First off, the hotly contested April Pitch Pick was won by Sam with her pitch for The School Supplies Intensive Care Unit!
Congratulations, Sam! Your pitch has been sent to editor Erin Molta for her comments and I’m sure you’ll hear from her shortly!
And congratulations to all our other brave and talented pitchers. You all did an awesome job, and I hope that even though you didn’t win the pitch pick you feel that your pitches have benefited from the experience!
Next, there was the gosling parade.
Yes, there was! Look!
I’ve been watching these little guys, driving by them on my way to and from the barn every morning since they hatched. There are five of them. They used to hang out at the edge of the pond, sunning themselves and keeping to a small safe area. Now that they’re gawky adolescents, their parents have decided to take them a little further afield – away from the very edge of the pond and up the stream bed to a place where (apparently) there are good things for geese to eat. I’m not sure I approve of their choice of route (even so carefully shepherded by mom and dad) – I worry about geese vs. motor vehicles – but their family outing sure makes a fine sight! 🙂
As if the pitch pick and gosling parade weren’t excitement enough, we have discovered the location of the Largest Desserts On Earth. I know! I couldn’t believe it either! To think it was so close all this time! I have pictures to prove the sheer enormity, and they will be your Something Chocolate for today. Check them out!
Exhibit A: Brownie Sandwich Sundae
This is the Brownie Sandwich Sundae – 2 large (warm!) brownies, 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream – and if you can’t tell from this photo, it’s bigger than your head! 🙂
Exhibit B: Oreo Cake
This one is Oreo Cake – it’s about 10 inches high – I kid you not! We realized belatedly we should have put something in the photo for scale!
We were caught unawares by the size of these desserts and found ourselves unable to finish (I know – we are STILL hanging our heads in shame). But now we have learned. Next time we go out to this establishment, we won’t order dinner… we’ll skip straight to the good part 🙂
Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Shaelyn. By day, Shaelyn Berg writes and edits educational content for a nonprofit organization. By night, she writes picture books while simultaneously snuggling her dog, Dixie (who basically rules her life). Shae enjoys running half marathons, eating Chunky Monkey ice cream, and reading any kidlit she gets her hands on. You can follow her picture book blog at www.shaelynberg.wordpress.com.
Here is her pitch:
Working Title: Avocado Desperado
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8 )
The Pitch: Avocado Desperado rolls solo, even when a woman scoops him and his hermanos into the kitchen. It’s guacamole time and he flees, desperado style. But when he pushes a sister toward the blade of the sharp cuchillo for nearly spoiling his escape plan, his pit feels heavy. Can Avocado Desperado save her from becoming a fiesta snack?
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 Shaelyn 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 Would You Read It in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above. There are openings in June, so you could get your pitch up for some helpful feedback pretty soon, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!
Shaelyn is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to going hiking with a friend today… although it’s supposed to be 86 degrees… out of nowhere…so we may end up as puddles and have to be resurrected with vast quantities of iced tea 🙂
Raise your hand if you thought the sky was always gray and pouring down water!
Local authorities of all kinds including meteorologists claim this turn of events is a perfectly normal occurrence. They assure us there’s nothing to worry about. A giant ball of burning gas in the sky is No Problem! But it’s been so long since anyone saw such a thing that there’s a great deal of distrust and speculation… And seriously, can you ever really believe a meteorologist? 🙂
Nevertheless, I think we should celebrate the sunshine with Something Chocolate! (Because let’s be honest – any excuse for chocolate will do 🙂 ) How about Chocolate Brownie and Mousse Trifle? 🙂
And it’s practically in a cereal bowl, which makes it breakfast by my definition 🙂
Go get a napkin. You’re drooling on your keyboard.
Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Sherry. Sherry Howard lives with her children and two crazy dogs in Middletown, Kentucky, a stone’s throw from the beautiful horse farms Kentucky is always bragging about. During her career in education, she served as principal in one of the largest middle schools in the US; she and cat-herders share many common skills. Sherry loves to read, write, cook, and sit in the sand watching the waves when she can! That, of course, requires a trip out of state.
Find her on the web at Facebook, Sherry Hyberger Howard, and Twitter, @SherLHoward
Here is her pitch:
Working Title: Squirrelly Curly
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: Squirrelly Curly and his brothers need a winter home, but Curly prefers snowboarding to home building. Brothers Larry and Mo work frantically to build more nests while Curly pelts them with acorns and acts squirrelly. Nest after nest is destroyed until it’s up to Curly to provide shelter before they all become Squirrelsicles.
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 Sherry 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 Would You Read It in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above. There are openings in June, so you could get your pitch up for some helpful feedback pretty soon, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!
Sherry is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to spending some quality time outside with that giant ball of burning gas 🙂
I don’t know about where you live, but here on Blueberry Hill the whole entire weather system has gone topsy-turvy. We had snow in April instead of January and February. We had 80 degree days in March and April but now that it’s May we’re back to the 40s. And those April showers? Well, we had more of a drought in April… but now that May is here it’s done nothing but pour… and the Weather People (they’re like the Village People but not as much fun to dance to 🙂 ) are making dour predictions that the rain will continue today, tomorrow, Friday, Saturday… you get the idea.
So how timely is it that today, May 4, is the 201st anniversary of Frenchman Jean Marius inventing the first folding umbrella? Such a clever lad, he was. The rich (who liked to maintain their superiority by keeping their skin lily-white) had used parasols against the sun for ages, but apparently it never occurred to anyone to come up with a version to keep the rain off. Enter our boy Jean and his genius creativity and voila! (which we can say in complete fairness because he was French! 🙂 ) everyone was suddenly free to go march about in the rain. Too bad for them that rubber rain boots didn’t come on the scene until 1853. I would not be at all surprised if there was a lot of grumpiness prior to 1853 due to wet feet 🙂
Meanwhile, here in the rain belt, we’re in a bit of a pickle because a) anytime we get heavy rain there is danger that the basement will flood and b) tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and it really should be sunny for that!
I can’t make sunshine (I know. I have amazing magical powers, but I still can’t manage to pull that off!) But I can make Something Chocolate! So let’s put some cheer in Cinco de Mayo by having some Churro Pancakes With Spicy Chocolate Sauce!
Yum! Aren’t they delicious? Think of them as cinnamon-sugary chocolate sunshine 🙂
Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Susan who is a writer from Gilbert, AZ where she lives with her husband, three young sons and their corgy/jack Russell rescue dog, Jedi. Originally from Madison, WI, she cheers on the Packers and the Badgers, loves movie nights with her family, and enjoys reading as much as writing.
Here is her pitch:
Working Title: Room For Olives
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-8)
The Pitch: Little Olive has always been happy with her life in the jar until she discovers the fancy world outside of the fridge. When adventure leads to danger, the real journey begins.
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 Susan 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 Would You Read It in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above. There are openings in June, so you could get your pitch up for some helpful feedback pretty soon, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!
