Raised by the Apple Trees

2012-01-17T06:28:00.000-08:00

Hello, Readers!

Thanks *so much* for following my posts here at Blogger. I have moved to a new blog, themed around everyday heroes. There are 3 pages:

1) Main Page--news, craft, reviews, interviews, or whatever else pops into my head re: writing
2) "Be someone's hero. **No cape required." This highlights ordinary people doing extrodinary things.
3) Mentor Monday will resume because mentors are heroes! ;-)

Unfortunately, I cannot link the "likes" to each other, so if you want to follow all three (or whatever #) you must follow on each page. In my next life, I will be a computer genius. Until then...

Here is the link the the main page. You will find links to the other pages from there.

http://lyndamullalyhunt.wordpress.com/

Wish you all peace and happiness in 2012!
Lynda

Unexpected Christmas Gifts

2011-12-20T21:53:00.000-08:00

I find unexpected gifts in my visit to a shelter for teens:

http://emusdebuts.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/a-christmas-surprise/

The Worry Monster Sinks its Teeth in!

2011-11-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

Today, I talk about how The Worry Monster sunk its teeth into me and how I found its kryptonite, claiming what is mine:

http://emusdebuts.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/the-worry-monster-sinks-its-teeth-into-the-very-unsuspecting-writer/

The Green-eyed Monster Should Not Stay for Tea

2011-10-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

Visit me over at Emus where I explore where jealousy comes from in writers, artists, musicians, and other creative types--and how we can deal with it.

http://emusdebuts.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/the-green-eyed-monster-should-not-have-tea/

All I Really Wanted to Know About the Writing Life, I Learned in Kindergarten:

2011-09-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

All I Really Wanted to Know About the Writing Life, I Learned in Kindergarten:

 Mastering the alphabet will help.

 Books are great, but let’s face it…full-on celebrations make them even better. Throw parties for books. Huge, overdone parties with music and color and way too much glitter glue. Paper crowns aren’t a bad idea, either.

 That first big step onto the bus is going to be tough but so worth it.

 Writing is like using Play-Doh. You imagine something and then try to create it with your hands. You may not be happy with it at first but that’s totally okay; Play-Doh can be reshaped again and again.

 Dick and Jane told us to “LOOK!” Instead, focus on SEEING.

 Be patient. When you plant that seed in the Dixie cup, it takes attention and time to grow. So do writers and/or manuscripts.

 Making friends in the literary sandbox is essential. You learn things about your craft, as well as yourself, by opening up to other artists/writers.

 If someone in the sandbox throws sand, walk away and let it go. Life is too short.

 Get messy; you’re supposed to.

 Don’t worry about being the best in the class. You have a special gift that is unique to you and you alone. Think about honing that gift rather than comparing your gift to others’ gifts.

 Know how to find the bathroom. (More people will sit with you at lunch this way.)

 Moving your body is good for your mind; go swing on the monkey bars.

 Writing for publication is like “Show and Tell” on steroids.

 A new batch of pens, pencils, notebooks, and a cool backpack are going to make you really happy. Trust me on this.

 There are times to walk in line with everyone else.

 Do your best work to get your writing posted on the bulletin board. Perhaps, your teacher, Mrs. Kirkus, will even give you a star.

 The ride to school can be bumpy, but there’s a lot to observe and enjoy along the way.

 Unchain the muse from the desk. Dance and sing and paint and play. Laugh and wonder, walk and question. Your writing will be better for it.

 A morning meeting is the way to start your day: say hello to your friends, get organized, make note of the weather, weigh-in on current events, check your calendar, and set goals for the day. Then, get to work.

 Enjoy creative license. Skies don’t have to be blue. Grass doesn’t have to be green. Color outside the lines.

 Fitting in is important. But, standing out is, too.

 A little quiet time is good.

 Celebrate even the smallest of successes in a big way.

 If you really like a song and it inspires your muse, sing it over and over. And over.

 Try to remember that others are on the same challenging journey as you, so don’t be afraid to slide on over and offer to share your snack.

(Thanks to Robert Fulghum for inspiration)

Interview with WATER BALLOON author, Audrey Vernick

2011-09-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

Drop everything you’re doing (well, except for reading this!) and get thee to a bookstore! Today is the official release day of Audrey Vernick’s WATER BALLOON, a young adult novel that made me laugh out loud one moment and brush away tears the next.

Marley Baird is dealing with a lot. The book chronicles a summer of juggling losses—her parents are newly separated, her best friends are peeling away, she must live with her dad for the summer in a new place, and she is saddled with a summer babysitting job that she doesn’t want. However, with all of the losses, there are gains for her, as she navigates change, learns to trust her instincts and be honest with herself. Also, meeting Jack, a cute boy who loves dogs as much as she does doesn’t hurt either.

In a word, this book is authentic. The characters are rich and layered, drawn like real people with many sides. I loved Marley Baird immediately and the more I got into the book, the more I loved her. She is a real kid. An honest kid. A kid who thinks and feels and acts authentically. Does she always make the right decisions? No. But, Marley Baird is so real and I love that.

One of the subplots I loved was Marley’s dad-imposed babysitting job. The twins in Marley’s charge are hilarious and Marley’s take on them is equally so. Not chuckle funny—laugh out loud funny.

Another impressive facet of this book was the friendship triangle. Vernick does a masterful job of setting up a situation where the reader knows that Marley will commit social suicide. As a reader, you want to yell, “No! Don’t do it!” but I love this subplot for so many reasons. Yes, my heart broke for Marley, but I love how she is socially naïve because there are so many kids like that and they aren’t often drawn in books. Television, especially, tends to depict the kids who’d rather grow up overnight. A book like this would be wonderful for those *many* kids out there who’d rather take their time.

In fact, let me just say that I loved this book so much, that I will find the space in my heart to forgive the dartboard with the Red Sox in the middle. And that’s really sayin’ something.

Okay. Enough from me! I’m thrilled to have Audrey Vernick here today to answer some questions about her debut novel, WATER BALLOON.

1) What were the initial seeds of WATER BALLOON?

I decided it was time to write a novel. I had no idea where to begin. No story. No character. Zip.

A family in our neighborhood was going through the early stages of divorce, and I thought a lot about the emotional cost of a family breaking apart. I didn’t know them well, but you could see the strain on the girl, the younger of two children. That was my starting point—a girl struggling with the dismantling of what had always been her daily world.

I wrote the first draft so long ago that I can’t remember where the rest came from. Oh, except for the two friends—Leah and Jane. The trauma of middle-grade friendship is something I remember very well.

2) How much of you is in Marley Baird?

A ton. That’s been the big difference for me between my picture books and this novel. It’s always felt like my picture books are…my books. And my novel is me.

3) The word that pops into my head about your book is “authentic.” For example, I feel like I’ve met real children in the twins and the friendship triangle with Leah and Jane is heartbreakingly real. Can you tell us about something in the book that was completely fictional and tell us why and how you created it?

First, this isn’t something I’ve thought about, but if I were asked what Water-Balloon-describing adjective would be the most satisfying and happy-making, I think I’d have said “authentic,” so thank you so very much for that. As a reader I am deeply put off by inauthentic moments in books and my greatest concern was avoiding such moments.

Second, to answer the opposite of your question, the only thing that’s really true in this book is Rig, who is based on my beloved dog, Rookie (with the one difference being that Rig never takes off when unleashed while Rookie’s greatest desire seems to be to get very far away from me as quickly as he is able).

Third, a real answer: I made up that Monopoly game. I wanted something that was unique and important to those three friends. Their version of the game, along with the water balloon blitz tradition, is meant to convey the weight and worth of their years of intense friendship.

4) Can you tell us about your own young life as a Yankee fan?

I wasn’t a young Yankee fan! I grew up in Queens, home of the Mets. I tried to love that team of misfits, but I just couldn’t.

I imagine the Yankees started to rub off on me when I was attending high school in the Bronx. But there was something about living in Boston in the late eighties that brought out the Bronx in me.

My great Yankee fan years have been adult years. I’ve been fortunate to be at some stadium-shaking games in the old stadium, and over at the new house with my son when Derek Jeter got his 3000th hit. That was an awesome, electric day. (Check this out, Red Sox fans: Hunt’s devoting time and space in her blog to great Yankee moments!)

5) Which relationship in the book did you find the most satisfying to write?

I thought a lot about how to answer this one. I think Marley grows a lot in almost all her relationships, even those that ultimately end. But I think the one I enjoyed writing the most was the one that was unchanging—Marley’s relationship with her dog, Rig.

Rig is just in the background a lot, but he’s always there, the way we can count on our pets to be when life’s too hard to talk about with other humans. He’s steady, that Rig. I’m glad Marley had him.

6) How did the book change during the revision process with your editor?

First with my agent, and then with my editor. The big change with the agent-revision was to strive to make it a less quiet book. All the water balloon material was added in this revision—which means the most painful scene, the one in which Marley pretty much commits social suicide, is new. While things were very difficult and complicated with her friends in earlier drafts, the addition of the balloon blitz tradition helped me raise the stakes in a way that was absent from earlier drafts.

I think what my revision with my editor achieved was to make Marley more likeable. She grows more in this version. It was so interesting to me—with a few light strokes, a self-pitying scene flipped into one that was more likely to evoke compassion in readers. My editor also suggested the addition of a couple of scenes that now feel like they have always been there, including the last scene.

Audrey, thanks so much for coming by today. And, a huge congratulations on this wonderful debut. Can't wait to read the next one!

The Teacher Becomes the Learner

2011-08-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

This teacher learned a most essential writing lesson by teaching children:

http://emusdebuts.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/my-former-life-an-apple-versus-an-orange-versus-a-wombat/

The Road to Heaven is Paved With Sharpies

2011-05-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

Can revision deadlines and real life co-exist?!

http://emusdebuts.wordpress.com/

The Double-Edged Sword of Vulnerability (or) What is Writer's Bloc?

2011-05-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

So, what is the double-edged sword of vulnerability? What IS writer's block, anyway? Where does it come from?

I try to answer these questions and more here at EMUSDEBUTS:

MENTOR MONDAY

2011-04-04T19:35:00.001-07:00

Note: For whatever reason, Blogger will not let me format this into paragraphs. Therefore, I have color-coded what would have been paragraphs if the blogging Gods had been smiling down upon me today... In honor of Poetry Month, let’s extend a super-duper Mentor Monday welcome to Leslie Bulion. She is not only the author of three middle grade novels, but is also the author of some wonderful science poetry books such as, HEY THERE STINK BUG! This was one of my son’s favorites! Too bad Leslie’s wonderful new book, AT THE SEA FLOOR CAFÉ: ODD OCEAN CRITTER POEMS, (illustrated by Leslie Evans www.seadogpress.com) was not released 8 years ago; this charming book would have become worn and dogeared! This clever collection of poems describes the devious and sometimes surprising methods ocean denizens use to forage for food, capture prey, trick predators, and protect their young. The poems swim effortlessly from page to page, leading us from the snail shell home of the jeweled anemone crab on the ocean floor to a violet snail hanging upside down in its bubble house on the sea’s surface. At the Sea Floor Cafe includes science notes with details about each animal's behavior, a glossary, and an appendix explaining the forms of poetry that appear on each spread. Striking linoleum prints round out this title, which can be used across the curriculum. And……Peachtree Publishing is running a contest that I’m including as part of this Mentor Monday! Click below to win either a skype visit with Leslie or a copy of this fabulous book! http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103596296500-87/Sea+Floor+Cafe+officialrules.pdf Also, there is a charming AT THE SEA FLOOR CAFÉ trailer on youtube that you may want to check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILI_-UnCcoY Leslie Bulion teams a life-long love of poetry and her oceanography background in At the Sea Floor Café (Peachtree 2011), her second collection of science poetry. The first, Hey There, Stink Bug! (Charlesbridge 2006), is an award-winning book of gruesomely humorous insect poems. Leslie’s other books include the Bank Street Best Books 2007 middle-grade novel Uncharted Waters (Peachtree 2006), The Trouble With Rules (Peachtree 2008), and the Children’s Africana Book Award Best Picture Book winner, Fatuma’s New Cloth (Moon Mountain 2002). A former school social worker, Leslie has written and edited books in the education market and has been a regular contributing writer in national magazines and on the Internet. She gives writing workshops and presentations to students, educators and writers throughout the US. Visit Leslie’s website at http://www.lesliebulion.com/. Without further ado... Readers sometimes ask me if I always knew I wanted to be a writer. My answer is a resounding NO! First of all, back when I was falling in love with Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Miss Bianca, and Taran the assistant to the pig keeper, books were magic, and authors were wizards. I was an ordinary mortal. How could I be a writer? In college I learned that you could research and rewrite a paper forever, but exams ended when you put your pencil down. This aphorism guided my course selection, save one. Tucked between my science courses was one, lonely class in creative writing. I spent that entire semester writing poetry. Why? Because of Mrs. Brownworth. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Brownworth, was young, enthusiastic, gentle, caring, and she loved poetry. Mrs. Brownworth read us poetry all the time. She encouraged us to listen for the music within and in-between the words. We memorized a poem and recited it in class. I chose “Sneezles” from the collection Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne. That poem has everything I still love in a poem: wonderful rhythm and meter, perfect rhyme, funny parts, invented language and a punch line. I was so proud to learn it. And I know now that reciting “Sneezles” and other poems helped me to internalize the flow and rhythm of rhyming poetry. Inspired by the poems we heard and learned, we all wrote our own poems with Mrs. Brownworth. The words flowed. Here’s one of my very early works: The grass is green, The grass is brown, The grass is waving up and down. The grass is brown, The grass is green, The grass is full of amazing things you have never seen! Mrs. Brownworth gave me feedback and celebrated my poems. I kept on writing. I wrote reams of poems that year, and every year after that. I continued to write poems for myself through the all the years I insisted I was not a writer, until one day a longtime friend called me up after reading a letter from me and said, “Yes, you are.” (Another mentor story. I have lots. The writing community is so very generous and encouraging. I’ll try not to digress.) Even after I’d written magazine stories and children’s books (skipping other mentor stories here), it took years for me to put “being a writer” and “writing poetry” together in my head. Several years ago, I was taking yet another science course when I came up with what I considered a crazy idea: to write poems about the insects I was studying. The idea seemed so off-the-wall that I didn’t even mention it to my critique group. But when I finally admitted to the group what I was thinking of doing, their off-the-charts enthusiasm encouraged me to take the leap (mentors, mentors, mentors, all). As soon as I sold Hey There, Stink Bug, I started trying to find Mrs. Brownworth. I wanted to thank her for setting me on this writing path (unbeknownst to me and while I was busy heading elsewhere). I contacted the teachers’ association in the town where I grew up. No luck. But last year I recognized her on Facebook and here’s the funny thing: she’s not so very much older than me anymore, and her first name is Barbara, not Mrs.. I am thrilled to be able to show her the impact she has had on my life since I was lucky enough to have her as my teacher back in the fourth grade. Thank you for poetry, Mrs. Brownworth!

