Midnight Hours! On November 1st

On November 1st, I will be hosting the last stop of the blog tour for Vivian Zabel's mystery Midnight Hours. I hope you'll all stop by and see what I've cooked up for that day. In the meantime, you can learn about Vivian and her book at http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com/Vivian_Zabel.html

Playing Tag

1) Link to the person who tagged you: Vivian at http://vzabel.multiply.com

2) Post the rules on the blog: Posted

3) Write six random things about yourself:

1. I have never ridden a rollar coaster. Ever. Do not make me!
2. I've never had cable TV in my life.

3. I used to want to be a country singer.
4. I've never broken a bone, which is surprising because I'm really clumsy
5. I flew in the airplane for the first time when I was 23.
6. I was born with a heart murmur

4) Tag six people at the end of your post.

5) Let each person know they have been tagged. Haha no way.

6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up. It's up, Viv. :-P

"Tag, You're It!"

Do I KNOW six people?? Ok... Laurie, Sarah, Stephen Macquignon, Elysabeth Eldering, Aidana WillowRaven and. . . Akira and Shiro. ;-) (Cross posting this on my blogger blog so everyone sees it.)

THIS IS YOUR NOTIFICATION ;-)

Somes Scenes From Angeline

Where Did Angeline Come From?

Like every writer, I've been asked numerous times where I get my inspiration. My standard answer is "everywhere!" It's the truth. Most of my ideas come from everyday life. Mango Dance, a new picture book manuscript of mine, came from my travels in Trinidad, where I leanred the art of knocking mangos off a tree. My current picture book project is Mr. Betta, inspired by my own newly-purchased red betta.

Angeline Jellybean was a little different. I can't even remember how I came up with the concept. I was taking my very first class in writing picture books, a year ago now. Angeline just came out of me in a flowy rhyme, almost in the exact same form it's in today. This was way before I had ever read A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon. In fact, I didn't even know it existed back then. I was just writing a fun and catchy story. Several of the girls in my class loved it. I did some minor revisions, but nothing major because the book is incredibly short.

Almost a year later, I was checking out the website for Vivian Zabel's publishing company 4RV (www.4rvpublishingllc.com). On a whim, I sent it in. I was very surprised and delighted when, within a month or so, I received an e-mail from Viv that said "We are considering your manuscript for publication. . ." I tried not to be too excited about it, but the farther we got into the process, the harder it was to keep from dancing around my apartment. (haha!)

I still don't think it will feel 100% real until I have the book in my hands, but my dream is pretty close to being fulfilled! When I saw the first few illustrations, Angeline brought to life right before my eyes, I knew what it was like to be a real author. Now that the cover is done, I can feel those book sales creeping toward me and it feels really, really good.

The Cover for Angeline is Here!

Let me know what you think.

Revisions

I dislike revisions. It's just not fun to me anymore. I'm not sure why. Right now, I'm attempting to do first revisions on my thesis, and it's boring me. I'm grumbling through it. haha. I'd much rather be writing something brand new. But, it is a necessary part of being a writer, not to mention these particular revisions are required for me to graduate with my MFA, so I have to do it.

If I'm acting this way with the minor revisions, I don't know how I'm going to get through any major restructuring that needs done-- and believe me, I know there has to be some!

Banned Books

In light of Banned Books Week (September 27–October 4, 2008) and all of the recent news about a certain Vice Presidental candidate, I present you with a very eloquent, thought-provoking article by often-challenged author Judy Blume: http://www.judyblume.com/censorship/happens.php I've never read a better first-hand account of censorship.

For more about Banned Book Week, see the ALA Website.