Good News, Great News!

   The good news is, I shared 7th place in Susanna Leonard Hill's holiday writing contest, and I will be receiving a book on writing as my prize.  Yay!
    The great news is, I sold a story to Highlights!  It's called The Disappearing Earrings, and I got a bear card after sending the requested revisions, so I was hopeful.  And lo and be ho ho hold, the contract came in my e-mail! I have sold two rebuses (rebi?) to Highlights, and a craft project, but this is my first story, where I truly feel like a writer.  Feels good!

I Will Revise!

  January is the perfect time to revise the stories that evolved from November ideas, and the perfect event for revision is Meg Miller's ReviMo!
http://megmillerwrites.blogspot.com/p/revimo_16.html

Seriously Santa? made it into the finals!

  Out of 118 entries in Susanna Leonard Hill's holiday contest, 14 finalists were chosen and one of them was my entry, Seriously Santa?  She has posted them without the authors' names, which will help keep the contest all about the writing.  She has lots of great prizes, so I'm excited to see what happens next!  Thanks, Susanna! And all your elves, too.

Love those contests

   This is my entry for Susanna Leonard Hill's holiday contest.  The challenge this year is that the story has to involve a mix-up of some sort.  Thank you, Susanna, for taking time out of your busy holiday to run this event every year!

Seriously Santa?

By Deborah Holt Williams

 

Dear Santa, Hi, remember me?

I asked you for a pet.

A goldfish or chinchilla,

That’s what I hoped I’d get.

 

But seriously Santa?

A reindeer? Really? Gee!

First he ate the ornaments

And then he ate the tree!

 

He ate the treetop angel

And the lights! Now that was shocking.

He swallowed all the garland down

And then he ate my stocking!

 

We couldn’t find a name tag.

Is he Vixen?  Is he Comet?

But when he barfed up tinsel,

I thought I’d call him Vomit.

 

So Santa, what’s your policy

On taking presents back?

 We just can’t keep this reindeer

Who eats curtains for a snack!

 

And after all that eating,

When he could munch no more,

He left a present of his own

Upon the hardwood floor.

 

You must be trying to downsize.

I guess you just don’t need him.

But gee, before you dropped him off,

How come you didn’t feed him?

 

I know you must be tired,

Too pooped to come yourself.

But please!  Come get this reindeer!

If you have to, send an elf!

 

Seriously, Santa,

Old Vomit has to go.

I tried to put him in the yard—

                                                             He doesn’t like the snow!

 

He likes it by our wood stove

With a sofa for his head.

I must admit he’s comfy

When I use him for a bed.

 

He’s helpful with the firewood,

And holds our hats and coats.

I’m sure he keeps my bedroom safe

From alien zombie goats.

 

I went on-line for reindeer chow,

I guess we’ll be OK.

He’s so cute when he’s sleeping…

So Santa, he can stay.

 

P.S. Next year I’ll leave cookies

And cocoa in the kitchen.

But promise me I won’t wake up

and find you’ve left us Blitzen!

  

30 New Ideas

   Finished Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo challenge to come up with 30 ideas in the month of November.  Now to turn them into manuscripts!

                                                           

Writing that Means Something

   About fifteen years ago, my daughter Molly and I worked together on a little book about Louisa Schwartz, the lady in whose memory Glenwood Springs' official Christmas tree was planted.  The bulbs on the giant spruce were from the 50's, many were broken or didn't work, and the tree wasn't even lit for the past few years.
    But this year, the old bulbs were replaced with 4,000 LED lights, and I was asked to speak about Mrs.Schwartz!  Here's me by the plaque at the base of the tree.

     It feels good to be a part of something meaningful, thanks to my writing!
Happy Holidays!

Love Janet Reid's contests!