MENTOR MONDAY

2011-03-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

A Huge Mentor Monday welcome to YA author, Jo Knowles! She is the brilliant scribe of LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL and JUMPING OFF SWINGS, PEARL (July, 2011) and SEE YOU AT HARRY’S (spring, 2012). Jo is, also, a freelance writer and teaches writing for children in the MFA program at Simmons College. She lives in Vermont with her husband and son.

I am always so impressed with Jo. She is so willing and able to open herself up and be vulnerable in her talks to aspiring authors in a way that inspires and encourages. I think it’s the truly brave that are able to do that and the kind-hearted that actually act on it. This post, here, is no different! In addition, I think that Jo’s post on Dearteenme.com is one of the most poignant entries there.

Jo is going to be one of our author mentors at Whispering Pines, 2012!!! I am *so* looking forward to getting to know Jo even further!

Without further ado…

Mentor Monday, by Jo Knowles

I met Lowrly Pei my sophomore year of college when I signed up for his nonfiction writing course. There were about 10-12 students in the class and each week Lowry would choose someone’s work to read out loud and then we’d all discuss the work in painstaking detail. I remember the first time my work was chosen, I made myself sick I was so nervous. But Lowry was always kind, always quick to point out the specks of gold in the rock. He made me feel like a writer. When he handed back our work, it was often accompanied by a page or more of single-spaced comments. I would pour over those comments, so grateful to have a reader. So grateful to have a listener. By the end of the semester, I was making small notes at the top of my papers, “Please don’t share in class.” Because the other amazing thing Lowry had done was allow me to create a lifeline with my words. Sophomore year was a difficult one for me. So difficult, I still don’t talk about it. And yet I had a safe place to share my secret, parallel life. Silently. With Lowry.
Poor Lowry.
I continued to keep in touch with Lowry throughout my years at Simmons and on into graduate school. He was my master’s thesis mentor (I wrote my first YA novel instead of a thesis), and he guided me through the obvious mistakes new writers make with patience and steady encouragement. I also took a course with him called Teaching Writing, which required me to be a teaching assistant in a writing course similar to the one I’d taken with him years earlier. In our weekly graduate seminars, we’d talk about how the classes were going and I joked with Lowry about what a terrible student I must have been, sharing secrets I never should have burdened him with. He just laughed, and told me I wasn’t the first. He said he often walked down the busy halls of students and thought, “Every one of them has a story. Every one of them has a secret.” That same day, I remember stepping out into the hall and watching all the young women making their way from one class to another. What’s your story? I thought, as each one passed. And I swear I could almost feel those silent secrets hitting my chest like a fist.

I was so lucky to have Lowry to share my own story with. And later, my fiction, drawn from pain and joy—experienced, witnessed, and imagined. Even after I graduated, it was Lowry I sent my first drafts to for approval. Lowry whose long, detailed and honest letters I cherished and believed in. In the fifteen years since my graduation, I’m sure Lowry has mentored many, many other quiet Jo’s, slowly daring to put secrets on paper, desperate to get those words out, if only silently, from student to teacher. Who slowly learned how to find beauty in the ugly. To turn truth to lies and back again, so that some day, at long last, their words could find their way to strangers who have their own stories to tell.

Thank you, Lowry, for listening.

MENTOR MONDAY

2011-03-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Thermes is the author/illustrator of SAM BENNETT'S NEW SHOES and WHEN I WAS BUILT. She has also done endpaper maps for books such as THE WATER SEEKER by Kimberly Willis Holt, and REVOLUTION IS NOT A DINNER PARTY by Ying Chang Compestine. Recent projects include cover and black & white interior illustrations for a middle-grade chapter book written by Valerie Hobbs, to be released by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers in 2011. Please take the time to go to Jen's website. Her artwork is just beautiful!

I met Jennifer when I went down to a Shoreline Arts event and heard her speak. I liked her immediately. Seeing her art work was one of those times that I longed to be an artist. I just love the colors she uses and her drawings have such a sweet quality to them. (Professional artists would talk about lines and tone and such. I just like them!) Her maps are genius! Someday, I intend to hire her to do one for me.

Based on her easy going nature, talent, and presentation, I later invited her to be our author/illustrator mentor at Whispering Pines. She agreed but wanted to know a bit more about the weekend. We agreed to a quick phone chat. Three hours later...

Needless to say, we hit it off, and I feel so very fortunate for two things tonight. (1) That Jennifer will be our author/illustrator mentor this weekend at Whispering Pines in Rhode Island, and (2) I have a wonderful, talented, funny, caring friend that I didn't have a year ago! Huzzah!

Without further ado...Here is Jen!

I can’t remember ever having had just one mentor in my life, in the traditional sense of the word. It’s been more like many. I've been fortunate.

There were teachers– the elementary school Art teacher who let me draw horses endlessly, because he knew it was my passion. (What better way to encourage creativity than to let a child follow their passion?) And a junior high school English teacher who patiently helped me revise, over and over, my telling of a traumatic event during a family trip to Maine. She taught me that writing clearly was more than scribbling words in an angsty, teenage diary: writing was in the revising.

I had an awesome Art Director and co-workers in my first job out of art school. They taught me the realities of deadlines, how to produce a magazine, and how to keep you sense of humor while doing it! The illustrators that I hired and the freelancers I met were huge inspirations when it came time to take the terrifying leap from a full-time job into my own life as a freelance illustrator.

There was the magazine editor I collaborated with on many projects. He taught me the mental game of how to stay sane through the ups and downs of working for oneself.
My first art rep was a guy with a terrific head for business. From him I learned not to fear negotiation! And then there was the editor he had worked with who loved my maps, and wondered if I wrote, as well. Her inquiry set into motion a course of combining art and words, and opened my mind to the possibilities of working in the world of children’s books.

My writing group, ever supportive, has been priceless; as have been old friends and new ones made serendipitously.

I am a confessed writing-and-art-craft book addict– if you mention it, I will buy it–because sometimes that “I get it now!” moment happens when something is explained for the hundred-and-second time.

And then there’s the Internet. Hard to imagine it didn’t exist when I first started out. It feeds my learning curve through blogs, tweets, and chat boards. Also, working on your own can be a challenge when you’re faced with a problem. But through the online community I can always find someone who has gone through something similar. Although many people I’ve met in cyberspace have become friends, most aren’t even aware of the inspiration they’ve provided.

I truly believe mentors are everywhere, if you remain open and curious. Consider this post one big thank-you to all of mine, whether you know you’ve been one or not.

Why Did the Monkey Cross the Road?

2011-03-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

So, everyone is all a twitter (literally!) about online marketing! Here are some things, however, that prospective and dubut authors should consider *beyond* online promotion:

Head on over to EMU's Debuts to read my post: Why Did the Monkey Cross the Road? Because the Other Side Had Paperback and Foreign Rights.

MENTOR MONDAY

2011-03-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

A gigantus MENTOR MONDAY welcome to Laura Resau, author of six novels including RED GLASS, WHAT THE MOON SAW, RUBY NOTEBOOK, and the newly minted, THE QUEEN OF WATER (co-authored with María Virginia Farinango). This novel, which is based on a true story, begins in an impoverished Andean village where seven-year-old Virginia is taken from her indigenous family to be an unpaid servant. For the next eight years, she struggles to hold on to her spirit and humor in the face of oppression. But once she's found her freedom, will Virginia - now a teenager caught between cultures - also find a place where she belongs? I have my copy—can’t wait to dive in!

* "[A] riveting tale... by turns heartbreaking, infuriating and ultimately inspiring." - Kirkus, STARRED

"A richly described coming-of-age story set in a culture both foreign and and familiar ...by turns shocking and funny." - VOYA

"A moving, lyrical novel that will particularly resonate with teens caught between cultures." Booklist STARRED review

Feel free to go to Laura’s website page to read an excerpt from THE QUEEN OF WATER, as well as the poignant inspiration for this wonderful book.

I first met Laura as I arrived as a wide-eyed, freshman member of the Gangos (Erin Murphy Literary clients) who traveled out to Portland, OR., for an agency retreat back in 2009. I was actually awed enough to be quiet for two hours. From reading Laura’s work, I knew she was a fabulous writer. She also had all of these wonderful stories of her travels and how her adventures fed her written stories. Fascinating. Beautiful. Sad. Inspiring.

However, the strongest impression that I came away with of Laura, was that she has a “steeped in wisdom” quality about her. (Remember those EF Hutton commercials? Well, when Laura spoke, I’d stop to listen.) About writing, about marketing , and about the writing life. When I expressed some nervousness about school visits down the road (before my ms had even been submitted to editors), she looked me in the eye and told me that I was a natural story teller and that I had nothing to worry about. And you know what? I believed her! I was instantly at ease with the whole thing. Speaks to the power of words and small kindnesses, doesn’t it? So, I guess, Laura mentored me that weekend!

Without further ado….

~~Laura Resau – Mentor Post~~

My mentor came on the scene later in my writing journey, but at what turned out to be the perfect time. Mentor-less for many years, I'd managed to bumble my way through writing and revising my first YA novel, What the Moon Saw, thanks to a smattering of enthusiastic teachers and writing group members (and my mom) who gave me guidance. Of course, it would have been wonderful (and time-saving!) to have had a mentor during the five years it took me to write the book. But a mentor-of-sorts did come along, just in time to help me navigate the rough waters of the publication process and beyond.

Lauren Myracle (of the Luv Ya Bunches and TTYL series) became an invaluable (and supercute, superfriendly, supersmart) resource for me. She'd always been supportive of me and other prepublished writers when I saw her at events in Fort Collins (where we both live). So, when I got a voicemail message from an editor at Delacorte saying she was interested in my manuscript (but that she would be out of the office for vacation and wanted me to call her back after one torturous week), I called up Lauren for advice. I was agent-less at the time, and Lauren was the only industry expert I knew who felt approachable. She squealed and congratulated me and cheerfully told me that if the editor made me an offer, to bump it up a few thousand dollars, since that's what they expect.

A week later, I called the editor back, my hands shaking, my throat parched, nervous sweat gushing from my armpits. She offered me a typical debut literary novel advance—about the price of a small, used car. "Yes!" I said. "Yes! Thank you thank you thank you!"

She paused. "Are you officially accepting the offer, then?"

Terrified that she would suddenly change her mind, I said, "Yes, yes, officially, yes! Thank you!" (Oh, if only Lauren had been right there with me on speaker phone…)

After the discovery that I was terrible at negotiating book contracts, I called Lauren. I told her the good news and, a bit embarrassed, said that I suspected it would be a good idea for me to get an agent. ASAP.

And being the generous soul that she is, Lauren gushed excitement, then gave me her agent's phone number. He ended up referring me to my unbelievably wonderful agent, Erin Murphy (who is also Lynda's agent!) Erin proved to be worlds better at contract negotiations than I could ever dream of being.

Lauren continued to be a wise (and adorable) guide for me through the publication process. She explained authorly etiquette (like asking for blurbs), introduced me to other YA authors, and gave a beautiful, from-the-heart quote for the back cover of What the Moon Saw (which several people have told me made them buy the book). When I had questions about appearances at librarian and teacher conferences, she was the first person I asked (her advice: be generous and wear a cute dress). And when she had to turn down author appearance invitations for local events, she passed along my name, which helped spread the word about my book. It feels so reassuring to have someone like Lauren helping me figure out the YA book industry. (Even after six years, I still call her for advice.)

Thanks for reading! May you all find the perfect mentor at the perfect stage of your writing journey!

MENTOR MONDAY

2011-02-28T17:52:00.000-08:00

Anyone who’s been seriously writing for children knows the name, Emma Dryden. She’s been in publishing 25 years and shows no signs of slowing down. During a nineteen year career with S&S, she earned the titles of Vice President and Publisher of both Atheneum Books for Young Readers and Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Emma has edited nearly 500 books and has worked with children’s literary stars such as Ellen Hopkins, Karma Wilson, Alan Katz, Kathi Appelt, Holly Black, Louise Borden, Lorie Ann Grover, Chris Demarest, and Shelia Moses. The list of major awards her books have garnered is staggering. A shock wave went through the children’s publishing world when she was laid off as part of a cost-cutting maneuver by S&S. I still remember thinking the person who’d told me the news had the wrong name.

Emma Dryden still continues to give the children’s publishing industry her very best. Enter…Drydenbks, a multi-platform venture through which she will provide editorial and creative services to children's book authors, illustrators, publishers, and agents. She will also conduct workshops and act as consultant to those seeking to break into or expand their presence in the children's publishing arena. Emma also does some writing (mostly poetry), and keeps a blog.

