A New Resource

 Yes, it's still MONDAY and you may be asking WHAT AM I READING?

 It's been a while since I posted for #IMWAYR.

But that doesn't mean I'm not reading like crazy!

Today I'll share a new resource you teachers and librarians out there might not know about. But it's fun to play around with.  Booklists on all sorts of topics.

This is my contribution:

https://shepherd.com/best-books/kids-baseball-books-about-more-than-baseball 

Baseball books!

So, what else am I reading?

I just finished my friend Susan Hill Long's latest, THE CARE AND KEEPING OF FREDDY.

 

 

Oh what fun this brand new middle-grade novel is. But fun with heart. So much heart.

It made me smile but it also made me think. There is so much to discuss with kids in this story.

What would a young girl do in a family like Georgia's? 

How do friends help us make important life decisions when we're young?   

And for those writers among us: How do you develop a character like Georgia's mother and make her believable?

Sue is brilliant at craft and characters. I love this book.

The Year in my Journal, and Facebook...

I know, I know. Some of you are not fans of Facebook. And I get that. 

But I love the memories I get every day. Today Facebook reminded me that on this date in 2016, my friend Eileen Harrell, artist and designer extraordinaire, re-did my blog title and graphic. 

Maybe I should pay more attention to that blog.

Even though the posts have been few and far between this Quarantine Year, I have kept a journal. Call it my Covid Journal.

It's a very special book. A gift at NCTE 2016, from our panel's moderator, the brilliant and great and all-around fun guy, Patrick Allen. 

 

He presented blank journals to all the #TrueFriends, Sue Long, Kirby Larson, Barbara O'Connor and me. 

 

                (Here we all are! In Atlanta! Having a great time talking about books.)

 

I loved my journal. I'm bad about saving things I love. Saving them for "someday."

Why? I asked myself as I searched my box of journals for the blank pages to remember this year with, March 2020. Someday is now!

Don't you think I chose the perfect book?

 Page ONE- My sticker from Sarah Frances Hardy. She designed a whole packet of these. She's such a fun illustrator!

        A very recent entry. Though many of my days featured HAIR as an issue...)

My best friend forever had so many fascinating fun things she learned and did during Covid. We formed a group of three, called ourselves The Quarantiners, and we texted almost daily. She sent me this, from one of her many projects.

 

And then, a vaccine at last.

Did anybody else keep a journal during Quarantine? Did your kids? Your students? 

I don't know if anybody but me will ever see this. It's not exactly filled with earthshaking nuggets of brilliance. But for now, almost every page is full, and I may just keep it forever.

 

Monday Reading

Again, I've been lax.

I read a lot of books and forget to blog about them. If it weren't for
#IMWAYR, I'd probably never remember what all I've read.

BUT this has been a great week for reading Middle-grade Fiction.

First off, a book from a writer whose books I admire so much. Susan Hill Long writes funny, she writes poignant, she writes adventure and she writes books with true heart.

This one just came out and I predict kids will love it. Publisher's Weekly agrees.

Yes, there's a baseball subplot going on. And this is my favorite time of year to read baseball-related novels. But oh that Josie! How I love her.


I also just I finished an ARC, sent by the publisher. (Pubbing early March, thank you FSG!)

I was interested in this novel because I know a woman with Turner Syndrome, and have known her most of her life. But I've never read much about it and certainly not a middle-grade book.

WHAT STARS ARE MADE OF is a debut novel by Sarah Allen. The writer has Turner Syndrome and the book felt very authentic about the disorder. Libby, the 12-year-old narrator isn't so great at making friends or knowing the right thing to say and I loved how the author developed an unusual friendship between Libby and a new girl in her class. The story moves quickly along, and the narrator is definitely a character kids will relate to.
In the publicity material I received along with the book, the author quotes C.S. Lewis: "We read to know that we are not alone." So true.


Another Advance Reader Copy I was privileged to read is Rebecca Stead's newest

THE LIST OF THINGS THAT WILL NOT CHANGE.

Thank you, NetGalley!

The book's publishing in April, 2020.  I'm a huge fan of Stead's, and I bet a lot of kids will love her new book.
Two dads, a loving mom who's in the picture, a big blended family, a kid with all sorts of fun things in her life, a wedding and a lot of good things to eat.  :)

And of course, she's worried that her world will change with her new family.

Here's the starred review from Publishers Weekly.
I'm sure many more will follow, or maybe already have.
Plus, love that cover, don't you?

In my grownup reading world, I finished and enjoyed another Ann Cleeves book and I'm reading my second detective/ thriller/ mystery by another Brit, Mick Heron. My guilty pleasure/ nighttime reading.

I also read a ghost story, something I don't do often. It kept me awake at night, so think I'll avoid that genre.

Can't wait to hear all the book recommendations from my It's Monday What Are You Reading? pals!

Congratulations to one of our #TrueFriends

Teachers, Parents, Librarians of readers fifth grade and up. Or thereabouts.
Are you still searching for that perfect book for holiday giving?

If she loves a great heroine, if he's read every single Harry Potter book, if they're fans of magical settings and a hint of romance, look no farther than this terrific tale.

Here's what her publisher's website has to say.
(I love the twisty-turny part!  There are many twists and turns and all sorts of side trips, near misses, dangers-  and of course fun- for Maggie along the way.)

About The Magic Mirror 

The twisty-turny journey of a girl searching for her heart’s desire—glimpsed in a magic mirror. Perfect for fans of Rump or Catherine, Called Birdy

And everybody knows what smart book pickers those folks at the Texas Library Association are, right? They just named THE MAGIC MIRROR to their Long Star Reading list. You can find the link to the books for grades 6-8 right HERE.

