go to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving, but the blizzard came in fast. The wind howled. The tree creaked.
Papa stockpiled wood inside the burrow. He stomped his feet and bolted the door.
Papa looked at his shivering brood of three. “I know you are disappointed, but we are safer in our burrow.”
“What about Grandma’s acorn pie, ” asked Sammy. His pudgy cheeks quivered and is large glossy eyes brimmed with tears.
“We have plenty of nuts, berries, fruit, seeds and grains to feast upon,” said Mama. “Why don’t you do your chores. Be thankful that we’re together.”
Sammy, Teddy and Rose tidied up their nests and swept the burrow. Sammy wondered what they could do to make Thanksgiving special.
Then Sammy spied a twig resting against the wall inside the burrow.
“Hey Teddy and Rose, I have an idea,” said Sammy. The three siblings huddled and whispered. Rose jumped up and down. The rest of the morning they worked in a corner of the burrow on their idea.
Mama worked all morning preparing their feast. Papa tended to the fire so that the burrow remained warm.
Sammy carefully placed their centerpiece on the table.
“It’s beautiful!” Mama gasped.
“It’s our thankful tree,” beamed Sammy. Tied to the branches were acorns, pine cones, and dried leaves bearing the names, Mama, Papa, Grandma, Sammy, Teddy and Rose.
They heard a rustle in the tunnel and a voice called out, “Acorn pie anyone?”
“Grandma,” they chirped. “We’re thankful you’re here!”
#4
We should have gone to Grandma’s but the blizzard came in fast.
The snow banks drifted deeper and we knew that they would last.
We thought of Grandma’s turkey and prize winning pumpkin pie.
Could we miss her fancy feast? Oh no! We had to try!
Dad shook his head. “Our tire tread won’t get us out of here.
We need some transportation with snow blizzard traction gear.”
From the barn we pulled an old toboggan, bent and beat.
We lashed some rope onto the front and pulled it to the street.
The horse, the cow, the dog, the cat – we tied them to the sled.
Then gooped their feet with peanut butter, honey and some bread.
We hopped aboard and held on tight when Dad shouted, “Now, MUSH!”
Whoosh! We sailed across the snow and slid along the slush.
The icy snow was blinding, but we thought we headed east.
Our rag-tag team was working hard to get us to our feast.
On and on we traveled, til our teeth were blue with frost.
Finally little Suzie cried, “Oh Dad, I think we’re lost!”
Then up ahead we saw a twinkling light among the trees.
It wasn’t Grandma’s house but we must stop or else we’d freeze.
We would have gone to Grandma’s but the blizzard came in quick.
Who knew that was the year we’d have Thanksgiving with St. Nick!
With seriously honorable mention to runners-up Erik and Abby who nearly caused some heated hot chocolate slinging between the judges over whether to include or not!
See how hard this is? I can’t wait to see what you vote for! Polls close Tuesday November 29 at 11:59PM EST so I can announce the winner on Wednesday, so please vote ASAP!
The response to the Thanksgiving Contest was so enthusiastic, and I think we all had such a good time, writing our stories and reading everyone else’s, and there was such a sense of fun and community, that I have decided to hold a Holiday Contest! YES! IT’S TRUE! I’m announcing it now to give you all plenty of time to get your stories written before the holiday rush. Here are the entry requirements:
Write your own version of Clement C. Moore’s traditional poem, ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas! Entries must be at least 12 lines/3 stanzas, not to exceed 40 lines/10 stanzas (although I realize the original is 56 lines/14 stanzas, but I’ll have to read them all during the week before Christmas :)) Entries may refer to any winter holiday you celebrate (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.) or to any combination of winter holidays, or no holiday – just a good winter-time story if you’re not comfortable with a holiday. I chose a rhyming challenge because so many people seem keen on it, but if the idea of rhyme strikes fear and loathing into your heart, you may write a prose version not to exceed 350 words 🙂
Entries must be posted on your blogs, or copied and pasted into the comments on my blog between Monday December 19 and Thursday December 22.
3 finalists will be chosen (hopefully really 3 next time :)) for you to vote on Monday December 26. The winner will receive their choice of a $15 Amazon gift card (to buy themselves whatever book they really wanted and didn’t get as a holiday gift :)) or the 2012 Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market!
I hope you’re all as excited as I am about the Holiday Contest! And please, don’t forget to vote for your favorite Thanksgiving entry by tomorrow night!
Susanna Leonard Hill 