July 6, 2008

Our biggest news, of course, is the release of:

I’m so excited about this book. I’ve been showing off the preview copies and people are begging for them. As a librarian, I saw oodles of nonfiction construction and heavy machinery picture books being grabbed off the shelves, but there wasn't much available in fiction. Maybe that’s why Mike Mulligan has remained such a favorite all these decades. Robert Neubecker’s playful monsters are the perfect critters to be operating these rigs.

When I was a kid, my dad let me dig in our backyard with his backhoe. He showed me how to operate the levers, and he’d fill in the hole when I was done. I’m sure my mom wasn’t crazy about what it did to the yard, but she let those things go by – even the high rides in the bucket of the loader. When I got a bit older, I held the funnel over the forms for making concrete septic tanks and covers. Once in awhile we’d do a picnic table and benches or a ring for a barbecue pit. The job paid better than any other I could’ve had in Menahga, my little north central Minnesota hometown, and it makes for good inspiration and storytelling.

This morning I got a call from one of my favorite bookstores letting me know the book had finally arrived. Call your local bookstore, and get your copy now! Be part of the buzz!

Monster hugs from me and my family…

The Lund Olsen crew

July 5, 2008

The Whidbey Island Writers Association had a booth at the Bayview Farmers Market. Members were invited to bring five copies of each of their titles. It was a windy day, but my books flew off the table without the wind’s help. If it only worked that well all the time! Volunteer Donna Hood is getting us together at WIWA’s “First Tuesday” events, and out in the public with the market and other activities. Thanks, Donna, for your hard work and creative ideas. If you love to write or to support writing, join us at www.writeonwhidbey.org.

July 1, 2008

Last night we surprised Chauni and Bill Haslett with a good-bye party. With the closing of All For Kids Books & Music in Seattle, many of us are losing our best supporters. As we laughed, cried, shared a meal and stories, our crowd of mostly authors and illustrators lamented and celebrated the end of an era.

Where else would I be asked to sign a couple boxes of books after an author event? Who else would cart my books to preschools and teacher events? What store would allow me to use their event room all day, even past closing time, to host a class I was teaching? What other bookseller would send us postcards from her travels, and dance around the store with our then four-year-old to help him pick out a CD? (If you have the answers to these questions, please let me know!)

This is not a single unfortunate event. Issaquah and Kirkland lost their stores, too. And it’s being repeated everywhere in our country. Independent bookstores exist because of their passion, not their ability to make a living. Folks like Barbara O’Grady of Adventures For Kids in Ventura are closing their doors as well. It’s such an epidemic right now, we should have one of those website counters to track the closings. If you have a bookstore in your neighborhood, think of what you can do to help them stay in business.

It felt like high school graduation last night. Like I was being asked to step out on my own – my mom carefully nudging me out of the nest. My books will do okay. My family and I will keep going on with our lives, but it’s a new chapter.

And so we grieve and rejoice with them. More traveling, more reading, more time for Chauni & Bill to connect with those they love. And more time to send us postcards.

June 25, 2008

Karl and I attended Bob Flick and Loni Anderson’s wedding reception. The love and humor these two shared with their crowd of well wishers made the evening a joyous celebration. The Brothers Four sounded great. We enjoyed seeing faces we’d only seen on the screen before, and a highlight for us was meeting Milt Okun. Milt was John Denver’s publisher, producer, arranger, and good friend. Karl knew Milt’s name well from music he’d performed for many years. After we got home, Karl started to tell our son Kaj about meeting Milt, and before Karl could say anything about him, Kaj interrupted to say, “I know who Milt Okun is!” Oh yeah, our little John Denver. Now he says he’s going to get his hair cut so he looks even more like him.

June 21, 2008

We missed Kaj’s tap recital, but caught this final rehearsal. They were movin’!

June 18, 2008

Here’s Ollie, short for Oliver, used to be Mac, on his one-month anniversary of joining our family. That’s “Pony” with him – his stuffed animal.

Jean and Ollie

June 14, 2008

Washington State History Museum, Tacoma

Karl and I presented songs and stories at the State History Museum in Tacoma to an informal crowd of parents and kids who acted, sang, and got silly with us. The Shifty Sailors followed our presentation, and later we all went sailing on the Sea Scout boat. Many thanks to Stephanie Lile, organizer extraordinaire, for putting together a wonderful day. If you’re around Tacoma, check out the museum. And say hi to Steph from us.

