The Writer's Armchair

Slowly aging detectives in a quickly changing world

2011-09-21T11:50:00.002-04:00

There was a good article in the Wall Street Journal a couple months back about aging detectives in long-running mystery novels. Since it can take years to write a book, find a publisher, and see the dawning of publication day, how does an author handle the passage of time in a character's life?

Unless one is Michael Connolly and can produce two books a year, keeping up with technology and the calendar is a challenge. I found that to be so while I was writing Death Over Easy. Granted, it was my first murder mystery and took longer to write than expected. Still, between the time I started and wrote The End, I had to get Emma Trace texting, taking pics on her cell phone, Tweeting, switching from the six o'clock news to getting news on her computer, and burning evidence to a disk. Companies went out of business while I wrote. New words entered the lexicon. But it was easy for me to manage, because all the action took place in the week before Emma's 40th birthday. That was a constant.

In the WSJ article, some authors talk about being surprised by their own success and wish they'd started their detectives at age 30 instead of 40. Now these sleuths have creaky knees and arthritis. Patricia Cornwell stopped aging Dr. Kay Scarpetta once she reached 50. Sue Grafton's solution was to age her character slowly, adding just eight years to Kinsey Milhone's life over the life of the series.

I've been thinking about dialing back Emma back to 35, or maybe 32, for her first adventure. It would mean changing the ages of several other characters and the dates of historical events, but it would be doable. I'd feel sad moving her birth forward from the year Van Morrison released "Moondance," but maybe I could finagle things to keep the connection.

My next book, Death Under the Radar, takes place a mere four months later. I'd like to set the action soon after the first book, when Emma's learning to fly. I'd like to show some continuity and growth in her relationship with Tony. Can't skip it all and age her to some guess-point when the book may be published, which may be years from now. So maybe she'll be 32...and four months.

A slowly aging detective in a quickly changing world. Series writers, how have you solved this problem?

It's good to be back! Where I've been:
- plotting Death Under the Radar
- revising some short stories
- painting and installing new carpet
- enjoying daughter #1's wedding
- looking forward to daughter #2's wedding next summer
- missing you all!

Ida Strub, and other randomly generated names

2011-07-03T09:28:00.003-04:00

Frau Blucher!

When I wrote DEATH OVER EASY (now completed, per yesterday's happy blog post), some of the characters' names came to me easily, while others did not.

Luckily I found a random name generator that did exactly what I wanted it to do. It spewed infinite pairings of first and last names taken from the U.S. Census, all geared to my "obscurity factor" preference, which I could set numerically from 1 (least obscure) to 99 (most).

You want personalities that jump off the page? Back stories that appear almost effortlessly? Horses that whinny at the mere pronunciation of―never mind.

The old lists you see above show some of the names I considered. Notice that I generated Ina Strub, who evolved into Ida Strub, a minor character. Seeing that I had Clifford Bisbee pegged as the short order cook makes me laugh. He ended up playing a far different role.

I'm busy using the random name generator again as I plan my sequel, DEATH UNDER THE RADAR. Who will get the roles of Tony's wife and his business partner in the thriving upscale restaurant he left?

That sweet feeling of completion

2011-07-02T13:10:00.004-04:00

Notes from December 1998

Hello, hello! What a sweet feeling this is, having finished my book. Yes, finished, finished in my heart.

DEATH OVER EASY is on its maiden voyage in the Ocean of Hope.

Tiny tweaks will still happen, future edits will definitely happen, but I have said goodbye to the story in a way I hadn't before. When I finished the umpteenth first draft, I knew there were still areas of disconnect, vagueness, lack of payoff. I revised and then revised again, and I shortened it by 10,000 words, trying to adhere to recommended word counts. I already write very tight, it's my style. And then I gave my baby over to three very special, carefully selected readers who I felt would give me three different perspectives on my book and help me see where to revise.

When they did give me feedback, I went into a deep state of the grumbles. Man, it needed work. While everyone felt that the characters were vivid, some of the plot points were not. And all that cutting I had done had, in fact, made parts of the story confusing. The tale lacked a satisfying resolution of the key story areas. The beginning was choppy and overworked. Chase scenes were unrealistic.

I took my three printed copies back with all the sticky notes and the writing in the margins and the extra pieces of paper asking for clarifications of this or that, and I compiled them into six pages, single-spaced, called "changes to final." And then I put it aside for several months.

Changes to final

Somewhere near the end of May I knew it was time, and I tackled the book again, spending six weeks revising the entire thing. I woke up every weekday at 4:30 and just started working. When I got to the end, on June 21st, I had this very strange, calm feeling.

I read the book as a reader. Yeah, it needed a bit of finessing, so I finessed. But it was good. I got teary at the emotional parts and scared at the scary parts. Wow.

And then I started researching agents. I came up with a starter list of 20 agents and wrote a query letter for the first time in my life. You know something? Writing a query letter is harder than writing a book! I thought the first one I wrote was great until I showed it to a writer friend who tore it apart, and then I wrote letter B which is what I'm using now. It may change again. So far one agent has asked me to send him the book. I know this will be a long process, but what a happy little dance my heart did when I pushed "send" last night. Now I can write the next book.

The most amazing thing is the feeling that there's so much room inside my head now. The weight of this project that has taken me so many, many years is gone. I love my characters so much, and I see them smiling and nodding at me, kind of a "you did good" nod. Even Zahn is smiling at me, and he rarely smiles. Emma is feeling so proud. So proud. And I'm so proud of her. What I wouldn't give to sit down with her now and talk about everything and how it all changed at the end. I'm so curious to find out what will happen next.

Author Stephen Messer (Windblowne, The Death of Yorik Mortwell), talked about his method on this blog a while back when he was a guest at Three for Tea: "I immerse myself in anything that engages me with the invented world of my book – each one has its own soundtrack that I listen to while writing, as well as art which surrounds me in my study, and books and movies too. I even go so far as to make thematic screensavers for my writing laptop. I don’t exclude much. This could be seen as distracting, but for me it helps keep my mind fixed on the mood and feel of the story. It’s desirable to have outside stimulation that might encourage an unpredictable choice or a striking detail."

In that vein, I've been allowing my daydreaming mind to spread out in all directions by playing my Van Morrison CDs. Why Van Morrison? My character, Emma Rose, is named after a Van Morrison song, because her parents were and still are huge fans. Playing his music makes her come alive to me. I can see her in all sorts of snips of life―reading her pilot training manual at the racetrack between races, laughing at something Tony says, watching football with her Dad. There are so many locations and situations in which she may find herself as she moves through the next part of her life.

I love Emma and her instincts, but I worry about her limited understanding of herself. Growing up relying on luck and what is meant to be and finding security in betting correctly has allowed her to skate by the necessary task of knowing herself. She has run from that. And she regularly misinterprets others' feelings about her. There is something about real cause and effect that she is missing and that I have only begun to explore. Will Emma crack that open in the sequel?

Which, by the way, will be called DEATH UNDER THE RADAR.

Over the next few weeks, I'll post more exhibits from the writing of DEATH OVER EASY, and talk about it more. No spoilers, I promise.

Poetry Friday is here!

2011-06-02T19:50:00.017-04:00

Welcome, one and all, to Poetry Friday! I'm delighted to be your host again and I look forward to rounding up your poetry links as the day goes along.

Early birds can begin leaving your links tonight. Please make sure you weigh them down with a good, solid brick. It's been windy here, and papers and pollen and poems have all been airborne both inside and outside my window.

Speaking of wind, here is the second poem in my unpublished collection, Wind Voices.

Whizzing through the pines on a downhill saucer,
when you leave your breath behind you
and you're screaming all the way,
when the packed snow glitters
and pine needles cascade
and the trees are decked in dangling icicle earrings,
I'll race you to the bottom
on my maple leaf toboggan.
Who am I?

I am Winterchill. Meet me at the bottom of the hill.

You can read poem #1 in the series here.

Visiting your posts throughout the weekend for inspiration as I (again) revise portions of Death Over Easy is a pleasure I look forward to. (I really think I'm coming to the end of this! Optimism has returned.) I'll also be shopping with my mom for dresses to wear to my daughter's wedding in August, so it will be a happy couple of days. Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Early bird offerings:

Charles Ghigna has a delightful dragonfly dance at Father Goose and a portrait of Degas at Bald Ego today.

Quadruple blogger Diane Mayr treats us to a triple Amy Lowell feature: you can read her poem, "The Sand Alter" at Random Noodling, an "Interlude" featuring strawberries and love at Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet, and a very short poem at Kurious K's Kwotes. Follow your strawberries with some ice cream (a poem by Adrienne Rich and an original haiku by Diane) over at The Write Sisters.

Amy LV shares a Poetry Peek inside a first grade classroom, an original poem about kitten love, and some words about notebooks, the treasures of all writers (I love the photo!) at The Poem Farm.

Gregory K. has two posts today at GottaBook: an original poem inspired by a school year that stretches into June, and another by our new Children's Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis.

Two poems about keeping courage by S.E. Kiser come to you from Tanita Davis. I was not familiar with this 19th century poet before; thank you, Tanita!

The amazingly in-tune-with-the-arts Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference offers up some poetry selections from one of her favorite magazines, Rattle: Poetry for the 21st Century.

Janet at Across the Page has a poem by Kenneth Rexroth about the rose-breasted grosbeak and a video to listen to while reading. Wonderful!

At A Year of Reading, Mary Lee is thinking about dictionaries this week, and she features an original dictionary created by one of her fourth-graders as well as a funny poem on the subject by Gregory K. Here's a sample definition from the dictionary: Fearouge: having fear and courage at the same time.

Laura Shovan at Author Amok talks about the challenge of teaching the concept of voice and shares two portrait poems by third graders written in response to magazine clippings. They're so good, I can hardly believe third graders wrote them!

At There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town, Ruth has a poem by Grace Paley about making a pie instead of writing a poem...and yet we have a poem here...but it is a tasty poem to go with your morning tea or coffee.

Amy at Hope is the Word reviews a charming Alice Schertle book in verse, Little Blue Truck, that her son received for his first birthday. Happy birthday to your DLM, Amy!

Laura Salas has a treat and two poetry challenges for us today. At Writing the World for Kids, she shares an ode to Pho written by a sixth grader. An intriguing photo awaits your creative input at 15 Words or Less Poems. And if you find it hard to come up with titles for your poems, this week's Write After Reading: Living the Life Poetic book club (the feature Laura shares with the lovely Susan Taylor Brown) invites you to write a poem to a given title.

Mid-morning edition:

Carol of Carol's Corner offers serenity in the form of Wendell Berry's "The Peace of Wild Things."

The verbally dangerous David Elzey knocks us for a loop with a surprising poem that answers the question: What is the most dangerous thing to a 12-year-old? Read it at Fomagrams.

A poem by Bob Hicok on the matter of not obtaining a permit to not move stones, and cleverly so forth, can be enjoyed at Rasco from RIF. Thank you, Carol!

At Wild Rose Reader, Elaine Magliaro shares Lillian Morrison's poem, "Holes," in memory of her dear friend, Dr. Stephen Hayes, whom she'd known for fifty years. Those holes, whose hollowness is more like a solid presence than an absence....

Jone at Check It Out shares an original poem about library books that are resisting being returned. I'm not sure what shadorma style is and would love to know―can someone help?

At Semicolon, Sherry posts the mysterious "Mother, I Cannot Mind My Wheel" by Walter Savage Landor. Maybe you'll be the one to 'splain it.

The indefatigable Jama Rattigan is in with, ohmigosh, peas, over at alphabet soup, and sharing the pod today are poets Kelly Fineman and Penny Harter, as well as Jama's special brand of pea philosophy, which you will find magnificent. And just in time for National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month!

Sara Lewis Holmes at Read Write Believe gives us "Morning," by Billy Collins, which captures it all for me, pre-dawn riser that I am! Many of you will relate.

From the profound Jeannine Atkins, who's also on the winterchill wavelength today, a review of Elizabeth Bradfield's collection of narrative verse, Approaching Ice. Read it here, from the warmth of a sunny windowseat.

Karen Edmisten at The Blog with the Shockingly Clever Title gives us a Ted Kooser poem on one of my favorite topics―spiral notebooks. I've been reading a lot of Ted Kooser lately and enjoying his down-to-earth voice. Yoo-hoo, Amy LV! More notebooks for you!

JoAnn Early Macken at Teaching Authors gives us a much-appreciated (by this poet!) lesson in writing a triolet, which looks easier to do than it actually is, and tries her hand at it. I like.

At All About the Books with Janet Squires, Janet reviews City Kids: Street and Skyscraper Rhymes by X.J. Kennedy.

Afternoon poetry delights:

The fabulous Heidi Mordhorst over at my juicy little universe asked second graders to recompose her poem "Botanical Jazz" with vibrant results (and a cool rewrite), which well match her green and yellow page.

Our number one Monday Poetry Stretcher, Tricia, muses about the number one with a mathematical poem by Mary O'Neill over at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

From Beth at Endless Books comes "Robin at Dusk" from poet and Carmelite nun Jessica Powers, a meditation on the power of song to reach its audience.

Shelley is in today with another poem in her long-term project, a narrative in verse called Rain: A Dust Bowl Story.

Tara at A Teaching Life points the way to a useful poetry website for teachers and includes an old favorite by T.S. Eliot. Meow!

Liz over at Liz in Ink shares a glimpse into her family's transition to summer and a concrete poem written by her daughter.

Judy at Learning to Let Go has the poem "Alders" by Amy Clampitt, about returning to the past and finding nothing as it was.

And Myra Garces-Bacsal from Gathering Books brings us a review of Maya Angelou and Jean Michel Basquiat's beautiful book, Life Does Not Frighten Me.

The wind is
cooling off
my tea
too quick!

Wind Voices, for Poetry Friday

2011-05-27T06:47:00.002-04:00

Happy Poetry Friday!

Some years ago I published a book of poems called Water Voices. It was a collection of riddles (originally titled Water Riddles) with beautiful watercolors by Julie Downing. Each poem, or riddle, ended with the words, "Who am I?" When you turned the page, you found the answers: Morningmist, Sprinklerspray, Oceanwave, Bedtime Bath, and the like. Each riddle was spoken by one of the many, varied voices water might have.

Here's one, to give you an idea how it works:

When you wake to the banjo strumming of frogs
and the lake is a silky soup
where turtles dive from island-logs
and herons glide and dragonflies skate
and faraway ripples from distant oars
make their slow voyage out,
I trail my white net over the lake
and wait for sunrise.

Who am I?

[turn the page]

I am Morningmist -
doing a disappearing trick.

Originally the collection was meant to be one of a quartet of books about the elements, with Earth Voices, Wind Voices, and Fire Voices to follow. My publisher did not want to commit to all four, so they published the first one and said we'd see how well it sold.

Well, it did okay, but not well enough for the publisher to take a chance and publish the other three. Eventually, even with a recommendation from the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and other good reviews, Water Voices went from the warehouse to the jobber's.

I had already written Wind Voices and sketched out poems for the other two in the series. I still hold onto the hope that all four books might be in print someday, somewhere, somehow. I thought I'd offer a wind poem here for Poetry Friday. It's a bit out of season.

After leafdown, after appledrop,
when tiger clouds go prowling
and trees send long-distance messages to a sad and moanly tune,
when shadows hurry
and the red sun sinks
and pumpkins think, and think,
I sweep the leaves all scattery with my broom.

Who am I?

I am Autumngust. Last one home is a green leaf!

You'll find the rest of the poetry roundup at my juicy little universe, blog home of the lovely Heidi Mordhorst. Stop by there and see what everyone else is posting for Poetry Friday. And have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Mint tea
is good
with
malted milk balls.

Rain and chirping, for Poetry Friday

2011-05-20T06:18:00.001-04:00

If the Eskimos have 50 words for snow, based on the local weather this week we should have at least that many for rain. It has rained every day in a different way.

Wednesday won the prize. All day we had torrents of rain alternating with mist. Now and again it would dry out, then a sneaky drizzle would begin, followed by instantaneous massive flooding. There was no escape if you got caught in it.

After work I parked in the shopping center during one of those brief dry spells. I was in the second row of cars from the curb. What is that, 20 yards? I got out and made it ten feet before the drizzle came, and was soaked before I reached the curb.

Amazingly, despite the dark days, every morning I've awakened to the most joyful sound of birds singing in the trees outside my window, chirping their little hearts out.

This week, too, I've been enjoying former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's book Delights & Shadows, and I found a poem that seems just right. I love it for its simplicity and for the way the poet wraps so much sensory information―sound, temperature, heaviness, thirst―around a single idea.

The Early Bird

Still dark, and raining hard
on a cold May morning

and yet the early bird
is out there chirping,

chirping its sweet-sour
wooden-pulley notes,

and the rest is here.

I'd like to add my congratulations to J. Patrick Lewis on being named the third U.S. Children's Poet Laureate! I was so excited to hear the news, as I love Pat's work. His humor, wordplay, intelligence with language, child-friendliness and range of subject matter make him an excellent choice for this award. We are so lucky! Congrats to Pat!

I reviewed his wonder-ful book, Skywriting: Poems to Fly, in September. If you step over to last week's Poetry Friday menu at Jama's, you'll find links to many more posts about J. Patrick Lewis.

The poetry roundup today is at The Drift Record.

Things I miss about the low-tech life

2011-05-19T09:07:00.001-04:00

Pencils. Erasers.

That callous on my middle finger.

Only as much information as I can healthfully process at a time.

Work alternating with rest.

No phone calls when I'm away from home or work.

No constant games. No apps. No news about everything that was never news before, except by way of mouth, friend to friend, neighbor to neighbor.

No beeps, flashing lights, urgent incoming this or that. More of a search for stimulation when desired, not a turning off or turning away from it.

Deadlines that come from within.

Paper and books.

Real things, not screen things.

Time to think.

Time to find a rhythm.

Time to feel the open space of creativity.

A joy in discovering something new, not a sense of anxiety that a thousand people on Facebook have discovered it before me.

What do you miss about the low-tech life?

Giant kites, for Poetry Friday

2011-04-15T10:18:00.000-04:00

Happy Poetry Friday! Where are all these kites heading?

They are flying over a windy hillside at the Berkeley Marina on their way to...

...jama rattigan's alphabet soup, where I'm today's guest in her wonderful Poetry Potluck series for National Poetry Month. I should say, Kashi and I are her guests, and kite-fishing is the theme. Stop by to read my poem on the subject and all about lighthouse keepers and this ancient sport done from the high windows of lighthouses. While you're there, be sure to check out Jama's previous Potluck poets, their poems and recipes. You will be inspired. You may also suddenly feel hungry.

