Do You Like To Dress Up?

I'm a bit worried this year...Mom took me to the hair dresser on Friday.  I got a new scarf.  I'm thinkin' this might be my Halloween costume.  Last year I was a cowgirl, but I've put on a few pounds....I'm not a puppy anymore.

Mom put MY cowgirl costume on Ginger.  Ginger didn't like it.  The funny thing was she stayed in the living room on the chair watching me for the longest time EVER.  Maybe cats can't move if you put them in costumes, which is pretty cool, 'cause then you can lick them. 

Thankfully, Mom whipped out an wicked cool costume for me...I am a bumble bee.   I even have a stinger!  I love Halloween!  You can guarantee I'll have my costume on all day!  I'll greet every one of those kids who comes to our house looking for candy treats...

I hope Mom and K take me for a walk in my costume so everyone in the neighborhood can see me...I hope all of you have a happy and safe Halloween!  If you are a grown up, make sure you check your kid's candy when they bring it home and kids, don't eat any of it until your parents or guardians or big brothers have checked it and make sure you carry a flashlight when you are walking in the dark!

Animal Lover Award, Last Chance For This Month, and An AWESOME Link

My friend Gary, in Leek, England (the setting of my pb manuscript EVERYONE DID THEIR PART & my mg wip NOT A HOLIDAY) created this award featuring his lovely dog Penny...It is to be passed along to animal loving bloggers.  I've met several bloggers that really helped me when my Stripes passed away.  I don't know what I would have done without their support and continued friendship...So I'd like to pass Gary's award along to them, plus a couple other animal lovers.  :)

Old Animal Loving Friends--

Catherine is a cat lover, but is an AWESOME photographer and kind hearted Canadian.

Jacqueline has a new house full of beautiful cats and really helped me with tons of supportive emails after Stripes died.

Brian is a cat...a cat that blogs...How cool is that!  Brian's life goal is to help other animals in need of good homes.

Old Kitty is a wonderful writer who shares her writing journey and the daily adventures of her gorgeous cat Charlie.

Sarah lives in California and posts the most wonderful raccoon photos.  She feed wild raccoons each night at her house.  OMGoodness she puts up some great pics and videos!

Lenny--Lenny is  an ELEVEN year old that feeds raccoons in his kitchen and writes...Lenny also brightens the blogging world with his wonderful insight and kind words and is my critique partner.

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New Animal Loving Friends---

Terry lives in Canada and is into sled dogs...In fact, her first novel is about to come out!

Angie lives in Minnesota and is a riot!  She puts up the funniest cat posts...she writes humor....

I know it's hard to check everyone out, when there are so many links...I hope you will check out one or two of them...

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You have until Sunday to enter

Marcia Hoehne's October 1,000 word FREE critique drawing! 

 All you have to do it be a follower. 

 It doesn't have to be a completed novel....It's a great opportunity. 

I can tell you that from experience....

So please hop over and throw your hat in the ring...

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I recently discovered Sally's great site!  It is full of submission information for freelance opportunities.  It's well worth the click...I thought so much of it....I even put it on my sidebar! (I only do that if I really adore you...)

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Have a wonderful Friday night and Saturday.  I hope you will come back on Sunday and check out Macy in her costume....OMGoodness she looks awesome!  She loves dressing up!!!!

What are you going to be for Halloween?  If you aren't dressing up this year, what was your favorite past costume?

Hurry, Hurry...Two Manuscript Critiques...

Once a month Marcia Hoehne gives away TWO manuscripts critiques. She'll  critique the first 1000 words of a children's magazine story, chapter book, mid-grade novel, or YA novel.  (Fiction only, no picture books, easy readers, or  poetry.)  I was lucky enough to win one of these critiques last month!  Marcia has authored numerous books and is a writing instructor....You have a until Sunday, October 31st to hop over to her blog and throw your name in the ring...

I submitted the first three chapters of a chapter book manuscript called BEG, BORROW, AND EARN. 

^{Pitch: David likes to buy stuff, even when he can’t afford it; the trouble is he’s reached the point where he can’t borrow anymore money from his family or friends.}

<sup>A Snippet:
“Can I get new sneakers?” David asked.
“You can wear the ones you have until the end of the summer. We’ll get you a new pair, right before school starts,” Mom said.
“Cool!” David’s voice went squeaky. “I know what kind I want. I want a pair of black and white Ninja Heelys.”
Mom was reading the label on a box of Cap’n Crunch . She looked over the top of her glasses . “I can’t see the point in spending sixty dollars on a pair of sneakers that turn into roller skates when you already have roller blades.”
“But, Mom, they’re wicked cool! I have to have them or everyone’ll think I’m a loser.”