Deb & Karl post-boat trip

June 13, 2008

Even Kindergarten has its own graduation these days. Jean spent a couple afternoons each week with Miss Konni and Rebecca at Ebey’s Academy Kindergarten. He loved them and loved his classmates. I stopped in to do a little music with them each week, and Karl and I wrote a song (Kingergarten Good-bye) for their ceremony. I hope to get it up on my web site for all you music and kindergarten teachers.

Jean and his good buddies Sean and James

Brother Kaj was proud to catch this picture

June 11, 2008

Kaj sang “Movin’ On” at his fifth grade Moving On Ceremony today. Karl was there to work with the fifth grade class on their whole group number, and accompanied Kaj as he sang. Sweet voice. Another generation of music. Middle school? I’m not sure who’s more anxious – Kaj or us. It’ll all work out…

Here’s Kaj with his Presidential Gold Award for Academic Achievement

Kaj spent two years with teacher John Luvera. John’s off to a new position this year, and we’re so grateful to have had Kaj with him for 4th and 5th grade.

After the big fifth grade doings, we scrambled over to the Cedar Program, where Kaj and I spent much of our lives before Coupeville Elementary. David Pfeiffer and I started Cedar when Kaj was in kindergarten. Shamwari, one of Kaj’s marimba groups, played for the Cedar families before their end-of-year “family night.” This night marked Cedar’s first high-school graduation.

Kaj and good friend Marisa Etzell on the marimba

Shamwari

June 10, 2008

I’ve loved the school visits I’ve done this year. Each time I feel I’ve made new friends. Today’s visit was at the second of two schools served by librarian Margo Cunningham. Margo had me visit her other school earlier in the year, and her willingness to sit through another day of my presentations was a great compliment to me. Thanks, Margo!

One of the highlights of my day was observing their fourth grade classes doing a Westward Movement project. I thought back to the simulation we created in a classroom several years ago, but this group of teachers and students took it further. They mapped out the field, hills, and woods next to their school, and traveled in families and groups across the prairie with their wagons loaded with supplies. The little stream they crossed sent some of them into the mud, and a couple of their babies (eggs) were lost in process. This was “Oregon Trail” in as close to real life as you can get during a school day. It’s a memory they’ll have forever. Real learning.

June 5, 2008.

Fifth Grade Wax Museum

Each year, the Coupeville fifth grade class turns the multi-purpose room into a Wax Museum. They don’t freeze into place, however. They’re living, breathing historical figures. I met Ben Franklin, a few Amelia Earharts, Shirley Temple, and even had a couple Elvis sightings.

Kaj made an incredible (and credible) John Denver. Kaj’s research, voice, and ability to articulate information about John Denver’s life in conversations was a joy to observe. The best part was when someone would try to stump him by saying, “Sing something!” to him.

May 23, 2008

Wait until you see the cool artwork in MONSTERS ON MACHINES! It starts at the great wrap-around cover. Watch my “Books” section to see it soon. Robert Neubecker really brought our monsters to life. My kids decided the monsters resemble our family. Jean is Dirty Dugg, Sandra is Melvina, and Kaj is Stinky Stubb. That leaves Daddy as hairy Gorbert. I’m the Mama, of course.

When my editor, Andrea Welch, said Robert was going to illustrate the monsters, I tracked down his website. Okay, I thought. Great art. But I didn’t see how his work could be a match with my text. I guess that’s why she’s the editor. “How did you know he could do monsters?” I asked. She said it was the face on a Chinese New Year dragon in one of his books.

Robert does ink drawings, then colors them on the computer. But not colors you’ll find in your crayon box. This is bold and bright, clashing like my daughter’s taste in clothes. With everything from Shrek green to their house of red, purple, yellow, green, orange… Kids’ll love finding all the little creatures and thumbprints. I’m so excited about this one. It’ll be available August 1st. Get your favorite bookstore to preorder it now!

May 17, 2008

Full Circle

I just returned from Bob Flick and Loni Anderson's wedding. Yes, that Loni Anderson. Yes, nice, and yes, still gorgeous. She's just another Minnesota girl.