Here's another photo I took at the Berkeley Marina that will give you a better idea of the size of these kites:

and there's this one, which I love for its sky and the tininess of the kites and kite-flyers:

oh, and if you're not bored yet, this last one with its dogs going in two directions:

What a fabulous place it was, but incredibly windy on the day my daughter Vanessa, her boyfriend Erik, and I went to buy and fly a kite. We did the buying, then headed to Alameda Beach, where it was somewhat less windy, to do the flying.

Vanessa flying her kite

Today's poem is "kite," by Valerie Worth.

kite

The kite, kept
Indoors, wears
Dead paper
On tight-
Boned wood,
Pulls at the tied
Cord only
By its weight―

But held
To the wind,
It is another thing,
Turned strong,
Struck alive,
Wild to be torn
Away from the hand
Into high air:

Where it rides
Alone,
Glad,
A small, clear
Wing, having
Nothing at all
To do
With string.

Today's Poetry Friday roundup is at Random Noodling. Fly over and enjoy some poetry snacks. Thank you, Diane, for hosting!

Tea goes well
with
NaPoMo.

Happy birthday to my blog!

2011-03-30T14:02:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe The WA is one year old today! Please, help yourself to a piece of pink and purple cake.

When I began I wasn't sure what my blogging goals were or if I could keep it up. But here I am, 365 days and 149 posts later. What do I like about blogging? What have I learned so far?

I've developed a voice and several features I enjoy―Three for Tea, author and illustrator interviews, and Scrips and Scraps. Three for Tea in particular is a fun way for me to invite all of you into my virtual living room and to learn more about the authors I most admire. It's been gratifying for me to see that this feature resonates with so many of you, too.

Interviews are also fun, but require a greater time commitment. I am still interviewing Long Island authors and illustrators, although with less frequency. Related to the interviews are the LICWI Roundups, which now appear only when I have a critical mass of information to impart.

Scrips and Scraps is my commonplace book of blog quotes. I'd like to give this feature more prominence, but I may format it differently (one quote at a time on a specific day) and I may rename it. Stay tuned.

Alas, Kashi does not have her own column yet, but she's been known to step in occasionally and take over on...

... Poetry Friday. I love this special day. Even when I'm not participating, visiting other PF participants' blogs has introduced me to new poets, new forms of poetry, stretches, literary magazines, contests, and of course ever more blogs and bloggers. It's gotten me reading more and writing more. I've purchased many books by members of our amazing poetry community, and I'm so grateful for the new friendships that have come from blogging with you.

For example:

Amy VanDerwater, me, Mary Lee Hahn,
Laura Salas, and Mary Ann Scheuer at Kidlit Con 2010

Since last March 30th, I've made progress in two important areas. First, I completed my second draft of Death Over Easy and am finishing up the third. This is monumental! How did I make it happen? Easy. I visualized DOE in book form, then went at it with determination and gusto.

Just kidding. What I actually did was I put my commitment out there on the blog for all the world to see, so I couldn't back out. I found that this is an excellent way to achieve one's goals!

The second area in which I made progress is my journey toward write-tirement. Here is where visualization did in fact help. I worked up specific goals, crunched numbers, and now have a target date and a way to get there. Happily, I am a whole year closer to write-tirement than I was last year at this time.

I think I'll have another piece of pink and purple cake.

Thank you all for following my blog this year. Thank you for your friendship, support, your warm and wise and funny words. And Kashi thanks you, too.

Happy National Poetry Month!
(April 1 to 30)

After late snow, for Poetry Friday

2011-03-25T06:07:00.001-04:00

Happy Poetry Friday! This is what the world looked like outside my window yesterday morning.

Fortunately, the sun came out right away and melted it. But the view brought to mind a poem I once wrote after a late snow.

After Late Snow

Blow up a wind,
blow softly,
blow up a soft wind,
says Spring.
Send a bloom,
send ripening.
Such seedling thoughts are grounded
where they lie.
The garden looks the other way,
adrift in sky.

I've been a little adrift, too, retooling the first 15-20 pages of Death Over Easy. After going over some two dozen earlier drafts, I decided that my first attempts were the best. They gave a better sense of who Emma Trace was and why she was on the brink of change. I had such a fear of overwriting and making the reader wait too long for action that I'd cut too much and flattened her. So I've been putting things back.

With the exception of the action scenes, which were much harder to write than I'd imagined, the rest of the revisions are straightforward. There are details I forgot to tie up (what happened to the letter?), a few impossibilities (a daring escape), and some inaccuracies (time of day, length of swim).

I still have diary entries to write. These will be painful because of the subject matter.

The ending needs to be filled out. A few more things―but not all―should be resolved by the turn of the last page.

And then I will be done (again). And then it goes to a few more readers, including a friend who's a retired homicide detective. And then―off to agents or publishers. I'm not sure which way to go yet.

Next week I will literally be adrift in sky as I head to California to visit my oldest daughter and her boyfriend. I get to spend a few lovely days inhaling the jasmine in Berkeley, watching the Afters do improv, getting my hair cut by my fave stylist, sightseeing, shopping at the Berkeley Bowl and Mrs. Dalloway's Bookshop, laughing, talking, and catching up on our lives. Hooray!

Go visit the fabulous Mary Lee over at A Year of Reading for the rest of the Poetry Friday roundup.

6 more days till
National Poetry
Month!

Florida snaps

2011-03-16T09:07:00.001-04:00

I went down to Florida for a few days to bring my mom home, and I brought back a slice of Hollywood Beach to share with you.

Ahhhh.

Here's my mom (on the right) folk dancing in the lobby of her winter place in South Florida. The Israeli woman with her has a large folk dance music collection that she brings on Fridays to share with the residents.

My mom and dad met while folk dancing in upstate New York, and dancing was always one of their great loves. It was nice to see she can still do all the whirling and fancy stepping at 84.

We spent some time on the Hollywood broadwalk, one of my favorite places. In fact, we went there two days in a row.

Mom and her friend, Elaine

One day we had a backwards barbecue at John U. Lloyd Park with some friends from Long Island. Why backwards? Having ignored the weather forecast, we were practically the only people there. Dark, cracking, crashing thunderstorms came through at about noon, drenching the park and our barbecue coals and forcing us under the shelter of an open air pavilion. So we started with dessert. After finishing the rice pudding and fruit salad and all the side dishes, the sun came back out and we grilled the steaks.

I wonder if any of this will appear in a future Emma Trace mystery. After all, Emma's Aunt April does live in Fort Lauderdale. I'm very curious about this character and her reasons for leaving Emma's Uncle Sherm and moving to Florida. It will be fun to find out.

And now, back to my regularly scheduled life. I leave you with another ocean vista. No, those swimmers are not us. What do you suppose that seagull is thinking as I snap his picture?

Only 16 days until
National Poetry Month!

Three for Tea

2011-03-07T05:58:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Three for Tea! On occasional Mondays, I invite three authors into my virtual living room to answer a question about the writing life. We have tea and cookies and talk about topics of interest to those in the field of children's literature.

Please join the conversation by adding your comments below. I'm also seriously needing cookie and cake recipes for future Three for Teas, as well as questions from you, my friends. There must be something you'd like to hear other writers' views on, hmmmmm? Nonfiction, fiction, poetry, picture books, the writing process, the future of publishing, what's your favorite pen to write with, creativity, workspace, finding balance, family and writing, health and writing, chocolate and writing.... Make a suggestion in the comments or email me at toby at tobyspeed dot com.

Today's Three: Mary Amato, Sneed Collard, Donna Gephart
Today's Tea: English Teatime
Today's Cookie: Tabatha's Raisin Bran Scones (generously and tastefully provided by Tabatha Yeatts over at The Opposite of Indifference)

Enjoy! There are lots more where these came from.
(Recipe below.)

Today's question was suggested by poet Heidi Mordhorst. Thank you, Heidi!

Question: You have a great idea for a book, and you begin to work on it. At some point you realize it’s not developing as you’d hoped. How do you know when to ditch a book or an idea that's leading you along?

Mary Amato

"Ah. The romance of an idea. I’ve been sweet-talked by many. Here’s my advice. Fall in love with a character, not an idea. Choose to spend your time with a character that has been haunting you for a while, not with that one-night stand of an idea that promises fame and fortune. The test for whether or not you should stay the distance with your story? Put it away. Don’t invite it on a date. See if you miss it. A great character will call you, stalk you, and drag you to the page."

Mary Amato is the award-winning author of many books for children, including The Naked Mole-Rat Letters, The Chicken of the Family, and most recently, Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook. Visit her website here.

Sneed Collard

"Well, if this isn’t one of the toughest questions in writing…. To be honest, it’s the rejection letters that usually drive the last nails in the coffin. That’s not a bad thing. Often, those rejections force me to find a solution that does work. Raw persistence has helped me fix a number of flawed concepts. Alas, elbow grease doesn’t always come through. I have one novel I’ve been nurturing for seven years and it’s been rejected by 30 or 40 publishers. I know it’s a great idea, but the many rejections tell me I still haven’t fully connected. I continue to await an inspired solution."

Sneed B. Collard III has written more than sixty highly-acclaimed children’s books. In 2006, he was awarded the Washington Post-Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award for his body of work. He is also the author of five award-winning novels including Dog Sense, Double Eagle, and his newest mystery, The Governor’s Dog is Missing. Sneed speaks widely to students, teachers, and librarians and may be contacted directly at collard@bigsky.net. Explore Sneed's websites here and here.

Donna Gephart

"Latching onto a new idea is always a muddle for me. I spend hours/days/weeks gathering – scrawling titles, thoughts, dialogue, etc. in a notebook. Eventually, a strong, sassy voice or an idea grabs me enough to want to work on the piece the next day.

"Then, I might write dozens of pages only to realize the writing feels forced, not genuine. And out go those pages!

"When pages are tossed, there’s no wasted effort. It’s part of the process. Those words/ideas/characters might show up in a future project.

"A word of caution: Sometimes you decide a new project/idea seems more appealing. Don’t drop your current project. Write notes about the new project and keep plugging at the current one...unless it’s truly making you feel like vomiting."

Donna Gephart was awarded the Sid Fleischman Humor Award for As If Being 12 ¾ Isn’t Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President! How to Survive Middle School received starred reviews from Kirkus and SLJ and a spot on the Texas Lone Star Reading List. Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, about a girl determined to get on the TV quiz show, Jeopardy!, comes out from Random House early in 2012. Visit Donna's website here.

A big thank you to all my guests for stopping by for Three for Tea.

Readers, how do you know when to ditch a project?

Tabatha's Raisin Bran Scones

1 1/2 cups raisin bran cereal
1 cup flour
1/2 t salt
1 T baking powder
1 T sugar
1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup milk, half and half, or cream
1 egg, beaten

Soak raisin bran cereal in milk for 20 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients together and then cut in the butter. Add the egg to the cereal mixture. Stir the egg-cereal mixture into the buttered-dry ingredients. Use a fork and do not overmix. Time to shape the batter...either make batter into a circle and cut into triangular scones, or pat batter into triangular shapes by hand. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with butter, jam, and applesauce.

Poetry Friday with Kashi

2011-03-04T05:58:00.001-05:00

She's had one of those weeks again. She asked me, could I, would I, and of course I said yes. Yes, I'd be happy to. Yes, I'll certainly take care of Poetry Friday.

No problem.

Salmon for supper will be fine. No complaints here. Lose the lemon, and I'm good.

So, happy Poetry Friday to you all. I pawed through Toby's copy of Billy Collins's Poetry 180 anthology and found this amusing poem. It's even been set to music.

Alley Cat Love Song

by Dana Gioia

Come into the garden, Fred,
For the neighborhood tabby is gone.
Come into the garden, Fred.
I have nothing but my flea collar on,
And the scent of catnip has gone to my head.
I'll wait by the screen door till dawn.

The fireflies court in the sweetgum tree.
The nightjar calls from the pine,
And she seems to say in her rhapsody,
"Oh, mustard-brown Fred, be mine!"

Read the rest of it here.

And you can catch more Poetry Friday over at The Small Nouns. Thanks, Ben, for hosting.

Yes, I know. She's lucky to have me.

Join us on Monday
for Three for Tea.

Snooping around

2011-03-02T06:21:00.001-05:00

What can you learn about someone from a half-eaten tuna sandwich or their radio station pre-sets? Lots.

As someone who is forever rummaging through my characters' refrigerators, glove compartments, pockets and closets, I was intrigued when friend and blogger Alison Stevens reviewed a book all about the subject, Snoop: what your stuff says about you, and interviewed author Sam Gosling. Today I'm participating in Alison's Super Snooper Blogfest with a little scene snipped (or snooped) from my work in progress, Death Over Easy.

Even before she winds up in the middle of murder, amateur sleuth Emma Trace is a collector of details. What she writes down in the notebook that she takes everywhere in her "I Love Libraries" tote, combined with her memories and associations about the people in her town, bring the murderer down. Would you expect anything less from someone who played Harriet the Spy in the library stacks as a child?

You should be able to learn a few things about Emma's employer, Able Editing, from her observations at the beginning of the book.

One of the perks of being a freelancer is that I can work at home. Every time I stop in at Able, I am very glad of this fact. The room is paneled in fake knotty pine à la 1950’s suburbia. To the right of the door, four sunken plaid chairs face each other over a kidney-shaped coffee table. A dusty fake ficus mopes in the corner. To the left of the door is a water cooler and another ficus, this one covered in Christmas lights from last year.

A vomit-colored counter dissects the room from left to right, separating the reception area from the work space. Behind the counter sits a massive oak desk that looks like it’s been gnawed by beavers, and on it is a typewriter that is actually used on a daily basis. Old steel file cabinets line the walls. Every surface, including the floor, is piled high with file folders and open reference books. A large sign on the back wall reads, Is There Life After Death? Trespass Here And Find Out.

Inez Lipschitz, the office manager, was on the phone when I got there. It would be more accurate to say she was in it, as she was wrapped in yards of curly cord that wound around lamps and chair legs, book stacks and coat racks, before making two or three journeys around her waist. She walked back and forth in a small clearing behind the desk, making rapid clicky taps with her pumps. When she saw me, her eyes got round and she held up one finger to indicate she’d be right with me.

I pushed my envelope across the counter and studied a small notice that said Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

Where do you like to snoop to find out about your characters?

Stop by Alison's today for more Super Snoopers.

On Monday, March 7,
join us for another
scintillating
Three for Tea!

Mushroom planet revisited

2011-03-01T19:57:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading a book I loved as a kid―The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet, by Eleanor Cameron. I loved it just as much now!

The whole amazing story came back to me as I read it. Tyco Bass, and Mrs. Pennyfeather, and the tiny planet only 50,000 miles away that could be seen only with the aid of a stroboscopic filter. Dave, and Chuck, and their wonderful spaceship made of old boat parts.

I think this may have been the book that got me started on sci fi. Tyco Bass has never left me.

As a matter of fact, he makes a guest appearance in Death Over Easy!

"No, they might never set foot on Basidium again.
Still, thought David, as long as they possessed
Mr. Bass's filter, that far green world was theirs.
The wonderful flight to the Mushroom Planet
could be taken in the twirl of a dial and the wink
of an eye, and Basidium had not been lost after all."

Saturday snapshots

2011-02-26T20:31:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning sky

This was the sky I woke up to today. I'd decided before the weekend that today would be wholly dedicated to working on my third draft of Death Over Easy. To get myself away from the refrigerator, Internet, and self-defeating thoughts, I took myself to the library.

Emma Trace's library, actually. I drove up to Port Jefferson and immersed myself in her world. Once I thought I saw her walking past the window, outside. Maybe Zahn and Bonomo drove by, holding cups of coffee. I can't be sure.

Port Jeff Library

Being the organizing type that I am, I spent the morning compiling my readers' reactions to the second draft―the comments I agreed with―into a five-page, single-space document. That took several hours, up to lunchtime.

Tiger Lily Cafe

After a delicious lunch at Tiger Lily, I headed over to the Middle Country Public Library, my own library, which has been a second home to me for 28 years. I plugged in my laptop next to the antique in the photo at the bottom. There I began to tackle the troublesome diary entries that I'd thought I'd get away with leaving out of the novel, but which are now demanding their place.

Creole crabcake sandwich

It did me some good, the past couple months, to be away from the book. I was too close to it to read it. Even now, it's hard to relax and read it straight through without getting anxious and critical. I shake my head, I cringe. Agh. Why is it not as good as I'd thought? Why are there so many holes? I tend to underwrite, not overwrite, and the gaps are annoying. I need to learn how to build scenes better. I must learn how to develop situations all the way through.

A typewriter, by golly!

It has been hard to write this book on my own. I could really use a novel-writing retreat, or a class.

I know I need to play out the ending more. Think of it as a movie, one of my friends is always telling me. Think of scenes you particularly like (that one in Michael Clayton, for example). What gives them their emotional impact?

The third draft may take me longer than I thought. But I want it to be right more than I want it to be done.

Midwinter LICWI roundup

2011-02-22T07:17:00.000-05:00

Brian Heinz will be on the faculty again this summer at the Hofstra Summer Writers Program, from July 5 - 15, teaching Children's Fiction Writing. Other courses offered (there are eleven in all) include Short Fiction Writing, Writing Varieties of Nonfiction, and Writing the Tween Novel. Full details are on the website. Brian will also be leading two teachers' workshops at the BOCES Literacy and Learning Institute on April 1 and 2. Clicking on the link will bring up a PDF flyer about the event.

And Brian's next picture book, A Coming of Winter in the Adirondacks (previewed earlier on this blog) will be out at the beginning of May. Yay!

Orel Protopescu's first book of adult poems, What Remains, will be issued by Finishing Line Press in fall 2011. Her poem by the same title recently won first honorable mention in Oberon's annual poetry contest several years ago. If you are interested in adding your name to the pre-publication list to be notified when the book is available, please email me at toby @ tobyspeed dot com.

Also, Orel's next picture book, Thelonious Mouse, will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in early June. You can read more about Orel here.

LICWI member Cheryl Taborsky runs a Just for Kids Contest every month on her website. Kids can submit their artwork based on the monthly theme and see it displayed on the site. Cheryl is also part of the Hot Cocoa storytime series sponsored by the Ward Melville Heritage Organization. She will be reading stories (followed by hot cocoa) starting at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, February 23. Check the WMHO website for details.

Joi Nobisso's next book, Francesco Wakes Up Early, will be out from Gingerbread House Publishing, which she owns and operates, in fall 2011. A scene from an imagined moment in St. Francis of Assisi's childhood, the book is illustrated by Maureen Hyde. You can read more about it here, and read my recent interview with Joi here.

LICWI members, I know you have lots of news that's not reaching me. Please email, call, telegraph, send smoke signals, or otherwise let me know your news for the next roundup. Thank you!

