Jamie A. Swenson | The Studious Cat

Writing Craft

Necromancy: The Art of Communing with the Dead (Manuscripts)

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Image from page 239 of “Science and literature in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance” (1878)

You’ve likely heard that manuscripts need to simmer. Simmering should likely be more than an hour and less than six years. 

You’ve likely also heard that you should stop dragging around a dead cow, or dead horse, or dead anything – referring to a manuscript that has been to every critique group, conference, and workshop with you for YEARS — but you do very little to revise it — so your crit. mates have seen the SAME THING countless times. The key here is the lack of change/revision. Dead manuscripts are dead because the author lacks the willingness or the ability to make intentional, impactful revision. (This means that you did a lot more than just fixing that wrong word or comma issue.)

But just because you have finally called time of death on a manuscript and put it away – doesn’t mean it’s dead to you forever. OH NO. This is where the magic of necromancy comes into play. 

Manuscripts might become stagnant, but writers do not. We keep growing. We hear the same advice over and over and slowlly, but surely, the advice begins to errode our dense grey matter. One day we sit down to write and suddenly (as if by divine grace or dark magic) we understand a concept that we didn’t before — and more than that — we see how it applies to our own work.

This has happened to me – with a resulting sale. I went to a conference. Heard some brilliant person talking about looking through the files for old manuscripts that might still have a bit of life left in them. Looked back at least four or five years into the Dead Files — and brought one up that I had worked and worked and worked to death. 

And this time – I looked at it – and immediatley saw my mistake. It was all in the pattern. And it was so obvious. I sat down and revised it. Sent it off to my agent – long story short – it sold. It will be out in the world in 2021 — and once I have real dates, I’ll share more about that one.

But it just goes to show – sometimes we need to put manuscripts away for years. This is not simmering. This is death. But death is not final.

Today’s Challenge: Put that manuscript that you are not revising, but still holding onto, some where far, far away. Set a reminder for January 13, 2024 – to find it and resurrect it. (Of course, you can resurrect it earlier if you hear it calling you — but wait at least six months — you’ll be amazed at what you see with fresh, knowledgeable eyes.)

Canceled Plans

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Yesterday I was all about “Let’s CANCEL that and WRITE!” Today I’m all about, “WHY must things get CANCELED!?” Which got me thinking about good and bad disruptions. When my kids were small and a Snow Day meant an unexpected day to stay home and cuddle — I was all for it. But this weekend the predicted Snow Event is threatening something FUN. This is, of course, unacceptable. 

Today’s Prompt: Think of a time when an event (or anything) that you were excited about was canceled — or worse yet — you were not allowed to go (by parent or otherwise). What was so important about the event? How did you feel? What good, bad, or otherwise was the result of your not attending said event?  Then flip it on its side – Think of a time you were FORCED to attend an event … follow the prompts.

Kids/Teens have so little control of their lives – so controlling social events is a big deal. For me, being forced to attend something I didn’t want to do was much, much worse than not being allowed to drive about at all hours of the night with my dearest teen friends. My parents had a thing against that — teens driving about without plans or direction. ESPECIALLY if the weather was bad – and I lived in Wisconsin. The weather was bad from October to June.  

Writing Process Blog Tour

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Last week one of my favorite authors, Kashmira Sheth, asked me if I would like to participate in a blog tour focused on the writing process. Process can be a mystery — and even after nearly thirteen years as a writer AND after completing an MFA in Writing, I am still learning about process. Process is nearly as important as a good idea. So I said yes.

So, thank you, Kashmira. Check out Kashmira’s answers at www.kashmirasheth.com Kashmira Sheth writes picture books, middle grade novels, and young adult fiction. Her eight books have received many awards and honors. Kashmira was born and raised in India and comes from a family of storytellers. She studied science in college but her enjoyment of reading and sharing stories nudged her into writing. Her latest picture book, Tiger in My Soup, is about sibling relationship, power of imagination and love of reading.

Writing Process Q & A

1) What are you working on? 