Bob is the one remaining original member of the Brothers Four. My husband, Karl Olsen, is the newest member. Bob first met Loni in Minneapolis at a movie premiere. She was a 17-year-old model attending the event; the Brothers did the theme song for the movie. They met, they dated, but life tugged them other directions.

Loni’s ring from Bob is a circle of diamonds, representing the full circle their love has traveled. Friends and family walked across a little bridge, with swans swimming beneath, into a garden where a flowered canopy and petal-strewn walkway awaited. Simple and elegant. Bob's son Adam and Loni's daughter Deidre were the attendants, and Deidre's daughters were flower girls. Loni’s son Quinton escorted his mother. Long-time Brothers’ member Mark Pearson sang the song he wrote for them. Harp and classical guitar filled in the rest of the outdoor music. The words of their story and vows, the music, the birds, and the perfect weather wove its way through the circle of friends and family who attended.

Mark Pearson, Deb, and Loni

Our “Fancy Nancy” daughter Sandra insisted we bring home pictures. She also said that if there was a chocolate fountain, she wanted us to bring a cup of it back to her. There wasn’t. Instead, we photographed the things we knew she’d love – the name cards, the menu, the swan-shaped butter, the flowers – one long table of them, outlined with rows of candles and the 43 people present. Bob thanked Loni for answering the question they’ve posed all these years – “Where have all the flowers gone?”

Piano and bass accompanied dinner. Karl sang jazz numbers in my ear. We savored each course of the dinner, danced, visited and made plans with new friends.

The Brothers sang. Family fun highlighted the dinner talk. Words toasted and roasted, sharing sentiments that will be repeated throughout their days and ours. Thanks, Bob & Loni, for the gift of this day.

We broke away for an afternoon with part of our California family…

Niece Sonja, big boy Dane, hubby Tim holding Bergen, Leo, and Grandma Val (Karl's sister).

May 15, 2008

Okay, I’m not a ranter. That’s why I usually just write my boring everyday stuff in here, but I happened to come across a blogging preschool teaching mom’s review of All Aboard the Dinotrain. She concedes that her son LOVES the book, but complained about all the big words – that little kids don’t know all those words. What? And how do they learn words? Isn’t it possible for a preschool class to enjoy a book without each child knowing every word? Is it so bad if she had to explain something in the story? Isn’t that what we do as parents and teachers? Why do we start piling up questions when we’re incredulous?

The dinobooks are not easy readers. They’re made for parents (and teachers) to read to their children, and for those precocious kids, like my niece’s five-year-old, who can fly through all the words without missing a beat. And, when I write books for parents to read to their kids, I give them something they can read over and over. A librarian told me that my books were never Behind-The-Couch books. When I asked what that meant, she explained that she and her husband would secretly drop books behind their couch when they got tired of reading them. That way the books wouldn’t show up until weeks later.

But, as much as I like hearing that, I don’t focus on the parents when I write. To be totally truthful, it’s the story that gets my focus. We don’t need to talk down to kids. A story needs to be told with the voice that it’s given. We don’t need to restrict the listening vocabulary of our readership.

I hope this mom and teacher opens up to the possibility that a love of language isn’t born out of carefully introducing each word. Love of language comes from sound, from the voices of those who love us, from rhythm and rhyme, and from Story, and sometimes it comes from rollicking, sea-tossed, train-riding, high-flying dinosoaring books. It’s about exposure and respect.

May 7, 2008

Karl sang at the DMZ and the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, Korea with the Brothers Four. They had a great week exploring, performing, and hanging out with Judy Collins, Crystal Gayle, Donovan, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Dr. Hook, Don McLean, and Melanie.

Brothers Four at the Flower Power Peace Festival in Seoul

“Locks of Love” on the Seoul Tower Observation Deck

April 27, 2008

Seattle SCBWI conference

This was our pilot year for offering continuing education credits for the Seattle SCBWI conference. 22 teachers met with me at the beginning, middle, and end of the conference. It brought back memories for me of all the authors and editors I met as a teacher. I used to make them all pose with me for pictures to bring back to my students. I know what a difference it makes to kids when they experience authors as real live people. Thanks to Heritage Institute, we were able to offer the credits at the same rate as if Heritage folks were putting on the conference themselves. We didn’t want it to get too expensive, since teachers needed to register separately with SCBWI. It was an honor to make this possible for them.