Susan is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to paddling around the basement in my canoe rescuing salamanders 🙂
I am not making that up! It’s like it was invented just for us, isn’t it? I think we should all celebrate by writing or telling a story today 🙂 I’ll start. On a sunny day in April, Little Dickens crawled out of his hollow log and… SPROINK!… got a face full of prickles! … Feel free to continue! 🙂
It also happens to be National Babe Ruth Day. I’m guessing they mean to honor the baseball player, but here on Blueberry Hill one little letter change makes it Baby Ruth Day which means we are honoring chocolate 🙂 Also peanuts and caramel 🙂 Also nougat. Which really, does anyone know what nougat is? I mean, nobody ever said, “I’m going into the kitchen to whip up some nougat…” (although they should because nougat is fun to say!) And if they did say that, what the heck kind of ingredients would they need? But I digress…
What could be better than a day devoted to stories and chocolate? 🙂
Ooh! Wait! I know the answer!
A day devoted to stories, chocolate, Would You Read It and Straight From The Editor! And it just so happens, I’ve got the whole kit and caboodle for you today! 🙂
We are SO on the ball this month! After a slight delay in the February and March Pitch Picks, we got the winners last week, and now we’ve got Straight From The Editor this week! So without further ado, here are editor Erin Molta’s thoughts on the winning pitches from February and March:
You will recall Stacia’s winning pitch from February:
Mia And The Marathon – Picture Book/Early Reader
Mia loves running and so does Mama. While Mama is getting ready for her longest race ever, Mia discovers new, exciting ways she can get ready too. Mia can’t wait to cheer on Mama but oh no! On Race Day, Mia and Daddy can’t find Mama in the big crowd of runners! Don’t worry: Mia is prepared and knows exactly what to do. It’s time for Mia to cheer her favorite, loudest, cheeriest, cheer ever.
Erin said:
Mia and the Marathon sounds inspirational but it seems as if there’s two stories going on: is Mia running or getting ready to cheer her mother on? Perhaps if you started it out with something more like, Mama loves running and Mia loves to cheer Mama on. Then I would mention something specific—Mia liked to jump high and shout or Mia had a megaphone all ready for Mama’s longest race…Something like that to give us the impression that Mia is her mother’s best cheering section. I imagine that at the race, Mia will be sitting on Daddy’s shoulders in order to see Mama, and if that is the case it’s not necessary to hide that from the pitch nor whatever it is she knew exactly what to do. Specific is always better than vague and the more information you can actually pack into a pitch—the better!
Tracy’s winning pitch from March was for TroublE with a Capital” E”! – Picture Book/Early Reader:
Trouble, sometimes it finds you and even follows you home. That’s exactly what happens one extraordinary day when Jack, the perfect pooch, sniffs out the perfect friend. Together the unlikely duo find companionship, love, and yes, trouble! Stirring up trouble isn’t perfect, but it sure is a lot more fun. Sometimes, “T-r-o-u-b-l-E,” can be spelled with a capital E.
Erin said:
Trouble with a Capital E sounds cute! But there’s no need to hide the mystery E character. That is not going to intrigue an editor — they’re just going to be exasperated. 🙂 And it sounds like Jack has found companionship, love, and trouble all in one day. You need to clarify that this friendship has developed in their quest for fun and thus trouble. 🙂
Many thanks to Erin as always for her very helpful insights into the pitches! I hope you find them as useful as I do!
Phew! I don’t know about you, but after all that pitch advice and talk of nougat, I’m in the mood for Something Chocolate! May I offer you some Rich Chocolate Cake With White Chocolate Mousse And Cherry Sauce?
Rich Chocolate Cake With White Chocolate Mousse And Cherry Sauce Recipe HERE at Sweet & Savory
Would you like some nougat on the side? 🙂
Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Tracy, whom you will remember from March with her pitch for Trouble With A Capital E! (which won the March pitch pick as referenced above!!! 🙂 ) Tracy says, “Hey there! I’m Tracy and I am a Language Arts Interventionist, who loves every minute of it! I recently submitted my first article for Highlights Children’s Magazine and I couldn’t be more excited, Yahooie! Animals, children and writing are my passion, and fortunately for me, I have all three in my life. Thanks so much for taking a look at my pitch :~)
The Pitch: Sonny is affectionately called, Lovee #5. She is the fifth baby girl born into her family. All grown up now, she talks on the phone to her friends, has play dates, and plays sports too. She’s just like all the other Lovees in her family – right? So why does everyone call her Special and not Sonny?
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 Tracy 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 Would You Read It in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above. There are openings in June, so you could get your pitch up for some helpful feedback pretty soon, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!
Tracy is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to using the word “nougat” in at least one sentence per hour today. (See how subtly I just covered this hour?) Perhaps I shall sing songs like, “Nougat! Yes please!” I sound just like Maroon 5, don’t I? Look out Adam Levine 🙂
Have a wonderful nougat-filled Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂
It’s been a busy week of school visits so far, but Woo Hoo! It’s Wednesday! And you know what that means… 🙂
It’s time for everybody’s favorite pastime: Would You Read It!
But first, I’m pleased to announce the winners of the February and March Pitch Picks!!!
The February Pitch Pick was won by Stacia with her pitch for Mia And The Marathon, a picture book/early reader.
The March Pitch Pick was won by Tracy with her pitch for TroublE With A Capital “E”!, also a picture book/early reader.
It’s cool that both winners were on the fence between picture book and early reader because we hardly ever get early reader pitches!
Congratulations, Stacia and Tracy! Your pitches are on their way to editor Erin Molta for her comments and I’m sure you’ll hear from her at her earliest convenience!
And congratulations to ALL our other pitchers for bravely putting your work out there for commentary so that we can all learn, and for stepping up to revise and improve them for the pitch pick! They were all really great, and you all did excellent work. The choice was very tough and I hope even if you didn’t win the pitch pick you feel like you have a better pitch than you started out with!
Next, I think we should have a quick review of the 5 Food Groups by carefully taste-testing Something Chocolate (because you never know… we could have a pop quiz on Friday!) … Today, I think the 5 food groups shall be Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Caramel, Mousse, and Pie.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Mousse Pie
(note the inclusion of 5 food groups in the name!)
I hope you all feel fortified now that you’ve boosted all 5 of what we’re counting as food groups for today (because next time it could be Cake, Pie, Cookies, Ice Cream, and Chocolate… or, Marshmallow, Caramel, Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Whipped Cream… or simply Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Semi-Sweet Chocolate, and Hot Chocolate… It’s important to be flexible on these matters 🙂 )
Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Karah who says, “I’m originally from Kentucky, but now live in beautiful New Zealand where I live with my Kiwi partner and work in marketing for a video game company (another great form of storytelling!). I love storytelling for kids, especially children’s literature and animation, and I adore any story inspired by fairy tales.”
Find her on Twitter at @Karahsel
Here is her pitch:
Working Title: Tails Of Witches And Wolves
Age/Genre: MG – Fantasy
The Pitch: Young wolf Nata is placed under a spell that finally opens a door to the human life she’s always dreamed of. But when a wolf attack leads to the hunting of wolves across the tsardom, Nata must choose between the life she’s always wanted and the safety of the wolf family she left behind.
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 Karah 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 Would You Read It in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above. There are openings in May, so you could get your pitch up for some helpful feedback pretty soon, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!
