Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Critiquenic/scbwi

I have crossed over to the promised land of published or in my case under contract writers since I was asked by Heather Tomlinson to lead a group at the SCBWI/Ventura critiquenic held at Adventures for Kids book store last Sunday.  Here she is with Jody Ficks Shapiro. 

    I have been to tons of these events before as I worked out kinks, visited friends and brought home inspiration to rewrite my books.

    The amazing Alexis O'Neill open the day and Jody read the opening page from Susan Patron's book The Higher Power of Lucky.   We all had a good  gripe  about thee word!

    It was a big turnout and we broke into 5 separate groups.  It was wonderful seeing old friends, meeting new ones and listening to stories that I have heard evolve over the years.  The SCBWI Rocks and it was a fun day for all.  Jody, who use to own Adventures for Kids, showed me her F & G's for her new book.  But I  want to recommend her first picture book,  Up up it's Apple picking time.

Robin Borglum Carter

The people of South Dakota are so nice.  That’s what I love about historical non fiction it takes me to places that I’d never go.  The keepers of the flame, the park rangers could not do enough.  They let me go through the archives, gave me a tour of the mountain and introduced me to the Borglum family.

The sculptor Gutzon Borglum carved Mount Rushmore, but my story is about his son, Lincoln Borglum who worked on the mountain since he was a kid and finished the monument when his dad passed away.

I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Lincoln’s daughter, Robin Borglum Carter, who wrote an adult book about her grandfather, “Gutson Borglum his life and his works”  She has given me wonderful stories and permission to use some of the family photos. On my blog.  I want to publicly thank her for all her help on this project.

This is a photo of Lincoln hanging off the mountain.

My dog wears Pajamas

Yes, Star the wonder dog does wear pajamas.
My husband thinks it makes our guard dog look like a sissy. She has several sets and in the winter I put them on her at night.
I thought it would make a great book title. 

So besides the obvious children's dog stories to reccomend, I just finished reading the second in the Garth Nix trilogy, Lirael. 

I really enjoyed the 2nd book in this spooky fantasy and the main character closest friend is the Disreputable Dog.  This is a cross over to Ya from adult.

Waiting for Inspiration

As a commercial and fine artist, I know from experience that if you wait for inspiration nothing will get done.  Writing is just a job like anything else.  Except it can be emotionally draining at times.  So book the time everyday. 
This is Monet, one of the Keyboard Kitties.  Appropriately named since they run on my key board and ruin any manuscript I'm working on.


This year in order to get a manuscript to my editor quickly I started getting up with the cats at 4:30 A.M.!!!!  Anyone who knows me can't believe this.  But I could put in an undisturbed 5 hours before yoga and another 5 in the afternoon.
So grab the time and if you are not inspired sit in your chair for two hours before you are allowed to move.  And I mean two hours. You'd be surprised how much you can get done.  Some of the best writing I have done is locked into an airplane seat for hours.

Now if that elusive elf of inspiration does appear, bolt down the hatches and enjoy the ride.

Art for Art sake

One of the Art for Art sake I do is sketching.  When I travel I try and get a few watercolors of  places I've been.  They are quick to get the feel. I'm not selling them and the sketchbooks usually end up in my library where only I look at them.

This is the Villa Balbianello it is on Lake Como in Northern Italy.  An Italian explore owned the villa and it was open to private tours.  Very cool.  Though it's more recent claim to fame besides being in a few movies, is being a close neighbor to George Clooney!

Rushmore in the middle of nowhere

Rushmore is in the middle of nowhere.  I come from L.A. where there are probably 10 million people, or so it seems. In the whole state of South Dakota maybe one million.  It takes 2 planes and a rental car to get there.  But it’s worth it to see those great men carved out of mountain.  When I research the presidents for the back matter bios, I was struck by their honesty, accomplishments and honor.  It is hard to believe they were politicians.

Fact in the book:  It took 3 weeks of searching the Black Hills to find the perfect mountain to carve.

Fact not in the book:  Mount Rushmore was named after a New York Lawyer who was hanging around South Dakota in the 1800s.

Oscars in L.A.

L.A. is a one industry town, entertainment.  This week the buzz is Oscar and who it brings in.  This is Helene, astrologer to the stars.  I was invited to a luncheon in her honor and had my chart read.  Big fun and nothing but a successful positive future for me.  I loved hearing that.  The topic at lunch was where to send her for the oscar gown she'll be wearing on Sunday.  Some at lunch wanted her to shop at Neimies, but I like Loehmanns myself.  Big designers, little prices.

So I had to decide a Hollywood style children's book for this blog.  In this atmosphere of the Britney Bald Headed Breakdown, I picked Small Steps - by Louis Sachar.  He took a couple of characters from Holes and had them get mixed up with a teen singing star.  You do get the feeling of isolation and paranoia these working celebrity kids go through.

Tina's Top Book Picks

I come from a family of readers.  My Mom, sisters, brother and I devoured books by the truckload.  We lived a few blocks from a small regional library.
We were always hanging at that shoebox of a library.  We were poor and the library was free entertainment.  Our little black and white T.V. broke and there was no money to fix it for 2 years.  I was about 8 at the time and I still don’t remember that because I always had a book in my hand.  Being a reader made me a writer.

I still devour books by the truckload and I’m forever buying the new hot kid books. I pass them on to my family, writer buddies and libraries. But some books have to live with me forever. Yes I occasionally read an adult book, but only if someone buys it and puts it in my hand.



