Auntie Flamingo

Move to new blog - meet you there

2012-01-02T19:54:00.001-05:00

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to let you know I will not be posting regularly to this blog. I now have a blog under my real name which will cover all types of writing I do; picture book, children's poetry and other genres.

Please see my post at http://madelinebarr.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-new-year-watch-out-2012.html

Thank you all for following me here and I hope you will continue to follow me over at the other blog.

Madeline Barr

Guinea Pig Surprise - The Surprise

2011-11-26T16:52:00.000-05:00

Be sure to see Episode 1 - The Plan and Episode 2 - One Week Away

Guinea Pig Surprise - One Week Away

2011-11-13T17:15:00.001-05:00

The surprise is planned for November 18th, 2011

Be sure to see Episode 1 - The Plan

Guinea Pig Surprise - non-writing post

2011-11-12T21:38:00.001-05:00

Who knows, it could lead to a picture book. LOL

Continue to Episode 2 - One Week Away

Halloween Horror Poster Competition

2011-10-29T11:26:00.000-04:00

I created this image for a Halloween Horror Poster Competition, on the Lyons New Media Centre Facebook page! I'm in need of votes and they have to be in before Oct. 31, 2011.

Click here to see it in full and vote : http://bit.ly/sKMMFO

JACK-O-LANTERNS - An Acrostic Poem

2011-10-29T11:06:00.001-04:00

I've posted this acrostic poem before but I thought I'd post is again since it fits the occasion.

JACK-O-LANTERNS
by Madeline Barr

Jagged tooth grin
And nothing to say.
Candy he guards,
Keeping ghouls away.

Orange, cool armor he wears. His

Life, an internal light.
Armed with an eerie glow and the
Natural darkness of night.
Triangular, flashing eyes
Examine the area for miles.
Relentlessly protecting the sweet treats but
Never forgetting to
Smile!

Dream Soup

2011-10-10T18:13:00.000-04:00

Taken from http://madelinebarr.blogspot.com

I had the strangest dream last night. I dreamed I received an acceptance letter in the form of soup. Yes, SOUP.

I got it from the mailbox and it was chicken soup with pasta words. As I stirred the soup the pasta words floated around with the chunks of chicken and carrots. The words started to surface so I could actually read them. YOUR was the first word, then SUBMISSION. As I kept stirring the word that had surfaced just bobbled around a bit but didn't move. HAS and BEEN joined the first two words. The next word was long and stared with an A.

ACCEPTED!

I kept stirring thinking it was a joke and waited for the word NOT to pop into place but it never did. I was so happy I stared to cry.

Then I woke up.
I can come up with a few meanings for this dream but I want to know what you think.

Pumpkin Carvings

2011-10-03T12:28:00.001-04:00

Quick post.

I love Halloween. One of my favorite things to do is carve the pumpkin. Usually we get 3 pumpkins; one for each of the kids and one for me. We have to get one for me or else I'm hovering over the kids telling them how to carve theirs and that's not good for them or me. I usually carve a fun cartoon character because I have young kids. As they get older I will move to more scary stuff.

Here are 2 pictures of pumpkins I have carved in previous years. I either make my own template or I don't use one at all.. I have also done Tigger and Dora - I'll have to see if I can find the picture of those.

2010 - Tinkerbell

2009 - Elmo

I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do this year. Maybe OSO? Any other suggestions?

A Free Kindle book for people in the US

2011-08-31T13:12:00.003-04:00

OK here is a freebie for all my American friends who have Kindle.
Arthur Slade's, Edgar-nominated horror DUST (the Kindle version) is available for free for a short time on Amazon.

Here's the link you need:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004M8SSBO

Enjoy!

Media Barr: It's Here And A Little Dirty!!

2011-07-18T21:17:00.001-04:00

Have you seen this?

Media Barr: It's Here And A Little Dirty!!: "Media Barr is proud to announce the launch of 'This Is The Mud' Spot the differences game. Author Kathryn Apel contacted Media Barr and rec..."

Your Book Cover In A Game

2011-06-05T21:17:00.004-04:00

What if your book cover could be part of a "spot the differences" game....on your site.....for free?

Free interactive media of your cover, logo or anything else you can think of is available at http://mediabarr.blogspot.com/

Help keep people at your site and passing your game on to friends.

Also, thought the scratch card might be a great idea for wishing a friend a happy birthday, we're pregnant or any other special message you might have for that someone special.

Are You Giving Your 'Stick' To The Right 'Person?'

2011-05-10T11:45:00.011-04:00

How is this dog like some newbie writers?

He didn’t do his research.

Being a writer is not easy.

You come with an idea. Develop characters, plot, and setting. You create a mood and watch your characters grow. You add a twist. You write, rewrite and then write it again. Then you rewrite some more. You flesh out and cut out. You’re meticulous about every word. And then you finally type “The End.”

You can’t take your story and place it at the feet of an agent and expect them to pick it up.

At first glance any agent may look perfect. They’re bright and shiny on the outside, not a hair out of place. But you need to look deeper, on the inside. You need to make sure your story is right for the agent and you need to make sure the agent is right for you. If you send your picture book manuscript to an agent who only handles YA and MG you’re wasting their time and your time. What genre are they looking for? What are the agent’s likes and dislikes? Do they have a soft spot for cowboys, vampires or vampire-cowboys? Are there any blog interviews with the agent online? Are they speaking at a writing conference? What authors do they represent? Have you read any of their client’s books?

There are many great resources on the internet when searching for an agent. Two very good sites are:

Agent Query http://www.agentquery.com/

Preditors & Editors http://pred-ed.com/

Not doing your research may make you look like a fool while you bark up the wrong tree.

It's Almost Here! Are you Ready?

2011-04-27T16:23:00.005-04:00

NaPiBoWriWee - National Picture Book Writing Week

Along with her new web site design, Paula Yoo has posted information about the 3rd annual National Picture Book Writing Week (a.k.a. NaPiBoWriWee) The goal of NaPiBoWriWee is to try to write 7 picture book manuscripts (rough drafts) in 7 days. Prizes will also be given away by random draws for those who particpate.

I have participated in NaPiBoWriWee since the first one in 2009 and have found it to be the freeing, kick-in-the-pants I need. Try it, you'll see what I mean.

For more information about NaPiBoWriWee visit Paula's site at http://paulayoo.com/napi/?p=11

If you have any questions about my previous expiences in this challenge feel free to ask.

WICKED PRETTY THINGS is not so pretty right now

2011-03-25T15:40:00.012-04:00

While on twitter I saw a number of tweets and retweets about authors pulling their submission from an anthology, WICKED PRETTY THINGS. I decided to check it out and I have gathered some links and information for you.

Basically Jessica Verday, author of THE HOLLOW trilogy, had written a male/male love story and was asked by the editor to change it to a male/female relationship because it would not be acceptable to the publishers. She refused and pulled her submission and support of the anthology. In support, so far, 3 other authors are pulling their submissions from the anthology as well. Below I have posted 2 links from Jessica Verday's blog which include quotes from the editor and the publishers. I have also posted links to the blog entries of the other authors who have posted why they have chosen to pull their stories.

Jessica Verday - "Being Gay is Okay" Blog post - includes editor's comments

Jessica Verday - "Wicked Pretty Things - Running Press and Constable & Robinson Respond" Blog post - includes publishers' comments

Blog Posts From The Other Authors Who Have Pulled Their Stories

Lesley Livingston - "In Brief" Blog Post

Karen Mahoney - "Friday update: WPT anthology" Blog Post

Lisa Mantchev - "A note from the Management:" Blog Post Brenna Yovanoff - "This is Not a Post About Sunshine" Blog Post *updated March 26th, 2011

Seanan McGuire - "Reasons for withdrawal: why I have pulled out of WICKED PRETTY THINGS." Blog Post *updated March 30th, 2011

* I will edit this post if more authors pull their stories Love is love.

POV and Picture Books

2011-03-16T13:55:00.003-04:00

Last week at #pblitchat we talked about point of view (POV) in picture books. I am going to touch on a few points during the chat and add a few of my own. If you want to read a full version of the chat transcript you can see it at the Picture Books Only Blog – Transcript 10/11 March.

Point of view, or POV for short, in books is the perspective in which the story is told. Who’s eyes we see the story through. POV can be a difficult concept to wrap your head around.

Basically there are three points of view: First, Second and Third

There are finer details such as third person limited (you are ONLY able to write what one person sees/feels/hears/thinks) and third person omniscient (you can hover above everybody & see everything) but I’m not going to get into that at this time.

I believe third POV is probably the most used in picture books followed by first POV. Second can and has been used however there doesn’t seem to be as many picture books in that POV.

First Person POV
First person point of view is written with the narrator as part of the story. The words “I” and “we” are used. Though this POV brings us close to the narrator and show s/he thinks and feels, it does limit the story to the one person’s perspective. In picture books this shouldn’t pose too much of a problem since telling a story from more than one perspective can confuse a child. The other issue with first person is some younger children may get confused when being read to. When read “I went to the store” a child may think mommy or daddy really did go to the store. As KarenCollum put it in #pblitchat “There’s an element of maturity involved in kids reading a PB in 1st and understanding that ‘me’ and ‘I’ is not them.”

Second Person POV
Second person point of view is written with you being part of the story. The words “you” and “your” are used. This POV pulls the reader right into the story. You often find this POV in choose your own adventure books or self help books. This type of POV is less popular in picture books – though it has been done and done well.

Third Person POV
Probably the most popular POV to write, third person POV tells the story from a person outside the story. The words “he,” “she,” “they” and “it” are used. This POV allows for more freedom in how that story is told.

