The Sound and Furry

This just makes me smile...

2011-11-16T07:35:00.000-08:00

Anon,

Nancy

Happy Veterans Day

2011-11-11T06:59:00.000-08:00

Special Thanks to all who gave their lives or are giving their lives so that we may live free...

In celebration of our armed forces here is an excerpt from my grandfather's journal as he left New York harbor on his way to serve as a Chaplin to an Army Battalion in France in 1918.

What mingled emotions come as the great drama of life unfolds! Here we are on board the U.S. President Grant bound for "somewhere in France..."

We have left old New York far behind. How hard it is to see the glorious harbor for the last time- for perhaps years! How one does love one's country when leaving it under such conditions as these. It stands for life as each one delights to live it, for happiness which comes through the great normal channels of divine ordination; for service unto others as God gives us opportunity. The men have been silent, thoughtful and serious. They realize also what it means. Yet not one of us would be elsewhere.

Anon,

Nancy

Steve Jobs- Rest in Peace

2011-10-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life." - Steve Jobs

Amazing Animal Pix

2011-09-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Check out these amazing photos of a pride of lions, a mama lion in particular, who are trying to save a lion cub who's fallen into a ravine.

http://animaltracks.today.com/_news/2011/09/27/7974512-cliffhanger-can-a-mama-lion-save-her-cub

Thank you, Ms. Rowling...

2011-09-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

Found this on Pinterest.com, So Cool

2011-09-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

From the San Francisco Chronicle, a female humpback whale had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was so weighted down by the traps that she struggled to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was freed, the divers said she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

Wonder how many copies it sold?

2011-09-07T09:48:00.001-07:00

I want this sign...

2011-09-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

There are some days at the bookstore when I wish we had this posted.

So ready...

2011-08-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

Review: The Giver

2011-08-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Giver by Lois Lowry is set in the community, a place where everyone dresses the same, lives in similar houses and life is free from unemployment, disease and war.

This utopian society is not without it's flaws. And as the story begins, we are slowly shown the cracks in this carefully constructed society. Young Jonas, age 11 is about to experience the Ceremony of Twelve. It is the last of the ceremonies in the community. They occur each December. At age nine, the youngsters receive their bicycles, at age one, the babies are given a family. At age 12, the kids are given a career path.

At the ceremony, Jonas finds out he is to be the Receiver of the community. The Receiver is the one person who has access to how things used to be before they formed the community--it's memories, it's history, all locked up in this one person. As one Receiver ages, another one must be trained. Jonas will be that person. As the Receiver, he can ask questions that other members of the community cannot and the members must tell him the truth. That's when things start to fail. Jonas asks what happens when someone is released from the community. The current Receiver, known to him as The Giver shows Jonas a video of someone being released. Jonas learns later that it was the Giver's daughter. It is this knowledge that changes everything Jonas thought he knew about the community and leads to him choosing a difficult path...

The Giver won the Newbery when it was released in 1994--way before the trend of dystopian fantasies. Lowry first shows us the structure of the community --it's sameness, by showing everyone eating the same thing, wearing the same clothes, even riding the same bicyles. Then she unpeels the layers like you would an onion--slowly, carefully. The community seems slightly creepy in it's concise functionality, making it more and more dysfunctional. You root for Jonas to ask the right questions and make the right decisions. The writing is straightforward, there is no navel-gazing, no flowery words. The language is simple and clean much like the community itself. I found the book to be slightly disturbing and didn't like it at first. But upon further reflection, I believe this was Lowry's intent. We shouldn't like a society that eliminates individuality. We should celebrate our differences not suppress them.

Anon,

Nancy

Next up: The Penderwicks

June is Adopt A Shelter Cat Month

2011-06-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

My Favorite Shelter Cats!

Bloom like an Artist

2011-05-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

I first saw this link on the http://www.jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/ blog and I love it!

http://www.nettserier.no/jellyvampire/1304892000/

Anon,

Nancy

Born like an Artist

2011-05-12T06:41:00.000-07:00

I love this. Janet Reid posted this to her blog yesterday (http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com ) It's awesome.

http://www.nettserier.no/jellyvampire/1304892000/

Anon,

Nancy

Review: To Kill A Mockingbird

2011-04-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

To Kill A Mockingbird won the Pulitzer Prize, was picked by librarians as the best book of the 20th century and was made into a wonderful movie starring Gregory Peck. This American classic scrutinizes with unwavering honesty the racism and poverty that exists in a small Alabama town in the 1930’s. Told through the eyes of Scout, a young girl whose father has been tapped to defend a black man accused of raping a poverty-stricken young girl.

Harper Lee eases into this storyline, choosing to begin by first showing the reader the town and its inhabitants. She explores Scout and Jem’s attempts to see Boo Radley, the recluse that lives next door and is rumored to be a blood-thirsty peeping tom. She also explores the unique family dynamic that exists between the kids, their father Atticus and their housekeeper, Calpernia. By the time the trial rolls around, the reader knows the characters and the town; it’s an easy leap to discern what effect a trial of this magnitude will have on this small town.

Scout’s father, Atticus Finch must defend a man already convicted by most of the town’s white inhabitants. He can only show that Tom Robinson, a tall black man with a withered arm from an accident with a cotton gin could not have beaten and battered the simple Mayella Ewell.Her injuries were clearly done by someone left-handed and well Tom's left arm was rendered useless by the accident. Clearly, he couldn't have done it. Even with a preponderance of evidence in Tom’s favor and the knowledge that Mayella receives frequent beatings and possibly more from her father; Tom is still convicted of the crime and sent to prison. Tom's conviction seems to be a fait accompli as he is a negro in the rural south and few if any juries at that time would choose to believe a black man over a white man.

A constant theme in the book is that one must spend time in another person's shoes in order to really know him. Or as Atticus puts it “climb into his skin and walk around in it." Once you see things from the other person's point of view--you may be less likely to judge him. Atticus suggests this to Scout in regard to Boo Radley, Walter Cunningham and Bob Ewell. It's at the climax of the novel that she is really able to do that and you really see her growth.

Great book. Read it. You'll be glad you did. If you've already read it. Read it again.

Next up: The Giver

Anon,

Nancy

Review- Tale of Despereaux

2011-03-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

Tale of Despereaux- by Kate DiCamillo

I enjoyed this book. It's a light read and the words delightful and charming come to mind when I describe it to people. DiCamillo does a skillful job of using multiple POV's She begins by telling the story of Despereaux a little mouse born with his eyes open. He lives in a palace and spends time in the library where instead of chewing on the pages of the books, he reads. He reads stories that begin with Once upon a time... He has a chance meeting with Princess Pea. She's kind to him, refusing to let her father kill him. Despereaux falls in love with Princess Pea. For this, he is banished by his own father to the dungeon. Despereaux's story comprises the first of four sections or books. The second section is about a rat name Chiaroscuro who, unlike the other rats of the dungeon he does not like the dark, preferring instead to seek out the light. In doing so he ends up in the queen's soup. The third book is about a young serving girl named Miggory Sow. Mig has been "clouted" so many times her ears now resemble cauliflowers.The characters' stories converge in the fourth and final book placing them all in the dungeon.

DiCamillo uses the four POV's in such a way that she begins with one story, gets to certain point and then tells the story of the next character, until all four characters are at the same crossroads. From there, she moves the story forward with all four characters interacting. This technique could have ended up a mess of head-hopping but it doesn't. DiCamillo constructs these four stories in a very organized and entertaining manner and the result is a delightful story.

She also at times will break the fourth wall and speak directly to the reader, this is a risk, but it works with this type of fairytale. It does work better in some chapters than others.

Next up: To Kill a Mockingbird

Anon,

Nancy

Review of Speak- by Laurie Halse Anderson

2011-02-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

Speak- Laurie Halse Anderson

When Melinda calls the cops at an end of summer party, she finds herself the pariah of her high school. Her friends won’t talk to her and people she's never met hate her. Melinda is alone, trying not to think about what happened to her that night. If she thought about it, she would have to SPEAK the truth and then her life could really unravel.

I have to say upfront that I read this book in one sitting and loved it. Now the hard part, what makes it so good? I think it’s the simple language that Anderson uses. The metaphors she uses to describe what happens are not cliché, they are hers alone—new and unique. The voice is in first person and the reader learns in heart-breaking detail what the school year is like for her. No friends to speak of, no one to talk to, she is alone in her own head and for a girl like Melinda, that’s the last place she wants to be.

The novel is broken down into the four marking periods that comprise the school year. The sections are further broken down into vignettes that occur during that time. Things like gym class, job day, pep rally are used to move the novel forward.

