Do You Use Your Experiences?

I hope you had or are having a wonderful spring break.  We took our daughter to Puerto Rico to celebrate her birthday in style.  We had a wicked cool patio on our room at Gran Melia.

 This was the prettiest bed I've ever slept in!

The grounds were beautiful.  This is the wedding chapel.

The resort had one MASSIVE pool and one smaller one.  From the pool you could see the beach and the rain forest.

We saw a few iguanas lounging around the beach chairs.

Katherine and I enjoyed some beach reading.

One morning we saw a bunch of these blue lizards.

The flowers were wonderful!  We even saw some hummingbirds.

Loads of coral was washing up on the beach.

If you look carefully, you can see two hermit crabs in this photo.  They were everywhere!

It was a beautiful, peaceful place.

Is this not the coolest bathroom you've ever seen?

This is the rest of the rest room....

We only did one excursion, but it was awesome!  We went to El Yunque Rain Forest.  It is the only tropical rain forest in the National Park system.

This elephant fruit is cooked kind of like potatoes, but it is also used to make bowls like the pictures below.

Orchids......

A boa constrictor....

A quick lizard...

Check out the bark on this tree!  It was amazing.  It felt smooth and silky.

Check out the root system on this tree!

Our hike was only two miles, but it was all up and down.  We all had sore muscles the next day.  But it was well worth the pain.  There were lots of waterfalls.

We climbed to the top of this tower....

To see this view on one side...

And this view from the other side...

How cool is this?

We saw lots of snails....big snails....

There little picnic areas in the forest.

Then we came to the big fall....

As you can see it was a very popular water hole.

Check out the roots on this tree!

It was a lovely trip and I'm looking forward to going back next February.  I hope to see the illusive Coqui frog.   I'm actually thinking about writing a mystery about the frog you can easily hear, but never see.

I've written two fake folktales based on my trips to Costa Rica and England.  Perhaps I'll have at least one more I can add to my collection from Puerto Rico.


Do your travels leak into your stories or do your stories leak into your travels?


Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping in.  :)

Worms and Winners

 No my friends, those are not sticks...

 They are worms and they are all over the streets in my subdivision.  (GROSS)  It smells like worms outside. (This one was at least 15 inches long!)

 Has this ever happened where you live? 

 I have to say walking to the mailbox is rather creepy...

The winner of Tammi Sauer's book is (drum roll)....

number 12...

Lenny Lee

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

ME WANT PET....review and giveaway

Do you have an author crush?  You know an author you just adore and can't get enough of their books... I have an author crush on Tammi Sauer.  (blushes)  I met her at the SCBWI conference in Kansas City a few years ago.  I took a class from her and was bowled over by the wealth of information she shared with us.  If you missed that post, please feel free to check it out.  So when Tammi asked me if I would be interested in doing a book review for ME WANT PET I was beside myself.  I had already pre-ordered ME WANT PET, so that is good news for you because I will be giving a copy of this amazing hardback picture book!

Tammi is also doing a book giveaway .and.... she is giving away some wicked cool second and third place prizes too.

ME WANT PET! (Paula Wiseman/S&S, 2012)
Illustrated by Bob Shea
Synopsis:
Cave Boy goes in search of the perfect prehistoric pet.
Raves and Reviews for ME WANT PET!:
"This account of the age-old bond between animals and children is ideally paced for read-aloud pleasure." - Kirkus Reviews
"Sauer has crafted a humerous read-aloud that's both age-appropriate and entertaining." - School Library Journal
"In this Stone Age comedy, Sauer and Shea imagine a child with a demand as old as time." - Publisher's Weekly




My review without spoilers.... 

If you ever wanted a pet and were told no, this is the book for you!

Cave Boy really wants a pet, but his parents find every excuse they can  for why he can't keep each animal he brings  home. But Cave Boy doesn't give up...He keeps searching for a pet that his parents will accept.  He searches hard and long to find the perfect pet.  Something awful happens....then something great happens....and a very very  happy ending.  (See no spoilers)

ME WANT PET is a delightful story, that is easy and fun to read and kiddos will want to read it over and over again.  Cave Boy is such a relate-able character. It's full of fun dialogue...OOGA!

If you are a picture book writer, I suggest you check out Tammi's books.  I've been studying them to improve my writing.  You can check out all of Tammi's books and upcoming books here.  You can purchase ME WANT PET here and here.

Tammi's book Mostly Monsterly is featured on Cheerios boxes right now!    So hurry out and buy a box of Cheerios!  Mostly Monsterly is an amazing book!

To check out & enter Tammi's contest hop over to her blog.... 


If you would like to enter my giveaway, please be a follower and use "OOGA" in your comments.  I will announce the winner on my March 22nd post.

Do you have an author crush???

Do you have plans for that day? (Two Tips For Today)

Do you love getting bookmarks or postcards from your favorite authors?

I do!

I've been thinking about what will happen  if when I get published.  I can hardly wait until I can create a postcard and a bookmark that goes with one of my stories books. So you're probably thinking, sure I'm going to do that too.  But what are you doing to get ready for that day?

I bought a special address book to put all my writing contacts in... So if you've ever won a prize on my blog or I've won something on your blog, or I've met you at a conference you will get a postcard or a bookmark to help me celebrate my book.

 Do you keep track of your contacts, so you can share your good news when it comes?

My new method for keeping track of my writing time, is really paying off.  I highly recommend you try it.  Instead of writing down goals, I keep track of everything "writing" I do each day.  I think it is making a huge difference on how I feel about my progress.  I am writing more!  (My house is a mess, but hey that can wait.)  It's different than crossing things off.  I do that on my daytimer.  I list my chores, errands, meetings, etc.. and I usually just put down the word "writing" after I have the other stuff written down.  So I still get to check it off (cause checking things off feels good).  But when I sit down at my desk and look at what I've done so far for that week  I am feeling really pleased with myself.


So tell me...

What will you do when you get a book deal?

Happy Writing Everyone!