Examples of Books Written in the Different POVs

First POV

• Pinkalicious - by Victoria Kann
• Eloise – by Hilary Knight
• My Dad Thinks He’s Funny – by Katrina Germein
• Whatever You Do, Don't Go Near That Canoe! - by Julie Lawson

Second POV

• The “If you …” books by Laura Numeroff

o If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
o If You Give A Pig A Pancake
o If You Give A Moose A Muffin
o If You Take A Mouse To School

Third POV

• The Pirate and the Penguin - by Patricia Storms
• No More Water In The Tub - by Tedd Arnold
• Samuel’s Kisses - by Karen Collum
• This Is The Mud - by Kathryn Apel

Have you ever tried to write one of your works in a different POV. What did you find? Does the story change? Did you find wholes in your story?
So, there you have it. Feel free to leave your comments about other books and POVs or anything else you would like.

Picture Book Chat

2011-03-14T12:21:00.008-04:00

If you are looking for a place to chat about picture books then you need to join #pblitchat. Aussie writers Kat Apel and Karen Collum run a blog called Picture Books Only which is the home to #pblitchat. The chat is held once a week all about picture books is open to writers, librarian's and all lovers of children's picture books. Even though they state "Sorry – no middle-grade or YA novels allowed" they do tend to enter the conversation every once and a while however the main focus is pictures books.

I have found these sessions very informative and entertaining with a very friendly group. We're all learning so no question is ever to stupid to ask and I feel comfortable asking all my "stupid" questions here. Every week there is a different picture book topic and sometimes a special guest. Kat and Karen listen closely to participants of #pblitchat and some of the topics are based on the feedback they get. Some topics in the past have been so popular more than one session has been devoted it.

Topics include:
POV, technology, submission tracking, goals, myths in picture book publishing, plagiarism and copyright, From idea to polished manuscript: How do you get there? and the list goes on.

Special guests such as:
Aaron Reynolds and Neil Numberman (creators of the ‘Joey Fly’ graphic novels) and other published authors and illustrators, publishing consultant Alex Adsett, agents, poetry writers...

Time and Place
The chat is the same day every week but you need to pay close attention to place and time of the chats. To help accommodate the different time zones the time and place of the chat alternates each week.

Every 1st, 3rd and 5th (if there is one) Thursday of the month the chat is held at 7:00 am Eastern Time on Twitter using the #pblitchat tag.

Every 2nd and 4th Thursday the chat is held at 6:30 pm Eastern Time in a Chatzy chat room.

For a full listing of #pblitchat times in each timezone see the About Picture Books Only page. In order to enter the Chatzy room a password is required but don't let that scare you off. Simply email pblitchat[at]skymesh[dot]com[dot]au or pblitchat[at]bigpond[dot]com and request the password. (This was necessary due to some off-topic gate-crashers.)

Miss a chat or what to know more information about a topic previously covered? Kat and Karen happily post the chat transcript on their blog. You can find the transcripts on the Picture Books Only home page. I'm also hoping to summarize the transcript here on my blog.

Picture Books Only: http://picturebooksonly.wordpress.com/
Karen Collum: http://www.karencollum.com.au/
Kat Apel: http://katswhiskers.wordpress.com/

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T16:04:00.001-05:00

Adobe Flash Player is required.

I'm a little scratch crazy this week. :)

Cover Reveal Fun!

2011-02-11T19:33:00.004-05:00

Cheryl Rainfield, author of SCARS (WestSide Books, March 24, 2010) has just revealed the cover of her new book. So, I've created a little fun using her new cover.

Adobe Flash Player is required.

Hiking Up My Socks

2011-01-31T19:46:00.005-05:00

I decided to hike up my socks and get to work polishing a picture book manuscript I have been working on-and-off for a long time.

So, last week I pulled it out of the draw and something interesting happened. That same day I had two different volunteer groups come to me and basically say, 'We'd like to use your writing skills. Can you help us? Would you write..." I don't mind helping and of course I said 'yes' but I find it funny that these requests come to me as soon as I decide to put all my focus on one of my bigger personal writing projects. My analytical mind now starts to wonder why this has happened and if there is a bigger meaning?

I think the bigger meaning is, 'you need to write...more...now.' I have finished one of the requests already and the client was very happy. Surprisingly, it wasn't as tough as I thought it was going to be. The other project will not happen for a while.

For now, I am looking to submit some smaller works, mainly poems, to magazines and web sites while I continue to work on my picture book manuscript and get it agent ready. Yay me!

You Don't Know 'Jack'

2011-01-08T14:39:00.003-05:00

Jack and the Bean Stalk. Jack Jumps Over the Candlestick. Jack and Jill went up the Hill. Jack Sprat. Little Jack Horner.

Do you know Jack or at least why Jack seems to be in so many fairy tales?

Though the name 'Jack' has a very complex origin it's meaning is very simple. 'Jack' basically means 'guy.' Some guy jumped over the caldlestick, a guy and a girl (Jill is slang for a young woman) went up a hill.

How many 'Jacks' have you heard of other than in fairy tales? Jack-in-the-box, Jack-of-all-trades...

To read more about the name Jack see the following URL: http://tinyurl.com/22tk7x3

Easy Letter To Santa Template

2010-12-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

Looking for a simple template for you child to use to write his/her letter to Santa?
I have one here: http://home.cogeco.ca/~madelinebarr/letter_to_santa.pdf

Some YA Books Dontated! Yippy!

2010-11-17T15:17:00.004-05:00

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of meeting fellow writer Joanne Levy at a local coffee shop. We had meet through twitter and have been corresponding ever since.

When I sent out a tweet about the book drive my work was doing for Habitat for Humanity, Joanne was one of the first people to pipe up. She wanted to donate some books. Fantastic! When we met we talked for a bit and I expected her to hand me a book or two. I was shocked when she hoisted up onto the table a bag FULL of YA books. Ten in all. Yes, TEN.

After picking my jaw up off the floor, we went through the books - some even signed. I cannot believe how generous people can be for people they have never met.

Below is a photo and a list of the books Joanne has donated.

Radiance by Alyson Noel (x2)
Trance by Linda Gerber (x2 - 1 which is signed)
Wake by Lisa McMann (x2 - both signed)
Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (signed by Margaret Stohl)
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King (signed)
What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook

Joanne, thank you so much for the wonderful books. You're so generous. They look like fabulous books and I think I am going to have to go buy some of them for myself. I'm sure the families going into these HFH new homes will love them.

Interested in donating a book to the book drive? Please email me at auntieflamingo@gmail.com or visit me on twitter @auntieflamingo for more information.

Your help is needed. We need books for children of all ages.

I'm So Excited And I Just Can't Hide It!

2010-10-20T14:15:00.006-04:00

Today, I received a package filled with children's books for our Book Drive for Habitat For Humanity Hamilton Robert Land Project (Phase 1) and the Eva Rothwell Resource Centre library.

And what is more exciting is I'm in Canada and these books were sent to me from Australia! I would like to send a huge, heart felt thanks to writer BELINDA J of Australia for sending me the following books:

And Kangaroo Played His Didgeridoo - by Nigel Gray - illustrated by Glen Singleton
When Henery Caught Imaginitis - by Nick Bland
Henry and Amy (Right-way-round and upside down) - by Stephen Michael King
Mutt Dog - by Stephen Michael King
The Pocket Dogs - by Margaret Wild - illustrated by Stephen Michael King
Za-za's Baby Brother - by Lucy Cousins
Let's Read DVD and posters

Belinda and I only know each other through twitter.

Belinda, I was over joyed when I received the package and overwhelmed by your generosity. One of the conditions to be met for these families to qualify for these homes is they must be prepared to contribute hundreds of hours of Sweat Equity (work on the home.) Children of the families can contribute to these Sweat Equity hours by keeping their grades up. Books, such as these, and reading will help them achieve this goal and more in life.

Interested in donating a book to the book drive? Please email me at auntieflamingo@gmail.com or visit me on twitter @auntieflamingo for more information.

Your help is needed. We need books for children of all ages.

Book Drive is ON

2010-10-03T13:50:00.004-04:00

There is so much I want to tell you I'm not sure which point to start with first. If you want to jump directly to the book drive information just scroll down to the title BOOK DRIVE.

I'll start with this: I do not like to donate money to charity!

It's true. The reason I don't like donating money is because I don't know where my money is going. Is it going to administration fees? Is it going to someone who is abusing the charity? Is someone else pocketing it before it gets where it needs to go? Is the charity actually a scam?

I know it's a terrible thought but these things happen.

I do want to donate and I like to volunteer so I jumped at the opportunity, through my day job, at a chance to volunteer with Habitat For Humanity on a building project in my community. There are two reasons why I wanted to help with this organization.

1) I'm donating my time and as much or as little as I want. I know exactly where my time is going and I am doing good.

2) The families who require the organization assistance is getting a "hand up" not a "hand out." These families have to put in “sweat equity” into their home - meaning they help build it and are taught how to maintain it.

Ok so what does this have to do with a book drive?

The build I'm participating in a Phase 1 consisting of 4 town home units. So far the families that had have been accepted for these home are single mothers of 3 or more children. I am a married, working mother of 2 children and I know how difficult that is financially, physically and emotionally. These mother's are raising 3 or more children on their own while working 2 or 3 jobs. I can't imagine how they do it.

BOOK DRIVE
We have decided to hold a book drive for these families and I need your help. I am looking for children's books from infant to Young Adult. If you are interested in donating you can email me at auntieflamingo@gmail.com and I can give you more information and where to send your books.

AUTHORS! I have extra information for you. If you would like to donate a signed copy of your book just email me at auntieflamingo@gmail.com and let me know. I will send you information on where to send your book. When I receive your book I will post your donation on both my blogs, http://madelinebarr.blogspot.com/ & http://auntieflamingo.blogspot.com/ PLUS I have been given permission to post your donation on our HFH blog at http://cawlocal555socialjustice.blogspot.com/

So, a book for us, exposure for you and another child reading. You can't argue the importance of a child reading....can you?