Melinda finds an abandoned janitor’s closet that becomes her refuge when the day becomes too much for her to handle. She also finds solace in her art class, trying all year to draw the perfect tree. These two things provide her with the strength she needs to endure.

It’s clear that Melinda is depressed, but Anderson never states the words outright. She portrays Melinda with the symptoms of depression. She shows a lack of interest in almost everything; she needs and wants to sleep all the time, she shows a lack or disregard for personal hygiene. Her grades have plummeted from the year before. Even the town she lives in is dreary and gray. For writers trying to master the mantra “show don’t tell,” Speak provides the perfect example of what that means. Anderson shows the reader Melinda’s turmoil, never once does she tell us how she feels, she shows us her inner wrath in every scene. By the end you want her to finally SPEAK the truth.

Next up: Tale of Despereaux

Anon,

Nancy

The Alchemyst

2011-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

The Alchemyst(The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)-by Michael Scott

Twins Sophie and Josh Newman take summer jobs across the street from each other in San Francisco. Three strange men enter the bookstore where Josh works looking for the Codex- The Book of Abraham, the Mage. The Codex is in the possession of Josh’s boss, Nick Fleming. The twins soon learn that Nick Fleming is really Nicholas Flamel—the Alchemyst and the holder of the elixor of life. The men swipe the Codex (and Flamel’s wife Perry), but not before Josh is able to tear out the critical last two pages. The twins learn that they may be mentioned in the book’s prophecies, a fact that will forever change their lives and have them on the run with Flamel.

In The Alchemyst, Scott weaves mythology, history and fiction together to create a story which begins at a breakneck pace and builds from there. Scott doesn’t begin with a scene or two to let the reader know a little about the characters—he starts almost immediately with action before the reader really knows who the characters are. It’s a riskly move but it pays off for him in the end as he sucks you with the action and fills in the other parts as the story evolves.

From a writing standpoint, The Alchemyst uses several different points of view, but never once did I get confused as to whose point of view it was that I was reading. Scott usually separates the POV’s as different sections or chapters. It helps that the pov changes follow consistently within the structure of the plot. Scott also includes a lot of historical and mythical information throughout the book. The background information is woven into the dialogue but it never feels like he’s using one character to lecture the other characters.

There are some plot points that do seem a bit contrived. The mirrors as a leygate (or passage) seems a bit reminiscent of HP 6, and the cabinets acting as passageway in and out of Hogwarts for Voldemort’s followers. The mirrors appear at a time when it seems that the main characters are trapped. Other than this flaw, I really enjoyed this book. It's a great example of how to write a fast-paced Fantasy novel as it doesn't get bogged down in world building or try to be more than it is.

Next up, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Anon,

Nancy

New Year's Resolution

2011-01-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

Last year, I only read about two or three books the entire year. Granted, I work two jobs and I did a lot of writing, but that's still pretty dismal. This year, my New Year's Resolution is to read 25 books--a little more than two books a month. Of the 25 books, I plan to focus on reading novels. This includes classics I never read in high school or college; young adult and middle grade books; and books that come highly recommended by friends. I'll blog about each book and what I learned from it. Afterall, books should teach us something right? Stay tuned. First up is a young adult book called The Alchemyst by Michael Scott.

Anon,

Nancy

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T18:44:00.000-08:00

Dream Big This New Year-you may just find yourself in print!
Anon,

Nancy

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-18T09:08:00.000-08:00

The Day The Music Died

2010-12-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

On December 8th, 1980, Howard Cosell interrupted the play-by-play of Monday Night Football to announce that John Lennon had been gunned down outside his apartment building in New York City. I was asleep when the news hit, so I didn’t find out until the next morning-December 9th.

In 1980, I was a junior in high school. The teachers in my school district went on strike from mid-November through December which meant that I stayed home from school. I didn’t miss going to school everyday, but I did miss seeing my friends and since this was a crucial time in the swim season, I was losing valuable training time. To make up for it, myself and some of my teammates got up at the crack of dawn to swim at the local Y.

On the morning on December 9th, I swung by to pick up my friend Kelly. Her family lived in the same subdivision as my family. Most houses already had up their holiday lights so the streets looked festive that cold snowy morning. As Kelly got in the car, the DJ announced that John Lennon had been murdered. We looked at each other-- in shock and then we both looked up at her house and realized that the huge pine tree in her front yard was nothing more than a stump. Apparently In the middle of the night, someone had cut it down. We looked at each other and broke out laughing.

For me, that tree and John Lennon are forever linked. It's sad though--two beautiful things cut down in their prime, the same night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYhaZ2pV0CQ&feature=player_detailpage

Happy Christmas

May we all give peace a chance this holiday season...

Anon,

Nancy

Harry Potter has come to the blogosphere...

2010-11-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

Nathan Bransford has declared the week: Harry Potter Week. Check it out here.

Having What it Takes

2010-11-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

One writer suggests that the two qualities a writer needs are determination and denial. You can read more about it here. Happy NANOWRIMO!

the picture is from this awesome site.

Halloween Approaches

2010-10-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

Bailey here, I've commandeered the blog again like I did last year at this time.. I just want to remind everyone to be especially kind to the hyper-pigmented cats out there. As I have said before, we are not the devil's minions and we don't bring bad luck just by crossing some human's path. Frankly, for some of you bookstore people out there, this is a concept I can get behind, but I digress. Halloween tends to make normal humans act strange this time of year--you dress weird and you go around begging for candy. What's up with that? Anyway, please be kind to us cats--especially us hyper-pigmented ones.

-Bailey out.

A Week of Banned Books and Bullying

2010-10-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

I had intended to write a post about the recent tragedy at Rutgers University but there have been some great posts from people who have done a much better job of articulating the issue and the necessary response than I could ever do, so I'm going to link to them instead. If you haven't seen the Ellen DeGeneres video, please watch it. It's quite powerful. In the news this week.

Life = Risk

2010-08-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

This is amazing. Listen with the sound on though to get the full effect. Thanks Diana for posting this first!

Censorship, Seriously?

2010-08-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

Author Ellen Hopkins was uninvited to the TeenLit Festival in Humble, TX.

a middle school librarian, concerned about her students hearing Hopkins' presentation, voiced her worries to parents, who went to Humble Independent School District Superintendent Guy Sconzo. He then told organizers to remove Hopkins from the event.

Other authors pulled out the event when they heard about the situation with Hopkins. Kids hear and see worse things on the news and on reality television. I can't believe stuff like this still happens...

You can read the full article here: http://www.slj.com/slj/home/886402-312/ellen_hopkins_uninvited_to_lit.html.csp

Anon,

Nancy

Things Overheard at Work

2010-08-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

1.   Poland, is that in Asia?

2.   If he said he'd hit you upside the head--then that's a threat!

3.   I am not giving you that editor's home phone number!

4.   No sir, I don't think you should call all the agents you want to
      query to see if you're compatible. Finding an agent is not like
      dating (in this instance).

5.   Sir, if you don't have a computer then you really shouldn't
      sign up for an online subscription--perhaps you should
      purchase the book.

How's your week going?

Anon,

Nancy

Cautionary Tale

2010-07-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

In the last two days at work, I've received two calls from literary agents. Now that doesn't sound like a lot, but keep in mind in the last three years these are the first two calls I've had from literary agents. The first agent wanted to know the proper way to query a publishing company. Huh, don't they teach that in agent school? She honestly didn't have a clue, (The second one was equally clueless).

To me, this is a huge red flag. Is it worth having an agent if the agent is just going to page through the market guide to find publishers? My thought is probably not. I now understand how important it is to ask questions, to make sure that the agent who wants to represent me, is someone I want to representing my work.

These agents, I'm sure are exceptions. Most agents are competent and possess a breadth of publishing industry knowledge- and have established contacts in the business. It's important, though, to keep an eye out for the ones who aren't competent and who don't know the business. Anyone can give themselves the title, literary agent. It's important to find one that's doing it for the right reasons and knows the business.

Anon,

Nancy

The Bear Cub and the Cougar

2010-07-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

Today, I watched this video and it dawned on me that in less than four minutes, it successfully creates a beginning, middle and an end to a very exciting story.

I’ll start with the beginning; you have a young bear cub (our Protaganist), hanging out in his world- just rubbing his backside on the grass. It’s like any other day.

Then enter the Cougar- our Antagonist, hungry for a meal. The Cougar spots the young bear cub before the Bear Cub spots the Cougar. The Cougar, smacks his chops and slowly makes his way toward the Bear Cub- now his prey ( The Inciting Incident). When you think the Bear Cub is in serious peril, he stands up sees the Cougar and tears off running. But he’s small-- his legs aren’t as long and he’s not as fast as the Cougar. He looks back and sees the Cougar gaining on him. He climbs onto a branch that has fallen and is wedged between two cliffs. For a few seconds, the Bear Cub, you think, is going to be okay.

