An Author and Her ARCs: A Photo Essay

Today I received (yippee! hooray! hip hip hootie hoo!) the Advance Reader Copies of THE 13TH SIGN! This is my third time to go through this stage, and it feels just as exciting and terrifying and wonderful and scary as the very first time. So, in honor of authors and their ARCs, I share with you the roller coaster of emotions an author goes through when she sees her BOOK for the very first time:

(photo credits: The Peanut)

Did I miss one? I'm happy to (very goofily) portray one I've missed! :-) Thanks for sharing in the joy, everyone!

And the winners are...

Thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who participated in THE 13TH SIGN Cover Reveal Contest! Your answers made me laugh, and you guys saw more zodiac signs than I did! (The interpretations were a little loose at times, but I was impressed with the creativity in your answers!) The winners of the prizes are as follows:

1. The $50 gift card to Parnassus Books (which WAS an IndieBound gift card, but I found out that IndieBound doesn't do that. Parnassus Books has a website, so the gift card can be used nationwide): CATHERINE DING!
2. The signed copies of SELLING HOPE and AUTUMN WINIFRED OLVIER DOES THINGS DIFFERENT: ALYSSA SUSANNA!
3. The book basket with 3 yummy middle grade books (see below): CASSIDY GRACE!

Winners, I will contact you via email for shipping addresses, etc.  Again, thank you to everyone who played along in the contest. You are ALL winners in my book! *smooshy reading hugs*

The Cover Reveal of THE 13th SIGN - and a CONTEST!

Here is it, friends: the aaaah-mazing cover for THE 13th SIGN:

And the jacket copy:

“What if there was a 13th zodiac sign? 



You’re no longer Sagittarius, but Ophiuchus, the healer, the 13th sign. 



Your personality has changed.

So has your mom’s and your best friend’s. 



What about the rest of the world? 



What if you were the one who accidentally unlocked the 13th sign, causing this world-altering change—and infuriating the other 12 signs?  



Jalen did it, and now she must use every ounce of her strength and cunning to send the signs back where they belong.

Lives, including her own, depend on it.”

Thank you, as always, to cover designer Rich Deas and the fantastic Feiwel & Friends team for knocking it out of the ballpark again!

And to celebrate the gorgeousness above, we’re having a COVER REVEAL CONTEST! Here’s how it works:

-Search the cover above for THREE zodiac symbols. Got them? Good! Then…

-Email your answers by June 30 to ktubb@comcast.net to…

-Be entered into a drawing! The following will be doled out randomly to three folks who send in correct answers:

-a $50 IndieBound gift card!

-a signed hardcover of SELLING HOPE plus a signed paperback of AUTUMN WINIFRED OLIVER DOES THINGS DIFFERENT!

-a book “basket” including three of my favorite recent middle grade books: BRIDGE TO TIME by Lewis Buzbee, THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA by Tom Angleberger, and THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING by Catherynne M. Valente

BONUS! Anyone who includes a FOUTH zodiac symbol in their answers will get double entries for the above drawing!

And that’s it!  Start searching and emailing! Thanks for playing, friends! (And please remember to email your answers, rather than post them in the comments below. But comments on the cover? OH SO WELCOME. :-) )

P.S. THE 13th SIGN comes out January 8, 2013, but if you’d like to preorder it, you can do so here (Amazon) or here (Indiebound)! You’ll be automatically be eligible for the upcoming THE 13th SIGN Preorder Contest – more details on that coming soon! J

Young Writers Spotlight: The 100th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Titantic

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, I thought I'd share a haunting yet lovely poem by Christal H., a 6th-grader from Woodland Middle School:

Prior to the tragedy,
She was sailing calmly
The sea is filled with shouts
Of the dead the living will now do without
Behold! The unsinkable Titanic
has sunken.

Christal sent this to me after I visited her school, and I've reprinted it here with her permission. I *love* when kids share their amazing creations! Christal is so talented, isn't she?