   Janet Reid is an agent who likes crime novels, so entering her 100-word contests may not help my picture book writing. But then again, writing in a totally different genre is good for the brain, right?  So, I am honored (and surprised!) that I've been chosen as a finalist in both her contests that I entered this month.
    The first involved collective nouns (my "frustration of picture book writers" was beaten by a "schvitz of rabbis") and the second involved using the names of the paint colors Janet had used to repaint her accent wall--5 times!  My story involved a bartender and a painter and lots of daiquiris.  Kid friendly? No.  But a fun challenge!

If I never sell another story...

...it will be reward enough to know that I helped Gen Doak get published at age 87!  Gen wrote a story years ago about a Thanksgiving dinner her family shared when she was a little girl.  I retyped it from her typewriter version onto a Word document and we looked on-line for a magazine that looked like a good fit.  Good Old Days looked perfect, and we sent it off.  And sure enough, they bought it!  It came out in their holiday edition, and Gen is so very proud.

  I had some good news this week, too--I'll have my second rebus, The Red Kite, in the June '14 issue of Highlights!

Almost time for PiBoIdMo!

Looking forward to harvesting a new crop of ideas and sharing with other excited writers!

Learn more at www.taralazar.com

Another wonderful contest hosted by Susanna Leonard Hill

  For this contest, writers must create a 100-word story using the words black cat, spooky and cackle.  Here's my entry:

 

One Lonely Halloween  (100 words)

By Deborah Holt Williams

     A lonely black cat wandered through the spooky woods.   A small voice said, “Ouch! You’re stepping on me!”   “I’m sorry!” said the cat.  “Is anything broken?”  “One leg,” said the spider.  “Help me!”  The cat lowered her tail. “Climb aboard,” she said. They rested at a house where a pumpkin glowed on the porch.  Then they heard a cackle.

    “I was lonely tonight,” said a friendly witch.  “But now I have visitors.  Come in!”  She put a tiny piece of black tape around the spider’s broken leg.  Three new friends told stories by a cozy fire.  Halloween wasn’t lonely anymore.

 

 

 

A group of serious poets

I love this group shot from the poetry workshop, and so glad that Kathleen Hayes, High Five and Hello editor, had joined us for lunch that day!  She's in the front row, grey pants, in front of me.  One of my favorite people ever!

A Retreat at the Highlights Barn--Nourishing and Inspiring!

   This will be a loooong post because my time at the Highlights Barn was so wonderful!  I attended David L. Harrison's Poetry for the Delight of It workshop, and got to see my dear friend Kathy Doherty again.  We met at Chautauqua in 2011 and have kept in contact like sisters ever since.  (She even shares my sister's name, Kathleen!)

Here we are in front of my cozy little cabin.  Here's a look at the cabins with the trees behind--the woods got more colorful every day we were there.

   Backing up a bit, I flew from Grand Junction to Denver and there at DIA I met the other Coloradan on the roster--Linda Baie,  What a lovely person!  She brought a poem for each of the conferees. (Mine was called "Ristras" because she knew I love New Mexico!)  So thoughtful. Here she is at one of our campfires, with Tom Ohl.

    I arrived Sunday evening, Sept. 29th.  Pam, the driver who picked me up at the Newark airport, had been visiting her son in Jamestown CO when the floods hit, and she and her husband had to be helicoptered out!  We had a great visit--she married her high school sweetheart and they had kids and now they're both retired travel all over the country but Honesdale will always be home.  Nice to meet a person who is totally happy with life.
    Monday, Kathy arrived!  She was one of several women from the Chicago area, and was good friends with Heidi Bee Roemer.  We all took the tour of the Highlights office in Honesdale, in this beautiful old home.

        Here's a picture of the Chicago Five--Heidi Bee Roemer, Pat Fowler, Linda Dryfhout, Julie Stiegemeyer, and Kathy Doherty.

Then we moved on up to Kathleen Hayes' office--she's the editor of High Five and Hello.  She had just received the box of the latest issue of Hello, and she showed it to us.  There were three of us that had poems in that issue!  Here we are feeling like rock stars with Kathleen.