Things I learned:
1. She liked my dialogue and said she would read on.  (smile)</sup>  

^{2. Had a sense of talking heads at the beginning...I should insert more setting right away, so you know the setting....(It takes 4 sentences to figure out where the characters are.)}

^{3. Liked my language level. (smile)}

^{4. Keep my math/human ratios simple or they will confuse the readers...(Grandma and Pappa give David $8 for his birthday and Uncle Ken gives him $8.  The way I worded it was confusing to the reader...)}

^{5. Don't use too many brand names... (I'm not sure about this one...David is really into that kind of stuff...it's part of him...I'll have to investigate this issue.)}

^{6. My second chapter doesn't have anything really funny or a big action in it.  Marcia thought I should add something humorous to it.} 

^{Marcia gave me some great pointers.  I hope that you hop over and meet her, she is one smart lady!}

^{Have you submitted anything lately?}

Collecting 350-400 Million Year Old Shells...

 Rockford, Iowa is home to a treasure...the Fossil & Prairie Park. 

K and I spent a Saturday afternoon exploring this awesome park. 

This was the first spot we maneuvered down to. 

We immediately began our quest...to find Devonian shell fossils.

We decided we really wanted to go here... 

So we climbed down this!

 And we discovered this!

Check out how the fossils are sticking up on little mountains of clay!   

This former quarry was used from the early 1890's to the 1970's to extract clay for brick and tile making.

 This was our haul...

The park fossil hunting identification guide showed seven kinds of fossils...

We think we found examples of all of them.  :)

Crinoids were the smallest and hardest to find...K found these.  I found none.

The park covers about 400 acres...We'll be back next year for sure!  We didn't even get to this part of it...

Do you like to collect rocks, fossils or other bits from nature?  Where do you like to go to collect specimens?

WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL PURPOSE?

I've discovered my special purpose in life...

My job is to protect the people who live around me...

To patrol the streets...

To search out danger...

To stop future disasters from happening to my neighbors and friends...

How you ask? 

I pick up nails when I take Macy for a walk.  I'm picking up (on average) two a day.  Almost every house in our subdivision is getting a new roof, so roofing nails are blowing, rolling and falling into the streets daily...

Do you have a special purpose?  A secret talent?  (G-rated, please)

Please share...

and

Have a wonderful, safe weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LENNY!!!!!!

Today a special friend of mine (and probably yours) turns eleven... If  Lenny brightens your day when you read his lovely words, please hop over and wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.    When I read his posts or comments on my blog and your blogs they always make me smile.  He may be turning eleven, but he is one wise young man...

I am truly blessed to have found Lenny's World!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BLOGGY FRIEND...

A Prize, Two Awards and A Thought...

The post lady delivered me a wonderful surprise this week!  I had forgotten that Random.org had chosen me as one of the winners of Bethany's contest...Bethany has just landed her dream job!  You'll have to check out her blog to read about it...

 Bethany shared her recipe for Pixie Popcorn in my prize package:

1 bag of popped popcorn

5-6 pixie stixs

Mix together and enjoy while writing...(I hope that you'll hop over and meet Bethany!)  Thank you Bethany!!!

Claudia Del Balso honored me with the Versatile Blogger award.  Claudia has a wonderful blog full of insightful and helpful posts for writers.  If you haven't met Claudia you really should click the link and meet her...

Here are the award rules:

Award Rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award and provide a link to their blog

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass the award along to 5 other bloggers whom you have recently discovered and whose blogs you think are fantastically versatile/ resourceful/functional/adaptable.

4. Contact those bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about their award.

Seven things about myself:

1. The Arkansas Razorbacks are my favorite college football team.

2. I'm scared of spiders and werewolves.  (I realize the second is not a logical fear, but it's my fear and it's real for me.)

3. I love cupcakes! 

4. I don't like small spaces...at all!  (Caves are no fun for me!)

5. Dusting is my least favorite chore.

6. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

7. Coffee is my favorite writing snack...I make a pot, pour it into a flask and then get busy writing...

I'd like to pass it along to five six new blogging friends:

Kristen Hilty  is an aspiring picture book writer....I met her at SCBWI KS!

Jude is a wicked cool and into reading manuscripts, song writing and Keysi...Jude is holding a Halloween contest.  So hop over and join in on the fun!

Ali Cross who I met in Elana's compelling characters blog experiment writes Ya and MG!