Oh, and the conference? The best yet! Check it out at www.scbwi-washington.com.

April 19, 2008

Spring sleet

Sandra in the sleet

Writing For & With Children

I LOVE teaching this class. Even if it meant driving through sleet and rain to get there. Once again, it was like walking into a room of friends – guess I miss that teacher talk and the passion they have for their calling. I try to do this class once a year as a way to support teachers. Here’s the class description from Heritage Institute (www.hol.edu). Maybe you can join us next year…

Whether you want to write for children, to understand the writing and publication process behind your favorite children’s literature, or to help your students with “real” writing techniques and reading strategies, this jam-packed interactive workshop is for you. Children’s author Deb Lund will share her top writing strategies, an overview of the process of writing for children, and techniques and tools to help you reach your writing and teaching goals. Bring your favorite current children’s literature and learn how it can inspire your own and your students’ writing. Don’t wait for motivation to strike. Leave this workshop with a plan and the courage to act!

April 12, 2008

A spring beach trip…

April 1, 2008

A good friend called me this morning to tell me to tune in to KUOW. Dr. Mick Storck, from the Child Study and Treatment Center and Children’s Hospital in Seattle, with his interest in narrative therapy, and Richard Gold, founder of the Pongo Teen Writing Project, were the featured guests, along with Colby, a former resident at the center, who became a writer because of his experience with the Pongo Project. They reaffirmed why I teach writing to students and teachers.

I thought of students from my twenty-some years of teaching – the boy who lost his life playing with a gun, the girl who died from leukemia, the boy I tutored privately because of an incident with the razorblade he wore in his earring, and so many others who wrote with me – who connected with me, themselves, and others because of writing.

Storck and Gold know how writing transforms people, and that poetry changes even the kids who know “how to play the game.” There are reasons why I think poetry makes the perfect vehicle for expression.

First of all, poetry isn’t ruled by rules as much as other forms. There’s more room for creative content, organization, form, punctuation, and voice – that is, if it’s taught that way. And it’s short – kid-friendly – with no extra words to get in the way.

Dr. Storck and Mr. Gold are successful at bringing poetry to these kids because they don’t prescribe the writing. They listen, ask, and honor. They may say, “What is that like?” and imagery is born. They’re not diluting the emotion of poetry by explaining it away, assigning specific outcomes, or writing out rules to follow. With support and safety, they let poetry become the vehicle for kids to open, to uncover, and to release what’s inside. Poetry allows us to be vulnerable. It’s slices and snapshots to celebrate who we are.

For more information, check out the following links:

• KUOW
• The Child Study and Treatment Center
• Pongo Teen Writing Project
  

March 30, 2008

Happy Birthday to the love of my life. So glad you’re on this journey with me.

Kids enjoying a little pre-birthday whipped cream silliness with the birthday daddy.

 

March 23, 2008

Jean’s Baptism

March 7, 2008

Ahhh – the first of our Pirate Nights. It’s so great having a husband and brother-in-law who are such amazing musicians. The three of us were all music teachers, and after many years of teaching and singing together, there’s a synergy that transfers to our audiences – especially the shorter members. Dr. Bob joined us for this one. It’s good to have a pediatrician with lots of other talents.

Coupeville’s Pirate Literacy Night was a Literacy Fair with many organizations represented. Families went to a variety of “stations” after our performance. Book bags with books and other materials were distributed to families. Fun and learning are such great companions!

March 5, 2008

Every year I shake my head that I didn’t get involved in the Whidbey Island Writers Conference when it first got started. I think it was about four years later, when my friend Dot asked me to help with the student-writing contest. The conference was in my backyard – how good could it be?

Melissa Manlove, an editor from Chronicle, joined us this year. Editors with bookstore experience are like librarian authors. They know what’s out there. Melissa’s presentation at Friday’s “Picture Book Chat House” overlooking Baby Island followed and tied in nicely with my “Piggyback Picture Books” talk. Writer pal Kirby Larson and her co-author ended the afternoon by “chatting” about the creation of their “Two Bobbies.”

