Two Poetry Collections: Sketches from a Spy Tree and What the Heart Knows and a Double Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” ~Thomas Mann~

 Some Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Interesting post on The Editor’s Blog can be found HERE on keeping the words flowing.

This post from The Editor’s Blog was exactly what I needed at this moment in time. Click HERE for her article on Building Anticipation in Fiction. 

Amazing post on creating character can be found by clicking HERE. 

Last time I posted, I offered a chance to win The Day My Father Became a Bush by Joke van Leeuwen with extra chances for helping to get the word out. Sometimes those extra chances pay off. It did this time for Akossket. Congratulations, Akossket!. I will be getting the book in the mail to you this week. If you weren't the winner, stay tuned to the end. I have a DOUBLE giveaway this week.

I have been reading a lot of poetry lately because my writing partner, JaNay Brown, and I have a poetry collection we are beginning to shop around. We are fine tuning things and it is very instructive to look at other collections. I have run across two collections recently that have just knocked my socks off, and I want to be sure you know about these two wonderful books. I think both are middle-grade or older. I truly believe every adult will enjoy these as much as or more than the kids.

The first book is Sketches from a Spy Tree by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, illustrated by Andrew Glass. I picked this book up from my local library, but as soon as I closed the cover, I ordered up a spanking new hardback for me to own. I LOVE this book. It has some of the most nakedly personal and

Tracie Vaughn 

Zimmer

powerful poems about being a kid I've ever read. In just more than three dozen poems, I felt like I knew young Tracie and all the pain and exhilaration and fullness of a girl coming through the loss of her father through divorce and the rebuilding of a complete family on the rubble left by that occurrence. Some of these poems are simple and sweet. Some sneak up on the reader and knock the wind out of him or her. All together they paint a lively, honest picture of a certain girl of a certain age in a certain neighborhood in America.  

When he left

just three nights before

Mary Anne and I turned nine,

I took the clippers and chopped

those roses back to the soil,

yanked down those long arms

from their trellises.

When I finished,

the yellow petals

looked like shattered glass

scattered against the black night

and me

like I'd wrestled every cat

at Miss Emory's house.

Joyce Sidman

 The other book I want to tell you about is What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms & Blessings by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. This is simply a beautiful book. Every poem is a little gem designed to allow the reader a bit of reflection or introspection or hope or warmth. The poems shine a light on dark places and remind the reader that life is full of goodness and light. Every illustration is a treat for the eyes. You can read the review I wrote for the San Francisco/Sacramento Book Review by clicking HERE. You will see just how much in love with this book I am. Oh, and Joyce Sidman lives in my home town -- Wayzata, Minnesota. What's to not love.

Don’t come close, dark.

Don’t brush my face with your sticky hands.

Stay as cool and distant as a train whistle.

Don’t single me out,

don’t make me answer your questions.

Let me curl here, safe in my circle of light.

 

I promised you a double giveaway and here is the deal. I have a gently-read hardback of Mouse, Bird, Snake, Wolf by David Almond and illustrated by Dave McKean. If you like myths, you will love this unusual book. You can see the review I wrote for 3rdgradereading.net by clicking HERE. I am also offering an ARC of Jumpstart your Creativity by Shawn Doyle and Steven Rowell. You can see the review I wrote for San Francisco/Sacramento Book Review by clicking HERE. When I do my next post, I will put names in a hat of those who are followers and leave a comment. If you want more than one chance, please pass the link for this post along through your favorite form of social media and let me know. You will receive extra chances.

Don't forget to find many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews by going to Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog by clicking HERE.

Home from the Workshop and a Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

"Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I'm always irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It is a plunge into reality and it's very shocking to the system." 

~Flannery O'Connor~

  
Some Gifts for my Writer Friends:

For a good article from Writer’s Digest on choosing character names, click HERE. 

Have you ever thought of applying for a grant? You can find a terrific post HERE that can help you in that quest. 

 Click HERE for a good post on the three pillars of fiction. 