Misha is a college student who writes fantasy... 

PK Hrezo  has already committed to NaNo...Have you?

Justine-Dell is a blogger with a great heart.  I met her through Lenny.  :)

 

My dear critique buddy Lenny introduced me to another one of his friends, Gary.  Gary honored me with this award...I have to tell you guys this about Gary...He lives in Leek, England.  Now that may not mean a whole lot to you, but it means a LOT to me!  It is the setting for my picture book EVERYONE DID THEIR PART  and my mid grade novel (WIP) NOT A HOLIDAY.  How cool is that???  Gary has a fun blog that's full of unique posts about all sorts of topics (kind of random...like me).  So if you haven't met Gary, please hop over and meet him....

I'd like to pass this award along to some other blog friends:

-Picture book writer Corey Schwartz. Corey is an awesome blogger who came to my rescue, so I hope you'll hop over and check her out...

 -Lola Sharp writes literary fiction and is a hardcore blogger...with lots of great posts!

-Sheri Larsen is another one of my new buds thanks to Lenny...She has a Halloween contest going on right now over on her blog....

-Substitute Teacher, Theresa Milstein, is really making her mark in the blogging world.  She's recently done quite a few guest posts. (WTG, Theresa!)

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 A thought for the day...

The tag on this shirt says, "Wash when needed."  I'm thinking....REALLY???

 Have you had any REALLY moments lately?

HOW'S IT GOING?

Are you inching along?

OR

Are you flying high?

I hope things are going well for you.  If you are a writer, I hope that words are flying out of you and onto your computer or into a notebook orr that you are relishing in revisions.  If you are not a writer, I hope you are finding joy and happiness in your careers and families.  If you are a cat or a raccoon I hope you have plenty to eat and someone who loves you...

May wonderful things happen for you this upcoming weekend my friends...Do you have any special plans for the weekend?

CUTE! CUTE! CUTE! Connie Arnold Stops In To Chat About Her Picture Book ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP

I don't do many book reviews, but when Connie Arnold asked me if I would review her picture book ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP I jumped at the chance.  ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP is one cute book!  Imagine if one day you woke up and all the animals in the world made different sounds...Wouldn't that be funny!!!  ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP is a fun rhyming book that lets the imagination go wild.......

My favorite line from the book is:

"What if when you went to the zoo, all the monkeys were to moo? " (Now how cute is that!)

ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP was published by Guardian Angel Publishing and is available in print, on an ebook cd and an ebook pdf.  You can buy it directly from GAP (Guardian Angel Publishing) , from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble.  

Guardian Angel Publishing is based in Saint Louis, Missouri (many of you know I lived in STL for 9 years, which is longer than I lived anywhere else in my entire life).  I took this opportunity  to learn a little about Guardian Angel Publishing from Connie.  (I have to be honest here...I wanted to learn about them for my benefit too.  I'm always looking for a good reason to go to Saint Louis and having a publisher there would be a great reason to make the five and half hour drive.)   GAP will start accepting submissions again on April 1 via email. So I asked Connie a few questions...

Me: Aspiring writers are always curious about what makes a writer submit to a particular publishing house. What made you submit with GAP?

Connie: A friend who had books published by Guardian Angel Publishing recommended that I submit my manuscript. I visited the website - http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/ - and really liked what I saw. Now it's my turn to recommend GAP to others!

Me: I noticed several GAP authors did a book signing in Saint Louis in September, what was the best part of the event?
Connie: We did two events in St. Louis, one at the Children's Illustrated Art Museum, and a book signing at Borders. The event at the museum was such fun with many home school families attending and participating in the many activities we had for them. My favorite part was reading Animal Sound Mix-up to them and the fun they had with it and getting to share their own animal sounds afterward.It was great getting to meet GAP publisher, Lynda Burch, and some of the other authors and illustrators.

Me: Do you have any other events planned?
Connie: Since we went from St. Louis on to visit children, grandchildren and other family for two weeks and recently returned home, I'm just now able to get some events lined up. I plan to do events at the library and some preschool classes and will be contacting others soon, as well as looking into doing book signings. I've talked with some others about doing a signing together sometime, which I know from the St. Louis experience is fun!

Me: Animal Sound Mix-up is such a cute book! What "sparked" the idea for it?
Connie: Having young grandchildren! They are learning so much, including the sounds animal makes, and I started thinking about the variety of sounds animals make and how different they all are. Then, I guess craziness set in (I might have caught that from my grandsons)!

