Welcome to the G-Blog!

I'm still reading a lot, and writing, and thinking.

For those in the Lehigh Valley area, or willing to travel there, I'll be on a panel this weekend to talk about writing for young adults:
Saturday, May 25, 11 AM - 1 PM: Panel on Young Adult Books. Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group. PALMER LIBRARY, 3 Weller Place, Palmer Township, PA. Appearing with Alissa Grosso, Nicole Zoltack, and John Evans.

And no, I'm not talking about the many poems written by William Shakespeare. I'm talking about my own YA poetry collection, which I am now calling The Lady Doth Protest, and which has taken a few years to get right. Turns out, though, that it's not quite done, and that the poem I had to close the collection has to go. Which means I have to write (yet) another poem for Miranda, from The Tempest.

All the other poems are written in formal poetry, but I think I'm going to embrace Miranda's sentiment about it being a "brave new world" and break ranks for this one.

Quoth Miranda in The Tempest, Act V, scene 1:

O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world
That has such people in 't!

(And yes, that is where George Orwell ganked the title for one of his most famous works.)

Here's hoping this will be the ending that lets this collection spread its wings and fly. (There's a bit more detail about it in my "next big thing" blog post from a couple months back, if you're interested.)

Three terrific librarians, Sophie Brookover, Liz Burns, and Kelly Jensen, have dedicated May to SHOW ME THE AWESOME!, a time to highlight the awesome things librarians are doing. Here is some background information: http:///www.stackedbooks.org/2013/04/show-me-awesome-30-days-of-self.html (and you can find it here: http://sophiebiblio.tumblr.com/awesome/ and here: http://blogs.slj.com/teacozy/2013/05/19/show-me-the-awesome-week-4/). It's tough to toot your own horn, so some of us have joined in with Sophie and Liz and Kelly to make folks more aware of the awesomeness that goes largely unnoticed. So, here is my small contribution to the effort.


Being in a library science department and teaching online courses in literature for children, tweens, and teens means I do not often have the chance to interact with students. So, when the opportunity presents itself, I leap at the chance. My colleague Rosemary Chance arranged for the two of us to do a continuing education program for undergraduate teacher education students. “Let the Heart of a Book Touch the Heart of a Child” became our theme since we spoke to the groups on Valentine’s Day. Basically, we booktalk some of the Notables (ALSC) winners for the year. After the booktalk, students are invited to take a free book with them to begin or build their future libraries.

Aside from being a lot of fun (Rosemary and I love booktalking as a team), this program has provided some other benefits we did not anticipate going into it:

1. Other faculty attend and see part of what it is we DO in librarianship. They remark on how attentive the students are and how much even they loved the booktalking (they also took free books).
2. Students come to talk to us about working on an MLS when they graduate.
3. This year we had one faculty member ask if we had some more books we could spare (we did) and if she could bring her class over to “shop our shelves.” We had 7 book carts filled with books we had weeded from the books publishers send us for our committee work (Rosemary was on Notables and I was on Odyssey this past year). Students filled boxes and hauled them off for their classroom libraries (see photos below).




4. We have been asked to speak to other classes, undergrad and graduate about books and reading and libraries.
5. Community members come to the event and also take home free books. They also have the chance to see what it is that librarians can do.


So often people confuse us with the university library staff. They have no real idea of who we are and what we can offer students, faculty, and the larger community. By taking on this small program, we help spread the word about libraries, librarians, books, and reading. And while Rosemary and I think of booktalking as something we just DO, we realize that there are others who do not know this powerful tool for connecting readers and books. We are planting some seeds here, seeds we hope will result in more people knowing what it is librarians and libraries can offer them.



Artwork by John LeMasney, lemasney.com

E. Kristin Anderson asked me if I wanted to chat a wee bit about short stories. Of course I said yes, and then rambled about why I LOVE THEM LIKE WHOA! (Also, I abuse commas. Sorry!)

Originally published at MSUFaL. You can comment here or there.