Please look for other Young Writers Spotlights here in the future - this kind of talent deserves to be shared! Thanks again for the poem, Christal! Happy writing, all!

Interview with Crystal Kite Winner AND National Book Award Winner Kathryn Erskine!

Know what I love about SCBWI? Many, many things, but one of them is the camaraderie you'll find among its members. Like recently, when I was so VERY honored to win the Crystal Kite Member's Choice Award for Kansas/Louisiana/Arkansas/Tennessee/Kentucky/Missouri (Thank you again, SCBWI friends!). One of the fellow honorees (I don't remember who - sorry!) suggested that we invite one another onto our blogs. And so here I am, lucky enough to have NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER Kathryn Erskine by for a visit! Kathryn won the Crystal Kite Award in Pennsylvania/Delaware/New Jersey/Wash DC/Virginia/West Virginia/Maryland for MOCKINGBIRD. (And stay tuned for more Crystal Kite winners, too!)

Me: You've grown up all over the world! Do you think those experiences color your writing? How?

KE: Definitely. I like looking at things from a different perspective. I like understanding the differences in people and cultures. I like the varied cadence of languages and music. All of that goes into my writing. Also, growing up as the new kid on the block and odd one out (I went to 8 different schools) leaves its mark. I understand that feeling of being on the outside that we all have at one time or another. That makes it easy to empathize with people, including my characters.

Me: Your latest book is THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF MIKE. Can you tell us more about it?

KE: Actually, if you take the two middle letters out of the main character’s name, you’re left with “me.” The story is really about you, the reader. Finding what you’re good at. Finding what you’re passionate about. Finding your value. Mike is trying to live up to others’ expectations and not be who he really is -- partly, because he doesn’t know what he’s good at. After a summer with some really wacky relatives and townspeople, he figures it out and has to stand up for who he really is. There’s lots of humor, and it’s lighter than Mockingbird, although finding out who you are is important business.

Me: What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring writers?

KE: Keep at it. That means keep writing (and reading) and working on your craft, and keep going to workshops and conferences to continue to learn. I love discovering information and having “Aha!” moments, and it’s great to see your writing improve.

Me: And of course, I have to ask: THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD for MOCKINGBIRD! Can you share with us getting The Call and what follows in the days after such a wonderful honor?

KE: Yes, when I got the call that Mockingbird was nominated I was so stunned that I said about three words, repeatedly. Harold Augenbraum, National Book Foundation Executive Director, who made the call, was probably thinking, “This must be why she writes . . . she can’t actually speak.”

The award’s banquet was like the Oscars, complete with red carpet, and questions like, “Who are you wearing?” Only there was a dinner, too, so even better than the Oscars! I wasn’t nervous because I really didn’t think my book would win, but my wise editor advised me to come up with an acceptance speech so I didn’t sound like I did during the phone call (see above).

Since then, it has been a whirlwind of travel, speeches, etc., and meeting many wonderful readers and supporters. It has been an incredible treat.

Having YOU visit has been an incredible treat, Kathy! Thank you for stopping by. Please, friends, go visit her on the web:

http://www.kathrynerskine.com/

http://kathyerskine.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/kathy.erskine

A Sneak Peek: The 13th Sign

Twitter and Facebook have been all abuzz today thanks to this article in the LA Times announcing a “new” zodiac. I’ve never been so excited to see the Twitter trends in my life, friends! My next middle grade novel, The 13^th Sign, is all about the awakening of Ophiuchus and the lost sign of the zodiac. I'm delighted that everyone finds this as interesting as I do! My Fabu Editor gave me permission to give everyone a “sneak peek.” So here it is, a preview of The 13^th Sign, coming from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan in Fall 2012!

***

In the blue light of the attic, I held the pin next to the lock. The snake on the pin was an exact match: tiny, intricately carved scales, a diamond-shaped head, a thin, slithery split tongue, emerald-green eyes. Identical snakes, tangled together by fate.

