Two Things I Love

Once upon a time. Okay it was Christmas before last to be specific. My sister-in-law sent us an amaryllis bulb from White Flower Farm. I tucked it into the pot and it grew to be quite beautiful. Inside my house in Florida. I even love the name: Dancing Queen.

Did I say I now live in Florida? I know nothing about growing tropical plants. But the bulb seemed healthy so I hid it behind a shady palm, near a fence, and promptly forgot about it. Till about a month ago. It was well on its way to having six blooms. I admired it often.

Then a Superhero spied it.

He karate-chopped the flower off. And gave it to me. Amazingly, it survived in a vase.

And continued to open its blooms for me to enjoy.
 Inside.
(Next to another Thing I love.)

I left the bulb, flowerless and sad, in its pot outside. Guess what happened?

Another blossom! And the flowers are still opening!
I hope it will survive another season.

I intend to put it in the ground, away from the fearless arm of Superhero.

So the two things I love today? Dancing Queen and Superhero.

 

Good Company, again.

I'm really thrilled and delighted to be included on this list of books about girls with "scrappy courage"!

Check out all three new books, recommended by a reviewer for the Christian Science Monitor whose writing I've admired for quite a while.

CLICK HERE for the link.

Wordswimming

What a surprise and honor to turn on my computer this morning and see Glory Be featured on one of my favorite blogs.

Check out what Wordswimmer's Bruce Black says about the book, and of course, the words.

http://wordswimmer.blogspot.com/2012/03/weaving-magic.html

I love the description of his blog. Who can resist following Bruce?



COME DIVE INTO A SEA OF WORDS AND SWIM TOWARD A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF THE WRITING PROCESS.

The Battle Continues

I can't believe how intrigued I am with this Battle of the Books thing. In a million years, why should I read about one book vs another when I often haven't even read both books?

Because the judges are so hilarious and so bright and so very articulate, that's why.

Okay for Now vs. Wonderstruck?

I've actually read both those books and would have guessed Okay for Now. But like my beloved basketball team and their bracket, you just never know.

So check it out. Here's the School Library Journal website:

http://battleofthebooks.slj.com/

Plus, they have these really cool graphics:

And I love how they link all the blog posts, tweets, etc., others have written. Now THAT can lead to some serious time wasting- chugging along following those links.
But it's not wasting time when you learn something new about books.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.



Related posts: Okay for Now
Battle of the Books

Word of the Day

Just feel like sharing...

Word of the Day for Wednesday, March 21, 2012

conniption \kuh-NIP-shuhn\, noun:
A fit of hysterical excitement or anger.

"Wah!" says Stella-Rondo. I knew she'd cry. She had a conniption fit right there in the kitchen.
-- Eudora Welty, "Why I Live at the P.O." The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty

When they came home, everybody was having a conniption about a big giant fight in the village over who got whose share of their horrid meat.
-- Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

A day or two later I was going about my business when a voice from above bellowed, ALL HAPPY FAMILIES RESEMBLE ONE ANOTHER, nearly giving me a conniption.
-- Nicole Krauss, The History of Love: A Novel

Conniption is actually an invented word. It first appeared in America in 1833 and may be related to the word corruption which was used in the sense of "anger" in the early 1800s.

Two "sisters" just chatting away our day...

Writers love connections. Connecting places, characters, sentences, paragraphs, themes-- you name it! But when I met fellow middle-grade novelist Kimberley Griffiths Little online, via a mutual writer friend, I never dreamed what a treat I was in for. 

If I had a question about publishing that was just too silly/ clueless/ embarrassing to ask aloud (although now I've learned there's no such thing), Kimberley showed me the ropes.

She's always at the other end of a panicked email question. Oh, and I really enjoy her books. They're set in Louisiana and truly, I challenge a native Louisianian to write more authentically about the region than Kimberley does. And she's from New Mexico of all places.

Today we're blogging together. 

She asks the greatest questions!

Click on over and read our interview. It's short and sweet and comes with an opportunity to win a copy of GLORY BE. 