Full snow moon, for Poetry Friday

2011-02-18T05:47:00.001-05:00

Taken before December's lunar eclipse

Today is the Full Snow Moon, according to the Farmers' Almanac, named so by native tribes of the north and east who saw winter's heaviest snow this month. Some tribes called this moon the Full Hunger Moon because harsh weather made hunting difficult.

Elsewhere I've seen it called the Opening Buds Moon―a name I like much better. Storm Moon, Wolf Moon, and Candles Moon also came up.

I love the moon, but not the snow. I love the fullness, I love the white, I love the hope residing there and spilling out. But no, oh no, I do not love the snow. And I am plotting my escape from future winters.

Nevertheless, I bring you a delightful full snow moon poem from the pen of children's author and poet Kelly Fineman, who blogs generously and thoughtfully over at Writing and Ruminating.

Snow Moon

Around the moon,
a ring of mist
foretells the ground
will soon be kissed
by snow.

In my neighborhood, the snow has been melting into ragged cities that jut upward from puddles in turrets and gables. I wished I'd had my camera in hand when I was at Cedar Beach last weekend. Gulls were parading past a line of scruffy snow castles and their moats, wearing the same shades of white and gray that the snow was. It would have been a good picture for today's post. Today, the snow peaks are much lower than they were then, and it's supposed to go up to 65 degrees. So, there!

Here's a bonus poem to pay homage to the melting, dirty snow.

Photo by littleyiye (Flickr Creative Commons)
Crows

by Valerie Worth

When the high
Snows lie worn
To rags along
The muddy furrows,

And the frozen
Sky frays, drooping
Gray and sodden
To the ground,

The sleek crows
Appear, flying
Low across the
Threadbare meadow

To jeer at
Winter's ruin
With their jubilant
Thaw, thaw, thaw!

Mary Ann has the Poetry Friday roundup today at Great Kid Books. Stop by to fill up on poetry goodies!

"Snow Moon"
© Kelly R. Fineman 2011.
All rights reserved.

Three for Tea

2011-02-14T05:16:00.002-05:00

It's Three for Tea time―welcome! On occasional Mondays, I invite three authors into my virtual living room to answer a question about the writing life. We have tea and cookies and talk about topics of interest to those in the field of children's literature.

My first Three for Tea generated some thoughtful discussion among my readers. Please join our conversation in the comments below. I also welcome your questions and cookie recipes for future Three for Teas.

Today's Three: JoAnn Early Macken, Stephen Messer, Kate Messner
Today's Tea: White tea
Today's Cookie: Jama's Lemon Bars (generously provided by Jama Rattigan)

Help yourself! Recipe below.

Question: For some writers the world is a distraction when they’re deeply into a project. They find it hard to read other people’s books, socialize, or tolerate much stimulation. Others remain open, continuing to soak in what’s out there while remaining creative. Where do you fit in on this spectrum? What activities do you allow—or invite—in while you’re writing, and what do you exclude?

JoAnn Early Macken

"When I write, I crave silence and solitude. But when I’m really involved in a project, I’m oblivious to everything around me. I love that phase when nothing else seems as important or as urgent as my work in progress. When our dog comes in and nudges my elbow, she startles me into the present. Walking her along Lake Michigan is as much a part of my daily routine as writing in the morning, teaching in the evening, and reading at night. My social time is limited, so I spend it all with my family and other writers."

JoAnn Early Macken’s recent books are Baby Says, “Moo!”; Waiting Out the Storm; and Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move. JoAnn teaches at a Milwaukee college, contributes to the Teaching Authors blog, and speaks about poetry and writing to children and adults at schools, libraries, and conferences. Visit her website here.

Stephen Messer's
next book

"I immerse myself in anything that engages me with the invented world of my book – each one has its own soundtrack that I listen to while writing, as well as art which surrounds me in my study, and books and movies too. I even go so far as to make thematic screensavers for my writing laptop. I don’t exclude much. This could be seen as distracting, but for me it helps keep my mind fixed on the mood and feel of the story. It’s desirable to have outside stimulation that might encourage an unpredictable choice or a striking detail."

Stephen Messer writes novels for middle grade readers. His books include Windblowne (May 2010), The Death of Yorik Mortwell (coming September 2011), and Colossus (coming 2013), all from Random House Books for Young Readers. Windblowne was named to the New York Public Library's Children's Books 2010 list. Visit Stephen's website here.

Kate Messner

"I think I'm more of a "let-the-world-in" writer when it comes right down to it. While I do need uninterrupted time to draft, I find that when I'm not physically writing, having outside stimulation is actually a great help. Going to a movie or concert or art museum, for example, gets me using more than just my writer-brain and opens up creative connections in my brain, possibilities that I probably wouldn't have considered just sitting at my desk. In the thick of a recent revision, for example, I took a break to take my daughter and her friend to the movies, and I loved watching the film through my writer eyes. (I wrote a blog post on this: What I Learned from Rapunzel, in case anyone would like more details!)

Kate Messner is the author of the middle grade novels The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. and Sugar and Ice (Walker/Bloomsbury), the forthcoming Marty McGuire chapter book series (Scholastic, May 2011), and Sea Monster's First Day, a picture book coming from Chronicle Books in July 2011. She is also a middle school English teacher and a frequent presenter at conferences. Sugar and Ice was a Fall 2010 Junior Library Guild selection. Kate's website is here and her blog is here.

What are your thoughts?

Jama's Lemon Bars (makes 32 bars)

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 T flour

3 T fresh lemon juice

lemon rind

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream first three ingredients and press into a 9-inch square pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Mix together the beaten eggs, the sugar, baking powder, salt and flour. Then add the lemon juice and lemon rind.

Pour over the baked crust and return to a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

When cool, dust with powdered sugar.
Note: You may use an 8-inch square pan if you like thicker lemon bars.

Poets at the New York Public Library

2011-02-06T10:49:00.005-05:00

Nice, clean library

I was at the newly scrubbed New York Public Library yesterday with friend and fellow poet Orel Protopopescu for "A Passel of Poets" hosted by kidlit champion and blogger extraordinaire Betsy Bird. It was a lively, edge-of-your-seat hour downstairs in the children's room. The panel included Bobbi Katz, Marilyn Singer, Stephanie Calmenson, and Charles R. Smith, who gave us their thoughts on writing, teaching, and publishing children's poetry today.

It would have been enough for me just to be at the party. People who write poetry for children shine a special light. They have great faith in children, in their individual gifts, their ability to transcend difficulties and to make sense of the world. Children's poets illuminate the stories and memories of our world in ways children can understand and enjoy. They play with language. They are unafraid. They never grow old.

So, listening to these poets as they tried to describe in ordinary language why, and how, and to what end they do this important work gave me an inner smile that hasn't disappeared.

Among other subjects, Betsy brought up the fact that the ALA has no award for children's poetry. We have the Newbery and Caldecott awards for literature and illustration, awards for translations, audiobooks, video, GLBT literature, and other areas―why not one for poetry? The panelists unanimously agreed that there should be one. Back in July, when Lee Bennett Hopkins first mentioned it, Betsy wrote an article in her blog about it, and many well-established children's poets chimed in. If you haven't read it, I urge you to click on over. What's your opinion?

One of the library lions

Other topics that came up included memorization, National Poetry Month, integrating poetry with the classroom curriculum, and the difficulties of publishing poetry.

On that last one, I'm picking up a mixture of optimism and fear in the writing community. Publishers are spending less and less money on poetry anthologies and, as Marilyn pointed out, to have a book of poems published now often requires that the theme be very tightly focused and/or the writing style humorous.

Publishers were never that eager to publish poetry, though, in my experience. When my book Water Voices came out, I had already written Wind Voices and partially drafted Earth Voices and Fire Voices. Putnam told me that they wanted to see how Water Voices did before committing to the others. The book came out and was reviewed well by Kirkus and Booklist and recommended by the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. But it didn't move out of the warehouse fast enough to warrant printing the remaining books in the series. They still sit in my file cabinet.

But I remain hopeful. I believe that new ways of publishing are opening for writers, including online and self-publishing options, that are cost-effective and will reach a wide audience. Be hopeful, people. Poetry is as valuable and necessary as it has always been, and will prevail.

Sylvia Vardell, whose name came up during the discussion, recently posted a thought-provoking interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins on the future of publishing poetry for kids in her Poetry for Children blog. It's a good snapshot of where things stand today in the industry.

Miscellaneous highlights from yesterday:
~ finding Brave Potatoes on the shelf
~ meeting and chatting with people I've come to know online
~ seeing the library lions

Poetry Friday: candy wrappers turning into words

2011-02-04T05:50:00.001-05:00

wickenden - Flickr Creative Commons

The images of trash and bits of flying paper and flocking birds appealed to me in this poem about writing a poem by Ruth Stone.

To decorate, I needed to look through dozens of solitary sky-filled shots of birds on the wire out on Flickr Commons. Quite stirring. Just search "birds on telephone wire" and you will see how many people are looking up and noticing. And snapping. (Small bit of knowledge: perched birds will face into the wind, if it's blowing.)

Always on the Train

Writing poems about writing poems
is like rolling bales of hay in Texas.
Nothing but the horizon to stop you.

But consider the railroad's edge of metal trash;
bird perches, miles of telephone wires.
What is so innocent as grazing cattle?
If you think about it, it turns into words.

Trash is so cheerful; flying up
like grasshoppers in front of the reaper.
The dust devil whirls it aloft; bronze candy wrappers....

You can read the entire poem here.

Today's Poetry Friday roundup is at Dori Reads. Head over there to get directions to other blogs focusing on poetry today.

If you are new to Poetry Friday, an FYI. Besides a weekly blog event, Poetry Friday is a friendly community of poetry lovers, poets, teachers, and others. New folks are welcome to join in anytime. Leave a comment here or elsewhere to get started.

Hugs and hot tea.

Happy Groundhog Day

2011-02-02T07:55:00.000-05:00

Ready for anything.

What's not to love about Groundhog Day? There's something freeing about letting a small animal and the position of sun and clouds set our hope-meter for the day.

One year I will get to Punxsutawney and meet Phil. Until then I have Holtsville Hal, who did not see his shadow last year (I was there) and Malverne Mel, who has canceled this morning's appearance due to weather.

And I have the movie, which I'll watch again today for the hundredth time.

I asked my friend Punxsutawney Phil if he had any words of wisdom for my readers today, and he said:


Not looking so good out there.

Sometimes we have to repeat our mistakes to learn from them.

Don't let your shadow scare you.

It's a sheet of ice.

Watch out for groundhog holes.

Stay warm.

Love a groundhog.

Think I'll stay in and bake instead.

For more on Groundhog Day, visit Betsy Bird's and Becky Povich's blogs.

Enjoy some
Spicy Groundhog Cookies
with tea today.

Tending to a creative life

2011-01-31T10:50:00.001-05:00

After taking notes all weekend I didn't when Sara Zarr began to speak, and I'm sorry now because it was possibly the best talk I heard. Maybe I needed to hear it now, maybe it was what I went to the SCBWI conference in New York to hear.

She spoke about her years of attending conferences, of working hard at her craft, and of the frustration she felt at not being able to find the key to make it all work, and then of finding that key and discovering that it was not the real key, but that there were others she'd been holding all the time. "I'm giving you the speech I wish I'd heard five years ago," she said.

Sara talked about the importance―the necessity, the inviolability―of the creative life for a creative person, regardless of what's happening in the publishing industry or in the world―and about respecting and having faith in that life, and not abdicating its role to anyone else. The creative life is nonlinear, she said. We do not simply progress from A to B (frustration at not being published to being published, for example) and find ourselves "there." We continue in it. She spoke about providing and shaping a satisfying creative life, regardless of what else is going on.

Shut out an over-abundance of stimulation, she said. Spend less time planning and thinking and more time writing. Live a sustainable life. Have faith, and here she meant not the religious kind, but the kind that has to do with confidence and surety. Pay attention to the lives of other artists. "Lead a mentored life," Sara said, pointing out that opportunities to mentor and be mentored may be as near as the person in the next seat.

Sara emphasized that it is not the content of our lives that matters, but how we respond to it. We may always have the day job, the food shopping, the drama, and the cat box, but we also have this other life that we can thwart, suppress, divert―or nourish.

I'm doing a poor job of conveying Sara's energy and empathy. But I will say that the room of 1,100 conference attendees paid close attention, and she was given a standing ovation at the end.

It was particularly good for me to hear her talk, as I'm in a weird place in my writing career. I spent years writing and selling children's stories, and then picture books, with some success and much satisfaction. I knew I could do it. This life was for me. Then circumstances changed, and I went back to work full-time with three young children still at home. I put writing on the back burner and snow-shoveling on the front. My creative life didn't entirely disappear, but it went underground.

And I was left with a lingering feeling that I was missing everything. I was on the outside again. I wondered if I'd ever get back, or could.

I struggled with a new genre during those years, writing and scrapping two first drafts of a murder mystery while experiencing long, silent spaces between them.

I did a lot of mentoring. I was not particularly well-mentored―not for the creative side of me, anyway.

I held myself back. I worried. Maybe I wasted time (although I always end up realizing that no time is really wasted).

Now, somehow, I am here again and farther ahead than I was back then. Working full-time as a writer at a university has taught me a lot about writing over the years. I have a lot of projects and ideas for projects, for both children and adults. And I'm playing with words every day, looking for ways to get a bird to break through paper, as Jeannine says.

I don't like to blog much about my works in progress, but my newly entered third draft of Death Over Easy is feeling pretty good. Some scenes still give me that little shiver, telling me that readers will feel that shiver, too. I've drafted another tall tale for children that finally has the surprise I was looking for. I have two characters for an early reader collection who work and play well together. Good signs, all of these.

And here's a weird thing. I got home from the conference yesterday, opened my mailbox and found a royalty check for one of my picture books that's out of print but has apparently been issued as a Scholastic Book Club book and is selling well. A sign of hope? I'll take it as one!

Sara quoted Flannery O'Connor near the end of her talk: "People without hope do not write novels."

Indeed.

For more on Sara's presentation, read Candy Gourlay's excellent writeup at Notes from the Slushpile and the report at the Official SCBWI Conference Blog.

More about Death Over Easy
can be found here and here.

Life in a shoe, for Poetry Friday

2011-01-28T05:13:00.006-05:00

Happy Poetry Friday!

It is also, for me, SCBWI New York Winter Conference Friday. Hooray! This is my first conference in at least ten years, and I'm so excited to be back in the swing of things and to have a lot of projects in the works. I'll be rooming with illustrator Hazel Mitchell and meeting up with many other online friends. Please look for me, if you're there.

A couple weeks ago at The Miss Rumphius Effect, Tricia's Monday Poetry Stretch asked us to write a poem about shoes. Here's the poem I wrote. It is really for adults, although based on the children's nursery rhyme. I urge you to take a look at the other poems in the comments on Tricia's blog, as they are fabulous. I particularly like J. Patrick Lewis's clever poem.

Morning Report

She lived in a shoe
so she said
and all those children were not starving.
You could see for yourself.

The pot of broth was there
if you looked
boiling and hissing back in the heel
its ladle angled out like a defiant elbow.

The children were taken away by car
while cameras clicked.
She had lived there a long time
faces coming and going
many fathers.

She was a hard-working woman
so she said
as they carted her away.
Her face was on the news the next day.

Copyright © Toby Speed 2011. All rights reserved.

Update, 11 a.m.: I should have included the original nursery rhyme for your reference. Here it is.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread
and whipped them all soundly, and sent them to bed.

Elaine is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup today at Wild Rose Reader. Enjoy!

In case you missed it,
Three for Tea
debuted on Monday
here at The WA.

Scrips and Scraps

2011-01-26T09:20:00.007-05:00

Every now and then I gather up wise quotes, mostly about writing, that I've found in my travels and post them in Scrips and Scraps. Enjoy.

"A professor at Brown told me, when I was seventeen, that I needed to suffer more. I’ve been working at it ever since."
~Lois Lowry, from an interview with Lee Wind at I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?

"Every story has its own unique energy. At the same time, everything around us follows a similar path. We are born, challenged, come to fullness, and die to who we were. Within the greater pattern, a similar version repeats itself innumerable times throughout our lives."
~Martha Alderson, from The Plot Whisperer

"When I do that on a regular basis, when I get to the page first thing often enough and regularly enough, a magical transformation takes place. Some gear shifts in the universe. The work starts to call to me."
~JoAnn Early Macken, from Teaching Authors

"So while I’m sure you’re getting a flood of mail from people complaining about your decision I wanted to take this moment to applaud your decision to no longer pretend to care about quality books for children."
~David Elzey, from his brilliant letter to The Today Show about their programming decision not to present the Caldecott and Newbery Award winners.

"Somewhere, your book was passed
from one hand to another in a hallway
busy with clanging lockers,
with whispered words,
"You have got to read this."
And a scribbled note:
O.M.G. SO good.
Give it back when ur done."
~Kate Messner, from her poem, “What Happened to Your Book Yoday: A Poem for after the ALA Awards."

"I prepare a cup of hot tea or herbs. I sit in my chair. I turn on my computer. I light a candle. I call to my muse. I stare at the screen or the last words I wrote. I sit. I sit some more. If I’m lucky, wondrous words come. If wondrous words don’t come, I scribble nonsense until they do."
~Marsha Diane Arnold, from an interview with Jennifer Bertman at From the Mixed-Up Files of Jennifer Bertman

"We look so much for credentials (who have you been published by) that sometimes we overlook the gifts someone has to offer. At conferences, professional writers tend to avoid the newbies like they're contagious. But we're all newbies in some area of our life―at least we are if we're constantly trying new things."
~Laura Salas, from Writing the World for Kids

"I don't think readers should have to work hard to understand characters; it's the author's job to make it look easy, the way ballet looks easy but involves the ballerina's blood."
~Camille Minichino, from The Ladykillers

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough
or a book long enough to suit me."

~ C.S. Lewis

Three for Tea

2011-01-24T05:23:00.001-05:00

Today I begin a new feature called Three for Tea.

How comfy it would be if we could really sit together in The Writer's Armchair―not only in the armchair but in the loveseat, on the little rug in front of the fire, on the ottoman, and everywhere, sipping tea and eating cookies. We could pet Kashi, watch the snow fall, and chat about writing. Where is your plot taking you? Have you figured out why your main character is so rebellious? How do you temper heavy scenes with humorous ones? How do you know which words to excise from your poem? Where has the muse gone? Will she be back?

Since we can't, I've decided to hold a virtual tea party in my virtual living room every so often and invite three special guests to answer a burning question about the writing life. You can participate by sending me your questions and by helping grow the discussion in the comments section below.