Before I considered the coincidence too much to scare me, I jammed the end of the pin - the point of the staff and the curl of the snake’s tail - into the lock on my new book.

It fit.

I turned the key in the lock, and the bodies of the snakes began to untangle. The heads of the snakes twisted away from one another and toward me, sizing me up with blank emerald eyes. The heart of the lock cracked slightly apart.

Click!

It was likely a tiny click, a small satisfying opening. But to me, that click echoed around this dark space, and I could feel it in my gut.

“It worked!” Ellie said. She shot upright and slammed her head on a rafter. “I can’t believe that worked!”

“Me either,” I muttered.

The lock had split apart just enough for me to remove the chains binding the book. Which I did, carefully. The cover was warped and crinkly stiff.

I folded the book open, and its spine creaked. A yellowed piece of paper, obviously torn from the book, slid from the pages and floated to the floor of the attic. It was blank. Or wait, no – it wasn’t blank? A picture of the lock – the heart and snake lock I’d just opened – appeared in the middle of the page.

Ellie nodded eagerly. “Put the lock there,” she said, nudging my shoulder. I couldn’t see for sure in the dark attic, but I knew her eyes twinkled with anticipation.

I picked up the lock, key still embedded, and placed it on the piece of paper on the floor. I twisted the lock until its position matched the illustration. The paper and the lock felt almost magnetized, drawn to one another in the pull of attraction, clicking precisely into position. The moment it was aligned, the eyes of all three snakes – the two on the lock and the one on the key – flashed a burst of blinding green light.

Hisssssssssssss! I jerked my hand away. A fine mist rose off the paper, a smoky, swirling, hissing mist. It stank like sulfur, like rotten eggs. The eyes of the snakes dulled but continued to glow, pulsing in the dark attic.

“What is that?” Ellie whispered, lifting her sweatshirt collar over her nose. I shook my head, too mesmerized to speak.

The mist began to float and wind and twist to the outer edges of the piece of paper, revealing ink. Moving, liquid-like ink. More snakes. Black-ink snakes, darting and slithering toward one another, first forming letters…

Unlock it.

And then a chart.

The ink soaked into the paper and I saw: It was a zodiac chart, round like the sun, divided into equal parts, one for each horoscope sign.

The mist cleared, the hissing faded, the pulsing green eyes lowered to a dull glow. But the sulfur smell remained, stinging my eyes and throat. The lock, the paper, the chart remained as well.

Something was odd about this chart, aside from the fact that it had literally appeared from mist. Nina was a staunch believer in astrology, so I’d seen plenty of zodiac charts, divided into the twelve horoscope signs. This one was different.

And then I figured it out. This zodiac chart had thirteen signs. Thirteen, not twelve. I counted twice to make sure.

“Thirteen signs…” I muttered to the paper. A new zodiac. I didn’t believe in horoscopes or zodiacs or signs of any sort. And yet, staring at that new, crowded zodiac chart, a zing shot down my spine.

“A sign between Sagittarius and Scorpio,” I said, studying the thirteen-sign chart, but still refusing to touch the paper. I located my birth date. “Ophiuchus. My new sign is Ophiuchus.”

Ellie flipped through the brittle pages of the book. “Hey, Ophiuchus is listed in here.” She read the description of the sign:

Ophiuchus, the snake. Ophiuchus, thou art overlooked. Thou hast a hunger, then, that thou strive to fill with knowledge, and thy seek the truth above all. Because of this, thou art a favorite among authority figures. However, know that with hunger comes jealousy; the jealousy of the hungered cannot be matched. Too, this black blood masks a vicious secretive streak, so that thou art wildly misinterpreted. Because of this, thou lack trust and commitment. And yet, thy friends art thy lifeline; thou define thine own identity through the lens of others. Should thou overcome thy crippling anger, thy healer’s hands have the power to revive lost souls.

It was me.

