An Author’s Olympic Dreams: February Vacation Edition

I’m on school break this week, so in addition to lots of reading and writing time, we’re on a mission to take part in as many Winter Olympics sorts of activities as possible.  Though we are having fun, I’ve noticed that our endeavors often turn out…well…less than Olympian.  But you be the judge…

On Monday, the boys decided to do some downhill skiing at Whiteface, while E and I opted for cross-country skiing on the groomed trails nearby at Cascade.  It was lovely in the woods, and we saw fox, coyote, and snowshoe hare tracks in abundance.  We loved this little brook, with the water running right under a bridge of snow.

E stopped to poke at the ice with her ski pole, and that’s when things got tricky.

Poles float, it turns out.  And water can run strangely fast in the mountains in February.  Thankfully, there was a log blocking the way, so her pole didn’t get too much farther off the trail, and I was able to take off my skis and creep onto the bank without falling in.  E got her pole back, with a soggy strap, but no worse for wear otherwise.

Tuesday was an ice skating day because Lake Champlain is finally frozen enough for skating in many places.  The ice is beautiful and black and makes eerie thumping sounds as you skate over the cracks.

There are some interesting things frozen into the ice.  Can you tell what this is?

It’s a perch.  Frozen about eight inches down.  Logic tells me that the fish died first, and froze afterward, but still… I can’t help imagining the poor guy swimming along, saying, "Hey, Pete, do you think the water’s getting colder tonight? Because I think it’s getting tougher to swim and ….WHOA!"

See what I mean about the un-Olympian bit? I am guessing that Evan Lysacek wasn’t having thoughts like that during his performance in Vancouver.

“That Skating Novel” finally has title! (and other bookish news)

After much wrangling, brainstorming, arranging of tiny slips of paper, and discussion (and many thanks to all of you who chimed in with ideas!), my December 2010 middle grade figure skating novel with Walker/Bloomsbury has a new title.  The book is about a figure skater from a small-town maple farm who earns a scholarship to train with the elite in Lake Placid and quickly realizes that her sweet dream come true has more sharp edges than she could have imagined.  The title?

SUGAR AND ICE

I’m delighted that the talented Joe Cepeda is doing the cover art again, and the preliminary sketches I’ve seen are gorgeous. I’ll share the final cover just as soon as it arrives and I get the go-ahead.

More book updates…

THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. will be released in paperback in September 2010.  This makes me very happy, since several teachers have asked about the paperback release for class sets of the novel, and I really love the idea of more kids being able to afford the book.  What kind of cool contest or other fun thing do you think we should do to celebrate in the fall?

My chapter book series with Scholastic will launch one year from this month.  MARTY MCGUIRE, FROG PRINCESS will be released in February 2011, with the second Marty book to follow in August or September of the same year.  I hope to have Marty illustrator news to share  soon!

As for works-in-progress, I’m waiting for some feedback so I can do one last revision pass on the middle grade mystery I’ve been working on. I’m also noodling over a couple picture books I’m trying to polish and just starting a fun, new chapter book idea.

What’s new with you?  What are you excited about and working on these days?

“Coolest” thank you notes ever!

A couple weeks ago, I had a Skype author visit with a terrific group of 6th graders in Oelwein, Iowa.  We chatted about THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. and writing. The kids read GIANNA Z. as a class and did some great activities to go along with their reading, which their teacher Karla Duff (she’s the fabulous @teacher6th on Twitter!) posted on the class blog.  They also blogged about our Skype visit!

This particular visit was tough to schedule because of trouble with snow days and winter weather, and when we finally managed to connect, I mentioned how jealous I was of everyone getting snow.  I live way up on Lake Champlain, where we are supposed to have several feet of snow by now, and my cross country ski trails are sadly barren and brown.  So what did I get in the mail this week?

I can honestly say, these are the "coolest" thank you notes I’ve ever received.  Thanks, Mrs. Duff and students! Your snowflakes made my whole day.

The Top 10 Reasons You Should Come to the NESCBWI Conference

10. This year’s theme is "Moments of Change."  The publishing industry is evolving. We can lament that and snivel a bit, or we can be involved in the process and shape it creatively, in a way that values story and writers and readers.

9. This year’s conference chair is Anindita Basu Sempere, one of the most organized human beings I’ve ever met. This will mean good things for the conference, I’m sure.  Anindita has already posted a FAQ here.  Conference registration begins on Monday, and you’ll be able to register online here.

8. Manuscript critiques. You can sign up in advance to have the first pages of your manuscript critiqued by one of the agents, editors, or authors offering feedback at this year’s conference. If you’ve never done this before, it’s a great opportunity to get a kind-but-very-honest opinion on how your manuscript might be received when you send it out.  If you want a manuscript critique, sign up for one right away; these spots tend to sell out quickly.

