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Well, hi there!  It’s good to see you…and good to see my living room again, too. August has been a busy month so far, full of travel and terrific people. Here are some highlights.

At the beginning of the month, I flew out to Los Angeles for the annual SCBWI Conference (that’s the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, for the uninitiated) because OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW won the Golden Kite Award for Best Picture Book Text, which was…well…amazing. This award comes from fellow authors, so it means so, so much. Here’s a photo of me speaking to 1200+ people at the awards luncheon. (I love still photos because they don’t show shaking hands.)

I was also part of the faculty for this conference, giving a presentation called “Picture Books: The Magical Unexpected.”  I talked about lots of picture books that I love and how they all incorporate different kinds of “unexpecteds.”  You can see the list of books I talked about here.

The most amazing thing about this conference was getting to spend time with other children’s writers and illustrators. Lin Oliver, executive director of SCBWI, likes to refer to the big mob of creativity as “the tribe,” and it’s such a great description because coming to a conference like this really feels like coming home. Here’s a photo of Lin welcoming the group.

And here’s a photo of a children’s author snapping a photo of her stuffed Peep with Lin.

Can you identify the mystery author with the mystery Peep? (If you give up, you can click here to find out.)

My family came with me on this trip, and we also managed to sneak in some classic California fun like this tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills.  Do you recognize this famous landmark?

We didn’t either.  But it is apparently Tom Cruise’s flag. “And if you look carefully,” our driver said, pointing, “you can kind of see his chimney, too.”

From L.A., I flew straight to Pennsylvania, where I spoke at the PA Writing Institute at Millersville University. This is a five-day institute full of incredible teacher-writers who dedicate their week to practicing what they preach.

They were an amazingly kind, smart, and creative group, and I wish I could have spent a full week writing with them!

I ran into a little snafu with the TSA on my flight home from LA and Pennsylvania.  The agents pulled my suitcase aside for searching, and they asked if there was “something sharp” in there.

“Well,” I said, “I won this award, and it has a kite that’s maybe a little pointy.”

They unpacked it and studied it and frowned at it for a little while.

Finally, one agent said, “What’s Over and Under the Snow?”

“It’s a…picture book.”

“Did you write it?”

“Yes. I did.”

(More frowning & studying.)

“We’re going to run this through the machine once more.”

They did. And then they swiped it to check for explosives but found none, I gather, since I was allowed to take it home.

After a day’s break, I flew to St. Louis to be the guest author at the Scholastic Book Fairs seasonal kick-off meeting for that region. When I was a kid and the Scholastic Book Club orders arrived, I was always under the impression that something magic must have happened overnight in my classroom. Book Fairs came along later on and work that same magic now, in so many communities like mine that don’t have their own bookstores. It was so much fun to meet the people (the wizards!) who make this happen for kids and classrooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am with my fantastic (and fun!) Scholastic Book Fairs hosts, Kerri Mills and Rose Schovanec. (Photo from Kerri’s FB page – thanks, Kerri!)

I’ll be visiting another Scholastic Book Fairs kick-off meeting in Charlotte later this week, then taking a research trip for book #3 in the Silver Jaguar Society mystery series, and then – home to finish summer deadlines and get the kids ready for a new school year. Hope your August has been full of sunshine and magic, too!

Revising a book — or any piece of writing — can be messy work.

The word REVISION breaks down into re-vision…or seeing again. And in order to see something again, in a new way, we have to look away from it for a little while first.  Sometimes, the very best ideas for revising a piece of writing happen not when we’re staring at that piece of writing but when we’ve set it aside to write on a different sheet of paper or type in a new document.  Here are 65 off-draft writing prompts that can help writers of all ages get thinking in new directions.

65 Off-Draft Writing Prompts to Kick-Start Revision

1.  Describe your main character’s bedroom. Don’t forget to look in drawers and closets, and under the bed.
 
2.  Write a letter to your main character from another character who loves him or her.
 
3.  Write a letter to your main character from someone who doesn’t like him or her.
 
4.  Write a poem in your main character’s voice, using a metaphor to describe a secondary character who matters to him or her.
 
5.  Write a journal entry from your main character that starts with “I’m my own worst enemy because…”
 
6.  Write a journal entry from your main character that starts with “I’ll never share this with anyone, but the truth is…”
 
7.  Write a journal entry from your main character that starts with “Deep down inside, I’m afraid…”
 
8.  Complete this sentence in your main character’s voice. Everybody thinks my dream is _____________________, but really, it’s _____________________.
 
