Children's Author Blog Hop

This week I am participating in the Children’s Author Blog Hop.  For this Blog Hop, participating authors were asked to answer four identical questions and then invite additional children’s authors to join in the “Hop.”  My invitees are Ansha Kotyk  and Laura Pauling.

I am so grateful that my dear friend, the picture book goddess, Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, was kind enough to reach out to me via social media and ask me join in the fun.

Joyce Shor Johnson & Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
The Meeting of two great minds
(2009 NESCBWI Conference)

Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen writes across the spectrum. Her work includes picture books, fiction and non-fiction for both children and even adults. Her upcoming middle grade chapter book series, Spectacles of Destiny, and her latest picture book Duck, Duck, Moose! illustrated by Noah Z. Jones is coming out January 2014.  You can find Sudipta at these social media sites: Website, blog, which she shares with author Kami Kinard, Facebook, Twitter.

Blog Hop Interview of Joyce Shor Johnson

What are you working on right now? 
Over the last year, while Co-Directing the 2013 NESCBWI Conference, I had been toying with an idea for a contemporary young adult novel. Now that my two-year commitment to NESCBWI is complete, I have started writing again and I am two chapters into my WIP. This is the fun part, because I am still learning about my characters, which often leads to unexpected developments.
I’ve also been outlining and working on a number of non-fiction picture books, including one about the art of keeping secrets.

How does it differ from other works in the genre?
My first two books, THE CASTING and HOUSE OF GIRLS are historical fiction. My current work-in-progress is contemporary and focuses on how social media has become ruling factor in how we communicate. The two non-fiction picture books are experimental, and I’m waiting to see how they turn out.

Why do you write what you do?
I write for children because my characters always seem to be kids on the threshold of change. 

What is the hardest part about writing?
Finding the time to outline and then the time to write the first draft. Once I know where I’m going and have the time, the writing is easy.  

Here are the two talented writers that I’ve invited to the Blog Hop, (I wanted to invite everyone I knew, but there are limits).

Ansha Kotyk lives in Massachusetts where she writes upper middle grade stories full of adventure in the modern day with a twist of fantasy. What that fantastical twist is… well, it depends on what her cat whispers in her ear while she’s writing.

Her characters have strong family ties, and value their friendships. They also seem to get into a great deal of trouble and meet some seriously evil bad guys in their stories. You can find Natasha at these social media sites:

Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

GANGSTERLAND, her first novel, spent 3 weeks in the top 10 of Hot New Releases in children’s books about bullies, is a story about a boy, a bully and a magical comic book that transports its readers to the gangster era of the 1920′s. Book #2 in the Ink Portal series follows the friends on a Geo-caching treasure hunt in a mysterious haunted mountain range, Apocalypse Junction will be out later this year.

Laura Pauling writes about spies, murder and mystery. She’s the author of the exciting Circle of Spies Series, and the time travel mystery, Heist. She’s a former elementary teacher and currently lives in New England. After spending time reading books to her kids and loving a good plot turn, she put her fingers to the keyboard. Don’t ask her about the unfinished quilts and scrapbooks. Stories are way more exciting. She writes to entertain and experience a great story…and to be able to work in her jammies and slippers. You can find Laura at these social media sites: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

HEIST, One night Jack travels back in time to one of the world’s largest art thefts, known as the Gardner Heist. Why that one moment in time? And what does it mean for Jack?
When he returns, his world is different. His best friend is rougher, meaner. His dad hasn’t been around in years. And then there’s Jetta. The girl who took over his heart the moment she stepped into his life. No one is safe. Each time Jack goes back to the heist to fix his mistakes, he returns to face the fallout. Disaster strikes in the present until Jack must make a choice. His family and his own happiness. Or the girl he loves. Except, he learns that his sixth sense was right. Someone has been watching him and wants him dead.  

Thinking about Gifts?

It's that time of year again, where the holiday decorations suddenly explode - and it seems as if it starts earlier every year. I've already ordered my photo holiday cards. They are sitting on the dining table waiting for Thanksgiving day morning. This is when I will address them and have them ready to send on December 1st.

In the meantime, I have started to shop. This year, I thought I would put together a list of cool places to visit online for awesome gifts that you might not have known about.