Karah is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to reading Book 6 of the Game of Thrones saga. Ah! (you may say) but George R.R.R.R.R.R.R. Martin hasn’t written it yet! You are right, of course, so while I’m waiting I think I’m going to try out an episode of Game of Thrones, loaned to me by a friend. It is on blue-ray, which I don’t have, but my tech-savvy children feel there’s a strong possibility my computer will play it, so here’s hoping! 🙂 I’m a little trepidatious though… I always like the book better than the movie/TV adaptation (need I remind anyone of the disaster that was Little House On The Prairie???!!! I mean seriously, Albert?!) Plus, I hear that the TV version of GOT is extremely violent… which means I’ll have cover my tight-shut eyes with my hands, daring snatched glimpses between my fingers now and then, and wait for the bad parts to pass! But since poor George R.R.R.R.R.R. Martin is still struggling over Book 6 (and believe me, I feel for him! Can you imagine the pressure? Hard enough to write such a huge saga without the entire civilized world constantly impatiently demanding the next installment! And it can’t just be any old thing either. It has to be good or people will give him a hard time!) But where was I? Oh yeah. Since poor George is still struggling, I’ve got to try alternate options 🙂
There’s something so delicious about Fridays, isn’t there? That knowledge that the whole weekend stretches out before you – yours to do whatever you want with… sleep late (if you don’t have young children 🙂 … or dogs with very specific ideas of what time breakfast should be served 🙂 )… read a good book by the fire… go to the movies… fill out financial aid forms… you know, whatever blows your hair back 🙂
And there’s something especially delicious about this Friday! Something I know you’ve all been anticipating with great intensity!
Unfortunately, I’m having trouble remembering what it is.
I blame avocado deprivation.
They say avocados improve brain and memory function and I cannot remember the last time I had an avocado. But that may be because I haven’t had any avocados to boost my memory of when I last had an avocado!
As you can see, it’s a knotty conundrum.
It is quite possible that I may wander in a fog for days unless someone arrives to rescue me with guacamole.
Should anyone feel so inclined, I shall be in my tower…
…very damsel in distress…
…with a bag of tortilla chips… 🙂
But wait.
What were we talking about?
Friday…
Something important…
OH!
RIGHT!
I bet you don’t give a flying fig about avocados OR guacamole!
I know you’re really here to…
…seek my fashion advice on what you should wear on that hot date this weekend…
What?
You would be more likely to ask a potato for fashion advice?
Well, you’re probably wise in that regard 🙂
Nah. I’m just foolin’ with you 🙂
I know you’ve been climbing the walls waiting to find out who won the First Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Writing Contest!!!
Am I right or am I right or am I right???
Well…I’ll tell you!
In a minute… 🙂
As you are all aware by now, we had a record turnout for the Valentiny Contest – 154 entries!
I was thrilled beyond measure to see so many wonderful stories and meet so many new writers!
But with large entry numbers come hard choices. My assistant judges and I worked hard to winnow the total down to a manageable number of finalists that we felt were truly all-around deserving of that distinction, and those were the ones we presented to you on Monday for your vote.
There were, however, many other entries that were outstanding in certain areas even though they might not have qualified all-around for one reason or another (one reason being that, at a certain point, we just had to stop adding finalists to the list! :))
So my assistant judges and I would like to award recognition and a small prize to the following authors for the following merits:
1. For Honorable Mention In The Competition As A Whole:
Christie Allred for Gumshoe Goose
Linda Schueler for Witch Walenda’s Grumpy Valentine’s Day
Ingrid Boydston for The Grumps
Gabi Snyder for The Bookstore Cat’s Valentine
2. For Great Kid Appeal: (not already in the finals)
Marlaina Gray for Cupcake Party
Robin Brett Wechsler for The Case Of The Missing Valentine Party Supplies (also the only Valentine Mystery! :))
3. For Great Kid Voice: (not already in the finals)
Terry Turner for The Stupid Valentine
Tammi Truax for How To Ungrump A Bad Day
4. For Funniest Entry: (not already in the finals)
Kristen Foote for Shoo Fly, Valentine (funny and dark! :))
Cathy Hookey- for The Problem With Love Potions
Robyn Campbell for Romeo Duck
5. For Sweetest/Most Touching Entry:
Molly Felder for Dog And Pup
6. For Best Written Original Point of View:
Meredith Palmer for The Right Angles (POV of scrap paper!)
7. For Originality/Creativity:
Judith Roth for Dragon Hearts (because Valentine’s and dragons aren’t an obvious match-up 🙂 and for creative and beautiful use of language)
Katie Gast for No More, Said The Door (love story between a door and a door mat :))
Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories! You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com to collect your prize, which is your choice of one of the following: (the titles are all links so you can go see what they’re about)
Now then. A word about the prizes before I announce the winners.
We have 10 fabulous prizes, generously donated by authors and various professionals in the writing field. My policy is to let the first place winner have first pick of all the prizes, the second place winner have second choice, etc. That way hopefully nobody gets something they already have, and hopefully everyone gets something that’s valuable to them. All prizes are listed at the bottom of this post for your convenience in perusing the goodies 🙂
And now…
…the moment you’ve all been waiting for…
…THE WINNERS OF THE 2016 VALENTINY CONTEST as chosen by you, our esteemed voters!!!!!
In First Place…
Winner of the whole shebang…
who gets first choice of all the prizes…
Dawn Young
for Grumpy Bear’s Valentine!!!
Congratulations, Dawn, on a fabulous entry that was all around well done and clearly very popular!!! 🙂
In Second Place…
Cathey Graham Nickell
for Kandie’s Kiss
Congratulations, Cathey!! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Dawn makes her choice.
In Third Place…
Shelley Kinder
for No Snacks For Max
Congratulations, Shelley! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Dawn and Cathey choose theirs.
In Fourth Place…
Mishka Jaeger
for Come In For The Cold
Congratulations, Mishka! You get to pick after Dawn, Cathey, and Shelley.
In Fifth Place…
Christine Rodenbour
for XOXO, Your Secret Admirer (Larry)
Congratulations, Christine! You get to pick after Dawn, Cathey, Shelley, and Mishka.
In Sixth Place…
Ann Magee
for Grumpy Badger’s Valentine
Congratulations, Ann! I’m sure you get the idea of how the prize picking goes by now 🙂
In Seventh Place…
Marla LeSage
for Pirate Gets A Valentine
Congratulations, Marla! You get to pick next 🙂
In Eighth Place,
Cheryl Secomb
for Jasper And Abigail
Congratulations, Cheryl, on a delightful entry! You get to pick your prize after Marla.
In Ninth Place,
Sam Altmann
for The Lonely Hearts Club!
Congratulations, Sam! You get to pick a prize after Cheryl!
And in Tenth Place,
Susan Schade
for A Colorful Valentine’s Day
Congratulations, Susan! You get to pick a prize after Sam!
And, I don’t think I need to remind anyone that in addition to all these fabulous prizes, everyone mentioned on this page has bragging rights as having won or placed in the 1st Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Contest! Not just anyone can say that 🙂
All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes! Finalists who did not finish in the top 10 (Jess, Anne) may also contact me for their choice of the Kindle or paperback prizes listed above.
Congratulations again to all our winners – it was a stiff competition!! – and congratulations to EVERYONE who wrote and entered a story in the contest. You all deserve a standing ovation, a glitter heart confetti parade, and a large amount of Valentine chocolate 🙂
Thank you to everyone who helped make this contest SO MUCH FUN, whether by writing an entry, reading people’s stories, leaving comments for the authors, and/or voting in the finals. It’s because of all of you that this contest was such a success, so many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart!
Have a terrific weekend everyone, and thanks again for making the 1st Annual Valentiny Contest such a smashing success and a wonderful time for all! 🙂
The Prizes:
– A Picture Book Read and Critique from literary agent Christa Heschke at McIntosh & Otis who is actively building her picture book list!