9.  Write a journal entry from your antagonist that starts with, “The best thing about me is…”

10. Write your main character’s obituary.

11. Take a blank piece of paper & doodle on it, as your main character

12. Write about your antagonist’s greatest regret in life.

13. If your main character could get a do-over on one day of his or her life, which day would he or she choose, and why?

14. Write a letter from your main character to you (the author!) Start like this: The thing you’re not understanding about me is…

15. If your antagonist were on trial, what would be his/her defense?

16. Describe a place where your main character feels safe.

17. Write a letter from your main character at the end of the book to your main character at the beginning of the book.  What advice, warnings, and words of wisdom would he or she give?

18. Writing as your main character, describe the setting of each scene, spending a few minutes on each sense exclusively – sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch.

19. Do the same thing – but as your antagonist. How might he or she perceive things differently?

20. Writing as your main character, look out your bedroom window and describe in detail what you see.

21. How does your main character feel when the phone rings?

22. What are some distinct body language cues, verbal habits, and quirks that your main character displays when he or she is angry?  Excited? Embarrassed? Nervous? Scared? Happy? Disappointed?

23. Create a music playlist for your main character.

24. Now create one for your antagonist.

25. If the two had one common song on those playlists, what would it be and why?

26. If your main character eavesdropped on his/her parents having a conversation, what would he or she hear?

27. What’s in your main character’s refrigerator?

28. What’s in the antagonist’s refrigerator?

29. Move your main character from where he or she lives to another state or country…a different landscape.  How would life be different?

30. What would the most minor character in your book have to say about the conflict?

31. What’s your main character’s favorite weather?  Least favorite? (and have you included both in the book?)

32. In your main character’s voice, write a poem about a place he or she loves.

33. What’s your main character’s favorite smell, and why?

34. Write about the rules of the society your main character lives in – the spoken, written-down rules and the unspoken ones, too.  What are the consequences when these rules are broken?

35. Describe a sunrise/sunset in your main character’s setting.

36. What would it look like, sound like, and feel like in your main character’s house/school/other favorite place in the middle of a huge storm?

37. Imagine the most uncomfortable situation your main character could possibly be in.  Put him or her there, and write everything going through his or her head.  What does the character say? What does he or she think but not speak aloud?

38. What happens when your antagonist sees a spider?

39. Make an imaginary Facebook wall for a character you need to understand better.

40. Make a list of everything in your main character’s closet. What should have been thrown out but wasn’t?  What’s right in front?

41. What’s in the newspaper in your main character’s home town. Front page news?  Classified ads?  Sports section? Weather forecast?

42. If your book’s characters could all vote in the upcoming presidential election, for whom would they vote, and why?

43. If all the characters in your book were in a running race, what would happen? Who would come in first?  Last?  How would they act at the end?

44. What’s on your antagonist’s bookshelf?

45. What plants/animals live in your main character’s part of the world? Choose three & describe them in detail.

46. Rewrite a scene from your antagonist’s point of view.

47. Rewrite a scene from a minor character’s point of view

48. What historical events happened in the community where your main character lived, and how have those events shaped the character of the community?

49. What was the worst day in your main character’s life? The best?

50. What was the worst day of your antagonist’s life? The best?

51. What kinds of pictures are in a character’s family album?  Family shots? Landscapes? Who took most of the photos, and who is featured?

52. What would your character’s Pinterest boards be about?

53. What’s your character’s favorite font and why?

54. Write a journal entry from a character, describing your earliest life memory.

55. If you chose a famous quote to represent your book, what would it be?

56. If you could choose one song to go along with your book, what would it be, and why?

57. If this book were made into a movie, who might play the main parts?  What body language, characteristics, and quirks do they have that might help round out your characters?

58. If your manuscript could talk to you, what would it say?

59. What’s the most boring part of your manuscript?

60. What’s the best thing about your manuscript?  How could you add more of the best stuff?

61. Why is your title your title?

62. You’re a book reviewer who LOVES this book but isn’t allowed to turn in a review without three critical comments.  What criticism will you offer?

63. What part of this book would a reluctant reader be tempted to skip or skim?

64. Fill in the blanks in this sentence. My book is kind of like ________ (title of another book) because __________ but it’s different in that ________________________.

65. Stephen King said that “Fiction is the truth inside the lie.”  What is the truth your book is telling, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction?

I have to admit that when summer rolls around, all the rules go out the window at our place.  Everyone stays up too late and eats too  many s’mores.  Other than posts for Teachers Write, the virtual summer writing camp I started for teachers & librarians, I haven’t been blogging as regularly as I usually do, but I’ve been busy doing other stuff.

I launched a book.

CAPTURE THE FLAG came out July 1st, and is a Junior Library Guild Selection and won a Parents’ Choice Award.  People have been saying nice things about it, and some teachers have blogged about their plans to share it aloud with students, which makes me smile and smile.

I found out one of my other books is a finalist for an award.

OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW is up for the Cardozo Award for Children’s Literature. There are other beautiful books up for the award, too, and I’d love it if you’d click here and vote for your favorite – it doesn’t have to be mine – to support their program.