I first met Emma Dryden as a wide-eyed newbie at Whispering Pines Writer’s Retreat about 8 years ago. I remember her as being kind, quick to laugh, and having some darn cool sweaters. I also remember that during a first pages activity, she made some comments (along with author, Nancy Hope Wilson) about my work that changed the direction of my writing. I’ll be forever grateful for that, as that “direction” is now under contract.

Below, Emma writes about her blessing of having multiple professional mentors. Following the first piece, she writes a short piece about luminary, Margaret McElderry, and a humorous, fateful day twenty years ago. It seems that both Emma and Margaret were blessed on this frenzied August day….

Thanks, Emma, for your generosity in sharing these pieces with me.

Without further ado…

~~~~~~

Emma Dryden:

I have been blessed to have had several mentors in my professional life. I have been blessed by some people older than myself who by example instilled in me a regard for and understanding of not only the business of a business, but the humanity of a business; people who by example inspired me to learn from my mistakes, care about my reputation, conduct myself with honesty and passion, and strive to become a decent citizen of the world. By example, these people taught me, helped me, challenged me, and expected the best from me as they expected the best from themselves. They made me cry because they were tough. They made me laugh because they were playful. They made me think because they were thoughtful. They made me care because they were careful. And in the process, as I grew from being an assistant to a colleague to a peer, we became friends because we shared a deep mutual respect for our business, for one another, and for the future.

As I walk along the paths of my life and my work, I don’t always take the time to think of and thank these people who themselves never thought they were remarkable in any way, just doing their job, just doing what came naturally, just doing what was right. I stop now to think of them and thank them, for they were most remarkable indeed. Remarkable for inviting me into their offices and homes to witness them doing their jobs, doing what came naturally, doing what was right. To witness. And to embrace all that would become essential to my own growth into someone of whom I can be proud. A businesswoman, a colleague, a person of whom I sincerely hope they would be and are proud.

It is a wonder how deeply one person can touch another simply by being present. By listening. By suggesting. By living fully. And by laughing. Oh, the laughing! Would that everyone be as lucky as I’ve been to enjoy but one older person in their life by whose example they can be inspired in their work and their life.

In honor of Dilys Evans, Linda Hayward, Richard Jackson, Margaret K. McElderry, Ole Risom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My mentor and friend, Margaret K. McElderry, passed away at the age of 98 on February 14, 2011. Valentine's Day. A day on which we celebrate and express love. And a day somehow wholly appropriate on which to say farewell to a woman who was full to overflowing with a passion for imagination, story, a beautifully crafted book, laughter, friends, fine wine and delicious food, blue skies over sparkling oceans, the quiet revelatory conversation and the raucous celebratory gathering—a woman so full of love and enthusiasm for all life has to offer professionally and personally.

Where our work ended and our friendship began, where our friendship ended and our work began, it’s hard to say. I suppose though, the working friendship and friendly working began the day in early August 1990 when I tried to reach Margaret to tell her I was accepting her job offer. Margaret was leaving that day at Noon for her annual vacation on Nantucket and we’d agreed I’d call her at home with my “Yes” or “No.” I made my decision. It was going to be “Yes.” That morning at eight o’clock, I called. No answer. I called again. No answer. I waited a half-hour and called again. No answer. I called over to Margaret’s office at Macmillan to confirm I had the right number. No one was in yet and I left a message to say I was doing all I could to reach Margaret to tell her I wanted the job and would they please let the HR folks know. I called Margaret again. No answer. I was getting on the subway to go to Random House where I was working at the time. I found a payphone to call my partner and my mother to ask them to please keep trying Margaret McElderry’s phone number while I was on the subway. They did. No answer. I got to Random House, called again. No answer. I left another message with Margaret’s assistant. I decided to come clean and tell Margaret’s friend, Knopf editor, Frances Foster what was going so she could confirm I was dialing the right number. I was.

Now I’d not only essentially given notice to Random House without actually accepting the job offer from Margaret, but it was getting on towards 11:00 and I was frantic. I knew darn well you don’t promise Margaret McElderry you’ll call her and not call her. I called Macmillan again and was told my messages had started to set off great concern. Publisher Judy Wilson was putting McElderry Books’ art director Barbara Fitzsimmons into a taxi at that very moment to send her down to Margaret’s house on Washington Square to see if everything was alright. Oh, and by the way, Judy Wilson was delighted, I was told, that I wanted the job. I called again. No answer. And then, just before Noon, my phone rang. Judy Wilson was on the line to tell me it seems Barbara got to Margaret’s house in a progressively nervous state, and was pounding on the door and holding her finger on the doorbell – only to have a rather put-out Margaret McElderry open the door, take one look at Barbara’s pale face, and say something to the effect of…”What are you doing here? Did you all think I was dead?” Well, in fact, yes we did. And, in fact, while Margaret McElderry was clearly very much alive, her telephone line was completely done for. It seems not three minutes before Barbara arrived, she’d just figured out what was happening when she’d quite irately picked up the receiver to call Macmillan’s HR department to tell them QUOTE “If that Emma Dryden doesn’t have the common decency and courtesy to call me at the time we arranged for her to call me, I don’t want her working for me anyway.” UNQUOTE.

Margaret and I never did speak that day, but I started as her associate editor on September 19, 1990, a week or so before she returned to the office, tan and energized, from Nantucket. And when we saw each other, we hugged and laughed and had some rather choice things to say about AT&T. The rest is history and we told and retold that story over and over again because it said something about our partnership and it made us laugh. Such a remarkably unexpected beginning to a remarkably unexpected friendship and collaboration. I’d give anything to call you right now, Margaret, to tell you how much it all meant to me—professionally and personally—to accept that job offer, to accept that gift. And this time, we'd use our cell phones.

~~~~

Publishers Weekly has a wonderful tribute, written by several kid lit professionals (including Emma Dryden) who knew and loved Margaret McElderry. Reading their pieces makes me wish that I’d been able to meet this one-in-a-billion woman! Her loss is a loss for everyone that loves children’s literature.

Defying Logic, Fighting Gravity, and Other Lynda-esque Kinds of Things

2011-02-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

Visit the EmusDebuts Blog, where I have given all writers and creative-types something to consider--the double-edged sword of vulnerability as it relates to creativity.

http://emusdebuts.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/defying-logic-fighting-gravity-and-other-lynda-esque-kinds-of-things/

The Editor Letter and Revising---(A.K.A. Slaying the Self-Doubt Monster)

2011-01-19T06:58:00.000-08:00

Today, at the Emus Debut blog, I posted a blog entry on receiving my ONE FOR THE MURPHYS editing letter from Nancy Paulsen. What an incredible experience it is to receive such a letter--once you slay the self-doubt monster, that is!

The Emus Debut Blog

Peace,
Lynda

MENTOR MONDAY

2011-01-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

A big MENTOR MONDAY welcome to Michelle Ray! I’m looking forward to meeting her in person someday, but for the time being, I’ll have to be content with being EMLA buddies and Emusdebuts blog mates. She posted a wonderful blog entry this week on the highs and lows of receiving and working on the editing letter. I like it—it’s funny and honest and inspiring all at the same time!

Michelle is the author of the forthcoming book, FALLING FOR HAMLET, which is one of those books that I want to get my hands on!! I also find myself into Shakespeare lately, so I’m especially looking forward to getting my nose into this one.

And, although I don’t know you, Amy (Michelle’s mentor) I’m sending out a big hug to you—because all writers should have an “Amy!”

Without further ado, here is Michelle!!!

For years, I was a closeted writer. Maybe you know the type: really loves the written word, journals incessantly, has great ideas for stories, might even put them on paper but would never, never, never show them to anyone. Well, until I met Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, I was just such a person.

I was teaching in Mt. Kisco, New York and was lucky that an organization called LitLife came to my school to show us how to better engage our students in writing. Amy was one of their teachers. The philosophy was to have teachers try the exercises that the students would do. This made me more sensitive to my students’ fears and challenges because, like them, I had to put myself out there when sharing my work. But amazingly, during these workshops, I not only became a better teacher, but I learned to trust myself as a writer, as well.

After one workshop, I quietly told Amy that I had started writing a manuscript. I proceeded to explain why it wasn’t finished and why I had never told anyone about it. She listened patiently and poked holes in every excuse I offered. Then she outed me to the entire teaching staff of my district by announcing, “Michelle Ray is writing a novel.” Holy cow! At first I was horrified, but you know what? I didn’t fall through a hole in the ground, I didn’t get struck by lightning, and most importantly, no one laughed at me. In fact, having this secret out in the open turned out to be what I needed to take myself seriously as a writer.

Amy believed in me when I lost faith, and encouraged me when I needed motivation. Right after I found my agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, I happened to be visiting her house, and she toasted me with real champagne! I had to undercut the moment and say it didn’t mean my book would sell, and, of course, cheerleader that she is, she said it would. And she was right: within weeks, Alvina Ling at Little, Brown, offered to buy my manuscript. As if all that weren’t enough, Amy’s always among the first to “like” when I post about my publishing excitement on Facebook.

There is nothing I would change about fabulous poet, inspiring mentor, great cook, honest to goodness farmer/gardener, and terrific friend Amy . . . except that she lives so far away.

My sincerest thanks to Amy Ludwig VanDerwater for bringing my secret writing life into the light.

MENTOR MONDAY

2011-01-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

A big Mentor Monday Welcome to… … J. Anderson Coats! We have not actually met in person, but I’ve had the pleasure of meeting J. (Am I suppose to keep the name a secret?) online, as we are both clients of The Erin Murphy Literary Agency, are both contributors to the EMU’s Debut Blog, and are both members of The Apocalypsies, a blog for children’s authors who are debuting novels in 2012.

J,’s book, WITHOUT THE WALLS, sounds utterly fantastic! Here is a taste:

1293. North Wales. Ten years into English rule.

Cecily would give anything to leave Caernarvon. Gwenhwyfar would give anything to see all the English leave.

Neither one is going to get her wish.

Behind the city walls, English burgesses govern with impunity. Outside the walls, the Welsh are confined by custom and bear the burden of taxation, and the burgesses plan to keep it that way.

Cecily can’t be bothered with boring things like the steep new tax or the military draft that requires Welshmen to serve in the king’s army overseas. She has her hands full trying to fit in with the town’s privileged elite, and they don’t want company.

Gwenhwyfar can’t avoid these things. She counts herself lucky to get through one more day.
But the Welsh are not as conquered as they seem, and the suffering in the countryside is rapidly turning to discontent. The murmurs of revolt may be Gwenhwyfar’s only hope for survival – and the last thing Cecily ever hears.

~~Sounds incredible, doesn’t it? I’ll be looking forward to getting my hands on my own copy in 2012! I am totally looking forward to traveling the debut writer’s road with J. Anderson Coats!
So, without further ado, here is J.’s Mentor Monday:

Dear Mrs. Stromberg:

Perhaps you’ll remember me as the smart-mouth girl in the back of your AP Literature class who was often distracted by the scribblings in her notebook. I know you’ll remember me as the girl who strolled into your classroom at the beginning of her junior year ready to rest on her writing laurels.

You probably figured out quickly that I was used to coasting when it came to anything written. Never in my life had a teacher made a single meaningful red mark on anything I wrote. On the contrary, they swept A’s across the top of everything and gushed how great a writer I was.

And unfortunately, I’d gotten way too used to hearing that.

I smugly slid my first paper of the year across your desk and waited for the inevitable shower of praise. But when I got it back, it looked like you’d slit your wrists all over it.

I’ll admit it – I was gobsmacked. There was only one conclusion I could draw: you thought my writing was terrible. Why else would you mark it up like that?

I sulked for a while. I’m not proud of that. But then I buckled down. No way was I going to tolerate getting papers back all covered in red. I kept tightening and tinkering and experimenting and tweaking, all to get a paper back as white and flawless as they’d always been.

Those red marks didn’t lessen in quantity. But they changed in content. They changed in tone.

That’s when I started reading them.

Because that’s when I realized you didn’t think I was a bad writer. You tore up my writing because you knew I was good – and if I got the right feedback, I could get even better.

I took what you taught me and turned it loose on my fiction. And I got better hand over fist till I sold a novel I’m really proud of. I’m still getting better. I always will be.

I probably learned some stuff about literature from you that year, but two things sank in deep that I still carry with me: even good writers are never finished learning how to write, and honest feedback presented with respect is invaluable.

You never pulled any punches. You treated me like a writer, not a student. And I walked out of your classroom not only a better writer, but also a better person.

Best regards,

J. Anderson Coats

PS: I should also probably learn to call you by your first name, Kelly, but that one’s gonna take some time.

EMU Debuts Blog--

2011-01-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

Hey!

Come on over to EMU's Debuts, a blog written by eight clients of The Erin Murphy Literary Agency, who have gone from being writers to authors. Some of us are represented by Erin Murphy and others of us are repped by Ammi-Joan Paquette. Still, we're one big happy fam!

Our first topic is "Getting THE CALL!" In my case, you can get an idea of what complete unadulterated SHOCK looks like. ;-)

http://emusdebuts.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/getting-the-call-part-ii/

Lynda

MENTOR MONDAY

2011-01-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It occurs to me that if I’m going to ask others to blog about their mentors in the kid lit world, then I should blog about mine.

Thing is, I haven't had one big mentor in the writing world who took my hand as a young writer and taught me the ropes. My experience has been somewhat like a row of trees and I, the monkey, who has swung from branch to branch, learning things as I go along. There are a number of these people who have helped me along the way—some with only a single sentence—changing the course of my life. Since I have several, I’ll spread them out. Let's begin with the first two.