Here’s recent progress on my fin de siecle gothic epistolary about Lizzie Borden fighting Cthulhu with her trusty axe, now with Bonus! ghosts, guilt, arcane science, and an accidental villain who's losing his mind and his humanity in tandem:

Project: Maplecroft
Deadline: October 15, 2013
New words written: 4648 (multi-day total)
Present total word count: 103,343 words



Things accomplished in fiction: Probably best if I leave off with these, at this point. Even the vague stuff could point to spoilers.

Next up: More cryptic shenanigans.

Things accomplished in real life: Daily jaunts around the neighborhood with the dog; did some pre-travel shopping; went to an anti-fracking fundraising concert at Rhythm and Brews; went to a friend's birthday party at the Honest Pint; left the birthday party with a bruised up butt and back from the wood stools and the banister I leaned against all evening; returned a loose dog to its owner (for the second time - same dog); got caught in two thunderstorms and spent most of Sunday soaking wet but not in a good way.

Other: If you haven't checked out The Button Man and the Murder Tree at Tor.com, what are you waiting for?

Bonus! other: This coming weekend I'll be at Phoenix Comic Con! And I, for one, cannot wait - but I also (probably) will not be able to wrap up a draft of Maplecroft before that occurs. I wanted to, but...I suspect that's not in the cards. That's okay. I have plenty of time, and when I get back ... THAT WEEK. That week I shall cough up the Draft Zero I so dearly want. I bet.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 99,169

Did you have a wonderful Children's Book Week? I sure did!



Last week, Peepy and I flew to NYC to host the Children's Choice Book Awards -- 1,138,675 children and teens voted for their favorite books!

We consulted our fashion stylist(s) and both decided to wear gowns. My daughter created Peepy's gown out of an old skirt and gum wrappers . . .



Mine was vintage thrift store ($15!!!) . . .


(I brought two pairs of shoes.)

I also brought Colin Firth(s) as Mr. Darcy with me . . .



Why? Well, because he was in the short video that kicked off the show. (Son, who is only 15-years old, was the director/editor of the video!!! I'll be blogging a "making of" the video in a week-ish.)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO including this soon-to-be-classic scene of me eating worms . . .



Colin, plus a backup Colin, was packed in my suitcase. JetBlue was doing random luggage checks. I was so afraid they'd go through my suitcase and find this . . .



The original venue for the Gala was shut down 48 hours before the show!!! Luckily, there are geniuses who cannot be discombobulated running the Children's Book Council, and a new place was found just in time!

We got there early and signed Children's Book Week posters . . .



Soon it was time for rehearsals . . .



Look! It's multiple-multiple-award-winning Tomie dePaola . . .



It was fun hanging out with uber bestsellng novelist Meg Cabot and Caldecott medalist Brian Selznick, who designed the posters . . .



Harlequin Romance Author/Newbery winner Katherine Applegate's daughter selected this lovely yellow purse for Peepy! (That's Katherine's husband, YA author Michael Grant, letting Peepy borrow his phone for an important call from her sylist) . . .



Brian Selznick as Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy and I rehearsed going onto the stage after the opening video . . .



Whoa! It's Meg Cabot and Jon Sciezka, who hosted the first Children's Choice Book Awards Gala AND was our first National Ambassador of Young People's Literature . . .



And there's Henry Winkler with Jon . . .



This is what backstage looked like. See that cloth on the table? The crystal awards were hidden under it!



I was cold before the show, so Henry shared his jacket with me . . .



National Ambassador of Young People's Literature, Printz Award winner, four-time Caretta Scott King Honor Awards, two-time National Book Award Finalist -- well, you get the picture -- Walter Dean Myers, had met Peepy before, but Peepy insisted on another photo with him. Plus, she wanted to give him writing tips . . .



Here's everyone on stage, including Lois Lowry, getting directions and then rehearsing . . .



We did some interviews before the show began . . .



Can you guess whose shoes are whose?