I wrote a book.

It is about a third grader named Marty, which means that I can finally answer all the people who have been asking, “Is there going to be another Marty McGuire book?” Yes. Yes indeed.  I’ll share more about Book 3 when I have all the details about launch dates and final titles and whatnot.  But for now…yay!

I caught this fish.

I caught some other ones, too, but they were mostly tiny and so no one went running for the camera when they showed up.

I revised a book.

HIDE AND SEEK is the sequel to CAPTURE THE FLAG and has gone off to copy edits. It comes out in April ’13.

I’m revising another book now.

WAKE UP MISSING is my middle grade thriller set in the Everglades, and it comes out in Fall 2013.  Which is really soon. So I’d better get back to it.  If you need me, I’ll be revising, or hanging out here.

Hope you’re having a great summer, too!

…and thanks to all the readers who came by my CAPTURE THE FLAG book signing or ordered personalized books from afar.  You made it such a magical afternoon!

Here I am with Sarah, co-owner of The Bookstore Plus and one of the nicest, smartest book people you’ll ever meet. She and the rest of the staff had me set up at a table on Main Street, the perfect place to meet lots of readers.  Many, many thanks to everyone who stopped by or sent good wishes from afar. You truly made it a Star-Spangled celebration!

The magical and wonder-filled Adirondack Mountains are the setting for OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW, the picture book that I wrote and Christopher Silas Neal illustrated. So it was beyond exciting when our book won the Adirondack Literary Award for Children’s Literature in Blue Mountain Lake this weekend. And what a setting for the event!

View from the Blue Mountain Center

It was so much fun to hear about all the other award-winning titles, too. Best Fiction went to author Steven Millhauser for We Others:  New and Selected Stories, Best Memoir to Earth, Air, Fire, & Water by Jean Rikhoff.  An Elegant Wilderness: Great Camps and Grand Lodges of the Adirondacks by Gladys Montgomery won for Best Nonfiction. Best edited collection went to Heaven Up-h’isted-ness! The History of the Adirondack Forty-Sixers and the High Peaks of the Adirondacks edited by Suzanne Lance. The Best Book of Poetry went to Paul Pines for Reflections in a Smoking Mirror.  And the People’s Choice Award went to Questions  for the Sphinx  by Stuart Bartow.

One of my favorite parts of the day was listening to author, storyteller, and poet Joseph Bruchac read aloud from some of the nominated fiction and poetry. You know how some people are just amazing at reading aloud? He’s like that. I wish you could hear…

Toward the end of the event, I discovered that my husband and kids had…well…disappeared. I went looking for them down by the lake (always a good place to start with my family).  I found them in the boathouse playing ping pong and joined in for a game or two before it was time to go home.

Thanks, Adirondack Center for Writing and Blue Mountain Center, for a wonderful celebration of words and a magical clouds-in-the-water afternoon.

I spent the first part of this week in New York City for Book Expo America, a frighteningly enormous publishing trade show at the Javits Center. This was my first BEA, thanks to Chronicle Books, which sent me to attend the ABA Celebration of Bookselling where OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW received an E.B. White Read Aloud Honor. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

I actually arrived in New York on Monday, in time to have lunch with my Walker/Bloomsbury editor, Mary Kate, before heading to the Scholastic offices for a big party for bloggers. The “Scholastic Live” event featured a bunch of authors, including me, performing readers theater from one another’s new books.  It was so much fun to be part of a dramatic reading from CAPTURE THE FLAG — and I’ll tell you that Raina Telgemeier, Jeff Hirsch, and Donna Cooner have some serious acting skills!  Here’s a photo of the four of us, acting out a scene from Raina’s upcoming graphic novel, DRAMA.

Before the blogger party, all the authors signed books here:

Turns out this is THE room where acquisitions meetings happen at Scholastic. When David Levithan told us that, a sort of awed hush fell over that big conference table. Then we all admitted we’d imagined the chairs would be a lot cushier.

After a late dinner with my agent and some of her smart, hilarious clients…and a few hours of sleep…and an early breakfast with my Scholastic editor, it was time for a video shoot at the Scholastic offices.

The video we taped is especially for teachers & librarians, and I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s up on the Scholastic website!

Then it was off to BEA for the awards luncheon, where I got to meet OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW illustrator Christopher Silas Neal for the first time ever.  Here he is saying thanks to indie booksellers for the E.B. White Read Aloud Honor.

You can read more about the luncheon and see the full list of winners here.

Before it was time for me to fly home, I took a walk through the BEA exhibits hall, which was big and busy and kind of scary in its intensity. But it was fun to play “spot the celebrity.”  Know who this is?

I’ll give you a hint: Excuse me, sir. I think there’s been a mistake. I know we’re in detention but I don’t think I belong here.