 

Next we moved on to the Highlights editor's spotless desk.  Joelle Dujardin showed us the current issue which featured Kathy's rebus, and she pulled out last month's issue which featured mine!  Kathy did the queen wave as we left the room.  What an amazing day!

   Back at the Barn, we had dinner and then toasted marshmallows dipped in different flavored liqueurs.  Great idea, Matt! Here he is soaking marshmallows in Grand Marnier for Pat and Michelle.

Tuesday I went to 6:30 am yoga, and took a walk to the building that was once the Boyds Mills country store and Post Office.  Tucker, the resident dog, just seemed to know I needed a dog snuggle.  He sat on my feet, so I sat down and we had such a good petting and tummy rubbing time.  Look at his smile!

One of the cool things about the former store was their copy of the original,  first issue of Highlights from 1946!  Very different, included Bible verses, quotes from the Declaration of Independence, etc.  all in black and white.

 

I guess I should mention that we really did discuss poetry!  I saw this more as a retreat than a class, but it was very beneficial to have David review the poems we'd sent in.  I'd added one that had been rejected by Boyds Mills last year, but it turned out to be his favorite!  He wrote "Bingo!  If this isn't published, it soon will be.  Lots to work with here. An artist will go wild with this."  He gave me a suggestion to add to it a little bit, so I revised while sitting outside on the patio with the woods all around--so lovely.   Here's David getting ready for his big solo!  He looks a little nervous here, but most of the time he was smiling and laughing.  Delightful, talented man, and he gave us all copies of his book, Pirates!

 

  The Skype visit from Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis was very good.  Boy, do I have a lot to learn about poetic forms!  Fortunately, David gave us a great handout.  Took a relaxing, yet energizing walk in the woods.

The evenings were so much fun--appetizers and wine on the patio, dinner, and then poems performed around the fire.  At night, my wonderful neighbor Karen Eastland and I took a flashlight walk down past the former store to a farm where she'd heard a rooster that morning.  So fun to be out walking in the dark! This is Karen chatting with Chef Joseph.  She was on meds that made her light-sensitive, so she wore dark glasses and a hat during the day.

   Wednesday I checked my e-mail to find a contract from Highlights!  They are purchasing my little rhyme "Glue" for High Five.  One of the reasons I justified coming to this workshop was that I was celebrating ten sales to Highlights, and here comes number eleven!  Kathleen Hayes joined us for lunch.  What a difficult health journey she's been on, getting shingles.  (Note to self--get the shot!)  Glad she was there for the group photo. 
     Kathy and I took a walk, and at night, sweet Cory Corrado joined Karen and me for another nighttime flashlight adventure!  Here's Cory with Kathy.

    The Skype visit with Renee LaTulippe was super.  What a delightful woman she is!  On Thursday, Marileta Robinson came to visit.  She was the editor at Highlights when I first started submitting, and she rejected everything I sent, but often added an encouraging note.  Those notes kept me going!  It was fun to meet her, and thank her, and share my happy news about another sale.  Heidi calls us the "Three Amigos" and we had our picture snapped with her.

   Rebecca Davis of WordSong, the poetry arm of Boyds Mills Press, came to talk to us about submitting poetry.  I talked to her about my poem that David liked, and she said to send it in to her attention. Connections like these are why I think Highlights conferences are such a great investment.
    So hard to say goodbye to everyone!  I keep going through my photos and remembering all the terrific and talented people I met there.  And it was so wonderful to reconnect with my dear writing buddy, Kathy Doherty.

Good friends, good poetry, good food, good weather--I will remember it always!

A Terrible Week

 It was a painful week, a week of loss and tears.  One thing that helped was having to get some writing done.  I had to type up the references for the article for Appleseeds, and I had to revise a story for Highlights.  Strange that what helped get through this awful week was--deadlines.

If I had to choose one piece of advice for young writers...

...it would be to step back and gain perspective, and realize that you will have six, maybe seven decades to write, but only one fleeting decade when your kids are little.  Realize that every "book review" they give you ("Read it again!") teaches you what works in picture books, and every silly conversation is a look into a child's mind.  Don't beat yourself up for not getting as much writing done as you'd like--you are doing the most valuable research that can ever be conducted in your picture book writing career!  Absorb, observe, but most importantly, treasure these days.  They won't come back.

Once Upon a Time I Entered a Contest to Write a Fairy Tale...

that could be illustrated by this lovely painting by Julie Paschkis:

and I won!  My prize is the painting!  I'm so excited.  It will live happily ever after above my writing desk, to remind me that, amid all the rejections, sometimes good luck breaks through.  Here's the announcement:

AND….the winner is Deborah Holt Williams. We liked that in so few words she created a plot using all of the elements in the painting in a way that made sense but was not predictable. Her fairy-tale language felt timeless but not cloying. Her ending was funny and a good piece of advice.  Congratulations!

And here is my story:

Once upon a time, young Helga and her brother Hans followed their frisky hound into a deep forest and became hopelessly lost. A cloak of darkness fell upon the woods, and the children began to worry about wolves in the night.
“I shall sleep on top of the tree,” said Hans,”where I can see the wolves if they come in the night.”
“I shall tie myself to the tree with my hair,” said Helga, “so I will feel the tree shake if the wolves come in the night.”
The dog lay down with his nose to the ground, so he could smell the wolves if they came in the night.
But while they slept, a hungry and very quiet bear tippy-toed through the woods and ate them all.
“When you prepare for one misfortune,” said the bear, picking his teeth, “you may be surprised by another one entirely.”

Agent Danielle Smith's Webinar

   I really enjoyed this webinar, especially to hear that Danielle doesn't think it's absolutely mandatory for authors to have a "platform"--Twitter, facebook author page, etc. and because she feels the same way I do about the importance of hanging around little ones.  I subbed in the toddler room at my daughter's preschool this week, and got inspired to write a story during naptime.  It's so good to see what makes them laugh, what holds their interest, etc.  I just can't get that sitting here at my desk!  My grandkids inspire me, too, but they're far away. 

One Step Closer to an Agent?

  I heard from the Lavender Ninja this evening, asking me to query and send more stories!  I wanted to send a variety, so I sent Mom Dot Com, I'm a Good Dog, Bottled Anger and Trashing Through the Snow.  She loves Confetti the Yeti, but thinks it would be hard to sell.  I agree, but I think it's worth the effort!  So curious to see how this all works out.

Stalked by a Lavender Ninja!

  I signed up for WriteOnCon for two reasons: 1.)  I work weekends and I live in a small town, so going to conferences involves travel and a missed paycheck, and 2.) it seemed like another opportunity to get my work in front of agents.  "Ninja Agents" stalk the forums looking for queries or stories that appeal to them.
   Yesterday on the query forum, I got a request from "Ninja Agent Lavender" asking me to private message my Confetti the Yeti story!  I was so excited, but when I tried, I got a message that the agent was not accepting PMs!  Aaaagh!  But she wrote me again that she'd fixed the problem and to try again, so I did.
    Let the waiting begin!  I so hoped that I would hear from her this morning, that she (or he) would love it and that a contract would shoot out of my printer.  It didn't happen.  But, we writers are a patient breed...
    In other news, Glenwood Springs caught fire last night (thank goodness for the rain that followed),  and I heard from my friend in Cedaredge who is planning a picnic for my visit tomorrow.  It was a very busy evening!

Senior Moment

  Sometimes, usually after several rejections, I wonder if I'm just too old for this writing biz.  Not for the creative part, but for the self-promoting, tweeting, website, do I need to know how to make a video part. I query agents a third my age, and wonder why they would take on a client that used to type her stories on a typewriter, who remembers the smell of the mimeograph machine, and taking rolls of film to the drugstore...but I keep on keepin' on because I so want my and grandkids to hold a book in their hands that their Nana wrote!
    What are some of the challenges and the joys you face as an older person writing for children?

A Sensei-tional Compliment!

  Corey Rosen Schwartz, author of Three Ninja Pigs, used my Confetti the Yeti poem as an example of good rhyme and meter when she appeared on Julie Hedlund's 12x12 blog.  Then I found a private  message from her where she said I had a black belt in rhyming!  Wow, that means so much coming from her.  She also said she has three new rhymers coming out!  And she encouraged me that well written rhyme will sell.  I would so love to find a home for Confetti.

Making Stuff Up And Writing It Down: How to Use Twitter In A Way That Won't Get You Kicked in the Face

Making Stuff Up And Writing It Down: How to Use Twitter In A Way That Won't Get You Kicked in the Face

This is what agent Karen Grencik says agents/editors are looking for in picture books:

“Very child-centered stories where the kids will see themselves in the place of the main character, with a very strong narrative arc, with scenes specifically building one upon the other, a series of three, and a very emotionally satisfying conclusion, with broad audience appeal and a great marketing hook. They do not want fleshed out descriptive texts. They want simply the framework of the story so that the illustrations can offer 50% of the story. They want tension throughout and great page turns. All under 600 words, preferably. Oh, and a takeaway for the kid. They want layers to the story where a child or parent will see something new with each reread. Sweet stories or fun wordplay stories are not enough anymore.”

   My story Hurricane Carlos, recently rejected by Karen, has a lot of these features, but it may be that I fleshed it out too much.  On to revision!

Even if I never sell another thing...

  ...it's been such a joy to help my friend Genevieve Doak sell her childhood story called The Year of the Goose.  She had typed it up years ago and submitted it somewhere and got rejected, so she put it aside.  I typed it up on the computer and printed it out for her, and then we looked on line to find a magazine that might be a good fit.  I wrote a submission letter for her and we mailed off her story.  I crossed my fingers and toes that she wouldn't get a rejection...
    ...and 8 weeks later, while I was there with her on a Saturday, she got her contract in the mail!  Her story will appear in the December 2013 issue of Good Old Days magazine, and they are paying her $25.00.  As the photo shows, she couldn't be more pleased!

Hurray for Tara Lazar!  Tara's first book is out!  It's called The Monstore, and I bought it for my granddaughter Olivia.  My favorite monster is the one with the long neck.  I would name him Buck Nekkid, and I would hope that his lofty view would help me to find my glasses.

Tara's picture book writing challenge really got me going in November--she had us come up with a new pb idea each of the 30 days. PiBoIdMo is still benefitting me this year as I complete Julie Hedlund's 12x12 challenge, writing and submitting a picture book manuscript to an agent each month.

Best Rejection Ever!

This came from Erzsi Deak, the June 12x12 agent.  So specific and encouraging!  Now I'll have to write another Squid-Eye Sally story...

From

• submissions@henandink.com  

To

• Deborah Williams

 

Dear Deborah, 

Many thanks for sending SQUID-EYE SALLY'S PIRATE PRESENTS. You've got a great character in Squid-Eye Sally! That said, while the story is entertaining, there's room to increase the tension and make us really worry about the crew, and for sure, Sally. At the moment, the primary joy is coming from the fun language, rather than from the actual story being told. Part of this is that the payoff could be stronger (IMHO!). Do you have other Squid-Eye Sally stories in your holey sock that you might want to explore? At the moment I have at least one girl pirate book on board, but if you could come up with an even stronger story -- with that unexpected inevtiable ending -- I'd be happy to see what's happening with Squid-Eye Sally in the future. 

Thanks, again, for sending your work to Hen&ink. 

Sincerely, 

Erzsi 

A note from a teacher makes me proud to be a writer!

  I heard from a kindergarten teacher this morning on the Blue Boards who loves my action rhyme Body Language!  She is always looking for fun ways to get her kids to express their feelings, and she has them act it out and feels that the words and pictures go together perfectly.  She said she's going to share it with the school counselor to use with other kids!  This is what makes all the waiting and disappointment and frustration that comes with being a writer totally WORTH IT!