I’m currently working on revising a few picture books, researching for a new picture book, brainstorming a new novel idea, and planning the launch of my latest picture book IF YOU WERE A DOG with illustrator Chris Raschka (Sept. 30, FSG/Macmillan)

2) How does your work differ from others of its genre?

I think my picture books stand out because they are exactly what I would (and do) read during storytime with young children. My books are filled with opportunities to get the kids involved in the telling through actions and sounds. I’ve worked as an associate librarian storyteller since 2000 — so when I sit down to write a picture book, I am thinking about HOW the text will interact with the kids from the first word. As I write, I visualize the kids’ reaction and how I will, as the storyteller, bring them into the telling. For me, picture books are very much a drama to be acted out between reader and listener — and the whole experience requires both reader and listener to bring something to the telling to bring the words alive. Whether it’s the FLASH CRASH BOOM BOOM BOOM of a thunderstorm, the URRRRNNNT-URRRRNNNT! of a big rig’s horn, or the CRIK, CRIK, CRIK of a cricket — I am always working to bring actions and sounds into the book. Which is why I find myself not only talking aloud – but sometimes clapping, tapping, and hopping about while writing. This probably makes folks in the coffee shop wonder what I’m actually drinking…

3) Why do you write what you do?

Because it’s what is moving me at the moment. When an idea hits me — it’s overwhelming. I have to write it down. Sometimes – that’s all it is, a moment of inspiration and then it’s gone. But sometimes, the words linger and change and continue to evolve over the course of days, weeks, and even years. When the words stick with me and new thoughts keep popping into my head after the initial burst of inspiration — that’s when I start to pay attention. A sudden inspiration is fun — but it takes a bit more than that to create a full story. In the end, I write the stories that stick to me and won’t leave me be!

4) How does your writing process work?

As I said above, my process starts with a burst of inspiration. It may come in a complete sentence, or a title, or a funny question – which is what happened with my latest picture book IF YOU WERE A DOG. coverA little boy came to the library. His grandma warned me that, today, he was a dog – not a boy. The dog barked at me and sort of wagged his tail. I smiled and asked him, “What sort of dog are you? Will you listen in storytime or bark?” The little dog barked, which made me laugh. And made me start to think — what sort of dog would I be? What sort of dogs had been my friends? And for that matter — what about cats? Birds? Fish? Bugs? What SORT of bug, dog, cat, fish, bird would I be? The first lines of the book popped into my head. “If you were a dog, would you be a speedy-quick, lickety-sloppidy, scavenge-the-garbage, Frisbee-catching, hot-dog-stealing, pillow-hogging, best-friend ever sort of dog? Would you howl at the moon? ARRRRROOOOOOOO! Some dogs do.”  I liked that so very much that I kept playing with it and asked myself a ton of questions. They made me laugh as I thought about the type of animal I would be — and trust me — I would certainly be howling at the moon.

During the inspiration phase — I also do a lot of reading. I read nonfiction books about whatever it is I’m writing about. As I wrote IF YOU WERE A DOG, I remember I brought books about birds of prey, bugs, and frogs home. I wanted to immerse myself in the language of those animals so I would be thinking about what it might really be like to be a fish, a cat, a bug, etc…

Once I have the inspiration and the research part down – the real work begins. Inspiration is great – but picture books have a very specific format – pace, structure, page limit – so I spend a lot of time visualizing the final book. Where would I want to turn the page? Does the ending satisfy the beginning? Is it too long? Too short? Are there enough opportunities for an illustrator to be inspired too? (It’s not enough that I’m inspired — there MUST be space for an illustrator to play and dream and be inspired too).

After all of that — I read aloud, take the book to my critique group, and continue to revise until I think it’s good enough to become a real book. Once it gets to that point — I start sending it off into the real world and hope, and hope, and hope that someone else sees what I see and will turn it into a book that I can share in storytime.