The Bear Cub gets to the end of the branch and has no way to get to the other side. Meanwhile, the Cougar is heading toward him. The Cougar climbs on the branch just as the branch snaps, the Bear Cub plunges into the water. (Just when you think the Bear Cub is safe, he finds more trouble- the stakes get higher). He escapes the Cougar but now he struggles to keep his head above the water. The Bear Cub grasps part of the branch. He clings to the branch as he’s pulled downstream by the current.

(Thus giving the Bear Cub and you the viewer a false sense that he’s going to be safe). But as he goes downstream with the current, the Cougar follows his path along the river’s edge. The Bear Cub gets to shallow water. As he does, so too does the Cougar. The current carries the Bear Cub to where the Cougar is waiting for him, the Bear Cub swims away with the Cougar close behind.

(The Climax) The Bear Cub climbs up on to jutted rock. The Cougar climbs to one next to him. The Cougar strikes out with his claws and bloodies the Bear Cub’s snout. The Bear Cub roars and you see the Cougar back down and walk away.

(The Denouement)What you don’t see until after the Cougar is out of the frame is that Mama Bear is standing behind the Bear Cub. She’s on her hind legs and is ready to take out the Cougar if necessary- it isn’t. Instead, Mama Bear calls her cub to her. The Bear Cub goes over to his Mama, nestles close to her and she licks his wounds. Exciting stuff.

You can check it out here:
The Bear

Anon,

Nancy

Baby Steps

2010-07-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

Since I moved into the condo, anytime I turn on the ceiling fan in the living room, Lucky gets real low to the ground- like it's Viet Nam, and runs under my bed and stays there the rest of the night. I stopped using the fan for that reason. Tonight, I turned on the ceiling fan- it's so hot in here, I had to.

Immediately, Lucky ran for the bedroom, then caught the cool breeze and stopped. He stood in the doorway for about 15 minutes and stared at the fan, cooling himself. He finally ran through the living room to the front hallway.

It's a step in the right direction! Good boy, Lucky!

Stay cool...

Anon,

Nancy

Happy Fourth of July

2010-07-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

"We find these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Happy Fourth of July- may we someday live in a world where all men and women are free.

Anon,

Nancy

Grammar Lesson

2010-06-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

On her awesome blog, Editor Cheryl Klein reviews the proper usage of the semicolon and the comma.
Useful stuff!

Also since this month is Adopt-Shelter-Cat Month be sure to check out the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee website to see some adorable kittens. While you're there why not donate to a worthy cause?

Anon,

Nancy

Lucky the Cat

2010-06-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

About six months after I adopted Bailey, it came very clear that she was getting restless being home by herself when I was working. So, I decided it was time to expand our feline family and made a trip to the Warren County Animal Shelter. I looked at a couple of the kittens but Lucky caught my eye. He was very active and played with all the toys in the kitten room but he was also attentive to me as well. I knew he'd be a good match for Bailey and me. When I was completing the paperwork for his adoption, one of the workers mentioned that he was almost adopted the day before, but when they were placing the id chip in his neck, the lady balked. She thought id chip was the mark of the beast and refused to take him home. He's named Lucky, because it was luck that saved him from having to go home with that lady. He came home with me instead and I think we're all better for it!

Don't forget June is Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month!

Anon,

Nancy

Last Night At the Bookstore

2010-06-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

A lady walked into the bookstore holding a chihuahua in a shoulder bag while at the same time a monk walked in the other side of the door. I think I can say with a large degree of certainty that this has never happened before and may never happen again. It was an interesting evening. There was also a lady who had a huge tattoo in the middle of her chest(she was was scantily clad in a camisole), that when viewed from far away looked like an enormous lowercase 'e'.

How was your evening?

Anon,

Nancy

Adopt-a-Shelter Cat Month

2010-06-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Since June is Adopt-a-Shelter Cat Month, I thought I would spend some time this month highlighting some of the favorite cats in my life. The first one up is Bailey. Some misguided human left Bailey and her siblings in a dumpster when she was just a wee kitten. Some nice humans found them and took them to the Warren County Animal Shelter where they were fostered by one of the veterinarians on staff. I went to visit the kittens and Bailey looked up at me with those big green eyes and well the rest as they say is history.

Some of you may remember the Halloween post where Bailey hijacked the blog. You can read that entry here

Meow,

Nancy and Bailey

At the Bookstore

2010-06-06T15:34:00.001-07:00

Last night at the bookstore, I had a customer (he was of middle eastern descent) ask for a book on how to make a bomb from office materials. We didn't have it...

Anon,

Nancy

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

Agent Janet Reid has a wonderful post about Memorial Day on her blog.

I only want to add an excerpt from my grandfather's journal from when he was setting sail to France. He was a chaplain in the Army and served in France during WWI.

What mingled emotions come as the great drama of life unfolds! Here we are on board the U.S. President Grant bound for "somewhere in France..."

We have left old New York far behind. How hard it is to see the glorious harbor for the last time- for perhaps years! How one does love one's country when leaving it under such conditions as these. It stands for life as each one delights to live it, for happiness which comes through the great normal channels of divine ordination; for service unto others as God gives us opportunity. The men have been silent, thoughtful and serious. They realize also what it means. Yet not one of us would be elsewhere.

Anon,

Nancy

Pep Talk

2010-05-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Writing the novel? Feel like giving up? Don't, read this instead from Neil Gaiman.

Anon,

Nancy

Creatures of Habit

2010-05-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Every morning after my shower I find my cat Bailey sitting at attention on my bed. She’ll let me pet her on the head two times and then she lets out a meow and leaps from her perch and scampers toward the kitchen. This is my cue to feed her breakfast. It happens every morning. On weekends, she does the same thing but she’s come to realize that if I sleep in, there may not be a morning shower to delay her breakfast. She’s a creature of habit that’s for sure.

I’ve realized that I’m a creature of habit when it comes to writing. When I begin a story, I don’t write it down right away, I like to think it through before I put pen to paper. I think about the major plot points to make sure that I have a clear direction and to ensure that I have a beginning, middle and an end to a piece. Once I think it through, I write the story longhand and then type the pages into the computer. I find I edit myself as I type to it gives me an extra revision.

What about you? Anybody out there a creature of habit like Bailey and me?

Anon, (yep another habit I’ve formed)

Nancy

Developing Voice

2010-05-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

About eight years ago I was looking for a local SCBWI group to join. When I discovered that there wasn’t one in my area, I emailed the SCBWI listserv for my state and started one. The group is a small but supportive group of writers, many of whom are published or are on the cusp of becoming published. Because we are small, we are always on the lookout for speakers for the meetings and often rely on our members to give a presentation or two. When I heard that one of our newer members, Dee Garretson had her first Middle Grade novel coming out in August, I naturally ambushed her and asked her to speak to the group. She graciously agreed. She spoke at our April meeting and was amazing.

Dee talked about her road to publication as we tend to ask each speaker to discuss. It’s interesting to hear the different path each writer seems to take as few paths are exactly the same.

Dee also gave a great presentation on Voice. She began by defining the three different types of Voice.

-Author Voice: Relates directly to the overall writing style.

-Grammar Voice: Passive v. Active voice

        Passive: The dog was bitten by the boy.
        Active: The boy bit the dog.

-Narrative Voice: Narrative Voice draws the reader in and brings the story alive. Writing in 1st person or close limited 3rd person are the easiest ways to develop a good narrative voice. In Close limited 3rd person,
the world is seen through the character’s eyes. This should not be confused with Limited 3rd, which has a more distance- still through a character’s eyes, but it reads more like a narrator is telling the story.

When developing the narrative voice, word choices are very important. Word choices start with character development, in particular reactions and observations.

“I felt a drop of sweat trickle down my side like a spider and disappear into the waistband of my itchy brand-new suit pants, which I hoped never to wear again.” (excerpted from Roland Smith’s book, I.Q.)

When you introduce other characters, put their descriptions in terms of the main character’s perceptions. What does the character think is important. Dee warned that description can trip up voice because characters-especially kids won't describe everything. She listed some examples from books that really used a good narrative voice.

      Example: "She was German and made brilliant meatballs" (from GIDEON, THE CUTPURSE by Linda
                      Buckley-Archer).

Description of Places: "The fog hung over Booker Mountain like an old ragged coat." (from Cinda Williams
                                    Chima, The Dragon Heir).

Dialogue: "He ain't regular sick. He's been devastated." (A SHORT HISTORY OF A SMALL PLACE).

Like I said the presentation was amazing, so much so we are continuing our discussion on Voice this month.

