This is Stanley the Sea Gull.  He lives on the southern coast of England.  He's a happy bird.  Grandad feeds him damp bread at the end of each week.  He likes his bread wet, not dry.

I found an awesome rock on the beach that made me think of a seagull...named Stanley.  I hope you enjoy my WIP: STANLEY MAKES A FRIEND.

This a picture book I am working on.  :)  I would love to hear your input.  Positive or negative....it will help me write the best story possible.

Here are my first  few words...

Stanley perched proudly on the edge of his nest, high in the white cliffs of Dover.

All the other sea gulls looked at Stanley's nest.

"How can you live this way?" Asked Sandy.

Stanley smiled. "Don't be sad. I can teach you how to decorate your nest."

Sandy fanned out her feathers. "You silly goose! I don't want to be like you."

Stanley scratched his head.

Sandy flew back to her very tidy nest.

Something shinny sparkled in the sun. Stanley dove down to the beach.

This would be a fine addition to his nest. Stanley slipped his beak through the loop and flew home.

"I will hang this near the front of my home. It will sparkle in the sun."

Steve glided into Stanley's nest.

"Ouch! What is that?" Steve rubbed his head.

"It's my new shiney thing." Stanley grinned.

"Well, it's rather dangerous," Steve snapped.

" I could help you find one for your nest." Stanley stood tall. He knew he could find almost anything.

"NO WAY! Sea gulls are not collectors."

Stanley's head hung with shame. Not one of his friends shared his love for treasure hunting.

Stanley slipped the sparkly round thing on his beak and flew away.

"I'm going to find a new home where a saving sea gull is appreciated."

"Whoops!"

Stanley swooped down trying to catch his shiny thing.

It landed in a beautiful green garden, right beside an old human sleeping in the sun.

Swoosh...

Stanley landed behind a tree.

Swish...

A small bird with a yellow beak landed right next to Stanley's shiny thing.

Clink, clink, clink. The small bird slipped Stanley's shiny thing on his beak and flew away.

Stanley followed him.

"Hey, you took my shiny thing." Stanley stood on the edge of a very well decorated nest.

"I found it near my bath."

"I dropped it as I was looking for a new home. It was the only thing I took with me."  Stanley frowned.

"Why are you looking for a new home?"

"All the other sea gulls make-fun of me, for collecting things."

I am so bad about following blog hop rules...

I'm looking forward to reading your posts.

Hugs, Sharon


What are you working on???

Pets, Picture Books and Pals...

Can I hear an "Ohhhhh?"  

Macy has spent her whole life trying to make a special (furry) friend. 

 Now she has one.

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November is a busy month for lots of writers.  Some participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month--50,000 words in one month) and others participate in PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month--30 new picture book ideas in one month).  I've been dabbling a little in both.  I'm thinking I'm going to have to commit to one or the other, as my brain seems to be skipping around.  

Last weekend I went to the SCBWI-MO conference and had the honor of being critiqued by Quinlan Lee from the Adams Literary Agency.  I submitted my picture book manuscript; Operation Pied Piper to her (you can read the blurb for it on my completed manuscripts page).  As always, I like to share a little of what I learned.  

• At 659 words, it is the perfect length for a picture book.  (big smile)
• Has great details and voice.  (huge smile)
• Interesting time in history.  (big smile)
• A historical fiction is a hard sale for a debut author.  (hmmmm)  Try writing something more commercial, quirky, fun first.
• Story leaves you hanging...not enough action.  (yep, I knew that)
• Would the story be better if it was told through a different character's eyes.  (OMGoodness...I was just thinking that!)
• Consider making it into a middle grade novel.  (Yay!  I've already started writing it and am on chapter 7.)

I have to say Quinlan was lovely and very supportive.  Her presentation to the whole group was outstanding. If you have the opportunity to interact with her at a conference, go for it.  She is super friendly and a delightful speaker.  She even took some extra time to visit with my dear friend Susan.

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This is the Pals part of my post...

My wonderful bloggy friend Sheri Larsen has been working furiously on picture books this month!  If you don't know Sheri you should hop over and check her out.  She has a great site full of useful information for writers of all genres, plus she's wicked cool!

If you haven't entered my giveaway for Susan Kaye Quinn's new book OPEN MINDS hop over and leave a comment.  I'll announce who the winner is on my November 17th post.

Everybody's pal (and picture book writer) Robyn Campbell has been sick all week...so if you get a chance to hop over and give her a virtual hug I'm sure she'd appreciate it.  

Are you participating in NaNo or PiBo this year?  

Do you have a pet that you love more than chocolate?

Thanks for stopping in and hugs to all!!!

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!

HOW DO YOU USE YOUR BOOKS? (INTERVIEWS START TOMORROW)

How do you use your books?

Do you carefully open them, trying to not bend the spine? Do you use a bookmark or do you turn the corner of the page? Do you take notes in your books or do you use a sticky note? Do you highlight in your books?

I love my books! I read them and write sticky notes on them (when I’m studying a specific type of book). Sometimes (are you ready for this…) I highlight and turn down the corners. The first time I did this I was terrified my 6th Grade English Teacher would show up at my house and whack my knuckles with a ruler. I find that taking notes and highlighting helps me study a book better than just reading it. I get more out of it.

Do you sort your books? Classify them? Group them?

