Month: July 2009

ALA Chicago – Day Two

My ALA signing is tomorrow morning from 10-11 at the Bloomsbury/Walker booth (#1711).  That meant today was a free day for me to enjoy the exhibit hall and merrily gather books.  (I am guessing that Heaven is a lot like the ALA floor only with a better food court.)

Random House was one of my first stops of the day, where I was delighted to find this.

I’ve been dying to read Rebecca Stead’s WHEN YOU REACH ME, so one of these signed copies is now on the nightstand next to me – yay! 

It felt like every time I turned around today, there were familiar faces.  At the Scholastic booth, I ran into  , who will be accepting the Morris Award tomorrow morning.  Congratulations, Elizabeth!

And I almost literally ran into John Green on the way to his signing. He was gracious enough to forgive me for the near-miss and stop for a photo.

I didn’t see   at ALA today…but I saw a friend of hers!

Actually, I met another friend of Linda’s, too – the talented Marla Frazee, who illustrates the CLEMENTINE series and won a Caldecott Honor for  A COUPLE OF BOYS HAVE THE BEST WEEK EVER. 

We saw Neil Gaiman signing at Harper Collins, and I picked up my ticket to hear him speak at the Newbery Banquet tomorrow night. I hadn’t planned on going, but my husband convinced me that things like this don’t just come along every weekend.  So true.

Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen signed my daughter’s copy of MERCY WATSON…and we also watched them cheerfully sign a stuffed pig.

Candlewick, by the way, won some major points with us for producing boxes of Mercy Watson popcorn just when we were about to collapse of hunger.

Laurie Halse Anderson was signing after her Edwards Award luncheon…

…and Blue Balliett, which was extra-amazing since E and I just read CHASING VERMEER and THE WRIGHT THREE in preparation for our trip to Chicago. 

We didn’t know ahead of time that Blue Balliett would be here, so we were thrilled. As an amazing added bonus, we ran into her waiting for the train after her signing.  She gave us some insider tips for a walking tour of the Hyde Park setting of her books, including some spots we never would have found (or known that we could go) on our own. More on that later….

I’ll wrap up today with more photos under the cut.  I so appreciated it when folks at TLA and BEA beamed back pictures of GIANNA Z so I could see her out in the world, all grown up. So I spent a good part of today stalking friends’ books (so much so, in fact, that the guy at the WestSide Books booth glared at my Bloomsbury/Walker badge and asked why I was taking pictures. He seemed certain I was some sort of publishing spy, but I finally convinced him that I was just a harmless, if slightly giddy, author.)

Click here for shots from the bok-paparazzi…

Be forewarned.  This is my first time at ALA or any conference this size, and I am excited.  Therefore, I will be posting photos and blogging over the next few days at a rate that only my mother will likely appreciate. 

My family arrived in Chicago this morning and dropped luggage off at our bed & breakfast in Hyde Park.

It’s very close to the Obamas’ home and to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, which is featured in Blue Balliett’s THE WRIGHT THREE.  We’re planning a walking tour some time over the next day or two, but today it waas lunchtime. We ate at Valois Cafeteria, a neighborhood institution that was apparently a favorite of President Obama when he lived in Hyde Park. And they serve breakfast all day – yay!

Then it was off to the convention center, McCormick Place, which is pretty much the most enormous, confusing place I have ever seen in my life.  Eventually, we made it to the right building and found the registration area for ALA.  The exhibit hall doesn’t open until tomorrow morning, but when I discovered that I had an exhibitor’s badge, I accidentally ended up at the Bloomsbury/Walker booth a little early.  Look who was there to greet me on the banner!

Surreal doesn’t even begin to explain the feeling of working on a book for two years, searching for an agent and editor, revising it for another year, sending it off, and then flying halfway across the country and seeing the cover of that book larger than life on a banner.  I jumped up and down for a bit.  And almost got run over by a little forklift man who was still setting up an exhibit nearby. We decided at that point it was probably time to leave & come back tomorrow.

Then it was off to the Shedd Aquarium.  A friend on Twitter suggested it was a can’t-miss part of the Chicago experience, and I’m so glad.  The coral reef exhibit was beautiful.  We saw dolphins, too.  And beluga whales!

They’re beautiful creatures, and the sounds they make are amazing and otherworldly.  I wondered if they were sharing secret codes or passing on ancient legends, but when I asked the aquarium working about their vocalizations, he said they were likely begging for food, since their trainer was standing where he often stands to feed them. It sure sounded cool.  If I were in charge of the fish bucket, they would have been all set.