• I have accomplished some pretty amazing things with the attitude of, “What do I have to lose?” I’m willing to do the hard work, but I’m also a dreamer at heart. I have never felt that any of those dreams have been out of reach. When told about the odds of getting published, I dismissed them. When writing friends thought me nuts for driving over five hours to meet my dream agent, it seemed like a no-brainer to me. Even at a young age, I knew that if you had a dream, you better chase it down, because no one would do it for you. I have always had a stubborn passion about these things and a deep belief that I would get there someday—although I guess I didn’t exactly know where “there” was.

This gift came from my Mum, Marie Smith Mullaly—or “Rere” as she was called in the Smith clan. True. I got it in her DNA, but I also saw her live it everyday. You just couldn’t tell my Mum that something was impossible. She’d get this sparkle in her eye, and this half smile would creep up the side of her face, and you just knew she’d find a way.

In addition, my mother opened my world to books and writing through her example. My Mum read every spare second that she could. The librarians in town knew her by name and would often put books aside for her, knowing she’d like them. I still remember walking out of the West Hartford Public library, smelling the pages of the books she’d sign out. (I still love to smell books!)

My Mum was also a talented writer and poet. I often wonder, now, if she knows that I’m a published writer. I wonder what her reaction would have been to the news. A day never goes by that I don’t wish that I could tell her.

• The second person is my brother, Ricky. It’s not like we ever sat down and talked about writing, but I have always known that I am who I am because he was around. He is my big brother by 11 years, one of my best friends, and also a father figure. I don’t remember a time when Rick wasn’t around.

If I played in the ocean waves, he was the one there to be sure I didn’t float away. If I wandered away from the family on an outing, it was his voice that called me back. If we were on my grandparents’ boat, he was the one to strap the life preserver on me. I have many memories of Rick taking me on excursions to the science museum, McDonald’s, out for tennis lessons, or “letting me” help him wash his car. (Yes, I was a total sucker!) He even took me to church. He also dated and married Jill! She turned out to be a great blessing to me as well--a sister in the true sense of the word!

As I got older, Rick and Jill took me aside to weigh in on both friends and boyfriends. Rick walked me down the aisle when I got married and came to the hospital when my children were born. As I said, he was always there when it counted. Still is. Of all the things he did, though, I think what shaped me so much was how he’d look at me when I walked into a room. I mean, I remember being really little, and seeing his face light up. "Hey, Lulu!" Whether he was tired or busy, he always reacted the same way. I never questioned how much he loved me and that laid the foundation for who I would become later.

MENTOR MONDAY

2010-12-13T19:28:00.000-08:00

Alisa Libby is the author of two phenomenal historical fiction novels entitled, THE KING’S ROSE and THE BLOOD CONFESSION. She is also an expert researcher!

I first met Alisa Libby at the New England SCBWI conference in Nashua, New Hampshire in 2009. I had signed up for her workshop because I thought it would help me with an idea I had been/am banging around in my head; her class was on researching history/events in order to write a historical fiction novel. The class was about weaving in those details—making the facts feel integral to the story rather than merely dropped in.

Alisa is a great presenter! (She says that she’s nervous, but no one else would know it!) And MAN! Does this girl know her stuff! She is an incredible researcher—the scope of it is amazing while the details of it are…well, just as amazing!

Alisa inspired me that day, so I bought both of her books; I have a teenage daughter that *loves* historical fiction. She devoured both of Alisa’s books immediately and has since deemed them hers—not mine! So, because of that meeting a year and a half ago, and my daughter’s enthusiasm for her books, I asked Alisa if she would be kind enough to contribute something for Mentor Monday. She said, “Yes!”

Here is Alisa:

I would love to share with you a blurb about my mentor for your blog! Without further ado, here you go:

My Dad was an artist. We were always involved in some project: playing musical instruments, building model airplanes, catching fruit flies and putting them on slides for my microscope. Most of all, we talked about the creative process: the frequent frustration punctuated by moments of elation. My father carved the head of a cat out of a block of stone, a herd of horses from a block of wood. He created a model violin so small you could fit it in your pocket. I watched all of this in astonishment – a miracle of art and creation taking place in my very own home. He read all of my stories and poems and offered advice and critique. We commiserated over the difficulties of getting the beautiful images in our heads to translate onto the page (or wood, or stone, or canvas). He had a wonderful ability to find humor in the midst of these trials, and he taught me to be excited about the creative process itself – the actual act of sitting down and writing – instead of focusing solely on the final product. My father died over 12 years ago, but I still carry these lessons with me. I often think of him in moments of frustration, inspiration, and elation.

Many thanks,
Alisa

Thank YOU, Alisa!

MENTOR MONDAY!

2010-12-06T19:23:00.000-08:00

A *big* Mentor Monday welcome to the multi-talented Liz Goulet Dubois! She an author/illustrator, a master blogger, and toy designer. She writes plays, directs them, and does incredible stage sets for them. She is also into product licensing and takes part in writing a group blog entitled The Licensing Nook (and website) about the ins and outs of the business, as well as some just really cool stuff! If that weren’t enough, have you ever seen those hilarious FRED pr oducts? Liz designs a number of their over-the-top fun stuff! She does it ALL, I tell you! And she does it all well!

Liz's writing and art work focus mostly on younger children. She is an award winning illustrator from Highlights Magazine and has iillustrated several pre-school books. She has written some as well and does the paper engineering for her pop-up books. Her Fred Products seem to turn up in Rachel Ray's magazine (as well as others) a lot! Liz seems to have creative toes in all kinds of ponds. (But she would never write as weird of a sentence as that last one!)

I first met Liz at the annual SCBWI Whispering Pines Writers’ Retreat in Rhode Island. I took to her immediately, and we have since become great friends. I have a ton of respect for her. She is the real deal—professionally and in ways that matter even more. I could say that Liz has been a mentor to me in learning the ways of the business of children’s lit; once I got serious about publication, I listened carefully to her nuggets of wisdom—the dos and don’ts of navigating the pubbing world. This very website/blog is here because she...uh...suggested...I put it up. She is honest and forthright but always thoughtful and kind. And, let me tell you, she is just chock full of wisdom. Finally, Liz is a good friend—the best! I feel blessed to know her! Truly, I do.

Okay. Enough gushing from me! Without further ado, here is Liz Goulet Dubois’s Mentor Monday submission:

Mentor Submission

By Liz Goulet Dubois

Without question, my first and best mentor was my mom. I don't remember a time when I wasn't encouraged to try anything artistic. I always had ideas on things to make, sew, paint, build, etc. and she always gave me the supplies and pointed me in the right direction for getting started. Just as important, I think, was her ability to step back and let me figure things out for myself. That's a very subtle quality- the ability to NOT help too much!

In junior high and high school, my art teacher was Brother Marty. I was able to sail through most of the usual required lessons, and he was the one who let me go to the next level by devising different kinds of art for me to do.

By senior year, I was already painting on canvas and writing and illustrating my own books, and it was these extra things that likely got me into RISD, the one place I really wanted to go. In college, I had two teachers who were very supportive and also allowed me to pursue my own vision in art. David Niles, one of my illustration teachers, and Amy Kravitz, my animation teacher, were both instrumental in allowing me to develop my own style of art. They were instructors that could tell intuitively when to help, but also allowed the space to allow for blooming.

Thanks SO much Liz! It was a pleasure to have you here at Mentor Mondays!

MENTOR MONDAY!!

2010-11-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

A big Mentor Monday welcome to Cynthia Levinson! She is a fabulous non-fiction writer, having authored piles of fascinating articles and a book coming out from Peachtree in 2012 entitled, WE HAVE A JOB: THE 1963 BIRMINGHAM CHILDREN’S MARCH.

I first heard an excerpt from this book about 18 months ago and was drawn in immediately. When I was young, non-fiction books merely spewed facts, but Cynthia’s writing is filled with character development, intrigue, action, and fascinating details. Actually, so is Cynthia! ;-)

Here’s a taste:

PROLOGUE: “I WANT TO GO TO JAIL”

Eight-year-old Audrey woke up Thursday morning with freedom on her mind. But, before she could be free, she knew she had to go to jail.

“I want to go to jail,” Audrey told her mother.

“OK,” her mother answered.

She asked her parents to buy her a game she’d been eyeing. She figured that Operation, in which you take the bones out of a plastic figure and put them back together, would entertain her in case she got bored during her week on a cellblock.

Her mother thought it would be polite for her to tell Miss Wills, her third-grade teacher at Center Street Elementary, that she’d be absent. Miss Wills cried.
“I think she was proud of me,” Audrey said.

She also hugged all four grandparents goodbye.

One of her grandmothers assured her, “You’ll be fine.”

Then, Audrey’s mother drove her to church so she could be arrested.
Wait a minute! What kind of eight-year-old volunteers to go to jail? And, what kind of mother says, “OK” and makes sure she gets there? And, why would she get arrested at church?

Is this real?

Yes. Audrey Faye Hendricks and her mother, Lola, are real. So is this story.

Audrey was one of the youngest of about 4,000 black children who marched, protested, sang, and prayed their way to jail during the first week of May 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama. Their goal was to end segregation in the most racially separated and violent city in America. Many young people suffered attacks by snarling German shepherds and days of being crammed into sweltering sweatboxes. Some wondered if they would survive. And, if they did, could they accept these punishments with dignity, as they had been taught? Or, would they retaliate against the white policemen who were abusing them?

Audrey and three other young people—Washington Booker III, James Stewart, and Arnetta Streeter—will be your guides through these harrowing events. Along the way, you’ll hear from others as well.

I knew that Cynthia’s agent, Erin Murphy, was shopping this ms around and I was so hoping that it would sell! When I got word that it did, I danced in my office to a blaring SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED, I’M YOURS (my official book contract celebratory song! Go ahead and click it. You know you want to. Do it.)

I know that WE HAVE A JOB will be the first of many books that lucky children everywhere will read from Cynthia!

Here is Cynthia’s Mentor Story:

I didn’t know that Mary Jane was mentoring me until it was too late. Had I known, I would have inhaled every comment and suggestion she made in our critique group. Even her silences, head cocked, were tactfully telling. But, it’s only in retrospect that I realized how honored I should have felt to get guidance from Mary Jane Hopkins before she abruptly died.

It was Mary Jane, who, looking at my tediously over-long and expository manuscripts, suggested I switch from writing fiction to nonfiction. Finding that niche on my own took me another five years, at least 30 rejections of inept fiction, and an exasperated dismissal by a famous writer of my amateurish novel at an expensive weeklong retreat.

While I stubbornly insisted I was going to write picture books, she urged me to write for the magazine market. She was right about that, too, though I didn’t realize it until years later when a famous editor scribbled all over the first chapter of that very same novel at another expensive weeklong retreat.

Along the way, Mary Jane patiently helped me pare words, hone the story, find a rhythm. It’s only because of her that I finally sold two stories—to magazines, of course. The effusiveness of her congratulations masked her own role in these successes. Still, my own blinkered, I-can-do-it-myself attitude meant that one story had to be heavily edited, and the other was never printed.

Just before she suffered the stroke, she had been working on a beautifully crafted novel about a boy whose parents were divorcing and another who was entering the adoption system. Every chapter tightened the emotional grip of the one before. We were nearly as devastated to lose the progress of her story as we were to lose Mary Jane. When her husband asked our critique group to finish the novel, we sorrowfully explained that the distinctive voice, the clean writing, and the characters we looked forward to visiting with every week were hers alone. Mary Jane’s daughter, who inherited her mother’s writing genes, found a page of notes and questions her mother had kept. Question #10, I believe, was “How does it end?”

My writing—almost all nonfiction and, thanks to success in the magazine market, finally branching out to a trade book—would find its flow and reach its end so much more effectively if I could still hear Mary Jane. Fortunately, she taught me, posthumously, to listen, which I do, avidly, to my later mentors, whose advice I embrace.

Thank you, Cynthia! Very touching and a good message for us all!

Here is another song--a beautiful tribute.

MENTOR MONDAY!

2010-11-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Printz Honor Winning author, Ellen Wittlinger! Such a pleasure to have her here!

Ellen is the author of 14 books for young readers. Her third book, HARD LOVE, was a Printz Honor Book (among many accolades it received!). This is such a poignant book—and one of my faves!

Her newest book is entitled, THIS MEANS WAR, a terrific story set in the 1960's.

From Booklist:
Wittlinger latches on to a poignant metaphor for war in this lively and readable tale set against the backdrop of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Fifth-grader Juliet lives near a growing military base, which has brought in an influx of new kids, including the rowdy Patsy. It’s a good thing, too, because Juliet’s longtime pal Lowell has abandoned her to hang out with boys, including the overgrown bully, Bruce. This division turns into an all-out battle of the sexes when Bruce devises a nine-day competition that tests the strength and bravery of girls versus boys. These increasingly dangerous tests (entering a dog pen, shoplifting) bring most of the children closer together, though for Patsy and Bruce, they only escalate the conflict. It’s a clever concept that keeps the proceedings fun even as the darker drama of potential world collapse provides a weighty element; young readers will be shocked to learn of Juliet’s daily prayers, including “Dear God, please don’t let the world end today.” A warm way to introduce the cold war. Grades 5-8. --Daniel Kraus
See all Editorial Reviews

As Director of The Whispering Pines Retreat, I met Ellen when she was kind enough to attend as our author mentor. She was a wonderful addition to our faculty that year, as she was so knowledgeable but also kind, approachable, and generous with her time and wisdom. She gave thoughtful, thorough critiques to our writers that year and also gave a terrific presentation on writing humor, which I continue to refer back to even today. By the end of the weekend, I felt very fortunate, that I had made a friend in Ellen, and that makes me lucky indeed!