When I first got my own office (yes, I let the rest of my family use it, but it’s MY OFFICE), I organized all my children’s books by genre. I thought that was the perfect way to do it, but it wasn’t. My new method is by grouping books of similar themes after I have read them. I also keep the books I’ve read separate from the ones I haven’t. I keep the grown up books separate from the kid lit books. I keep my resource books separate too. I have one very special shelf…my signed book section.

This leads to my upcoming interviews… (and your chance of winning one of two signed books.)

Tomorrow, I’ll be featuring American Girl author Mary Casanova! I’m so excited to share the interview with you! I’ll be doing a drawing for two of her newest American Girl books; CHRISSA and CHRISSA STANDS STRONG….

I hope you’ll pop in tomorrow and hear all about Mary Casanova. 

How do you use books?

METER....

(I wish I had a picture of a cake to put here...)

Meter…


If you are writing a picture book manuscript that has rhyme in it, does every stanza need to have the same meter throughout the book? Could the meter vary as long as opposite page has the same meter? I’m totally stuck!

The pans I will cover with oil and flour, (9)
Pour in the batter, bake for an hour. (9)

I’ll frost it all over and add a flower, (11)
Above my head this grand cake will tower. (11)

Any suggestions?

TO TRUST OR NOT TO TRUST...

“Crocodile,” he called. “I have a treat for you.”

Crocodile swam over and smiled. Spider Monkey will make a delicious lunch.

“You have a treat for me.” Crocodile smiled.

“I discovered a new animal. There are so many, they’ve become pests. I thought you might like to try some.” Spider Monkey's eyes twinkled.

“Bring them a little closer,” said Crocodile.

“This is as close as I can get,” replied Spider Monkey.

“Don’t worry about falling in. I’ll carry you ashore if you fall.” Crocodile’s eyes sparkled.

WHO DO YOU TRUST?  WHO DO YOU AUTOMATICALLY BELIEVE?  WHO ARE YOU A YES MAN TO?

LITERARY AGENT (and blogger) MARK MCVEIGH...PART TWO

Part Two of my Skype  interview with Literary Agent Mark McVeigh.  If you missed part, one follow the link and get caught up on Mark’s views on queries.

Part Two of my interview with Literary Agent Mark McVeigh focuses on the market.

Me: “I’ve written a couple folktales and was wondering how marketable they are.”

Mark: “I’m assuming you’re referring to folktales in picture book format. Picture books, in general, are a hard sell right now, and folktales are not as sellable as they were in the 90’s. You might query a small house. Schools still buy folktales, but the major houses aren’t selling to school like they were fifteen years ago. If the current administration pumps money into schools and libraries as they are promising, like they did in the 60’s under Lyndon Johnson, it would affect the publishing industry. But right now the consumers are kids and they don’t have as much disposable income as they did five years ago.”

Me: “What do you think about EBooks?”

Mark: “EBooks are going to revolutionize the industry, and I do think do for publishing what ITunes did for the music industry. Anyone interested in being a writer needs to follow the digital revolution closely.”

Me: “Do agents look at small market publishers?”

Mark: “It depends on the material. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.”

Me: “Do agents try to maintain contacts with editors at all houses or do they cultivate relationships at specific houses?”

Mark: “A smart agent tries to get to know every major publishing house. I’ve worked many publishing houses. I’ve been in the business for over 10 years, and I’ve lived in New York for almost twenty. You get to know people. New York is a big city that works like a small town and publishing is like a gated community in that small town. It’s not so hard to get to know people.”

Me: “As a former teacher and Golden Books editor, do you gravitate to picture books or pull back from them because of the current market?”

Mark: “I’m very selective about picture books. There will be resurgence, but right now I have to be selective when bringing picture book writers on board.”

Me: (All doom and gloom) “So I’ve written a historical fiction picture book, should I just hang it up?”

Mark: “No, not at all. Just do your homework. First, make sure the topic hasn’t been covered too extensively. For example, MARTIN’S BIG WORDS is a gorgeous picture book and in many ways the go-to book when classrooms are studying Martin Luther King, Jr. The house that published MARTIN’S BIG WORDS probably wouldn’t publish another Martin Luther King, Jr. book because it would detract from the sales of this gorgeous book that continues to do well. You have to give publishers something new and of interest.”

Me: (Big smile) “If God or Heaven are mentioned in a picture book, does that make it only marketable in the Christian market?”

Mark: “It depends on the taste and interest of the editor and much those topics are discussed. There are so many picture books of prayers for children that are perfectly marketable.”

Me: (Huge smile!  I had a great vidoe chat with Mark.  I truly learned a lot about queries and about the current market.)

 I truly appreciated the opportunity to talk with Mark. Often, as writers we get the sense that agents are sitting on pedestals looking down on us. My Skype chat with Mark helped me see that agents are people too. They are not just their jobs…Just like we are not just writers. What we do plays a part in who we are, but hopefully we are more than just what we put on paper. If you missed out on Mark’s Fifteen Minutes Contest , he’ll be having another one during the first week in April, so make sure you keep an eye on his blog.

EXTINCT...

I had the great pleasure of visiting the Peterson Institute a  year and a half ago.  Our group had a private tour of the facility and even  viewed their collection of extinct birds.  The large bird is the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.  Several years ago there were sightings of it near Des Arc, Arkansas.  The sightings were not verified by professionals, so it's still up in the air (I think).

I wanted to share an article about writing picture books.  I thought it was helpful.  Perhaps, it will help one of you to not become an extinct writer.

What do you do each day to ensure you will not become extinct?