Please do! We love comments! We love discussion! And we need cookies, cake, and cupcakes for future get-togethers!

Today's Three: Jeannine Atkins, Clara Gillow Clark, Blythe Woolston
Today's Tea: Bigelow Green Tea with Mango
Today's Cookie: Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies

Question: When you explore an idea for a new book, how do you know when your idea is solid enough to sustain a lengthy project? What signals you that the foundation is there?

Jeannine Atkins

"I usually start with a girl or woman who I think should be better known, but that's never enough. After the first catching of my breath, if the character keeps tugging at my attention, I look for a narrative that could carry the piece regardless of the heroine's name. Can I find or create ordinary scenes which display her extraordinary qualities, as well as scenes that get in the way of achievement? Can I locate details from the setting that illuminate theme? Once small objects or everyday moments seem to hold universal feelings, I know I have a story."

Jeannine Atkins is the author of Borrowed Names: Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C. J. Walker, Marie Curie and their Daughters (Henry Holt), which is a Booklist Editor's Choice 2010, a BCCB Blue Ribbon book for 2010, and a Book Links Lasting Connections of 2010. Jeannine blogs at Views from a Windowseat.

Clara Gillow Clark

"When do I know that it’s time to begin writing? I’ve done the research; I’ve mapped out the plot; I know what the story is about. I have ideas for several characters in my head. I should be ready to write, and I’m already creating scenes in my head, playing around with characters and situations, but no one steps forward to speak. Now what? That’s when I browse my book shelves until a character in a book speaks to me, and I feel that voice resonate inside my head and heart. I read until the right voice for my story comes. When the right voice speaks, I know it’s time to write."

Clara Gillow Clark writes historical fiction for children including Hill Hawk Hattie (starred review in Booklist), Hattie on Her Way (starred review in Kirkus), and Secrets of Greymoor, a series of books about Hattie Belle Basket, a young girl living on the Delaware River in the late 1800s. Enjoy Clara's lively blog here.

Blythe Woolston

"Because of my aimless approach to writing, I *don't* know how an idea will develop. I'm more than willing to chase rabbits down holes, and sometimes the trip is a short scoot from one patch of sagebrush to another. None of my books are lengthy, honestly. That may be because concision is valued in technical writing and indexing, but it may just be that I'm lazy.

"If I have a character, that's the foundation. If I have a character, I have a world. All I have to do is immerse myself and witness what happens."

Blythe Woolston is a reader. Right now, she makes her living indexing scholarly books. She has also worked as a writing teacher, library clerk, and production coordinator for a computer book publisher. Writing books is a new way for her to love reading. Blythe's first book, The Freak Observer, received the 2011 William C. Morris Award, which honors a YA book written by a debut author. Visit Blythe's website and read her blog here.

How do you know when your book is ready to write? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. I also invite my readers to submit a cookie or cupcake recipe along with a photo for our next Three for Tea. And let me know what you think of this new feature at The WA.

Picture me upon your knee,
With tea for two and two for tea,
Just me for you and you for me, alone!

(from No, No, Nanette)

Poetry Friday: Lost and found

2011-01-14T05:04:00.002-05:00

When I saw the topic of last week's Monday Poetry Stretch at The Miss Rumphius Effect, I decided to give it a try. Losing and finding is a subject near and dear to my heart. In fact, I have just lost another pair of glasses. The first of the new year!

To be fair, I've been doing a lot of finding lately, too. It helps. The only problem is, the things I find are not the things I lost.

Here is my poem, stapled securely to this blog.

Missing Person

I looked for you in the letter you sent.
I looked for you in your chair.
I looked for you in the steam of the soup.
I drew a picture of you, and I looked there, too.
I looked for you in the veins of the leaves.
I made up a song about you, and the song evaporated.
When I looked in my pockets, I found my hands.
When I looked in my hands, I found my face.
I looked for you in half a moon, but you were in the half I couldn't see.
I dreamed you were standing on a hill far away, and the hills kept moving.
I looked for you everywhere,
and I couldn't find you anywhere.

Then I heard your voice on the telephone.
You said some words, and I heard the inside of your voice and not the words.
I looked in the mirror, and I saw you.
I looked in a pile of leaves, and I saw you.
I listened to a chord on the guitar, and I heard you.
I smelled the scent of pine needles, and I smelled you.
I bit into an apple, and I tasted you.
When I looked at the clock, it told me you were coming closer.
I drew your picture in my palm.
I kept that picture in my glove.
I looked for you anywhere,
and I found you everywhere.

Copyright © Toby Speed 2011. All rights reserved.

Laura Salas has the rest of the Poetry Friday roundup at Writing the World for Kids. Stop by and enjoy the poetry party.

There is a great deal of poetry and
fine sentiment in a chest of tea.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Meow

2011-01-12T20:12:00.000-05:00

Kashi, the Armchair traveler?

While Toby does the dishes, I'll just get a word in.

This blog could use a little livening up. I mean, really, she gets so darn serious about everything. Writing, writing, writing. You could just plotz. I've hinted around that I'd like my own column. Areas of expertise? I've got e'm.

She keeps saying, "We'll see." Control issues, that's all it is.

So I put it to you, friends of The WA. Which of these columns would you like to see moi, Kashi, in charge of?

1. Kashi Explores. A cat's-eye view of culture, nature, and inspiration on Long Island.

2. Kashi's Quotes. I take over doing the Scrips and Scraps feature.

3. Ask Kashi. My personal favorite―advice columnist.

Cast your vote in the comments. I'll check back when the mistress is out. Thanks, and I'll have a bite of that chicken, if you can't finish it.

Growing Poems with Amy LV

2011-01-11T04:26:00.002-05:00

One of the bright stars in the children’s poetry sky today, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater illuminates life and feeling and all things understandable to children day after day at The Poem Farm.

Please welcome my friend Amy to The Writer’s Armchair today. If you’re not already familiar with her work, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to introduce you to this poet, teacher, word-cultivator and all-around sparkly spirit. Amy’s blog, in which “A Writing Teacher Encourages, Tends, and Celebrates Words,” has been the stage for nearly a year of a poem-a-day project that Amy calls MyPoWriYe (My Poem Writing Year).

Her poems appear online magically in the middle of the night―or they seem to, anyway. Behind the scenes, Amy is hoeing and raking, tending and watering, pruning and staking her poems to bring them to us fresh and at the peak of flavor. She draws from every source available―memory, observation, random topics she assigns herself, or new poetic formats she wants to tackle. To give you a few examples of recent Amy-topics, she has written lately about eating snow, reading at night by flashlight, birds' nests in winter, and writing poems with ice skates.

The creek behind Amy's house

Amy shares work from the classrooms she visits and also provides poetry activities for teachers, connecting these tips with her own poems. More than anything, she constantly reminds us that inspiration is everywhere.

"We live on 24 acres with lots of woods and hiking trails," Amy says of her home in Western New York State, where she lives with her husband Mark and their children, Georgia, Hope, and Henry. "Great for walking in three seasons and snowshoeing in one. We call this place Heart Rock Farm, and it's so quiet."

At a time when poetry for children is not faring well and anthologies are becoming rarer and rarer, Amy has much to celebrate. She has been published in a number of anthologies, including the gorgeous Sharing the Seasons (McElderry, 2010), an anthology selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by David Diaz. The book is a 2010 Cybils Finalist.

Other anthologies include Incredible Inventions (Greenwillow), a 2009 NCTE Poetry Notable illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach, and the forthcoming I Am the Book (Holiday House), illustrated by Yayo and due out in March of this year. Both anthologies were selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

(Hmmm....any ideas about who Amy's mentor might be?)

And in fall 2012, Amy's first solo effort, Forest Has a Song, will be published by Clarion. The illustrator is Robbin Gourley.

I met Amy online in the Poetry Friday community and got to meet her in real life last October at Kidlit Con when we roomed together. If only I had taken a photo of her wearing her amazing tapestry jacket! Opportunity missed! She turned out to be as vibrant, imaginative, and smart in 3-D as she was in the blogosphere. And with boundless energy. When I was crashing at the end of the long day, she was tweeting, writing, and buzzing about somewhere in the recesses of the hotel.

Following our conversation, at the bottom of this post, you will find a new poem Amy wrote just for The WA. I am so pleased to share it with you.

Tell us about the genesis of The Poem Farm. Why did you start blogging? What did you hope to accomplish?

The Poem Farm was an impulsive idea, not planned at all. Last March, my agent, Elizabeth Harding of Curtis Brown suggested that I begin a blog. At the same time, I read about NaPoWriMo, a month dedicated to writing and posting an original poem each day at one’s website or blog. “Hmmm…” I thought. “That sounds like fun. A daily public poem would get me going. But I don’t have a website or blog.” So late one spring evening, my untechnological self tiptoed online, found that “The Poem Farm” was an available site name, and just plowed into this friendly land of Blogger.

Amy's house in Western New York State

How and why did you begin writing a poem a day for a year?

Because The Poem Farm grew through NaPoWriMo 2010, I found a comfy rhythm in writing a poem each day. Too, I fell in love with the community of poets and teachers I had met. When last April drew to a close, I knew that I would miss all of this. To keep myself writing and to stay with my new friends, I dedicated myself to the year-long project.

What is your biggest challenge with the poem-a-day project? What do you find most satisfying?

Like many things, the biggest challenge and the most satisfying part are the same. I both worry about and love the mystery that comes with a commitment to a daily poem. Each morning, I wonder what that day’s poem will be, and I listen for it all day long. This has opened my eyes to a world of questions, observations, and small beauties that would have passed me by if I were not seeking poems everywhere.

L to R, Georgia, Mark, Hope, Amy, Henry

I am very grateful that when I sit and wait for a poem, it usually finds me. My best poems do not feel like they come from me at all, but from a voice out there somewhere.

One thing that can be tricky is technology. I have a fancy phone now so that I am always able to post, but I much prefer my own computer. The Poem Farm mostly grows in the middle of the night, and it’s fun to see who else is awake and writing at 1 a.m!

You've talked to me about how the mentor relationship you have with Lee Bennett Hopkins has helped you blossom creatively. Would you speak to that?

In the lean to: Georgia, Henry, Hope

Lee’s belief in my work combined with his high standards and honest criticism nudge me to examine every word and thought I write on paper. Lee has encouraged and required me to read my work aloud, cut extra words, take risks. His voice in my head teaches me to both trust and question myself. Lee has been the most generous teacher I have ever had, and the lessons he has taught me extend beyond writing into teaching, parenting, and living life with boldness and generosity.

Where do you like to write? Do you have any favorite objects or totems in your work area that inspire you?

I write everywhere on anything. While I do keep a notebook, many of my poems end up on scraps of envelope or napkin, whatever happens to be nearest as I live my life at a school, in my car, anywhere. I write at our kitchen table, on the couch (with a cat on my feet), on the floor, even outside. It is true that I pull my car over to the side of the road when an idea comes, and I often think about poetry when I fall asleep at night. It is important for me to keep my mind open to any idea that wants to float in. Once I have a poem started, I bring it to the computer and make final revisions on the screen.

Honestly, my desk and computer space are a mess. I love natural objects and hope to one day make a beautiful work space filled with artwork and shells and stones. But I do thrive on chaos.

Icelandic sheep Meteor, Orion, and Nora

What are some of the ways you bring poetry into the classroom?

As a writing teacher, my day job brings me into classrooms where I teach writing workshops. Because of this, I have structured the format of The Poem Farm to match a classroom setting. I write directly to young writers and teachers with the hope that students will read my poems and learn about their own process at the same time.

Many classrooms read my blog together on their SMART Boards or in learning centers, and I have made friends with several homeschooling families. I love sharing classroom poetry projects through regular “Poetry Peeks,” and teachers have been very generous in writing about their poetic ideas. I keep these posts highlighted in the sidebar of my blog, and this year I will also begin a new series titled “Poetry Around the World” with guests from various countries.


The milkhouse where Irwin the bunny lives.

Living on a farm with lots of animals provides you with lots of inspiration for your poems. Is there anywhere else you like to go to get inspired?

Every second of every day holds some little spark, and I try to feel it. My family feeds me so much of this warmth, and my children’s stories as well as Mark’s love of nature have inspired many of my poems. I once heard that each person has an internal age, an age s/he always feels, and mine is seven. Lots of my poems come from that seven-year-old place.

What advice do you have for new or unpublished poets trying to get the word out about their work?

There are many ways to connect with the world once one feels strong in one’s craft. Taking classes (Rebecca Kai Dotlich has a great one coming up through Highlights) and attending workshops and conferences such as SCBWI, NCTE or IRA is one way to meet people and find potential homes for poems.

I highly recommend the book The Children's Writers and Illustrators Market as a place to learn about the industry. A clear online web presence has certainly helped me, as has this Samuel Beckett quote, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”

After your year of poems is up, what's next?

Oh my. That will be a surprise to me too!

And last―tell us a few of your favorite things:

Snack – popcorn popped in oil with butter and salt

Color – no favorite…I love them all

Type of weather – a bright autumn day or a blue winter night

Spice/seasoning – sage (butter, fresh sage, & parmesan on pasta – delicious!)

Music – folk

Place to read – on our big purple chair

Amy, thank you so much for visiting!

One Day

by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

If you become a child one day
and I become your horse
you'll ask me for a trail ride.
I'll neigh to say Of course.

You'll strap a saddle to my back
a bridle on my face.
Reaching itches, smoothing hairs
you'll brush me everyplace.

And I will stand so still, so proud
my reins safe in your hands
as silently we share our dreams
of rides in far-off lands.

We'll canter out beyond this barn.
In forests we will roam.
You'll sing through fields of goldenrod.
I'll swiftly trot you home.

Turning back, I'll look at you
your smile and hair so free
knowing that at last I gave
what you now give to me.

NaRae, ReRa, and Nora

Meyer Lemon Cookie Thins
from Trader Joe's
are good cookies with tea!

Coming up at The WA, and trees again

2011-01-10T05:56:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the new week!

Unwrapping some new ideas

Tomorrow at The WA my guest will be children's poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, who has been tending and growing words with much liveliness and success. Do stop by for some tea and inspiration.

Looking ahead, a new feature will soon debut in this space called Three for Tea, in which three folks selected from the children's literary world will answer a question related to the writing life. I so enjoy reading these mini-perspectives on other's blogs and hope it will be a feature you'll return to here. Three for Tea will appear irregularly.

I've been a little obsessed lately with the idea of people turning into trees. You may have seen my post on the subject last week.

In my quest to unearth tree lore, I have been reading various versions of the Greek myth involving Daphne, Apollo, and Cupid, and exploring the Greek tree nympths, the Dryads. I also learned about a one-act musical called Once On This Island, set in the Caribbean, in which a woman is turned into a tree. The story involves powerful gods and unrequited love.

My A.Word.A.Day Compendium of Email Feedback tells me that this is the Jewish month of Shevat, in which the holiday of Tu b'Shevat, or New Year of the Trees, is celebrated by planting trees and eating dried fruits and nuts, especially figs, dates, raisins, carob, and almonds. Perfect timing.

Do you have any other references in mythology, art, or folklore to people turning into trees? Please share in the comments below.

By the 16th century, tea drinking had spread to all levels of society
in Japan. Sen no Rikyu, perhaps the most well-known—and still
revered—historical figure in tea ceremony, followed his master,
Takeno 's, concept of ichi-go ichi-e, a philosophy that each meeting
should be treasured, for it can never be reproduced. (Thank you to
Marileta, for that reference.)

I'm a girl, I'm a tree

2011-01-07T05:28:00.006-05:00

Happy first Poetry Friday of 2011!

I saw this photo on Ken Ronkowitz's website (an aggregate of his several blogs) and had to reproduce it here, if only to have the personal pleasure of going back to it from time to time to marvel at it.

He linked to the photo on Facebook the day before Christmas, and while my eyes were bugging out, Poetry Friday regular Laura Shovan popped in and said, "For real?" and posted a link to the following spot-on poem. See if you agree.

I can look at this photo and read this poem all day, and not get tired―perhaps because I'm a girl and a little bit tree, myself.

Daphne

by Emma Jones

And if I was changed, what was the difference?
And if I was strung — myself and not myself,
a double thing, there was a consequence.
When I was a girl, I was a girl.
And now I'm a tree, I'm a tree.

Seasons don't arrive. There's just a shifting.
We move. I see it now. The staid worlds move,
and the sun is no dragged lamp.

Read the rest here, at Verse Daily.

All I know about Emma Jones is that she's from Sydney, Australia, where the trees grow the other way, and that her first book of poetry, The Striped World, came out in 2009. You can listen to an absorbing Faber Poetry Podcast interview with her here. She speaks at length about a long, complex poem she wrote called "Zoos of the Dead," that derives from her preoccupations with lost language and aboriginal history. Her other interests include the sea and the old transport stories to do with Australia's founding, its floating culture, and shipwrecks. I like her a lot. I get this Rilke vibe from her that I love.

The rest of the Poetry Friday roundup awaits you over at Irene's Live. Love. Explore. Thank you for hosting, Irene.

"Come along inside...
We'll see if tea and buns
can make the world
a better place."

- The Wind in the Willows

Pour

2011-01-05T06:53:00.002-05:00

Looks like a book. Feels like a book.

Around the blogosphere people are choosing one word to guide them through 2011. I like this kind of visualization, and since I like words so much I've been thinking about mine. It's not too late, is it?

I've considered several so far: fresh, which comes complete with its own spritz of cool water; open, which is both verb and noun; and publish, which laughed at me over my shoulder for three hours until I dropped it.

I've settled on pour, which I like for its unusualness and the way it reminds me of the mountains of stories inside me wanting to be written. While I've been working on draft #2 of Death Over Easy, which much to my delight has been a literal outpouring of stuff from chattering, busy characters, behind the scenes I've been keeping the gates closed against this rush of ideas for new books, because I didn't have the time to devote to them until now. I didn't even have time to think about them, though I was happy to know they were there.

My draft is now in the hands of three initial readers, and it will go through a third (lengthier than the second) draft before it goes out to publishers. While I wait, I've opened the door a crack to see what else may come pouring out this year.

1. Collection of odd tales (tentatively, Stories from Someplace Else) for readers 9 or 10 years old. Four have been written (and recently revised); two or three more are in progress. I'd love to finish this up in 2011, and my head's in the right place to do it.

2. The Lighthouse Dancers. Go back to my middle-grade novel that didn't work out some years ago. Change voice. Simplify. Perhaps write in verse? I'm excited about this one.