Here is Ellen Wittlinger:

My Mentors
By Ellen Wittlinger

There are many people who helped me along my crooked path to becoming a writer, but four in particular I’ll never forget. I was an art major in college, partly because I was a slow reader and I wasn’t sure I could get through all the Milton and Chaucer that English majors had to read. But I was writing all the time anyway, and in my senior year I took a poetry course from a young faculty member by the name of Kelly Yenser. Both Kelly and his wife Pamela were poets (and still are,) and they encouraged me to follow that dream too. They were sympathetic readers of my early work, they put books into my hands I hadn’t known to read, and they convinced me to apply to the Iowa Writer’s Workshop for graduate school. I would not be a published author today without their example and support.

I wish I could say my years at the Iowa Workshop were also full of wonderful mentors, but they were not. I had a few good teachers, but the classes were large and I was not one of the stars. In those years I worked hard mainly to show those guys (and they were mostly guys) that I was worthy of being there too.

After grad school I was incredibly lucky to get a fellowship to write at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts--a living space and a stipend for seven months and nothing to do but live in one of the most beautiful spots on earth and write. In fact, I got a second year fellowship there too and ended up living on Cape Cod for three years. During that time the person who made the biggest impact on my life was a wonderful poet by the name of Alan Dugan. Dugan (as everyone called him) was a big, rough-voiced, heavy-drinking guy who’d won a Pulitzer Prize before I met him, and went on to win a National Book Award. I was a bit cowed by him, to say the least. But during my first week at the Center Dugan called all ten writing fellows together for an informal chat during which he repeatedly referred to us as his “colleagues.” He always, from then on, treated each of us as an equal, as people whose writing must be taken seriously. Which is when I really began to take myself seriously as a writer. If Dugan believed in me, it must be true.

During my third year in Provincetown, another well-known author became involved with the Work Center, the wonderful short-story writer Grace Paley. Another tough cookie on the outside, Grace was incredibly generous to all of us younger writers, reading draft after draft of the same story and giving honest feedback. I still have a message pinned to the corkboard in my office which has been around since Grace first said it to me: “Write what you don’t know about what you know.” She was right.

I am a writer today because of the generosity and support of these four people. Since I’ve become part of the children’s writing community, finding helpful people is less unusual than it was when I was in the (so-called) adult writing world. In that harsher climate, these folks were my saviors, and I thank them for it.

Thanks a ton, Ellen! So grateful to have had you visit MENTOR MONDAYS! ;-)

MENTOR MONDAY!!!

2010-11-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Laura Toffler-Corrie! Thrilled to have her here on Mentor Mondays!

Laura is the author of the hilarious, THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF AMY FINAWITZ, a character being called, “The Tina Fey” of middle grade readers. I highly recommend you pick up the book and put a sitting aside to get to know this hilarious, quirky girl!

From Booklist:

It can’t get any worse for Amy Finawitz. Her best friend, Callie, has abandoned their life in New York City to stay with relatives in Kansas for the year, leaving Amy to cope with eighth grade alone. Thankfully—or not—God sends Amy a replacement friend in the form of Miss Sophia, the little old lady who lives down the hall. Miss Sophia hooks Amy into solving a decades old mystery left in a very old journal. The dynamic duo soon becomes a Terrific Triumvirate when Miss Sophia also asks her fifteen-year-old nephew, Beryl, a Lubavitch Jew, to join their little investigative team.

And if Amy thought her year couldn't get anymore random, she can add the following items to her list: Houdini’s grave, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, cross-dressing magicians, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, crochet circles, Abraham Lincoln, a raucous rendition of Fiddler on the Roof, and a secret treasure.

To get through it all, Amy's going to need a serious Chanukah miracle

~~~~~

Praise For The Life and Opinions of Amy Finawitz…

“Entertaining…genuinely funny…” –Publishers Weekly

"...value and sweetness."–Kirkus Reviews

Laura Toffler-Corrie

A MENTOR WHO INSPIRED ME:

In my early twenties, I decided to return to graduate school and pursue a degree in Dramatic Writing at New York University. I was excited but also terrified. Did I have the courage to share my work? Did I have talent? Could I succeed? On the first day of class, cowered by my insecurities, I decided that the best approach was a cautious one. I would sit in the back of the room and say very little.

However, the professor, Lee Kalcheim, had other ideas. His class was going to be a full participation experience. We would spend the semester writing and sharing our work. At the end, we would mount our own one act play to be performed in front of an audience. When I heard that, it took everything I had not to run out the door and never look back.

Somehow, week after week, I screwed up the nerve to write and present new work and, week after week, Lee was supportive. He encouraged me to develop my writing voice, he laughed at the funny bits and offered supportive criticism when needed. He taught me about character and plot and dialogue. Through his gentle guidance and the supportive atmosphere he created in class, my work improved and my confidence bloomed. On the last day, I did indeed mount my own one act play, in a professional, black box theatre, in front of an audience; one of the most frightening, and exhilarating experiences of my life.

I believe that Lee’s support was instrumental in giving me the courage to pursue a career in writing, with all its attendant rejection and disappointments, and to achieve my dream of being a professional author.

As far as the author goes, she’s pretty hilarious and quirky, too! ;-) THANKS, so much, Laura, for gracing us with your presence here on Mentor Mondays!

MENTOR MONDAY

2010-10-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

A BIG welcome to Tamara Ellis Smith who is completely and utterly awesome!

I met Tam at Erin Murphy’s retreat out in Portland, Oregon a year and a half ago. I liked her immediately and more and more as the week went on. No question that she is a gifted writer but also a super great human being—wicked nice. The real deal. (and the BEST tattoos ever!) The only thing that I’d change about her is her geography—too far away for lunch dates!

Tam’s middle grade novel, MARBLE BOYS, won an Honorable Mention in the 2008 PEN New England Discovery Awards and was runner up for the 2008 SCBWI Works-In-Progress grant. I’ve heard an excerpt of this and it’s beautiful. Visual. I still have images from it in my head after all this time. I know in my heart of hearts that Erin, our over-the-top awesome agent, will find a lucky editor for it soon! And, I’ll be one of the first to celebrate!!!

Tam also has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College—a top program in the country! God! I can hardly get my socks mated! Clearly, this girl is in for BIG things! ;-)

Welcome, Tam!

Kathy Appelt

By Tamara Ellis Smith

Anyone who has been in a room with Kathi Appelt for more than a few minutes has probably heard her utter her famous words “Write like your fingers are on fire!” She lives this. She is passionate, full of energy, and the words that pour out of her heart and mind are piping, steaming hot!

I was lucky enough to have Kathi as my second semester advisor when I was a graduate student in the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College for the Arts. At that point, I had been in school for one semester—long enough to know that this was exactly what I was meant to do with my life and that I had no idea how to do make it actually happen. It was a mucky, murky time. I was in it, for sure, but I was kicking up a lot of debris and I couldn’t see very clearly.

Kathi nurtured me that semester in so many different ways.

She nurtured my craft: I was working on a novel for the first time (I had only ever written picture books before that) and she gave me permission to finish a whole draft. She urged me to do it, asked me to let go and let it flow out of me. Feel what that felt like. She nurtured my soul: She created a real community from the five of us students who had her as an advisor that semester. She asked us to connect, to talk to each other, and support each other as we all dug deep to do our work. And she nurtured my heart: Kathi and I talked over email—probably over twenty hours all told—about the craft of writing…but also about raising children, managing writer’s block, and balancing family and work.

Craft. Soul. Heart. Kathi held and lifted each one of them.

She taught me how to embrace it all—to open my arms wide and gather it up, to weave it all together, to let it organically be what it wants to be. In essence, Kathi got me to stand still. To let all of the pieces touch me, and float around me, and finally settle to the ground. Like standing still in a stream, and allowing the mucky, murky water to settle until it is clear. This feels intuitively right to me, but I don’t think I would have trusted that way of being if Kathi hadn’t guided me there.

Kathi writes like her fingers are on fire, but I believe that she also writes—and lives—like this. By embracing it all, by staying quiet and still in the cool water, by weaving all of the pieces together. You can see it in her work. And you can feel it when she teaches.

I am eternally grateful that Kathi is in my life—my mentor, my moon sister, my friend.

Thanks SO much, Tam! We so much enjoyed hearing about this fantastic mentor of yours—none other than Kathi Appelt! I hope to meet her in person some time soon…

MENTOR MONDAY

2010-10-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

A BIG welcome to Ann Haywood Leal--the author of two MG books, entitled, ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER and the recently released, FINDERS KEEPERS PLACE. I first met Ann at a class in Fairfield. I was immediately drawn to her warm personality, as well as her tremendous writing talent! And let me tell you--She's one darn funny lady, too!

I am grateful that she has taken the time to do a piece for Mentor Mondays. I hope you find it as touching as I did!

Ann Haywood Leal:

As far as mentors are concerned, I could name so many people. To me, a mentor not only passes on some of their wisdom and knowledge, but they also give you something extra that becomes a part of who you are.

The wonderful Patricia Reilly Giff is definitely someone who has done that for me (and for so many others!). Pat is so generous with her time and with her advice for new writers. Whether it's a celebration or just a problem about which I need to kvetch, Pat always has the time to listen. All the way back to when I was figuring out what a query letter was, Pat has always had time and patience for me.

And without a doubt, my mom filled the mentoring role in my life. Books and reading were always so important to her, and she shared them with me in such a way that made me love words, too. No matter how busy she was, she always stopped what she was doing and took the time to read my stories. I loved when she wrote comments in the margins! Sometimes now when I'm writing, I'll imagine what her comments would be. My deepest regret is that she died before she could see my first book on the shelf at the library.

When I had my book party at The Dinosaur's Paw Bookstore, I told Pat Giff how much I wished my mom could see it all. Pat said, "She knows, Ann. She knows."

Thanks so much, Ann! This was so touching and a wonderful addition to Mentor Mondays!

MENTOR MONDAY

2010-10-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the second installment of MENTOR MONDAYS!!

This week, we’ll hear from YA author, Conrad Wesselhoeft. I had the opportunity to hear a bit of his novel, ADIOS NIRVANA, while it was in the works. You want to talk about “voice?” This is it! I was pulled in immediately and have been looking forward to its release ever since.

The book sits here on my desk, but I’m afraid to open it. I have revisions of my own to do that are due to my editor. I’m afraid if I open Conrad’s book, I won’t be able to put it down! When my revisions are submitted, though, you know what I’ll be doing!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Booklist:

In the wake of his twin brother’s death, Jonathan, a former star student, is facing the possibility of repeating his junior year. The only things standing between him and failure are his devoted best friends, an understanding principal named Gupti, and his English teacher. The assignments that will ensure his promotion? Attend class every day, help an 88-year-old WWII veteran write his memoir, and perform Gupti’s favorite song, “Crossing the River Styx,” at graduation. Wesselhoeft offers a psychologically complex debut that will intrigue heavy-metal aficionados and drama junkies alike. Peopled with the elderly and infirm, crazy parents, caring educators, and poignant teens trying desperately to overcome death’s pull, it mixes real and fictional musicians and historical events to create a moving picture of struggling adolescents and the adults who reach out with helping hands. Darker and more complex than Jordan Sonnenblick’s thematically similar Notes from the Midnight Driver (2006), Adios, Nirvana targets an audience of YAs who rarely see themselves in print. Grades 8-12. --Frances Bradburn

Indie Bound Description:

When you piss off a bridge into a snowstorm, it feels like you’re connecting with eternal things. Paying homage to something or someone. But who? The Druids? Walt Whitman?
No, I pay homage to one person only, my brother, my twin.
In life. In death.
Telemachus.

Since the death of his brother, Jonathan’s been losing his grip on reality. Last year’s Best Young Poet and gifted guitarist is now Taft High School’s resident tortured artist, when he bothers to show up. He's on track to repeat eleventh grade, but his English teacher, his principal, and his crew of Thicks (who refuse to be seniors without him) won’t sit back and let him fail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not only is Conrad a genius writer, but a super great guy as well. I’m thrilled that he has agreed to participate in my Mentor Mondays Series and look forward to seeing many more books from him down the road.

And away we go! Welcome, Conrad!

The Wisdom of Scott O’Dell
By Conrad Wesselhoeft

Scott O’Dell was my friend and mentor. That’s a tall statement considering that I met him only once. But that day changed my life.

I was a young staffer at the New York Times, harboring a secret ambition: to write novels. But how? Writing a novel seemed far out of my depth. However, writing a feature story about a novelist might be a stroke in the right direction. So I set up an interview, hopped a train at Grand Central, and headed north to Westchester County, New York.

Who was Scott O’Dell? Probably the most acclaimed young-adult author of his generation. He had written nearly two dozen books—including the classic “Island of the Blue Dolphins”—and garnered a barrel of prizes: the Newbery Medal (for “Dolphins”); three Newbery Honor Awards; and the Hans Christian Andersen Award for a body of work.

Scott greeted me at the station. Now 85, he looked time-chiseled and fit, with a shock of white hair, barrel chest, and deep tan. We climbed into his big car, and he peeled for his home on Long Pond. He seemed to enjoy speed.

The interview was supposed to last about two hours, but it filled the morning and lapped into the afternoon. We broke for a late lunch.

“Enough about me,” he said, over seafood chowder. “What about you? What do you want to do with your life?”

I stammered out the true contents of my gut: “I want to write novels.”“Well, then, write them.”

“But I don’t have time. I don’t know how.”

He planted a hand on the table and leaned close. His blue eyes sparked. “Now listen—listen!”

I did listen. Here’s what Scott O’Dell taught me:

Writing is about starting. Start simply, even if it amounts to no more than 15 minutes a day. Open an empty notebook and on page one write: “I want to write a book about . . .” Then write: “I want the main character to be . . .” It’s okay to write in fragments. It’s okay to use weak verbs. Just write. Spill all of your ideas into that notebook. On about day five, or seventeen, or fifty-five, something will happen. A light will turn on. You will see the way.

Writing is about finishing. He liked to quote Anthony Trollope, the English novelist: “The most important thing a writer should have is a piece of sticking plaster with which to fasten his pants to a chair.”

Writing is about reading. Soak up all the great books you can. He loved Willa Cather’s spare, lyrical prose style, singling out her novel, “Death Comes for the Archbishop.”

Writing is humble. Let your forebears guide you. He followed Hemingway’s advice: Stop your day’s work at a point where you know what is going to happen next. That way, you’ll never get stuck.

Writing for young readers has a special reward. Scott told me that before he discovered young audiences, he had only a tentative commitment to the craft of writing. Now it was strong. “The only reason I write,” he said, “is to say something. I’ve forsaken adults because they’re not going to change, though they may try awfully hard. But children can and do change.”

Before driving me back to the train station, Scott took me out on his deck and pointed to a grove of trees across Long Pond. During the Revolutionary War, a teenage girl had sought refuge from the Redcoats in a cave hidden by the grove. For years, she had drawn on her wits and fortitude to survive. After learning this bit of local history, Scott had crafted one of his best novels, “Sarah Bishop.” His message was simple. Good stories are everywhere. You don’t have to look far. Open your eyes.

We corresponded for a few years, and he kindly critiqued my awkward early efforts at YA fiction. Years later, I read that he had been working on his last novel, “My Name is Not Angelica,” in his hospital bed, just days before his death at age 91.Scott taught me many things about writing, but one stands out—that writing is about perseverance.

Never give up.

The LAUNCH of MENTOR MONDAYS! (And the crowd went wild!)

2010-10-04T05:06:00.000-07:00

**DRUM ROLL**

I am thrilled to announce the launch of my new series, MENTOR MONDAYS! Every Monday, I will post a piece by a professional in the wonderful world of kid lit (editors, agents, and authors) who have been kind enough to share their stories with me. I have been humbled by the generosity of these folks and am in awe of the list itself! Such incredibly accomplished, talented, and giving people. Without people like this—who share their talent and expertise, who advocate for children and good literature in a world that seems more and more about “screen time,” (She says, checking her Facebook! ;-) where would we be?

And, where would we be without mentors? The people who take us aboard and show us the ropes. Often, however, a mentor is dear friend as well. Someone who lights something inside you that you didn't know was there. Gives you the road map to where you're headed.

I had planned to start this series with an author, but decided that I should begin with the person that launched my career—officially, anyway!

My first post is from literary agent, Erin Murphy of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. I’ve had a few people tell me they’ve heard that she’s a “dream agent.” As her client, I’m here to tell you that the rumors are true.

I did a ridiculous amount of research on agents and, when I was done with my ranked list, she was at the top. I drove five hours one way to meet her at a big book signing by several of her clients. The first time I set my eyes on her, she was scooping ice cream for a bunch of kids. She had an easy smile and, as the day progressed, I could tell that her clients adored her. We chatted (I had to stop mid-sentence to apologize for stumbling over my words) and left that day with an ache in my gut, thinking that it probably wouldn’t work out. I mean who signs with their first choice anyway?

Although Erin and I are of similar age, I consider her to be one of my mentors. I have learned a ton from her about the business of children’s lit and the craft of writing. I’ve learned that you can know someone for two years and feel like you’ve known them forever. I’ve learned what I’m truly capable of. I’ve learned that dreams come true.

~~So, . Here is Erin’s Mentor Story:

When I was a very newbie editor, back in (mmphmm), I was so fortunate to know Marlene Blessing through a regional publishing association. My boss, the person who had hired me into publishing in the first place, had passed away quite suddenly, and boy, was I in need of a mentor!

Marlene took me under her wing from afar, and we'd see each other now and then at conferences. She is really the one who empowered me as an editor: She demonstrated to me that the editor's vision for shaping a list and the individual projects on it is critical, and that without vision, a list just doesn't coalesce. She also helped me talk through author relationships and navigating the politics within a publishing house, and encouraged me to follow my instincts and to honor and value my authors as partners in the creative process and as friends--all lessons that served me well as both editor and as a literary agent.

I'm so glad you asked me this question, Lynda; I'd lost touch with Marlene over the years and this prompted me to look her up, to reach out anew, and to find that she is now editorial director at Interweave Books, and before that was overseeing some of Interweave's craft magazines--so I'm certain she's been instrumental in bringing together some things that I have loved in my off-time as a knitter and crafter!=

Thanks so much, Erin!

Climbing into the Basement

2010-09-01T06:49:00.001-07:00

Well, I've set a goal to blog more. Problem with me and blogging is that I think too much about it, I think (there I go again!) I analyze what I should include rather than just being honest like I am in my writing. Today, I'll not analyze and critique and wonder how the post will be taken. Today, I'll just be...honest. For better or worse.

I recall reading a book entitled, THE COURAGE TO WRITE, several years ago. It was recommended to me as part of a writers group run by Anita Riggio. It's a terrific book to read if you want to write but hesitate for any reason. If you deal with pesky voices asking you who you think you are to attempt such a thing. I feel like I could use a little of that courage today. If I were feeling brave today, I would not be blogging. I would be writing.

I have been working on a novel that I think is pretty decent. It is completed, my agent thinks it's powerful, and I am now working on revisions. I did some work on it yesterday--mostly notes. You know the rule--if it's hard to write, it's probably pretty darn good! By that standard, it must be...well...really, really good.

I remember talking to author, Nancy Werlin, a few years back about going into your own basement. She had said that if you wanted to write authentically, that you needed to crawl into your own cellar. Touch the things that hurt most, the things that make you vulnerable. I've been doing that. It hurts but feels good at the same time. I guess this is why writing can be considered so masochistic sometimes!

Weird things is, that plot-wise, this story resembles so little of my life. But there is a thin thread of me that runs through it. The emotional thread. By climbing into that basement. Touching those hurts. I help my character with his pain.

And he helps me with mine.

Writing Space (No--This is not my state of mind!)

2010-08-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about setting. (In fact, I plan to do a post about it here soon.) But, first, I thought I’d do a post about writing space—my setting for creating characters like Carley Connors and Peter Keans.

In 2007, Laurie Halse Anderson spoke at Whispering Pines about ways to get serious about your writing. Here are her visuals, written in her own hand!

