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Looking for something fun to do with the kids over Spring Break? Here's an idea! My friend Nina Hess, author of A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO MONSTERS, is going to be at the Skamania Lodge (Stevenson, WA) for a special event! It will take place on Saturday, March 27th, from 2:00-4:00. Here are the deets:
Bed & Book-fest - A Family Experience
Join award-winning children's author Nina Hess for a reception of milk and cookies at Skamania Lodge on Saturday, March 27th from 2:00-4:00 pm. Families and children will enjoy meeting Nina, author of The New York Times picture book best-seller, A Practical Guide to Monsters. This is a fully illustrated overview of all different kinds of fantasy monsters. In addition, children can participate in a Monster Making Workshop and design their own monster using a handout created by Ms. Hess.
Price - $15 per child for hotel guests, $20 for children not staying in the hotel. (Each child will go home with a signed copy of Ms. Hess's book.)
I realize most of you aren't local, but is sounds like a great time for those who can make it!
It's time to come clean and tell you which items on my list are truths and which are lies. I'm going to do this Stephanie Thornton-style, showing you my list again, but this time with commentary.
Here we go:
1. Just after making the cut for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team (equestrian), I fell off my horse and dislocated my shoulder. I was dropped from the team. Since the Olympics took place in L.A. that year and I lived in L.A. County, I was able to go and cheer on my friends. Lie! Reality: I took horseback riding lessons in eighth grade and loved the Black Stallion series. Is it just me or is my truth slightly less impressive than my Olympics whopper? ;)
2. My mom and a few friends met JFK. Even though he only talked to them for a few minutes, a photo of them together came out in a magazine about twenty years later. Truth! Isn't that way cool?! My mom, from Boston, was a nurse. She was with some of her friends who were also nurses. Someone was rushing Mr. Kennedy (I believe it was just before or just after he became president) along, but he said he first wanted to talk to the group of nurses from Boston. He was very friendly and sweet, talked with them a few minutes, then left for wherever he was headed. Years passed. We all knew the story from my mom, but it was wild when a picture popped up in a magazine in the eighties!
3. When I was four, I modeled shoes for the Sears catalog. I did this for two months, but I got fired when I started throwing tantrums. Lie!
4. I performed in three parades at Disneyland. Truth! Our high school marching band, drill team, tall flag team, and rifle squad performed there every winter. I guess this is where I tell you that I twirled a rifle in high school. Don't laugh--our uniforms were pretty cute. Well, our competition uniforms were completely dorky, but we wore cheerleader-style uniforms to football games. Anyway, after performing in the parade, we had free admission for the rest of the day!
5. My cousin Paul played a corpse on NCIS in 2008. Lie! And who the heck is Cousin Paul?!
6. I have a bobblehead collection. Some of my favorites: Rodney Dangerfield (CADDYSHACK edition), the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinosaur, and thin Elvis. Lie! My son owns a few sports bobbleheads, but that's about it.
7. They had to stop the escalator at Mall of America because my shoelace got caught. Lie! But couldn't you totally see that happening to me?
Now that I'm done with the award, you can trust me again. Honest. :)
I'd like to thank the people who followed agent Mark McVeigh's blog so I could win a Skype chat with him. Virtual hugs to all of you--that was really kind. I spoke with Mr. McVeigh last week and asked him my list of questions. He was super knowledgeable and helpful. I'd heard him speak in Seattle in 2006 and NYC in 2007--back in his editor days--and he'd impressed me; it was really cool to actually have a conversation and be allowed to pick his brain. So again, thank you. And a bonus for all of us who are following? His blog is informative and very much worth reading. Just today, he posted good news about Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Now on to some fun awards from bloggy friends!
Niki at Wool'n'Nuts gifted me with the Kreativ Blogger Award.
Thank you, Niki! Niki is a sweetheart, and her blog is a fun and cozy place. Go and follow her! :)
The rules say I'm supposed to tell you seven things about myself. However, since she technically awarded it to Chester (the squirrel I've been feeding all winter), too, I feel I should start out telling you about him.
1. One of Chester's favorite foods is birdseed.
2. Chester's activity of choice is tormenting my dogs.
The rest will be about me:
3. I ran before I walked.
4. I saw myself as a writer by the time I was nine.
5. I think high school geometry is a frightening class, and I'm thankful I survived it.
6. My dad interviewed the first boy who asked me out (and I'm thankful I survived that, too).
7. My son says I should mention that I get sympathy pains when he or his sister gets hurt. However, I will neither confirm nor deny these allegations.
I'll pass this award to:
*Jemi Fraser at Just Jemi
*Robin Gaphni at thebooknosher
*Stephanie Haefner at The Writer's Cocoon
Deb at Ranch Girl Ramblings gave me an award that allows me to lie! How fun is that?! I'm not lying about the award, though. Here it is:
Thank you, Deb! Deb, by the way, is a crack up and an all around nice person, so definitely go to her blog if you haven't yet discovered her!
The award rules say I'm supposed to tell up to six outrageous lies about myself and at least one outrageous truth. I have to say I had a fun time coming up with lies, but I'm hoping you all still trust me after I tell a few stretchers. I'll give a hint by telling you five things on my list are lies and two are truths. Ready?
