A Free Kindle book for people in the US

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!

Picture Book Chat

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/

Cover Reveal Fun!

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.

Book Drive is ON

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

Book Trailer: SCARS by Cheryl Rainfield

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

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

A Must Read

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!

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!

Fun Challenges For November

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

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

Laughing at Lemmings

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

I Met Claudia Osmond author of Smudge's Mark

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.

I Thought It Was Just Me

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

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.

Creative Children Book Trailers

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

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.

Friendly Writer's Forum

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.

NaPiBoWriWee days 6 & 7 - DONE!

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!

YOUR FLAMINGO PICTURES

I love to draw and colour but I am an author not a graphic artist. Even though I am not very good at drawing I still try and I do it because I enjoy it so much. The more I practice the better I get.

Do you like to draw? How about on the computer?

Email me your drawings of a flamingo and, with your permission, I will post them! (computer or photos of pictures you've drawn by hand) By sending me your drawing you are giving me permissions to post it on my blog with your first name and last initial. Kids, make sure you ask your parents' permission before sending me your drawing. This is not a contest and is open for anyone of any age.