Hit the Highlights Trifecta This Year!

   I got the author copies of the June issue of High Five, which has my action rhyme Body Language on page 32.  It occurred to me that in 2013 I will have an article in each of the 3 Highlights magazines--this one in High Five, in rebus in Highlights in September, and a poem in Hello in late fall!  They have also purchased the craft project on making farolitos, but I don't know if that will be in this year or next.  I just love writing for Highlights!

Tweeted 3 Pitches to Agent Terrie Wolf--Asked to Send Queries on 2!

    Terrie Wolf is a Colorado agent looking for clients and manuscripts, and she asked me to send a query for Ready to Run and Confetti the Yeti!  Sent them off tonight, just hours after I figured out how to tweet.  My aging brain feels like guacamole.  Time to go soak in my softub.

Still not sure what a hashtag is...

...but I can now tweet!  I signed up for Twitter today to run some picture book ideas past agent Terrie Wolf.  I feel so very techie.  I'm on there as @Chamamama2000  I posted (very short) pitches for Mom Dot Com, Ready to Run, and Confetti the Yeti.
   Lots of progress so far this month.  On May 1st I entered my 12x12 story Squid-Eye Sally's Pirate Presents, submitted my rhyming manuscript Confetti the Yeti to Jennifer Dechiara (who has a special interest in books for the LGBT community), my Ready to Run "faction" story to Holiday House, and Cowboy Chuck and the Lost Buckaroo to Charlie Olsen and Inkwell Management. I also sent Ready to Run to Rate Your Story--hope it does better that Cowboy Chuck did! 
    Sent all these messages in bottles out to sea--now to wait to see what the tide brings in!
   

Finished the course!  Learned lots.

www.picturebookacademy.com

A Worthwhile Course

Dr. Mira Reisberg offered a valuable course in picture book writing, which featured lots of useful information and videos that introduced me to wonderful authors and books. www.picturebookacademy.com

Felt Like a Writer Today!

   I got three e-mails that made me feel like a writer today.  I got the contract from Spellbound and a request for a short biography to go with my dragon poem that will appear in their summer issue.  I got a sneak peek at the artwork that will accompany my poem for Hello magazine--and found out my great writing buddy Kathy Doherty will have a poem in the same issue!  And finally I got a No from the 12x12 editor for this month, Susan Hawk, so that was discouraging.  But that's all part of the life of a writer!

Sold my first long poem!

  On Monday I decided, after finding out what my tax refund would be, to treat myself to David L. Harrison's poetry workshop at the Highlights Barn in September, as my birthday gift to myself.  On Wednesday, I got the e-mail from Spellbound that they loved my dragon poem and would be sending me a contract soon! That made me feel better about commiting to the workshop, which will include Skype visits from Renee LaTulippe, who I've "met" on David Harrison's blog and in March Madness.

Well, rats

  Again this month, my submission didn't impress the agent:

I took a look at MOM DOT COM and appreciate what you are trying to do here. Unfortunately, this just didn't have the spark I need for me to request more. 

As you know, this business is so subjective. I am hopeful you'll find the agent/editor to love this very soon!

   Very nice rejection, but a rejection nonetheless!

   Maybe the third time will be the charm!  I'm waiting for Miranda Paul of Rate Your Story to review my pirate story before I submit it to this month's agent.  Sigh, feeling a little discouraged.

Great News from Julie about Tricia Lawrence!

Yay--she will respond to everyone!  Here's a message Julie sent from Bologna:

 The first is that although Tricia has not looked at all of the submissions that have come in yet, she commended the quality and professionalism of the ones she has seen. This is great news! It means you guys are doing your jobs - doing the research and selecting mss to submit that you feel are aligned with her interests.