CHRISTA HESCHKE graduated from Binghamton University with a major in English and a minor in Anthropology. She started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children’s Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively acquiring for all age groups in children’s. For YA, she is especially interested in contemporary fiction, thriller/mystery, and horror. She is always on the lookout for a compelling voice combined with a strong, specific hook that will set a YA novel apart in its genre and the flooded market. She is open to all types of middle grade and especially enjoys adventure, mystery, and magical realism, whether in a voice that is more light and humorous or one with more of a timeless, literary feel. For both YA and MG, she is particularly interested in unique settings and cultural influences, interesting storytelling structure, complicated romances, diverse characters, sister or friendship-centric stories, and stories that feature artists of any kind. In picture books she is drawn to cute, funny stories (as opposed to sweet and quiet) with strong hooks that will grab both kids and their parents as well as the occasional nonfiction biography on a unique subject whose story has yet to be told.
ART OF ARC is a self-study course that will deepen your understanding of picture books written with a classic arc and introduce you to other picture book structures. The course gives you tools to analyze your work prior to investing in professional critiques. It shows you how to avoid common writing errors and how apply writing elements that will enhance your stories to take them to a higher level. It includes 217 pages with ten lessons, seventeen supplements, and eighteen worksheets. Plus bonus materials and resources.
– A Picture Book Critique/Developmental Edit (non-rhyming picture book manuscript) from Beth Stilborn. (Beth does developmental editing and copy editing through her Flubs2Fixes Editing, Consulting and Writers’ Resources service for writers. http://www.flubs2fixes.com )
– A Picture Book Critique from the fabulous Robin Newman, author of The Case Of The Missing Carrot Cake and the forthcoming, eagerly awaited Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep (please don’t miss the fantastic trailer! 🙂 )
– personalized signed copies of The Case Of The Missing Carrot Cake and Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep by Robin Newman
– a personalized signed copy of The Night Before Valentines Day by Natasha Wing! Natasha Wing loves Valentine’s Day because it’s a week after her birthday. Natasha is the bestselling author of The Night Before series (Grosset & Dunlap). To find out more: www.natashawing.com
Once again, please join me in thanking Christa, Jodell, Julie & Emma, Alayne, Beth, Robin, and Natasha for their incredible generosity, and show your appreciation by visiting their sites, buying and recommending their books and services to your writer friends and/or friends with kids, writing them nice reviews on Amazon, GoodReads etc if you’ve read and liked their books, and showing your appreciation to them in any way you can! I truly can’t thank them all enough!
I know it looks like Monday, but let’s go with me here and pretend that it’s last Wednesday, because that’s when I said the finalists would be posted. So here they are, right on time! 🙂
I’m trying to remember whose idea this contest was…
(Oh right. YOURS! 🙂 )
…because holy pink glitter hearts on a doily, batman, we got a LOT of entries! 154, to be exact, the most we’ve ever had in any contest. I guess you guys weren’t kidding when you said you wanted a contest in February to chase away the winter doldrums – you really stepped up!
The overall quality of the entries was impressive. Really, if you were hoping to drive the judges to a completely irresponsible over-indulgence in chocolate as we agonized over our choices, you succeeded admirably 🙂 There isn’t a single morsel of chocolate left in the entire state of New York…or Connecticut… or Vermont… actually, we’ve had reports of people in chocolate withdrawal all the way up to Montreal! We wish to extend our sincere apologies to anyone who is without chocolate because of us!
The quality of entries in these contests is improving every time. This means there are fewer obvious standouts, almost none that are easy to cut, and there a LOT of very good ones that we have to get very nit-picky over! It is agony, I tell you! Hence the irresponsible chocolate indulgence!
Before we get to the actual list of finalists, I have a couple things to say. (I know you’re shocked as I’m normally such a girl of few words :))
First of all, I want to thank EVERYONE who took the time and care to write an entry for this contest. You all did a fabulous job and provided great enjoyment for many!
Second, I’d also like to thank EVERYONE – writer, reader, or both – who took the time to go around and read as many entries as you could and leave supportive comments. This means so much to the writers who worked hard on their stories. It helps them see what they did well, as well as giving them the joy of knowing that their stories were read and enjoyed. I hope you all got as much delight and entertainment out of the reading as I did! Plus, we got to meet quite a few new people which was a wonderful added bonus! 🙂
Third, before I list the finalists, I want to say again how difficult it was too choose! There were so many amazing entries. Really. I could find at least something terrific about every single one. The sheer volume of entries meant that many good ones had to be cut. So if yours didn’t make the final cut please don’t feel bad. There was a huge amount of competition. Judging, no matter how hard we try to be objective, is always subjective at a certain point – we all have our own preferences for what makes a great story. And the fact that you didn’t make the final cut DOES NOT mean you didn’t write a great story. Everyone who plonked their butt in a chair and worked hard to write a story for this contest is a winner! You showed up. You did your best work. You practiced your craft. You wrote to specifications and a deadline. You bravely shared your writing with the world. And you have a brand new story that is now yours to expand beyond 214 words if you like and maybe submit at some point to a magazine or as a PB manuscript. So bravo to everyone who entered!
Now. Onto the judging criteria which were as follows:
Kid-appeal/Kid-friendliness – remember, this is a story for kids!
Creativity in using grumpiness, and success in making us feel the grumpiness!
Quality of story – we will look for basic story elements and a true story arc
Quality of writing – use and flow of language, correctness of mechanics
Originality – surprise us with something new and different! 🙂
We really tried to choose stories that did the best job of fulfilling ALL the judging criteria. There were some truly wonderful stories that didn’t have much to do with Valentines Day (remember – it was supposed to be a Valentines Day Story for kids), or didn’t have a particularly grumpy character, or didn’t seem particularly kid-oriented even though they were very creative and well-written. We tried our best to select finalists that checked all the boxes.
So without further ado, I present to you the finalists in the 2016 First Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Writing Contest! Please read through them carefully, take your time, think it over, and vote for your favorite in the poll below by Thursday February 25 at 12 PM (noon) Eastern time.
To help with objectivity, finalists are listed by title only, not by author.
And I’d like to be very clear about the voting process. You are MOST welcome to share a link to this post on FB, twitter, or wherever you like to hang out, and encourage people to come read ALL the finalists and vote for the one they think is best. Please do that. The more people who read and enjoy these stories the better, and the more objective votes we get the better. HOWEVER (and I want to be very clear on this) please do not ask people to vote for a specific number or title, or for the story about the grumpiest tiger in 1st grade or whatever. Trolling for votes or trying to influence the outcome is counter to the spirit of this competition which is supposed to be based on merit. I thank you in advance for respecting this.
#1 JASPER AND ABIGAIL
Jasper Turtle wanted to look dashing.
He would be escorting his best friend, Abigail Mink, to the Village Valentine Bash. She always looked so sleek in her soft furry coat.
He pulled his tuxedo shell from the closet and tried it on.
SQUEEEEEEZE
“It’s a little snug,” he squeaked.
Perhaps he should shed a few pounds before the bash. He glanced at the calendar. And soon!
Jasper nibbled on greens.
His tummy rumbled.
He jogged through the park.
He tripped and tumbled.
Jasper stepped on the scale,
and grumpily grumbled!