I hovered above the paper, studying this new zodiac chart – this ancient zodiac chart, according to what Ellie read in The Keypers of the Zodiack. There were actually thirteen constellations in the path our planet took around the sun. Thirteen signs, not twelve.

“’When the Babylonians first developed a zodiac chart,’” Ellie read, “They rightly included all thirteen constellations. The twelve-sign zodiac evolved later, from the Greeks. The Greeks based their zodiac on the Legend of the Twelve Labours of Hercules. In this myth, Hercules had angered King Eurystheus, and the king demanded that Hercules perform Twelve Labours, or challenges, to spare his life.

“’As Hercules achieved victory after victory, he honored his challengers by casting them into the heavens as constellations. These twelve groupings of stars, the Greeks believed, were given the power to control our personalities.’”

Ellie continued reading. “’Over time, the twelve-sign zodiac became the standard. The thirteenth sign, Ophiuchus, was forever lost.’”

A lost sign.

***

So, friends, what do YOU think of the new zodiac? Does your new sign “fit?” (Me: I’d be

a Capricorn, not an Aquarian. And I relinquish the title very begrudgingly, thank you! :-))

Please, chime in!

the word of the year is...

Irene Latham, author of the lovely middle-grade historical Leaving Gee's Bend, posted this week about choosing a single word to help guide you through the year. A one-word resolution, if you will. Irene, ever the poet, selected "deeper" as her word. Isn't that a wonderful word? And if I weren't so authorly-opposed to plagiarism, I might've just adopted that one, too. ;)

Irene's idea to choose just one word really made me think. I've always been a huge fan of New Year's Resolutions - I do them every year, and I did them again this year. But to have one word that is your, well, crutch for an entire 12 months is appealing. There are far too many opportunistic moments that tiptoe by, and noticing them by thinking, "Oh, wow! That relates to Resolution #14-b" just seems unrealistic. (For the record, NO, I don't number my resolutions this way. As far as you know.)

So let me start by sharing some of the words that were *almost* The Word, and the reasons why I ulmately passed on each:

-"Content." It was the first word that came to mind when I started really thinking about this, and it's a perfectly lovely word. It's also something I do need to work on - being content, realizing how very blessed I truly am. But ultimately I passed on "content," not because I don't wish to count my blessings, but because I felt it carried an undertone of being stagnant. Learning and improving myself are very important to me. So "content" was shelved.

-"Brave." I thought of this one, originally, in the writing sense. I'm in the middle of crafting a fantasy novel right now - my first. I'm learning to try new things and take chances, and honestly, it's scary. But I passed on "brave," too, because it felt like it might correlate with "stubborn" once I considered...

-"Open." This one was really, really close, folks. I love everything about "open" - how, by its very nature, it means that new things have entered the picture. Things that need opening. Unlocking. It applies to spirituality, to family and parenting, to writing. And it, I believe, encompasses "brave." After all, you have to be brave to truly open yourself, no? So why did I pass on it? It feels passive to me, like that old portrait of a writer smoking a pipe and waiting for his muse to visit. Like waiting. Those of you who know me well know that "passive" just ain't me.

So ultimately, the word I went with is... (drumroll please)...

-"Present!" As in, to be present, in everything I do. One of my worst habits is rushingrushingrushing ahead, overcommitting, thinking of next hour, next week, next month, next story, nextnextnext. "Present" is the anti-next. It, too, applies to the most important aspects of my life: family, spirituality, writing. It's active, and it has such wonderful *other* connotations; who doesn't love presents?! To be fully present in one's writing, to be fully immersed in the story, in the character, in the NEED - that's what we're striving for as writers, isn't it? The immediate nature of this word, of how it roots you firmly in the now but still allows you to grow, is why "present" is my word of 2011.

So how about you? Have you ever selected one word as a guidepost? If not, give it a try! And if you have or do select one word, please, share! I'd love to hear what is guiding you and your art!

The Sharing HOPE Contest!

The Sharing Hope Contest!