Eco-Friendly Gifts

http://www.sproutwatches.com/
If you are looking for watches, these bright and eco-friendly timepieces are made from corn! Better wear than to eat! The company page really is well written and tell the consumer all about their ideals. Read it here.



http://www.uncommongoods.com/gifts/collections/recycled-gifts
They even have bicycle chain bowls! How cool is that?
Here is what UncommonGoods has to say about their company: "At UncommonGoods, we want to change the way business is conducted by making sustainability a part of every decision we make. Each month, employees from all areas of our company gather to discuss how we can make UncommonGoods more environmentally friendly, socially responsible and an ever-more rewarding place to work."



http://eco-friendly.novica.com/

I think they have some wonderful gifts!
Novica has this to say about their company: "[Novica] want[s] to give artists and artisans around the world a global platform to express their true artistic talents and to spur their creativity. And, we want to provide you with access to unique, hard-to-find items at great values that only the Internet infrastructure can allow. At the deepest essence of our philosophy, we want to create a bridge between you and the many talented artisans across the globe. [Novica] want[s] you to know about who you're buying from. [Novica] want[s] you to feel that attachment to the product and to the hands that created it."

Fun Gifts



Who doesn't like Bowling for Zombies? Perpetual Kid has so many goofy and fun items. Go wild.

Fave Online Gifts
MoMA STORE
I love the Fish Tank Hotel.

 


















But the best gift you can give is the gift of reading.

Order an autographed copy of the THE CASTING. 
Morgan Hill Bookstore
253 Main Street 
PO Box 2455
New London, NH 03257
(603) 526-5850
HOURS:
Monday to Friday 9:00 - 5:30
Saturday 9:00 - 5:00
Sunday 11:00 - 3:00

or go to PugaliciousPress.com 

Have Fun Shopping!

Call for Proposals 2013 NESCBWI Conference

Call for Proposals NESCBWI 2013 Conference Word-By-Word: The Art Of Craft
It's that time of year when we start looking for the amazing workshops, intensives, and panels for next year's conference.

Here is what we are looking for:

The workshop committee of New England SCBWI welcomes proposals for the 2013 Spring conference, "Word by Word: The Art of Craft."

Art of craft is always at the forefront of a venue like ours. This year’s focus will be on improving ones crafting the various parts of writing and illustrating NEEDS MEGA WORK HERE!

We'd like to invite more intensive, hands-on workshops and advanced and master level studio proposals that focus on a specific aspect of the craft and would love to see more than one proposal from each you. Of course, larger lecture-style workshops are still welcome as well.

This is one of the largest regional SCBWI conferences, and last year we sold out the conference in two weeks. We welcome proposals from everyone involved in the world of children’s writing and publishing.

Important Information

Conference Dates: Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, May 3-5, 2013
Conference Location: Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel, Springfield, MA
To Submit a Proposal: Please complete a conference proposal form. Separate submissions are required for multiple presentations or workshop/intensive versions of the same presentation.

Proposal Due Date: August 27, 2012
Presenter Notification Expected: October 15, 2012

Types of Presentations: 55-minute workshops; 120-minute intensives; 180 studios w/15 minute break

We will give presenters who send in more than one, well-crafted and detailed proposal preferential consideration. Also, you may be asked to present your workshop twice during the conference.

NOTE: Be very specific when designating level of experience, pick only one level. (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or Master)

55-minute workshops

What are we looking for?

• Presentations that relate to our conference theme of Word-By-Word: The Art of Craft.
• A wide range of craft related presentations for all SCBWI members, including illustrators and writers in all genres.
• Be very specific when designating level of experience, pick only one level. (Beginner, Intermediate, advanced, or Master)
• Leveled presentations. We are not trying to find one presentation that everyone can attend. Instead, presenters should direct material toward a specific experience level. For example, an "advanced" illustration presentation should not begin with "Why you should carry a sketch book," and a "beginner's" writing workshop should not address marketing a contracted novel. 
• Presentations that last 55 minutes in their entirety. When planning, leave time for participant questions and any required audiovisual setup.
• Intensives that last 120 minutes and focus on specific pieces of the craft. i.e. story arc, character development, sex in YA, etc.
• Focused presentations with clear learning outcomes. These should be clear, tangible "final products" that attendees take away. Plan the presentation thinking, "I want participants to leave with these tools or a real understanding of this piece of the craft." A few examples: How to map out an in-depth revision, a step-by-step outline or map, creating a storyboard, A first draft of a non fiction proposal, how to develop initial sketches, etc.
• Hands-on workshops where attendees spend significant time working on current writing, illustration, or marketing project so they can apply your presentation content to their own work.
• Engaging lecture-style presentations filled with information that participants can take back to their desks to ponder and play with. 
• Presentations that include a range of examples. Attendees have expressed they want less presentations that draw solely from the presenter's experience or body of work.
• Presenters who are published members of SCBWI, as well as editors, agents, MFA graduates, and other industry professionals. Past presentation experience is appreciated.