Grrrrr! Jasper wasn’t a snapping turtle, but…
He SNAPPED at the mailman.
He SNAPPED at his cat…fish.
He SNAPPED at Abigail.
Oops.
Abigail huffed. “Well!” She stormed off.
Jasper felt too grumpy to say he was sorry.
So he didn’t.
The night of the bash, Jasper slipped into his tuxedo shell.
It fit. He was a dashing sight.
“But what good is it without my best friend?” He sighed.
Jasper knew what he had to do.
He knocked on Abigail’s door.
He brought flowers.
And chocolates.
Lots of chocolates.
He apologized.
And explained.
Abigail smiled. “Silly, Turtle. I like you just the way you are. You’ve always looked dashing to me.”
Jasper’s heart swelled so big, he almost burst his tuxedo shell.
Almost.
#2 PIRATE GETS A VALENTINE
Winter comes by northern breeze.
Nights grow longer. Harbours freeze.
Pirate gets the winter blues,
red-hot temper, shortened fuse.
So Pirate hides from winter’s wail.
‘Til she reads her Love Day mail. Boats are brown. The sea is blue. All your friends are missing you!
Pirate shivers, peeks outside,
sees her friends all smiling wide.
“Come out Pirate,” call her mates.
“Bundle up and bring your skates!”
But Pirate’s skate is way too tight.
and nothing fits her peg leg right.
Pirate grumbles. Pirate gripes.
Friends all stop and Viking pipes,
“Come on Pirate, try these skis,
glide across the snow with ease!”
But Pirate cannot bend both knees,
manage hills, or dodge the trees.
Pirate whimpers. Pirate whines.
But can’t deter her Valentines.
Nanuk offers. “If you like,
“we could take a snowshoe hike.”
But Pirate’s snowshoes are too small.
They don’t help her out at all.
Pirate kicks and Pirate cries.
But Jack has brought a sweet surprise.
He digs right down into his pack,
“Pirate, would you like a snack?”
Steaming cocoa, heart-shaped treats.
Friends all wait while Pirate eats.
Pirate snickers. Pirate smirks.
Sharing cookies always works.
Pirate rumbles, “Snowball fight!”
Heaves the snow with all her might.
Pirate sparkles. Pirate shines.
and she delights her Valentines.
#3 KANDIE’S KISS
Kandie buried herself as deep as possible. She wiggled and squirmed until she was hidden by her heart-shaped friends.
What kind of Valentine’s Day surprise am I? Kandie scowled from the bottom of the bowl. She peeked out. That just made her even crankier.
“I’m all wrong!” she wailed, eyeing the other sweets. “How can you smile and feel sugary at a time like this?!”
Old Man Tart chuckled from across the way, “What’s yer bellyaching about?”
“You all have such beautiful words. I’m a fructose failure,” Kandie sulked.
She had a point. Old Man Tart’s tummy boldly stated: HUG ME! Pinky’s bragged: TOO CUTE! Why, Honey’s phrase even proposed: MARRY ME!
Kandie glanced down irritably at her own letters. “HISS ME? Seriously. HISS ME?” she pouted. “Someone at the factory cannot spell! Whoever heard of a candy heart that says HISS ME? I’ll never find a Valentine! No one will want me!”
Old Man Tart waited for her to finish complaining. He cleared his throat and said, “A wise person once said there is someone for everyone. Kandie, I’m sure you’ll find your match.”
I should try to be optimistic, Kandie thought, scooting back to the top of the bowl. And the first person she spotted was Gummy Snake smiling shyly at her.
#4
#5 Come In For The Cold
“Hot chocolate is for kids who get to play outside in the snow!” Sheena yelled back down the stairs. “I’m not cold and I don’t need warming up!”
“Sounds like you do,” her mother replied cheerfully.
“Sorry. I’m missing ALL the fun.” A deep Valentine’s snow had fallen and everybody was sledding on the driveway beneath Sheena’s window. She puffed on the pane and drew a frowny face. “Stupid broken leg.”
Sheena heard the door open and the stomping off of snow in the hall. Her brother came up the stairs.
“Go away!” She snapped without turning around, then shrieked as Joey dumped handfuls of snow over her head.
“Lighten up!” he laughed as Sheena frantically dusted icy flakes from her neck, “I can’t let you miss ALL the fun!”
“What ARE you doing?” Sheena sputtered, reaching for her crutches.
“Since you can’t come out and play, we’ll make a snowman here,” Joey chirped as he emptied a bucket of fluffy snow into the bathtub.
Sheena grinned. “You’re nuts!”
“I love you, too!” he retorted, smiling broadly.
Sheena hobbled to the bathroom shaking icy drops from her hair.
Joey returned with more snow.
The cold felt wonderful in Sheena’s bare hands. “Mom,” She called, “I’m earning my chocolate! But first… I need a carrot!”
#6 No Valentines for Porcupines
Pip would not go to school today.
He would not ride the bus.
He would not hand out heart-shaped cards
and join in all the fuss.
For every year it was the same.
Each glittered, heartfelt greeting
was passed around with candy treats
for sharing and for eating.
Freddy Fox would slyly smile
at Katy Kangaroo,
while Lucy Lark made googly eyes
at Carl Cockatoo.
But there’d be no note for Pip,
not one small Valentine.
Pip knew no one could ever love
a prickly porcupine.
“Blech!” groaned Pip. “I cannot stand
this lovey-dovey day.
I think I’ll just go back to bed
and wish it all away.”
But Mom and Dad said, “Off you go!”
and kissed their son goodbye.
Pip sulked and moped his way to school,
arriving with a sigh.
The room was full of sugary treats
and Valentines galore.
But Pip sat at his empty desk.
His heart sank to the floor.
“Eh-hem,” Pip heard a tiny voice
and lifted up his head.
Henrietta Hedgehog stood before him
and she said-
“I don’t like pink or candy hearts,
Or Saint Valentine.
But there IS one thing I like,
That’s you, Pip Porcupine.”
Pip smiled a gigantic grin
that chased his blues away.
Maybe he would have to
reconsider Valentine’s Day.
#7 The Lonely Hearts Club
It was Valentine’s Day, and Candy Heart Box sat stewing on the drugstore shelf.
“This is ridiculous,” she grumbled. “All I want to do is spread love, but no one will buy me.”
“Tell me about it,” said a voice on the shelf below.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Noseless Teddy Bear,” said the voice. “I’m missing my nose.”
“I’m still here too!” piped in another voice. “Nobody seems to want to buy a chocolate and beet rose.”
“Gross,” said Noseless Teddy Bear.
“I’m peeved because someone messed up my lettering,” groaned Candy Heart Box. “Instead of Love Bug, it says Glove Rug. Instead of I’m Yours, it says Time Fours.”
“We will never be bought,” moaned Gross Rose.
“This one says, “You and Pee,” whined Candy Heart Box.
Just then, a girl stopped in front of the shelves.
“Hmmm.” said the girl, “What Valentine’s Day gift says I love my brother, but he is still a pest?”
She searched the shelves.
Noseless Teddy Bear puffed out his chest.
Candy Heart Box pushed “DANGER” to the front of her box.
Gross Rose displayed her ingredient list.
“Ah ha! A noseless teddy bear, a gross rose, and a weird candy heart box. Perfect!” said the girl, bringing them up to the register.