November 9 – Month’s End

Today is Selling Hope’s official release date! I’m celebrating by giving away a book basket filled to the brim with fantastic new middle grade and YA books to one lucky winner who helps spread a little Selling Hope love this month. Here’s what’s up for grabs (these books ROCK, y’all):

1. King of Ithaka by Tracy Barrett

2. Nice and Mean by Jessica Leader

3. Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham

4. The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee

5. This Means War! by Ellen Wittlinger

6. Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different – in paperback

7. Selling Hope – signed to the winner

Plus, a few boxes of anti-comet pills, of course!

Here’s how the contest works:

1. Do one or more of the following things to help spread a little Hope.

2. Any time before the end of the month, post in the comments section of this post what you did AND your email address.

3. The drawing will be in December; books will be shipped to the winner at that time.

Promotional ideas:

1. Post in your Facebook status, “Halley’s Comet is coming and all I want to do is read Selling Hope!”

2. Include a link to a bookstore with the above

3. Post a picture of the Selling Hope cover on your Facebook wall (you’re welcome to nab the image above! ;-) )

4. Change your Facebook or Twitter profile pic to the Selling Hope cover. And uh, thank you, diehard! ;-)

5. Tweet or retweet about Selling Hope

6. Blog about Selling Hope

7. Write an Amazon.com/Barnes & Noble.com/Goodreads review

8. Any other ideas you might have – and please, share those with us in the comments!

Thank you for your help in spreading some Selling Hope cheer! Don’t forget to report in at the end of the month with what you did to share a little Hope! And remember to spread the love for ALL your favorite books and authors!

THANK YOU, friends!

Addendum, 11/23/10: My FANTABULOUS Editor is sweetening the pot, y'all! There will now be 5 SIGNED copies of Selling Hope given to 5 runners up in the Sharing Hope Contest! Spread some cheer and report back here! :-)

SELLING HOPE gets a STARRED REVIEW from Booklist!

Hi, all! I received some delightful news earlier: Selling Hope received a lovely starred review from the wonderful folks at Booklist! The entire review is below. Thank you so much, Booklist and Ian Chipman! What a thrill and honor. I am filled with gratitude.

P.S. The star isn't coming through in my cut-and-paste action; just imagine a lovely star in the spot in front of the title, instead of the asterisk I've placed there. ;-)

*Selling Hope.

Tubb, Kristin O' Donnell (Author)

Nov 2010. 224 p. Feiwel and Friends, hardcover, $16.99. (9780312611224).

In 1910, Halley’s Comet caused quite a pandemonium. Thirteen-year-old Hope, a smart and smarty-pants

heroine, travels the country on the low-level vaudeville circuit with her magician dad, but she desperately

wants to ditch the show and stay in Chicago. To do that they’ll need money, and in a flash of inspiration,

Hope whips up a side business selling “anti-comet” pills (thinly disguised mints) to hysterical people

convinced the comet will bring any number of horrendous calamities with it. She gets help from another

kid in the show, Buster Keaton, who, aside from being adept at slapstick, is handy at bringing a blush to

Hope’s cheeks. Tubb deftly ingrains a thoughtful ethical question into the story (is Hope really helping

people by assuaging their fears or simply ripping them off?) but never overdoes it in this bouncy tale

populated by a terrific cast of characters. The well-synthesized period flavor extends right down to the

one-liners that punctuate Hope’s earnest, easygoing, and perfectly pitched narration (“This morning’s

gravy was so thick, when I stirred it, the room spun around!”). In the end, though, it’s Hope’s relationship

with her father—a sort of proto-hippy-dippy naturalist who often seems more of a child than Hope—that

steals the spotlight with a gentle and well-earned tug of the heartstrings.

— Ian Chipman

Ho Ho Ho!

If you haven't already started your Christmas shopping AND you happen to be a Southern peach (or know/love someone who is), check out the new picture book from the wonderful duo of Susan R. Spain and Elizabeth Dulemba!

