Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Kathleen Duey - Writing Tip of the Day

I have known Kathleen Duey for many years.  She is a great speaker, a wonderful critiquer and a hard core supporter of the SCBWI.  The first book in her Skin Hunger Trilogy was a National Book Award Finalist.  She is immensely talented and generous. At the SCBWI summer conference Kathleen agreed to give us a very helpful Writing Tip of the Day.

Webinar - Nailing your First Chapter - Mark McVeigh

I am often asked if my agent, the fabulous Mark McVeigh, will be teaching any webinars soon. I am happy to say he is. Mark plans to teach one on nailing your first chapter. What I've always loved about Mark, when he was my editor and now that he is my agent, is his fresh view and specific comments. He is a pleasure to work with and an excellent teacher.

The webinar is offered through Yalitchat, a great site for YA writers.  Here are the specifics for "Nailing Your First Chapter." Mark will be giving the same webinar four times, twice in December (1 pm EST and 4 PM EST on December 8) and twice in January (1 PM EST and 4 PM EST January 11). You have to join yalitchat to participate, but the basic membership is free. The button is on the right side of the page at http://yalitchat.ning.com. The fee for the webinar is $100.

Lola M. Schaefer - Just One Bite

Lola M. Schaefer is one prolific author. She has written over 260 books for children amd twelve resources for teachers! I am thrilled to interview Lola about her new picture book, Just One Bite.

What inspired you to write this  story?
 
I've always  been fascinated with animals and have spent a lot of time observing them in  nature and at zoos. It's amazing to me how much any animal can eat in one bite.

The Scribe's Magical Journey

At the summer conference I worked hard to make my presentation interesting to the group. So I produced a five minute video, starring me, about a scribe's journey to the SCBWI Summer Conference.  I played it at the beginning of the workshop to show that "I've been in your shoes, too!"

Here's the Scribe's Magical Journey...

Illustrator Dominic Catalano

I fell in love with the gorgeous art in Happy Halloween Old Armadillo, written by my buddy Larry Dane Brimmer, and requested an interview with the illustrator, Dominic Catalano. When I read his bio I saw he also has a Ph.D in Art Education! I give you Dr. Dominic.
 

When and why did you start illustrating for children?

I've had an interest since I was just a child and really caught the bug in third grade with the publication of Where the Wild Things Are. My first book was Wolf Plays Alone, which was published in 1991, but I had been working up to it with magazine art and textbook work for several years before.

Rosa's Bus - Jo S. Kittinger - Steven Walker

Books to review come to me in different ways: sometimes from the author, sometimes from a librarian and sometimes from the publishing house.  That is what happened here when Calkin Creek sent me this book. I was tickled when I opened the envelope and found not only a great picture book, but saw that it was written by one of my SCBWI buddies, Jo S. Kittinger. Just when I thought there was no way to give the story of Rosa Parks a fresh new twist, Jo came up with one.

Rosa's Bus tells the tale of bus number 2857: how it rolled off the assembly line in 1948 and made it down to Montgomery, Alabama around the time the civil rights movement started. The bus had a moveable sign on the seats that indicated where colored people could sit; f they did not obey the bus rules, they could be arrested.

Elizabeth Partridge - Research Tip of the Day

I have heard the remarkable Elizabeth Partridge speak on many occasions about her process. A self-proclaimed archive rat, Elizabeth has penned many non-fiction books. At the summer SCBWI conference in L.A.,  I asked Elizabeth to give us a Research Tip of the Day.

Toulouse - Pet Paintings

I've never been one for self portraits, but I always love painting my pets. This is one of the keyboard kitties. Toulouse is a girl and a twin.  I named her sister Monet. Toulouse is an inside kitty who loves the highest kitty condo in the house (they have four kitty condos). I started letting the cats out for a few hours to sun on the deck and watch the waves. Toulouse, being a wannabe hunter, took off on a binder.  Needless to say, I was worried sick. She came back two days later; I suspect she'd been locked in a garage. Toulouse still gets to hang out on the deck, but her wandering days are over.

Go out and Vote!

I truly believe that we live in the greatest country on earth. At times we are divided, angry and feel helpless, but at other times we are united in our desire to fight injustice.  We have a great democracy and the power to change our destiny. Here's a quick vlog encouraging all to vote today.