What have you got to lose?

Here it is!

http://kimberleygriffithslittle.blogspot.com/2012/03/glory-be-giveaway-and-im-chattin-it-up.html



And here's the new paperback cover for her book.
Don't you love it?

Book Battle

My March Madness runs more to the basketball kind. Quite honestly, I didn't really get the whole Battle of the Books thing. The last school I librarianed in once did a Battle of the Books with 4th grade kid readers. Book trivia. Kids against kids.

It was nothing like the School Library Journal sponsored brackets and competition going on now.

So I didn't think I'd bother.


Then I realized Dead End in Norvelt, the reigning Newbery book, was in contention. I tuned in.

True confessions. I'm not a huge Jack Gantos fan. Never really loved his books, though I totally get the appeal. But this one was fun to read and kept me turning pages.  

I was going to write a post about his whole Said is Dead thing because almost every single dialog tag featured a word other than said. Or an adverb modifier. I think it's a style thing with him?

From just two, randomly chosen pages, 78 and 79: 

he continued, I asked, he explained, he cautioned, I replied, he said, he whispered, I whispered back, he reminded me...

(If you care to know more, check out this earlier post on the topic. And all the comments.)

But instead of writing about Dead End in Norvelt, I got hooked on the SLJ Battle-- BOB, as it's known (Battle of the Books, get it?).

I loved how one judge justified her choice of   
DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE over Dead End.
Now I can't wait to read that book. And to follow the competition to the bitter end.

Click here to read Judge Sara Zarr's explanation of her winner in that bracket.

And today, Barbara O'Connor's up. I've read neither, but feel as if I know her two books quite well after this post today. 
Plus, I'm a fan of both of her assigned books' authors.
Click on over there and see what Barbara picked.

So yes, I'm hooked.
Besides, it doesn't interfere with my basketball games. And what's a few more books added to my To Be Read list? March Madness, indeed.



Related posts: SAID IS NOT DEAD 
Dialog Tips, Said is dead

My Glorious Mississippi Trip

When I arrived at my sister's in Batesville, look what greeted me.

I'm ready for touring. She supplied the flowers and the framed GLORY BE cover.
I added my Junk Poker box, Scholastic book bag, and Leslie's waterproof tote. Not that I needed it. Weather was fantastic.

After a stop in Oxford (see previous posts!), it was on to my hometown of Cleveland, MS. Home of Delta State University. More on that later.

I spoke at my local library. The same place I've checked out a zillion books, met a girl who inspired the character of Laura, researched swimming pool closings, and was inspired by some pretty great librarians.

Here's the poster my friend Nan designed for the event. They were all over the place!

I signed books for friends' moms, my pre-school teacher, my former librarian, my Latin teacher. I could go on and on. It was an amazing afternoon. I still can't quite believe it.

(So far, this is the best I can do, photo-wise. More to come I hope.)

Here I am speaking to the terrific kids at Bell Academy in Boyle, MS, just outside Cleveland.
It looks like a couple of them wish I'd been handed the Stop Talking card. But really, they were very attentive and had great questions.

I signed the books they'd bought at Scholastic's Book Fair. Cute kids. Such fun.

Then it was off to Jackson.
 Three schools! One great evening at Lemuria Books! And a gathering for my old college friends and my family at my very oldest friend's house. Here's Ivy's table.

Remember the picture of us from a while ago?

Here we are last week, a few birthday parties later, post Book Tour. Still smiling.







Goodbye to family and friends. Great time "Back Home." Thanks to all, especially my sister the Tour Guide and her twin brother, for all their support. Love you all!

A funny thing happened while talking...

Last Thursday I was at one of the South's premier bookstores, Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi. I love these independent bookstores that bring in authors, sponsor book discussions, know a lot about what they sell. Surrounded by a whole lot of friends and family, I talked about GLORY BE.

I approached the podium with Emily, a Lemuria bookseller, and she pointed out the microphone (didn't need it) and the water (needed it).

I glanced at my audience of GLORY BE supporters, then down at the podium.
Here's what I saw:

A small, cardstock, calling card-ish message.
Emily assured me it was from the previous author. Turns out, Unnamed Author tends to go on a little too long and his partner/ co-author slips him one of these cards when it's time to STOP TALKING. He has a whole box of them.

I don't think I needed it. I didn't talk that long.
Here I am in the "dotcom" building at Lemuria. Neat place. I heard there was beer. I saw there were lots of First Editions lining the walls.

(I promise I had more than two people in the audience.)

A Thing I Love: Thanks, Leslie

Bookmarks!
Made of shells collected when she visited us in Florida and tiny bits of sea glass from her own beach. And of course, packed in a box that's hand-lettered with one of my favorite GLORY BE chapter titles.

Possibly related posts:  

Bad Bookmarks?

Beautiful Bookmarks

Checking in from the road

This will be a quick post. I hope to share more later when I have the tons of pictures I've been promised!

But what a great week this has been. Can you even imagine going back to your hometown library and talking about a book that is set in a similar place? It gets better! Four of my former teachers were in the audience: my high school Latin teacher, two librarians, and my pre-school teacher. Also, many classmates and friends and family. People I don't know who'd heard about the book. Folks in the audience with memories of my daddy. It just doesn't get much better.

The weekend started with a night spent on the Mississippi River at a friend's new house. The drive over the levee took me back to driving our old Jeep to our fishing cabin.

This is the view from my window. Yes, it was that fantastic.

My sister/ companion/ tour guide and I took a few pictures of scenes from GLORY BE.
This is the new mural painted near the ball field at Fireman's Park. Not there when I was a kid, but we sure spent many hours making lanyards, swinging, even wading in the Park Pee Pool.

On the way out of town, headed toward Jackson, I visited a very innovative, interesting school, Bell Academy in Boyle, Mississippi. They'd just had a Scholastic Book Fair. I signed their books. I discussed my brief career as my school's spelling bee champ with a precious boy who'd just won the district spelling bee and was headed for Washington DC. He easily spelled the word I'd missed in 4th grade and have never forgotten:   nickle Nickel.

Jackson!

 I'm on the road. Three Mississippi towns. 4 schools and counting. Having a ball- but blogging isn't too easy.

Who needs to create a blogpost when you have friends doing it for you?
Here's a link to Leslie's blog about my adventures.  
CLICK HERE to go there!

Home Grown Writers

When I was in high school in Cleveland, Mississippi, I was a member of the library club. Or whatever we were called. I can find out because my sister has her high school yearbooks carefully lined up on a bookshelf. But you know what I mean. We checked out books with the little rubber date stamps. Shelved carts full of books, read all the new ones.

There was an entire section of bookshelves devoted to Mississippi writers. I devoured them. And I still do. And now, since I'm back home, it seems only natural to be reading local authors.



I just started Julie Cantrell's new book on my Kindle, which I can't live without while traveling. So far, really enjoying Into the Free. And it's making quite a splash on the booksellers' lists. Check it out.

I bet you could even get it autographed if you order it via Square Books (where you can also get a whole bunch of autographed copies of Glory Be ☺).

CLICK HERE for a link to Square Books in Oxford, MS.

Another Oxford writer I can't wait to dig into? Ace Atkins.
I met him last week in Charlotte, NC, at the amazingly terrific (I'm running out of superlatives for this trip!) evening dinner sponsored by my long-time friends at Baker and Taylor. (all I ever knew for many years of ordering books as a librarian. What an honor to be invited) There were about 10 authors there and his table was right next to mine. Hey, I bet Square Books has a few of his novels you could get your hands on!

 On this morning's Lemuria blog, a bookstore I adore in Jackson, I read about this new book. Love Jonathan O'Dell's guest blogpost.
This will be on my To Be Read list for sure. I may just have to buy it when I'm there on Thursday.