How much exposure will you get? Not sure exactly but let's put it this way:

- Your book posted on 3 blogs
- I'll tweet your donation @auntieflamingo
- There are more than 7,800 staff at my work. More than 2000 are in the union supporting this build.
- The build has barely started and has been in the newspaper ~~3 times~~ 4 times as of October 5, 2010.
- The populations on my city is roughly 504,559
- You will get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing you were part of something special

I hope to get enough signed book donations to put into a special package (like a large basket or something.) I plan on handing over the signed books separately from the other books.

One more note: I believe in Habitat For Humaity so much (now that I know more about the organization) I plan to participate in future builds after this one with my work.

More information:
Habitat For Humanity Hamilton: http://www.habitathamilton.ca
CAW Loca 555 HFH Build Blog: http://cawlocal555socialjustice.blogspot.com/
Habitat For Humanity Canada: http://habitat.ca

A Quick Update

2010-08-09T10:50:00.000-04:00

I have bad news and I have good news.

The bad news I received a rejection letter from my latest submission/inquery. I was so excited about it but hey, that's the way it goes.

The good news is I took that same manuscript and posted it to my new critique group and have received some great suggestions. I'm making changes and I will post it with the group again later. Once I'm happy with all the changes I think I am going to try to get an agent.

So that's where I'm at. I haven't posted much because I've been busy editing my manuscript.

3 Weeks

2010-07-09T14:15:00.000-04:00

Today marks 3 weeks since I sent my status inquiry letter to the publisher. I haven't received a response yet and that's ok. I haven't been to the mailbox today though, so there could be a response today.
Follow me on twitter @auntieflamingo where I will tweet #WhatsInTheMailToday.

I didn't expect to have a response by now but I was hoping...dreaming.

The 1st week I didn't expect anything since the post office told me it would take a week for my letter to get to the publisher.

I wasn't really expecting anything the 2nd week since publishing houses are very busy and need time to respond to the mass of mail they get. However, the publisher's website states "Letters clearly marked Status Inquiry will be given immediate attention." - Which I did. I also assume it will take a week for their letter to get back to me in the SASE I provided in my letter (yes, I did include a SASE in my original submission as well) I guess I had a glimmer of hope for a response in week 2 since I'm also available by other means - like email.

Today is the end of week 3. I think expecting something today is a little....ok - overly optimistic. Publishers are very busy and I can understand and appreciate that it takes some time to responding to all the postal mail they receive.

I have been asked by several people - What are you going to do if you don't hear anything back? How long will you wait?

I still believe 'No News Is Good News.' I'm very please the manuscript I sent in January did not get rejected right away. This tells me my writing is getting better and, when scouting out the right home for my manuscripts, I'm not so far off the mark. I'm certain the publisher will get back to me when they're ready to get back to me. If I had a choice of receiving a rejection letter now or a possible acceptance 3-6 months from now, of course, I would choose the acceptance. I'm in love with the story I submitted and I feel the publisher I sent it to is a great fit. There is nothing more I would like to see then to have this story in print. I will re-evaluate the situation at a later day and figure out what to do from there. For now, I'll patiently wait for a reply, work on other manuscripts and keep dreaming.

Status Inquiry Letter

2010-06-18T21:26:00.002-04:00

Today, I sent a status inquiry letter to one of the publishers who currently have my picture book manuscript. I only send status inquiry letters if the publisher's website indicates it's okay to do so after a certain amount of time.

At the post office I asked how long it would take for the letter to get to its destination. The answer was "About a week." I don't know if I can wait that long, I'm too excited. I'm guessing I shouldn't expect a response for at least 2 weeks. *sigh*

The last time I sent a status inquiry letter to a publisher my manuscipt had made it to the final round for publishing. Unfortunatly, it was not chosen. I'm hoping this time the results are different.

I'll keep you posted. :)

NaPiBoWriWee Is Kicking My Butt!!

2010-05-06T13:01:00.002-04:00

Today is Day 6 of NaPiBoWriWee. Don't even ask me where Day 3,4 & 5 went. Up until I started typing this I thought we were on Day 5.

Today, I have only 2 and a half picture book manuscripts written. NaPiBoWriWee is kicking my butt. But that's ok because I still have two manuscripts to work on if nothing else.

What happened? Well, my excuse is lack of sleep. I had a sick baby for 2 weeks prior to NaPiBoWriWee starting and I didn't get much sleep. I can't do much writing until the kids go to bed and this week I have been going to bed right after them. I just can't stay awake.

I'm going to continue to try to write more manuscripts this week and see where it takes me. If I don't get all 7 done this week I might extend NaPiBoWriWee and change the name to NaPiBoWri2Wee for myself (I can do that right?)

I'm sure you're all feeling the pressure, too. Let me know how you're doing. Are you having better luck or are we in the same boat?

NaPiBoWriWee Day 2

2010-05-02T10:38:00.005-04:00

Good Morning

It's day 2 of NaPiBoWriWee. Some how I finished my first picture book manuscript last night. Not sure how I squeezed it in. I probably stayed up later than I should have. I'm feeling sluggish this morning. I guess staying up late and getting up at 5 AM to tend to a sick baby 3 days in a row will do that to ya. Here I am Sunday morning, no makeup, drinking my first cup of coffee to try to get myself going. Can you tell what's on my mind?

(Be nice, I'm half asleep here)

While drinking my coffee Jim Hill and I had a little twitter conversation about being distracted today by children's shows on TV. There are some great shows and we both admitted we liked watching them. Sometimes I find some great story ideas from them. (Without copying them. You don't want to do that!) Here is a great writing exercise: Watch the beginning of a children's show and then write the ending using the characters from the show. I often watch the ending of the show afterwards and compare the endings. This helps me get my creative juices flowing for writing my picture book ideas. (Just so I'm clear: I am not suggesting you steal ideas from TV to write your books. Come up with your own ideas.)

So today I am unsure which story I will tackle next. I have one rhyming idea which I might work on that little by little throughout the week, one story idea that doesn't have an ending and several more I have to go lookup because I'm too tired to remember. :) I'm looking forward to writing today and now that I have had my coffee I feel ready to go.

How are you doing today? Did you need your coffee? How do you get your creative juices flowing? Let me know what you're thinking or send a comment just to say Hi.

NaPiBoWriWee Day 1

2010-05-01T18:51:00.002-04:00

All right! Here we go.

It's Day 1 of National Picture Book Writing Week (NaPiBoWriWee) - writing 7 picture books in 7 days.

If you haven't already, there's still time to let Paula Yoo (the hostess of NaPiBoWriWee) know you are participating in the challenge and get entered into a draw.

How are you doing so far?

In typical Auntie Flamingo style, I'm already behind! I have the pen and paper out but I have written nothing. Zip. Nada. Ziltch! But the idea is boucing around in my head and once the kids are in bed I'm hoping I have the energy to let it all pour out. It's not unusual for me to start off slow. By the end of the week I will be flying and perhaps write 2 manuscripts in one day. It also doesn't help to have a sick 17 month old clinging to me. Hhmm, is that a 'reason' or an 'excuse?' It donesn't matter because I plan to have something written by the end of the day.

If you're behind like me then Paula's Day 1 b;og entry will comfort you. Read it here. http://paulayoo.com/content/napibowriwee-2010-day-one-sat-may-1-2010#comment-1026

Having problems registering on Paula's site? Read http://paulayoo.com/content/napibowriwee-2010-day-one-part-2-sat-may-1-2010

Be sure to leave your comments and good luck!

NaPiBoWriWee Is Almost Here

2010-04-30T20:31:00.002-04:00

May 1, 2010 marks the beginning of the 2nd annual NaPiBoWriWee Challenge.

I'm ready, I think. How about you?

Be sure to read Paula Yoo's inspirational blog: http://paulayoo.com/content/napibowriwee-2010-final-inspirational-blog-30-fri-43010

Feel free to drop me a comnment and let me know how things are going.

Have fun and good luck!

Non-fiction Picture Book. Yikes!

2010-04-26T12:43:00.003-04:00

This year for NaPiBoWriWee I am going to attempt to do something I have never done before - Write a non-fiction picture book. Yikes!

Just saying it out loud makes me want to run the other way. I don't know where to begin.

Well, I guess first I need to decided what the non-fiction picture book is going to be about. In this case it is who it is going to be about. I have two personalities I would like to write about who I have a connection to.

Next, I need to search the Internet and see if it's 'been done.' Even if it has 'been done' I need to decide if I can put a different spin on the book or if I should abandon the idea altogether. Fortunately, before I got too far into this I did a quick search on Amazon and discover one of my ideas has 'been done' and maybe even 'over done.' There appears to be at least 72 children's books about Buffalo Bill Cody (I wanted to write about him because I'm somehow related to him.) My other idea seems to be fresh. And, while searching, I came up with another personality I could write about so I'm jotting it down for later.

Ok, now, I will need to do a little research to get the facts. I hope this week I can find time to get the facts because NaPiBoWriWee starts next week!!

I also plan to search the site of my author friend Paula Yoo http://paulayoo.com/ (founder of NaPiBoWriWee) She has written two non-fiction picture books: SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY and Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds - The Sammy Lee Story. Her site has a forum area where she (and other authors) will answer your questions.

As I learn more about writing a non-fiction picture book I will share it with you here.

A Video You and Your Kids Will Love

2010-04-18T09:23:00.007-04:00

This video was made by my friend, Joe, and his two girls, Serra (7) and Amara (4). I should also mention the music is by DnR a band my friend, Joe, is a member of.

I think the Ollie the Otter was the funniest part. (Sorry I called you a gopher before, Ollie)

It's coming. Are You Ready?

2010-04-11T11:35:00.006-04:00

I participated last year, enjoyed it and plan to take the challenge again. It's the 2nd annual NaPiBoWriWee hosted by Paula Yoo. (National Picture Book Writing Week) May 1, 2010 - May 7, 2010

The goal: Try to write 7 picture book manuscripts (rough drafts) in 7 days!

Insane? I know!