Me: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring writers?
Connie: Keep writing, find what you do best and share it with others, get feedback so you can improve your writing, and if you want to be published, be persistent and not discouraged in the face of rejections but have faith in yourself and the talent God has given you!

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If you have a little one or a grandbaby they'll love ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP over and over and over again...
 
If you haven't met Connie, please hop over to her blog and meet her. 
 
Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful week...Do you have any special writing plans for the week???

Simplify Your Life...and two contest links

There's always more than one way to look at a situation....

But, sometimes it seems that things are going against you.  It could be rejection letters, it could be your WIP has hit the wall, it could be your basement flooded twice and your favorite pet died.  (For those of you who are new to my blog...I had a not so much fun summer...) But, look at my lovely basement now!  It is clutter free and completely repaired!  We took the summer "fun" as an opportunity to simplify our lives....

I began in the basement, but soon moved to the kitchen, the garage , the guest bedrooms, my daughter's room (with her help of course), our room, including the closet, and I began The Great Declutter Movement.  In fact, we aren't done.  We've only just begun!  My husband was so inspired by the basement flooding that he built a wonderful set of shelves in the storage room and plans on building two more!  We are going to completely empty one of our guest rooms and I am going to have my OWN room to be creative in.  (I'm beside myself with excitement!)  I don't know how many truck loads of goodies I'll be donating to St Vincent DePaul's Thrift Shop, but I feel really good about it... 

Flooded Basement Twists Into A Positive:

*Helped out a worthy charity

*Did a project with my brilliant hubby

*Spent more time with daughter (because she couldn't go in the basement to watch TV all summer...)

*Basement repainted and reorganized

*The whole house is getting decluttered

*I'm getting my OWN ROOM (my first one since I was 17)!!!!!!!!

So, when you are struggling with a rejection or a negative in your life, twist it and into a positive....

Please feel free to share a time you have twisted a negative into a positive or if you are struggling with one right now maybe we can help you find a twist on the situation (My disclaimer: I am not, nor have ever been a medical doctor so I'm not promising anything, I'm just sayin' I'd like to listen and help if I can. I usually reply to your comments via email, so if you don't have your blogger set up showing your email I can't reply to you personally.)

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WARNING: TWO DAYS LEFT UNTIL CONTEST CLOSES!  If you are not following Dear Editor.com now would be the perfect time to start! They are holding a contest to celebrate being up and running for six months! It's a great place to go for advice and if you have advice it's nice to be able to share, too... So hop over and perhaps you could win a picture book critique!

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Sheri over at The Writer's Ally is hosting a Freaky Fright Writing Contest with prizes galore!  If you don't know Sheri, you need to hop over and meet her, she's got great things going on all the time at The Writer's Ally! 

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Monsters, Chickens and a Contest...

First, let me say Tammi Sauer is one of the funniest, charming people I've ever met!  If you have the opportunity to see her present at a conference or at a workshop....sign up for it and take a pen and paper and...be prepared to laugh and perhaps participate in some role playing. 

Tammi has 8 picture books on the market!  MOSTLY MONSTERLY is one of her newest and has a great story arc!  It is full of emotion, great characters, plot that moves the story forward, words that "sing," great pacing, and humor.  It definitely makes you want to turn to page to see what is going to happen next...

Something Tammi asked in one of her sessions was to ask yourself  "Is this a picture book or is this a magazine story?"  This was a great point...They are two very different, but worthy kinds of stories...Does the story rely on pictures to tell it?  If the answer is yes, then it's a picture book...

Does your story have a universal theme?  Like bravery, honesty, perseverance...

Is there a conflict or a problem?  A BIG ONE????

Do you have a story arc? Obstacles the main character must overcome to solve the big problem...

Are your words fun on the tongue? 

Don't forget to use humor.  (Tammi uses a lot of humor in her books and it seems to be working well for her!)

Remember you, the writer, are half of the book....the illustrator is the other half.  Your words must make way for great illustrations...

Choose a great title! (This week, I had a rejection because the publisher had a similar story under contract...followed by another email saying they really liked my title...so the lesson here is...Titles really do matter!)

You can find Tammi's Live journal on my sidebar.  (smile...cause we're buddies now...)  She has a great website that is kid friendly (cause she loves kids).  She also has a CHICKEN DANCE website with illustrator Dan Santat.

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If you are not following Dear Editor.com now would be the perfect time to start!  They are holding a contest to celebrate being up and running for six months!  It's a great place to go for advice and if you have advice it's nice to be able to share, too...  So hop over and perhaps you could win a picture book critique!