Where next Thursday afternoon, I hope to see a lot of my Jackson area friends and family! And my college friends driving from Atlanta, Louisiana, and all over the place. Gives a whole new feeling and meaning to Old Home Week.

Next stop, Bolivar County Library, Cleveland, MS. 

Monday, March 5 at 4 PM.

Books will be available at the library, thanks to Cotton Row Books.

Home Again

Who says you can't go home again.  Not me.

Yesterday's visit to Oxford, MS, was filled with smart kids, book lovers, old and new friends, and some delish things to eat.

Thank you to librarian Ruth Thompson and her great teachers and students at Della Davidson Elementary School. Pictures to come. I met a (smart, funny, really enthusiastic) teacher who had already shared GLORY BE with her students. I love hearing such thoughtful questions from young readers.



And what can be said about the amazing SQUARE BOOKS Jr.? Of course, my sister had drummed up her hometown friends, and my nieces had lured in a whole bunch of Oxford and Batesville moms and kids.


My family alone would have filled up half the space! Including a delightful and unexpected visit from two Scattergood/ Zook cousins I didn't even realize lived in Oxford.






One of my favorite Florida writers, former critique group member Lenore Ventura, made the drive from Memphis where she now lives. Now that's a special friend.

Tons of books signed and sold. More Glory- word spreading. Hurray for readers everywhere!















And what's Oxford without food? Chicken salad for lunch at yummy Newt's (thanks, Amy and Ellie!). Drinks and appetizers upstairs at Boure while we watched the crowd gather on the Square. (Here comes that thing we Southerners do- describing somebody with at least three degrees of relationship.) Thanks for that supper to my sister's husband's brother Chris. Yum!)

What a great way to come home!

In honor of my homecoming and my next stop in the Delta town where I was born, Cleveland, Mississippi, I'm sharing this picture of me and Ivy, my best friend since before birth. Not only have we been friends that long, her mama and my daddy were childhood friends, AND our grandparents were friends. Now that's what I love about Coming Home.

Dreaming up characters? Telling stories?

This morning two quotes came to me quite serendipidously.

The first reminded me that I haven't read the book, and it's been on my To Be Read list since it first came out. I'm embarrassed to admit, I'd forgotten about  

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.

(Thanks, Carl, for the email reminder. Downloading on my Kindle right now.)

"I believe in the democracy of storytelling," said McCann in an interview. "I love the fact that our stories can cross all sorts of borders and boundaries. I feel humbled by the notion that I'm even a small part of the literary experience. I grew up in a house, in a city, in a country shaped by books. I don't know of a greater privilege than being allowed to tell a story, or to listen to a story. They're the only thing we have that can trump life itself."

Another is from a writing craft book. I'd copied this quote from Flannery O'Connor and it floated out of a notebook I just opened to ponder a bunch of new characters, while traveling in the South.


"If you start with a real personality, a real character, then something is bound to happen; and you don't have to know what before you begin. In fact, it may be better if you don't know what before you begin. You ought to be able to discover something from your stories. If you don't, probably nobody else will."

This makes great sense. Especially if you write by the seat of your pants.
Though I swore I would never do THAT again.

Instead, I'll think about stories while fleshing out characters and taking in setting these next few days.
Which comes first in your writing? Character, story, place?


Related post: Letters 
Bloomsday

Writing Friends

Friends who write. Friends who critique. Friends who cheer you up and give you pep talks. They're the best!

Here's an interview just posted by my friend Helen Hemphill.  As she notes, I met her a while back, as we both might be inclined to say, at the excellent Rutgers One-on-One Conference. That would be New Jersey, where I happened to be living.
The way I remember it was that we were possibly the only two Southerners in the entire auditorium at the start of our day. And we found each other. After that, we both signed up for a terrific Highlights Founders weekend with Carolyn Coman. Possibly one of the best writing treats you can give yourself, by the way.



I love Helen's books (my favorite might be Long Gone Daddy- so funny and so beautifully written), and I was honored when she asked if she could interview me about my own first novel.  

Here it is! Click right here. 