NOTE: Be very specific when designating level of experience, pick only one level. (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or Master)

120-minute intensives

Intensive proposals should meet all of the criteria listed above for 55-minute workshops. Also consider the following:

• 120-minute intensives typically take place on Sunday, but there will be several slots for Saturday Advanced and Master level workshops.
• Two hours are provided; so plan exercises or some interactive element in the workshop. An intensive should not only be a lecture.
• Presentations that include a range of examples. Attendees have expressed they want less presentations that draw solely from the presenter's experience or body of work.
• Past presentation experience and in-depth knowledge of the topic are required.
• Partner presentations are welcome.

Note: If you apply to present a 55-minute workshop or a 120-minute intensive and we feel your presentation may better fit the other format, we will let you know!

NOTE: Be very specific when designating level of experience, pick only one level. (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or Master)

180-minute Studios

Studio proposals should meet all of the criteria listed above for both 55-minute and 120-minute workshops. But you must also consider the following:

• 180-minute, 12 person studios will focus on Advanced and Master level authors.
• Three hours are provided, so plan accordingly for intensive working sessions.
• These include attendees submitting samples for you to review ahead of time.
• Past presentation experience and in-depth knowledge of the topic are required.
• Partner presentations are welcome as long as both are willing to work with a larger number of attendees. Total number in studio would be 24.

Note: If you apply to present a 55-minute workshop or a 120-minute intensive and we feel your presentation may better fit the other format, we will let you know!

Selection Criteria and Topics

Every year SCBWI New England receives many excellent proposals, more than can fit into a conference schedule. Therefore, we must choose on the basis of experience, quality, variety, novelty, attendant costs, and other factors. Please use the 2013 NESCBWI Workshop Rubric for more explicit selection criteria and standards.

We would love to see presentations on the following topics. If you are an expert on one of these topics, we would love to see your proposal.

 

• Hands-on writing workshops: outlining, story arc, tools, tips, character sketching, etc.
• Hands-on illustration workshops
• Publishing 201 session for intermediate authors or illustrators
• Developing an idea from conception to completion
• Secrets of Story Arc
• How to lay out a picture book dummy
• How to start your own publishing company
• Gesture and emotion for illustrators
• School and library visits and promotion
• Grassroots Marketing strategies to libraries and other overlooked venues
• Writing nonfiction articles and short stories
• Mystery writing
• How to write chapter books
• How to design an eBook

ISBNs

I've known what an ISBN is for as long as I can remember. I've been a reader since I was 4 years old and those numbers on a book cover or jacket flap always represented something secret. Add a barcode and you have a secret language.

Glorious Blooms

Spring it about to take hold here in New Hampshire. The Weeping Willows along the pond have yellow buds. The snow drops are already receding and the crocus are in full bloom. The lush dark green of the tulip foliage, dark against the newly greening grass, heralding the glorious color about to burst forth has me pulling out the Adirondack chairs and looking through garden catalogs.

I've always loved the meaning of flowers. Each bloom has a different meaning. During Victorian times, life was emotionally strict and people use flowers to express their feelings toward each other.

Tulips are the symbol of The Perfect Lover.

Wisteria  means Youth and Poetry

 Forsythia means Anticipation.

Purple Hyacinth means I am sorry, Please forgive me, also Sorrow.

Cyclamen means  Resignation & Goodbye.

Iris means  Faith, Wisdom, Valor, Your Friendship Means So Much To Me.

 

I can't wait for my garden to bloom!

What would you say with flowers?

Being Brave

Bravery isn’t the same for everyone. 

Sometimes, the bravest thing to do is to go about your day without worrying what others think of you. 

Sometimes, it’s walking into a classroom knowing that your bully is there, waiting for you. 

Sometimes, it’s all about facing the real truth, yours not theirs.

Sometimes, it’s about not giving in because it’s the easiest thing to do.

The brave are often the least recognized.

Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.  ~Mary Anne Radmacher

Who do you know that is brave and should be recognized?

Amazing - The Casting is out!

Please celebrate with me! The Casting debuts today. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this process. I am so excited. Please if you read the book, take a moment to comment on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc. It really does make a difference.

You can order the softcover book here 

and the hardcover here

and don't forget to support your local independent bookstore. BUY LOCAL. Just ask them to order The Casting for you. I'm available for author signings and school visits as well! Just drop me a line.

THANKS!

New Arrival!

I came home to a box with copies of The Casting!

NESCBWI 2012 Conference

It’s closer than you think….