The concept is to get those ideas out of your head and on paper and to write every day. The story must have a beginning, a middle and an end. I know what you're thinking, "There's no way I can do that!" or "I don't have time." I thought that too last year but somehow I managed. There were days when I barely got a sentence out and then on another day I would complete 2 manuscripts.

Even if you only got one manuscript done as long as your try and write every day for that week. Do that and, congratulations, you won!

Last year I was on a maternity leave from my full time job but I was busy and sleep deprived. This year I'm still busy with my family (they're always first), still sleep deprived AND I'm back at my full time job. So, this should be interesting on how I fit it in and try to blog about it along the way.

Ok, full NaPiBoWriWee details can be found on Paula's site at http://www.paulayoo.com/content/natl-picture-book-writing-week-napibowriwee-2010-may-1-7-2010

Check back here to follow along with me on my NaPiBoWriWee progress.

Paula is also writing Inspirational NaPiBoWriWee Blog posts from now until May 1st.

Paula Yoo is author of Good Enough (HarperCollins), Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story (illustrated by Dom Lee, published by Lee & Low Books in 2003) and Shooting Star: The Anna May Wong Story (illustrated by Lin Wang, published by Lee & Low Books.) Read more about Paula at http://paulayoo.com/bio

$$ = Eco Savvy = Coolness

2010-03-29T12:59:00.018-04:00

I don't mind helping my son with a fund raiser if the product is a good one and is not too expensive. Chocolate is usually one of those items that sell quickly in my workplace, with me buying the first box or two (or three.) You can imagine my disappointment when last fall he brought home a fund raiser for some exspensive environmental items. Now, don't get me wrong, I want to help the environment just as much as the next person, and I do, but exspensive items are difficult to sell plus it's not chocolate. :( I didn't take the order form to work and now I am regretting it. Why? I didn't want my son to feel bad so I bought something from him that I could use that wasn't too exspensive and now my coworkers ask me about it all the time.

For $20 I puchased the Plantable Eco Calendar. It was a 2010 desktop calendar infused with wildflower seeds and made with 100% post cosumer waste content.

I didn't realize how cool this was until I actually planted some of the pages.

I guess I was doubting if it was going to work but about 2 days after planting and watering the pages in soil I spotted the 1st little sprout.

Now, in my office, three pots(January, February and the title page) hold many little sprouts reaching for the light.

People come into the office and ask about the calendar and the plants, usually reacting with a "Cool!" I can't wait until the plants actually flower.

If my son has this fund raiser again I will be sure to bring the form into work.

Book Trailer: SCARS by Cheryl Rainfield

2010-03-24T12:21:00.006-04:00

Available March 24, 2010. http://cherylrainfield.com

A portion of the sales of SCARS will go to RAINN and the Toronto Rape Crisis Center.

More Than One Way To Make A Difference

2010-03-16T14:16:00.007-04:00

I'm very pleased with myself. Yesterday, I submitted forms to participate in a Habitat For Humanity project.

Photo by Suat Eman

I would have liked to participate in the actual build/construction part of the project but there are a few things preventing from doing that this year. What I didn't realize is there are so many other areas where help is needed to make a build successful and fortunetly I have skills in some of these areas. I have volunteered to participate in the newsletter, project website and the project promotion. I have done a lot of work on newsletters (Duh, I'm a writer and I was the editor of the Perspectives Newsletter) and websites, so I am hoping I will be called upon to help develop these areas. I'm not too sure what will be involved with the project promotion but I'm interested in learning.

I'm very excited to help make a difference and can't wait to get started. If/when I get contacted to participate I will be posting here and add the label "Habitat For Humanity."

I Met Lesley Livingston, Author Of DARKLIGHT

2010-01-30T21:28:00.012-05:00

Today I got the privilege of meeting Lesley Livingston, author of WONDROUS STRANGE, at a local Chapters promoting her new book DARKLIGHT.

I recently bought both of her books and after hearing the excerpt she read today, I cannot wait to read them.

If her books are half as good as she is friendly, then I'm sure I am really going to enjoy them.

For now, I will leave you with some pictures from today's event and report back once I've read her books.

*Thanks to my 7 year old son for taking these pictures. Great job!*

Mommy Must Haves

2010-01-27T20:46:00.003-05:00

Come and visit my new blog Mommy Must Haves hosted on Everything Mom.

Great Sudoku Puzzle books

2010-01-23T22:01:00.021-05:00

I love puzzles and games. If you are like me and looking for a good Sudoku puzzle book here are my recommendations.

Pocket Size Sudoku Volume 1 (Paperback)
(Oct 25, 2009) by D. R. Sloan

Over 200 multilevel Sudoku puzzles. Perfect size to take anywhere.

Sudoku Volume 1 - Paperback - Large Print (Oct 12, 2009) by D. R. Sloan

Over 200 large-print, multi-level Sudoku puzzles.

Both books are available on amazon.com. Just click on the titles above for direct links to the books on Amazon.

Happy Solving!

A Must Read

2010-01-05T16:04:00.007-05:00

Read it. Loved it. Waiting for the next one.

SMUDGE'S MARK by Claudia Osmond.

I can totally see this becoming a movie.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-01T10:29:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year and welcome to 2010!

2009 was good to me. I was so close to getting my first picture book published. My manuscript was one of six manuscripts to make it to the final round in selections at a small publishing house. Unfortunetly, they only publish one children's book title a year and regretably the couldn't take mine. What a rush to be so close!
I participated in 3 writing challenges: NaPiBoWriWee (May 1-7) where I met some wonderful writers, PiBoIdMo (November) where I won a draw and had 5 of my ideas reviewed by an agent (more on that in another post), and NovPAD (November) which I completed but did not polish my poems for the final Chapbook submission (though there is still time.) And though I did not submit my writing to many magazines or publishers this year I did have a sci-fi poem published in the printed issue of Scifikuest (I hope to receive my November contributor's copy soon.)

This year, though I am back at my full time job after being on a 1 year maternity leave, I plan to participate in all of those challenges again. I'm editing the manuscript that was so close to being published and plan to submit it as much as possible to those publishers that are a good fit for the book. I'm very pleased with the changes I have made to it and I'm more confident than ever. I have my ideas from PiBoIdMo ready for NaPiBoWriWee which will be the only time I write new picture book manuscripts this year. The rest of the year I will polish the manuscripts I already have and write articles for children magazines. I will maintain my blog on my thoughts, progress and general happenings in my day to day life.

I hope you have a wonderful New Year and you will come back to visit me here to see my progress and share your comments with me.

All The Best. CHEERS!

You Might Find These Interesting Too

2009-12-08T08:31:00.003-05:00

Here are two links to other blogs I have been reading. I particularly like these two posts: interesting, informative and entertaining.

Jill Corcoran Books - Live. Love. Write.
GETTING YOUR BOOK ON B&N's, BORDERS', ETC. DISPLAY TABLE

Editorial Anonymous - a blog of a children's book editor
The Subtle Art of Form Rejections

PiboIdMo, 30 Ideas, A Draw, and Me the Winner!

2009-12-06T12:27:00.009-05:00

In November I participated in the PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) Challenge hosted by Tara Lazar. The concept is to come up with 30 picture book in 30 days. What a wonderful brain storming exercise for getting those ideas out of your head without over thinking them. Sometimes we dismiss a story idea before giving it a chance. There was also a random draw for those who completed the challenge and had 30 ideas at the end of the month. There were 3 grand prizes of a kidlit agent reviewing your best five ideas and suggest which picture book concepts were worth pursuing.

Luck was on my side that day because my name was drawn! My prize is that Jill Corcoran of Herman Agency Inc. will review my top 5 picture book ideas. I'm very excite and can't wait to hear what Jill Corcoran has to say.

Well, I better get to work and flesh out my ideas. As the magician in Frosty the Snowman said, "I've got to get busy writing. Busy, busy, busy!|

Letter To Santa Template

2009-11-26T10:56:00.009-05:00

It's less than one month before the Big Guy comes sliding down the chimney to leave presents for good boys and girls. Have your children written their letter to Santa yet?

To help move the process along I have designed a cute and fun template for children to help them write their letter to Santa. The template is available in the Fun Stuff section on my home site at http://madelinebarr.blogspot.com/p/funstuff.html
Just click on Letter to Santa Template at the top of the list.

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Mahna Mahna

2009-11-13T15:42:00.002-05:00

This made me laugh as a kid and it still does so I am going to share it with you.

Fun Challenges For November

2009-11-11T09:15:00.007-05:00

November is a busy time for an author. Well it's busy for an author who is up for a challenge. As many authors know, November is the time for NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month. Other than learning how to properly say the acronym, the object of the challenge is to crank out 50,000 words of a novel by the end of the month. No reviewing. No editing. Just write. More information about NaNoWriMo can me found here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

But what about those authors who don't write novels? What challenges are available for picture book authors or poets?

Two challenges I am participating in this November are the November PAD Challenge run by Robert Lee Brewer and PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) run by Tara Lazar. It's not too late to join in on the fun!

November Poem-A-Day Challenge - Every day in November Robert Lee Brewer posts a prompt and a poem. Join in by writing your own poem inspired by the prompt. At the end of November you will have a collection on 30 poems. Use December to edit, revise and organize the poems into a manuscript to be submitted to Robert and his wife in January. A winner will be selected by February 2nd. There may or may not be prizes but who cares? You'll have a manuscript at the end. Isn't that a great prize? Robert also leads a Poet Tuesday chat on Twitter on, well, Tuesday. I have found this chat very useful during this challenge.

PiBoIdMo(Picture Book Idea Month) - The goal of this challenge is to have 30 picture book ideas by the end of November. With the help from some wonder guest bloggers Tara Lazar has a blog entry every day in November to help inspire that perfect picture book idea. Plus if you participate you get to put a cool badge on your website or blog. PiBoIdMo is a perfect preparation for NaPiBoWriWee the first week of May.