3. Two picture book ideas I'm still pondering.

4. Poetry. Do something with all the poems I've written for children. Group? Find themes? Publish singly? *sigh*

This list brings me back to the mid-1980s, when I first started writing for children. I was so full of ideas and energy, I didn't know what to write first! The stories poured out, one after the other. I feel so blessed to be in a similar state now, and my greatest wish is that while I'm in it I can keep up with the flow and produce some good work. I am happiest and do my best work in times like this.

So, the plan is to get started on something in numbers 1 to 4, return to Death Over Easy, and spend the spring/summer marketing the book to agents.

Other goals for 2011:

1. Blog more.

2. Beef up website and blog as author platform (more interviews with Death Over Easy characters, etc.)

3. Resume yoga practice. Especially, wake up to yoga. (Have been doing yoga for decades; took break for a few months, and favorite class begins again tonight. My mat is packed!)

4. Eat as healthfully as possible. Pour more tea.

On another note, the Cybils Finalists have been released. Check them out, if you haven't already. Just reading the shortlists has my mouth watering. I've already printed up all the lists (except graphic novels, which I haven't taken to) to bring to the library, and I'm eager to read as many as possible. In the poetry category there are seven finalists, and I'm proud to say I've read―and have on my personal bookshelves―six of those books.

Wishing you all outpourings of creativity in 2011, and satisfaction.

Happy
National
Hot Tea
Month!

LICWI Roundup

2011-01-03T11:49:00.000-05:00

Fluff the cushions, brush off the fruit cake crumbs. We are back in The Writer's Armchair after a blogging holiday. Welcome!

It's been too long since my last LICWI (Long Island Children's Writers and Illustrators) roundup, and below is a gathering of late fall and early winter news from our group. Readers, I invite your news for my next roundup. Although my original plan was to publish a roundup each month, I've decided to go with the flow and blog when I have a critical mass or the time seems right. New publication? Timely event? Please let me know.

Congrats to Lynne Marie, whose original Malagasy folktale, "Little Rakoto and the Crocodile," appears in the January 2011 issue of Spider magazine. While she awaits publication of her first picture book, HEDGEHOG GOES TO KINDERGARTEN, Lynne invites readers to visit her blog for writing/illustrating tips and inspiration.

Debbie Vilardi is pleased to announce that her poem, "Opportunity," appears in the debut issue of an e-anthology called Quantum Genre in the Planet of the Arts. Quantum Genre is an emerging type of fiction embracing subjects and techniques that (as described in the editor's introduction) are not mainstream. You can find Debbie's work on page 58.

The Bridgehampton Historical Society's Parlor Series features regional artists, singers, songwriters, and writers. This year's schedule includes Brian Heinz (author of the forthcoming picture book, A COMING OF WINTER IN THE ADIRONDACKS, and many others) who will appear on Saturday, March 26th at 2:00 p.m. Reservations are required.

From Yvonne Capitelli comes the exciting news that her picture book, DARIA ROSE AND THE DAY SHE CHOSE, was one of 24 books chosen for the 2010 KART Kids Book List in association with the South Jersey Children's Literacy Festival.

The third book in Sheila and Letty Sustrin's series―THE TEACHER WHO WOULD NOT RETIRE DISCOVERS A NEW PLANET―has been reviewed in the January 2011 issue of the New York State United Teachers United Magazine. Go, Sustrin twins and Mrs. Belle!

Next up at The WA: thoughts on novel-writing and revising, and a fresh new word for the new year. See you again soon.

Favorite tea of the week: Vanilla Chai by Bigelow.

Bring to boil 12 oz fresh water and 4 oz. milk. Add two tea bags and simmer 2-3 minutes. Pour, add honey and a dash of cinnamon, and enjoy.

Fa-la-la-la-la!

2010-12-22T11:35:00.004-05:00

The green one makes me think of Dr. Seuss.

My personal holiday decorating crew―daughters Zoe and Kate, and Kate's beau Anthony― arrived last night bearing flowers.

There are lots of little buds in there that have yet to open and reveal their surprises. The pink ones on the left might be carnations, but they seem small. And then there are the intriguing red ones in the back, center. The yellow spiky ones on the right, in their graduated sizes, look like a family. They make me think of the stick figure family decals that people put on the rear windows of their cars.

Most of all I love the green many-petaled splendor on the left, for its whimsy.

I provided eggplant parmigiana heroes and tossed salad, and after supper, the crew put up the tree, added the ornaments, and decorated the whole house with little snow globes, nesting Santas, porcelain figurines, Clorox bottle Santas from pre-kindergarten class of many years ago, and all the other favorite items I pull out of the storage box each year.

We listened to Straight No Chaser's zestful and slightly irreverant holiday album, ate many kinds of cookies, drank tea (of course), and then watched several episodes of Family Guy.

Miss Kashi helped by performing quality control.

I'd like to wish all of you peace, love, and health during the holidays and in the new year. May you find and savor all the treasures, large and small, that come your way every day.

Polly put the kettle on
Polly put the kettle on
Polly put the kettle on
We'll all have tea

Sukey take it off again
Sukey take it off again
Sukey take it off again
They've all gone away

Bella Luna

2010-12-20T20:18:00.000-05:00

Here is the moon tonight, full and pre-eclipse. I just snapped this photo of our Bella Luna in my parking lot. Happy Winter Solstice, lunar eclipse, and full moon to all of my friends!

From an article on Yahoo news:

The total phase of the upcoming event will be visible across all of North and South America, as well as the northern and western part of Europe, and a small part of northeast Asia, including Korea and much of Japan. Totality will also be visible in its entirety from the North Island of New Zealand and Hawaii — a potential viewing audience of about 1.5 billion people. This will be the first opportunity from any place on earth to see the moon undergo a total eclipse in 34 months.

I plan to set my alarm, leave my coat and hat by the door, and go outside at 1:33 a.m. to check it out. How about you?

Bear had never been awake in the winter before. When he opened his eyes and saw all the snow, he thought he was on the moon. He climbed out of his rocket ship, scooped up some snow, and made a little mooncake.
Then he tasted it.
It tasted like something he had tasted before, but he wasn't quite sure what it was.

- from Mooncake, by Frank Asch

Saturday snapshot

2010-12-11T13:26:00.000-05:00

Aren't these the most beautiful tomatoes? They're my weekend writing snack. The yellow ones especially are very delicious. Please help yourself to a handful!

Revisions on Death Over Easy are coming along. I'm up to page 37 out of 215 and have already cut nearly 3,000 words from the manuscript. Right now I'm perking up a chase scene.

Master plan:

1. Cut, correct, perk up and polish.

2. Give copies to my three readers.

3. Put manuscript aside while waiting for feedback and work on something new.

4. Come up with list of potential agents and get ready to blitz.

5. Incorporate feedback, start blitzing.

6. Get Scrivener and start tossing scenes into it for book 2, Death on the Runway.

I'm a little teapot, short and stout.
Here is my handle, here is my spout.
When I get all steamed up, hear me shout.
Just tip me over, and pour me out!

Bored by poetry? Try this.

2010-12-10T07:16:00.001-05:00

Happy Poetry Friday!

Some time ago, one of the Poetry Friday regulars reviewed Jayne Jaudon Ferrer's daily poetry email, Your Daily Poem. I am sorry I can't remember who it was (please speak up if it was you), but I gave it a try. Was I glad I did!

The poetry Jayne offers up each day with anecdotal preface and bio for each poet is accessible, down-to-earth, and emotionally resonant. I'm not a fan of poetry that's too cerebral. If I have to read it ten times and try too hard to disentangle the punctuation and syntax―and still never quite figure out what's being said―then out it goes.

Your Daily Poem's statement of purpose begins: "In 2001, poet Jayne Jaudon Ferrer accepted a challenge from her brother and brother-in-law to prove that poetry is not boring and that there were poems they would actually enjoy reading." She started with a 30-day poetry email to family and friends during National Poetry Month in April, and the response was so positive that she repeated it the next year. After eight years of 30-day poetry onslaughts, she expanded to 365 days.

One of Jayne's recent selections was a poem by Wendy Morton, founder of Canada's Random Acts of Poetry, that appeared on a wine bottle. She finds poems in the coolest places.

For the holiday season, Jayne has begun offering all of the site's poems in wood frames on acid-free paper for $40 each. The proceeds are split 50/50 between Your Daily Poem and the poet. (I'm not sure about poems in the public domain.) What a nice treat for someone on your list!

Here is today's email poem. It is in the public domain. Visit the link at the left for a sampling of Jayne's presentation and all the goodies she provides. Better yet, subscribe for your own daily treat.

Mistletoe
by Walter de la Mare

Sitting under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
One last candle burning low,
all the sleepy dancers gone,
Just one candle burning on,
Shadows lurking everywhere:
Some one came, and kissed me there.

Tired I was; my head would go
Nodding under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
No footsteps came, no voice, but only,
Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,
Stooped in the still and shadowy air
Lips unseen - and kissed me there.

I love the varied placement of the fairy mistletoe line and the way it breaks up the paired end-rhymes.

Today's poetry roundup is hosted by the lovely and talented Jama Rattigan at Alphabet Soup! Go slurp some up!

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if it is the axis
on which the world earth revolves
- slowly, evenly, without
rushing toward the future;
Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.
- Thich Nhat Hanh

Snapshots from the weekend

2010-12-08T06:50:00.005-05:00

My dear friend Marileta just came to visit for a few days. The wind was a-blowing up in the harbor, but we bundled up and took in some of the annual Port Jefferson Dickens Festival.

Here are a few snapshots for you―not the best, but they were all I could manage with freezing hands that were wearing mittens!

People strolled through town in Dicken's-era costumes, a trolley ran, and horse-drawn carriages went clip-clopping by. Skaters circled the rink by the Village Center. We walked down to Harborfront Park to check out the rails from the old shipbuilding days, but it was too cold to stay there long.

We saw an old time radio show version of "A Christmas Carol," where the actors huddled around microphones while a man alongside slammed doors and rattled chains with a sound-effects box. Also enjoyed mulled cider and cookies down at Fezziwig's, listened in on some storytelling, and witnessed the arrival of the Festival's mascot, Oscar the pig, who wears a top hat and answers yes-or-no questions with some skill.

Later, my daughter Zoe and her friend Faye, who was Zoe's roommate all through her McGill student days, joined Marileta and me for high tea at the Presbyterian Church. All of our teacups were different.

Faye, me, Marileta, and Zoe at tea

The handle on Faye's teacup was so tiny, you couldn't squeeze a pinky through it.

Trying to stay warm on Main Street

On another day Marileta and I drove out to Jones Beach and walked a couple miles on the boardwalk, watched the seagulls dip and dive, and admired the castles. That is what the buildings designed by Robert Moses resemble, anyway. I wish I had taken a picture of the garbage can covers. They look like those steam vents on ships. The entire boardwalk, with its bandshell, miniature golf course, and other recreation spots, was designed to make visitors feel like they're on a cruise.

That night we saw Santa ride by on a firetruck, a tradition in my town. When my girls were little, they waited for him in their pajamas. We'd all run outside to wave to him while his firefighter elves tossed candy and coloring books onto the lawn. It's a little different now without the girls, but brings back good memories.

A few weeks ago Marileta visited the south of France, and I was treated to an annotated photo tour of the narrow streets and countryside of St. Nazaire de Ladarez. I love the old stone buildings leaning together over the cobblestone streets. The population here is only 300-some-odd. Click on the link above to read about her travels.

Our weekend was topped off by lots of time for reading, writing, conversation, and critiquing. Absolutely the best. I'm already looking forward to our next retreat.

Scrips and Scraps

2010-11-23T11:37:00.003-05:00

Carrot cloud

Every so often (well, once before, so far) I like to post words of wisdom I've read in blogs or other social media. I call these occasional offerings Scrips and Scraps.

"Half of writing is having an openness to what is before us, listening always, ready to accept a poem or a story when it sails by."
~ Amy Ludwig VanDerwater from her blog, The Poem Farm

"Writing is like building a snowman. You break your back rolling and rolling trying to make nothing into something, but you've no idea where this snowman will end up nor the journey you will take to get there. Over time, with a little luck, the snowball will start ripping up the grass."
~ Linda Zajac, on Facebook

"Nature does give inspiration, but much of it is through reminders of the curious ways beauty may greet us."
~ Jeannine Atkins from her blog, Views from a Window Seat

"The starting point of every evaluation I write is how the book made me feel—did I lose myself in the book’s world? How resentful did I feel when asked to make cheese sandwiches while reading it?"
~ Charlotte Taylor from an interview at Children's Books and Reviews

"A poet or someone who sings or plays a musical instrument has a leg up in writing a picture book. But, in truth, anyone with rhythm in their bones and a keen sense of Poohish understatement may be capable of writing a picture book."
~ Patti Lee Gauch from an interview with Martha Brockenbrough

It's almost Thanksgiving, and I'd like to take this moment to thank all my loyal readers and friends for following my blog and being part of our little community. There are many blogs out there, and only so much time to read them. Over the coming months I hope to keep writing the words you want to read. Please help yourself to tea and cookies, and share a comment before you go.

Poetry Friday with Kashi

2010-11-19T05:13:00.001-05:00

The hostess with the mostest.

Happy Poetry Friday to all my human friends!

Kashi here, delighted to be your hostess again. I said to Toby the other day, look, Poetry Friday will be here before you know it. Don't you think it's time you started thinking about your blog?

And do you know what she did? She whined. She groaned. She told me she was too busy working on revisions to her novel, Death Over Easy, and she couldn't possibly stop to think about Poetry Friday.

I offered my services. You don't mind, do you?

Ever since I got my start in show biz over at Jama's, I've been practicing in front of a mirror. Now I'm friends with the camera. As you can see.

I pried open the top drawer of Toby's file cabinet with my paw and found a poem that's near and dear to my heart. I hope you like it. If so, be advised that I accept any or all of the following in return:

1. A scritch under the right side of the chin.
2. A scratch under the left side of the chin.
3. A scrootch on the tummy.
4. A few Whisker Lickin's Tender Moments, salmon flavor.
5. A nice piece of wrapping paper to sit on.

Pawtographs will be given out after the poetry. Please form a line. Thank you.

Wondering

by Toby Speed

Purring: how's it done?

Is it activated

by the sun?

Perhaps a scratch

between the ears;

a lap,

perhaps, appears.

Is it triggered

by a treat?

Or (folded in a window seat,

eyes shut,

tucked-under feet)

is it prelude to a nap?

Or just a knack?

This week's roundup of purretry is hosted by Diane at Random Noodling. Thanks, Diane!

We had a kettle; we let it leak:
Our not repairing made it worse.
We haven't had any tea for a week...
The bottom is out of the Universe.
- Rudyard Kipling

The End

2010-11-16T11:39:00.003-05:00

Since I typed those two small words halfway down a blank page early yesterday morning, I've been filled with a strange mix of feelings—wistful happiness, pride, satisfaction, loss, even a touch of envy.

As I wrote on Facebook today, finishing the novel was a much different experience than finishing any of my picture books. I was excited then, too. Euphoric. But I never felt like rushing out, knocking on my main character's door, and asking her how she felt coming out of all these experiences. Was she scared? Is she happier now? Does she really love so-and-so? And has she put a good lock on her door?

Part of me also wishes I were more like Emma. I'd never have the guts to do a fraction of the things she does in the story. I keep thinking and thinking about the choices she makes and wondering if I could ever come close to the almost Zen approach with which she faces the most frightening circumstances. Her way of plowing forward and doing what needs to be done, her confidence in her own instincts, and her lack of selfconsciousness—she is a true role model for me.

Near the end of the book, Emma says, "Life never lives up to my fantasies." Which is really ironic. To think that Emma is disappointed in the reality she created? Has she really paid no attention all this time?

But, of course, it is we, the readers (and in this case, the writer, too) who see the truth. We can see how she has evolved, even if she can't.

On the way to work today, I played "Spanish Nights" by Earl Klugh six or eight times (it's good music for the rolling credits) while I mentally chatted with Emma at a local coffee shop. I was surprised to see she'd ordered a Chai tea. I wouldn't have thought she liked that.

"It's sweet," Emma said with a smile. "I'm a sucker for sweet."

I asked her how her head felt, and she said "pretty okay." I admired her new do, and asked about Tony. She seemed shy, and I realized that even though I knew her life intimately, she knew nothing about me and was probably a bit uncomfortable. Even so, she seemed glad for the attention and was gracious with her answers.

"Tony," she said, twisting her mouth, "he's great. I'm really glad I met him, and I think he'll be in my life for a while. As far as forever, I don't know. I don't know him that well yet. And he may not be so crazy about me once he gets to see the real me."

"But you [blank] [blank] [blank]!" I said. (I've omitted those words, because I can't very well give the plot away, eh?)

"I know," Emma said with a sigh. "I'm just confused right now. And you're looking at me through rose-colored glasses. Do you see the kind of family I have?"

"They seem very adventurous," I said. "I like the way you grew up with gamblers and daredevils."

"Wait'll you meet my mom," Emma replied.

When I wrote my first notes about the book, I was in my mid-40s, and Emma was going on 40. I knew she'd be jumping through windows and so forth, and I wanted to give her an edge. Now I'm 17 years older than she is, and I feel more like her mother! How's that for strange.

We ended our chat with a long hug, and I'm very glad I had the chance to tell her how proud I am of her.

Note: I'm so pleased! Today I'm the special guest on my dear friend Clara Gillow Clark's blog. Clara and I go back a long way, to summers shared out at Bunnell's Pond in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. We spent many a night porch-sitting, sharing stories, and encouraging each other with our writing.

Clara is the author of historical novels for children including Hill Hawk Hattie and Secrets of Greymoor. If you are not already a follower of her blog, do go take a look. Thank you, Clara!

Josephine Nobisso's movie star books

2010-11-15T05:39:00.004-05:00

photo by Pat Rogers, The Southampton Press.

It's not every day that you hear about picture books getting starring roles in movies. But that's just what has happened with the delightful books created by my dear friend, founding LICWI author and publisher Josephine Nobisso.

Joi (pronounced like Joey) has just signed a release for the fourth major motion picture in which books from her own small press, Gingerbread Publishing House, will be used as set dressings. The latest contract is for the film Two Days in New York, with Chris Rock. The other three releases include two pictures already released in 2010―Motherhood, with Uma Thurman, and The Switch, with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. Another 2010 picture in which Joi's books will dress the sets is Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, with Natalie Portman.

With her daughter, art director and operations manager Maria Nicotra, Joi publishes original books, brings back out-of-print books, and has sold rights to foreign editions of books in nine countries―all from a gambrel cottage in her yard in Westhampton Beach, New York. Gingerbread House's titles have won numerous international awards.