That’s about it for me! But, as I said — every writer has a slightly different approach. In the end, there’s no right or wrong. If it works, it works. If you’d like to learn more about process — follow this blog tour to the next two stops:

Robin Stevenson is the author of sixteen novels for teens and children, including the 2014 Silver Birch Award winner Record Breaker, Record Breaker (1)the Governor General’s Award finalist A Thousand Shades of Blue, and the ALA Rainbow List selection, Inferno. Robin was born in England, grew up mostly in Ontario, and now lives on the west coast of Canada with her partner and their ten year old son. She writes, edits, and teaches creative writing classes for people of all ages. Robin loves hearing from readers and can be reached through her website at www.robinstevenson.com

Elizabeth Fixmer became passionate about writing for children during her twenty years as a child psychotherapist in Denver. In her practice elizabethfixmer1she used middle-grade and young-adult novels extensively to help children identify with characters, and equip them with a vocabulary to express their own thoughts and feelings. Elizabeth was so enamored with writing that she returned to school and obtained a second master’s degree: an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults (Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota). She loves conducting workshops and presentations. www.elizabethfixmer.com

 

 

Character Driven Stories

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image 4If you’re a writer – you know the drill. Write a character-driven book.

I’ve been writing for some time now. I’ve been around. I went to Hamline University and completed my M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults. I contemplated character, wrote essays on character, read a zillion and one character-driven books and asked myself endlessly – what makes a good character? Is it all in the name? The voice? In some dark secret that he/she is carrying from page one to the bitter end? Is the extreme characteristic – the BEST, the WORST, the MOST POWERFUL, the WEAKEST… Maybe it’s a talent that only he/she possesses. Maybe he/she is an outsider – thinks differently than everyone else in the book. Is he/she the hero? The only hope? The last of a line? The first?

Characters are important. No doubt about that. Especially if you want to sell a book.

Believe me – I write a ton of books that do not have character driven plots (much to my agent’s chagrin – Sorry, Sean) — BUT I have been thinking about writing a book with a real, honest-to-goodness character-driven plot. The NAME of said character will be prominently displayed in the TITLE. It will happen.

So, with character in mind – it’s not surprising that when I heard Jill Davis of HarperCollins speak at a recent event – and she said that a strong character will be able to be printed on pajamas – or bed sheets – I took note. That makes sense – right?

When I think about my books to date – I would say Frankie 2468 Frankiethe truck from my book BIG RIG could be awesome pajamas. Also, I would vote for Fred (the bear from my book BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!) as a charming sheet set.

So if I have done this – why is it so hard to do this when I sit down to write? The main thing I am going to focus on is giving a character in the book an actual NAME. You roll the eyes (I see you) – but seriously – I write a lot of sense of place poetry. There might be dogs, cats, fish, children – but they do not always have NAMES. Plus, when I read to the young folks, I tend to pick books that give kids an overall feeling – such as I LOVE SPIDERS by John Parker or ALL THE WORLD by Liz Garton. These are fantastic, poetic, lovely books for twos and threes — and they do not have named CHARACTERS. Still, they would make nice pajamas – or maybe wallpaper.

What have we learned here? That editors would very much like a character to sell, and we, the authors would also like a character to sell. We also know that kids like characters (because they like pajamas with Curious George or Spiderman on them). So, with you as my witness – I am going to TRY to write some seriously character driven books – but I will very likely keep writing those other books too. Because they are important and all fun to read too. Even if they don’t translate EXACTLY to a twin comforter set. hee hee hee …

 

 

 

 

5:50 a.m. on her 18th Birthday

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My thoughts are circling around creativity this morning and what it means to wake up every day with your heart filled with wonder, joy, sorrow, awe – and an intense desire to share some part of this creative self with the world.

Creative selfs* are complicated. They WANT – no – They NEED public expression. What is Art if it is never shared with another person – if it’s kept in a drawer, or a closet – or worse – inside your heart – never realized? It is still ART, for certain, but it is a pale experience. 