#8 A Colorful Valentine’s Day
The crayons were crazy.
The box was a buzz.
Pink and Red wrestled to the front.
Purple pushed past Periwinkle.
Yellow yodeled , “You are my sunshine.”
February 14th was THE day to make Valentines.
Every color was eager.
All except one.
Black was on the bottom when he was bumped.
“OUCH! Watch it or I’ll give you something to be blue about!” He grumbled.
Blue bellowed, “It’s Azul to you! What’s got your wrapper in a bunch?”
Black’s voice was thick with the grumps, “Valentines are covered in color. No one draws black hearts. No one sketches black flowers. I wish there was NO VALENTINE’S DAY!”
His dark words shook the box.
The crayons cringed!
Green gasped!
Fuchsia fainted!
The box went silent.
Black slouched back to the bottom.
But others wanted to brighten his day.
The colors put their sharpened tips together and thought carefully.
They quietly started a special valentine with all the right words.
They finished just before the children arrived.
Black was baffled when tiny fingers searched just for him.
His wrapper was warm by the time he was finished.
His valentine was hung up for all to admire.
The title read “I’m batty for you.”
“Happy Valoween!” Cried the crayons.
The grumpy crayon cracked a smile.
#9 XOXO, YOUR SECRET ADMIRER (LARRY)
Dear Petunia,
I like your hair. You smell like chocolate. Will you be my Valentine?
Love, Larry
You smell like chocolate?
Sweet P,
How do I love thee? Let me count the sand in the sandbox.
Larry
One, two…thirty-seven….eh.
Dearest Petunia,
Your face is nice. Like ice cream in the summer. Or hot dogs.
Yours truly, Larry
Not bad.
Pretty Petunia, I’m hungry.
Be mine?
Larry
Argh.
To: Petunia,
I love you. Do you love me?
Xoxo, Your Secret Admirer (Larry)
Too much?
To: Petunia,
I like you. Do you like me?
Lots of love!
Larry
Better.
Petunia,
Larry is a great guy.
Cupid
Bah.
Miss Petunia Picklebottom,
You’re the rainbow to my dark day.
With all the colors of the world and love in my heart, Larry
Almost there.
Hey Petunia,
What’s up? I was just thinking, maybe, you’d be mine? You know, if that’s cool with you and all.
Laters baby, Lar-dawg
I quit.
Larry,
You smell like enchiladas and sour cream.
Meet me at the swings.
Petunia
#10 No Snacks for Max
Once upon a Valentine,
A grumpy dog began to whine.
He yelped and barked for heart-shaped snacks.
His owners said, “Calm down, dear Max.”
They rubbed his ears. And tummy too.
Then, out the door, the couple flew.
“They’re buying yum yums!” Max was certain.
He sat for hours by the curtain.
Waiting…
Waiting…
Salivating…
Dripping…
Drooling…
Hope deflating…
Max was angry. Lonely too.
He ate a rose. He chewed a shoe.
He knocked a vase onto the floor.
And that was when he heard the DOOR!
Uncle Harry stepped inside.
“Happy Valentine’s!” he cried.
He plopped his suitcase in the den.
Max’s fit began AGAIN.
He ripped apart a Teddy Bear.
Fuzzy stuffing everywhere!
Harry yelled, “NO TREATS FOR YOU!”
Max went to bed. His dreams were blue.
Harry stayed for one more night.
Max did his best to be polite.
But Max was still a canine grump.
UNTIL…
A car door made him jump!
Max’s tail wagged. They were back!
Did they bring his favorite snack?!?
They had a bag. And something blue.
A blanket moved and said, “AH-CHOO!”
“Meet our little sweet bambino!
Also known as Valentino!”
Max was grumpy. Max was glum.
But soon enough, he had a chum.
#11 GRUMPY BADGER’S VALENTINE
Spying a red card with pink hearts inside his mailbox made Badger grumpy.
“I don’t want a Valentine,” he muttered.
Back in his burrow, he folded the offensive red square this way and that, attached a bit of string, and scurried back outside, hoping for a little bit of wind.
Badger’s new kite took flight and flew away. “Good riddance,” he grunted.
The next day the valentine appeared in his mailbox again. Badger felt grumpier.
“Valentines are silly,” he protested.
Back in his burrow, he folded the repulsive red square this way and that, attached a paper clip, and lumbered back outside, hoping for a little bit of wind.
Badger’s new paper airplane took flight and flew away. “Goodbye forever,” he huffed.
The next day the valentine appeared in his mailbox yet again. Badger felt grumpier than ever.
“I don’t like Valentine’s Day!” he grumbled.
Back in his burrow, he folded the horrible red square this way and that, attached a little flag, and scuttled back outside, hoping for a little wind.
Badger’s new boat sailed down the stream and away. “Don’t come back!” he growled.
The next day his neighbor, Lovey Badger, found him on his porch. She kissed him, thanking him for her three valentines.
Badger’s not so grumpy anymore.
#12 THAT’S NOT A VALENTINE!
Drawing time was almost over. Marco sat with his head down on his desk.
“I hate Valentine’s Day!” he grumbled.
His friend Asha leaned over. “You’d better draw something fast. You’re running out of time.”
“I know that!” He scowled. “I just can’t draw a silly heart. . . or much else.”
He stabbed his red paper with a black crayon and drew circles.
Asha giggled. “I’ll make one for you.” In a snap, she drew a perfect heart.
“It’s really good,” he said. “But it’s not big enough.”
He mumbled the words for his mama’s Valentine.
Mrs. Ling clapped. “OK, everyone! Time to clean up!”
Everyone had made a gazillion Valentines. Except Marco. Not even one.
On the way home Asha offered him one of hers.
“No thanks.” He imagined where the words would go.
When they got to his house, he asked Asha, “May I borrow your chalk?”
Mama would be home from work soon.
He drew a huge circle in the middle of the sidewalk.
Standing back, he was pleased.
Asha stared. “That’s not a Valentine!”
“Yes, it is,” said Marco.
Then he wrote words around the circle in a different color:
“MY LOVE FOR YOU IS BIGGER THAN THE WORLD.”
Asha smiled. “Your mama will love it!”
And she did.
Now that you’ve had a chance to read through the finalists, please vote for the entry you feel deserves to win in the poll below by 12PM EST Thursday February 25.
Tune in Friday February 26 to see THE WINNERS!!! (Though we will have a brief contest interruption Wednesday for our regularly scheduled Would You Read It!)
Thank you all so much for taking the time to write (if you did), read, and vote! These contests simply wouldn’t be what they are without all of you!
I can’t wait to see who the winners will be!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going on a cruise to recover from all that reading and agonizing and negotiating.
Okay.
Not really.
I will actually be frantically trying to catch up on things I shoved to the back burner whilst reading Valentiny stories… right after I pick up a dear friend from the train and spend a good portion of the day visiting since she is in my time zone for only a few hours and we have been waiting YEARS to meet in real life! But after that, yes, definitely back to work! 🙂
Valen-tiny because the stories are not very long and are written for little people 🙂
The Contest: since writing for children is all about “big emotion for little people” (I forget who said that, but someone did so I put it in quotes!) and Valentines Day is all about emotion, write a Valentines story appropriate for children (children here defined as ages 12 and under) maximum 214 words in which someone is grumpy! Your story can be poetry or prose, sweet, funny, surprising or anything in between, but it will only count for the contest if it includes someone grumpy (can be the main character but doesn’t have to be) and is 214 words max (get it? 2/14 for Valentines Day 🙂 You can go under the word count but not over! Title is not included in the word count. No illustration notes please!