Related post: Writing/ plotting is Hard Work

Mississippi, Here I Come!

                       SQUARE BOOKS JR: Oxford, MS. Thursday, March 1 at 5 PM

      BOLIVAR COUNTY LIBRARY: Cleveland, MS. Monday, March 5 at 4 PM

      LEMURIA: Jackson, MS. Thursday, March 8 at 4 PM

     Signing, Chatting, Explaining, Happily Hugging, 

occasional Sipping and Munching       

Can't wait to see you all there.                  

Wonder

(the book)

Since many of my friends in northern climes have possibly forgotten what a Snow Day is, I give you this.

From Jack, Auggie's friend, in the amazing book WONDER by P.J. Palacio.

"...waking up to a snow day is just about my favorite thing in the world. I love that feeling when you first open your eyes in the morning and you don't even know why everything seems different than usual.Then it hits you: Everything is quiet. No cars honking. No buses going down the street. Then you run over to the window, and outside everything is covered in white: the sidewalks, the trees, the cars on the street, your windowpanes. And when that happens on a school day and you find out your school is closed, well I don't care how old I get: I'm always going to think that that's the best feeling in the world. And I'm never going to be one of those grown-ups that use an umbrella when it's snowing --ever."

Loving the book, by the way.

Oh, and I just read that it's being marketed as a crossover into the adult book market. So it's not just for kids. And it's very, very good.

Bossypants as a Guide to Writing?

Hands down, one of the funniest books I've ever read.
Loved the chapter about her father.

(Although I'm not a fan of the jacket photo, even though I guess I understand what the publisher was trying to do. )





The two pages -- THE RULES OF IMPROVISATION -- could be studied and followed as Great Dialog Writing Tips:

There are no mistakes, only opportunities... only beautiful happy accidents.

In Things I Learned from Lorne Michaels:

The show doesn't go on because it's ready; it goes on because it's 11:30.

(ie Sometimes you just can't worry about what you've written. As long as you know the difference between what sings and what sinks, let go of the bad writing for a bit, stop stressing, and Move On. Unlike live TV, writers can revise, later.)

Tina Fey is really, really funny and often very true when she takes off on motherhood.
When people say, "You really, really must do something, it means you don't really have to. No one ever says, "you really, really must deliver the baby during labor." When it's true, it doesn't need to be said.

I'm taking this to mean, we don't have to hit our readers over the head with the truth. Or make characters do something just because everybody says they should. Leave something for that proverbial Between The Lines.

Funny book. 

Newpapers: Mississippi to Montreal

It amazes and pleases me so much when somebody from Far Away really seems to get Glory!

Thank you Montreal (yes, that's CANADA) Gazette:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Mississippi+girl+knows+pool+closed/6169931/story.html

And thanks, also, to my local hometown newspaper. I grew up reading the BOLIVAR COMMERCIAL when it was published one day a week. I was the editor of our high school newspaper, the Cleveland Hi-Lite (yes, that's how it was spelled), an insert into the weekly paper. Many things in that newspaper made me mad, even in high school. And some things were just plain fun. (What was Mrs. Glassco's "society" column called? I.C. All? Who remembers!)

And here I am, all these years later, in the Sunday Edition!

http://www.bolivarcom.com/view/full_story/17592221/article-Scattergood-to-hold-book-signing?instance=main_article

Bookmarks Forever

Today I'm inspired by this fun post about the gross, unhelpful, weird things people/ kids use for bookmarks.

THE BATTLE OF THE BAD BOOKMARKS.

Check it out. Go on, click over there and vote. While you're there, note the book whose place is being held with a crumpled dollar bill.

I love (real) bookmarks.
I especially love the ones my talented friend Eileen created for GLORY BE.

 The front.

 And the back. Ah, the mimosa blossom. Pretty, no?

Bookmarks from friends' new books inspired me. Thanks Kimberley, Caroline and Tess!

But occasionally I resort to stickie notes. Okay. Maybe too often. I wonder if the stickie stuff harms the pages.
Probably not as much as a used tissue, right?