When I last posted, I promised a copy of The Mighty Quinn for one of my followers who left a comment. Our winner is (Drum Roll Please!) Jennifer Rumberger. Congratulations, Jennifer! I will be sending the book this week. For those of you who don't know Jennifer, she is a children's writer and has a very nice blog. Check out her site by clicking HERE.

The red-head in the middle of the front row is my grandson,  Gehrig.

 

I had every intention of posting last week right after I came home from my workshop, but Sunday brought a critique group meeting and a baseball tournament with my grandson's team, Hank's Bombers, winning the tournament championship. (Woot!) This weekend they had another tournament with the same result!!(Woot! Woot!). Living in California where baseball is a year-around sport is great. I love it.

Last week, I was in Boyds Mills, Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains. If you MapQuest Boyds Mills, PA, it looks like you are in the middle of nowhere. You really are. And that is a good thing.

Whole Novel: Historical Fiction Workshop Faculty & Attendees

The grounds of the Highlights Foundation, at the original homestead of the founders of Highlights Magazine, is peaceful, quiet, and absolutely magical. There were twelve writers, all who had completed manuscripts of historical novels and all, I believe, were for middle grade or Tween audiences. We had five instructors: Kirby Larson, author of Hattie Big Sky, Linda Pratt, partner in Wernick/Pratt Literary agency, Tracy Barrett, author of about ten historical novels for young people and a similar number of non-fiction books, Augusta Scattergood, author of Glory Be, and Nancy Castaldo, many times published author of historical fiction and non-fiction. The writers all had to submit and be accepted to the workshop and were all pretty comparable in their level of experience. Each of our manuscripts had been read ahead of time by one of the primary instructors (mine was read by Linda Pratt), and we received notes a few days before arriving. When I say notes, let me explain that I received six single-spaced pages of notes. When we arrived, we received our manuscripts back with more notes. Mine was positively peppered with wonderful, helpful suggestions. During the week, we had lectures from all five of the instructors on pertinent topics as well as three one-on-one meetings with our mentors. They were available to us all week when they weren't in one-on-ones.

The Highlights people pick us up at the airport, pretty much where ever we land. I came into Newark, two hours away. Every attendee had his or her own private cabin in the woods with desk, chair, wi-fi, reading chair, refrigerator with cold drinks, coffee maker and coffee and tea, a small library, comfortable beds, bathroom, and lots and lots of writing time. Breakfast, lunch, appetizers and wine, and dinner are served in the conference center affectionately called the Barn. The chefs prepare everything from fresh, locally-grown (for the most part) produce and meat from 4-H winners from the county fair and the food is simply spectacular.

This is the fourth workshop I've attended and I have been to three week-long retreats. I can't say enough good things about the workshops put on by Highlights. They have a wide variety of topics covered in workshops and terrifically talented and experienced people teaching them. Believe me, I wouldn't keep flying back and forth across the country for these if they weren't really special. Take a look at the classes they have already scheduled for next year. If you don't see one that is just right for you, check back now and again. They will be adding more as time goes on. You can find the site HERE. I just looked through it and found one I think I might have to go to if I can just find a way. I can't recommend these workshops enough. 

I promised a giveaway and I have an interesting middle-grade

novel for one lucky winner. Here is my review for the San Francisco/Sacramento Book Review of The Day My Father Became a Bush by Joke van Leeuwen.

Toda and her father live happily in their town. Toda’s father is a baker and has his own shop. Then one day, Father tells her he has to go away to be in the army and fight in the war. Luckily, he has a book that tells about camouflage, and he can disguise himself as a bush and hide from the enemy. Toda’s grandmother comes to live at the bakery and take care of Toda, but the war comes to their town and soon they are in terrible danger. Grandmother sends Toda to her mother who lives across the border, where Toda will be safe. Toda doesn’t remember her mother, but does as she is told to. Her journey is long and arduous and full of adventures. Some of the time she is terribly alone, but she persists and knows she must find her way to her mother.

“A lot of people sat in the waiting room. The two women, the man, and the boy weren’t there. Everybody looked tired. Perhaps they’d all been waiting a long time.”