Dee's book is entitled: Wildfire Run and is due out August 31st, 2010. It definitely deserves a read! Her website is: http://www.deegarretson.com/ and she blogs at http://deegarretson.wordpress.com/

-Anon,

Nancy

New Agent at Fineprint

2010-05-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!

It looks like the good folks over at Fineprint Literary Management have added an agent to their staff. Her name is Marissa Walsh...

Marissa specializes in pop culture, humor, narrative non-fiction, memoir, and children’s books (picture books/middle grade/YA).

http://fineprintlit.com/about-the-agents/marissa-walsh/

Anon,

Nancy

Your Help is Needed

2010-04-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

My friend and co-worker, Robert Lee Brewer is in a tight race for Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere and he needs your vote. There are just a few hours left to vote for him- so please Vote for Robert!

Vote

And then when you are done voting, check out this blogpost, It's Alot of fun.

Anon,

Nancy

Awesome New Contest

2010-04-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

And easy to enter. Jim McCarthy, one of the good folks over at Dystel and Goderich Literary Management is running a contest right now for the best first line. You can find more details here. The winner gets their full manuscript considered by Jim. Not a bad deal!

What a Week

2010-04-18T16:21:00.001-07:00

-I spoke to a woman who thought we were messing with her account. Apparently, she forgot she actually had to login. Did I mention she was about 2 1/2 sheets to the wind? Seriously, it was 1:00 in the afternoon.

-I also spoke to not one but two different people who were hired by writers to help them find an agent. Hiring an agent to find an agent. Is this a new trend? If it is, it's a bad one. It makes me wonder if these people are lazy or clueless.

Anon,

Nancy

New Contest

2010-04-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the one month anniversary of her blog, writer-editor Deborah Halverson is giving away a free edit of a MG or YA manuscript on her blog. You can find details here. Hurry though, the deadline is April 14th. Even if you don't enter her blog is worth checking out!

Anon,

Nancy

Cats and Writers...

2010-04-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

Cats and writers. The two go together like margaritas and tortilla chips on a Friday night. While you certainly don’t need to have a cat to be a writer, it does make the journey less boring. Lots of famous writers obviously agreed because many of them kept cats as companions.

Raymond Chandler referred to his black Persian cat, Taki, as his secretary and even read his work aloud to her. I wonder how she critiqued his work.

While in Key West, Ernest Hemingway apparently made the acquaintance of a ship captain who had a six-toed cat. It’s said that Hemingway became so enamored of the cat that when the captain was to go back out to sea, he gave Hemingway the cat. The result, a generation of 6-toed cats inhabits the grounds of the Hemingway House in Key West, Florida.

Charles Dicken’s cat sat in his study as he wrote and when she wanted his attention, she would snuff out the candle he used to write by.

When Author/Artist Edward Lear moved to Italy, he constructed an identical house to the one he resided in so that he would not traumatize his beloved cat, Foss.

As for me, I can't imagine writing without my feline friends by my side, or by my computer.

Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons. ~ Robertson Davies

"A catless writer is almost inconceivable. It's a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat; they make nests in the notes and bite the end of the pen and walk on the typewriter keys.” author Barbara Holland

Anon,

Nancy

No foolin'

2010-04-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

There's another contest that was announced this week. Editor and rock star Chuck Sambuchino announced a contest on the Guide to Literary Agents blog yesterday. You can get there from here. Good Luck!

New Contest

2010-03-31T05:55:00.000-07:00

Moonrat, the curator of the Editorial Ass Blog, is celebrating.

Check out these contest details--they are quite easy. I'm entered and all I did was post this on my blog!

From Editorial Ass.

Ed Ass got its 500,000th hit today. This makes me feel old and venerable.

Naturally, I wanted to celebrate. I mean, with you guys, since you made it happen. But how?! No one has yet invented a giant internet pie.

Jamie Harrington, clever thing, had the idea that I have a giveaway contest, the prize being a first 20 pages crit. So that's what it is! I'll give away one crit of a book's first 20 pages (size 12 font, double spaced, .5 margins for you sneaky sneakies out there).

You'll be automatically entered to win if you do any or all of the following things:

1) repost this on your blog

OR

2) retweet my Twitter announcement

OR

3) link to this post on Facebook (make sure you include @Moonrat in the post so I'm notified of it)

I'll close the contest at 11 pm EST tomorrow (March 31). The Rally Monkey will randomly select one winner without my input (as if I could make him listen to me, anyway).

See, easy to enter...

Anon,

Nancy

Obviously!

2010-03-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

I was at work a few days ago and I fielded a call from a lady (and I use that term very loosely). One of her family members had written a book and this lady was sure there was nothing like it on the market. Her plan was to drop off the manuscript to a publisher so that they could read it and of course publish it. It was an interesting call.

Her: “The world needs this book!” She became a bit nasty when I told her that she could NOT drop off a manuscript to a publisher—that she would need to put together a book proposal and submit it to an editor or agent and if they liked it, they would request to read the manuscript. “So it’s come to that, you can’t just drop off a manuscript?”

Me: “Just like you wouldn’t show up at a potential employer ready to get to work- you would send a resume first and they would call you for an interview. That book proposal is the book’s resume.”

Her: “That’s just ridiculous. What about an agent- I’ll just hire an agent. What agents can I send the manuscript to."

Me: “You need to submit a book proposal to agents as well.”

Her: “That’s crazy. Then I'll send it to a publisher. What publishers can I send it to?”

Me: “Ma’am, off hand I don’t have that information. Not all publishers accept un-agented and unsolicited submissions.”

Her: “You’re not helping me at all. Why do you work there if you can’t give me advice?”

Me: “Ma’am, you can purchase xxxxx book and research which publishers are best suited for the manuscript your family member has written.

Her: “Why the h@ll would I want to do that. I’m calling that guy at the bookstore. He said you could help me and well obviously you can’t."

Me: "Obviously!"

So how was your week?

-Anon,

Nancy

While I was away...

2010-03-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

I had time to surf the internet. I found a couple of cool sites I thought I would share.

The first site is a blog by Kathleen Ortiz, an agent with Lowenstein Associates. She has some great contests, it's definitely worth checking out. The Neverending Page turner

The next site is the website for Mem Fox. Check out her 20 tips for writing Picture Books.

Finally, check out this great interview with Agent Holly Root over at the Mother.Write blog.

Anon,

Nancy

Movin'

2010-03-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

The moving part of moving is complete but I’m still working on the settling in part.

Here are a few statistics on the move:

Number of vehicles used to move: 5

Number of trips from apartment to condo: 17

Number of boxes used: 40

Number of boxes of books: 28

Number of times cats ran under bed terrified: 10

Number of times cats ran under the bed terrified of a ceiling fan: 4 and counting…

Number of pieces of furniture heaved into dumpster: 7

Number of days my new sofa has been in the condo and not been used as a scratching post: 10 and counting...

Hightailin' It

2010-02-21T08:03:00.000-08:00

Bailey, Lucky and I are hightailin' it to some new digs. So, posts during the next few weeks will be a bit spotty while we pack up everything and move to the new place.

Anon,

Nancy

Attention Kid Lit Authors

2010-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Chuck Sambuchino is running another contest over at the Guide to Literary Agents blog, this time it's for Middle Grade and Young Adult manuscripts. You can get there from here. He's got some awesome prizes lined up! Good Luck.

Anon,

Nancy

What to Include in a Query

2010-02-03T11:55:00.000-08:00

Over at Chuck Sambuchino's Guide to Literary Agents' blog, he includes advice from Janet Reid regarding what to include and what to cut from your query letter. It's definitely worth a read. Check it out here.

While you're at it, Cynthia Leitch Smith has posted some great agent interviews on her blog Cynsations. (Agents Sarah Davies and Laura Rennert among others).

Anon,

Nancy

What Do Agents Want- The Sequel

2010-01-28T11:25:00.000-08:00

Today I found a listing on the http://www.verlakay.com/ site from Linda at the McVeigh Agency, listing what Mark McVeigh is interested in when it comes to representing kid lit. Check it out here.

Anon,

Nancy

What Do Agents Want?

2010-01-27T09:53:00.000-08:00

How many times have you asked that question? If you're like me, A LOT. Over on the Upstart Crow Literary Agency blog, agent, Chris Richman recently posted a detailed wishlist. If you write middle grade or young adult it's definitely worth a look. You can get there from here.

Anon,

Nancy

Attention Non Fiction Writers

2010-01-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

Hoping to some day get some valuable feedback on your manuscript from an agent?

I have a contest for you! My friend Chuck is running a "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest over at The Guide To Literary Agents blog. The contest is open to Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoirs. You can find out the rules and other pertinent contest information here. Contests can be an easy and fun way to get an agent's attention.