7. Orientation session for first-time attendees.  The organizers of this conference know that attending your first one can feel overwhelming, so they’ve set up this how-to-manage-your-weekend session on Friday afternoon.  Smart.

6. Marla Frazee is one of the keynote speakers.  MARLA FRAZEE!!!  A two-time Caldecott Honor winner, and a kind, funny person, too. Marla will be speaking Saturday afternoon, along with her editor, Allyn Johnston of Beach Lane Books

5. Cynthia Leitich-Smith is another keynote speaker.  You know…from Cynsations?  She’s not only a well-loved kidlit blogger, but also a talented author and faculty member at the Vermont College MFA program.  She’ll be talking Saturday morning.

4. Workshops! Workshops! Workshops!   I’ll be presenting a session on Skype author visits and will also be on a panel with Jo Knowles and Carrie Jones to talk about "Blogging for the Future," how to set up and maintain a blog that will serve you throughout your career as a writer.  And I’ve already started making my list of sessions I’m dying to attend, too.  Matt Phelan is doing a session on Writing the Graphic Novel.  Mitali Perkins and Deborah Sloan will talk about successful social networking.  Toni Buzzeo and Cynthia Lord team up for a session on school visits, and Kelly Fineman offers a session on free verse.  Kara LaReau, with whom I had the absolute pleasure to work with when she was an editor at Scholastic, is giving a workshop on "Getting Unstuck in Writing and in Life" that you will not want to miss; she is an amazing, amazing editor & writer.  And that’s just a start. You can download the full list of workshops here.

3. The "workshop" after the workshops.  At conferences like this, the workshops are great, but some of the most valuable conversations happen after the hour-long session has ended, in discussions with writer-illustrator colleagues over coffee and lunch.

2. Brownies.  There are usually brownies on Saturday afternoon.  Big, thick, chewy ones.

1. Where else can you spend time with hundreds of other people who will talk seriously, for hours, about made-up people as if they’re real?  I laugh at this one, but it’s important to me. Writing for children is important, but sometimes people in our day-to-day, grocery-store, water-cooler, day-job lives don’t entirely get it.  It’s refreshing and invigorating to spend time with a big group of people who do.

Registration opens on Monday, February 8.

The D.C. Snowstorm: When Life Imitates Art…

So I just have to say…I’m finding the TV news reports of the snowstorm in Washington D.C. this weekend a little eerie.  The book I’ve been working on for the past six months — the scene I was revising Friday night, in particular — focuses on a record snowstorm that shuts down a D.C. airport.

From Chapter 9…

"What you’re suggesting should be impossible.  But…"   He glanced out the window, where a million huge, feathery snowflakes swirled in the runway lights. It looked as if giants were having a pillow fight on the tarmac.  Then he turned back to the terminal, where the only other person awake was a woman giving herself a manicure in the corner. “If ever there were a time when it might — just might — be possible, I’d say that time is right now.”

If anything else in this book comes true, I’m going to have to be very careful about what I write.  I’ll also be taking orders for subplots (a Twitter friend has already asked that I write her a nice lottery-winning scene).  In the mean time, if you’re looking for me, I’ll be online checking out photos of snowed-in airports. Now I don’t have to settle for just imagining the details any more.

Kindling Words Inspiration

I spent this past weekend at Kindling Words, a retreat for children’s writers, illlustrators, and editors.  It was four blissful days of workshops, group meals, and talking with other people who discuss fictional characters with the same passion as if they were real family members or friends.  And writing.  Lots of writing. 

I didn’t take many photos this year, but I came away from the long weekend with two picture book drafts that are now complete, a chapter one of a new maybe-project, and a middle grade mystery that is many hours closer to ready than it was before I checked into the inn.  Thanks to my KW colleagues, I also came away with some new thoughts on writing goals, the future of the industry, and the vital role that imagination will play in that future. Good things, all.


Me, Laurie Halse Anderson, Kathryn Hulick, and Loree Griffin Burns


The Kindling Words Bonfire, in which rock-solid marshmallows were roasted (it was -3 that night!) and little slips of paper were burned, sending dreams up to the universe in smoke.

When a book title goes back to the drawing board

If you’re not an author, it may surprise you to know that sometimes, the title a writer originally gives a book doesn’t always stay the title of that book.  A lot of people chime in along the way, from agents and editors, to the sales reps who will ultimately be making sure that your book is available in stores. THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. for example, wasn’t always THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.   First it was SWINGER OF BIRCHES.  Then it was MAPLE GIRL.  Then there was a whole lot of brainstorming before we came up with the final title, which I love.