... The second message is that while Tricia intends to respond to everyone (again, a HUGE benefit for members and NOT one that I required agents to commit to when they signed on to take submissions), it is going to take longer for her to complete those responses than it did for Stephen Fraser, who was outrageously (in a good way) fast. After all, she is here in Bologna, and March is by far the busiest month for any agent. So you guys need to practice patience. A 2-6 month wait time for a response is the NORM in this industry, not the exception. And that's if you're lucky enough to get a response. The fact that the two participating agents, so far, have said they'll respond to everyone is a testament to their dedication to helping and encouraging writers.
   Now I'm really getting excited to hear what she has to say!

Waiting and Wondering

   Julie Hedlund has created a fabulous program for authors in 12x12, and a wonderful facebook community as well.  She is very kind and does not want anyone hurt or frustrated to learn that someone else has heard from the agent that reviews manuscripts every month, while they themselves may have heard not a word. That is her right and her responsibility as creator of that site.
   However, some of us want to share the celebrations and frustrations that come with submitting to an agent, and we are toughened by enough rejections to where we can handle it.  I would love to know if this month's agent, for example, is responding to any of the submissions, and what can be learned from her comments.  In fact, that's one of the reasons I joined 12x12 at the gold level.
    So if you are stout of heart, and you can handle others' successes without taking it personally when you are not as fortunate, you are welcome to share your thoughts here.  And please share your good news as well!

I'm Out, but in good company!

Well, I didn't win my poetry match-up, but April's poem truly was better.  I voted for it myself!  But there are some very talented folks who didn't make it to round two, including Stephen Cahill, last year's winner!  I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I am so sophisticated...

...that I had to look up my March Madness word, sophisticate.  I knew sophisticated, but it turns out the verb sophisticate means to adulterate or alter.  Anthony suggested the title.
My poem is: SophistiCat
   To sophisticate means to alter,
to adulterate or change.
    I'd like to sophisticate Walter,
or at least get rid of his mange.

I announce with great gladness...

...I'm part of March Madness!  The children's poetry challenge, that is.  64 entrants were chosen, based on a submitted rhyme, and we'll face off in March.  Each player is given a challenge partner and a word, and then a day to write a poem for children that features that word.  Votes are tallied, the winner moves on, the loser is out.  Last year, words included "kinkier" and "nonconfrontational"!  Famous children's author Jane Yolen was knocked out in round 1 in 2012, so who knows what can happen!  I'm excited.

Writng Picture Books Can Be Violent!

   I wrote such a good little, innocent story today, and then--cue the chainsaws!  I cut and hacked and chopped, and pared it down to the bare bones.  The story is based on an idea I came up with in November during PiBoIdMo, about two friends and a dog, and a hurricane.
   Next step will be to write a query letter for it, and Emma Watson Hamilton recently critiqued one I wrote earlier.  Return of the chainsaws!  Cut the query letter, too!  Throw it in the wood chipper!
   But, a great joy this month has been contributing to David L. Harrison's blog on poetry, and having the wonderful author Iza Trapani say she loves my limerick.  The swords are sheathed, at least for a moment. 

January's Over!

   January seems like the looooongest month.  With all due respect to Dr. King, there are no silly, fun holidays in January.  Here in Glenwood Springs we had bitter cold temperatures, then a wierdly warm spell where it rained.  I got rejections in the mail, and I had to hire a plumber when I couldn't unclog the toilet, and I got a miserable cold and couldn't work for over a week, and had to get four new tires for my car. But, I also signed up for 12x12 and I'm excited that I'll be able to present one of my manuscripts to a real agent or editor every month.  It can't hurt!  I've signed up for a poetry challenge this spring, entered the Saturday Evening Post Valentine poem contest, and entered an easy reader story in the Highlights fiction contest.  I've submitted six pieces so far, with a goal of 50 again this year in addition to the 12 picture book manuscripts.
   So farewell January, and welcome February!

  I've signed up for this program, to come up with twelve picture book manuscripts in twelve months.  I'm also entering the annual Highlights contest, coming up with an early reader story.  I still love magazine work, but where that was my focus last year, picture books will be my focus this year.  I'm looking forward to the group support offered at Julie Hedland's website for 12x12, and to pushing myself!