Still, at the same time … the creative self is a fragile newborn, unaware of the dangers that lurk in the shadows – in the form of criticism, misunderstanding, anger – censorship. Too much criticism at the wrong moment kills creativity. Proper criticism, at the right moment, done with respect to the art and artist creates an environment where the creative soul thrives. But it’s tricky. You never know which comment will ignite a fire that blazes bright with creativity and which comment douses the whole shebang.

Eighteen years ago my first daughter entered the world on a -38 (real temperature) day. She, like her younger sister, has become a smart, funny, creative, empathetic, sensitive soul. She’s an artist. Her work will be on display this month in the Milwaukee Art Museum in the Scholastic Student Art Display. Her creative soul is open to the world – which is a wonder and a joy – and a danger, indeed. As her mother – I have always encouraged her to dare – to create – to share her vision. Still, as her mother, I want to protect those creative embers in her heart – so that her creative soul will burn so brightly that the naysayers will be silenced.

I have yet to figure out how to put it all on the line and yet protect it. I don’t think it’s possible. I guess the creative person must build up his/her own protections against the world.

On Tuesday, my second picture book BIG RIG rolls out. That’s an amazing thing too. My words transformed by Ned Young’s art – in a convenient book form for parents and kids to share. Wow. Leaves me a bit speechless, and I feel quite unworthy of my life. And yet I KNOW there are folks who just won’t SEE it for what it is (to me) – a joyful, playful book meant to invite young children along for a story. For me, there is nothing greater than giving a child a book that makes him/her excited about reading. BIG RIG is a part of my creative soul. And it is out there for the World to see. That’s a big, scary thing.

Last night, my hometown celebrated The Arts. Creative folks from all walks of life (actors, singers, photographers, chefs, dancers – and writers) we nominated by our peers and then a very nice fundraising celebration took place. I couldn’t be there – as I’m out of town with BIG RIG – but my husband and my younger daughter attended. There were performances and voting – and a general feeling that WE NEED our creative sides – we NEED ART. My book, BOOM BOOM BOOM received recognition in the Creative Writing category. JAC AwardMy husband accepted this award for the book (painted by a high school art student). After the evening, Jon told me that as he looked out into the audience – he suddenly found himself a bit overwhelmed by the emotion of the evening. All the talent – in every stage – young people, adults – daring to SHARE their vision of the world. He got a bit choked up. Art can do that to you. Art brings out our spiritual/ emotional sides. Art touches our souls. How wonderful that the United Arts Alliance paused on an evening in January to celebrate creativity in our city. I hope that all involved left with their spirits renewed by the celebration.

Last weekend,  I spent three days with some incredible writers. It was a working weekend – we brought our STUFF, read it aloud – and spent hours talking about each piece, writing craft, and what it means to live your life as a writer. And you know what? – every single one of us – from the person with ten books out in the world – to the people who are anxiously awaiting publication – agreed that living the Writer’s Life can be brutal. It can be awful. And it can be amazing. That’s the complicated nature of sharing your creative soul with others. When you connect with another person through your art – it’s transformative. But, when you face unfair criticism, walls, or apathy — well, I will leave you with the words one of the writers reminded us of:

The Man in the Arena

by Theodore Roosevelt

 It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;

but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Go out – nurture your creative soul and then dare greatly – for what else is there in this world?

 *Yes, I know it could be/should be “selves” … not feeling that word. I want it to be selfs today. 😉

Onomatopoeia and such

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*Ahhhh pooooof* Phew. There we go. Had to blow the dust off the keyboard! That’s better! Schwack, schwaaack. Thwip. (a few cobwebs). It’s been a while – I apologize. SMOOCH! (that better?)

I’ve been told I tend to use a lot of sound words in my writing – you know – the whole onomatopoeia thing. It’s true. I LOVE sound words. And I DO use them often when I write. Especially in my picture books, but I use sound words in my middle grade books as well. Why?