Joke van Leeuwen, author and illustrator, has won several awards in her native Netherlands including the Dutch State Prize for youth literature. American youngsters may find this story unusual, but it will broaden their literary horizons. 

All you have to do for a chance to win is to be a follower and leave a comment. If you post on your blog, Tweet the link, or post on your favorite social media, you can have an extra chance just by telling me where you posted the link. I will announce the winner in my next post. 

Be sure to check for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews at Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog by clicking HERE. 

I Am At a Workshop, But I Am Still Posting -- and a Giveaway of The Mighty Quinn

Thought for the Day:

Go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something." ~Kurt Vonnegut~

Some Gifts for My Writer Friends:

I find great stuff, then don't always get it posted here in a timely manner, but I still think this is worth reading. A blogger took Gandhi's 10 Rules for Changing the World and gave them a writerly bent. Click HERE to see this.

HERE you will find a terrific post on injecting humor into your writing. We could all do a little more of that, don't you think?

Something else I meant to post long ago: A Darcy Pattison interview about her book, Start Your Novel -- Six Winning Steps Toward a Compelling Opening Line, Scene, and Chapter. Click HERE to see it! 

I meant to post last week. I really did. But our grandson Gehrig was in an all-weekend baseball tournament and it took until rather late on Sunday for his team to win the championship! WooHoo! So I got home too late to post. Anyway, I promised a giveaway of Never Say Die by Will Hobbs, and I am happy to announce the winner is Kathryn Fitzmaurice! Yay for Kathryn! I know she has sons, so she probably really loves boy books. If you don't know Kathryn, she is a most amazing author of middle-grade books. I have reviewed three of her wonderful books (HERE, HERE, and HERE) and interviewed her (HERE) on my blog. She has a blog of her own that is well worth your time (HERE). Oh, and did I mention I am a HUGE FAN of her work? Great stuff. Anyway, Kathryn, I will be sending your book this week. If you didn't win, read on. There is another giveaway.

Linda Sue Park

Kirby Larson

I am presently in Northern Pennsylvania at a Highlight's Founders Workshop called Whole Novel Historical Fiction. Since I had so far to come, I came in a day early, and this morning had breakfast with people from both this workshop and the one on Building a Novel that just finished today. I am a little starstruck. This morning I had breakfast with
Linda Sue Park and Kirby Larson! I don't mean I was in the same room with them. I sat at the same table and talked to them both for quite awhile. The Highlight's Foundation really puts on great workshops and always have top-notch people as instructors. Anyway, I have much work to do while I'm here, so I will make this short. My next post will be after the workshop and will tell some about it.

Tonight I am posting a review of a middle-grade book, The Mighty Quinn by Robyn Parnell that I wrote for the Sacramento/San Francisco Book Review a while back. I will be giving away a gently-used ARC of The Mighty Quinn.  I think it is a very instructive book for writers to read. My review follows.  To have a chance in the drawing for this book, just be a follower of my blog (if you aren't one, look to the right and become one) and leave an interesting comment.

“And so for the first time in a long time Quinn asked Matt a question. Giving Matt an opportunity to open his mouth was usually the last thing on Quinn’s mind.

If an elementary school child is looking for a book about child abuse, about bullying, about the new kid at school, about the importance of saving the environment as well as the importance of zero population growth, dealing with prejudice against people of color and prejudice against immigrants, how to deal with nasty comments, how to deal with pesky little sisters, learning about religious tolerance – well, you get the idea. This is a book about everything, and it is all over the place. It has a huge cast of characters young readers will need to keep track of and so many mini-plotlines that the reader is likely to feel caught in a spider web that all those plotlines seem to weave. The voices of the fifth-grade characters often sound much more adult than can reasonably be believed and sometimes sound much younger. The length of the book at times seems interminable. Only the most persistent of elementary children will slog through the entire thing. Add to it all occasional rather juvenile drawings that add little to the story, and all in all, there is little to recommend this book.

Don't forget to check out more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday books on Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog by clicking HERE.