Anon,

Nancy

MLK's Dream

2010-01-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

Musician, David Crosby co-wrote a book called Stand and Be Counted about artists and activism. He talks a great deal about concerts and marches for various causes. He, of course, discusses the 1963 March on Washington. Most people think of Kings' "I have a Dream" speech when they think of the March on Washington. In Crosby's book, he talks about how King never intended to include those words in his speech. Apparently, King was to follow a performance of Mahalia Jackson and was so moved by her performance and by the day itself, he had begun to improvise.

The speakers were each limited to seven minutes, including King, but as he began to improvise "his speech took on the cadence he used from the pulpit." He was over the seven minute limit by now and he needed a way to pull the speech to a close. Apparently, he heard Mahalia behind him saying "Tell them about the Dream, Martin!" and so he did.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the
sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will
be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood...
I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!
When we allow freedom to ring , when we let it ring from every village
and every hamlet, from every state and every city,
we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children-
black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and
Catholics- will be able to join in the words of the old Negro
spiritual, "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are
free at last.

The speech lasted seventeen minutes and was followed with the song, "We Shall Overcome." It was a very hopeful time, but alas, three months later President Kennedy made that fateful trip to Dallas and that hopeful time became less hopeful...

Anon,

Nancy

The Dreaded Query

2010-01-13T06:51:00.000-08:00

It's a new year which means the publishing industry is back at work, so agents and editors should be accepting queries again. That means it's time to work on the Dreaded Query Letter. I have a column over at the Guide to Literary Agents blog listing some great articles on query letters. You can get there from here.

I recently (okay it was about 2 minutes ago) discovered a site where you can post your query for other writers to critique. Like Query Shark, the site is public so keep that in mind, having a thick skin is key here. The feedback should be useful but it should also be taken with a grain of salt. The site is http://www.openquery.blogspot.com/ Check out the blogroll on the site for more great information on queries.

Anon,

Nancy

What's New?

2010-01-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

It looks like Kate Epstein of Epstein Literary is looking to expand her list. She is now accepting YA and non-fiction. You can read more about her agency here.

Also, Mary Kole of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency is running a cool new contest for YA and MG manuscripts on her website. To enter you need to send up to the first 500 words of your MG or YA manuscript and mention the blog two other places among other things. You can read more about it here.

Anon,

Nancy

Writing like a Fourth Grader

2010-01-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

So the parties are over, along with the holidays and my vacation. I didn't meet any of my writing goals. But I did catch up on my sleep and bond with my two feline companions, so it wasn't a total waste.

I had planned to rewrite my synopsis which currently reads like a fourth grade book report. My apologies to any fourth graders reading this. Alas, I spent a lot my time revising my WIP.
I found some great articles on writing that dreaded synopsis. You can read these gems in my guest column called Footnotes over at the Guide to Literary Agents blog. Or click here.

I'm hoping to work on my synopsis this week. Wish me luck!

Anon,

Nancy

Guilty Pleasure

2009-12-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

I'm a sucker for cute animal pictures. I always have been. When you add pithy comments to the cute animal pictures then I'm all over it. That's why I love the www.icanhascheesburger.com site. It's become my guilty pleasure. When I'm at work and I need a break, I go to the site and look at the pictures for a few minutes then I'm ready to get back to work. The picture above is my brother's family dog, Buckeye. I added the caption to infuse a little holiday spirit.

Happy Holidays,

Nancy

Merry Catmas

2009-12-17T18:43:00.001-08:00

Lucky: "What is it?"

Bailey: "It's a Christmas tree, buddy. Humans cut down perfectly good climbing trees and plant them in their living rooms and decorate them with shiny balls. Never seen one this small."

Lucky: "Will I be able to climb it?"

Bailey: " One day, buddy. One day."

Happy Holidays,

Nancy, Bailey and Lucky

Times They Are A' Changing

2009-12-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

Sadly, it looks like Kirkus Reviews is closing it's doors after reviewing books since 1933.

Agent, Michelle Humphrey has recently left Sterling Lord. You can find more details about that here. If you look over on the blogroll (of that link) you should see a recently posted interview regarding what type of submissions she accepts.

Anon,

Nancy

Christmas Shopping 1919 style!

2009-12-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas 1919, my grandparents were newlyweds. My grandfather was working as an Army Chaplain and was stationed in France for part of the war and for a time after the Armistice. My grandmother sent him an account of her expenditures. Regarding Christmas presents she wrote:

Everything was so expensive this year and there seemed so many to remember. I had little time for making things, so do not think that Christmas will cost us this much every year. I felt I must treat your people well for your sake; Grandmother and I went together to get sweaters for the boys; I bought napkins for Grandmother and made a sweater for Ellen. These things count up fast.

It turns out she bought presents for 29 people. Her total cost? $41.47.

If only...

Anon,

Nancy

A Wish List

2009-12-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the Holidays, the good folks at the Dystel Goderich Literary Agency have posted a wish list for submissions... The list is posted on the right side of the blog and you can get there from here.

The Wait

2009-12-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

The wait for an agent or editor to respond to a query, the wait for someone to accept your work; those are some of the most frustrating things we deal with as writers. We rack up countless rejections as we toil in quiet desperation. Sometimes it helps to know we are not alone. Some of the most successful authors struggled to get their work published.

Theodor Geisel’s first picture book, To Think It happened on Mulberry Street, was rejected 29 times before it was finally accepted for publication. His books have since sold over 100 million copies.

John Grisham's A Time to Kill was repeatedly rejected. He now has over 60 million copies of his novels in print. Pearl S. Buck's Pulitzer Prize winning book The Good Earth was rejected something like 14 times.

What if Ted Geisel only sent out 28 queries, imagine growing up NOT reading A Cat in The Hat? Or Horton Hears a Who or dare I say it, The Lorax. Can you imagine not seeing someone sitting in an airport reading A Time to Kill, or The Client or The Pelican Brief? If these authors stopped short of their goal, that's what might have happened. Hard to believe. So what does it take to get published in this ever-changing, unforgiving world of publishing?

Perseverance: that dogged pursuit of a goal in spite of the obstacles. I think a great representation of perseverance is in this Jacob Riis quote:

I'd look at one of my stone cutters hammering away at the rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the hundred and first blow it would split in two, and I knew it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.

-Jacob August Riis

So hang in there, fellow writers!

Anon,

Nancy

An Interesting Week

2009-12-04T16:40:00.002-08:00

-I spoke to a woman who thought we were messing with her account. Apparently, she forgot she actually had to login. Did I mention she was about 2 1/2 sheets to the wind. Seriously, it was 1:00 in the afternoon.

-I also spoke to not one but two different people who were hired by writers to help them find an agent. Hiring an agent to find an agent. Is this a new trend? If it is, it's a bad one. It makes me wonder if these people are lazy or clueless?

Anon,

Nancy

This Friday

2009-12-04T16:40:00.001-08:00

This Friday

2009-12-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

I had an interesting day... -I spoke to a woman who thought we were messing with her account. She apparently forgot she had to login. Did I mention she was about 2 1/2 sheets to the wind. Seriously, it was 1:00pm in the afternoon. -I also spoke to two different people that were hired by writers to help them find an agent. The writer essentially hired an agent to find them an agent. Is this a new trend? If it is, it's a bad one. How was your week?

Anon, Nancy

New Agent at the Bent Agency

2009-12-01T13:30:00.001-08:00

Looks like The Bent Agency has added a new agent. Her name is Susan Hawk and she represents both Middle Grade and Young Adult authors. You can find out more about her here.

Should You Submit That Manuscript During the Holidays?

2009-11-25T11:32:00.000-08:00

That very question has been posed to Editorial Anonymous. You can check out her blog with the answers you seek (but possibly didn't want to hear).

I'll be taking some time to relax, like these guys this Thanksgiving. So posting will be spotty until after the weekend.

Anon,

Nancy

Twitter as a Resource Tool for Writers

2009-11-20T10:31:00.000-08:00

Twitter- that internet phenomenon that asks the simple question “What are you doing?” has become especially popular with publishing types. Because of this, it can be a great resource tool for writers..

1. You can use twitter to determine a particular agent’s likes and dislikes. They will often mention trends they are seeing as they read through their slush pile.

2. Waiting for a response from an agent? Many agents will list on Twitter where they are in regards to their slush pile.

3. Organized Twitter Topics are popular with Agents. Topics like #pubtip, #askagent, #Allaboutagents (or #askanagent) and #Kidlit allow agents to communicate with writers without having to leave the comfort of their home or their neighborhood watering hole for that matter. To reference the transcripts simply go to http://www.twitter.com/ and enter the “#” then Kidlit etc. in the Search field. In many cases, agents will answer questions directed to them if the #topic is listed with the question.