I can't go one step further without sending you to 27East.com's story about mother and daughter ("Home is like a fairy tale for children's book author") that appeared last year, complete with 23 photos of their realio trulio gingerbread house, along with said cottage. Books, clogs, tea sets, bears, pillows and ruffles and library cases―go look, and then come back!

Please welcome Joi to The Writer's Armchair today.

Congratulations, Joi! The burning question on our lips is...is it true that having picture books in the movie biz is the road to fame and fortune?

Your readers may wonder if there is any remuneration. The answer: are you kidding? Get paid in this field? When I told someone in the industry the news after signing the first release, he summed it up: "There are publishers who would kill to have happen to them what just happened to you!" We didn't have to go to those lengths, thank goodness! In fact, if readers are curious about how this all came about, I can assure them that we are, too! We got a call out of the blue from the first producer, and the rest was due to the snowball effect, I suppose, We never solicited movie folks, and never pursued the contacts. Sometimes, this business is a dream!

Which books are they using?

They're using the entire Gingerbread House list, which is nine titles, with two more in Spanish. We don't send my books with other houses because, of course, we don't have power to sign releases for those.

Do you have any idea how the first producer found you?

We came into the office one morning, and there was a message from the producer of Motherhood on our voicemail. She was asking for permission to use our books as set dressings. (We haven't ever erased that message!) After we composed ourselves, I called to say, "Sure. What do you need from us?" I asked the producer how she'd thought of us, and she made some allusion to Ms. Thurman's being a fan. They sent us the release to sign, we sent them a box of books, and the producer sent us both a hard copy and an email attachment of the screenplay for Motherhood, asking us to mark where we thought the books could show up in the film.

This was a story about a very bookish family. The mother writes a blog called "Smotherhood," and the father is a working book editor, but there weren't as many opportunities as we would have imagined there'd be, since books were primarily backdrop. The film focuses on one very hectic New York City day as the mom prepares for her daughter's sixth birthday.

Joi and Maria

Maria and I both read the work and made some pretty outlandish suggestions for book use: could they use a book as a hot plate under the parents' coffee pot? In a scene in which the mother is to become frustrated with her life, we suggested she get a paper cut on a picture book as she cleared the table, instead of getting burned, as she does, by her own spilled coffee, since getting frustrated on an object connected to motherhood would be more to the point. Couldn't one of the child's birthday presents be a picture book?

We had no contact with anyone connected to the film after this initial flurry. While we occasionally followed the film's progress through Internet searches, Maria and I would quip some other scenarios, that weren't even in the script: couldn't the birthday girl have an tantrum, and tear up one of our books, onscreen?

We wondered if we should bring binoculars to the theatre, to spot our books on the set. When we finally saw the film, our involvement was about as cursory as we'd expected: we thought we saw one of our spines on the bookshelf in the background. We both spotted it, and turned to each other, squealing.

For two of the other films, the producers told us precisely when to look for our books, letting us know that the scenes had been successfully shot. We haven't seen it yet, but we understand that in The Switch, out now, our books appear in a scene in the boy character, Sebastian's, bedroom.

As far as we understand, shooting is complete on the Natalie Portman film, and it is being released this month. Our books are to make a showing in a scene shot at the Chapin School in Manhattan.

Our books were shot a couple of weeks ago in the Chris Rock movie, but we know neither the scene nor the release date.

We don't know, too, how the producers zeroed in on us, but, as I said, it seems to have snowballed.

I love the hot plate idea. Too bad they didn't use it! I think it would give some of us nightmares to see an actor tear up our book on screen!

Tell us a little about Gingerbread House. Why did you start your own publishing house?

We started Gingerbread House as a home-schooling project, when Maria was only fourteen. I thought it a perfect way for her to get object lessons in the essentials of business operation, and I thought it would be a good use of my years in the field.

We brought back into print three of my out-of-print titles with Simon & Schuster. They had been originally acquired by the now-defunct Green Tiger Press, which used to do really unusual and/or lovely titles. (They were the makers of the Good Dog, Carl books, for instance.) We knew that two of the three books we planned to launch―Grandpa Loved, and Grandma's Scrapbook―had a ready audience. We addressed that audience, and when we placed more books in 11 months than the two publishers of these books had in 11 years, ventured into an original title. The rest, as they say, is history.

That first original, In English, of Course, made it into the round at the Caldecotts, when there were only seven books left. Four win, of course, so this was a shot of iron for us. One of our other books came close, too, although we don't know how close, since we were only told to be ready for that famous early morning ALA January call that informs a publisher. It never came.

We have released five original titles, and doctored back into print another title from an inactive press. We published two of our titles in Spanish, but took a beating on those. Our books have gone into 14 foreign rights deals. We signed a contract with Hungary this week, in fact.

We have won 24 pretty major awards, like the IRA/CBC Children's Choices three times, and four "BookSense Picks" from the American Booksellers' Association, a place on the Bank Street College "Best Books of the Year" list, and "The Global Leaning Initiative Award" for the single "best trade book (in the world. Ours was the first children's book to get it. We remain amazed!) with educational application." This went to Show; Don't Tell! Secrets of Writing which has turned out to be a very useful tool for finding voice.

Thank you, Joi.

You can learn more about Joi Nobisso at her website and, for a close look at the small press publishing business, read her interview with Harold Underdown at The Purple Crayon.

Joi was also a featured guest on Lifetime TV's talk show, "The Balancing Act," in May to celebrate Children's Book Week. During the six-minute segment, Joi talked about the importance―and joy―of encouraging children to read. You can watch it here.

Tea and T for Poetry Friday

2010-11-05T05:35:00.003-04:00

Tea! Tea! Tea! The poetry of tea is everywhere.

In my travels through tearooms near and far, I found simple tea-and-friendship poems here and here, tea quotes and musings here, and even some thoughts on tea by Thich Nhat Hanh.

As I look at my little friend Olive up top, with her book and cat and cozy armchair, I see that between paragraphs she is sipping a cup of hot tea. What kind of tea do you think it is? I'm guessing Bigelow's pomegranate, with a touch of local honey from the farmstand down the road.

When The Writer's Armchair debuts its new look (coming soon), Olive's cup of tea will keep you company in every post. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of my grandmother's teapot. It holds two cups.

The lid broke into many pieces some years ago, but I managed to glue them together, and now you can hardly tell, from some angles.

I was unfamiliar with the poet Jessica Nelson North, but she wrote this poem, which I like very much.

I had a little tea party

This afternoon at three.

'Twas very small—

Three guests in all—

Just I, myself and me.

Myself ate all the sandwiches,

While I drank up the tea;

'Twas also I who ate the pie

And passed the cake to me.

And, speaking of T, can you guess why I loved this poem by Walter De La Mare when I was a kid?

It's a very odd thing—

As odd as can be—

That whatever Miss T. eats

Turns into Miss T.

Porridge and apples,

Mince, muffins and mutton,

Jam, junket, jumbles—

Not a rap, not a button

It matters; the moment

They're out of her plate,

Though shared by Miss Butcher

And sour Mr. Bate;

Tiny and cheerful,

And neat as can be,

Whatever Miss T. eats

Turns into Miss T.

Well, at the time, I thought I'd discovered the secret of cloning-by-eating. Too bad it didn't work. There are lots of days when I surely could use a bunch of Miss T.s, instead of just one.

The Poetry Friday roundup is over at Teaching Authors today. Go forth and enjoy. Thanks for hosting, JoAnn!

Nothing but pie

2010-11-04T07:35:00.004-04:00

Over at Philip Nel's blog, Nine Kinds of Pie, he's followed his Hallowe'en mixes with some posts about commonplace books―personal anthologies of quotations. The list he put up the other day of quotations from literature that resonated with him made me vow I'd stop scribbling on napkins and get myself a notebook, real or cyber, soon.

Then Phil posted lists #2 and #3, quotations from children's literature. I recommend you check out his collection. It will make you want to write better, read more, and ponder over the power words have to get you to sit up and listen.

It made me feel good to see a couple lines from one of my books there. Thank you so much, Phil!

If you've been following my blog, you may already know that Phil added Brave Potatoes to the Curious Pages: Recommended Inappropriate Books for Kids blog of Bob Shea and Lane Smith. That was great! That was almost as good as being banned!

Curious Pages is described like this:

A site for all your reading disorders.

Looking for books about teddy bears or rainbows or feelings? You’re at the wrong place. Here we celebrate the offbeat, the abstract, the unusual, the surreal, the macabre, the inappropriate, the subversive and the funky.

Phil directs the Program in Children's Literature at Kansas State. He writes about Dr. Seuss and other radicals with pens and crayons, and his next books are Keywords for Children's Literature (2011, co-edited with Lissa Paul) and The Purple Crayon and a Hole to Dig: The Lives of Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss (2012). Learn more about Phil and his work here.

Goodbye to Emma

2010-11-02T20:37:00.001-04:00

After more than a decade of work, I'm writing the last big scene in my novel, Death Over Easy. The last first draft is almost done.

In 1997 I picked out Emma's car, which later changed. Sometime around the turn of the century I came up with a few characters who were in a book club together. I wrote fifty weak pages and dropped the story. Most of the characters didn't survive. The book club didn't even survive. My first first draft was like the Wicked Witch of the West―no substance, only style.

From that mess I rescued Emma, who was called Carly then, and LaRue Fusticola, who was always LaRue. I wrote a few scenes with them and with some new characters who had more personality than the old bunch. Then three pilots, who were Emma's uncles, walked into the dining room, and I took a hiatus from the novel to learn to fly.

Inez, office manager at Able Editing

Somewhere around 2005 or 2006 I tried again, getting farther with this first draft than I had before. It still didn't gel. I had a clear beginning, which I rewrote a gazillion times to make "perfect," and a clear ending, which I thought I'd never reach. And nothing in the middle. But I had Inez Lipschitz and Pete Zahn and Pearl and Egon and Ronk and the Lizard and a whole bunch of others who were wriggling around impatiently, waiting to get on stage.

Still, it took me until this year, 2010, to write it in earnest. I started from the beginning and revised what I had, which was about 50 pages. As I worked my way into the story, I realized that much of it had to be changed, or at least that other scenes had to be introduced within those pages. I wrote them. I started this blog in March and declared to the world that I was writing my novel. It was too late to go back. It was time to push on. I lost some sleep for a couple days, but I started writing, and I felt better.

Little by little I got into the flow, and the scenes went faster and faster. After a month, I found that I was already warmed up when I started the day's work, so I didn't have to stoke the fires and get the steam going and the wheels turning. The train was already chugging along. Another month, and I had to make a running start and leap onto that train. Another month or two, and I was no longer getting off the train at all. I was on it night and day.

I was literally living with Emma and all of them, looking into their refrigerators, their closets, seeing what they kept in the glove compartments of their cars. They talked constantly, nudging me with ideas, trying to upstage one another, intruding on my carefully planned plot path. They all had back stories, some really amazing, and touching, and very real. I worried about them.

I especially worried about Emma as I got toward the end of the last first draft. Life was getting much more dangerous for her. She was taking chances I'd never take in a million years. And I always knew what kind of trouble was around the corner. Sometimes I joked about her to my friends―"Better her than me"―but when it got down to the wire, I was truly anxious. I had to keep telling myself it was fiction. Not only was it fiction, but it was my fiction.

And now I'm on the penultimate scene. The scene just before the wrap-up. I started this scene before I went to Kidlit Con, and then I didn't get back to it. Partly it was because I got sick, and partly because life happened. But a good part of the difficulty of getting back to it is that I know that this is goodbye.

Most of the characters have finished their scenes in the book. They still whisper to me, but they know they can't come back onstage. And when I finish what's left of the story, and I write those words, "The End," the door will close. They will all go away.

Emma will go away.

I'm dreading that goodbye. It's going to be a very sad day.

LICWI Roundup

2010-11-01T08:52:00.005-04:00

Here, somewhat late, is the September/October LICWI roundup.

Lynne Marie, author of the forthcoming HEDGEHOG GOES TO KINDERGARTEN (illustrated by Anne Kennedy) has a lively and informative new blog filled with writing prompts, tips, contests, and guest posts by children's book authors. Look for Lynne at My Word Playground and also on Facebook. Spike the Hedgehog also has his own blog called On the Bus with Spike! The book is scheduled for release in May 2011.

Author Rita Whitman Steingold also has a new website here which showcases her diverse writing projects for all reading levels.

I found out that LICWI member Rich Broillet is a songwriter and guitarist as well as a writer. Back in September he organized a fundraiser at the beautiful Mills Pond House in St. James, NY, called Rocking at Mills Pond. With his backup band, Rich sang original and cover songs with a folk/rock/country feel. Lovely. Proceeds for the evening, which included many other Long Island musicians, raised funds for the Smithtown Township Arts Council to allow it to continue to be a cultural venue for Long Island artists and performers.

Orel Protopoposcu, who was interviewed on my blog upon being awarded the Oberon poetry prize this year, read her winning poem at Deepwells Mansion in St. James in September. Orel appeared with other poets, Oberon editor Claire Nicolas White, and this year's judge L.S. Asekoff. The venerable Deepwells is the perfect place for poetry.

My friend Joseph Scalia has just released a new book, SCALIA VS. THE UNIVERSE, OR: MY LIFE AND HARD TIMES. The preface in this book is one of the funniest things I've ever read, closely followed by the last story in the book, "A Very Patient Man." (Sorry, Joe, I had to skip to the end after reading the forward!) Among Joe's other books are FREAKS (a YA novel), THE PEARL, and BROOKLYN FAMILY SCENES. Look for Joe on Facebook.

Stephanie J. Shulman has just released her first picture book, MONSTER BASH, illustrated by Mike Motz. I regret that I was not able to post this in time for Stephanie's appearance at the Hallowe'en party hosted by Big City Moms and Kidville in New York City, but you can catch her at future events, posted on her website. Congrats, Stephanie!

Warm wishes to Margaret Gay Malone, who has just published a new book, A SWEATER FOR DUNCAN. Illustrated by Lorraine Dey, the book is written in both Spanish and English and is released by Raven Tree Press, which specializes in bilingual children's books. Margie is doing book signings this fall in a number of local venues, including the Sea Cliff Library on November 12. See her website for details.

If you enjoyed my interview with Brian Heinz in September, you may be interested to know that he will be a featured speaker and extended writing workshop leader for both Intermediate and Middle School classroom teachers at the Literacy For All Conference sponsored by Lesley University, to be held at the Providence Convention Center in Rhode Island on November 16 and 17. The conference will host teachers from all over the United States, as well as from the European Union, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. Brian will also sign books following his workshops.

Next LICWI roundup will be later in November. Members, please email me your news, photos, and book covers at toby (at) tobyspeed (dot) com.

Blog changes coming

2010-10-30T06:31:00.000-04:00

At Kidlit Con last weekend, someone asked keynote speaker Maggie Stiefvater how narrow a blog's focus should be. Her response: Don't narrow it. Your blog should express your personality and interests. It's more important for readers to know what to expect when landing on your page than for your blog to be about one thing.

She also said we should know who our audience is.

I've been thinking about these two ideas all week. Since I started blogging in March, I've struggled with focus. The problem in part is that I want to write about a variety of subjects that don't intersect. I also haven't been clear about who my audience is.

Seems kind of silly, since my day job—I'm a writer at a university—requires that I define my audience for every project. I must also be consistent with branding. I've been learning my way as I go with blogging, and now it's time to reevaluate my goals and integrate my platforms—blog, Facebook, website—into a stronger, more cohesive whole.

I spent a lot of time this week looking at dozens of blogs for about two-and-a-half seconds each and asking myself how well each one communicates its identity and purpose. Do I get it right away? I found that some blogs send confusing messages, but the successful ones give me an immediate sense of what they're about and who they're addressing. Through appropriate titles and subheads they either:

(1) tell us who they are: "children's book author," "librarian and book collector"

(2) tell us what they write about: "writing and publishing mysteries," "how to find and share poetry for children"

(3) tell us who they're blogging for: "a place for readers and writers."

I've tried (1), but labeling myself is a challenge, since I write for both children and adults and I write poetry, too. I also have a strong regional emphasis. Squash (2) as well, because limiting the scope of my blog to two or three specific topics seems constraining (my banner's original subhead was "on reading, writing, and children's books"). I'm thinking (3) might work. I've decided that my targeted audience is writers and readers, and I should probably say that somehow, somewhere. I also think the name of my blog should include my own name. Maybe it should even be my own name.

What do you think?

Here are some of my other blog improvement goals:

- new, simpler look
- shorter post titles
- shorter sentences, shorter posts overall
- an easy feature to balance the heavier, more demanding ones, i.e. Grace Lin's "Fortune Cookie Friday," and Jama Rattigan's "Random Cuppie-o-Grams."
- thematically link my features, i.e. use clouds, or tea, or cats over and over again. Maybe give my cat, Kashi, her own feature!

I'd love to hear your thoughts. What has worked well for you in focusing your blog?

Poetry Friday is here!

2010-10-29T03:00:00.019-04:00

Happy Poetry Friday! I'm Toby's cat, Kashi, and I'll be your host today.

Thrilled to be here.

Because Toby has been so busy since she got home from Kidlit Con, I offered to take over her hosting duties, a favor she gladly accepted. But I have another reason for stepping forward—today, October 29th, is National Cat Day. What better way to celebrate (besides extra treats) than with poems that make me purr?

To me, autumn means leaves—lovely, crunchy leaves floating down, leaves in piles, leaves hiding who-knows-what-treasures on the lawn, leaves that jiggle and must be pounced upon. In my heart of catness, I am the leaf-lover to end all leaf-lovers.

Cat-pleasing loveliness outside my door

So today I offer you a poem by Robert Frost that captures the true meaning of fall.

Gathering Leaves

- by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves

No better than spoons,

And bags full of leaves

Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise

Of rustling all day

Like rabbit and deer

Running away.

But the mountains I raise

Elude my embrace,

Flowing over my arms

And into my face.

I may load and unload

Again and again

Till I fill the whole shed,

And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,

And since they grew duller

From contact with earth,

Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.

But a crop is a crop,

And who's to say where

The harvest shall stop?

Here's another one I like, by Andrew Fusek Peters:

The Leaf's Lament

Said the leaf to the sky,

I would learn how to fly,

But I'm shaking like a leaf do I dare?

Said the sky to the leaf,

It's a matter of belief

Just jump into my blanket of air!

You can read the rest of it here, and even listen to the poet read his poem aloud.

Next time you're at the library, look for Toby's picture book, One Leaf Fell. It tells the story of a leaf that begins after it falls off the tree. Leaves do have a life after they fall—if cats like me don't catch them first (tee-hee).

Poems for Breakfast

Julie Larios at The Drift Record offers us a poem by Amy Clampitt about how we anchor ourselves in life despite uncertainty.

