Although we recently spent a week in Disneyland, last week was definitely the bigger roller coaster ride for me: I had surgery on Tuesday, then my second book deal was announced on Thursday! There’s nothing like good publishing news to cheer up a writer who is feeling down, and nothing like a book selling on proposal–with a short deadline–to make
WHY IS MILK WHITE? & 200 OTHER CURIOUS CHEMISTRY QUESTIONS by Alexa Coelho & Simon Quellen Field Chicago Review Press January 1, 2013 288 pages Did you (or any children in your life) ever wonder how soap works, why onions make you cry, or how bad it is for you to breathe in hairspray? 11-year-old Alexa Coelho did, so she pulled together
Today I’m thrilled to welcome back author Deborah Hopkinson. I interviewed Deborah here previously in a more general sense, but this time I’d like to talk specifics about her latest book, KNIT YOUR BIT, coming from Putnam Juvenile on February 21, 2013. KNIT YOUR BIT is a fictionalized account of the real “Knit-In” event at Central Park in 1918. Despite being
Today I’m thrilled to introduce a longtime friend of mine and fellow nonfiction writer, Loralee Leavitt. I first met Loralee many years ago through an online critique group put together by SCBWI Western Washington. We were an assorted mix of beginning writers, writing everything from picture books to novels, both fiction and nonfiction. The group eventually dissolved, but Loralee and
My fellow judges and I are still hard at work trying to finalize our round one shortlist for the Cybils nonfiction picture book category. It’s a difficult task because there are so many great books this year! Here are some reviews of some of my personal favorites (Note: I had many, MANY favorites this year). I enjoyed and would recommend all
Today I’m over at Emu’s Debuts spilling the beans on my revision experiences for my first picture book, to be published by Schwartz & Wade/Random House, Spring 2015. Head on over and check it out!
Phew! Now that I got my revision done and sent in, I can get back to reading Cybils nominees in the nonfiction picture book category that I am judging. Last year I wrote up longer reviews of only a few of the Cybils nominees. This year I’m going to try to write many more, but shorter, reviews. Rather than offer
I’ve been working like crazy lately on a revision for the editor of my first book. I’m simultaneously blown by away by how much work she’s asking me to do AND by how much better it’s going to make the book. Most of her comments feel so utterly, obviously right–AFTER I’ve read them–that I’m left wondering why I didn’t think
In case you missed it, I made my debut post over on the Emu’s Debuts blog earlier this week! Emu’s Debuts is a group blog maintained by debut authors represented by the Erin Murphy Literary Agency (get it? E. Mu.?) We blog about that nebulous, murky area between an author’s first book offer to the publication of that debut book:
Every book launch party I’ve ever been to has been a ton of fun. If that’s not enough reason to go to as many as you can, how about just just supporting our local authors and illustrators? You want them to come out and support you on your big day, don’t you? If you didn’t make it to Kim Baker’s