4. You can also sign up for TweetChat, which does allow you to chat real time with people other folks on Twitter.

So how do you determine if a particular agent is on Twitter? You can go to http://www.twitter.com/ and place the agent’s name after a slash
(e.g. www.twitter.com/chucksambuchino) to see if that person is on Twitter. Also on many agency websites, you will see the Twitter icon or the agent will say follow me on Twitter at:_____

You can also use a skip tracing technique that collectors use to find information on the debtors they’re trying to locate. If you find one agent on twitter, look at their tweets, they will often respond to another agent, if you click on that agent’s tweets, this will often bring you to another agent etc.

It’s free to sign up, to do so go to http://www.twitter.com/. If you don’t want to sign up, you can still reference many of the tweets.

Also, http://www.agentquery.com/ has a pretty extensive list of agents on Twitter.

http://agentquery.leveragesoftware.com/group_discussion.aspx?discussionid=d696c822a8e24febb2b621e8974219df

One Agent talks about what she's looking for

2009-11-17T08:34:00.000-08:00

Agent, Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary recently did a post on her blog/website listing the types of projects she's hoping to find. Middle Grade boy books are still hot it sounds like. You can read the post here: http://www.greenhouseliterary.com/index.php/site/sarahs_blog

Faith of Our Fathers

2009-11-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

November 11th, is Veterans Day. It is also the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice by the Germans in 1918. The fighting seized in the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month that year. My grandfather served in the Army as a chaplain during World War I, a war often described as the Great One or the War to end all wars, but it didn't. In a letter to my grandmother, he shared his feelings about the war.

At Canadaiga, some soldiers were leaving. They began to sing the popular songs "Over There," and Hail, Hail The Gang's All Here," In the middle of it a man came hurrying down the street and rushed to the edge of the group at the car steps. Shortly after, he returned to the edge of the pavement, leaned his head on his arms against the stone wall and broke down crying. He was a middle aged man and I concluded that his boy was leaving. He soon controlled himself and walked off. I am more and more convinced that the mothers and fathers are paying a greater price in this war than we young ones are. Why doesn't this war stop, anyway?

But finally the war did end and on November 11th, 1918, my grandmother wrote:

The whistles are blowing so that I cannot sleep. So I am writing this letter by candle light at 5 A.M. It must be that the German representatives answered before the time limit was up for President Wilson has asked that here be no more celebrating till the official announcement from Washington. You see, the nation just about went wild last Thursday. Big parades were held and the greatest excitement reigned in many places...

On that same day, my Grandfather said:

Last night we received news of the abdication of the Kaiser; today rumors of the Armistice terms accepted. So we expect peace very shortly now. And how happy this world will be!

My grandparents were finally reunited June the following year. Of the reunion, my grandfather wrote:

My love attack! What a second of joy as my eyes first caught sight of her! Then a kiss and a hug worth its impetuosity in gold. Afterward, a walk and a sweet blissful time in chatting and loving.

To all those Veterans out there, a heartfelt Thank you!

Anon,

Nancy

Do I Need a Blog?

2009-11-03T19:24:00.001-08:00

That's one question writers, both published and unpublished ask themselves. The answer is a definite maybe. A blog can be a great way to express yourself, to connect with potential readers and to learn to write tight. It's also been said that some agents will google potential clients to see if they have a web presence and if they do, if it's a positive one. (Don't trash agents on your blog, they will find out, one way or the other). The maybe part, a blog does take a chunk of your time. Time you could otherwise use to write your great american novel....

There are some examples of blogs that were so successful that they garnered the bloggger a book deal. The best example I can think of is Julie & Julia. Yep, that popular movie starring Meryl Streep began as a blog, then became a book then a movie. You know the rest.

Another example of a successful blog hits a litle closer to home for me. The blog was originally started so that friends and families of the Kings Firecrackers, a performance jump rope group from the Kings School District in Warren County, Ohio, could easily view the team's performances. Well word got out pretty quickly, a few posts on youtube also helped and that little blog has seen over 10 million hits and has been seen in over 88 countries. The result has been some amazing opportunities for a group of girls in grades 4-8. They will be performing at the halftime for one of the Chicago Bulls games this year, not to mention the Detroit Pistons and at lots of college and high school basketball games. They also performed on the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon and have had inquiries from The Ellen DeGeneres show, Good Morning America and some other shows and events that were a bit too far away.

The one thing in common that both these examples have is Talent and lots of it, but the blogs definitely helped promote that talent. To illustrate my point, you can check out the Kings Firecrackers at: http://www.kingsfirecrackers.blogspot.com/.

Prepare to be amazed...

Anon,

Nancy

There is Superstition...

2009-10-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

Bailey here, I've commandeered the blog for my own purposes. As Halloween approaches, I want to remind blog readers that this time of year hyper pigmented felines (Black Cats)are often maligned by humans. This rather unfortunate situation is brought about by a misguided fear some humans have that Black cats are the devil's minions. This, I assure you, is not true. Incidentally, we don't associate with witches, we cannot transfigure into witches- nor would we care to. We also don't bring about bad luck to those humans whose paths we cross. I like the concept, but we just don't have the means to accomplish such a feat.

Consequently, some cultures believe that Black Cats actually bring good luck. There is a Celtic legend that suggests that if a Black Cat appears on your doorstep and you treat him with kindness, prosperity will surely follow. Also, fishermen's wives often kept a Black Cat as a companion to ensure that their husbands would return safely from the sea. In some areas of England, a Black Cat is believed to bring luck to a new marriage.

So as Halloween approaches, I ask that you show kindness to the cats you see- especially the hyper pigmented ones, like myself. It's good karma, no matter how superstitious you are.

Bailey out,

Every writer should read this..

2009-10-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Last week on the Editorial Ass blog, moonrat posted a great article written by Anthony Chee, author of Edinburgh, about the time he spent studying under the tuteledge of Annie Dillard. She sounds like a tough teacher but she also gave her students some amazing tools to improve their writing. The link to the editorial ass blog is here. http://www.editorialass.blogspot.com/

Go now and read it!

Anon,

Nancy

Query Letters Revisited

2009-10-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

Last tuesday night at the Cincy SCBWI meeting, the talk was all about query letters. We're going to continue the discussion at the next meeting- so bring those revisions! The sites that I talked about I'm listing below.

www.nathanbransford.blogspot.com - Includes an archived post on writing queries

www.queryshark.blogspot.com- Step into the shark tank if you dare...(insert Jaws theme song here).

www.pubrants.blogspot.com - Agent, Kristen Nelson includes pitches that worked on her blogroll to the right. Great information.

www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog : Chuck Sambuchino includes a popular series entitled, Query Letters that Worked, which includes the actual query letter that assisted the writer in landing an agent. Chuck includes the color commentary from the agent on why the letter worked.

Anon,

Nancy

There Will Be Prizes!

2009-10-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

Agent Nathan Bransford today announced the 3rd Annual Stupendously Ultimate First Paragraph Contest.

The winner receives their choice of a partial critique, a query critique or a phone consultation. A few of the past winners of Nathan's contests have gone on to receive representation by him. Other finalists have gone on to get published! So go on get your first paragraph out there.

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/10/3rd-sort-of-annual-stupendously.html

Anon,

Nancy

Setting Goals

2009-10-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

I swam competitively for 15 years. I started when I was seven years old and stopped when I completed my last year of eligibility in college. During that time, I spent many early mornings crawling out of bed at the crack of daylight - sometimes before, to head off to the pool for morning practice. All this in the months of December, January and February. The water seems colder that early in the morning. I doubt I could have gotten myself up to the pool on those cold mornings if I hadn't set goals for myself.

At the beginning of every season, I'd figure out what I wanted to achieve for that season and what it would take to get me there. I'd plaster my goal times all over my bedroom and doodle my times in the margins of my notebooks in class. No doubt it was a commitment to those goals that got me out of bed and to the pool when I'd rather be fast asleep dreaming of sandy beaches and young men with margaritas in their hands.

With writing, I now do the same thing. While it's a bit harder to determine the timeline of my goals these days, I still write down my goals and focus my attention on achieving them. Sometimes this means working on the craft of writing; other times it means improving my research techniques. Whatever form they may come in, my goals are still important to my success. They keep me going when I'd rather be doing something else. I know one day they will pay off in the ultimate goal of landing a publishing contract.

Anon,

Nancy

Picture from http://www.wittenberg.edu/ Wittenberg Tigers website

A Flu Epidemic, Past

2009-10-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

On the local news tonight they announced that the H1N1 virus had arrived in the Tristate area. This wasn't exactly news, the whole Swine Flu epidemic thing has been on the news throughout most of the summer. We hear announcements about schools closing and precautionary measures, it can be pretty daunting.

This flu epidemic may pale in comparison with the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. It's been reported that more people died from the flu that year than in the war (World War I). The death total was so high, that the life expectancy at the beginning of 1918 was 52 years of age, by the end of 1918, it was 39 years of age.

My grandfather was a chaplain in the Army in 1918. He was on a ship on his way over to France when the flu epidemic took hold. Luckily, he had a lesser strain of the virus earlier that year, a fact that we believe saved him from contracting it on the ship to France. He wrote in his journal about this particular time in his life.

On Thursday, October 3, 1918 he wrote:

How can one describe the situation adequately? A calm sea, save for a few white caps, a troop ship with circular camouflage near a cruiser off to the rear, two destroyers off ahead. The sun shining as if the world were a palace of love. Slowly the coffin shutes draped in Old Glory and burdened with once inhabited clay brought by six pall bearers. One after another until twelve were in line. With a low subdued voice I read, "until the deep shall give up her dead", etc. Then Chaplin X "the holy martyrs receive them, the angels in heaven take them to the holy city of Jerusalem." Amen. Then one after another, a dismal splish, a dull splash- twelve souls have departed this earth.

Of the illness itself, he wrote on Saturday, October 5, 1918:

Thank the Lord these days are soon over. Yesterdays two procedures repeated. I'm seeing men die at night. I see their eyes bulge in the death struggle, I hear their groans and delirium ravings, I know their desire to hold onto life, but in vain use that cough has nailed them into death's cold sweat. Men are glad for me to speak of religion- many are Christian in spirit.

About 118 men died on that ship. Each one on their way to France to serve their country; they never got the chance.

Stay healthy!

Anon,

Nancy

Adopt a Dog Month

2009-10-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

The month of October is apparently Adopt-a-Shelter Dog Month. You can read a great post at the bookends blog here, http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/

We at The Sound and Furry would be remiss if we didn't encourage you to also consider adopting a Shelter cat. Both Lucky and Bailey were rescued from a fine animal shelter and I don't think I'm overstepping when I say we're all better for it! There's nothing like a shelter cat.

Bailey and her siblings were left in a dumpster of all places. They were brought to the shelter and a very nice veterinarian fostered them until they were old enough to be adopted. I can't speak for Bailey, but for me it was love at first sight.

I met Lucky at the shelter. As the shelter employee was opening his cage to get him out, she told me that he was almost adopted the day before but the lady changed her mind. When they put the ID chip in his neck- she thought it was the mark of the beast and refused to take him home. He came home with me instead. He's named Lucky because it was luck that saved him from living with that other lady.

Adopt a Cat Month is June. But it's never too soon to adopt a new furry friend...

Anon,

Nancy

Dalton Trumbo and Banned Book Week

2009-09-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I happened to catch American Masters on PBS. The episode focused on Dalton Trumbo- one of the "Hollywood Ten" during the Red Scare of the 40's and 50's. Trumbo won the National Book Award for his novel, Johnny Got His Gun. He was asked to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in the late 1940's. When he refused to inform on other writers, he was charged with Contempt of Congress. When he was interviewed about it years later, he responded with something like "the verdict was just, I did feel contempt for that Congress- and several others since."

Trumbo and the other members of the Hollywood Ten spent about a year in prison. Unfortunately, their sentence didn't end when they were released. These men spent many years blacklisted in Hollywood. Trumbo used 11 different aliases and resorted to collaborating with other writers in order to get work. The scripts he wrote included Exodus, Spartacus and A Bill of Divorcement. He also had the original concept for Roman Holiday. He wrote the script for The Brave One under the name of Robert Rich. He was nominated for an Oscar for that movie and when it was finally exposed that he was the writer for the script, his time on the blacklist finally ended, though his name wasn't restored on many of the scripts he wrote until the 1970's.

As an aspiring writer, I can't imagine having your work celebrated and not being able to take credit for it. The program was really well done. If you have a chance to watch it, you won't regret it.

Also September 26th-October 3rd is Banned Book Week. You would not believe some of the books that have banned. Check out the list here. http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

Anon,

Nancy

Check out these blogs/sites

2009-09-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

There’s an interesting and slightly terrifying article on the future of advances in children’s publishing at http://www.thebookseller.com/news/97179-childrens-publishers-cutting-acquisitions-and-advances.html

The editors at Writer’s Digest have been live-blogging over the weekend about their conference in New York called The Business of Getting Published. Alot of great info. all in one place. Check out the blog: http://writersdigestconference.blogspot.com/

Editor, Ray Rhamey has a great post about activating passive verbs at http://www.writerunboxed.com/ Here’s the link: http://writerunboxed.com/2009/09/17/activate-passive-narrative%e2%80%94most-of-the-time/

Anon,

Nancy

Say it Ain't So...

2009-09-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

I found this article on another blog (http://www.editorialass.blogspot.com/) and was so outraged that I wanted to post it here too. It looks like the Free Libraries of Philadelphia are closing their doors due to budget constraints. I live no where near Philadelphia, but there have been talks of library closures in Cincinnati. Nowadays, this type of thing can happen anywhere. I for one have great memories of sitting in the Bookmobile (and the library) choosing library books as a kid. Since you're reading this, I bet you do too! Support your local libraries.

Here's a list of services that will no longer be available.

Specifically, the following will take effect after the close of business, October 2, 2009:
All branch and regional library programs, including programs for children and teens, after school programs, computer classes, and programs for adults, will be cancelled
All Parkway Central Library programs, including children programs, programs to support small businesses and job seekers, computer classes and after school programs, will be cancelled. We are exploring the possibility of relocating the Philadelphia Author Series programs to other non-library facilities.
All library visits to schools, day care centers, senior centers and other community centers will cease.
All community meetings at our branch and regional libraries, and the Parkway Central Library, will be cancelled.
All GED, ABE and ESL programs held at Free Library branches will be discontinued, students should contact their teacher to see if other arrangements are being made.

Here's the link to the complete article: http://ow.ly/p5jn

Anon,

Nancy

Boring Night at the Bookstore

2009-09-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

From time to time, it becomes necessary to replenish staffing deficits at the bookstore by sifting through the applications and interviewing new bookseller candidates. This is a task that I believe most of the managers do grudgingly. How do you differentiate between the potential superstar employee and the one who's going to rob the store blind?

The managers were able to find a few applications that stood out and not for good reasons.

There was the person who said on their application that their availability was flexible, but then only marked three days ( and six hours on those days), that they were available. What do they think is inflexible?

Then there was my personal favorite; The guy who marked in the education portion of the application that he was homeschooled and then under accomplishments he stated that he had perfect attendance year round. If you are homeschooled and you have perfect attendance, does that mean you successfully got out of bed everyday? He also listed Movie Club for one of his activities. If you're homeschooled and you're in the Movie Club, does that mean that you're in charge of picking the movies at Blockbuster?

These are the questions that haunt us on a Saturday evening in an otherwise uneventful bookstore.

Anon,

Nancy

Websites and Blogs for Children's Writers

2009-09-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

There are some great resources available online for children’s writers. These sites can be a great way to find out about the trends in children’s publishing, the likes and dislikes of editors and agents and are great for networking.

Editor Sites:

http://www.cherylklein.com/; I’ve mentioned how wonderful Cheryl’s site is in a previous post so I’ll keep it brief. She also blogs at http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/

http://www.bloomabilities.blogspot.com/ : Alvina Ling of Little, Brown and Co.. It’s a mix of personal posts and ones dedicated to publishing.

http://editorialanonymous.blogspot.com/: A super blog from an editor who remains anonymous but works in kids books. She answers questions and has some great insight into the business. Check out her archives for some awesome information on publishing terms and the whole editing process.

Agent Sites:

http://www.bowenpress.blogspot.com/ : Brenda Bowen’s Bunny Eat Bunny World blog. She was an editor in the biz for a long time and recently made the move to agenting. She’s at the Stanford Greenburger Assoc.

http://www.greenhouseliterary.com/: Website by Sarah Davies, a literary agent focusing on kids books.

http://www.upstartcrowliterary.com/ : New literary agency headed up by Michael Stearns, who was an editor at Harcourt for a long time.

Author Sites:

http://www.janeyolen.com/: Jane Yolen’s website. Her journal gives great insight what it’s really like to be a working writer. She also answers questions and has transcripts of some of her speeches on the site.

http://www.lindasuepark.com/: Newbery winner, Linda Sue Park includes some great writing advice on the site.

http://www.robinfriedman.com/: Robin Friedman’s site includes some great interviews with kid book editors.

http://www.writingforchildrenandteens.com/: Cynthea Liu promotes other author’s books on her site, includes information on writing and holds some great contests where she’ll usually give away a free critique.

http://www.verlakay.com/: Verla Kay’s site not only includes information on writing but also includes the “blue boards” forums for writers to ask questions of other writers, list response times for agents and editors. If you want to write for kids, this is the site you need to bookmark and go back to often.

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/: Cynthia Leitch Smith includes some great writing resources and interviews of industry professionals

Miscellaneous:

http://www.write4kids.com/: A site dedicated to helping children’s writers achieve that allusive goal of getting published.

http://www.cwim.blogspot.com/: Great blog kept by Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market editor, Alice Pope. She includes updates on the market listings on her site and often includes interviews with writers.

http://www.underdown.org/: Harold Underdown’s The Purple Crayon site includes some great information on getting published, which editors have moved where and other writing tips. If you are submitting directly to publishers this is a great reference.

http://www.scbwi.org/: The website of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the site includes forums and publishing information and information on local meetings and events.

Anon,

Nancy

Media Alert!

2009-09-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

The Kings Firecrackers, a performance jump rope team(of the Kings School District, Cincinnati Ohio), will be performing on the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon on Labor Day between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM EST on Channel 64.

http://kingsfirecrackers.blogspot.com/

Check it out!

Have a Happy Labor Day!

Anon,

Nancy

Agent Blogs

2009-09-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

It seems like more and more literary agents have blogs these days. Agents may use their blogs to promote their clients work, mentor aspiring writers or as a way to distribute updates about the everchanging publishing business. Whatever reason the agent uses their blog, it is a great tool to learn more about the agent and to determine if they would be a good fit for your work.

Here are some of the agent blogs:

http://www.jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/: Janet Reid's blog, it's an excellent mix of publishing info, submission do's and don'ts and client promotion. And just the right amount of snark.

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/: Nathan Bransford's blog: includes some great advice for new writers and publishing info. He includes some tips for writing query letters that are incredibly useful.

http://www.pubrants.blogspot.com/ : Kristin Nelson's blog. Her blog includes sample pitches from some of her actual clients. She also describes why the query worked.

http://www.queryshark.blogspot.com/: Janet Reid also manages this blog. Step into the shark tank if you dare to have your query critiqued.

http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/ Rachelle Gardner's Literary Ramblings blog includes tips on writing query letters, how to write a book proposal and also includes questions to ask literary agents when you get "the call." There's some great information on her blog.

http://www.bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/ The blog kept by Jessica Faust of the Bookends Literary agency. She frequently answers comments and questions on her blog and is a great mentor to aspiring writers.

Other Lit. Agency blogs:

http://theswivet.blogspot.com/ Colleen Lindsey's blog, she's with Fineprint Literary Agency

http://dglm.blogspot.com/ Dystel & Goderich Literary Management blog

http://litsoup.blogspot.com/ Jenny Rappaport Literary Agency blog

http://arcaedia.livejournal.com/ Jennifer Jackson's blog of the Donald Maas Literary Agency

Some agencies include blogs on their websites. These include:

http://www.greenhouseliterary.com/ Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary Agency

http://www.upstartcrowliterary.com/ Michael Stearns and crew at Upstart Crow Literary Agency

I know there are some great blogs that I missed. Frequenting agency blogs is a great way to learn what's going on in the publishing business not to mention a great way to determine which agents represent the type of manuscript you want to submit.

Anon,

Nancy

White out? I haven't seen the white out...

2009-08-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

New Blogs

2009-08-28T04:22:00.000-07:00

There are a few blogs that I discovered that I think deserve a second look.

Two of the blogs do serve up a healthy dose of snark, so be warned. They are:

http://internspills.blogspot.com/
http://www.therejectionist.com/

Another blog, http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/is done by a man by the name of Eric who works in the Sales Department of a major publisher, his blog focuses on what happens after your book is acquired. The blog includes very useful information on the publishing biz. A look inside this mysterious world...

Casey McCormick has been blogging for a while but I only recently discovered her blog, http://www.caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/. On her blog, Literary Rambles, she includes a feature calledAgent Spotlights. The feature includes interviews the agent has given, buzz about the agent and feedback from writers about the agents.

So check them out!

Anon,

Nancy

I'm Not the Lorax...But I speak for the trees

2009-08-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

One Friday about a month or so ago, I decided to take the day off of work to write. I was pounding away at my keyboard feverishly working on my manuscript when I heard a whomp, whomp, whomp sound. I didn't think much about it as my neighbors tend to be a bit noisy. Well when the noise continued I looked up from my computer and saw the tree in front of my window shaking side to side. I got up from my chair to get a closer look and saw my downstairs neighbor whacking at the tree with a machete. He gave the tree one more whack and then dragged the tree into his apartment.

Intrigued, I took a closer look at the stump he left behind. It was pretty small and wasn't very wide and didn't seem to be diseased in any way. I wondered what would possess my neighbor to cut down a perfectly good tree and why would he drag it into his apartment? Then I did something that I don't normally do. I ratted him out to the management staff of the apartment complex. I figured they owned the tree afterall- my neighbor was really just renting the darn thing, they should know happened to it.

The apartment manager thanked me for calling (like you would thank a stranger you suspect might be a bit of a loon) and said they would talk to my neighbor. I don't know if anything came of my complaint but none of the other trees surrounding our building have been harmed.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
-The Lorax,
Dr. Seuss

Do Over!

2009-08-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm knee deep in revisions for my WIP. I originally started the manuscript back in November for National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO) and managed to get about 15,000 words written for the month of November. I kept working on it after that and slowly but surely I finished my rough draft. I'm now going back through killing my darlings as they say. This is my third round of revisions and I'm finally seeing the possibilities of the manuscript.

There's a great website that I find myself referencing time and again- its http://www.cherylklein.com/. Cheryl Klein was the continuity editor for the last few Harry Potter books. Her site is a treasure trove of editing and revision techniques. She's posted the transcripts of speeches she's given at various writing conferences. Check it out!

Anon,

Nancy

The Devil, the Government and the Internet, oh my!

2009-08-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

One of the tasks of my job is to answer emails that people send to the website I administer. Most of the emails are from perfectly sane people who have forgotten their logins or have a question. This week, however, I have seen a surprisingly large number of emails from some interesting people.

There was an email from the gentleman who stated in the first line that due to government restrictions we was not able to communicate on the internet and went on to explain the book project he wanted to pitch regarding the interworkings of the sub agencies within the US government. Every other line he mentioned that he shouldn't sharing this information.

Then there was the nine page email from the gentleman who had already picked out the leads for the book project and who used an astounding number of curse words as adjectives to explain his project. The project he was pitching also included an astounding number of drug references and included a famous rock star in the role as the devil.

Then there was the guy who wanted to know where he could find the super secret list of agents that had clout to find an unpublished writer (like himself), a six or seven figure deal for his book project.

So if these are the type of emails that this site gets, I can only imagine the types of emails that agents and editors receive. So what does this mean to the rest of us? If you can portray a certain amount of sanity and pitch a coherent project, you are most likely ahead of the game...

Anon,

Nancy

Time to break out the Middle Grade Novels!

2009-08-17T08:30:00.001-07:00

Upcoming Trends in MG and YA
I found this post about trends on the www.VerlaKay.com website. I'm hoping it's okay to post here. It was originally on Facebook. Anyway, it looks like Middle Grade novels are still popular, especially ones geared toward boys and bring on the funny!

http://pl-pl.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=102337018326

Anon,

Nancy

Things Overheard at the Bookstore

2009-08-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

We use an intercom system to make event announcements, to page a manager for a phone call and to announce that the store is closing for the night. Sometimes employees will use the intercom to ask for back up or assistance on an issue. Earlier in the week when an employee, we will call her employee A was unable to locate a book, she made this announcement to another employee, we will call her, employee B.

"Employee B (name redacted) please call information...(insert very long pause here), You know that Ball Blue Book of preserving, I cannot find it."

We count ourselves lucky that employee A did not transpose the first part of that title. I doubt that would be something anyone would want to preserve...

Anon,

Nancy

Check out this post

2009-08-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

Agent Nathan Bransford has updated his Publishing Glossary. Lots of great info all in one place.

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/08/book-publishing-glossary.html

Hey Southpaws!

2009-08-13T18:12:00.000-07:00

Today is National Lefthanders Day!

Famous Lefthanders Include:

Douglas Adams

Thomas Jefferson

Franz Kafka

Mark Twain

Dave Barry

Peter Benchley

Oprah Winfrey

Barack Obama

Nicole Kidman

http://www.lefthandersday.com/