Okay, so it's not a YA novel. But have you listened to the words of this song? Go ahead, do it now.
Cool, right? It was early this morning when I saw the video for the first time, but it seriously brought me to tears. I think it's going to be the anthem for the MC in my new project.
Does your MC have a theme song? Have a great day!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Memory
I have a desk calendar with the wonderful illustrations of Mary Engelbreit on my desk. Today's quote is:
"Memory is the power to gather roses in Winter." attributed to anonymous.
Writing, I think, too.
"Memory is the power to gather roses in Winter." attributed to anonymous.
Writing, I think, too.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Central Massachusetts Kidlit Drink Night
I'm not stalking Laurel Snyder (honestly). But I just stumbled across her blog and read about the Georgia Kidlit Drink Night she is coordinating. I live no where near Atlanta, but it sounds warmer than where I am (currently West of Boston). The idea of a Kidlit Drink Night sounds so very grown up. I mean, I like a nice glass of wine as much as anyone, but having a drink night with other writers, illustrators, librarians, and people who love kidlit? Sounds like heaven.
I started thinking...do we have anything like that in this area? I haven't heard of anything. Or least I haven't been invited. (LOL) And there are a lot of kidlit people near me. Hmmm. What's stopping me from coordinating something. Um. Nothing?
So I guess next step would be...is anyone interested? If I were to pick a night, reserve a space, and put out an invitation...would anyone show up? Please comment if you'd be interested in a Kidlit Drink Night somewhere west of Boston (I'm talking near Concord or Lowell). If enough people are interested, I'll try to pull something together...nothing fancy, mind you...just a chance to get together with like-minded folks and try to beat the winter doldrums. Please feel free to tweet this! I probably won't do anything unless I have a good core of people interested.
Maybe February?
UPDATE: The response has been very positive so far--there are at least 5 or 6 interested, and it's only been two hours since I posted. So I think it's fair to say it's a go. I'm going to use the twitter hash tag #centralmasskidlitwriters and hopefully get the word out that way. I'm aiming for Tuesday, February 15 (before school break) but I need some suggestions for locations. I might need to make some calls. :) I'm thinking it's going to be somewhere in Westford or Acton. Any ideas?
UPDATE #2: Scheduled!
When: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 7 pm
Where: Westford Grille in Westford, MA
Join us for drinks (pie and/or dessert) and good company. Anyone interested in Children's books welcome--writers, illustrators, librarians, booksellers, publishing industry pros. Just RSVP to me by Monday, February 14 by noon so I can let the restaurant know how many to expect.
Hope to see many there! Thanks to everyone who chimed in today!
I started thinking...do we have anything like that in this area? I haven't heard of anything. Or least I haven't been invited. (LOL) And there are a lot of kidlit people near me. Hmmm. What's stopping me from coordinating something. Um. Nothing?
So I guess next step would be...is anyone interested? If I were to pick a night, reserve a space, and put out an invitation...would anyone show up? Please comment if you'd be interested in a Kidlit Drink Night somewhere west of Boston (I'm talking near Concord or Lowell). If enough people are interested, I'll try to pull something together...nothing fancy, mind you...just a chance to get together with like-minded folks and try to beat the winter doldrums. Please feel free to tweet this! I probably won't do anything unless I have a good core of people interested.
Maybe February?
UPDATE: The response has been very positive so far--there are at least 5 or 6 interested, and it's only been two hours since I posted. So I think it's fair to say it's a go. I'm going to use the twitter hash tag #centralmasskidlitwriters and hopefully get the word out that way. I'm aiming for Tuesday, February 15 (before school break) but I need some suggestions for locations. I might need to make some calls. :) I'm thinking it's going to be somewhere in Westford or Acton. Any ideas?
UPDATE #2: Scheduled!
When: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 7 pm
Where: Westford Grille in Westford, MA
Join us for drinks (pie and/or dessert) and good company. Anyone interested in Children's books welcome--writers, illustrators, librarians, booksellers, publishing industry pros. Just RSVP to me by Monday, February 14 by noon so I can let the restaurant know how many to expect.
Hope to see many there! Thanks to everyone who chimed in today!
Monday, January 3, 2011
ANY WHICH WALL by Laurel Snyder
Four kids, a mysterious wall, and a good helping of common magic!
If you had a magic wall that could take you to any place and any time, where would you go? Would you want to visit castles and desert islands? Would you want to meet famous wizards, terrible pirates, beautiful queens, and dastardly outlaws? If so, then you are just like Henry and Emma, and Roy and Susan—and you will probably like this story a lot. In fact, you might even wish something similar would happen to you!
In Any Which Wall, author Laurel Snyder proves that you don’t have to be an orphan, know a dragon, or even be a child to get a taste of magic. You just have to keep your mind open and willing to let it happen. And when you do find magic (like Henry, Emma, Roy, and Susan), you might be surprised that along with all the fun, you also find out new things about your friends, your family, and maybe even a little bit about who you really want to be.
If you had a magic wall that could take you to any place and any time, where would you go? Would you want to visit castles and desert islands? Would you want to meet famous wizards, terrible pirates, beautiful queens, and dastardly outlaws? If so, then you are just like Henry and Emma, and Roy and Susan—and you will probably like this story a lot. In fact, you might even wish something similar would happen to you!
In Any Which Wall, author Laurel Snyder proves that you don’t have to be an orphan, know a dragon, or even be a child to get a taste of magic. You just have to keep your mind open and willing to let it happen. And when you do find magic (like Henry, Emma, Roy, and Susan), you might be surprised that along with all the fun, you also find out new things about your friends, your family, and maybe even a little bit about who you really want to be.
I won this book from Goodreads over the summer , and it's just taken me way too long to pick it up. I'm kicking myself that I hadn't started it sooner--it's adorable. I haven't quite finished it yet, but I had to start over 'cause my daughter wanted me to read it to her. So back to page one. She's capable of reading it herself, but it seemed like a book for us to enjoy together.
The magic is common magic, simple magic. My favorite kind. The kids are normal. It could be set today or 40 years ago--timeless. We also enjoyed Laurel's UP AND DOWN THE SCRATCHY MOUNTAIN. That book has the same appeal, a sort of timeless feel to it. Laurel's writing is simple, and has a way of making you feel like you could be one of her characters...or their friend. Or parent, I guess. :)
It's firmly middle-grade. But easily accessible to a younger audience looking to "read up." Like I said, not quite to the end yet, but we're enjoying it, and I wanted to share!
Happy New Year!
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