The early birds who joined me at 8:00 Saturday for “Following Fireflies: Finding Ideas” was an energetic, eager group. We gathered memories, emotions, and mixed in imagination to give them idea banks that’ll never run out. They loved the hands-on activities and built-in goofiness. They think it’s genius. I know it’s just my 20+ years of teaching kids.

My good friend Fay Robinson came from Chicago for the conference. We met a dozen years ago at Centrum in Port Townsend. In addition to writing, we have the “older-child adoption experience” to share. Her daughter Kati arrived about the same time as Sandra and Jean. Fay and I have played with the idea of a book about the experiences of authors who have adopted older children. It takes on more form with each passing month. If you know other writers in this situation, let us know.

Chuck and Dee from Village Books in Bellingham were at the conference once again. They’re so good at selecting books and products for the conference that my bag was once again weighted down with more than I truly needed.

Seeing friends, learning new strategies, getting inspired, making contacts – these are the reasons to attend conferences. And if you haven’t gone to one before, you might as well start with the one that many say is the best in the nation – the one right here in my backyard. www.writeonwhidbey.org

March 4, 2008

After almost five hours of Karl singing with the Brothers Four, Bob Flick asked him to be a part of the group! If you want to see where they’ll be, visit http://www.brothersfour.com/

February 29, 2008

Leap Day – and we’re leaping!

Mark Pearson called. He’s a member of the Brothers Four. If you’re younger than us, you might not know that name unless your parents were fans. Mark had done a couple concerts here that Karl set up for him. He had Karl sing with him each time, and this phone call was about setting up another concert, and then came the “Do you have a minute, Karl?” A member of the group had just left, and he wanted Karl to audition.

February 14, 2008

The best Valentine’s Days are when I get to sit alone. Sounds awful, doesn’t it? On those days, I’m the only one without a date, because my guy is the one at the piano or guitar. You know how some people have voices just made for love songs? He’s one of those. So, when Valentine’s Day is rolls around again (and again…), don’t worry if you have a date or not. Just join me at one of Karl’s concerts. And if you can’t make it, get his love song CD. Email me and I’ll send you one.

February 9, 2008

My kiddos in the block room at Imagine Children’s Museum

Sandra helping out at the die cut machine

I celebrated my birthday at Imagine Children’s Museum. Our dinoparty was a hit once again. Creative Raniere pulls together amazing art projects to go with our songs and stories. If you haven’t visited ICM, give yourself a treat and bring a kid with you. That way they don’t look at you so strangely as you participate in all the fun activities.

 

January 28, 2008

Got a bit (and Jean got a bite) of snow here!

Sandra waits it out at the computer

Snow boy Kaj clears the car

January 15, 2008

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

We had a short but fun-packed visit with my sister Cindy and nephew Tyler from Minnesota. Short, because they came out to get the car Tyler’s brother Aaron was giving him. We love having Aaron out here. He takes Kaj skiing, lets Jean climb all over him, and puts up with Sandra’s goofy loud antics. And I get to see more of my family out here now that there’s more of us out here to visit.

I attended the Whidbey MFA residency the first week of January. My good friends Bonny Becker and Carmen T. Bernier-Grand teach in the program, and I was able to get clock hours for sitting in on the residency portion. We rarely have time to talk about writing like this. We’re usually attending or presenting at conferences together, or traveling to see editors. Bonny and I made plans to do a little critiquing now and then, and I made good friends who I know I’ll see again.

November 22, 2007

We traveled into Seattle for Thanksgiving this year to Karl’s sister’s house. We share the cooking each year, and as we wait for ferries, we watch the “pie parade” going on and off the island. We count the packages of the “walkers” that appear to contain pies. The pink bakery boxes are a sure give-away.

This was our second Thanksgiving with our nephew Aaron (my sister’s son). It’s always great to have another Minnesota transplant at the table. Also with us this year was our nephew Jesse’s wife Kim. Jesse is Executive Sous Chef at the Four Seasons in Cairo, Egypt. He has a view of the Nile and the pyramids. We hope to get there this coming year. Thanks Vern, Martha, Mer, George, Aaron, Nelma, and Kim for making space at the table for two tired parents and their three-some.

We hope your Thanksgiving left you grateful and full. I’ll let Kaj tell you his thoughts about Thanksgiving…

By Kaj Lund Olsen
November 16, 2007

One of my favorite times is Thanksgiving. I love it! Thanksgiving to me is a time of prayer and thanksgiving, like the pilgrims had in 1621. Thanksgiving is a great holiday and I’m glad we celebrate it instead of having another day of school.