1. Just after making the cut for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team (equestrian), I fell off my horse and dislocated my shoulder. I was dropped from the team. Since the Olympics took place in L.A. that year and I lived in L.A. County, I was able to go and cheer on my friends.
2. My mom and a few friends met JFK. Even though he only talked to them for a few minutes, a photo of them together came out in a magazine about twenty years later.
3. When I was four, I modeled shoes for the Sears catalog. I did this for two months, but I got fired when I started throwing tantrums.
4. I performed in three parades at Disneyland.
5. My cousin Paul played a corpse on NCIS in 2008.
6. I have a bobblehead collection. Some of my favorites: Rodney Dangerfield (CADDYSHACK edition), the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinosaur, and thin Elvis.
7. They had to stop the escalator at Mall of America because my shoelace got caught.
I'll let you guess, and I'll reveal my truths in my next post. I'm just mysterious that way.
The people I'm passing this to:
*Susan R. Mills at A Walk in My Shoes
*Julie Dao at Silver Lining
*Tara Watson at Feel of Something New
It will be fun to see what they write!
The final blog award is the Over the Top Award. Niki at Wool'n'Nuts gave it to me. Thank you, Niki!
I told you she was a sweetheart. She really is--check out her blog if you haven't done it yet. I'll wait here.
*whistling*
Thanks for coming back! I think that's the award with the one word answers, but:
a. I'm not sure.
b. I've talked so much about myself in this post, I'm going to give you all a break and skip that part.
Now I get to share it with others! The envelopes, please...
*Marsha Sigman at Marsha's Musings
*Molly Hall at Writer Mama Dreamer
*Jon Paul at Where Sky Meets Ground
Congratulations, everyone! Have a great writing week! :)
Yesterday I finished reading a friend's full. It's a gorgeous novel, beautiful and poignant.
You know those moments when you stop to look at what you're doing, and you like what you see?
It's huge, really, to be a critique partner or a beta. And those moments, like the one I had yesterday when I finished reading a manuscript that feels like a book and deserves to be a book...they're so special. Reading an excellent pre-book is like getting to know the star of a big movie before it's released, before the trailer is even in theaters. But you're in on it, and you know what's going on.
It inspires me to know my friend, someone like me, created that manuscript. I'm touched she trusted me with it and asked for my thoughts. I'm excited to be a writer. I'm happy this is what I do.
(Sorry about the title of the post, but I've always wanted to write that.)
The McVeigh Agency has a new blog, and guess what?! If you round up ten people to follow the blog, agent Mark McVeigh will give you a free 15-minute Skype or phone chat! WOW! Imagine all your questions about publishing being answered by an expert. Go! And tell him I sent you! Well, you don't have to, but I'd appreciate it. :)
You guys didn't wonder if I'd forgotten about my second Winter Conference post, did you? I didn't--no way.
I should start out telling you about the book I read when I was flying to NY because it was a prize I'd won at Solvang Sherrie's awesome blog!
DRUMS, GIRLS & DANGEROUS PIE by Jordan Sonnenblick
Here's what it says on the back:
Steven has a totally normal life (well, almost): He plays drums in the All-City Jazz Band (whose members call him the Peasant), has a crush on the hottest girl in school (who doesn't even know he's alive), and is constantly annoyed by his younger brother Jeffrey (who is cuter than cute--which is also pretty annoying). But when Jeffrey gets sick, Steven's world is turned upside down, and he is forced to deal with his brother's illness, his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece, his homework, the band, girls, and Dangerous Pie (yes, you'll have to read the book to find out what that is!).
The book was excellent. It made me cry about four different times, so I may have looked pathetic on the airplane. Luckily, books and movies that make me cry only cause tears--I don't start sobbing or honking my nose. Good thing, huh? Anyway, it was a great read. Thank you, Sherrie! I loved it, tears and all!
Let's see, back to the Winter Conference...
Something a few speakers emphasized was that we should not write for the market. We need to know what's out there without chasing trends; it's a balance. One agent reminded everyone that the books you see now sold at least a year ago.
I went to a session on series fiction led by Francesco Sedita, Vice President and Publisher at Grosset & Dunlap. He was incredible. He's also an author (Miss Popularity series) so he can speak from both sides of the table. And what a great guy. His session flew by, it was so interesting and fun.
Jim Benton made some excellent points during his oh-so-entertaining talk.
1. Rewrite it--there are no first drafts in the library or bookstore.
2. You are not your work.
3. Editors will make you better writers, if you let them.
4. Editors are rooting for you.
#'s 3 and 4 echo my thoughts on the writing community: we're all on the same team.
I managed to get a hot dog from a street vendor, something many of you know I've been craving for months. It was so good.
Here's where I bought it:
This is the view from the hot dog stand:
My one regret is that I bought only one hot dog the whole trip. *sigh* I guess I'll just have to go back.
Looking for something fun to do with the kids over Spring Break? Here's an idea! My friend Nina Hess, author of A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO MONSTERS, is going to be at the Skamania Lodge (Stevenson, WA) for a special event! It will take place on Saturday, March 27th, from 2:00-4:00. Here are the deets:
