One Author's Journey To SOKY And Back: Part 4

One would think that my Sunday journey home after the book fest would have been an uneventful thing, but just the opposite was true. After breakfasting with Mark Wayne Adams, my favorite illustrator, and Deborah Gaynor, the creator of Readers Favorite, I quickly packed my things and headed out.

As I was driving down the interstate, I began to think about an unusual dream my friend Amanda told me about during our lunch on Friday. It was actually quite funny and as I continued to think about it, a picture book idea began to form in my mind. Amanda being from Tennessee gave me the added inspiration to make the picture book with a definite Southern flair. 

Not wanting wreck my car on a 8 lane interstate, I very carefully removed a notebook and pen from my purse and wrote my ideas down without looking at the paper. I only wrote down main points to remember later and then I put my writing implements away without mishap.

Remembering the road sign for Fern Valley Road, I payed careful attention when driving back through Louisville. When I saw the sign, I exited the interstate and managed to snag a picture of  the actual road sign. Much later in the week after I had arrived home, my friend Lisa Tortorello, a fabulous author in her own right, sent me a doctored picture of the Fern Valley Road sign on the Interstate. I'm not sure what the highway department would think, but I really loved it!

After my brief stop I got back on the interstate and drove for miles, and miles, and miles. I began to see the same beautiful scenery and blooming red bud trees that I had seen on my way down. Not having anyone else to talk to I spoke with God. "I sure wish there was somewhere I could pull off and get some great scenery pictures Lord. But I thank you for the beauty of the day none-the-less!" And, I kept driving.

Somewhere between Louisville and Cincinnati, my GPS had a glitch and told me to turn off on a nearby exit. Forgetting that it was a straight shot to Cincinnati and being used to just following my GPS instructions, I gave that little thought. I only drove about a mile down a very winding two lane country highway before I realized that my GPS had somehow malfunctioned. I figured I would just keep driving ahead until I could find a way back to the interstate. As I drove I found a few beautiful places to pull over and take some scenery pictures.

Shortly after my last picture the road took me right back to the interstate. Divine Intervention or accidental GPS Malfunction. I choose to think God heard my request and loved me enough to answer it. So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

The rest of my trip was just a normal day's worth of gas stops, rest stops, and lots of driving to get back to my family. Al in all a trip worth remembering and one  I hope you have enjoyed taking with me.

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!

One Author's Journey To SOKY And Back: Part 3

Saturday came early for me just as Friday had done when I awoke at around 4:00 am and could not go back to sleep. Saturday, after all, was the day that would surely bring some sales. I once again watched television until it was time for breakfast. Fortified for the morning, I then set out for the conference center. I got my pen, sharpies, and paper ready the same as the day before and exuberantly waited for the throngs of people to rush through the doors.

A police officer stood at the end of my aisle and I jokingly asked him if  if he was there to keep people from fighting over our books. He jokingly replied yes, although we both knew he was there to keep overly eager fans from showing excessive love to Mr.Winkler.

I had two extra special highlights that morning. The first was when a mother who had been at the Children's Day event with her daughter returned to my table to purchase a book. After her daughter thoroughly examined it and she decided she wanted it, her mom said, "I knew you would like that book." The second was when a young girl grabbed her friend and said, "You have to come over here and see this lady. She is the best artist ever!" This was indeed great praise since as I mentioned before I can only draw a handful of characters.

My friend Debbie Dadey and I also got to meet the oh so famous SkippyJon Jones. It was a good day and although I did not sell my whole stack of books, I did deplete it by half which is just fine in my book.

After the book fest was over, a local SCBWI chapter invited me to join their meeting. Having just joined last year, I have yet to attend any meetings in my own area so I happily accepted. It was a fun meeting and stayed about a half an hour to forty minutes before leaving. As I left for my hotel I saw a customer reading in a very comfortable lounging area. I spoke to her and  we ended up talking for about two hours. I always find it amazing when I am far from home and I make a connection with someone out of the blue. By then it was getting late so I went back to my hotel and called my family.

After checking up on my husband and daughter, I went out to grab a bite to eat. A wonderful end to a wonderful evening. I went to bed excited for the experiences of the weekend and at the same time, truly grateful to be going home to the family I missed so much.

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day and encouraging you to tune in tomorrow for my final day and journey home!

One Author's Journey To SOKY And Back: Part 2

I woke bright and early Friday morning ready to start Children's Day, and by early I mean about 4:00 am. I must have been super excited because I couldn't go back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. So I watched television until it was time to go down to breakfast, and then I headed over to the conference center. Amy Ignatow and I were walking  briskly towards our destination when Mark Wayne Adams stopped and asked us if we wanted a ride. The conference center was only a five minute walk, but the temperature which had been around 85 degrees the day before had plummeted to 45 degrees that morning. We gladly jumped into the back of his vehicle!

Once inside, I got my pen, sharpies, and card stock ready. I knew from experience that I wouldn't sell many books because my book, which retails for $11.99, is priced just above the ten dollars that most parents send with their children. But I didn't let that dampen my spirits, and I got busy drawing farm characters for the children. Now in case you aren't already aware of the fact, I did not illustrate Fern Valley. But since so many people always ask me that, I thought it prudent to learn some basics. I practiced for months on a dry erase board with my eight year old  as my toughest critic. Once I got my six characters down, I could whip one up with the ease of a master chef torching a Cherries Jubilee. The only problem is that six farm characters are all I know how to draw with the exception of a few boy and girl faces. But all was well and fine until someone asked for a duck. A duck, you see, is not one of the six things I know how to draw; thankfully the young man settled for a turkey.

The fun was only beginning because  my friend and fellow author,  Amanda Stephan, came up from Tennessee to attend the Writers Conference that was going on simultaneously with Children's Day. After we were both done for the afternoon, we headed to Cheddar's to hang out. This was a special treat as we had never met in person before. We hit it off splendidly and managed not to embarrass her daughter Brenna very much. The waiter was kind enough to snap a picture of us which I will cherish always.

Amanda Stephan and I

We were only able to spend about two hours together because I had to get ready to attend the Author Meet and Greet Fund Raising Reception. It was a glorious night of smoozing with celebs, other authors, and locals from Bowling Green. I really do love a good party.

Mr. Winkler and I

 

Mary McDonough and I

Mark and I

Virginia Smith and I

 

Stacy Curtis, Bruce Kessler, and I

As much as I love to mingle though, having been up since four made for a long day; so around about seven, I headed for my hotel room to ponder the amazing happenings of the day.

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day and encouraging you to tune in tomorrow for part three!

One Author's Journey To SOKY And Back : Part 1

I know I have been remiss in posting this month , but I hope to make up for that fact by sharing my recent journey to the Southern Kentucky Book Fest otherwise know as SOKY. The SOKY Fest is held in the lovely city of Bowling Green, Kentucky and for months and months I looked forward to the trip. Unlike my previous trip to the Kentucky Book Fair in Frankfort, which found my husband and daughter tagging along, this trip I would be making on my own.

I started my journey last Thursday in the normal way by taking my daughter to school. Since we always listen to Serius XM Kids Place Live on the radio, I thought it would be nice if I could prequest a parting song for her and I. We were both thrilled when Kenny Curtis from The Animal Farm show mentioned our names and played our song of choice which was Sponge Bob's version of The Best Day Ever! Then I set out on my seven and a half hour drive. The further south I traveled, the leafer the trees became. The scenery was stunning and my only regret was that I was unable to take pictures of said scenery.

Quite some time after crossing the border between Ohio and Kentucky, I decided to stop at a roadside rest. I took this opportunity to call my husband who insisted on contact each time I stopped. As we chatted and I looked at a map on the wall trying to tell him how far I had traveled, I suddenly heard someone call my name. I turned in surprise and found myself face to face with  friend and fellow author Joy Bowser. She was on her way to a book festival in Alabama. We laughed over the coincidence of meeting in a rest stop miles from Ohio. Since I had my brand new Nikon with me, I ran to the car to get it so we could commemorate our unexpected meeting and then we parted ways.

When I had traveled as far as Louisville I noticed one of the large green roadsigns overhead pronounced the upcoming exit for Fern Valley Road. How extraordinarily kind of the people of Louisville to name a road after my book, I thought. It was then that I remembered a friend previously telling me about the very large Ford plant on Fern Valley Road. I made a mental note to stop by for a picture on my trip home.

Finally after what seemed like days of traveling instead of hours, I made it to Bowling Green and carefully followed the instructions spewing forth from my GPS in hopes of soon arriving at my hotel the Staybridge Suites. My GPS took me outside of the city and out into the middle of no where to Campbell Road. As I pulled over and looked at the houses around me I knew I was totally lost. Rechecking my confirmation paper, I noticed that I should be on Campbell Lane instead of Campbell Road. Having driven seven and a half hours already and being kind of tired, it never occurred to me to call the hotel and ask where in the world they were actually located and why I was in the boonies. But before total panic set in, I remembered the fact that the Carrol Knicely Conference Center, where the book fest was to be held, was next door to my hotel.Quickly typing in this new destination, I was thrilled to hear my GPS direct me back toward Bowling Green.

In about the space of ten minutes a very relieved me was pulling into the Staybridge Suites parking lot. I jokingly told the manager on duty that I needed to upgrade my maps because I ended up in no man's land. He then set my mind at ease and told me that the hotel was new and the coordinates had yet to make it into the system. So tired, and yet relieved, I hauled my things to the third floor and into my oh so lovely room. Now for any of you who know that I love to cook almost as much as I love to write, you will understand my awe over the kitchen in my room. It was an inspiring dream hotel kitchen all shiny and new, and the only drawback was the fact that I had no food to cook.

I set about unpacking all my things before deciding to take pictures of my room, and then I decided that I needed to erase the two hundred and some odd pictures already in my camera's memory. I quickly formatted my card erasing everything at once when I suddenly remembered the pictures of my friend Joy and I from the rest stop. Needless to say, this is a pg rated site, so I won't mention the things I said to myself at that moment in time.

When I was done berating myself, I went down to check out the lobby area and I called my husband to let him know that I had arrived safely. While I sat in an extremely comfortable leather chair chatting, I noticed a woman sitting at the author sign in table. Once my conversation ended, I meandered over to that table and signed myself in. I was handed a lovely tote stuffed with nice items like a bottle of water, a sharpie, snacks, and a tube I thought was bubbles. It's hard to describe my disappointment at discovering that the tube held hand sanitizer instead of bubbles, but I'm sure you can imagine it! I was then informed that a local patron had invited the authors arriving early to her home for dinner.

We were shuttled to her home which quite frankly had one of the most fabulous kitchens I have ever seen. I know I seem to be obsessing over kitchens, but it's my thing. And just so you know, because I am a very contented sort of person I was able to fight off the kitchen envy in just a few hours... I mean minutes.

The evening turned out to be tons of fun as I met faculty from the college, chatted by the pool with Mark Wayne Adams the oh so popular illustrator, and dined and shared stories with the likes of Amy Ignatow and Mary McDonough (Erin from Walton's Mountain).

That night as I lay in my bed, which was pretty comfortable for a hotel bed, I thought about all the exciting events of the day and wondered what fabulous mysteries Friday would hold.

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day and encouraging you to tune in tomorrow for part two of One Author's Journey To SOKY And Back.

Creative Kids and Characters

Since my daughter, Emily, was very small, we have been making crafts. Crafts are so much a part of our life that whenever she has a play date she expects me to have a craft ready for her and her friend. So it didn't surprise me at all that while on Spring break this week she came up with a craft of her own. She managed to save some toilet  paper rolls, scavenged out craft drawers, and created these cute t.p. girls.

Looking at these imaginative girlies made me think of a creative character named Holly in a book I just read. Everywhere Holly looks there are beautiful gardens full of lovely blooms and she wants to grow perfect flowers too. But no matter how hard she tries, her flowers just won't cooperate. But Holly is inventive and persistent and manages to create a long lasting beautiful bunch of flowers. To find out how, grab your own copy of Holly Bloom's Garden!

Signing of for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!

A Great Family Movie Promoting Reading

 

Often movies are adaptations of books, but rarely are they about books. So the movie, The Reading Room, starring James Earl Jones was a wonderful surprise to me. It is the story of a widower (Mr. Jones) who makes a promise to his dying wife that he will open a reading room in one of the downtown buildings he owns. She knew he would need something to fill the void when she was gone, and she believed that by sharing his extensive library and love of reading with others he would do just that.

Mr. Jones does indeed open a reading room; however, not all the neighborhood residents are happy with his presence there. He struggles to attract people to the room, he struggles with crime, and he struggles with those opposed to change even when that change is beneficial. The Reading Room is a movie that shows that although life is often difficult, something as basic as teaching a child to read can strengthen and rebuild an entire community.

I give this movie two thumbs up. Not only are the actors superb, but the message is as well. Reading is a key that opens many doors and offers everyone the opportunity to learn lessons of respect, loyalty, honesty, community, compassion, and most of all perseverance. These are things my late father taught me, things I hold dear, things that led to my motto "Kids Who Read Can Do Anything". So if you have yet to see this movie, I suggest you check it out. And after you have watched it, I bet you will be inspired to read another, and another, and another book.

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!






 

Jelly Beans Aren't Just For Easter!

Tonight for her her homework reading requirement my daughter, Emily, read the The Jellybeans and the Big Dance to me. At first I thought it would be a book about Easter with Jellybeans being so prominent in the title, but it was actually a lovely book about friendship. To be more precise, it was a book about totally different individuals who felt that they will be unlikely to be friends until they discovered something they had in common. You guessed it, they all loved jellybeans.

This discovery led them to realize that although they were different they could still be friends and have a wonderful time dancing together. As soon as Emily started reading and told me that the main character was named Emily, I knew this book was sure to be a winner with her. After all how can you not love a book whose main character has your name. But don't fret, even if your darling isn't named Emily, I'm sure she will love this book about friendship, dancing, and jellybeans!

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!

The "Write" Kind Of A Workshop

Recently I held a children's writing workshop sponsored by the PTO of a local school, and I must admit that I'm hooked. I really think I could host this workshop repeatedly and never tire of spending time with fabulous kids who are interested in reading and writing. Although a small group, the children that attended seemed eager to listen and learn.

We covered many things such as literary terms and their meanings, we did a fun worksheet where the kids had to find all the letters I used to create a cowgirl, I did a little illustrating, and I read a story out of my book which we used to discuss the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions every author answers when writing.


About half way through the program, I handed out composition notebooks, pens, and picture prompts. The picture prompts were the six pieces of clip art to the right that I created and  printed out in worksheet form. I then asked the children to incorporate the pictures into a story of their own. Since there were students ranging from first to eighth grade, I told them not to worry about spelling, but to do the best they could in sounding out words. Each and every child used their unique imaginations and in the end there were seven wonderful stories.


I gave each child the opportunity to read their story out loud, and for those few too shy to do so, I read them instead. I was particularly impressed with the story written by a fifth grader named Taylor. She was a quiet girl but quite attentive. She told a tale of mice having a birthday party which was disturbed when an owl swooped down and flew off with the birthday mouse. The other mice gave chase and finally found the owl's home. She described the rescue mission as follows: They climbed all night. It felt like it would take forever. The huge acorn tree was so tall it touched the moon. 
 
The way she described the tree touching the moon gave me cause for excitement, and I had her repeat those lines for the other students. I asked them what they would have thought if she had simply said, "the tree was tall." Of course they all replied that would be very boring. This opened up the opportunity to discuss using descriptive words to give readers a mental picture of what we are writing about.