 

Related Posts: Book Spines for Poetry Month 

Beautiful Bookmarks, with a nod to my friend Doris

Anderson's Annual Children's Literary Breakfast Weekend

Ten years and counting- Oh, my!

I can't even begin to describe the weekend except with pictures. I'm sure there will be many articulate blog posts from the terrific array of authors who were there with me.

☞ If you're looking for just the facts, not the words of somebody who's still floating about ten feet off the ground, CLICK HERE for a newspaper article from the Naperville Sun.

Thanks to the most amazing BOOK Enthusiasts at Anderson's Bookshops, I spent Friday morning at the terrific Woods Creek Elementary School in Crystal Lake. Although the weather was glorious (sunny and high 40s in Illinois in February?- Obviously planned just for me!), the outside of the school was hard to photograph. Instead, here's a picture that the kindergarten kids were flocking around. Tiny squares of each student's face make up the facade of the school. Note the magnifying glasses so they can pick out themselves and their friends. Note my strategically placed books. My new friend Gail from Anderson's and I conspired to get GLORY BE into all pictures.

I signed a ton of books before my presentations. 

It was such fun being back in a school. I felt like Queen for the Day! The 4th grade had done a huge project around GLORY BE. They were eager to share their character posters. Ah, the details! The boys were fascinated with J.T.'s missing finger...

On Friday night, I signed books at Anderson's (did I mention what an amazing bookstore that is? Love it.), with Katherine Applegate.
I'm about half way through THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, her new book. So far, WOW.

Up bright and early for the Saturday morning event. Again, pictures best describe that day. Even the cellphone pics my new friends have already emailed me.

I spoke first, at 8:30. Then I got to enjoy the rest of the day! The book talks by two of Anderson's enthusiastic staff, about all their favorite new books made me wish I were still a school librarian.

Well, maybe not. Right now I'm pretty happy being Debut Author.

Here I am, as tweeted by my new favorite librarian, Mr. Schu.





(An aside, I sat next to Illinois author Barb Rosenstock at the signing. She told him her 13-year-old son checks his blog constantly for great book recommendations. I'm going to be checking that blog often. Such good info.)


During the breaks, we got to sign books and schmooze with fabulous teachers and librarians. These ladies love Elvis. Loved my stories about Tupelo and my career as a childhood Elvis impersonator.
Chris just emailed the picture (3rd grade teacher, on my left). She swears she's been to Graceland ten times! Her students love Elvis!

During our breaks all morning, we could pop over to the huge room, filled with books, next to the gigantic ballroom where we were speaking and breakfasting.  By the end of the day, frazzled but happy, I'd sold and signed every copy of GLORY BE Anderson's had brought to the event.

Now home, floating off the earth that so many amazing book lovers chose my book to celebrate. Thanks, Becky and all your buddies at Anderson's Bookshop. What a day!

Great Company

Tomorrow I head north to O'Hare.
That's Chicago.
Where it's cold.

Although I try not to share photos this time of year, for fear of repercussions from my Yankee friends, they've had such a nice winter up there, I think I can show just these teensy pics.


 Looking outside-

 MY BACK DOOR:

MY FRONT DOOR:

 Actually, the Chicago weather forecast says sunny and low 40s on Friday and Saturday. I'll take it. Especially when this note appeared at the bottom of the weather.com forecast:

Notorious February Snowstorms
It may not seem like it now, but February is notorious for some of the worst snowstorms of the year.


If you're wondering what's taking me from my sunny clime, you can read all about it on this terrific blog: WATCH, CONNECT, READ: Exploring Children's Literature Through Book Trailers.

I'm way at the bottom. Scroll through some amazing talent and you'll see me. I'm excited and honored that GLORY BE is in such good company. My bags are packed. My Junk Poker box is carefully wrapped. I even have photos loaded onto a PowerPoint presentation.

Naperville, Illinois- here I come! Anderson's Children's Literature Breakfast!
Can't wait!