After the aquarium, my husband and son headed to the waterfront for the Styx & REO Speedwagon concert, while E and I met a delightful group of author friends for deep-dish pizza.  Yay!  (Also yum!)


From left to right, that’s me, Marybeth Kelsey, Robin Graf Prehn , Lisa Schroeder, Cindy Pon, and Julia Karr.  (E ducked off to the side to avoid the paparazzi.)

Blueboarders! Books! Banners! Breakfast!  Beluga whales!  Day One, and I love Chicago already.

How They Got Here: 2009 Debut Author Mandy Hubbard

This post is part of a year-long series of blog interviews I’ll be hosting with my fellow 2009 Debut Authors, called "How They Got Here." 

It should be an especially helpful series for teens who write, teachers, and anyone who wants to write for kids.  2009 debut authors will be dropping by to talk about how their writing in school shaped the authors they are today, what teachers can do to make a difference, how they revise, and how they found their agents and editors.  (You’ll even be able to read some successful query letters!)  If you know a teacher or two who might be interested, please share the link!

Today…Mandy Hubbard, author of PRADA AND PREJUDICE!

Fifteen year old Callie just wants to impress the popular girls when she buys a pair of Prada heels on her class trip to London. She didn’t plan on tripping, conking her head, and waking up in 1815! Now she’s wearing corsets with her designer pumps, eating bizarre soups, and breaking up engagements. If only the nineteen year old Duke of Harksbury wasn’t so bloody annoying, she might have a little fun in Austen-Era England…

Welcome, Mandy! Tell us about the first thing that made you think you might be a writer.

It wasn’t until I was 20 and wrote a novella called WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? that I thought I was a writer. It was super melodramatic and half-true-half-fiction. I’m glad it has ceased to exist.

What books did you love when you were a kid?

THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE, HATCHET, Z FOR ZACHARIAH, and SHILOH.

Is there a particular teacher or librarian who was a mentor for you in your reading and writing life?

My sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Hughes, used to read aloud to us for the last 15-30 minutes of every day. That was my absolute favorite part of the day! She read us Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, The Black Stallion, and countless others.

Moving on to the here and now, most writers admit that making time to write can sometimes be a challenge.  When and where do you write?   Do you have any special rituals?  Music?  Food & beverages?

I mostly write on the train (a 30 minute ride) to and from work, or after 9pm when my daughter is asleep. I find that I dont really need anything specific around me, but I do love Diet Coke!

Do you have a favorite strategy for revision?

I use track changes and mark up the manuscript. Then I tackle the small things first, so the "to-do" list seems smaller, then the large items. Then I re-read it again.

What’s your best advice for young writers?

A published author is an amatuer who didn’t quit. Don’t quit.

What’s special about your debut novel?

I think the time travel and Jane Austen make it fun and very accessible for reluctant readers.

What were the best and worst parts of writing it?

The worst part? the revision requests that led to rejection! It’s always crushing to work hard on something for an editor and be rejected. The best part? Even at draft 9, I still loved the story.

How did you find your agent and/or editor?

I queried my agent. My agent found me my editor!

Thanks for joining us, Mandy!

You can read more about Mandy at her website. You can pick up your copy of PRADA AND PREJUDICE at your local independent bookseller, order it through one of my favorite indies, Flying Pig Bookstore (they ship!), or find an indie near you by checking out IndieBound!

How They Got Here: 2009 Debut Author Cyn Balog

This post is part of a year-long series of blog interviews I’ll be hosting with my fellow 2009 Debut Authors, called "How They Got Here." 

It should be an especially helpful series for teens who write, teachers, and anyone who wants to write for kids.  2009 debut authors will be dropping by to talk about how their writing in school shaped the authors they are today, what teachers can do to make a difference, how they revise, and how they found their agents and editors.  (You’ll even be able to read some successful query letters!)  If you know a teacher or two who might be interested, please share the link!

Today…Cyn Balog, author of FAIRY TALE!

Morgan Sparks and Cam Browne are a match made in heaven. They’ve been best friends since birth, they tell each other everything, and oh yeah- they’re totally hot for each other. But a week before their joint Sweet Sixteen bash, everything changes. Cam’s awkward cousin Pip comes to stay, and Morgan is stunned when her formerly perfect boyfriend seems to be drifting away. When Morgan demands answers, she’s shocked to discover the source of Cam’s distance isn’t another girl- it’s another world.  Pip claims that Cam is a fairy.  No, seriously.  A fairy. And now his people want Cam to return to their world and take his rightful place as Fairy King.