Doesn't it look delicious? :-) Congratulations, Susan and e!

Books Change Lives

It’s Banned Books Week, in which we celebrate our freedoms though choosing to read WHATEVER THE HECK WE WANT, THANK YOU. I’ve been so inspired, reading blogs like the one Saundra Mitchell posted on Mundie Moms, which shows how reading powerful books transformed one desperate girl’s life. Support for banned books is often placed in the context of how they can transform at-risk kids, and that is, indeed, the mightiest reason TO NEVER BAN BOOKS. EVER.

My own experience with banned books has been much quieter, far more subtle. My childhood was near-idyllic: two married parents, two siblings, a dog. I attended the same elementary school, middle school and high school my entire scholarly years, as did most of my friends. I was (and still am) very blessed.

Thankfully, my teacher-Mom allowed me to read WHATEVER THE HECK I WANTED, THANK YOU. I soaked in everything from Peanuts cartoon books to Flowers in the Attic. Never once did she say, “That’s not right for you.” In fact, she never even said, “Not yet.” She let me read and read and read. *

And all that reading? It allowed me to understand things I never experienced. I sat in church every Sunday, but it wasn’t until I read Little House in the Big Woods that I realized how I was blessed to have food on the table every night. I had friends, but it wasn’t until I read Bridge to Terabithia that I realized how much I treasured them. I had two married parents, but only through A Wrinkle in Time did I realize how much it would hurt to lose one of them. All of these books have come under fire by book banners at one time or another.** Had they not been a part of my childhood, I wouldn’t be the adult I am now.

I’m lucky. I didn’t live though much tragedy, but books helped me be more sympathetic, more caring. (This is not to say I’m the picture of gratitude and generosity– far from it. So very far…) Books like Speak and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian will do the same for kids like the one I was. These books not only have the power to heal broken readers, they have the power to open the eyes of readers who might otherwise tread the path with thick blinders.

If books are being challenged in your community, please Speak Loudly. You don’t have to love – or even like – the book being challenged. But someone out there might be moved by it. It might make that person just inches more empathetic. And wouldn’t that alone be worth it?

Books change lives, whether they make you slightly more aware than you were before, or whether they heal your deepest wounds. Taking that away is not only ignorant, it’s cruel.

The entry below contains a list of the Top Banned Books of 2009. Read one and see if you aren’t a different person. And please, leave a comment and share how a banned book changed YOUR life!

*This is not how every family operates, and I respect that. If you choose to approve what your child reads, I think that involvement is wonderful.

**Okay, technically, I think Little House on the Prairie came under target, not Little House in the Big Woods.

Better than Sherwood Forest: Robyn Hood Black's Blog! And Banned Books!

Hi, all! The fabulous Robyn Hood Black asked me to visit her blog and answer a few questions about Autumn Winifred Oliver and Hope McDaniels. Please pop over and say hello! (There's an excerpt of SELLING HOPE there, too. Hope you enjoy!)

AND: Next week is Banned Books Week (Sept. 25 - Oct. 2). With all the love being poured forth from the kidlit community for Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #speakloudly), I'm feeling inspired to discuss the importance of reading/discussing Banned Books. Who's with me?

According to the American Library Association, here are the Top Ten Banned Books of 2009:

1. ttyl, ttfn, l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs

2. “And Tango Makes Three” by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: Homosexuality

3. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide

4. “To Kill A Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee
Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

6. “Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

7. “My Sister’s Keeper,” by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence

8. “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things,” by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

9. “The Color Purple,” Alice Walker
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

10. “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

Check them out, read them, make certain they are available to any reader who wants them. ALL OTHER BOOKS, TOO. Support freedom through reading!

I READ BANNED BOOKS!

Skip a Starbucks Day: Are you ready to rescue?

Today is Skip a Starbucks Day! My friend C.J. Redwine and her family are seeking to adopt an orphan from China, and the process has been fraught with emotional highs and lows and procedural red tape. They finally - FINALLY, after years of going back and forth - received word that they could bring their little girl, Johanna, home.