J is for Just Remember

I’ve been thinking about how the small things that happen to us, change us. I’m well traveled. My honeymoon was a three week adventure, driving around Namibia (what used to be German Southwest Africa) in an unair-conditioned Ford, diesel station wagon and camping under the stars. A weekend adventure to Costa Rica to zip line the canopy, only to sprain my ankle so badly, I couldn’t. Skinny-dipping in November in the Baltic Sea off of Sweden.

Visiting the German City of Dachau, on a rainy winter’s day to visit the concentration camp.

From the car, we followed the signs for the entrance, down a path along a gray concrete wall. A group of Czech teens were laughing and joking ahead of us. I think I looked up then because the wall seemed unnaturally high. That was when I realized we were walking the exterior perimeter of the camp. A guard tower peaked through the trees and vines, chilling me.

My husband took my hand.

Approaching the entrance wasn’t difficult, what made it hard was knowing that I was about to willingly walk through the gate when others had never had a choice. I needed to compose myself. I closed my eyes and was instantly swept back by the smell of fear coming from the railroad bed under my feet. Time was disjointed, I had to open my eyes.

I heard my name and moved closer to the gate. This is what I saw.

Being there was eerie, as again time wavered between then and now. The place wreaked of despair. My eyes watered the entire time.

As dusk approached, groups of people moved toward the gate. The Czech teens, subdued.
No shouts of Halt as I exited through the gate. No rapid fire machine guns popping. Silence except for the footfalls of those around me.

Then the sky exploded. A sonic boom, my husband said. I felt time tear and this is what happened.

DACHAU REVISITED

Metallic drizzle glazes the decades.

Knees tremble stepping from the car.

Our forced march through time defies fear.

Subtle grays disguise the truth,

a spasm of recognition etches guard tower, ruined wall.

Now covered in vines, leaves of brown

plaster tightly to bricks and mortar.

I walk, eyes straight ahead.

Grays shift in the corner of my vision,

twist into muted shapes of rigor mortis.

Wrought iron lies greet me.

Beyond, the shadows coagulate into ghosts of the once-living

wearing gray and white stripes like the criss-cross of barbed wire.

Gravel crunches underfoot; I taste ashes in my mouth.

Forced march -- double-time -- down the avenue to the gate.

I feel the noose around my neck, choking.

Ovens cold and dark, hungry lips coated with what I do not want

to see. I can’t close my eyes,

I don’t want to look.

I can’t stop.

Jostled and bumped by mournful souls, I flee

through the gate of lies.

Truth explodes around me.

A sonic boom rips through the air, tearing time.

Ghosts walk along side me, through me

Liberated.

The Glimmer of an Idea

That glimmer of an idea, the one that won’t let you sleep, or focus on your family. It shimmers at the most annoying times, just out of reach. You can hear your brain scream as you try to snare that illusive thought. Stretching your gray matter, hoping to capture any essence of this magnificent idea before it slips away.

If you can lasso that runaway thought, form a solid, cohesive concept, you may just have the start of something brilliant. It’s the holding onto that hint of an idea which causes the brain scream.

I’ve tried the “carry around the notebook and pen” approach, but no idea ever forms when I’m prepared for it. Instead, it raps the inside of my skull every once in a while, reminding me it’s still there. Then the day comes, when it dislodges from the gray matter and bursts forth in full color.

If I don’t stop what I am doing the moment this happens, it’s lost. So now I scribble on whatever is available, usually on my arm. Sometimes my kids arm. Just a word or two is all it takes for me to remember. Then I race home, power up the laptop and tell the kids to fend for themselves for the rest of the night.

How do you do it?

H is for Historical Fiction and Teens

I love Young Adult Historical Fiction! Done right, I get lost in it. I feel it, can taste it, and know I have been transported back. Over done, and I close the book. You know what I mean. The pages and pages of description, the words you skim.

This happens because the writer seems to thinks the reader needs to be told, over-and-over again, what the important things are. Just because they are teens, doesn’t mean they don’t get it the first time. Actually, I think teens get it faster than many adults. The writer has to learned to trust their reader.

That’s right. There comes a point when you have to trust the reader to get it, the first time. (This is an example. I’ll do it again throughout this post).

Show it well just once, the reader will devour your words. Tell them, and tell them again, they’ll put the book down.

Repetition isn’t a good thing in any novel, but in YA historical fiction, the reader begins to feel patronized by the repeated historical references and facts. Use what you have, but disseminate the information and move along.

Teens are smart. We just need to be smarter. I know how to make them want to read historical fiction, pass a law saying they can’t read it until their twenty-one.

I’ve said it enough.