Tales from the Rushmore Kid

June Sobel - Writing Tip of the Day

June Sobel, author of B is for Bulldozers, Shiver Me Letters and Good Night Train has been a member of my writer's group for years.  She is kind, funny and incredibly talented.  I asked my buddy June to give us a Writing Tip of the Day.

GETTING UNSTUCK

MAKE IT WORK! The admonition of Project Runway’s Tim Gunn resonates anytime my work in progress has hit an insurmountable wall, a hopeless dead end that sends me in search of chocolate and cake batter.

Jim Averbeck - Writing Tip of the Day

I met author/illustrator Jim Averbeck years ago at a Kathleen Duey writing retreat and then again at the SCBWI Summer conference. He was an RA for SCBWI at the time and waiting for his first book to be released. It is always a pleasure to see Jim, and this year I got him to give us a Writing Tip of the Day.

Funding for School Visits - Part Two - Barbara Jean Hicks

from the files of Barbara Jean Hicks 

Providing information to schools and PTA/PTO’s about companies and organizations that provide grant funding for “extras” like author visits (see Focus on Funding) is a great start to helping schools be able to afford your expenses and speaking fees. But writing grant proposals is an art that many people don’t feel comfortable with. How can an author help?

As promised last week, here’s a place to start:

TEN TIPS FOR WRITING WINNING GRANT PROPOSALS

Interview Wednesday - Kidlitosphere

Today I am hosting Interview Wednesday for Kidlitosphere. Kidlit bloggers will be leaving comments relating to kidlit interviews, with links to their own blog posts. Check back and see where it takes you! Scroll down to see my "Blast from the Past" interview with Karen Cushman.

Karen Cushman - Blast from the Past Interview

I didn't plan to meet one of my all time idols while I was wearing a Mother Goose costume, but that's what I had on when I met the great Karen Cushman. She is the author of one of my favorite books, Catherine Called Birdy, which I have bought for gifts probably 40 times. Charming, inspiring, and a multiple Newbery winner, Karen spoke at last summer's SCBWI conference in LA. It is my great honor to have Karen Cushman interview for the blog.

When and why did you start writing for children?

I began writing when I was almost 50 because I had an idea for a story about a girl who lived a long time ago and I wanted to know what happened to her.

Book Blips - Class of 2K12 - Robin Bridges - The Katerina Trilogy, Vol 1

I believe this is the first Book Blip I've done for a story that's part of a trilogy.

The Katerina Trilogy, Vol. I: The Gathering Storm
 

Delacorte, January 10, 2012

A short summary of the book:

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

Funding for School Visits - Part One - Barbara Jean Hicks

from the files of Barbara Jean Hicks

Authors who do school visits hear it over and over again: “I’m sorry, we just can’t afford you.” “We’re on a limited budget.” “Maybe next year…”

But we all know that “next year” there will be even less money for “extras” like school visits. In the education world, budget constraints are a reality. But visiting authors deserve to be paid as professionals, and programs that help students reach state educational standards are hardly “extras.”

Many schools (and authors!) don’t realize how much help is available to fund educational presentations that focus on literacy and the arts and support school curriculum.

Interview Wednesday - Kidlitosphere

Today I am hosting Interview Wednesday for Kidlitosphere. Kidlit bloggers will be leaving comments relating to kidlit interviews, with links to their own blog posts. Check back and see where it takes you!

Scroll down and read the interview with editor Kathryn Erskine by contributing columnist Barbara Jean Hicks.

Book Blips - Class of 2K12 - Caroline Rose - Mary B.

Caroline Rose is president of the Class of 2K12.  Here is her summary and inspiration for her book.

May B.
Schwartz and Wade / Random House Children’s Books
January 10, 2012

Summary of the book.

Mavis Elizabeth Betterly, or May B. as she is known, is helping out on a neighbor's Kansas prairie homestead, “Just until Christmas,” says her Pa. Twelve-year-old May wants to contribute, but it's hard to be separated from her family by fifteen long, unfamiliar miles.

SCBWI Southern Breeze Springmingle 2012

What I love most about the SCBWI are the people. I LOVE the Southern Breezers. I'm on their listserve and get to visit with them every summer at the Summer Conference. I wish I could attend Springmingle. If you are anywhere near Atlanta, go!  With agents, editors, writers--even a Newbery Honor Winner--it sounds like a blast....

If you’re serious about the children’s book market, you need to attend Springmingle 2012, Feb. 24-26, 2012 at the Atlanta Marriott Century Center.
 
Springmingle is presented by the Southern Breeze Region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the world’s largest professional organization for authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults.

Panning for Gold with Barbara Jean Hicks - Kathryn Erskine

from the collected notes of
Barbara Jean Hicks

I loved meeting and comparing notes with author Kathryn Erskine, a warm and wonderful human being whose moving children’s novel, Mockingbird, won the 2010 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Kathryn’s other books include Quaking and The Absolute Value of Mike.

In one of the keynote addresses at the Highlights Writers Workshop at Chautauqua last summer, Kathryn talked about critiques, a word that can make even the most confident of us cringe. After all, the word comes from the same root as “criticize,” and who likes being criticized?

Agent Jill Corcoran - Writing Tip of the Day

This is one story I LOVE to tell, about Jill Corcoran, a fellow blogger and buddy of mine for years. It was a hoot to see her at many SCBWI events, always curious, always learning her craft and always a blast to hang out with. A few years back Jill decided to become a Children's Literary agent for the Herman Agency in New York. This girl was born to do this job. Jill has sky rocketed to success with multi-book deals for many authors. We who "knew her when" are bursting with pride. I'm happy that my good friend and buddy Jill Corcoran agreed to give us a Writing Tip of the Day.

Book Blips - Class of 2K12 - Sarah Tregay - Love & Leftovers

Here is the first Book Blip of debut novels by the Class of 2K12.

Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins (January 2012)

Summary:

My wish
 is to fall

cranium over Converse

in dizzy, daydream-worthy 
love.

(If only it were that easy.)

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up.

But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? can you even know it until you've lost it?