At Thanksgiving my family usually has turkey, mashed potatoes canned cranberry and real cranberry sauce (yuck!), pumpkin pie, and ice cream. I am so full after our Thanksgiving dinner!
In addition to eating, my family spends some time to focus on how lucky we are and how thankful we are. We go around the table and say a couple things we’re thankful for.

The first pilgrims sailing to the Americas were on board the Mayflower. Few survived the trip. When the pilgrims got to America, they arrived at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620 and barely survived the first winter. The harvest was great that year and they had a feast including the natives who helped them get through the first winter. The first Thanksgiving lasted three days.

The first Thanksgiving most likely didn’t include turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie. Governor William Bradford sent four men fouling, but people still say that they did not have turkey. They did eat a sort of boiled pumpkin, venison, and a corn bread.

We still celebrate this holiday because of the settlers agreeing to have a day of Thanksgiving to God. It is also because of George Washington proclaiming a national day of Thanksgiving in 1789. Lots of people disagreed about that and thought it would be better without it. The actual date was changed by many people and is now celebrated the fourth Thursday in November. Thanksgiving is a great way to celebrate the pilgrims surviving at Plymouth Rock, and to help us be thankful for what we have.

November 16, 2007

Those of you who have been around us at Holiday time know what the Nutcracker has meant to Kaj. He first saw it at age 2 and hasn't missed a year. It launched him into pretend swordplay as he reenacted it at home. It was the forerunner to his love of pirates – which he becomes every Halloween. It eventually led him to fantasy, which is why you seldom see his face out of a book.

This year, after auditions were done, Whidbey Dance Theater called to say they needed a boy Kaj's size to be a "boy cousin" in the Nutcracker -- he's taking a tap class at Island Dance, not ballet. When Kaj was six he tried out for the Nutcracker, got a mouse part, then refused to do it saying "But if I'm in it, I don't get to see it." We decided we couldn't argue with that. However, since they called him this year, he said Yes -- and he's been LOVING it.

Performance dates are Dec. 7,8,9,14,15,16. For tickets and information, contact 360-341-2221 or http://www.whidbeydancetheatre.org. If you call on a Tuesday between 4-6, Karl will probably answer the phone, but get your seats early.

November 9, 2007

Sandra in control…

It’s been a soccer fall. With three kids kicking and running, every day of the week held 1-3 kid events. We never planned on being a chauffeur family, but that’s what happened. Jean and Sandra were aggressive and focused on the field. At the end of the season, Kaj received the referees’ award for Most Improved. We were quite proud!

When Kaj was a baby, he didn’t sleep more than a couple hours in a row until he was 15 months old. I barely functioned. The only thing that calmed him was a driving djimbe tape of polyrhythmic African drumming. Back then we decided it must match his internal rhythms. Now, with marimba and tap in his life, we see how true it is. Both his arms and legs get a workout on Mondays, first in Shanduko, his marimba performance group, and then in his tap class, where the adults tell me they watch him to know what to do.

 

November 5, 2007

Our kids participated in a “Hero” writing contest in school this year. Sandra surprised me with this piece, which I didn’t get to read until the contest was over. She didn’t win a prize for her work, but she got lots of points from her Mama…

By Sandra Lund Olsen

My hero is not a movie star. She has never been on TV before. She’s not one of the most famous people on earth but she is worth more then every piece of gold like the biggest treasure box filled with the richest jewels.

She has been keeping me safe ever since she adopted me. She helps me with my schoolwork, my room, and my chores and with lot of my problems with my brothers. She is very kind because she lets me do a lot of things like soccer field trips and after school activities. When I miss the bus she cares enough about me to drive me to school because I like school. I like my mom’s books. My favorite one so far is the one she’s working on. It is about a boy. Now lets just get back to the main subject. My mom helps me.

When I’m scared she talks to me about what I’m scared of. When I can’t sleep she helps me fall asleep. When I’m sad she helps me feel better and she cheers me up. She helps with writing; she even gives me good ideas and some tips about writing and that’s why I know about writing and why I love writing. My mom can be a little annoying sometimes but I still love her.
Guess what I now about my mom and me? I love her and she loves me! I know that she will never give up on me. That’s the truth about my hero—my true hero.