(They include Meg Cabot, Lisa Yee, Henry Winkler and Jon Sciezka's.)

What about these shoes? Could they belong to my daughter and Brian Selznick???



After rehearsals, and before the show, the audience feasted and mingled. It was a who's who of children's literature at the event. Every major publishing house was represented. Yep! Lots of authors and agents and editors and publishers and paleontologists and illustrators (one of those things isn't true - maybe) . . .



Then the show began!



Because I am so short, I stood on a box. However, I am also a klutz, so that's why I gripped the podium throughout the evening.



When the presenters were speaking, and the winners were giving their speeches, I sat on a chair on the stage and had the best view!



Tomie dePaola kicked off the first award of the ending by presenting Kindergarter to Second Grade Book of the Year to Nighttime Ninja. Here's illustrator Ed Young accepting on his and author Barbara DaCosta's behalf. . .



Henry Winkler announced Nick Bruel's Bad Kitty For President as winner for Grades Three to Four . . .



Lois Lowry presented the award for Fifth and Sixth Grade Book of the Year to Rachel Renee Russell for Dork Diaries 4 . . .



Meg Cabot was up next, and in honor of her Princess Diaries books, I had hidden a crown under the podium to wear when I introduced her . . .



Then Meg announced Fault in Our Stars as Teen Book of the Year. Author John Green could not make the event since he and his wife are expecting a baby soon. So he said I could have the award. (Or maybe not.)



Katherine Applegate presented Author of the Year to Wimpy Kid's Jeff Kinney . . .



Brian Selznick presented Illustrator of the Year to Robin Preiss Glasser . . .



Walter Dean Myers presented Michele Norris with The Impact Award for championing children's literature and for creating NPR's Backseat Book Club . . .



What a wonderful evening!



YOU CAN WATCH THE ENTIRE AWARDS SHOW HERE!!!!

And all of this could not have happened without the marvelous Robin Adelson and her team at the Children's Book Council -- and Peepy and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy . . .



But wait . . . there was more. A lavish dessert party after. But that will be on my next blog, plus exploring New York, New York!


(Above: Newbery winner Lois Lowry parties with Peepy and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.)

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Has anyone read Tunnel Vision by R. Patrick Gates? Does it get any better?

I'm at page 76 and its fairly bad, with a few bright spots. Some of the bad is that it seems like the author is writing what his idea of a poor, hispanic/black neighborhood city neighborhood is like than from actual knowledge. And in general i'm just not caring about what happens. Normally I'd stop reading, but its from the Dell Abyss line from 20 years ago and the majority of their books were fantastic.

http://www.amazon.com/Tunnelvision-R-Patrick-Gates/dp/0440210909/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369065430&sr=8-2&keywords=tunnel+vision+r.+patrick+gates

This year I am very excited to be a presenter at the Simmons College Children's Literature Summer Institute. There are some AMAZING authors speaking this year, so I am incredibly honored to be included (and even more incredibly intimidated).

Here is a link to learn more: http://www.simmons.edu/institutes/childrens-lit/

I've attended many times and it is an inspiring weekend, with presenters all giving lectures on a similar theme. This year's theme is "Love Letters." Here's the institute description:

“Some letters may take the whole of our lifetime to write”
-Thích Nhãt Hanh

In many ways, “Love Letters” demands that we contemplate romance in literature for children and young adults.

Although love and heartbreak might be the territories of the young adult novel, we find passion in picturebooks, revel in the devotions of early readers, and explore emotional depths in middle grade books. Nonfiction marries both knowledge and narrative.

Institute speakers will consider how books themselves act as letters. How do they declare love for a subject or to an audience? How does a lifetime inform every book written? Every book read?

Doesn't that sound wonderful? I know my journey has included many, many love letters from books that have surprised me, moved me, informed me, and helped me become the person I am. I am thrilled and grateful to be part of this conversation.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Describe how a book of your heart has served as a love letter that felt like it was just for you.