Because sound words are FUN! They break up text and provide white space/pacing/rhythm. Plus, they not only invite the reader into the text — they grab the reader by the ear and pull them along! Ouch! BANG! SNAP! Arrrrooooooo! How could a read resist such lovely words? And better yet — how could a CHILD not turn around and LOOK at an adult reading such silly, fun words?

I suppose that’s where it all started. In my ‘other life’ I’m an early literacy storyteller. I started out when I was a teen – going to summer park programs and reading stories to hot, sweaty, tired, often sugared-up kids. When you’re not much older than your audience, I think you tend to ham it up a bit Flash Crash Boom Boom Boom(at least, I did) in order to keep their attention on the story and not on a passing butterfly. The Big Bad Wolf HUFFED and PUFFED and BAM-CRASH! knocked those little houses down. Those pigs cried WEEEE WEEE WEEE! And don’t even get me started on Little Red Riding Hood. Sound words did the trick – I would add them in if the author had somehow missed an opportunity CREAK! SQUEAK! Swish swish. So, when I started writing my own picture books – of course I added the sound words into the text. (Why should the poor reader have to work so hard to come up w/ the appropriate sounds at the appropriate time?). Plus, as the writer – if you add in sound words – you are giving your illustrator room to play. In my first book, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!, David Walker used my sound words to enhance the illustration. Someone recently asked if I had written those words too – or if the illustrator had just done that … OF COURSE I WROTE THE WORDS! GAK! (but I answered politely – honestly, people – I’m the author – if I let the illustrator do everything, what would be left? GRIN).

I also used a lot animal sounds in BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! (there are even more in my book IF YOU WERE A DOG due out in fall 2014). Again, not only does the sound break up the text and invite the reader in — but it is an early literacy tool as well (we library types like to call this phonological awareness). Kids learn language by playing with it – manipulating it – splicing and dicing it into individual sounds – and by hearing the sounds slowed down a bit. What’s better than Arrrrooooo! or Hisssss! or YEOWL! or Squawk! or Ribbet ribbet! Kids love to make animal sounds – and they are easy to break up into syllables – if you’re so inclined. And kids are. So are teachers. So, I ask you, brave writers, why not add a few sounds in? You’ll love it. I promise. Even a ‘quiet’ picture book can benefit from a few soft sounds…. shhhhhh…. pat pat pat…. drip drip drip …. whoosh … hush hush …

My next book BIG RIG is packed with sound words too … what can I tell you — I just love me the onomatopoeia (and I think Frankie’s illustrator, Ned Young, does too!)Urrrnnnt urrrrnnntUrrrrnnntt! Urrrrnnntt! Keep the shiny side up and the rubber side down!

BIG RIG will hit the road on Feb. 4, 2014.

 

Blog Hopping with Marsha Qualey, Lisa Bullard, and Mary Ann Scott

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A week or two ago, Marsha Qualey asked me if I wanted to blog hop with her. I love hopping. In fact, I do it all the time — in storytime, in my writing, during the hectic after-the-school-day witching zone of:  “Can you give so-and-so a ride?” or “Could you bring me XYZ?” Hopping, or so it seems, is in my blood.

Of course, as in all things, there are rules to this blog hop.

According to Marsha: “The rules are each invitee answers questions and then introduces … other writers. You can hop forward and backward and sideways and learn about many good writers that are or have been writing for children.”

Hopping about has connected me with some fairly amazing writers. Case in point? Marsha Qualey. marsha qualeyI met Marsha when I was hopping around Hamline working on my M.F.A. Marsha somehow or other got me through my critical thesis in one piece — and she promised me a ghost story. I’m waiting.

Marsha is the type of YA writer who you pray kids discover – and you recommend when they haven’t. She writes realistic teen characters set against social/political/religious/moral (I could keep going) backgrounds in a down-to-earth, this really feels 9781611875959_SMlike it happened – sort of way that just blows me away. Plus, the woman writes a darn good mystery. To say I am a big fan of her work would be an understatement. And now, Marsha as turned her talents toward adult fiction. This can only be a good thing. Check out her latest novel: Venom and the River

So, since I said I’d hop – let’s get hopping.