October 31, 2007

Halloween!

Working on final edits for Monsters on Machines is great preparation for Halloween. Robert Neubecker’s artwork is delightful. He’s captured the essence of these little characters just perfectly. I wish I could show you, but release date is still a year away.

Kaj was a pirate, of course. Sandra, a princess, of course. Jean, the one who can never be labeled or predictable, was a Bionicle – of course?

The Coupeville Elementary School Fall Carnival is a chaotic celebration of games, food, and fun. Halloween is in the air, and the ice-cream line with help-yourself sauces and sprinkles add to the frenetic quality of the evening. Maybe that’s why I look so dazed.

Deb with Coupeville Elementary principal Fran McCarthy.

Jean with best-bud Spenser. We’ll all be sad to see the Waite family leave us as they head to Michigan this coming March. That’s Sandra in the background.

October 22, 2007

I have an amazing writing group. We’ve been together 11 years. Today they came to christen my new writing space. A “writing muse” (we each got one from Penny) now hangs above my computer. On it is a quote from James Michener. “I love the swirl & swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.” Don’t you, too?

Karl traveled October 1-16 on a “Cathedrals of Europe” tour. It felt more like months than days, but we survived. I even managed to sneak away a couple days.

I don’t write in books. Maybe it’s the librarian background, or just plain old perfectionism, but I like to keep the pages clean. However, when I checked out Donald Maass’s book Writing the Breakout Novel from the library, I knew I needed my own copy. Sometimes I buy copies because a book moves me and I want it on my shelf as a thank you to the author and a reminder to me of how it moved me. This time, however, I wanted my own copy so I could mark it up. When the Bainbridge “Field’s End” group invited Donald and his wife Lisa Rector-Maass to present, I jumped at the chance to attend. I had given up my plan to attend the Oregon SCBWI Silver Falls conference, only because it was too far away with Karl gone in Europe, so this seemed doable.

The Maass workshop was all I hoped it would be – insightful information and a few opportunities to apply it to my work. George Shannon, part of the Field’s End crew, hosted my stay on Bainbridge. Kathryn Galbraith, the rest of our “trio,” shuttled and accompanied me to the workshop. She told me the same “librarian who doesn’t mark in books story.” We combined our notes into our own little workbook to use later, at least until Donald’s new book, The Fire in Fiction, comes out in 2009.

Karl returned home the next Tuesday night, and on Wednesday morning, I got a call from our regional SCBWI saying there was an opening in Darcy Pattison’s revision retreat that weekend. I cancelled my dentist appointment, and told poor Karl, “I know you’re jet-lagged and haven’t slept for 24 hours, but…” Let’s just say that he’s a saint, and that one of the real gifts of the retreat happened before I got there – the day and a half trying to get to a reasonable conclusion in my manuscript. I went from page 86 to page 122. Lots of holes, but I now know I can crank out pages when it’s necessary. It makes NaNoWriMo (the November “novel in a month” challenge) feel doable.

Darcy had done a retreat for our Whidbey group a few years ago, which I wasn’t able to attend. Kirby Larson participated in that one, and later credited Darcy for helping to improve her manuscript, Hattie Big Sky, which went on to receive a Newbery Honor. The awards presentation was last January at ALA, and several of us were there to cheer on our buddy.

This time, however, was our turn to sit with drill sergeant Darcy. We worked rewriting, sharing, listening, analyzing, marking up drafts, and revisioning our novels. There was far too much laughter coming from the picture book group, although Denise was still critiquing manuscripts at 1:30 am the last night we were there, so I know they, too, had their work cut out for them. Hats off to our amazing regional advisors and organizers for putting together such a great experience.

October 4, 2007

Peggy, the energetic, fun, and helpful Scholastic rep for our region, invited me to join them for a teacher night in Bellingham. I jumped at the chance to share information and materials with librarians and teachers. I’m doing what I love, and I was when I was teaching, too. I appreciate those who are in the classrooms everyday, taking care of our kids’ futures. What fun meeting folks from all those close-to-the-border towns!

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Full 2007 blog | 2006 blog | 2005 blog | 2004 blog.