Congrats, Susan Hill Long. Those Texas librarians are right!
Such a good book! 

Writing Advice from #TrueFriends, Part 3

You might wonder what on earth would four writers do for four days together.

Do they actually write? Or do they have a gabfest, long walks, fabulous meals and the occasional glass of wine? 

In my limited but excellent experience, all of those things are part of a writing retreat. When Kirby Larson invited us to be a part of her writing world, Barbara O'Connor and I flew in from the East Coast. Susan Hill Long met us at the airport. And off we went to our own cocoon where we worked very hard.

At some previously scheduled point in our writing days, we gathered and talked about our manuscripts. We were at different places in our writing. Kirby and Barbara had a ton of books under their author belts. Sue had quite a few herself as well as experience working in publishing. True confessions, I suspect I had the most to learn. And I soaked in every single word of advice.

On our first retreat, we sent chapters around in advance for critiquing. So Sue put her sharp editor's pen to work. I can't speak for the others, but in my case, I suspect she had to work hard.  Many red marks= super suggestions.

Susan Hill Long, finally, perfectly made me understand what a scene is. 
And how important it is to write in scenes. Okay, I knew that part already. And instinctively, I think many writers do. We probably see our stories in scenes, even if we don't realize it. 
But making it happen is hard work!

Here are her words, verbatim, from her helpful Advice from a True Friend.  Thanks, Sue!

This is important: in a scene, something happens.  
Yes, sometimes we need to set up a quick bridge to get from one thing that happens, one event, to another. And sometimes we need to make time pass. For one reason or another, sometimes the story calls for summary in order to keep moving forward. 

But when we want the reader to notice, to slow down and experience the event with the character, we write a scene. 

From Sandra Scofield's excellent and highly recommended resource THE SCENE BOOK: A Primer for the Fiction Writer, I learned that each scene should have a sort of pivot that I can put my finger on, a point where something changes. The story moves forward, or the reader's understanding of the character deepens, or the plot twists. Especially once I have a down-and-dirty draft in hand, I can look at each scene and ask, How does this scene matter to my story?


 There must have been magic in that ocean air.  
Four books appeared this year. 
We organized a Second Annual Writing Retreat. 
And now we're excited to be a part of NCTE in Atlanta in November, where we'll be on a panel together and talk about how this could work in your world.

 (To read advice from Kirby and Barbara, click back through my previous #TrueFriends blogpost.)

True Friends

Have you been following along with all the #TrueFriends fun?

You can CLICK HERE to get to a google doc with everything in one place!
(All four of us talking about friends in our books, for example.)

FYI- Hurry and enter! The Giveaway of lots of books and a Skype session ends in November.

There's even a FRIEND CATCHER.
(Much better than any of those other "catchers" you may remember!)

You know the definition of a True (writer) Friend?

Someone who takes the time during her book launch party to buy your book and post the photo on Facebook and Twitter.

Barbara O'Connor's holding up my new book at her own Malaprops Bookstore party.

Barbara has given me so many writing tips, it's hard to know which to choose.
I have an entire legal pad scribbled with advice she gave me when she first read GLORY BE.
Now, that's a True Friend.

If you don't already follow her blog, you may want to CLICK OVER THERE and read all her Writing Tip Tuesday past posts.

HERE is one of my favorite things she shared (and there are many).

"... pay attention to the extraordinary in the ordinary - to notice the small things around us that the average observer might not notice or note to memory.

And when you notice those small things, WRITE THEM DOWN."





Read Kirby Larson's writing advice from last week right here.
Susan Hill Long's advice will be next.

I hope you all have #TrueFriends to encourage you on your journeys!
 

My True Friends

Today was a big day. 
My third historical fiction middle-grade novel launched out into the world. Okay, the fanfare was mostly via tweets and posts, but I did sign a bunch of books that are easily available from the great LEMURIA BOOKS in Jackson, Mississippi.

Oh and I ate cake.
(Well, sorta.)

So, you can now order MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG from your usual sources. 
Or request it from your public library. Or BUY it for your school libraries.

All of that by itself would be swell.

But another fun way I get to share this book news is telling you about my #TrueFriends.

Kirby Larson, Barbara O'Connor, and Susan Hill Long= 
writers extraordinaire! 

The four of us gathered to write and critique and re-gathered to do more of the same at Kirby's wonderful writing retreat. Now we talk to each other nonstop via email and texts and even- gasp!- the occasional phone call or Skype/ Facetime chat.

See, we really are the truest of TRUE FRIENDS.

And guess what! We're giving away our books! Lots of books! And a Skype visit!  

CHECK OUT THE GIVEAWAY RIGHT HERE.

If you'd like to see us, live and in person, talking about books on youtube and hear fun writing prompts for your students, check out our video.

Click here to subscribe and get to know all four of us.
(not to mention, see our picture along with Winston the Wonder Dog. Go ahead, you know you want to.)

And here I am, chatting away about my friends, my book, and writing.

Counting Down the Days

It's such fun to share a new book with the world.

It's even more fun when I have special writer friends to spread the news.

(left to right, Kirby Larson, Winston the Wonder Dog, Sue Long, me, Barbara O'Connor)

AND it's tons of fun when the four who started this journey together all have books appearing in the same year. 

Two of us, my friend Barbara O'Connor and I have books appearing on the VERY SAME DAY.

(Although, rumor has it-- sorry, Barbara-- that there may be some early copies for sale at the fabulous MISSISSIPPI BOOK FESTIVAL, a Literary Lawn Party, next weekend!)

Click HERE for Barbara's excellent post about how we four friends connected.