What are you working on right now?

At this very moment I am working on a middle grade novel featuring a talking dog and time travel. It’s new territory for me – a giant leap into sci fi/fantasy/historical fiction … what?! But, I must admit, I am loving the research and the characters I’m creating. I am also working a about threeBig-Rig-cover_color1 (2)first version picture books – two that rhyme, one that doesn’t. I have also been out and about promoting my first picture book: Boom! Boom! Boom! (which has been fantastic and exhausting) … and I’m gearing up for the release of BIG RIG (Feb. 2014). So there’s that!

How is your current work different than other works in the genre?

In my mind, I am writing a weird cross between the Magic Tree House, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and Men and Black (with a bit of Back to the Future thrown in for good measure) for seven to eleven year old kids. It’s early days, folks — so I think it’s too soon to say what this book will become. I’ll keep you posted. 

Why do you write what you write?

How long do you have? But, seriously, like most writers – I pick projects that affect me on some level. Most of my picture books come from a place of joy and enthusiasm for the topic, the words, and the eventual readers. I see the kids in my mind as I’m writing – I imagine how certain words/ideas might make them react – giggles? Smiles? Concern? What might seem very light to an adult can affect a child deeply (and I often find myself laughing or crying as I write). As for my novels – again – I tend to find characters who I know and who I believe have something of worth to share with my readers. Bottomline – if I’m not addicted to writing the book — it’s not going to happen. I can’t force it. I have to love it on some level, or I will end up cleaning my house instead.

What’s the hardest part of writing?

A  year ago I would have said, “Just doing it.” Now, with a book out in the world and two more next year – I have to say, “Keeping the marketing out of the current work.” Once you see what it takes for a book to survive – it’s tempting to work only on projects that seem to have a marketing angle built in – books that want to leap off the shelf based only on the cover image or the snazzy title. I don’t want to be that person/that writer. I want to write books that matter to someone – and that someone had better be me.

Now I invite you to check out the blogs of two amazing writers I hopped into along the way.

I met Lisa Bullard last October 1004667_163689883815087_561487836_n– she’s not only a talented writer celebrating a novel release in 9780544029002_lresOctober: Turn Left at the Cow – but the author of more children’s fiction and NF than I can list here. Lisa supports her professional community in many valuable ways – including as a Mentor for Hire. I met her at a time I really needed a mentor. Her advice was invaluable to me. She’s a writer to watch. So start watching. Plus, she is one of the funniest folks I’ve ever met. Honestly.

I met Mary Ann Scott around 2007 (dates are a bit fuzzy) at the Highlights Foundation Workshop in Chautauqua, NY. Mary Ann number 1 002was working on a historical, paranormal manuscript. I was immediately taken with her – as a writer, as a friend, and as a fellow ghost girl. Her blog is called ‘Haunting the Broken Tree’ – and it’s worth your time to check it out. Mary Ann recently received a work-in-progress grant from SCBWI (and I believe she may be off on another adventure even as I type). Watch for Mary Ann’s ghost stories in the near future.

Happy Hopping, Folks.

Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

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image 2They say that Lewis Carroll’s “The Jabberwocky” is a ‘nonsense’ poem. I don’t think it’s nonsense at all. There are days you just have to shout,
“Oh, frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” and everyone knows exactly what you mean. It’s not nonsense if people understand you – right?

Today’s my day to shout it out. My day to make some noise. My day to welcome my very first book, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! into the world. So, you ask, how did I spend this, this frabjous day? I woke to rain pounding on the windows and thunder rolling overhead (a good start, I would say!). Then, I went to work, just like any other day. I created a backdrop that little kids will stick their incentive ant stickers to this summer when they come in with a completed reading card. Oh, image 4and I went to my local bookstore and SIGNED COPIES OF MY BOOK!!!!! And I bought some yummy bakery items to help celebrate the day.