Laurie is fabulous! Not just because she's a writing genius, but because she is so accomplished, yet one of the most generous, sweet, gifted, inspiring authors I've ever met! I'd written 25 pages of my novel when I’d first met her. Now, it's under contract.

So, as Laurie suggested, I created a writing space that was mine. Comfortable, with a positive vibe, so to speak. A place that reflected who I am.

The best thing about my writing space, is the big window overlooking the trees. This is where my muse is--I could never write in a place without windows. Even when I write in libraries and book stores, it's always near a window. Thankfully, my office has a lot of natural light, bright colors, and childish things to distract me like a kaleidoscope collection, a couple of antique gumball machines, and some sand timers.

I first gave myself permission to write. I then created this space with a giant hand from my awesome husband, Greg. (*Thanks* Honey!) The space I have is really quite nice—I’m a bit spoiled, I know. The best thing about it, though, is that it helped me to take my writing seriously. That it wasn’t just a hobby. And, believe me, I'm quite aware that you don't need a fancy place to write to do that--I think it's more of a mindset--luckily, my mindset and the office were just good timing! After all, think of Rocky! (and Stephen King, who started out writing in a closet) But for me, it made me feel like I was gonna make a real “go” of it!

And I have.

First Author Interview! YEAH!

2010-06-11T08:27:00.001-07:00

Hey!

Check out my first author interview (and the crowds cheered! Well, I did anyway...) done by the wildly talented, Jame Richards:

http://jamerichards.blogspot.com/2010/05/interview-with-nancy-paulsen-author.html

PEN New England, 2010---A TOAST! TO BETTE ANNE!

2010-05-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

A TOAST!! To Bette Anne!

This past week, I had the pleasure of attending the 2010 PEN New England Susan Bloom Discovery Awards in Boston. What a treat!

Shortly after sitting down, I leaned toward a friend and asked, “Isn’t that Lois Lowry?” It was!!! OMG! Sitting next to her was Pat Lowry Collins! OMG! There was some stunning talent in the room! And the PEN winners were no exception!

Heather Jessen (above) won in the PB category for I WON A ROBOT IN A RAFFLE which was *adorable!* Seriously. Makes me want to have more kids just so I can buy it.

Linda Zajak (above) won in the non-fiction category for ICE BIRDS IN A WARMING LAND. Although she was not able to do a reading, she had some interesting facts about her travels and impetus for the book.

Bette Anne Rieth, a friend and writing group partner, won in the YA category. I’ve heard the story, GREETINGS FROM THE MIRACLE, before but I drove all the way to Boston to hear it again!!! It is amazing. She is so talented and an incredibly sweet person to boot! No doubt that the world will hear a lot more from Bette Anne!

BIG Congrat's to the three winners!! Hooray!

Tassy Walden Awards--Shoreline Arts Alliance

2010-05-25T15:48:00.001-07:00

I find myself saying the same thing a lot lately. “I am ONE lucky woman!”

I’m lucky in many respects, actually—in the wonderful family that I have been blessed with for none of my other successes could ever mean as much as they do without my husband and kids.

I am also lucky in that I have a large, rich network of writing friends. We toast each other in good times and bolster each other in not-so-good times. I love them dearly. Really.

Last Wednesday, I was honored to accept the Tassy Walden Award for New Voices in Children’s Literature for a Young Adult Novel entitle ONE FOR THE MURPHYS. The contest is run by the Shoreline Arts Alliance, which is a fabulous organization here in Connecticut for writers (and all creative types!) Being nestled in between the children’s writing hubs of Boston and New York like we are, I’m so grateful for Shoreline Arts—they are the best Connecticut has to offer for bolstering the creative arts in Connecticut!

The Tassy Walden Award celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. In that time, it has become a rather well respected writing contest for Connecticut Children’s Writers. It is designed to mimic the submission process to publishing houses and has a panel of nationally recognized agents and children’s book editors as the judges. This year, there were 260 entries (PB, MG, YA) with about 10% being named finalists or winners. Pretty high percentage, I think—speaks to the quality that the Tassy Awards attract!

Since I’ve been asked about the judging process a couple of times, I’ll address it here. I think the most interesting facet of the judging process is that there is no set number of winners/finalists. The first round of judging is done by agents in New York. Then the whittled down group goes to editors for final judging. However, sometimes, a category has no winner and/or finalists. A finalist means that the judges deem it “publishable” so sometimes there are two or three or four or none—depending on the submissions.

I had a terrific night! I was nervous to read aloud in front of a group, but once I got started, was fine. I was able to connect with people from other writing conferences, most of my writers’ group (The Writer’s Bloc), writers from classes, and family. Also, a dear friend from Cape Cod did the round trip drive in one night to hear me read for ten minutes—that was extra special, as the foster mother in my novel is semi- based on her. It felt right to have her there.

My thanks, especially, to Donita Aruny and Doe Boyle (along with many others!) who do a TON of work on the Tassy Walden Awards. The contest wouldn’t be what it is without the both of them! ;-)

How do I type special characters?

2010-02-13T21:06:00.000-08:00

Hey, Folks!

Ever wonder how to make special characters such as ☺☻♥♦♣♫ ? I found these directions on YAHOO! (I didn't write these.):

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

This should work in any Windows word processor, text editor, browser or email client.
1. Make sure your keyboard is in NumLock mode.
2. Hold down the ALT key and enter the number on the numeric keypad. (Note that many laptops have a blue FN key that changes a set of keys, also with blue numbers on them and usually in the 7-8-9-U-I-O area, into a numeric keypad.)

for ☺ 1
for ☻ 2
for ♥ 3
for ♦ 4
for ♣ 5
for ♠ 6
for • 7
for ◘ 8
for ○ 9
for ◙ 10
for ♂ 11
for ♀ 12
for ♪ 13f
or ♫ 14
for ☼ 15
for ► 16
for ◄ 17
for ↕ 18
for ‼ 19
for ¶ 20
for § 21
for ▬ 22
for ↨ 23
for ↑ 24
for ↓ 25
for → 26
for ← 27
for ∟ 28
for ↔ 29
for ▲ 30
for ▼ 31

Hope that helps.

Doughnut Pond

2010-02-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

I went off to do some research at Doughnut Pond in Sandwich, MA.

It was just as I imagined. Well, actually far better...

I sat on a log near the edge and wrote the scene that takes place here. I was absolutely stunned when two teenage hockey players showed up just as I finished writing.....

I felt a little creepy snapping these pictures. (They
saw me and didn't seem to care) They cleared the ice with brooms and shovels, put on their skates, and began to play.

It was a little surreal...

Then I was off to do research at the marshes....

The marshes are beautiful. The pics don't do them justice, really...

So, I headed into the center of Sandwich because I'd seen a coffee shop with a good "writing vibe." HOW did I NOT notice the name of the place earlier???? Go ahead, naysayers. Tell me this isn't toooo weird!

I was hesitant to leave writing the book (under a stiff deadline) to tromp around in my settings like this, but it turned out to be WELL worth the trip!

Memorable. Inspiring. And all soooo real...

Good idea to know the setting in a place other than my head...

I think I'll set the next book in Italy....

Heaven in Boston---ALA, 2010

2010-01-23T06:29:00.000-08:00

Hello ALL!

Last weekend, I went to Boston to ALA and it was incredible! Seriously, it was heaven for anyone who loves books!

Imagine having every publisher represented in one room! (I have a serious crush on Random House. I'm just sayin...) And, as you walk by their booths, these angelic people call out to you, "Excuse me! Would you like a complimentary copy of this ARC (Advanced Readers Copy)?" WAY better than a kid in a candy store! Way better!

I connected with old friends, too. So, I have to say that it doesn't get better than this for a weekend away! Books, friends, books, talented authors, friends, books. This is how the day went!

On Friday, I had dinner at Emmet's Pub with my agent, Erin Murphy, and her partner in crime, Joan Paquette. An absolutely perfect way to start out the whole adventure! I ordered the chicken pot pie to be a traditional Irishwoman but ate very little. I think I talked a lot. Nothing "Irish" about that, now is there?!

On Saturday, I attended ALA. If you EVER have the opportunity to go, DON'T pass it up! I met/reconnected with SO many great people and their work!

Andrew Clements, author of FRINDLE among other greats in children's lit.

Barbara Johansen-Newman, author/illustrator of the adorable, kid-friendly TEX AND SUGAR. She's a blast to talk with, too!

Thrilled to reconnect with Newbery winner, Cynthia Lord, and Printz winner, Ellen Wittlinger. Terrific authors! Even better people!!!

Incredibly talented writers/illustrators, Brian Lies (BATS ON THE BEACH and others in series) and Barbara Johansen Newman.

New friend and debut author, Jame Richards. I scored her ARC, THREE RIVERS RISING, A NOVEL OF THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD. Can't wait to dive in! Well, you know what I mean...

Was so happy to reconnect with Alisa Libby, author of BLOOD CONFESSIONS. If you ever wnat to know about writing historical fiction, she's your girl! Amazing wealth of info. And fun to talk with, too!

Here I am at the Tweet/Greet with fab author, Ann Hayward Leal. We met in a writers' class a few months back and became instant friends! She's a blast AND she wears Converse!!

Her debut novel, ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER is fantastic! Seriously.

I met Caldecott author/illustrator, Christopher Bing, for the first time. It is rare to be so blown away by someone's artwork! I spent my lunch money on his books! An excellent trade off!

Not only is his talent stunning, but you'll rarley meet such a good guy. He writes a paragraph in his books when he signs them. A Paragraph!!! And he chats with people because he thinks (and he's right!) it makes a better memory.

And...he loves the Red Sox. Need I say more?

So, after I get my YA done, I'll be working my way through my ARCs! Here are the ones I am most excited about:

KYLE'S ISLAND by Sally Derby (Charlesbridge)

BAMBOO PEOPLE By Mitali Perkins (Charlesbridge)

THREE RIVERS RISING by Jame Richards (Knopf)

THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE by Kimberly Newton Fusco (Knopf)

THIS MEANS WAR by Ellen Wittlinger (S&S)

STAR IN THE FOREST by Laura Resau (Delacorte)

SPLIT by Swati Avasthi (Knopf)

HOW TO GROW UP AND RULE THE WORLD by Vordak the Incomprehensible (Egmont) (My 12 year old son already read this in one sitting. LOVES it!)

I will be posting reviews here as soon as humanly possible. SO excited!!!

THANKS to ALA for putting on such an incredible event. THANKS to my agent, Erin Murphy, for being SO awesome! THANKS to Mitali Perkins who organized the Meet/Tweet event on Saturday night; this was a big high point of ALA for me! And THANKS to all of the authors and editors and publishers who...sigh...make such great books...

Off to ALA in Boston!

2010-01-12T19:42:00.001-08:00

I am SO excited! I'm going to my first ALA conference in Boston!!! I'm pumped!!!

Sigh...Have not been blogging as much as I'd like. Very busy working on the new site, organizing the SCBWI Whispering Pines Writers Retreat, and finishing my second YA--due February first. So life is completely great...Just busy! ;-)

Finally!

2009-12-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

Hey!

Time flies, eh? I said I'd blog more so, technically, even though it's been two weeks...It's still more!

I've been working on my mid-grade novel today and wrote a chapter that I know works. It's a point in the book that really needs to be poignant and I've written a couple of earlier versions of the scene that were technically fine...but, when you really came down to it, were just words on a page--but TODAY! Today...finally...I nailed it. Hopefully, I'll still agree with this assessment tomorrow. That's the real test--24 hours!

Hurray! Better get back to it!
Merry December!
Lynda

Katherine Paterson??? Are you kidding me???

2009-11-17T14:13:00.001-08:00

Brad and Angelina WHO???

Okay. In a world of people who seem to love celebrities, I have to admit that I don’t care about them most of the time. Seeing a close friend trumps anyone you’d find on the front of a magazine any day….But, of course, there are exceptions…There always are…

I have wanted to meet Katherine Paterson…since…uh…forever? To me, she is a superstar! I LOVE her books and, as a teacher, I know that kids love them as well. She has a true gift for writing emotional truth—and conveying that emotion in a way that is understated yet powerful, which makes it feel all the more real. I didn’t read The Great Gilly Hopkins until I became an adult (Yes…I truly am!) and I was so blown away… Some would argue that was the case because ole Gilly and I have some similarities ….Fine…I admit it…I chew gum, too…

Well, the universe was once again stepping in to work these things out for me in freakish sorts of ways… I DID have the opportunity to meet her! Oh…my…God…

I have to admit that I worried on the drive there. I mean, what if she wasn’t what I held her up to be all these years? Maybe my imagining would be better left to its imaginings…(What does that mean exactly???)

Well, when I arrived, I learned two things. One: Your palms really do sweat when you’re nervous and Two: I never had anything to worry about…

So, I walked into the room, spotted her immediately, and decided I couldn’t go over. I soon spotted a lady that looked safe enough…so I walked over to her…

I asked her if she worked for Scholastic (It was a Scholastic event!) and she said she did not. Then I asked if she was a librarian or a teacher. Negative. A little awkward silence ensued before she told me she was a children’s writer. Me, being withdrawn and shy, slapped her lightly on the arm and exclaimed, “Me, too!” So, we chatted and she was so, so lovely and nice to chat with. I was calming down…

So, me being me, said, “Oh my God I have always wanted to meet Katherine Paterson…” and then went on about my worries of blabbering incoherently or swallowing my tongue if…IF…I even got to talk with her. I mean I was just so happy to be there to hear her speak…

<< ring, ring >> “Hello? Universe? Lynda calling… Help me out here??? Whataya say??? >>>

The woman says, “NO need to worry. Katherine is just lovely. Actually, we’re close friends. I drove her down from Vermont…” And before I could take breath, she turned and waved, “Hey, Katherine! Come on over here and meet Lynda!”

Ms. Paterson, who was talking to someone else, excused herself and walked over to us—and thank God she carries smelling salts…

Okay. I didn’t pass out but I gushed like a fool. No…I really did. I’m practically a fool now just thinking back on it! And because she had been summoned to us, I think others thought I was “somebody” because we were undisturbed for at least ten minutes. I asked everything I could! And she asked me stuff, too, about my family and my writing--my book’s title and what it was about and said she would look for it! A little surreal, I have to admit! I told her I’d love to send her a signed copy when it gets picked up for it never would have been written without her inspiration….

She is…an over-the-top-talented writer but also so gracious and kind. She’s full of wisdom and warmth and intellect. I teared up listening to her descriptions of children who’ve approached her at school visits and asked heart-breaking questions about Bridge to Terabithia and Gilly. I laughed aloud at her jokes and listened intently to descriptions of her own journeys—as a child, a mother, a wife, and a writer…And as a champion of children! Love that!

Too bad no one sells action figures of Katherine Paterson…I’d buy one for sure…

SCBWI Whispering Pines Retreat, 2009

2009-11-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Photo L to R:

Jennifer Rees, Senior Editor, Scholastic Books

Maryann Cocca-Leffler, Author/Illustrator

Anna Webman, Agent, Curtis Brown

Sarah Shumway, Senior Editor, Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)

Printz Award winning author, Ellen Wittlinger

Hey, All!

Well, as director of the SCBWI Whispering Pines Retreat, I'm gearing up for another year...And apparently, many others are as well!

The retreat's weekend slots were filled in about two days and the "day slots" are going quickly! Overall, I'm pretty excited! As always, it's lookin' like a nice group of people--some old friends with some new people folded in (Ouch! Sounds painful!)

As I head into another year, I always think back on past ones... Last year was a blast! Above is a pic of our 5 mentors and they were terrific! Such talent and professionalism and tons of laughs!

I'm always nervous going into the weekend. Those of you who've organized events such as this know that you plan for months and months and then pray it goes off well. True—I have to have my ducks in a row, but in the end, a retreat like this is only as good as its mentors--so this retreat was pretty great! Pretty great…

Ahhhh, though…It’s time to look to the future! With the lineup we have this year, the future is looking pretty dazzling! The future’s so bright I gotta pull shades…

Forgive me for I know exactly what I do….

Grateful...

2009-11-16T10:27:00.001-08:00

Hello!

Just posting today to tell everyone how excited I am about my forthcoming, professionally done website! Some things should really be left to the experts. Apparently, in my case, websites are one of those things! ;-) I'll also be posting here A LOT more...no need to toss and turn at night, wondering when I'll return....it will be soon...

I'm also feeling grateful...incredibly grateful...

I spent this weekend in the mountains with some talented, hysterical writer friends. We "wrote" which means we sat up until 3:00 am talking, went antiquing, ate delicious food and drank incredible wine and pretty much completely enjoyed ourselves! We did talk about writing a lot and helped each other focus on what--exactly--we should be working on for most of us have mulitple ideas...Not such a bad problem to have! Personally, with all of the voices in my head lately, I feel like an answering machine...They are all so distinct, though, so it's almost like listening to different languages...

So, today...I'm grateful...I'm a blessed woman. My writing community is...incredible...

Until next time,
Lynda

Gango Retreat. Portland, OR, 2009

2009-08-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Gangos: (FR) Joan, Tam, Colin (BR) Kathy, Laura, Cynthia, Susan, Dawn, Zu, Erin, Lynda (Ruth and Conrad are missing :-(

It is a rare thing when such a happening comes along. When you connect with people in a matter of days....And leave as close friends...

As Erin's newest client, I decided to be brave and fly out to Portland, Oregon, to the 3rd annual Gango Retreat that Erin holds for her children's writers every year. Even though I am the greenest Gango, it seemed important to make an appearance. And I wanted to meet Erin in person. You know, to see if she was as amazing as my intuition told me she was. And I wanted to meet some of her other clients as well.

WOW! Erin, Joan (EMLA's new and fabulous associate agent) and the "Gang of Erin" (as they...uh...we...call ourselves :-) are not only more than I expected, but more than I could have imagined. As the "newbie," I was folded in immediately. There were no lines between published/unpublished, newbies/veterans. I found the group to be not only kind, welcoming, and hysterically funny...but also supremely talented! Oh...my...God! The writing talent of these people...And their generosity in helping some of us who aren't quite so experienced...yet!