So I am starting a list of books I loves and what is on my bedside table.  A purely unscientific account of my taste but pipe in if you agree.


Book I enjoyed:  Al Capone does my shirts-Gennifer Choldenko.  I love this book. A family struggles with a disable  child and her brother who is determine to help her.   It has the best one word ending.

What I’m reading now: Sabriel by Garth Nix, this is the first book of a trilogy.  A battle with the walking dead held at bay by an ancient magic kingdom.  I can not put down this book.  If you like fantasy this one’s for you.

Newberry winners

Here's my cat Toulouse with the Newberry Honor winners.  Every year I treat myself with
the Newberry winners.  I find inspiration, entertainment and knowledge of what defines the best children's book of the year.  I am still waiting from back order the winner The Higher Power of Lucky by our own L.A. writer Susan Patron.

The SCBWI community has been cheering out here about her win.  Now all my writing buddies are appalled by the censorship of her book by the use of one word.  In a country where children see more inappropriate content on T.V., the movies or the Internet, it floors me when a single word, that is the correct definition, condemns a book.   But I did hear a writer speak once at one of the SCBWI event that having your book banned makes for  better sales.  Let's hope so for Susan.  Chime in if you agree....

Chinese New Year

In honor of Chinese New Year I thought I'd pick one of my favorite books on China.  The master Newberry winner, Lawrence Yep, has entertained me for years with his stories on the Chinese American experience.  But I really love a little gem he wrote for the Royal Diaries Series, Lady of Ch'iao Kuo - Warrior of the  South.  A princess who unites her people in the pursuit of peace in 531 A.D.

The series is hard bound with beautiful covers and gold trimmed paper.

Rushmore kid

Today, President’s Day, I’d like to launch my blog in honor of the four great men who are carved on that mountain in South Dakota.  The Fab Four, George, Tom, Ted and Abe.  My Boys, as I like to call them, men of integrity, courage and intelligence that governed us through difficult and enlightening times.  I am so inspired by Gutzon and Lincoln Borgulm, two great Americans that created a memorial for us all.

This is a very blurry picture of me under my boys.

How did a kooky artist from LA write a children’s book about Mount Rushmore?  The story grabbed me.  It held me captive for 12 long years as I strove towards publication.  Late last year my Cinderella dream came true. A brilliant editor with a major house bought my book, “Hanging Off Jefferson’s Nose.”  Along the way I formed life long friendships and goofy conference rituals as I enjoyed the family of the SCBWI

Rushmore trivia

More fun facts about Mount Rushmore:

This is a photo of Lincoln Borglum as an adult.  My book is about him growing up on Mount Rushmore.

One story that is in the book: Gutzon Borglum was originally hired to sculpt Wild West figures, before he suggested presidents.

A story that is not in the book:  In the early 20’s when Gutzon work on Stone Mountain in Georgia, the family, Mom, Mary Ellis and Lincoln, moved with him.  At that time Lincoln attended public school.  One day the teacher talked to his mom and asked if there was some other name he could use instead of Lincoln. (Abraham Lincoln was stilled despised in the south  some 70 years after the civil war.)

Promotion Retreat 07

SCBWI Writer’s Day, Conferences, smoozes, retreats, critiquenic, you name them I’ve been to them all, many times. Always the wantabee apprentice, but now with my book deal I crossed over to the promise land.

This last January I attended the professional children’s writer retreat in Santa Barbara hosted by the amazing Alexis O’Neill, RA extraordinaire.  A weekend dedicated to promotion, marketing and sales held at the most unjaded place the monastery attached to the mission.  Complete with monks and Friars. Out of the 20 attendees, beside me, only one other just had a contract, the rest had multiple books.  I was awed by the talent in the room from poet, Joan Graham to non-fiction writer June Behrens.  I cornered June and we had a mutual squeal about good stories based in history. But what did my heart good was to see other writers that I started out had also crossed over with stories I had critiqued in writing classes many years ago. Greg Trine with his series of Melvin Beederman super hero,
and my writing buddy Barbara Bietz and her wonderful book, “Like a Maccabee.” The whole weekend had a slumber party feel to it.

Art for Art sake

Art for Art sake.  In my quest as a Renaissance woman I schedule in Art for Art sake.  Though I believe that all life is collaborative art on one level, Art for Art sake is purely an experimental expression of a thought.  Not a consignment, though some have turned into commercial ventures, I can stretch my creative wings and experiment with technique. This  one  my many cat paintings.   Any others engaged in frivolous creative work?

The Solo Writer

I’m getting the reputation as being unsociable. When I’m writing, I hermit away in my studio only to surface to walk my dog on the beach, take an occasional shower and reminded my husband that yes he does have a wife.

As an artist my life seems more balanced.   Painting, sculpting, drawing all take place in my studio.  I can gesso a canvas, sketch a portrait, or plan out a mural while making my daily calls to my mom.  The only a wet pallet handcuffs me to the studio, but not to the outside world.

Writing haunts me day in and day out with little taste for company.  Our Doberman Star requires at least two, 1 hour off leash runs a day, three if she can talk her daddy into another one.  During my daily turn I have taken to the waters edge, ipod blasting and power walking to the levee to avoid chit chat with my wonderful neighbors on dog beach.

It’s hard to rewrite that opening paragraph with people talking to you about the weather.   I’m sure Freud would have something to say about that.