I also saw that some of my wonderful writer friends posted interviews and quick “Congrats!” on Twitter and Facebook and on various blogs (Tamera Will Wissinger’s Blog). Cool. What is the etiquette for thanking folks on Twitter? I re-tweeted, but that seemed so self-promotional … hmmm… if you know the correct response, please, please let me know. I would like to Tweet correctly.

After work, I ran my daughter out to a magic shop to buy fairy/elf ears. This is really just a daily occurrence in my household.

Tonight I will go to bed happiliy thinking that maybe, just maybe, on this stormy WI night a little child somewhere is reading BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! with his/her grown-up and smiling and is maybe a bit less frightened of the storm as it “bellows and bams” outside her window. And that is why I must shout, “Oh, frabjous day!”

To get your very own copy of BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! visit your local bookseller, or various online merchants.

 

THREE (or FOUR) Days to Publication …

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It’s hard to believe that as of today there are only three (or four if you count today, which I guess I should because it’s only 8:10 a.m.) days until Boom! Boom! Boom! is officially out there in the world.

bkcover_bbbIt’s been a strange-wonderful-painful-joyous-underwhelming-overwhelming journey so far. And the book isn’t out for four (or three) more days.

Yesterday, I sat down with one of my favorite local newspaper reporters (Anna Marie Lux of the Janesville Gazette) to talk about what it’s like to finally have a book about to launch. We talked about so much – but mainly – it turns out – about my rabid love of books and reading. She asked me about my mom – the person who read to me every single day – and about growing up – and how I read to my brothers – and how I was so lucky to live in a community with an amazing library (and even luckier to have a mom who took me there every week). me and mom

We talked about the people who helped set me on the path – Cathy Norris, Children’s Librarian Extraordinaire, Beth Murray, one of the best storytellers I’ve ever met, Kathy Kennedy-Tapp, writer, mentor, friend — too many people to even list. I was overwhelmed with the memories.

We talked about what’s next: BIG RIG (Feb. 4, 2014) and If You Were a Dog (fall 2014). Which, when I said it aloud, was also a bit overwhelming to think about … (look – there’s the cover for BIG RIG – doesn’t Frankie look excited to start the journey with me?)

Big-Rig-cover_color1 (2)first versionMORE RANDOM THOUGHTS: As we live our lives so many people direct us in small and big ways. Sometimes we notice – like being invited to become a storyteller at the library – and sometimes we don’t notice – like being read to every single day, seeing my family read, and visiting the library weekly – but it all adds up, doesn’t it? Makes us who we are – the good and the bad.

Having a book published – a real live book – has been a goal of mine for so many years. And now look. In four (three?) days I will see that dream become a reality. Does this mean I need a new dream? Do I dare start to think of what’s next? Or will I be/should I be satisfied with this accomplishment? I am making myself STOP and recognize this moment. For me, it’s a big one. I don’t want to miss it.

What’s next? I haven’t a clue. I can tell you that I can’t stop writing picture books in my head. I have no idea if these words will eventually make it into real, live books. But, I hope that they do.  I can tell you that I’m filled with pride when I open Boom! Boom! Boom! – I see who I was when I wrote it, I feel the same emotions I felt when I had the words just the way I wanted them and thought, “this one gets to go in search of an audience.” I will tell you it’s crazy-weird to see those words in book form. And even crazier that Anna Maria wondered, “Will you be a rich woman now?” Ha. Clearly, she hasn’t talked to too many picture book writers! Grin. I am not in this for the riches – and I don’t know any writer who is … it’s just who we are – right?

And now Boom! Boom! Boom! is ready to find homes with kids and parents who I hope will read it, enjoy it, and not ‘accidentally’ drop it behind the bookcase (not that I ever did that with any book that my kids loved…).

So, while I obsess with what this means in my life – you go and work on your own dreams. It’s a beautiful day here in Wisconsin and I have storytime in a little while at the library. Storytime day is my favorite day.

I’ll check back in with you next week and let you know how it’s going. I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and into something different in three (or maybe four) days.

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