Postyour story on your blog between right now this very second and Friday February 12th by 11:59 PM EDT and add your post-specific link to the list below. I apologize that I’m still experimenting with how to use link lists on wordpress – please forgive me for any glitches and I thank you in advance for your patience! There will be no Would You Read It or Perfect Picture Book Friday this week, so the post and the list of links will stay up all week for everyone to enjoy. If you don’t have a blog and would like to enter, you can simply copy and paste your entry in the comments section of this post. (Or, if you have difficulty with the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may email your entry to me and I’ll post it for you! If you email it to me, please put “Valentiny Contest Entry” in the subject line and copy and paste your story, including your title, byline and word count, into the body of the email. NO ATTACHMENTS PLEASE!) I’m not sure how posting in the comments is going to work on wordpress… whether there will be room for enough responses to each entry and whether there’s a way to link to specific comments so they’re easy to locate as I did on blogger… so we shall all have to learn together. Pantsing. It’s what life’s all about 🙂
The Judging: over the weekend, my lovely assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to 3 or maybe 6 or possibly 10 top choices (hee hee hee – you know how much trouble I have winnowing, so we’ll see…) which will be posted here and voted on for a winner on Tuesday February 16th or Wednesday February 17th (depending on how many entries we get and because I will be out of office all day Monday.) The winners will be announced on Friday February 19th. (And there will be no WYRI or PPBF the week of Feb. 15-19 either so that everyone will have time to read and vote and so that we don’t confuse PPBF with announcing winners.) If we get more than 20 entries, I will post 6 finalists, if we get more than 30 or 40, well, all bets are off. I never know what to expect from a new contest. Remember, you’re witnessing pantsing in action 🙂 But I’m hoping we’ll get enough entries to make giving out the 10 AWESOME prizes worthwhile!
Judging criteria will include:
Kid-appeal/Kid-friendliness – remember, this is a story for kids!
Creativity in using grumpiness, and success in making us feel the grumpiness!
Quality of story – we will look for basic story elements and a true story arc
Quality of writing – use and flow of language, correctness of mechanics
Originality – surprise us with something new and different! 🙂
The Prizes: Oh. My. Goodness! do we have fabulous prizes! If these don’t motivate you to write your best, I don’t know what will! 🙂
– A Picture Book Read and Critique from literary agent Christa Heschke at McIntosh & Otis who is actively building her picture book list!
CHRISTA HESCHKE graduated from Binghamton University with a major in English and a minor in Anthropology. She started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children’s Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively acquiring for all age groups in children’s. For YA, she is especially interested in contemporary fiction, thriller/mystery, and horror. She is always on the lookout for a compelling voice combined with a strong, specific hook that will set a YA novel apart in its genre and the flooded market. She is open to all types of middle grade and especially enjoys adventure, mystery, and magical realism, whether in a voice that is more light and humorous or one with more of a timeless, literary feel. For both YA and MG, she is particularly interested in unique settings and cultural influences, interesting storytelling structure, complicated romances, diverse characters, sister or friendship-centric stories, and stories that feature artists of any kind. In picture books she is drawn to cute, funny stories (as opposed to sweet and quiet) with strong hooks that will grab both kids and their parents as well as the occasional nonfiction biography on a unique subject whose story has yet to be told.
ART OF ARC is a self-study course that will deepen your understanding of picture books written with a classic arc and introduce you to other picture book structures. The course gives you tools to analyze your work prior to investing in professional critiques. It shows you how to avoid common writing errors and how apply writing elements that will enhance your stories to take them to a higher level. It includes 217 pages with ten lessons, seventeen supplements, and eighteen worksheets. Plus bonus materials and resources.
– A Picture Book Critique/Developmental Edit (non-rhyming picture book manuscript) from Beth Stilborn. (Beth does developmental editing and copy editing through her Flubs2Fixes Editing, Consulting and Writers’ Resources service for writers. http://www.flubs2fixes.com )
– A Picture Book Critique from the fabulous Robin Newman, author of The Case Of The Missing Carrot Cake and the forthcoming, eagerly awaited Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep (please don’t miss the fantastic trailer! 🙂 )
– personalized signed copies of The Case Of The Missing Carrot Cake and Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep by Robin Newman
– a personalized signed copy of The Night Before Valentines Day by Natasha Wing! Natasha Wing loves Valentine’s Day because it’s a week after her birthday. Natasha is the bestselling author of The Night Before series (Grosset & Dunlap). To find out more: www.natashawing.com
Once again, please join me in thanking Christa, Jodell, Julie & Emma, Alayne, Beth, Robin, and Natasha for their incredible generosity, and show your appreciation by visiting their sites, buying and recommending their books and services to your writer friends and/or friends with kids, writing them nice reviews on Amazon, GoodReads etc if you’ve read and liked their books, and showing your appreciation to them in any way you can! I truly can’t thank them all enough!
So now it’s time for me to post my little sample. Prepare yourselves 🙂
Who’s A Grumpy Valentine?214words
Boris and Irma were making Valentines.
Boris frowned with concentration as he cut hearts from red paper.
“Boris is grumpy,” Irma announced. “His hearts aren’t as good as mine.”
“Don’t be grumpy, Boris,” Mom said. “Your hearts look good to me.”
Boris wasn’t grumpy.
His hearts looked good to him too.
Boris laid his hearts in a row.
He grunted trying to squeeze glue from the bottle that Irma had left nearly empty.
“Boris is grumpy,” Irma declared. “He can’t squeeze glue as neatly as me.”
But Boris wasn’t grumpy.
His glue lines were exactly the way he wanted them.
Boris banged the glitter jar against his hand to break up the clump at the bottom.
“Boris is grumpy,” Irma sang out. “He’s making a mess with his glitter!”
“EVERYone makes a mess with glitter,” said Mom with a meaningful glance at Irma’s mess.
Boris was carefully writing the letters L-O-V-E-B-O-R-I-S when suddenly…
“My VALENTINES!” Irma shrieked.
She had spilled her juice!
“They’re RUINED!”
Boris snatched his Valentines from the spreading puddle.
Mom swooped in with paper towel.
Irma’s Valentines were saved but soggy.
Irma stamped her foot and made a noise like a hive of angry bees.
Boris looked at Mom. “I think Irma’s grumpy!”
But he shared his Valentines with her anyway.
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Everyone feeling better about their stories now? I should certainly HOPE so! 🙂
I can’t wait to read all of yours! I’m so looking forward to them! I hope there will be a lot – the more the merrier! And there are still 4 days to write, so you have time if you haven’t written yet. Feel free to spread the word to your writing friends as well. And your reading friends – parents, teachers, etc. The more people who read and enjoy your stories, the better!!!
So!
Contest Entrants, remember to add your post-specific link to the linky list below so we can all come read your awesome stories! (Post-specific means not your main blog url, but the actual url of the post that has your story in it – otherwise if you post again before the contest ends, your link will take readers… and judges!… to the wrong place!)
Eager Readers – you ALSO need to click the “click here” to add your entry button on the linky list just to see the list of links. I apologize profusely for the inconvenience of not having the list visible right here on my site. If I can find a way around it before the contest ends I’ll change it.