Determined to keep Cam with her, Morgan plots to fool the fairies. But as Cam continues to change, she has to decide once and for all if he really is her destiny, and if their "perfect" love can weather an uncertain future.


Welcome, Cyn! Tell us about the first thing you ever wrote that made you think maybe you were a writer.

I remember writing things as a kid and liking them, but once I wrote a mystery story in 6th grade and just had so much fun with it, that was when I knew this was something I wanted to do for a living. Before that, it was just a way to spend time.

What books did you love when you were a kid?

Charlotte’s Web, No Flying in the House, anything by Shel Silverstein.

Is there a particular teacher or librarian who was a mentor for you in your reading and writing life?

Nope. I can honestly say I had NO help or mentoring from any adults in my life, so I can’t figure out how I determined I wanted to be a writer so young. Maybe it was divine intervention!

What’s your best advice for young writers?

Do not let anyone tell you that it’s not possible, that you’re too young to be taken seriously in this business. If you want it badly enough and work hard enough, you can get there.

What’s special about your debut novel?

Have you seen the cover?  It’s gorgeous!

Thanks for joining us, Cyn!

You can read more about Cyn at her website. You can pick up your copy of FAIRY TALE at your local independent bookseller, order it through one of my favorite indies, Flying Pig Bookstore (they ship!), or find an indie near you by checking out IndieBound!

Tuesday in NYC

I have come to the conclusion that there is no good way to go to New York City "for the day" when you live where I live. 

My JetBlue experiment, which began with a sprint through the Burlington airport at 7am yesterday and ended with a four-hour flight delay and my arrival home at 4:15 this morning, confirmed this.  Next time, I will spend the night. 

My time in the city,  however, was delightful. It began in this fabulously pointy building.

I love that the publisher for THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z, Walker Books for Young Readers, is in the historic Flatiron Building.  There’s something about the look of the building that I’ve always loved, and the people who work inside are wonderful, too.


The wonderful Anna and Mary Kate

Editor Mary Kate & I got to chat a little about my second novel with Walker, SUGAR ON SNOW, about a girl from a maple farm who earns a scholarship to figure skate with the elite in Lake Placid.  I love MK for a number of reasons, but she added one to the list yesterday, telling me that after she read the pancake breakfast scene in my manuscript, she immediately had to go to the store and get stuff for pancakes because it made her so hungry. 

After our coffee date, Mary Kate & Anna directed me to the right subway train to get down to SoHo, where I met with the editors and art director for my MARTY MCGUIRE chapter book series with Scholastic.  The series doesn’t have an illustrator assigned yet, so after lunch, we looked through some illustration samples, several of which made my writer heart go pitter-patter in a big way. 

Downstairs in the Scholastic store, there was a party going on to celebrate the paperback release of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows.  The employee cafe upstairs got into the spirit, too.

I did not partake of the polyjuice potion, unsure of whether it would transform me into JK Rowling or Arthur Levine or Clifford the Big Red Dog or what.  It seemed too much of a chance to take with a long night of travel still ahead.  Those transformations, as you know, can be daunting.

This Friday, I am off to Chicago for five days at the American Library Association Annual Convention.  I’ll be signing ARCs of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z at the Walker/Bloomsbury Booth (#1711) on Sunday morning from 10-11.  If you’ll be at ALA, too, please let me know.  I’m looking forward to meeting writer & librarian pals and checking out all those beautiful books!

Birthday Critters

My 13-year-old son just gave me one of my favorite birthday presents ever.

No fancy perfume for this mom.  I got…

Ever the practical kid, J ordered these because I’ve been lamenting the fact that bugs are eating my roses.  Not any more.  Within a few weeks, the literature says,  this egg case will hatch "about 100-200 tiny mantises, all at once."  I especially love the way Gardeners Supply Company describes the praying mantises’ promise to wreak havoc on garden pests. 

"Being strictly carnivorous, they’ll eat almost any insect of a size they can overcome.  Waiting in quiet ambush for hours at a time, when an insect comes wandering by, they suddenly jump out and attack — always biting the neck first."

How cool is that?

We attached the egg case to the rose bush this afternoon.

Watch out, aphids!  The Terminators of the insect world are on the way.