OTHER CHALLENGES:

NaPiBoWriWee (National Picture Book Writing Week) - It's crazy! It's fun! It's NaPiBoWriWee! 7 picture book drafts in 7 days. That's right, seven! NaPiBoWriWee is run by Paula Yoo and is the first week of May. I participated in the first one in May 2009 and had a great time. I was amazed what I accomplished by the end of the week. I know it's not done in November but I thought it was important to mention here.

The month is still young so join in the fun. Don't be afraid. The only way you can fail is if you don't try.

My Name In Print

2009-11-02T15:30:00.005-05:00

It's November which means a new issue of Scifaikuest and this one has my scifi tanka in it!
I do not have my contributor's copy yet but there is a picture of the cover of the new issue from their website.

Take a close look at the bottom of the cover. See all those names? The last one is mine! I like seeing my name in print...or at least a picture of the print in this case. Can't wait to get my copy to see my poem in print as well. Issues can be ordered at http://www.genremall.com/zinesr.htm#scifaikuest

I Love Halloween - Some Pictures

2009-10-31T09:45:00.006-04:00

I would like to share a few Halloween pictures with you.

I was at the grocery store yesterday (30th) and all the Halloween items were on sale. I fell in love with this welcome mat and just HAD to buy it.

I also picked up 2 pumpkins yesterday. One for me and one for my son. They were the last 2 'good' pumpkins left. I knew there was a pumpkin shortage because of all the rain but I didn't think it was THAT bad. I'm glad I didn't wait until today to pick them up. Anyway I carved mine last night and I designed it for my (almost) 1 year old daughter.

I made the template myself and carved it myself.

I wish I could find pictures of my jack-o-lanterns from previous years. I did a really awesome Tigger one year and another year I did Dora and Boots.

I Love Halloween!

Geeky/Halloween Pumpkin Template

2009-10-28T21:20:00.006-04:00

I've entered a geeky pumpkin template design at ThinkGeek.com I am not an artist but I thought I would take a crack at it and here is the result. This brain is both geeky and Halloweeny.

Click on the image for a full page view.

My Sister and Take Pride in Pickering Day (Environment)

2009-10-27T17:55:00.003-04:00

Once again my sister, Margo, is in the news. She led a group of volunteers in planting over 600 trees and other vegetation as part of Take Pride in Pickering Day. She is an employee of Ontario Power Generation.

For the news article see:
http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/article/138577

Laughing at Lemmings

2009-10-22T09:53:00.008-04:00

This literally made me laugh out loud. Too funny. Thanks Debbie!

A Halloween Poem - JACK-O-LANTERNS

2009-10-19T14:01:00.007-04:00

JACK-O-LANTERNS

Jagged tooth grin
And nothing to say.
Candy he guards,
Keeping ghouls away.

Orange, cool armor he wears. His

Life, an internal light.
Armed with an eerie glow and the
Natural darkness of night.
Triangular, flashing eyes
Examine the area for miles.
Relentlessly protecting the sweet treats but
Never forgetting to
Smile!

Photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My Website Redesigned

2009-10-16T10:36:00.005-04:00

I have redesigned my website. Have you seen it?

http://home.cogeco.ca/~madelinebarr/

Next thing I need to do is get a domain name. There is a hidden page on the site but good luck finding it. :)

Fun Halloween Last Year

2009-10-13T10:27:00.005-04:00

I love Halloween. I guess it is the fantasy of it all. Dressing up, pretending you are someone else, decorating the house and creatively carving the pumpkin. Hmm, I'll have to see if I can find some picture of the pumpkin carvings I have done in previous years and post them. I've carved Dora and Tigger without a template. But that's not what I want to share with you today.

Last year, when Halloween came around, I was 18 days from having my 2nd child, however that didn't stop me from joining in on the festivities. My day job workplace had a Halloween costume contest.

I look fat...

... Oh wait, I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant.

There were quite a few chuckles and laughs that day. I tied for 2nd place and was beat out by a girl who dressed up like one of the Trailer Park Boys. She deserved it though because you had to take a double look before you realized she was a girl.

Again, this year, I have plans to dress up but you'll have to return to blog to find out what I/we dressed up as and for pictures of carved pumpkins.

BOO!

A Cartoon Chuckle by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

2009-10-09T09:57:00.003-04:00

This cartoon by Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com made me chuckle. Enjoy.

I Met Claudia Osmond author of Smudge's Mark

2009-10-04T22:21:00.011-04:00

Here are the pictures taken by my 6 year old son (LOL) I'll update the text tomorrow.

Claudia is signing my book:

Claudia and me. Remember this is taken by a 6 year old so the picture is taken upwards. Claudia is not short, I'm tall (5'11")

We both bend down so my son can take a better picture. We look good.

Claudia, very friendly and very happy. Who can blame her? She has a wonderful YA book published.

Claudia and my little photographer.

Creepy Crawlies Don't Creep Me Out Except For...

2009-09-29T10:22:00.012-04:00

I don't get creeped out very easily by bugs and crawly thing.

I have a 6 (almost 7) year old son who is constantly showing me insects and other creatures he has found. I bait hooks and unhook fish. They don't creep me out. (This picture was from summer last year when I was pregnant)

I have a lizard that eats live crickets and wax worms. I can hold him and pat his little head. He doesn't creep me out.

A spider web full of little bugs and the spider, currently not in the picture, doesn't creep me out.
I have even touched hissing cockroaches. (Psst. It doesn't creep me out)

Centipede. CREEPS ME OUT!

All those little synchronized legs moving as it travels across the ceiling at lightning speed. Just looking at the picture makes my shoulders go up around my ears and my spine tingle as if this freaky insect is crawling down my back. Every time I walked under it I thought it was going to jump on my head. I'm so glad my camera has a good zoom feature.

Update - Please let Amigo be okay.

2009-09-18T11:43:00.002-04:00

Good news - Amigo, the leopard gecko, is ok. He must have been too cold to move. I just checked on him and he has moved and is now in s different position. Whew! When I spoke to him he looked up at me as if to say, "What? Quit bothering me Crazy Lady I'm trying to sleep."

Please let Amigo be okay.

2009-09-18T10:59:00.005-04:00

I noticed this morning Amigo's light was burnt out. For those of you who don't know Amigo is my very loved leopard gecko.

The light was on yesterday and it's not unusual for the light to burn out and not be change for a day (I'm not sitting watching him 24/7). At this point it's been less than 24 hours the light has been burt out. I changed the bulb but Amigo didn't move. I called him, blew on him through the hole in the rock he lived in and shook the terrarium lightly. He didn't move. I didn't open the terrarium or touch him for two reasons.

1) I didn't want to frighten him and
2) I want to believe he is okay.

I think he wasn't moving because he was too cold and he sleeps during the day anyway. I'll let the bulb warm him up and check on him later. I feel slightly sick in my stomach. I'll update the blog when I figure out his status.

I Thought It Was Just Me

2009-09-09T13:27:00.006-04:00

I thought it was just me. I thought I was the only author who had a little sort of mascot sitting by her computer to help her write.

Often, when I am at a stand still in my writing, I turn to Marge and think about my next step or ask her where I should go from here. Beside my computer I have a small figure of Marge Simpson I got from inside a Kellog's cereal box. Why Marge? Despite being a mother of 3 to a trouble maker, a genius and a baby, and the wife to an oaf of a husband, Marge always keeps it together. She always has the answer. I have two lovely children and a wonderful husband and if Marge can keep it together when things get a little rough, I can too. Am I crazy? Probably but despite that, talking about the writing issue with Marge helps me move forward and sort my thoughts. She helps keep me focused and keeps me in the world of imagination while I'm writing. Some of the best things about Marge are she won't talk back, she doesn't tells me my ideas are stupid and she never laughs at me.

I've discovered I am not the only author who has an inanimate writing buddy. Paula Yoo, author of SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY and GOOD ENOUGH, has a little writing friend named Bartlett Bear.

Which gives me comfort because either a) I'm not crazy to be talking to an inanimate object for answers or b) if I am crazy I'm not alone.

No News Is Good News

2009-09-03T09:59:00.004-04:00

I always say, "No news is good news." However, yesterday's "No news is good news." I received an email from Teri Santitoro of Scifaikuest accepting my sci-fi tanka for the November 2009 print edition of the magazine. This is wonderful because, not only do I get paid but, I get to see my poem in print in the contributor's copy I will receive. Though this is not a children's market it is still a publishing credit and I'm very pleased to post it here. :)

When it is published I will post the cover here.

Another First

2009-08-24T15:30:00.000-04:00

Modeling Clay Play

2009-08-13T09:44:00.004-04:00

My son was playing with some modeling clay the other day and, of course, I had to jump in and play as well. Here is my creation:

What else did you expect?

A Face In The Clouds

2009-08-11T19:00:00.009-04:00

Yesterday we had a thunderstorm.......again.
On twitter Inkyelbows made a good point - Rain is a good reason to stay inside and write more.

I took some pictures of the clouds before it poured.

This one looks like a giant face. Can you see it?

Another wonderful thing about the rain is it makes the flowers grow. I am an expert at making flowers crunchy brown by planting them and forgetting them. The rain has made me look like a seasoned gardener.

McDonalds' Misprint?

2009-07-26T16:23:00.008-04:00

McDonalds' Misprint? Probably not but here's the story.

Yesterday, I decided to treat my son to McDonalds for dinner. When we visit McDonalds get Happy Meals together and compare toys and, of course, when we're done I usually let him have my toy. As you may already know, McDonalds is celebrating the 30th birthday of the Happy Meal.

Now, here's the strange thing that maybe someone can explain to me. On both the Happy Meal boxes and the Teenie Ty toys we got in the Happy Meal have a logo that reads “15 YEARS OF HAPPINESS.” There are 15 toys in all and you have to find 15 hidden gifts in their puzzle on the box. Obviously the Happy Meal is older than 15 because I remember having one as a child and lets just say not in my I'm 20s anymore.