Jone MacCulloch at Check It Out has some familiar squawking and a gentle rapping, rapping on her chamber door today.

At Tabatha Yeatts' site, The Opposite of Indifference, you'll find two haunting poems by Emily Dickinson and Richard Brautigan.

Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading shares her love of fly fishing with us, along with a poem by Ken Hada that expresses her joy at being on the river. (And a meow back to Willie Morris from Kashi!)

At Ruth's blog, There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town, a small poem about death captures her sense of loss at the many recent deaths from cholera in her homeland, Haiti.

Over at Author Amok, Laura Shovan shares a lesson in writing portrait poems, using images from art or newspaper clippings. One of the students imagines the story behind Edvard Munch's "The Scream"—and it's truly a scream.

Betsy Bird at Fuse #8 offers a rich and thorough review of Joyce Sidman's book Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors, illustrated by Beckie Prange, which melds poetry, nonfiction, and exquisite art.

Diane Mayr has been busy on all of her blogs today! At Random Noodling she has a poem by Walter de la Mare; at Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet she takes a look at poet Elizabeth Alexander's latest book, Crave Radiance; at Kurious K's Kwotes she has one of Alexander's quotes; and The Write Sisters look at books of spooky poems. ("Meow! Meow!" says Kashi. Please pass along her greetings to Skippy and Smudge.)

David Elzey does a bit of imagining as an unapologetic butcher block table today at Fomagrams. Feel better soon, David!

Her involvement in the SPARK 10 collaboration between artists and writers has inspired Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe today: her poem, "Willowriver," reflects the ripples and crumples of a lovely pencil-and-watercolor creation made on rice paper by the artist Dolores Ekberg. (Hello, little Acorn!)

Bill at Literate Lives gives us examples of Guyku, written by Bob Raczka, designed to get boys to engage with a poetic form that must seem totally out of their realm.

The prolific and charming Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, over at The Poem Farm, treats us today to a reverso poem she wrote, inspired by Marilyn Singer's book of reversos called Mirror Mirror. This is #213 in her year of poem-a-days, and #22 in her collection of poems about poetry. Amy also shares a Poetry Peek into a first-grade class who wrote some terrific poems. And she has lots of other news—go take a look!

JoAnn Early Macken at Teaching Authors posts a windy, original, and very fun poem today that will grab you!

Laura Salas of Writing the World for Kids shares a creepy witch poem by the inimitable Lilian Moore, and a wrap-up of the Poetry Friday panel she and I participated in last weekend at Kidlit Con 2010. And Laura's weekly poetry feature, "15 Words or Less," a neat creativity exercise that I aim to participate in more often, can be found here. (Kashi says sure, she'd love to play in the leaves with Captain Jack Sparrow!)

Carol at Carol's Corner posts a review of and a poem from Lee Bennett Hopkins' recent award-winning book, Amazing Faces, plus a picture of one of the amazing faces in her life. (Hello from Kashi to Star and Black Jack!)

Poems for Lunch

Irene Latham of Live. Love. Explore! is in today with a rather mysterious love poem by Ellen Dore Watson.

At The Blog with the Shockingly Clever Title, Karen Edmisten brings us an old favorite by Robert Frost, "After Apple-Picking." Happy National Cat Day to Mr. Putter!

Sara Lewis Holmes, who is in orange here for a reason, posts a moving poem called "Poppies" by Sandra McPherson at Read Write Believe . I feel very sad, since reading it.

Blythe Woolston joins Poetry Friday for the first time today (welcome, Blythe!) with an original poem at her blog called "Invocation to Ingenuity." I'm so glad to have met Blythe last week at Kidlit Con.

Over at the Blue Rose Girls (which has a snazzy new look), Elaine Magliaro is in with an original poem called "Look at the Man: A Poem Explaining Why Women with Mates Gain Weight." Need I say more? Also, look for details on Elaine's upcoming panels at the NCTE conference. Elaine has also posted a "Fax. To: Snow White. From: the Seven Dwarfs" over at Wild Rose Reader.

Andromeda Jazon reviews In the Wild, by David Elliott, today at a wrung sponge. I don't know about you, but I'm partial to woodcut illustrations.

Liz Scanlon of Liz in Ink is in today with some candy you'll surely recognize, and some sweet videos, too.

Another reminder to stop by for some catnip at Jama's Alphabet Soup!

Caryl at Leaning Tower of Books posts one of my old faves today, "Little Orphant Annie," by James Whitcomb Riley, along with a version in song. I was interested in her link to All Hallow's Read—hop over to Caryl's blog and check it out.

Debbie Diller at A Journey in Learning joins Poetry Friday today with a story about how Christina Rossetti's famous wind poem introduced her second-grade daughter to poetry.

Zsofi McMullin at the Stenhouse Blog features a poem called "Fire," by Judy Brown.

Debra Ghigna stopped by to remind us that she and Charles Ghigna at Father Goose are compiling a list of "Favorite Poetry Anthologies for Children," and they welcome your suggestions. Their list is also a terrific resource, as it includes anthologies from as far back as 1885!

Sally at PaperTiger reviews two children's poetry books by William New today, Vanilla Gorilla and Dream Helmet, which both sound like fun.

At Here in the Bonny Glen, Melissa Wiley has posted a gorgeous original poem called "Lena, Waiting for the Mail," that was first published in Quarterly West. Melissa was one of the earliest Poetry Friday participants, and I had the pleasure of meeting her last week in Minneapolis at Kidlit Con. Welcome home, Melissa!

Janet Squires at All About the Books tells us that the last Friday in October is actually Frankenstein Friday. I didn't know that! For the occasion, she shares a book of poems called Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, by Adam Rex.

Susan Taylor Brown, at SusanWrites, joins us today with a poem by Robert Graves called "The Caterpillar" that captures the essence of caterpillarness.

TeachingBooks.net is in today with an audio excerpt from Homer's Odyssey.

Poems for Supper

Carol Rasko, who blogs at Rasco from RIF, shares a book of poems about one of her (and my) favorite subjects: trees. The book is Douglas Florian's Poetrees.

Shelley Shaver, from Rain: A Dust Bowl Story, invites us to browse through her many poems on the dust bowl era, quilting, friendship, and other topics.

Doraine Bennett from Dori Reads is back from traveling and in tonight with a poem by Theodore Roethke called "Night Journey."

--------

Poetry Friday friends, please leave your links in the comments, and I will update this blog during the day. If you are new to Poetry Friday, all you need to do is:

1. Leave the exact link to your blog post that you would like people to read—not to your generic blog address.
2. Tell a bit about your post.
3. Within the post itself, link back to my page. That's it!

And enjoy all the poetry that's being shared today. Welcome to the Poetry Friday community!

P.S. Look for moi, Kashi, as I celebrate National Cat Day over at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup!

Winner of our latest giveaway

2010-10-26T06:51:00.001-04:00

We have a winner in the Hal, the Hamptons Hound giveaway contest.

A big thank you, first, to everyone who entered. It was gratifying seeing the enthusiastic response, both here and on Facebook, and I hope you'll consider following my blog. Over the months to come I will feature other Long Island children's authors and illustrators, write about conferences, book signings, and other events, and celebrate Poetry Friday (of course).

As a matter of fact, this coming Friday—October 29—I will be hosting Poetry Friday here in my own yard. I'm busy tying colored ribbon on the fenceposts and setting out pots of mums and platters of brownies. Please stop by for some poetry and tea!

And now, if I may have a drum roll, please. Our winner—chosen by the impartial judges at Random.org—is Anonymous! Anonymous, you posted the 5th comment under the article about Roberta Rivera, suggesting a Zen-like cat named Luna to be Hal's deputy. Please email me at toby (at) tobyspeed (dot) com with your name and mailing address, and the book will be sent to you post haste. If I don't hear from you within 7 days, all the names will go back into the hat for a second drawing.

Kidlit Con 2010 - early report

2010-10-25T11:03:00.001-04:00

Splash! I'm back from Kidlit Con 2010 with a thousand impressions, lots of friends, and a few new goals.

1. I came home and used Twitter more in two hours than I had in the whole previous year. This is the first time it's felt like a conversation with friends and not radio waves bouncing around. Very cool.

2. I got to meet many of my online friends in 3-D: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater of The Poem Farm, my wonderful roomie and panelmate; Mary Lee Hahn of A Year of Reading, the catalyst and organizer for our Poetry Friday panel; librarian Mary Ann Scheuer of Great Kid Books, who was also on our panel; the effervescent Laura Purdie Salas of Writing the World for Kids; poet Jeannine Atkins, who is immersed in writing something delicious (someday, when I read it, I'll be able to say, "I saw that manuscript when it was but a babe on your laptop screen!") and illustrator Nina Crittenden. I was lucky enough to snag a bit of her whimsical artwork during Kelly Light's Ripple project a few months back.

L to R, Mary Ann Scheuer, Laura Salas, Mary Lee Hahn, Amy VanDerwater, and me at breakfast.

3. The place was filled to the brim with book bloggers, editors, teachers, authors, and illustrators. I had a chance to say hello to many and have longer conversations with several. I met Melissa Wiley, who coined the term "kidlitosphere," and almost met Kelly Herold of Big A little a, who invented Poetry Friday, but by the time I had a moment to say hi, I'd missed her.

Jeannine Atkins and me.

4. Of the day's workshops, what stuck most with me was learning the history of Poetry Friday, the history of the kidlitosphere, and the story behind the Cybils. Did you know that this year there were 1,289 book nominations for this wonderful, grassroots award? I'm pleased that I was able to catch up on this new (to me) award and that I nominated a book before the deadline. Back when I was publishing my picture books, the Cybils didn't exist.

5. The Open Book was a great space for a conference. Besides classrooms and auditorium space for writerly events year round, it includes a coffee cafe, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, some old printing presses and other historical artifacts, and this intriguing bit of interactive sculpture in the lobby:


Did anyone have a quarter to try it out?

I didn't, and I'm still wondering what it does.

5. There was a fantastic dinner on Saturday night at a local brewery, attentively hosted by our able, warm, and friendly organizers: editors Andrew Karre (Carolrhoda), Ben Barnhart (Milkweed Editions), and Brian Farrey (Flux). I sat between Sarah Stevenson, whose first book, The Latte Rebellion, is coming out in 2011, and Blythe Woolston, whose first book, The Freak Observer, has just come out.

6. And, last but not least, some travel photos and observations. As soon as I got out of the light rail station, I found myself right alongside Vikings Stadium! What a thrill and a half that was. Even though I'm a diehard Patriots fan, I was impressed by the size of the Metrodome, and football music started playing in my head. Now, don't you say a word, Minnesotans. I am so over Randy Moss, and we're gonna show you what we've got come Hallowe'en Sunday.

Still life with gyro combo and boarding pass at Chicago Midway Airport

View from the hotel

Amusing T-shirt sold in hotel gift shop. All I have to say is, we'll see about that!

Cloud tops between Minneapolis and Chicago

More cloud tops

Hello from the blogosphere to all my new and old friends. I hope you all returned home refreshed, challenged, and inspired. If we didn't have a chance to connect this time, please look for me at the next big event—the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York.

Later this week I'll post more about the Poetry Friday panel and what I took from the conference. I'm still sorting and sifting, thinking about social media and about what I'd like this blog to be, going forward.

Kidlit Con is coming up!

2010-10-21T03:07:00.001-04:00

On Friday morning, I'll be heading out to Minneapolis for Kidlit Con 2010 — my first time at this event. As an old writer who's a new blogger, I am beyond excited. What better way to feel connected and right about things than to gather with other children's lit bloggers and writers to celebrate being connected?

The weekend conference is hosted by three Twin Cities editors: Andrew Karre of Carolrhoda Books, Ben Barnhart of Milkweed Editions, and Brian Farrey of Flux, who have arranged a variety of blogging presentations that virtually guarantee I will fill up the black and white notebook I'm bringing along. I am also very honored to be part of a Poetry Friday panel headed up by Mary Lee Hahn of A Year of Reading that includes Amy Ludwig VanDerwater of A Poem Farm, Mary Ann Scheuer of Great Kid Books, and Laura Salas of Writing the World for Kids.

For two short days, I'm bringing a very small carry-on duffel on the plane, but it's already filled with a variety of books I plan to have autographed by my friends at the conference. I understand I will only have to lug them eight-tenths of a mile from the light rail station to the Holiday Inn. And then, of course, back again!

I promise to take pictures and report back.

A conversation with illustrator Roberta Rivera, and a giveaway

2010-10-14T18:22:00.006-04:00

Roberta says: "Giveaway details below!"

Unstoppable is a good word to describe children's book illustrator Roberta Rivera, whose first picture book, Hal, the Hamptons Hound, and the Case of the Missing Puppies (written by Susan Abraham and published by Big Tent Books) is causing cheerful barks and howls all over Long Island. (Go here to see Roberta's pawprint tablecloth that travels with her to all book signings and library events.)

Other words come to mind: committed, determined, and upbeat. All those qualities have helped Roberta follow her dream in the face of serious challenges such as her allergies and intolerances to nearly all artistic media. Like many of us, she is no stranger to self-doubt or to the difficulties of forging ahead in the current economic climate. But Roberta's glass-half-full philosophy has helped her to keep her goals in sight and keep working toward them.

A bloodhound who's a cop

One of six children, Roberta grew up in Woodbury, Connecticut—"the antique capital of the world," in her words. With its churches and main street lined with Colonial and Victorian homes, "Woodbury is a wonderful and magical place." The town has been home to celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, poet and literary critic Hayden Carruth, and composer LeRoy Anderson. Woodburians pride themselves on fiercely protecting their quality of life and keeping the town as noncommercial as possible. Roberta credits Woodbury in great part with nurturing her love of beauty, art, and nature.

In August of this year, Roberta was accepted into Children's Book Boot Camp with illustrator Pat Cummings, in which illustrators get feedback from major publishers and ready their projects for publication. She shared with me (and I'll share with you) some of the work she created there and what she learned.

Following is our conversation.

Tell me about your work: what media do you work in, and what do you enjoy doing?

Hal in cyberspace

I like working in all types of media—pen and ink, watercolors. I love working on the computer, because I’m able to use techniques that I wasn’t able to use before, like airbrushing or working with oil paints, because I’m asthmatic. I have a bad reaction to oil paints because of the fumes. So working in this format gives me a lot of freedom, and also if I make a mistake I can easily correct it, and it saves a lot of time.

There’s a wide range of different brushes in the software programs that I use, like pencils and pens and pastel sticks and oils and oil pastels and markers. I work in Corel, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

When I was in college I thought I had to be brave and suck it up, and I’d get sick a lot. Now there are books and articles written about toxic media that can harm an artist. I do like working in oil pastels, and I just keep the room ventilated.

Roberta in her studio

Did you know at first that you had these intolerances?

No. I couldn’t understand why I kept getting a cold. Years later, when I owned my decorative art business and I would paint with varnishes, stains, or paints I would get a sinus infection or an allergic reaction to a chemical, especially any paint or varnish that was sprayed. Suddenly I couldn't breathe. And alkyd paints give me a sinus reaction immediately. A very good nose and throat specialist helped me solve the problems related to my allergies.

But you continued to study art, and you started your own business. You never let it stop you.

I never let it stop me. I love working with dry pastels. I just put a face mask on.

I have a talent, I was born with it. My sisters were all very talented, and I come from very creative parents. My father was a schoolteacher, and my mother was an accounting manager for Woodbury, Connecticut. However, she was fantastic at gardening and cooking. She would sew things and make Christmas ornaments, and she'd get us all involved. My oldest sister, Leigh, went to art school and worked on Madison Avenue in advertising. My second sister, Diana, majored in photography and art and worked on newspaper doing graphic design. She also does gardening. So it goes back to this gardening, growing kind of thing. My sister Lisa passed on, but if she could have pursued her dream, she would have been a really great makeup artist.

So you knew you wanted to be an artist.

Yes, and children’s books hit me at a very young age. I knew when I looked at my favorite illustrators like Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, Steven Kellogg (he’s also from Connecticut)—that to me, as a child, was very exciting. And I knew that was what I wanted to be—a children’s book illustrator. That's me! When my sister was going to art school, she’d bring home her portfolio. I was a sixth grader then, and I said, I can do this! She inspired me.


The bear family takes a trip to the city (portfolio piece)

Where did you go to college?

I went to the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. They offered a scholarship. My dad and my mom were very concerned about sending me down to Pratt or Parsons. You know, nice Connecticut country girl in the big city.

Who influenced you there?

There were a lot of influences. We had designers and illustrators who would come to our school and give lectures. We had a Spanish designer, an architect, and he was phenomenal. The way he designed a room it felt like it wasn’t a room anymore. We had a glass blower from Ireland, and he did sandblasted objects for Tiffany. Having those types of people come into a school plunked in the middle of the country was outrageous, wonderful. You didn’t have to go to New York City to see that.

The strongest critique I ever got was from Milton Glaser. We invited him to our illustration class. I wasn’t one of the best students, but I'm a great concept person. And he was looking at our work, and he blasted everybody. He ripped everybody to shreds. He comes to my work, and he says, I hate your technique, blah blah blah, but your concepts are great. You’re the most conceptual person here. And everyone else was like Grrrrrr. That was my first experience with professional jealousy.

Woman and bear (portfolio piece)

And after school? How did you get from there to illustrating children's books?

When I got out of school I couldn’t find a job. I thought I’d get a job as a fulltime illustrator working for a publishing house. And I learned very quickly that’s not how it works, that you freelance, and you have to have a lot of pieces, and not student work. At that time I didn't know anything about marketing. The market, by the time I graduated, was already ten steps ahead of what we were doing.

I did odd jobs. I did layout at a small newspaper in Woodbury. And then I worked for a small publishing house and did layouts. I got fired from that because I wasn’t fast enough. I wanted to make things look really pretty. So I learned something important about deadlines.

And then I was a nanny, and I worked in a preschool as an assistant teacher.

What changed that path?

What changed for me was when my dad died, and lots of people came to his funeral. I was so amazed. As a kid growing up, you say, yeah, he's a schoolteacher, that's cool, or that's not cool. But as a grown adult, when you see how many people he’s touched, how many students—a lot of people loved him, and that to me meant the world. And he loved what he was doing. So I said, I've really got to do something.

Anne Bonney, Pirate Queen (portfolio piece)

I'd always wanted to do children's books. I was doing it on and off and I didn’t focus that hard on it. I’d go to a conference and send my work out, and then I wouldn't follow through, because I would get a lot of rejection letters back.

And then I said I've got to put bread on the table, and my dad’s inspired me. I think I can open up my own business. So I did a decorative art business fulltime for 12 ½ years, painting furniture and doing faux finishes.