Fingers crossed this thingamajig can fly! 🙂
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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
And don’t miss the 78 fabulous entries posted in the comment section!
1. Grizzly Grump – Sharon G.
2. Mommy Bunny’s Slightly Grumpy Valentine – Eric
3. My Little Buddy Boy – Tracy
4. A Heart In The Sand – Sharon C
5. Sulky Sky – Cate
6. No Valentines For Porcupines – Jess
7. Treasured Lumps Of Pickled Grumps – Maria O
8. A Groundhog’s Valentine – Jill Proctor
9. Valentines Gifts – Cindy
10. (Un)Lovely Leonard – Lauren
11. I Hate Valentine’s Day – Joni
12. NUTS! – Juli
13. My Heart Thumped – Jim
14. Roman’s Lousy Valentine – Lindsay
15. The Lonely Hearts Club – Samantha
16. The Grizzly Who Couldn’t Bear Valentines – Julie
17. Grumpy Badger’s Valentine – Ann
18. The Stinky Valentine – Judy
19. Mr. Mean – Diana
20. The Chocolate Heart – Kris
21. Porchy And Emma – Valerie
22. Replacement Valentine – Melissa B
23. Violet’s Valentines – Beth
24. My Grumpy Valentine – Gabrielle
25. KEEP OUT! A Love Story – Jen
26. Remembering Hammie – Meagan
27. The Right Angles – Meredith
28. Jim’s Valentine’s Day – Maria M
29. The Valentine’s Day Witch – Lesley
30. Lola In Love – Melissa di T
31. Happy Valentine’s Day, Bear! – Carol
32. The Unexpected Kiss – Mindy
33. Millie Mouse, Will You Be My Valentine? – Laura
34. “I Hate Valentine’s Day!” – Carleen
35. Shape Up – Jill Purtee
36. Valentine Sleepover – Caroline
37. Box Of Secrets – Lisa
38. Jim – Polly
39. Puppy Love – Ellen
40. The Favorite Donut – Helen
41. Cupid’s Sea Shanty – Alice
42. Valentine Birthday Boy – Sara
43. Mr. Grumpy’s Birds – Anne S
44. Grumpy Is Blue – Anita
45. Chomper’s Valentine’s Day Road Trip – Michele
46. Squirrel’s Valentine Surprise – Debbie
47. That’s Not A Valentine! – Anne B
48. Grump Truck, Love Truck – Amy G
49. Matty’s Angel Picture – Jane
50. George The Baker – Jennifer A
51. Every Dog Has His Valentine’s Day – Cynthia P
52. Olivia’s Gloomy Valentine’s Day – Carolyn
53. Cantankerous Claudius: The Grouch Behind The Valentine – Suzanne
54. Valentine Surprises – Kathleen
55. Badger’s Valentine – Lori
56. Roman’s Handmade Valentines – Julie R
57. Grumpy’s New Name – Amanda
58. An Unlikely Friendship – Sandy
59. Shoo Fly Valentine – Kristen
60. XOXO, Your Secret Admirer (Larry) – Christine
61. Rather Take A hike – Pamela
62. Valentine’s Rock – Dina
63. Old Grumpentine – Kirsten
64. No Snacks For Mx – Shelley K
65. Billy Goat Grump – Angela
66. The Valentine Phantom – Heather
67. Chocolate Surprise – JC Kelly
68. Grumps And The Valentine’s Day Dance – Janet
69. My Grumpy Funny Valentine – Ashley
70. The Case Of The Missing Valentine Party Supplies – Robin
I hope you all had lovely weekends, and that those of you within range of Snowmageddon all stayed safe and warm! For I think the first time in history, the storm missed Blueberry Hill – we may have gotten a quarter millimeter of snow, but that might be exaggerating 🙂
I realize that Monday afternoon is an odd time for a blog post, but I have a few minutes, and some very important news to share! So I’m taking a totally random moment here to say that kidlit folks are the best in the world – absolutely and without equivocation!
First Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Writing Contest! Guidelines HERE
Scrambling to rummage up some prizes for the unplanned Valentiny Contest, I sent out a few hopeful requests – some to people I knew, some to people I didn’t! – asking if they’d be willing to donate expertise/time/work/awesome books. Without exception, every single person I asked stepped up and offered a prize! I’ve got such an abundance, I’m not even sure we’ll need them all for this new contest, which may not receive the number of entries the more established ones do. So I hope, after you’ve seen what’s on offer, you’ll spread the word to all your kidlit friends because there’s some REALLY great stuff up for grabs 🙂
Check it out!
– A Picture Book Read and Critique from literary agent Christa Heschke at McIntosh & Otis who is actively building her picture book list!
ART OF ARC is a self-study course that will deepen your understanding of picture books written with a classic arc and introduce you to other picture book structures. The course gives you tools to analyze your work prior to investing in professional critiques. It shows you how to avoid common writing errors and how apply writing elements that will enhance your stories to take them to a higher level. It includes 217 pages with ten lessons, seventeen supplements, and eighteen worksheets. Plus bonus materials and resources.
– A Picture Book Critique/Developmental Edit (non-rhyming picture book manuscript) from Beth Stilborn. (Beth does developmental editing and copy editing through her Flubs2Fixes Editing, Consulting and Writers’ Resources service for writers. http://www.flubs2fixes.com )
– A Picture Book Critique from the fabulous Robin Newman, author of The Case Of The Missing Carrot Cake and the forthcoming, eagerly awaited Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep (please don’t miss the fantastic trailer! 🙂 )
– personalized signed copies of The Case Of The Missing Carrot Cake and Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep by Robin Newman
– a personalized signed copy of The Night Before Valentines Day by Natasha Wing! Natasha Wing loves Valentine’s Day because it’s a week after her birthday. Natasha is the bestselling author of The Night Before series (Grosset & Dunlap). To find out more: www.natashawing.com
For those of you who are feeling too overwhelmed to count, that is TEN (10!!!) unbelievably awesome prizes!!! So I hope we get at least 10 entries! 🙂
Please join me in thanking Christa, Jodell, Julie & Emma, Alayne, Beth, Robin, and Natasha for their incredible generosity, and show your appreciation by visiting their sites, buying and recommending their books and services to your writer friends and/or friends with kids, writing them nice reviews on Amazon, GoodReads etc if you’ve read and liked their books, and showing your appreciation to them in any way you can! I truly can’t thank them all enough!
CHRISTA HESCHKE graduated from Binghamton University with a major in English and a minor in Anthropology. She started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children’s Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively acquiring for all age groups in children’s. For YA, she is especially interested in contemporary fiction, thriller/mystery, and horror. She is always on the lookout for a compelling voice combined with a strong, specific hook that will set a YA novel apart in its genre and the flooded market. She is open to all types of middle grade and especially enjoys adventure, mystery, and magical realism, whether in a voice that is more light and humorous or one with more of a timeless, literary feel. For both YA and MG, she is particularly interested in unique settings and cultural influences, interesting storytelling structure, complicated romances, diverse characters, sister or friendship-centric stories, and stories that feature artists of any kind. In picture books she is drawn to cute, funny stories (as opposed to sweet and quiet) with strong hooks that will grab both kids and their parents as well as the occasional nonfiction biography on a unique subject whose story has yet to be told.
Susanna Leonard Hill 
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