For $8,000 more dollars than they had originally planned.

So lovely C.J. came up with the idea of Skip a Starbucks Day. She's asking that everyone skip a personal indulgence sometime this week, and donate the $5, $10, $15 or what-have-you to their family fund. As C.J. says:

"The thought behind Skip A Starbucks Day is that if every person who reads this and feels a tug on their heart to be part of Johanna's journey home would give up a personal indulgence (like a cup of coffee) and donate that money toward our adoption instead, we could raise the money needed to bring her home to her forever family."

If you'd like to donate or learn more, please hop over to C.J.'s blog. As you read her entry, I think you'll see that little Johanna will be joining a family of love and warmth. Won't you Skip a Starbucks with me today?

Tips from a Skype Visit Rookie

Today, I had my very first Skype visit with readers. It was a delight to be a part of the end-of-summer festivities with readers in Cleveland, TN. The public library chose Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different for its One Book/One Community program this summer - what an honor! It was a wonderful experience, and the Skype visit moved me far beyond the technology of MY era:

A few things I learned from this Skype visit:

-First, swap user names with the person on the other end prior to the event. This was librarian Andrew Hunt's idea, and it was a good one. He added my user name to his Skype address book before the event, and I added his to mine. This allows the caller to ring straight through, rather than us hunting for one another during the event.

-I'd heard to wear makeup (which I don't normally do!) and to be aware of my background. I did the interview in my office, where we have new (read: as-yet unfilled) bookshelves. Of course the kids asked about those empty bookcases! :-) Next visit I'll have all my books unpacked for sure.

-I had copies of Autumn Winifred Oliver and the cover for Selling Hope available to show them, but I didn't think to have copies of my activity books handy. I bring them to school visits, and sure enough, I could've used them during this interview.

-The library attendees could see me, but I couldn't see them. This was different from how I'd practiced using Skype prior to the event with my Dear Hubby. In that session, I could see him, too. Because I'm new to this technology, I wasn't aware that different users have different settings, so I was a little unprepared for this dynamic. It was like talking on the phone on my end, but they could see every movement of mine. It took a few minutes to get used to this.

-Because I couldn't see the participants on the other end, I had to listen very closely to the questions to hear them/know when they had been asked. Luckily, one of my childhood librarians, Kay Walker, moderated the event and she repeated many questions for me. Having this moderator moved things along much more smoothly, I believe.

-Our time was very limited (I had 15 minutes), so I quickly realized that I needed a "signal" of sorts to let them know I was done with my answer. (You'd think this wouldn't be an issue, but you don't see nonverbal cues too clearly via Skype.) So I started adding, "Thank you for asking that" at the end of each answer so they'd know to move to the next question.

-Look at the camera, not at your own image. Harder to do than it sounds! :-)

-WATER! Just like during school visits, you'll need water to whet the old whistle. I did not have this, and subsequently might've done the throat-clearing thing too much.

Have you done Skype visits? If so, please leave any and all tips in the comments section. It was a blast, and I'd love to do it again! It's a cost-effective way to be directly in touch with readers, which is one of my favorite aspects of this job.

Ta-Da! The SELLING HOPE Cover!

Isn't it sublime?

*sighs*

*thanks the cover gods for smiling upon her again*

About SELLING HOPE:

It’s May 1910, and Halley’s Comet is due to pass thru the Earth’s atmosphere. And thirteen-year-old Hope McDaniels and her father are due to pass through their hometown of Chicago with their ragtag vaudeville troupe. Hope wants out of vaudeville, and longs for a “normal” life—or as normal as life can be without her mother, who died five years before. Hope sees an opportunity: She invents “anti-comet” pills to sell to the working-class customers desperate for protection. Soon, she’s joined by a fellow troupe member, young Buster Keaton, and the two of them start to make good money. And just when Hope thinks she has all the answers, she has to decide: What is family? Where is home?