It came to a point where my business was slowing down based on the economy, and Long Island started getting hit around 2004. I had some money saved up, and I said, I'm going to focus on both writing and illustrating, and I joined LICWI. I’ve been working at it very hard since then. I made a serious commitment to get my rear end in gear and just do it.

One of the reasons I wanted to talk to you was because I saw you had turned a corner and were very committed.

Yes, I have this strong desire to follow that dream and not to put it off. I have the time, I have the means now. So I dived in.

What are you working on now?

After the BP oil disaster I wanted to do some illustrations without words, so I started throwing these images together. I take some watercolor and try to quickly draw the little animals and let the colors bleed. Then I’m going to scan them into the computer and put them against a of digitized background. This is just a rough draft. The next time I do it I want to make the images of the fish and sea life coming through the water. I want to bring awareness—when I saw this happen, it bothered me so, so much.

Tell me about the Pat Cummings workshop.

I took Pat Cummings' Children's Book Boot Camp, and this is my dummy and storyboard [indicating the dummy on drafting table and loose pages and thumbnails on the wall]. I reworked the dummy so many times. The thumbnail process is crucial to illustrators. My problem was, I wasn't being flexible enough. I started cutting up pages and moving them around. I called myself the Ginzu Illustrator.

Pat is my mentor. She really helped me a lot this summer. She told me what I needed to change, and I’ve been making the changes on the computer. The finished work will be done by next week. It was interesting being in her class. I discovered stuff I didn’t know about myself.

My story started out with a goblin who made ghoulish gravy, and I showed that to Pat, and she said it wasn’t working. But she liked the little witch character I had created, and she said, I think you should change it to her story. She was very instrumental in helping me streamline the character. She also saw the dragon character as very powerful. He was in another story, but I didn’t flush him out as a drawing. Pat said, you know, I like the combination of those two. Work on that.

[To the left and below are early sketches and one finished piece from Roberta's picture book in progress.]

How did you create the illustrations for Hal?

I was given the text first. Susan is a wonderful person to work with. She said, he’s a bloodhound, I have no idea what he looks like, could you just come up with something?

She picked me, because she saw my pen and ink work at the LICWI meetings and liked it. I showed her sketches in two weeks, and she loved them. It took me two years to do the book, because I wanted to do it right. I wanted to make it so special for her. I started them off in pen, but these are all done with Photoshop and Illustrator.

From Hal: "Sometimes I caught a whiff of Shar-Pei #5, but the scent led nowhere."

What were your favorite books as a child?

Where the Wild Things Are. And Richard Scarry's books, because I loved the idea of animals wearing clothes, and they had jobs, and they got to drive a car! The fact that animals were driving cars blew me away, especially the gorilla driving the banana car. All these animals had a life and they all had things to do.

And Dr. Seuss. I just love, love, love his work. He’s a genius, he's scrumptious.

A few of your favorite things?

Pizza topping – I'm lactose intolerant, but if I could eat pizza, then sausage, mushroom and basil

Weather – Springtime, then Fall, and then Winter

Color - Pink

Team – NY Giants. Yay, Big Blue!

Music – Everything except country and extreme hard rock

Thank you, Roberta, for a delightful interview!

And now for the giveaway: Roberta and author Susan Abraham have generously donated a signed copy of Hal, the Hamptons Hound, and the Case of the Missing Puppies to one lucky reader of this blog. All you have to do is leave a comment below in which you create a new deputy for Hal that is a rescued pet, and tell us what makes your rescued pet special. You may use your own rescued pet as a model.

If you're not (yet) familiar with the book, Hal's a tough bloodhound cop in a world of lost pets, Starbarks, Shar-Pei #5 cologne, and sophisticated poodles whose paws are insured for two million biscuits. The winner will be picked by Random.com.

Contest deadline: October 24! Good luck!

All artwork on this page is copyright © Roberta M. Rivera 2010. All text from Hal, the Hamptons Hound is copyright © Susan Abraham 2010. Used by permission of the author and illustrator.

Poetry Friday: Fold me up with the laundry

2010-10-07T21:12:00.007-04:00

Happy Poetry Friday!

Before I share my poem, I must share my excitement. I just got home and found another box o' books in the doorway. :o)

So, in a few minutes I am going to curl up in bed and read Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Rick Allen; Here's a Little Poem, collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters and illustrated by Polly Dunbar; and Switching on the Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems, collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters and illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Yum!

Inspiration is everywhere—true? Even in a mountain of laundry. There was a time in my life when I had three little girls, all under the age of five, and lots and lots of laundry.

Kate was in the middle. And when she was a toddler and she wanted my attention, she used to climb up on the big bed where I was folding laundry and plop herself down in the middle. Then she'd lie on her back with her knees up, cover herself with socks and shirts, and say, "Mommy, fold me up with the laundry."

That one line (repeated during every laundry folding, because it always worked) inspired a poem that I brought with me on all my visits to schools and libraries. Whatever other activities I did with kids in classrooms, I always ended by reading this poem. It never failed to make the room quiet and bring all eyes to me.

Hope you like it, too.

Fold Me Up with the Laundry

Fold me up with the laundry
Make me with the bed
Comb me when you comb your hair
Drink me with your tea

Pick me with the daisies
Water me with the grass
Dream me when you dream your dreams
Sing me with your song
And I will love you always, always, always
And I will love you always, too

Don't mail me with your letter
Don't sweep me when you sweep the floor
Don't toss me with the salad
Don't close me when you close the door

But wrap me with your wraparound shawl
Put me on with your dress
Write me with your poems
Read me with your book
And I will love you always, always, always
And I will love you always, too

Copyright © Toby Speed 2010. All rights reserved.

The Poetry Friday roundup is hosted today by Carol at Carol's Corner. Please stop by for some fresh autumn poetry.

If you like what you read here today (or any day!) please leave me a comment, and let your friends know about The Writer's Armchair. I welcome new readers and send out a big thank you to all my regular followers. And I look forward to meeting many of my blogging friends soon at Kidlit Con and at the winter SCBWI conference in New York City.

Brian Heinz book giveaway: We have a winner!

2010-10-05T14:12:00.000-04:00

Good news on this dreary Tuesday! We have a winner who will receive a signed copy of one of Brian Heinz's beautiful books, as a follow-up to his interview here last week.

Before I announce the winner, I want to thank all of you for your generous and thoughtful comments. Brian was awed by the response at The WA. I'd like to remind teachers and librarians in the region that Brian visits and presents at 90 schools and conferences a year, and he'd love to come to yours. Check out his website for more information on his presentations.

And the winner, chosen by the Random.com roulette wheel, is—Laura Shovan! Congrats, Laura! Please email me with your mailing address and autograph instructions. You indicated you'd like A Coming of Winter in the Adirondacks, which will be available in the coming of Spring.

Coming up this Fall at The WA: This month, an interview with illustrator Roberta Rivera and, in November, a roundup of marketing advice from writers, illustrators, and others in the field of children's books. What does it take to stand out in today's market? What are some simple things you can do to gain exposure and get a foot in the publishing door?

I leave you with a few reviews of Brian's book Kayuktuk: An Arctic Quest, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle.

"Heinz and Van Zyle team up for an involving glimpse of the lives of traditional Inupiat people. The lengthy text is dramatic; the paintings are a realistic accompaniment." Kirkus Reviews

"Heinz's adventure tale has successfully captured a slice of life in the arctic." School Library Journal

"This beautifully written book is rich in language and illustrations. The glossary enhances an already splendid book." Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Literature Center

Children's author and wildlife enthusiast Brian Heinz shares his new book (and a giveaway)

2010-09-22T20:05:00.002-04:00

Today I welcome to The Writer's Armchair my friend Brian Heinz on the eve of publishing his 14th book for children, A Coming of Winter in the Adirondacks. Brian has graciously agreed to share with us his experiences as a writer and the inspiration for his new book. And – and – he has generously offered to give a signed copy of any one of his books to a lucky reader of this blog (details below)!

Having looked at the proofs of this beautiful immersion into winter life in the wild, I can tell you that the clear mountain light practically leaps off the pages. The flurry of activity as beavers, black bears, white-tailed deer and chickadees prepare for winter, then come out to play after the first snowfall, is a sensory experience both to read and to observe through the luscious watercolors. The rising wind, the clouds and the deepening shadows, and – the next day – the animals' celebration of winter amid the blinding white of the hushed landscape are all brought to life in meticulous detail.

An example of the evocative writing that fills the story: "There is a snap to the air, a dull chill that snuck in as quiet as breath. A smattering of clouds crawls over the northern horizon. The wind picks up and hisses through swaying treetops. Branches quiver and leaves flutter like countless flags.

"An endless parade of clouds marches across the sky, climbing into a churning wall of gray. A vast shadow races over the ground as the sun is reduced to a sliver, then blotted out.

"Now the animals know. Winter is closing in."

A Coming of Winter in the Adirondacks is illustrated by the very young and very talented Maggie Henry, who lives in Oswego, New York, and is published by North Country Books of Utica, New York.

"I had a chance to visit my publisher in Utica, and I met my illustrator in person at a huge Adirondack Author Fair in Long Lake," Brian told me. "I’m salivating at seeing the whole package printed and clothbound, and in my hands."

Maggie and Brian at an Author Night at Long Lake

Originally scheduled to appear this month, A Coming of Winter in the Adirondacks ran into some unexpected delays during publication and is now set to be released in March 2011. You can pre-order a copy here and it will be shipped to you when available.

Here are a few more illustrations from the book.

The back cover

Brian's earlier books include Kayuktuk: An Arctic Quest, a tale set on the tundra of northern Alaska; Nanuk: Lord of the Ice, set in the high arctic; The Wolves, which takes place in the Canadian Rockies; and Cheyenne Medicine Hat, set in South Dakota. He's an intrepid traveler who takes his research seriously and gets as close to his subjects as possible to maintain a high level of realism in his books.

"My research trips have taken me north on dogsled trips in sub-zero temperatures; to alligator nests deep in the Okefenokee Swamp of southern Georgia; to the rain forests of Puerto Rico; across Canada; to the Rocky Mountains; and to the Cheyenne River Canyon...to name a few," says Brian, whose wife, Judy, accompanies him on all his research expeditions.

A founding member of the Long Island Children's Writers and Illustrators (LICWI), Brian is a former science teacher of many years who now spends his time writing, teaching at professional conferences, visiting schools, and conducting staff development and writing workshops all over Long Island. Teachers, be sure to check out Brian's website for information about his presentations and how you can have him visit your school.

Brian and Judy live in Wading River, New York.

Tell us about your new book and the creative process that went into it. What was your inspiration, and how did the story evolve?

The new book, A Coming of Winter in the Adirondacks, was written from a montage of direct observations and experiences “on location,” as are most of my nature-oriented books. I’ve been visiting the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks since I was a kid.

Brian's and Judy's Adirondack house under construction.

Two years ago, my wife Judy and I built a log vacation home near Whiteface Mountain. Our first night in the house was in February. That evening, the temperature dropped to zero and we had a 37” snowfall with 50 mph winds...a blizzard. We sat up and listened to the splitting of trees, large branches being hurled onto the ground, the howl of the wind. The next morning, all was still and beautiful. The deer were out, chickadees, ground squirrels, red fox, turkeys, and predators like the pine marten and weasel. We’ve heard the coyotes howling and yipping in the distance. I thought about the animals’ abilities to sense the impending storm, seek shelter, and then emerge to play in the snow, in celebratory behavior, just like children.

Art by Maggie Henry

I worked at finding the proper physical structure for the piece – in this case like a three act play (the animals’ preparatory behavior as they sense the storm, the unfurling fury of the blizzard, and the re-emergence of the animals in a transformed wilderness.) Then I had to decide which animals to select as characters for the piece, and wrap it all up with some poetic device and sensory detail. The piece is non-fiction but written in a more narrative voice. My animals behave as they would in the wild. They are not anthropomorphized in any way.

I love how you just described the night blizzard you experienced in your new home. What makes the Adirondack Mountains, in particular, special for you?

As stated, I vacationed as a child with my family in the Adirondacks and into my teen years. I fly-fished and spin-fished the rivers and lake shores for pickerel, pike, bass, and trout. We canoed and swam and hiked the forest trails. They are fond memories. My wife also spent much time there as a child because an aunt and uncle lived in Saranac Lake.

When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

That’s a bit cloudy. In school, my English teachers pushed me to write and encouraged me, saying I had a good grasp of words and a good imagination. I would write for fun. Making up strange letters and school memos for my friends, but I never took it seriously. It’s one thing for people around you, people on the “outside,” to tell you to write, but the bell has to go off inside. That didn’t happen until I was well into my teaching career.

I saw an ad for the Institute of Children’s Literature correspondence course, but I thought it might be a sham, so I spent some time checking it out. I decided to lay out the funds and give it a shot. Before I finished the course, I had two of my “assignments” accepted for magazine publication and received checks. I still have contact with my writing instructor from that long-ago course, as she checks on my web site and emails me occasionally. I continued to grow and develop my skills by attending numerous writers conferences and workshops.

You were a teacher for many years, as well as a writer. How did you arrive at a balance between the two that worked for you?

It was while teaching when I started writing professionally, but I was not yet married, so I had some evenings and weekends free when school-related homework and duties were a bit light. And, of course, I had my summers free, and the weeklong breaks during winter and spring recesses, and shorter breaks at Easter and Thanksgiving. This provided me time to travel, research, and write without hindering my teaching workload. I actually had five books published while I was still in the classroom, as well as some magazine articles. I think, no matter how demanding a person’s job may be, if you truly wish to write you’ll find the time, or make the time.

I know you’ve traveled extensively to do research for your books. Tell us about one particularly memorable experience you’ve had. Scary, funny, astonishing...? Any close calls?

I’ve had so many, they could probably fill a book by themselves. I’ve had encounters with alligators in the Okefenokee Swamp of southern Georgia, been bitten by (non-poisonous) snakes, been chased by a grizzly bear, overturned canoes, and ridden dogsleds at 17 degrees below zero.

One of the most memorable was being lifted onto the horns of a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and tossed three feet into the air. It was my own fault – it always is – because I approached too close to his girlfriends and babies in the hope of taking a good photograph. But I still relish that experience. How many people can say they know what it’s like to feel the horns and the strength of such a magnificent animal? I often share these experiences with students during assembly programs in an oral storytelling fashion with a bit of acting thrown in.

That is an incredible story, Brian! Did that experience with the bighorn ever make it into one of your books?

No, the incident hasn’t yet made it into print, but it continually resides in my mind’s information-hopper for use at some later date.

No experience is ever wasted. All experiences are internalized and can be drawn on again and again.

[Note: the following photos were taken during Brian's trip to the Cheyenne River Canyon in South Dakota, where he wrote his book Cheyenne Medicine Hat, a story about the wild mustangs of the western plains.]

Brian in South Dakota on research

Cheyenne River, including sandbars and shallows


Cheyenne River from the bluffs

Wild mustangs

The stallion of this herd

Good example of the spirited energy of the young foals at play

What or who has been most helpful to you as a writer?

Although I’ve had some fine teachers along the way, there is not a school or conference where I do not give credit to my mother who read to me from my first days in a crib. She read daily and often. She was not a teacher. She was an Irish farm girl. But, due to her exposing me so early to language, I was speaking in full sentences at ten months and was reading on my own at three years old. By third grade I was reading Jack London novels, biographies of great explorers and Indian chiefs, and any book about animals that I could lay my hands on.

I believe the best writers are also strong readers. You have to love language, or what’s the point?

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced?

In writing, I sometimes wrestle with finding the right physical structure for a piece, the best lead or opening, and the body of language (the contextual framework) that will provide the right mood and voice. It changes for every piece I write depending on whether I’m writing fiction, nonfiction, serious, silly, or in verse or in prose. Every new book comes with new challenges. It’s the depth of consideration required in all the decision-making that can be, at times, exasperating.

Often, I’m well into a piece and then ransack it as a new idea, a more effective way to tell the story, suddenly hits me. Many of my first drafts are covered with scribblings in the margins. I write down every thought because I’m never sure which one will be most beneficial, and if I don’t write them down as they occur, I may forget them. In the end, I trust in the process. I have to push the story forward and create something tangible. Only then can I manipulate the pieces, like assembling a complex jigsaw puzzle.

What is your workspace like? When do you do your best writing?

I’ve written late at night, early in the morning, and even midday on any given day. Even when I’m driving, I often create images of scenes and characters in action for a piece I’m working on. I try to retain these thoughts and record them on paper when I’m home. Sometimes, I make a short note on scrap paper and stuff it into my pocket when an unexpected idea drops in on me. Most of my work begins with pencil and paper. I go to my word processor only when I have several pages written out in longhand.

But, you’ll notice almost every book I’ve written has nighttime scenes. This is because the bulk of my writing happens at night, I’m sure. Night scenes can be more full of intrigue, mysterious, haunting, moody and interesting. I have a home office with my computer, printer, phone/fax and file drawers and book shelves. This is where all the final work is completed, along with cover letters, queries, contracts for school and conference visits (I present between eighty and ninety days each year,) and the finished manuscripts of my works-in-progress.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a comprehensive writing manual for use by classroom teachers in intermediate and middle school classrooms. The manuscript is currently at 25,000 words and 128 pages, including templates and diagrams.

I’m also revising a deeply researched historical whaling story for my editor at Creative Editions which I hope will be accepted for publication. I have two other ideas being tinkered with presently, and two finished pieces out there making the rounds at different houses. The wait time for submission responses is just awful.

Brian, tell us a few of your favorite things:

snack: fruits like grapes and black cherries, and salted mixed nuts

kind of music: 60’ classic Rock & Roll and folk music, and blues from the Mississippi Delta and Chicago

team: NY Mets

planet: Earth works fine for me

mode of transportation: car, kayak, or feet

Is your interest piqued? Brian has written a whole lot of wonderful books. At author-illustrator nights on Long Island, the line in front of his signing table is always the longest! Out the door! And if you leave a comment below for Brian, you will be entered for a chance to win one of his books –signed, of course. Tell him what you enjoyed about this interview, which of his books you'd like to win (they are all available), or simply say hello. The deadline to leave a comment is Friday, October 1st.

Many thanks to my loyal readers for getting the word out that The Writer's Armchair is the place to come and learn about Long Island children's authors and illustrators. Please continue to let your friends, teachers, and students know about us. And stop back in early October when we visit illustrator Roberta Rivera in her studio.

All text appearing on this page from A Coming of Winter in the Adirondacks: copyright © Brian Heinz 2010. All artwork on this page from A Coming of Winter in the Adirondacks copyright © Maggie Henry 2010. Used by permission of the author and illustrator.