In that moment of time, I was in my element and the immense love of words instilled in me by my late father was never more evident. This was definitely the "Write" kind of a workshop for me.

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!

My Illustration Attempt

Taylor and Friends Hard At Work

Getting Started On A Story

Steppin' Outside The Zone

I am basically a creature of habit and like most people I don't relish the idea of change. However, I do want to grow as an author and as a human being; so I have spent a goodly portion of the past few years Steppin' Outside The Zone; the comfort zone that is. I have learned to share with total strangers that I am a children's author. Not in a creepy stalker like manner, but in a casual conversational way.  I have learned to become more tech savvy which is not something I feel naturally inclined towards.  I have learned to ask people for help even though my brain screams they will surely turn you down! And I believe it has paid off overall.

Since my book was published, many people have asked me if I did the illustrations as well as the written story; and I laughingly joke that I'm not that talented. The truth of the matter is, a feeling of embarrassment almost envelopes me when I tell people I don't draw that well because deep down inside I wish I did. I have always longed to be able to draw, but that just doesn't seem to be a talent that comes naturally. Despite this fact, during the two years I have been an author, I have met and been inspired by other authors like Jarrett Krosoczka author of the Lunch Lady series and Lauri Lazzaro Knowlton author of  Cowgirl Alphabet.

I met Lauri last year at the Kentucky Book Fair and she was kind enough to show me and an other author how to draw a little cowgirl out of letters, and this year I was fortunate enough to catch one of Jarrett's live studio podcasts where he showed how he draws the lunch lady. More then ever, this made me want to be able to draw as well as write; and so I began to practice. I'm still no illustrator, but I am getting better and I have created a few farm animals characters that I can draw to entertain the children when I do events.

So don't be a Negative Nelly or a Disappointed Dan. Start your own Steppin' Outside The Zone and see what wonderful things you can accomplish if you set your mind to it.

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!

The Number One Thing Writers Should Never Do!

 

There is one thing that writers should NEVER do, but of which many are guilty. What is that you adk? Abusing Social Networking, Networking by definition means: a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest. Social means: inclined to seek out or enjoy the company of others; sociable. Now if we put the two of these words together, we should come to the conclusion that Social Networking is a way to share information and support each other's common interests in an enjoyable and friendly manner. The problem is, however, that most authors seem to be under the impression that using social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter means they can post a constant stream of Buy My Book.

I will be the first to admit I want to sell books. Actually, I want to sell a lot of books . But I know one thing for certain, what annoys me will probably annoy others. Sp what should one post on Social Networking sites?

• Helpful Information: Information on marketing, venues for authors, tips on writing, what should be on an author website, etc...

•  Book Reviews: You love books or you wouldn't be a writer, so use this as an opportunity to share a genre you love, help a fellow author, and show people it's not just about you and your book.

• Photos and Personal Information: People in general are interested in getting to know you. Share your favorite recipe, what special things you or your family are doing, pictures of your crazy cat, or your spouse sledding with your children. People want to know you are just like everyone else.

• Replies and Comments: Being sociable is a two-way street. Show an interest in others and what they are doing. Be genuinely interested in what others have to say and they will be genuinely interested in what you have to say as well.

• Special News: It's okay to tell about an award you won, an event you were invited too, or a new book being accepted by a publisher. People usually share in the good fortune of others, as long as those people don't come across as conceited or boastful.

Once you have established good relationships with your followers, work together to find ways to share information about your books that is less annoying the buy my book  or  you need get my book because it's only $2.99. One of the things I do is to ask a handful of people I have formed relationships with to tweet about my upcoming events or my book in hopes that their followers might be interested. But in return, I do the same for them. And one thing I keep in mind, especially in writing groups I belong to, is that other authors are not my target audience. From time to time other authors might be interested in purchasing my book, but in general they are more concerned about selling their own book/books then purchasing mine. Therefore, targeting them with constant purchase pleas will simply aggravate the very people who could prove invaluable as marketing partners.

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!