I've searched the interenet and cannot find anything about McDonalds and 15 years. I've searched ebay where some people are already selling the toys and all of their toys have the same birthday logo but their's reads 30 years. Also, someone had the full collection of all 30 toys on ebay.

The Happy Meal Box. Note the logo on the left side.

The frog still in the package. Note the logo in the upper left corner.

The hamster toy. Note the logo on the tag. You might have to click on the picture to see a larger picture.

What is celebrating 15 years? Why isn't it 30? Is this a drastic misprint? Any thoughts?

Creative Children Book Trailers

2009-07-24T12:24:00.004-04:00

I've been looking for examples of good children book trailers. In my opinion I have only seen two. They are both interesting colourful and the sound is clear.

The first one I have seen is the trailer for Pond Scum by Alan Silberberg. I love the animation and the lizard's speach. The trailer gives a magical feel which is prefect because that is what the book is about. ;) The trailer can be found here: http://silberbook-blog.blogspot.com/2007/04/pond-scum-book-trailer-part-deux.html

The second one I just came across today. The trailer for The Clever Stick by John Lechner is bright and colourful with soft gentle music. I'm now curious to see what the stick is up to. You can view this trailer here: >http://johnlechner.com/cleverstick_trailer.html

The ones I don't like are the ones with a scratchy recording of the author reading their book in a monotone voice while the odd, fuzzy still shot of the book appears on the screen.

Is there any children's book trailers that you love?

A Poem: Boys And Girls

2009-07-17T10:35:00.005-04:00

Time for a quick poem.

BOYS AND GIRLS
by Auntie Flamingo

Boys make noise. Drums they smash.
Play with cars and make them crash.

Girls love curls and frilly things.
Squeals of joy for diamond rings.

Parents groan with heads that ache
From all the racket children make.

Would You Like Dessert, Um Desert, I mean Dessert?

2009-07-10T11:09:00.005-04:00

No, I'm not MIA. Just been a little busy. With the kids home and their summer events, doctor appointments for my daughter (you have to follow me on twitter to find out what is going on there,) and family wanting to see the kids (and us wanting to see them too,) I've been a little busy and tired but loving every minute of it. Oh AND I have completed and new picture book manuscript and currently working the cover letter. Yes, I didn't forget about writing.

Today I want to talk about something I love....desserts.
I used to have trouble remembering how many S in the word. I don't enjoy eating deserts, the sand is too crunchy in my teeth. But if I was eating deSSerts I would want to have 2 and that's how many S are in the word. I know it is I little cheesy but it works and it's fun.

What words do you have a problem remember how to spell?
What do you do to remember how to spell certain words?

Hail, Hail The Teeth Are Here

2009-06-30T12:33:00.005-04:00

Here are 2 pictures I took yesterday I thought you might be interested in.

First, here is the "lovely" weather we have been having this week. Yes, that is hail.

Second, and most important, here is a picture of my 7 month old daughter's first teeth.

Orange Lily

2009-06-28T22:31:00.002-04:00

lilly1
Originally uploaded by MadelineB2009

This is one of many photos I took of a beautiful orange lily I bought. I just thought is was so lovely. Click on the picture for a larger view and to see some of the other photos I took.

Hero Man 1

2009-06-27T20:49:00.002-04:00

My brother has put a cute video he made up on YouTube. It's best with the volume up.
Hero Man 1. Enjoy!

I Don't Need Sleep To Make a Short Movie

2009-06-18T13:13:00.004-04:00

Since I have been sleep deprived I have not been able to focus on my writing so I decided to focus on ways to spiffy up my website and blog. I have a computer background so, believe it or not, I do not find it too difficult to do when I am tired.

The laptop I received for Christmas has Windows Vista and I have been taking advantage of movie making program that comes with it, Windows Movie Maker. Using WMM and a photo editing program I created this short but cute video:

What I would really like to do is create a video with the blue/green screen effect also known as chroma keying. This is the same technique the weather person on the news uses when standing in from of a digital map. I'll be sure to let you know when I have completed something using chroma keying.

Great Online Bibliography Tool

2009-06-15T15:09:00.004-04:00

It's been a long time since I had to do a bibliography. In school I learned how to do them for books and magazine but how do you do a bibliography citation for a web site or an interview?

While seaching the Internet for some answers I found this fantastic tool that will create a bibliography for you. EasyBib (http://www.easybib.com/) is a free, online, automatic bibliography & citation maker. You simply select the source for the citation (book, magazine, newspaper, website, interview, e-mail etc.) and the relavent information. When using a book you can simply enter the books ISBN number and it fills the information for you. After clicking the "Create citation" button the it creates the citation in the proper format.

I was doing an article on leopard geckos and was using a book with the ISBN of 0-7938-0258-X (note: the X is a capitle not lower case.) I entered the number and clicked on the "Autocite!" button. It then automatically entered all the information related to the book. Then I clicked the "Create citation" and receieve the result:
Hunziker, Ray. The Guide to Owning a Leopard Gecko. Minneapolis: TFH Publications, 1994.
From there I could add another citation or, if I was finished, I could email it, save it as a Word document or view it online.

Great tool! Try it for yourself at http://www.easybib.com/

Friendly Writer's Forum

2009-06-08T13:22:00.011-04:00

Looking for a 'safe' place to ask a writing question? Want to talk about a new book you just read? A publication question?

Paula Yoo, author and screenwriter, has created a friendly forum on her website at
http://paulayoo.com/forum The forum headings include Announcements, Writing 101, Reading 101, Publishing 101, Author / Illustrator News and, of course, Procrastination, anyone?

In this forum there is no such thing as a stupid question and I have found everyone to be kind and helpful.

So grab a cup of coffee and I'll meet you over there.

World Environment Day Today

2009-06-05T14:36:00.004-04:00

Today is World Environment Day. So it is only fitting to have a blog about the environment and I was lucky enough to have my sister point out the following.

Betty Zyvatkauskas writes about Pickering’s Alex Robertson Park in her blog Explore Durham. While hiking through the park she speaks with some experts including my sister, Margo, who works as an Assistant Scientist in the Environmental Programs Department at Ontario Power Generation.

Read Betty's Blog at:
Art meets nature in Alex Robertson Park

Artsy-Fartsy

2009-05-30T11:39:00.007-04:00

Today I am going to share with you one of my other artsy-fartsy outlets. Besides writing I also play the clarinet.

IT ALL STARTED WHEN...

It was my mom who introduced me to music. When my brother and I were young she enrolled us in organ lessons. We did it for many years.

HOW EMBARRASSING!

I remember one year we were part of a concert. We had to go on stage play our song on the organ and then leave the stage for the next performer. I was so nervous I wanted to cry. I went out on the stage, sat down and played the first note. The wrong note. I stopped, looked at the keyboard and, again, played the wrong note. I couldn't remember where to start my song. I was paralyzed for a moment not knowing what to do. Then I thought I would ask the teacher who was off stage. I got up to go and get her and the audience started to clap because they thought I was done my song! How embarrassing! I didn't tell anyone but I didn't want to go back on that stage but I did. The teacher came back on stage with me, showed me the starting note and from there I was able to play my song. Boy, was I glad when that was over.

I'M IN LOVE

Though I hated practicing the organ, I now realize it was a great foundation for future music exploration. In grade 5 I started to play the violin. I was not very good at it and that only lasted a year. At the end of grade 6 we got to try out several instruments in music class to help us decide what instrument we would take in grades 7 & 8. I remember trying the flute, baritone (which I happen to be quite good at) and the clarinet. It was then I fell in love.

Grade 7 & 8 music class came easily to me because I could already read music. I continued to play the clarinet from grade 7 all the way through high school. I joined the band (yes I was a band geek) and played in the pit band for two musicals. I LOVED the musicals. I loved the clarinet so much I decided to buy one. (I actually have 2 now)

AND THEN...

After high school I didn't play with a group for a couple of years. Then I ran into a high school friend on a bus and she said she was playing in the Burlington Top Hat Marching Orchestra (THMO) and I should come on out. Now the THMO is not your normal band. We never marched. We danced, walked, crawled, whatever got us through a parade. We would visit the crowd and sit down with them on the curb. Pose for pictures. If they offered us a drink we would take it. The audience got to know us in each parade and would wait for use each year, some having trays of food or drinks ready for us when we passed. Another thing we would do is interact with the children. When we stopped we would let them wear our hat, have them join us in the parade for a bit (of course returning them to their parents before we got to far) or let them play a drum. To read more about the Top Hat Marching Orchestra see their website at http://www.tophats.org/ I played with them for about 6 or 7 years.

This picture was taken at the Jell-O Festival in Le Roy, N.Y. by Robert Hoffman. That's me in the middle.

AND NOW....

I am on a break. After I had my son I found it difficult to go to practices and parades though I did do a few. And now that I have 2 children and live in another city I find it really difficult. I'm a little busy changing poopy diapers and wiping up spit up. I guess I am thinking about it because I have the urge to get my clarinet out to play a little (which I might do) The nice thing about this band is I can go back whenever I am ready. And I plan to....some day.

A Child's Honesty

2009-05-29T10:56:00.004-04:00

I love how flat-out honest children are. My 6 year old son makes comments like "Mom you're still fat like when you were pregnant."
[in my defense - 9 months up, 9 months down. I still have 3 months left to get to my pre-pregnacy weight ;) ]

Sometimes I read my children picture book manuscripts to my son. His response is usually "ya, it's ok" or "I like it, I guess" as I view the back of his head as he runs off to play. A couple of days ago I decided to share with him my new picture book manuscript, "Elephant In the Cupboard." I read about 10% of the story and looked up to see my son smiling. I started to look behind me wondering what was so funny. Then I realized he was looking at me! I starting running my hand over my face looking for that crumb or pen mark on my face.

"What are you smiling at?"
He giggled, "The story, it's funny." Do my ears deceive me? He likes my story? Oh my, I have his full attention.
"Should I keep going then?" He frantically nodded his head.