November 9, 2010 from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan

___

What do you think, friends? I think I'm in love....

I'm on Mom 2 Mom!

Hi, all! The uber-nice Heather Ivester, whom I met at an SCBWI conference in Atlanta, has interviewed me for her Mom 2 Mom blog here. Thanks for the opportunity to participate, Heather! (And I'm happy to report I've recruited yet another fan of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! Heather and her family are planning a trip there this summer. Have a blast, Ivesters!)

Writing Can Sometimes Stink

I love writing. It is one of the most fulfilling things that I do. But sometimes, I just gotta tell ya, writing can really stink.

I'm not talking about writer's block or the business of publishing. Yes, those can be rough, but they are more like bumblebees: they can be painful, but once you know how to act in their presence, they can produce wonderful, golden honey.

Nope, the stinky part, for me, is this: because I have a family and two young children, I spend many, MANY of my spare moments writing. My house is a mess, my laundry, a mountain. Luckily, my family is very understanding of this. Until they have no clean underwear.

And then I have to play catch-up. I spent a large portion of this glorious weekend indoors, doing laundry and cleaning cabinets and scrubbing days-old dishes. My family went to the pool. My neighbors went to the pool. Hilarity ensued. And I was playing catch-up.

Today, some of my wonderful playgroup friends are meeting at the park. I have a deadline I've set for myself (which I take very seriously), so we won't be joining them today. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm welcoming the writing time I've carved out for the day. I just wish it didn't collide with a playgroup outing!

Writers give up a large portion of themselves to write, but I'd say the part that suffers most is the social aspect. Family first, then writing, then house, then...then...then...friends.

This is true, I know, of all working adults. It's part of being a grown-up. And I love writing. I feel blessed with understanding friends who know that I'll see them by the pool next weekend, that I'll meet them at the park next time. Especially now that my kids finally have clean underwear.

(Any and all puns derived from the multiple uses of the terms "stinky" and "underwear" are purely coincidental.)

Auction to Benefit the Flood Victims of Middle TN

I know, I know, it's been AGES since I've posted. *slaps own wrist* I've had a wonderfully busy spring, full of librarian events and school visits and book festivals. Will post pictures soon. But for now, I really want to show you this:

www.dothewritethingfornashville.blogspot.com

Go! Bid! Give!

(And thanks!)

I Heart Libraries! (And Librarians!)

It's Library Appreciation week, and the marvelous Shelli Johannes-Wells over at Market My Words had the uber-marvelous idea for a group of authors to share their favorite library/librarian stories. Where do I even begin?! I grew up in libraries, thanks to a book-loving mom who "tricked" me into reading all the Newbery and Caldecott books by telling me that the books with stickers on them were the "very best." Most of Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different and Selling Hope were written in libraries (The Brentwood Library and The Williamson County Library, respectively). I find working in libraries both peaceful and inspirational. (Smell those books? Ahhhh!) And since the release of Autumn, I've had the pleasure of meeting some of the coolest librarians in the state, including Ms. Lindsey Wesson, who works for the Tennessee State Library, and Ms. Missy Dillingham, who works for the Brentwood Library. Both ladies are funny and smart and they love their jobs - just like you'd imagine a librarian being.

But the librarian who influenced me the most is Ms. Sheila Rollins, the librarian at City Park Elementary School where I grew up, in Athens, TN. She had a wonderful program: any student who read three of an author's books and did book reports on them could then interview that author by telephone! The author I chose?

Madeleine L'Engle! I remember two things about this experience:

1. The interview was conducted over a speakerphone. Wowza! All you had to do was talk, and the other person could hear you! Tres high tech. Very Charlie's Angels.

2. When I told Ms. L'Engle that I, too, wanted to be a writer, she responded, "Good for you! Keep reading and you can do it!"

Needless to say, that interview changed the path of my life. Thank you, Ms. Rollins, for your dedication to your students!

Save the Libraries!