And Erin is a perfect match for my work. Not only a perfect match for my characters...but a perfect match for me, as a writer. Erin's level of respect for her clients--and theirs for her--is obvious. And, along with some healthy doses of friendly ribbing, there's plenty of affection there as well.

I just feel...so blessed. So blessed indeed....

Kid Inventors on the Ellen Show LINK

2009-03-13T21:36:00.001-07:00

Hey!

I found a link to a Youtube page that has the Kid Inventors segment from Ellen! :<) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afnk8jfMCdM

Hollywood Adventure with Ellen Degeneres!

2009-03-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hey All!

Well, we just returned from the time of our lives! Our son was chosen as a “kid inventor” for The Ellen Degeneres Show out in Hollywood. We were flown out (thankfully, in an airplane) put up in the Universal Studios Sheraton Hotel, and got to hang around the Ellen Studio for about six hours. We met lots of amazing people (the producers are super great!) saw a thousand amazing things, and made a million great memories! We also met a couple of other kid inventors and their families who we really enjoyed hanging out with!

Here is Kyle on the plane after he was offered flying lessons from the pilot. His lesson: “Pull back and the houses get smaller. Push forward and the houses get bigger. Push all the way forward and the house get real big real fast.”

We packed a lot into a few days! We started off at Hollywood Blvd. Talk about an interesting place! Since my poor husband could not go with us because he had to work, I decided it wasn't prudent to hang around with the kids at night but we saw some funny things! Kyle, who is a huge Harrison Ford fan (Star Wars and Indiana Jones!?) dropped to the ground (yuk) for a picture as soon as he spotted this! As you can see, we were also caught by some scoundrels!

We got to the beach before the taping at the Ellen Show. The Pacific Ocean is gorgeous!

So, finally, we got the the set of the Ellen Show. A lot of security to get through before we actually got there...but we got there!

We hung out in the GREEN ROOM! Which, isn't green! Lots of good food, drinks, nice people, flat screen TVs and a pool table...

Ellen introduces the "Kid Inventors" segment:

Meanwhile, Kyle gets prepped. First, he gets his hair done by a Hollywood Stylist!!! Which, of course, is just like home...

Then he gets wired for sound.... (How many eleven year old boys really need this???)

FINALLY! It's time to tape!

We really had an incredible time! Hollywood sets are just as you may imagine! But the producers were not like you may imagine (from the way they are often portrayed in movies and such!)--They were really approachable, incredibly kind, generous, and gracious! They put the kids at ease immediately! Here is one of our favorites...but I don't think I should include her name since i don't have permission...

A million THANKS to ELLEN (who was very generous with the kids!) and "her people." :<) See? I'm already using that Hollywood lingo!

The ONE false Random Thing...

2009-03-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hey, Folks!

Here's the answer to the ONE false Random Thing: <>

#13! I was never caught in the stocks in Sturbridge Village. Congrat's to Mary who guessed it!

25 Random Things

2009-03-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

Hey!

I know people are doing this on Facebook (and so did I) but I'm cheating and listing it here as well, since I've been meaning to do an entry. Life's been busy.....

25 Random Things About Me:

1. My family nicknames as a kid were “Lulu” and “Imp.”

2. I am a decent juggler. I learned during finals in college after a fruit basket was delivered. It was late at night; I was afraid I’d fall asleep on my desk, so I got up, started trying it and by dawn, I could juggle. (Yes, I think the final went okay!) I think everyone should learn to juggle. It’s a good lesson in dealing with frustration and perseverance.

3. I married the best guy ever! We are coming up on our 19th wedding anniversary, but it really feels like a lot less time! We met at the age of 15—the age our daughter will be in two weeks! EEK!

4. As a teacher, I knew that I would love having children of my own. However, I never knew HOW much I would love being a mom. How much I just totally love and enjoy these two great kids!

5. I needed braces when I was young, but finances were an issue. As a last ditch effort, the dentist pulled 13 teeth in one afternoon (4 adult and 9 baby teeth) After receiving “laughing gas” I kept telling the doctor that “I am unique—unlike any being ever born before.” Ain’t THAT the truth, huh!?

6. I miss my Mum calling me at 9:32 AM on my birthday—the very minute I was born.

7. Originally, I was going to do this list by listing 24 completely plausible but fictitious items, with the last one being, “I like to make stuff up.” One of my cousins beat me to a similar concept—must be in the blood!

8. I absolutely LOVE the ocean. Not only the serene beauty of it but also the crashing of the waves and swirling of the salt water and all the things that go on below the surface. And with all the exotic places in the world, I still love Cape Cod and Maine the most.

9. As a child, I used to hitchhike to church.

10. When I was 12, I had a ticket to see Shaun Cassidy (eat your hearts out, ladies!) sing at the Harford Civic Center. Two weeks before the concert, the roof fell in. I never saw him sing, and to this day, have felt a deep, unquenchable void…

11. I had one of those long, fake fur coats in the seventies. Were they popular or was I the only one??? At the age of ten, I went skiing wearing aforementioned fashion statement. While riding the “J-bar” up the hill, I waited too long to “unboard.” The “J-bar” went up my back to my shoulder blades and lifted me into the air by the coat, carrying me into the woods. They had to stop the J-bar to get some guys—and a ladder—to get me down.

12. I often wake up in the morning with a song in my head. It usually lingers and usually means something; it stays there until I figure out what. My favorite song when I was eight was “Tie a Yellow Ribbon.” My husband is baffled by this.

13. When I was in the fifth grade, we went to Sturbridge Village on a school trip. I “volunteered” to go in the stocks as a demonstration. The girl (new employee) put an antique padlock on the thing only to find there was NO key! It took over an hour to find a saw and get me out. Because of our unit on the Salem Witch Trials at school, I developed the nickname “Witchy Poo.”

14. I had always wanted to watercolor paint but never bothered to try. About four years ago, I signed up for a $15 class and found that I do paintings that don’t look like I drink heavily of paint with a blindfold! Not like I’m Monet or anything, but I’ve completed several of them and I love it!

15. My son had a febrile seizure when he was three. It was far and away the scariest moment of my life.

16. My brother, Michael Eric, died from asthma when he was three and I still think of him every day.

17. “Welcome to our World” is my favorite Christmas Carol. Also, I have a very strong faith in God. It wasn’t always that way, though.

18. I have a beagle named “Bagel;” she is my favorite carbohydrate.

19. When my brother, Rick, announced he was going to law school, I loudly proclaimed, “Well, I’m going to be a prostitute!” This is one of the few times I remember my family being silent. I had confused “prostitute” with “prosecutor”—a very common mistake, I’m sure! :<)

20. For the fun of it, I write stories. For hours. And hours. And hours. Love it! Would love to publish a book someday!

21. I have over 60 first cousins.

22. I spent a summer with my Godmother, Dotsie, and her family when I was eight. It was the best summer I ever had as a kid—truly a family filled with love and laughter. They served as a model for me as I became an adult and started a family of my own. Still think of that VW bus!

23. My office is filled with color and child-like things. I have a collection of kaleidoscopes (one handmade by my aunt Margaret—my favorite!), antique gumball machines, snow globes, colorful glass balls, stuffed dolls of famous scientists and artists—my favorite of them being Albert Einstein, paintings done by my kids, pics of the people I love, and a 3-D pic of Times Square. I LOVE color!!!

24. As far as I know, I’ve never had a fever. When I was four, I had asthma and went into respiratory failure. I was placed on a machine that lowered my body temp to kill the bacteria (opposite of a fever!). I remember being able to hear everything people said but could not move, open my eyes, or speak. Very strange experience! I was not supposed to survive but I did.

25. While sledding as a child, my sled went farther than expected and I went into a river (Remember “It’s a Wonderful Life?”). My sled broke through the ice, but my brother, John, pulled me out, wrapped me in his coat, and pulled me home in his sled.

26. I once dug up the neighbor’s plants, put them in a wheel barrow and pushed them to the center of town to try and sell them. No pots or anything--just balls of dirt. A marketing genius from an early age, eh?!

27. ONE of these things is not true. Can you guess which one???

Happy New Year, Fellow Writers!

2009-01-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hello all! Happy New Year!

As we all sit at the table of contents this year, let us not be spineless. My proposal is that we enter this chapter of 2009 with a strong voice, writing the wrongs of the past when we may have felt a tad double-spaced.

Be an agent of your own success; you’ve got it covered! During this period, take the utmost care of yourself so that your colon doesn’t become a semi-colon. Also, keep your appendix intact even if editors tell you it isn’t necessary. After all, to some publishing houses (you know the type) you are but an indented servant (okay—that was bad) and so your hair may not fall quite right (that was worse). But, that’s okay because our sentences as writers are short in the big arc of things—why any shorter and they would be a fragments.

If it makes you feel better, take this period to chart your progress; make a graph. In fact, make a para-graphs, if you’d like! But, above all else, I must punctuate the idea of beating yourself into submission this year. Do it...and it could be…a novel idea! :<)

Wonderful wishes to you all for the New Year! And I do apologize for this message…sort of. :<)

Yours truly,
Cal Decott

Better be good to your students or else...

2008-11-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

Hey!

Recently, I had the pleasure of talking to a guy whose sister is married to the drummer of Lynard Skynard. You may have heard of them...

Click on this link to see Lynard Skynard perfrom "Sweet Home Alabama."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHsDa9_HSlA

He was saying that he gets to go to concerts at least once a year and gets pretty decent seats to boot! He also gets back stage visits and the VIP treatment. Why not??? He's family!

Now, I had wondered where the band had come up with their name--after all, it is unique in the sense it isn't a label (like "The Beach Boys") or a family name of a band member (Van Halen) or just a word that may represent their message (Green Day).

Anyway, turns out that the original members of the band went to high school together. They had the long hair that was common in the sixties, but they wore it in a pretty conservative area. Their gym teacher constantly gave them a hard time about their appearance (among other things). The guys didn't like him much, I guess, but they decide to "honor" him nonetheless....

His name was Leonard Skinner.

Letters From War

2008-11-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I saw this video on Youtube a few days ago, and have not been able to get it out of my head. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmjhUPa65mk

I mean, I really can't get it out of my head. It "plays" as soon as I wake up and before I go to sleep. It plays in the grocery store and as I do the dishes. I love it...but it's driving me nuts!

I suppose it's because it can be digested from so many points of view and I always puzzle things out to the millionth degree. It's a double-edged sword, believe me! :<)

As an "artist" I think about how the song lyrics were fit together. As the minivan/shower singer that I am, I think about the voice of Mark Schultz who sings it.

As a wife, I think about the pain this woman must feel with her husband gone, having to miss him and also shouldering the anguish of the unknown fate of her son alone. I have always thought that not knowing is many times harder than knowing--even if it's a painful knowing.

As a mother...oh my God...I can't imagine waiting two years to know that my son was okay. When his mother collapses in the video, I could really feel it--albeit a fraction of the real thing--and I was so relieved to see it was him. Home and safe.

As a human being who--like so many others--tries to do the right thing, I think of the sacrifice of leaving your home and everyone you love to go off and fight a war. I have such a deep respect for anyone who sacrifices to go into the military. I think it takes a rare kind of heart to serve one's country this way.

As of last night, I have been thinking of it in terms of being someone's child, because after all, where not everyone is a spouse, mother, father sister, brother, whatever...the one thing we all are--is someone's child.

Yes, it's these multi-layered things I love--sort of! :<) You know, the "writing experts" are always saying you should write about things that you know but I have found (for myself anyway) that the sparks come when I write about something I don't know but desperately want to understand.

My God! I could have a thousand year career, huh?!

Boy Meets Girl

2008-11-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

While on my Bowflew (which, if you haven’t seen one in person, looks like a medieval torture apparatus—and feels like a modern one!) I glanced to my left and laid eyes on what made my burst out laughing. It epitomizes what it’s like to raise a boy and a girl at the same time.

A lovely doll house, complete with a maid who vacuums (wouldn’t mind one of these for those of you wracking your brains for Christmas ideas) with giant, predatory Bionicles climbing the sides, preparing to feast on the ever-grinning Playmobile people.

Stereotypical “girl world” meets stereotypical “boy-world.” God love ‘em!

Meow...

2008-08-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, this blogging/writing is a little like having a sliver. It’s painful, but if it’s there, you have to get it out. Oh, and it may require disinfectant.

Okay, I’m holding my nose and diving in. (No, you don’t need to visualize that.) Why not introduce a little scandal into my mix here?

Close the doors.
Pull the shades.
Take the phone off the hook.
I…**whisper**... have a confession….

It is something from my recent past that I really try not to advertise. You know, because the neighbors…They ask questions. If word gets out, things could get messy. I…ready???...have written a book. (sorry to disappoint any Jerry Springer fans.)

It’s a prepublished (no contract yet—but optimistic) YA (young adult) book entitled One for the Murphys. For those of you who’ve written something for the eyes of others (not for a teacher, but because you thought it would be…fun…you know, like bungee jumping with an extra long cord) it’s kind of like ripping your heart out, slapping it on the table and asking, “So, what do you think?”

It feels like the epitome of “vulnerable” because you always—even if you don’t intend to—crawl into your own basements to write it. And then you have to sit back and wonder what others think. Truly, if you’re brave and serious about seeing your book at the bookstore, (gulp--did I just say that???) you must get to this step of putting it out there. A thick skin (titanium), a sense of humor (how can I not laugh at myself???) and an open mind (but no holes) are all going to help.

Readers of One for the Murphys have given me good feedback on it—of course, good feedback has cost me a fortune in margaritas. :<) The better the feedback, the more margaritas…or is it, the more margaritas, the better the feedback??? Hmmmm…..

I laughed when I saw the above picture. It’s totally me.

Every morning I sit down. I scan my bookshelves with the likes of Laurie Halse Anderson, Ellen Wittlinger, Alan Gratz, Jerry Spinelli, Katherine Paterson…And, here I sit: room mother, juggler, lint collector. I don’t know. I have to tell you, seriously, that I think it’s pretty brave to write an emotionally authentic book at all; that’s what writers (or the people supporting them) will say when they consider the odds of “making it.” I say, don’t consider the odds—or anyone else besides your living, breathing characters—just put your butt in the chair (Hi, Anita). And, if you’re like me, the journeys you take with your characters, will change your own journey in ways you’d never have imagined…

Be brave. Grrrrroooooowl...

Skee-ball Pockets

2008-08-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well, as the days of summer fold themselves into our… Aw, what the hell…the summer is over and it sucks. The kids go back to school tomorrow, and I have to admit that while some parents are singing, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” I am disappointed. I genuinely, really love their company; I have a theory as to why.

At the heart of me, I’m still 14.

My kids are fortunate in the fact that I love all things kids—amusement parks, animated movies, Nerf gun fights, water parks, toy stores, and arcades. While I’m frugal at Shaw’s, there are no limits to the quarters I’ll dole out for skee-ball. I mean, can you really put a price on that cheap crap that you can take home for a mere 500 tickets??? I suppose the sane part of me (hold those tongues, people!) would rather not overtly ask, “How ‘bout we pay $30 for something worth $ .86?” I suppose I’m afraid that some day I’ll grow up, bristle at the thought of throwing money “up the aisle,” and do the grown up thing. Eek…

My kids aren’t any happier about school. I asked my son what he’d like to wear tomorrow—his morning attire. (He says he doesn’t care and I know he really doesn’t.) As I think about it, though, it may be more aptly named “mourning attire” although I don’t know if the black pill hat/veil will suit him…Would clash with his blond hair, I think.

As for my daughter, (a freshman in high school and, no, I’m not thrilled about that either.) she is a little nervous. So am I…but I know I needn’t be. And I know that I will not have to think about what she’ll wear. Later today, we are going out to pick up some make-up for her, and I’m going to give her a lesson. For those of you laughing out there, I want to remind you how my Chap Stick and Boston Red Sox hat compliment my natural beauty.

Anyway, it will be a nice mother/daughter bonding thing. I plan to go with the “less is more” for the make-up and the “more is more and will keep your mother off your back” for the clothes. Actually, I don’t need to worry about that—she tends to be a jeans and t-shirt girl. Where do you suppose she gets it???

So, I’ve officially become one of those people that goes on about their boring, everyday details of life. I know. I should discuss deep things…..

Deep things:

Wells
Caves
Lakes
Oceans
Skee-ball Pockets

And, with that, I guess I’ve come full circle.

2008-08-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 22, 2008

Testing…Testing…

Well, here I am being dragged (semi kicking, mild whimpering) into the world of blogging. I hope the three people that read this enjoy it. And, yes, there will be a quiz…

I’ve entitled my little creation here, Raised by the Apple Trees; only a few people will be able to figure out why. I almost named it, Make Mine Strawberry because that was the title of the book my mother had planned to write but never did. Apparently, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree (out on a limb, here) as we both seem to be quite taken with the whole fruit theme.

Perhaps, I’ll just name it Raised by the Strawberry.