I got to then end of the story and he was still sitting there and smiling at me.
"Read it again."

I've Been Thinking About My Best Friend

2009-05-28T09:24:00.006-04:00

He always listened, he never talked back and he loved me unconditionally. His name was Simon and he was my best friend. I talked to him when I had a problem and he comforted me, he helped me when I had homework and stayed with me when I was sick. We used to play for hours on end; Hide-and-Seek, Tag, house. We were united when I was 9 and he died of old age a couple of years after I got married. Though he lived with the family he knew in his heart that I was his, he was very protective of me and really didn't like my husband (or any other guy for that matter.) After dating my husband for many months Simon finally decided to sit on his lap but only if he could sit in his lap and reach one paw out and touch me. I think he was saying, "I'll tolerate you because she likes you but she's still MY person."

He's trying to blend in. "If I sit really still..."

I miss his and often think about him. "Go ahead. Rub my belly. I dare you."

A young Simon waiting for the popcorn to come flying out of the old air popper.

Branded? - Interesting Picture and A Writing Prompt

2009-05-21T14:36:00.004-04:00

There is a mark on my forearm, just below my elbow joint, and I have no idea how it got there. It's perfectly round with a cross on it. It's not a scar (that I know of) or a birthmark. It's not a sticker or tattoo. It's just there. I noticed a couple of weeks ago after a game of volley ball. I thought it looked like place where you put the pin in the ball to inflate it but I haven't had a chance to look at the ball to see it it is the same. Also, the mark will not go away. If it was an imprint from the ball you would think it would have been gone by now. I could have had it before the volley ball game, I don't know.

I have licked it (hey, it looked like icing,) washed it, scrubbed it, scratched it and picked at it but tit still remains.

Have I been branded in my sleep?
Am I actually and android and it's a screw head showing up through my skin?
Is it a mark of a higher power?
Am I the chosen one? (For what, I have no clue.)

Here's a picture of it and you decided. Click on it for a larger view.

Write a story and if you want to leave a comment with a link to the story on your site please do so. Or just leave a comment because you feel like. :)

A Very Exciting Day For Me

2009-05-19T09:22:00.014-04:00

Yesterday was an exciting day for a few reasons. Not only was it Victoria Day but my baby girl turned 6 months old. I can't believe it has been half a year alreay. Now she's 6 months old she can start baby cereal and that is what we did yesterday. She didn't jump on it like I thought she would but she did eat some of it.

Another exciting thing that happened was my brother, David, was on the local news. My brother has a black belt in aikido. (I believe he has a 3rd dans black belt) In the video below my brother is the one being thrown around at the beginning and then sitting on the floor with the reporter after the commercial break.

I think I'm going to write an article about aikido for children. I know when my brother told me he was taking it I didn't know exactly what it was. I think it would mnake an interesting non-fiction piece.

I Love Cats

2009-05-13T09:31:00.010-04:00

At some point I am going to have to write a book about cats. When I was a child all I could think about was cats. I bugged my parents for 6 years for a cat. Yes, 6 years of "Please Mom can I have a cat?" I finally got my wish when I was 9. I still love cats very much but cannot have one since my husband is allergic and we don't know if the kids are allergic.

But I don't want to make this blog about my cat today. Today, I would like to share some pictures I took this morning of the neighbour's cat. I am not an expert photographer. This is just something I like to do for fun.

Here he is lazing on his front step. Prior to this photo I saw him bouncing around swatting at something. At first I thought it was a bug and then I snapped this picture.

Yes, that is a mouse in his mouth (say that 3 times fast.) I wonder if he is going to give it to his owners as a gift?

I have some great pictures of my cat I had growing up. I will have to share those with you another day.

The Best Gift

2009-05-11T14:15:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone had an excellent Mother's Day. I know I did.

Today I would like to share the letter my six-year-old son wrote in his grade 1 class for me for Mother's Day. I am going to try to type it like he wrote it.

Dear mom
hapay muthrns day
I lov ouy so much that I crid.
You make the best butr pancax evr.
Lov Robert

I almost cried reading it. It was on beautiful butterfly paper and along with it I received a potted plant he grew from a seed in school. I don't know what kind of plant it is but he says it's a flower. I'll just have to wait and see. He was so proud. As my grandma used to say: Bless his little heart.

Perhaps I have a little author on my hands? Like mother, like son.

How was Mother's Day for you? What did you get or give?

Paranormal - not for children and not poems

2009-05-07T13:24:00.005-04:00

This is not for children and not about poems.

For those of you who followed the link fro Paula Yoo's blog or from Twitter, here are the links regarding the paranormal info.

This is the link to the published article I wrote about a former court house in our city potentially being haunted: At The Downtown Center, You Might Not Be Alone

And here is the link to the group who research paranormal activity: The Shadows Project

And that is all I have to say about that.

NaPiBoWriWee days 6 & 7 - DONE!

2009-05-07T12:55:00.004-04:00

Ok a quick update on day 7 of NaPiBoWriWee.

On day 6 I completed picture book (PB) rough draft numbers 4 and 5 and was quite pleased with them. I think they have potential but need a lot of work. At least it gives me something to start with.

On day 7 - - I DID IT! YIPPY! I completed PB 6 and 7. Book 7 seemed to roll right out. I am so happy with PB 7 that I plan for it to be the first one polished up and I want to start looking for a home for it. I was actually laughing while writing it because it was so funny.

I would like to thank Paula Yoo for organizing the very first NaPiBoWriWee and look forward to doing it again next year. Please take a look at Paula's site http://paulayoo.com/
It has some wonderful writing information and is very entertaining. This is one site I have bookmarked!

NaPiBoWriWee days 3,4 and 5.

2009-05-05T17:51:00.003-04:00

Day 3 I did nothing except get a little sun burned. Too busy watching my son play outside and spending time with the family to write. Though I try to write a little every day sometimes it is good to take a little break.

Day 4 things started to roll again but had the baby's swimming lesson in the morning so that took up pretty much the entire morning. Wrote a little in the afternoon.

Day 5 I'm smoken! I finished the drafts manuscripts of picture books 1, 2 and 3 before noon. Picture book (PB) number 4 is on the computer partly done. PB number 5 is roughly written out in pencil in my black book. I have an idea for PB number 6 and not sure what I am going to do for number 7.

So there we go. Both you and I are now (or almost) caught up.
For more information on NaPiBoWriWee go to Paula Yoo's site @ http://paulayoo.com/

Day 2 of NaPiBoWriWee

2009-05-02T15:30:00.003-04:00

It's day 2 of the first NaPiBoWriWee and I am not doing well. Of course, I expected that for the first three days. I have 2 picture book manuscripts started, ideas for 2 more in my head and none finished. One of the picture book manuscripts I started is almost finished and the other is written by hand in point form in my notebook.

When the boys (my hubby and son) are home I don't get much done in writing. I'm not blaming them, oh no. I just love spending time with them and I choose not to write. Plus, they helped me clean the house so who can complain?

When Monday hits it will be just me and the baby again during the day and I should be able to finish off the manuscripts I have started over the weekend and then write one (or more) a day until Friday.

Good Luck to all those who are participating.

Day 1 of NaPiBoWriWee

2009-05-01T16:47:00.003-04:00

I am participating in NaPiBoWriWee and this is day one. I am doing much better than I thought I would since it was a PA day at my son's school and I had both kids all day while my hubby was at work. Having the kids home all day was not a bad thing. Nope. Actually it was inspiring. I think I got a story idea or two from them for PB manuscripts for later in the week.

For today, I have the PB outlined and I did write some of the parts already. Even though I tried to write a straight PB it still came out in rhyme. I still have 6 more days to write 6 more manuscript drafts. I plan on finishing the rest of it tonight after the kids go to bed. Hopefully they go to bed before I do. LOL

It's not too late to join NaPiBoWriWee Just follow this link. http://paulayoo.com/content/natl-picture-book-writing-week-may-1-7-tues-42809

NaPiBoWriWee Starts May 1st - 7 x 7

2009-04-29T10:47:00.004-04:00

Can you write 7 picture books in 7 days? I'm not sure if I can either but I'm going to try.

Paula Yoo has come up with a spin off of "NaNoWriMo", National Picture Book Writing Week! Register on Paula's site and Write 7 children picture books in 7 days. On the 7th day there is a draw for an autographed copy of Paula's latest picture book. That's in in a nut shell.

For full details and rules see:
http://www.paulayoo.com/content/natl-picture-book-writing-week-may-1-7-2009

The Other Manuscript

2009-04-23T10:42:00.011-04:00

"Ok Auntie Flamingo, on March 27th you said you submitted another manuscript but you have only talked about the poetry book, IF MY FISH FEET . What is the other book and why haven't you talked about it?"

This is true. I have only been talking about one of the books. Like Mother Goose, Auntie Flamingo is known for her poems. Though the other unpublished book is in rhyme it will probably be published under my 'other' name and not Auntie Flamingo. However, I will talk a little about it here.

In a CANSCAIP interview by Lucy Falcone, author Arthur Slade said, "And there's no such thing as 'normal'. Even if there was, who wants to be normal anyway?" Every child, at some point, will feel abnormal about something. For me it was my height. As a child, playing house in kindergarten I was always the mother but was never allowed to play the role of the baby, I was always in the back row for class pictures and my pants were often a half inch too short. ANNALEE is a story about an unique young woman who is nowhere close to being ordinary. Many of the things she does is upside-down, backwards or just a little crazy. The town's people of Normalville tolerate her antics until the day the media arrive looking for someone to place in their magazine. Fearing ANNALEE's weirdness will ruin their chances the town's people cruelly tell her to go home on the outskirts of town. Will ANNALEE get her chance to try to impress the photographer and reporter?

Now grown, I see what a gift my height really is and I have realize how being different opens doors. This is something very difficult for a child to understand.

Comments on the story? Is there something you are/were insecure about? Isn't is nice to know that you are not the only one who feels this way?