My new book, about a figure skater from a small-town maple farm who earns a scholarship to train with the elite in Lake Placid, was originally called SUGAR ON SNOW.  Even though I like the way that sounds, there are concerns that it doesn’t make the ice skating element of the book clear enough, so we’re working on new titles right now.  Brainstorming.  I sent a list of ideas to my editor a week or so ago, but none of those seem to be sparking joy and agreement either, so we’re trying again. 

I thought I’d share the process I used last night, since regular old brainstorming wasn’t helping me get at anything new.  First, I brainstormed a list of all the skating words I could think of and jotted them down.  SKATE, ICE, RINK, SPIRAL, SPIN, BLADES…and on and on. Then I wrote down other words that are important in the book.  SUGAR, MUSIC, SEASONS, SONGS, SPARKLE…you get the idea.  Then I did this…

Cutting up the list into little pieces allowed me to literally play with the words, move them around and try combinations that my brain might not have come up with on its own.  Kind of like a magnetic poetry set, but more impromptu.  It worked well, and I’ll try this again the next time I’m feeling title challenged.  Sometimes, there is value in just seeing things in a new way.  In play.

And I did send a new list of title ideas off to New York early this morning.  I’ll keep you posted…

Skyping with 6th Graders

Have I mentioned how much I love the way Skype allows me to teach my own 7th grade students all day and still have time for a virtual author visit with kids halfway across the country before I make dinner?

Today’s crew of 6th graders, Mrs. Duff’s class in Oelwein, Iowa, read The Brilliant Fall of  Gianna Z. this fall and prepared some great questions for our virtual visit.  Here’s a quick sampling:

What was the inspiration for GIANNA Z?  My students and their mandatory 7th grade leaf project.

How many drafts did you have to write before it was published?  18.  Then we did copy edits.

Are you going to write a sequel?  Yes. I already did. Zig is the main character in that one. If you’d like to read it some day, please write a nice letter to my publisher to let them know!

What’s the last movie you saw?  Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which was fun because I’d just been to the Smithsonian for research last spring.

What’s your favorite book?  It’s so hard to choose, but I have to say Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  And I loved When You Reach Me, too.

Hey! We’re reading that book now. Will you play $20,000 Pyramid with us?  Sure!

Ready?  Sleds. Shovels. Angels. Toboggans...    THINGS YOU DO IN THE SNOW!!!!!!!  **cheers and dances**

Turns out I didn’t actually win $20,000 but that’s okay.  Chatting with such a fun, interesting group of kids was priceless.  Thanks, 6th graders and Mrs. Duff!

Many things on a Monday…

1. We spent Saturday skiing with friends at Whiteface Mountain on what I’m convinced was the best ski day of the year so far. It was sunny and beautiful and full of fresh air. Just perfect.

2. My students spent last week brainstorming and pulling together some quick fundraisers for Doctors Without Borders’ earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.  On Friday after school, we ate pizza and did a final count…

I am so, so proud of their efforts!

3. I am reading CHARLES AND EMMA: THE DARWINS’ LEAP OF FAITH right now, and finding it just as amazing as the awards committees and everyone else says it is.  I love the the way the story mixes science and religion and love, three things that fascinate me. Even if you don’t usually read nonfiction, I’d recommend giving this one a try.

4. I sent a new picture book manuscript off to my agent this week.  If you are a writer, you know the mix of jitters and excitement that can bring. It’s one of those books that I could never work on without laughing. **fingers crossed that it makes agent laugh, too**

5. Speaking of picture books that make you laugh, I picked up an F & G (folded & gathered copy) of SHARK VS. TRAIN, written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld.  If you are interested in writing picture books, read it. It’s a shining example of a book that appeals to both kids and the adult readers who will no doubt be sharing this one aloud over and over and over again. So, so funny!

6. At the end of this week, I’ll be heading to Kindling Words, a writing retreat where I’m looking forward to workshops, time with author friends, and time to write.  My goals: finish up a nonfiction picture book I’ve been working on, revise the middle grade mystery so it’s ready to share with my agent, and write at least one chapter of a new project that’s been keeping me up at night.  It’s a fun, fast-paced mystery with a hint of magic, and my typing fingers are itching to get started.

Hope everyone has a great week!

An Invitation for Northern NY Friends

I’m giving a lecture tomorrow night as part of a new series of talks at the Alice T. Miner Museum in Chazy. The concept, which I found irresistible, is to have two half-hour lectures presented on unrelated topics, followed by a joint Q and A session in which the audience can ask whatever they want and perhaps make connections between the two speakers.  Here’s the event poster:

One correction: It’s not $5 to get in; it’s free (yay!), and though it’s a relatively small venue, I believe there’s still space if you’d like to come.  Just call 846-7336 to reserve a seat.