Yep – it’s Molly Ringwald of Breakfast Club fame. She wrote a book and was signing copies of it for this crazy mob of people.

That’s the crowd at the BEA autographing stalls…which scared me into leaving a little early for the airport.

Many thanks to the ABA and all of the independent booksellers who not only serve as their communities’ literary hearts but also share my books with readers.  Thanks for the E.B. White Honor, for sure. But mostly, thanks for just doing what you do. I hope you get to keep doing it for a long, long time.

I’ve got some exciting news to share…

Thanks to all of you who read OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW and shared it and talked about it and read it aloud to kids while you sipped hot chocolate, Chronicle Books has asked illustrator Chris Silas Neal and I to work on a follow-up book!  UP IN THE GARDEN AND DOWN IN THE DIRT will explore the hidden secret world of a vegetable garden while a child and grandparent plant,weed and harvest up above.

I’ll be spending a lot of time in my vegetable garden this summer, looking even more closely than usual at the spiders, ants, grubs, and worms that live alongside (and underneath!) my basil, marigolds, and tomatoes.

So if you happen to walk through my neighborhood and see me sprawled on my belly, peering into the dirt with my notebook at my side, don’t worry. I’m no crazier than usual; I’m just doing research.

I do a lot of Skype author visits with classrooms and libraries around the U.S. and beyond, and while it’s not quite the same as an in-person author visit, I love that I get to meet so many more kids than I otherwise might. This spring, I tried an experiment to make my Skype author visits a little closer to the in-person variety — by offering classes the opportunity to order personalized, signed books from one of my local independent booksellers after the visit. It was a great success and something I’ll be doing again in the fall.

Here’s how it worked:

First, I approached Marc and Sarah at The Bookstore Plus, my nearest indie bookseller, with the idea. Would they be game to work with me to get signed books to kids who had met me via Skype?  They would! (Indie booksellers are awesome that way.) We figured out the best way to set it up, double-checked prices for the order form, and talked over all the details of how much advance notice they’d need for orders, etc. Everything about how it would work.

I have a standard email that I send teachers and librarians who inquire about my Skype author visits. To book a visit, I ask them to respond to a list of questions – about what kind of visit they’d like (Q and A or longer presentation), the age & number of students in the group, what they’ve read, the organizer’s Skype username, and a contact phone number in case there are technical difficulties that day.  I added one last question to that list: Would you like your students to have the opportunity to order signed books after our visit? If so, I’ll send along an order form.

Passing out order forms isn’t a requirement for my Skype visits — just an option — but many teachers and librarians took advantage of that opportunity for their kids.  I emailed an order form for them to print and send home to families. Mine looks like this:

 

 

After our Skype visit, the teacher collects money (checks made out to the bookstore) and order forms and calls the bookstore to let them know an order is on the way. That allows the bookstore to order copies of books if there aren’t enough in stock. The bookstore shoots me an email to let me know they’ll be getting an order in a few days, and I schedule a time to visit to sign books. (Sadly, my nearest indie bookseller is an hour from my home; those of you with indies nearby are so lucky!)

Meanwhile, at the bookstore, the order forms and money arrive, and someone (thank you, Cherise!) gets the books ready by slipping the order form (which includes the kid’s name and how the book should be signed) into the appropriate book. It goes into a box until I come to sign.  I bring my pens, and the order form tells me how each book is to be personalized.  Most often, a post-Skype book signing only takes 15-20 minutes, though last weekend, there were three boxes of books waiting for me, so my husband took the kids for ice cream while I signed for about an hour.

I put the books back in the boxes as I sign, so once I’m done, they’re organized, still matched with their order forms, and ready to be mailed to the school. The Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid offers free shipping on orders over $50, and pretty much all the school-Skype orders qualify for that, so it works out well for everyone. The kids get their signed books at school, just the way they’d get a Scholastic Book Clubs order that arrives to the classroom. A great local bookstore sells some books that might otherwise have been ordered online or not at all, and I’m happy knowing that my stories are making it into more readers’ hands.

This system may not work for every author or every indie bookseller, but if you’re a writer who does Skype visits, it may be worth asking about and considering. Got questions? Fire away in the comments and I’m happy to answer if I can.

And finally…the UPS guy arrived this week with something too exciting not to share. For next fall’s visits, I’ll have one more title on the order form…

My editor at Scholastic sent along the first final copies of CAPTURE THE FLAG, my July 2012 mystery about the heist of the original Star-Spangled Banner from the Smithsonian and the three kids with a mysterious connection who race all over a snowed-in airport trying to track down the thieves.  I’m excited about this one – and there’s a sneak preview of the first two chapters online now if you’d like to start reading a little early.

If you’d like your very own signed copy, The Bookstore Plus can help you out, too. I’ll be signing CAPTURE THE FLAG there on July 2nd, and they’re happy to take orders over the phone (518-523-2950) in advance.