Earth Day!

2009-04-22T09:44:00.010-04:00

Happy Earth Day! What are you doing today to help make the earth GREEN?

I'm trying to drive less today, reduce waste, properly recycle and turned the heat down in the house. (Where's my sweater? It's wet and cool today where I live.)

According to the David Suzuki Foundation Website, if you took all the spaces where heat could escape in an average Canadian home and put them all together they would make a hole a size of a basketball! Properly weather sealing your windows and doors can help reduce the problem.

In my unpublished book, IF MY FISH HAD FEET I have two environmental poems. THE MOTHER OF ROCK AND ROLL and HUMPHRY DUMPHRY.

HUMPHRY DUMPHRY is what I call a MOTHER GOOSE-ISM. A MOTHER GOOSE-ISM is taking a Mother Goose poem and changing the words and the meaning of the poem. Children do this all the time. For example, during my daughter's swimming class we sing the following before jumping into the pool.

Jack be nimble.
Jack be cool.
Jack jump into
The swimming pool.

Here is another blogger's post about Earth Day you might be interested in: Lori Calabrese Writes!: Celebrate Earth Day with these children's books

Leave a comment on what you are doing to participate in Earth Day or if you have a MOTHER GOOSE-ISM of your own.

A Quick Poem - The Sphinx

2009-04-19T12:11:00.013-04:00

Here is a little, fun poem that just fell out of my head a few minutes ago. Enjoy!

THE SPHINX

In the hot Egyptian desert
Lies the majestic Sphinx.
How does he smells without a nose?
Smell? He really stinks!

Badum-Ching!

Bubbles! - SBP (Story Behind the Poem)

2009-04-15T13:23:00.002-04:00

It is time for another “story behind the poem.”

Today's story is for the poem BUBBLES IN MY TUB from my unpublished poetry book IF MY FISH HAD FEET. The poem is about a child's over zealous use of bubbles at bath time.

This poem is based on a real life bath incident at home. My son (I think he was 4 years old at the time) wanted to have a bath in the tub in my bathroom instead of the kids' bathroom. The tub in the en suite is a large, deep, soaker tub which my son pretend to swim in it. In order to fill the tub in a reasonable amount of time the water from the faucet comes out rather quickly. Well, between the amount of bubble bath I put in and rushing water stirring things up, a large volume of bubbles was created. I didn't quite realize the amount of bubbles in the tub until I dropped my son in and he practically disappeared. Of course, my son squealed with joy and I started laughing.

Thinking of this story still makes me chuckle.

I have a picture somewhere of him in the bubbles. I'll have to search and when I find it I will update this post.

Score! - SBP (Story Behind the Poem)

2009-04-14T10:35:00.010-04:00

Another poem in my book, IF MY FISH HAD FEET, is titled SCORE. It's about a child playing, the great Canadian sport, hockey waiting to get the puck and score. Our character finally gets the chance to get a goal however, the outcome in comically unfavourable.

This poem is based on a personal experience when I played basketball in school. Unlike the character in the poem I often had the opportunity to score but the result was not always as I intended. I am sure that I'm not the only person to do this but at the time I couldn't believe it happened.

What happened? Well, you will have to wait for the book to be published and find out for yourself.

The Silly Poetry Book Name Is ....

2009-04-07T15:27:00.007-04:00

Auntie Flamingo recently submitted a book manuscript of a collection of funny poetry for children. The name of the book is currently, "IF MY FISH HAD FEET And Other Silly Rhymes." (I say currently because it could change prior to publication.) The book has not been accepted for publication yet. It will probably be several months before I hear anything from the publisher. As Gary Gnu would say on The Great Space Coaster: No Gnews is Good Gnews.

The title of the book is the name of one of the poems in the book.
I've recently been finding my mind wandering thinking about each poem and how there is a story behind it. The idea of writing a poem called IF MY FISH HAD FEET came from my older brother. When he was young, around 4 or 5 years old, he had a pet angel fish named Herbie. One day was looking at the fish and said, "Hey! Herbie has no feet." My dad loves telling this story about my brother. Of course, when I heard it my brain starts turning and thinking about all the things a fish might do if he had feet and the poem was born.

Stay turned to find out more stories behind the poems.

Firsts

2009-04-05T11:11:00.001-04:00

Something exciting happen in our home this morning. Claire, my 4 month old, rolled from her front to her back this morning. Yippy! It was pretty exciting for us. My son and I were cheering her on.

Today is also the final performance for my six-year-old son in ice skating. We signed him up to learn how to skate to play hockey and part of the program was to be part of a show. I can't believe how quickly he learned. I'm so proud of him.

I also have to comment that Claire had her very first swimming lesson last Monday. I thought she was going to scream her head off but she did really well and liked it.

Tonight is suppose to be my first night of recreational volley ball since the baby has been born. I'm a little worried because she has been 'mommy's girl' the last couple of weeks. I know it is only a phase and she will grow out of it but that doesn't help my husband tonight when he is alone with the kids. I will have my cell phone so if I have to leave, so be it.

I think I will start to look for some prompts and/or inspiration on writing new children's poems. I was taking a small break from poems since I submitted my poetry book manuscript but I am ready to go again. What is the name of my poetry book? Ah ha, I'll let you know in my next post. ;)

In Case You Didn't Hear...

2009-04-03T11:12:00.000-04:00

April is National Poetry Month.

So, what am I doing to celebrate? Nothing too big this year. There is a fun poem that has been bouncing around in my head for a while that I should really get out because it is starting to hurt! I'm also checking out many of the different web sites and blogs related to poetry (just Google "National Poetry Month") Next year I think I will participate in the Poem-A-Day Challenge. Why didn't I participate this year? Well, I'm very good at multitasking but I also like to give projects the attention they deserve. I have a number of things already on the go and I don't want to spread myself too thin. Next year I will prepare for it. :)

To read about the history of National Poetry Month in Canada see-
The History of National Poetry Month in Canada
By Andrea Thompson

Signs, Signs Everywhere A Sign

2009-03-27T10:33:00.000-04:00

Ok the baby is napping time to post a quick blog.

I was so please yesterday to get another book manuscript in the mail. Yay me!
The manuscript had to be submitted by the end of the month to be considered and I knew I was cutting it short. Regular mail can take 4 to 5 business days. This meant it may make it in on time on the 31st or it could be one day late. I put a lot of work into it and I felt good about this manuscript so I was willing to pay the extra money to send it Xpresspost and make sure it gets there on time. Xpresspost mail gets to its destination in 2 business days (which would be Monday) and you can track it. Cool! I checked the tracking number this morning and my manuscript made it to the destination city. Oh, one other important piece of information about this story is since the book was a collection of silly poetry it was by Auntie Flamingo not my real name.

That afternoon the baby and I went to the mall to meet a friend and her son. I needed to buy some clothes to wear to volley ball next week and I always like to look at the children's clothes. My friend wanted to go into Baby GAP which is a store I don't usually go into though I do like their clothes. For some reason I made a bee-line for this one rack and what do I see for my little girl?

As often as I look I see very few things with flamingos on it. Is it a sign? LOL
I don't know but it was on sale and I just had to have it! Not only did they have this top but they had the cutest little pink skirt with little flamingos on it. I didn't get it though because I am not sure what size she will take when the weather gets warm enough to wear it.

Have you ever had anything happen to you that you took as a sign and it was correct?

March Break Was Not A Break For Me :)

2009-03-24T14:36:00.001-04:00

This was the first March break I have been off since my son started school. I feared the week of having both a 4 month old and 6 year old alone all day while my husband worked. Keep in mind I am a working mom with a new baby and not use to having both children home all day. So I planned as much as I could for the week to keep my 6 year old busy. My 4 month old got toted around to all the events.

I must say, I had a wonderful time.

MONDAY
We stared the week by having some friends over who we haven't seen in a long time. Two of my girlfriends used to live in my area but due to work and other reason they had to move their families to other cities. My son was thrilled to see his old friends. The kids played and the mothers chatted. At the end of the visit we took a picture of all the kids together.

TUESDAY
I made arrangements to visits Mavin Gunderman also know as "The Bug Man" in my area. My son and I got see a number of interesting bugs and insect including a tarantula and hissing cockroaches. I was brave and held a hissing cockroach. My son wouldn't but he did pet it with his finger. Marvin is a wonderful guy and he was very kind to take some time out of his day to let us visit.

WEDNESDAY
A bit of a slow down day. We didn't go anywhere however we kept busy by making piñatas at home. What a fun way to spend an afternoon together.

THURSDAY
Thursday we went with grandma to an indoor playground called Chatters. My son loved it because he got to run crazy with other children. I loved it because I got to sit and chat (while supervising my son) with my mom. My son and I also played a game of air hockey there while grandma watched the baby.

FRIDAY
This was probably the best day. We went to see the Reptile Man. I've never seen my son sit still and pay attention for such a long period of time. We saw spiders, lizards, turtles and, of course, snakes. I think the highlight was the baby anaconda the man pulled out. At four years old it was huge and still had a lot of growing to do. My son was excited to touch the snake.

I really enjoyed the week with my kids and all the fun things we did. I hope we have just as much fun when he is off of school in the summer. (I may be looking for suggestions of activities to do)

Importance of a SASE?

2009-03-10T19:58:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been some time but I finally pulled up my socks and got one of my manuscripts in the mail. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. Now comes the waiting game. While I am waiting I need to keep busy by polishing my next manuscript and I would like to get that one into the mail by March 23rd at the latest.

Here's something I've been questioning. If the publisher's submission guidelines does not specifically state to send an SASE with your manuscript do you send one? Is it unprofessional or do you appear as an amature if you do include one? I have one book (from a popular series) that suggests NOT to included the SASE because it shows that you are an amature and if you don't include it then you will be contacted through email. Everything I have read on the Internet about writing strongly suggests to send a SASE.

What are your thoughts on this? (I'll post my thoughts on this later)