Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning has been nominated for the California Young Reader Medal! Nominated for the Intermediate Category, Violet Raines is one of only three books vying for the award. Students will be reading over the next few months, then voting. I'm so excited!
In other good news, The Summer of Moonlight Secrets is in Scholastic Book Fairs happening in your schools right now! YAY!
Whilst working on my super secret manuscript this morning, I found myself in need of a synonym, so onto Thesaurus.com I hopped. Wham! Hot debate going on in the comments of the article titled, "If “w” is double u, why is it made of two v’s?"
Indeed!
I had just been talking about this not two days ago with my son! We agreed W should be called "double vee," and my son tasked me to contact the literary powers that be with our epiphany. Thank gosh I don't talk to Noah Webster anymore (because he's dead and my therapy's over), or I truly would have embarrassed myself. According to the enlightening and timely article, the sounds we attribute to U, V, and W all derived from classic Latin's V, which originally was pronounced "wa." Surprised? There's more!
The first mutation was the use of V as a voiced bilabial fricative! Fricative-A! Can you believe it? Do you even know what a fricative is? I didn't until I read this article. But those in the know argued in the comments against the voiced bilabial fricative label: V is a voiced labio-dental fricative. V is a labiodental fricative. There was even reference to --gasp!--bilabial nasal [fricatives] in connection with a different letter.
Anyway, as V became overloaded with responsibilities, what with representing ugly vampire want-to-bes, eighth century writers decided that the wa sound would be depicted by a U and a U--a double set of Us--and it looked like this: uu.
At this point, I felt the question posed in the title remained unanswered. ("If 'w' is double u, why is it made of two 'v’s?'") If anything, my curiosity had been further stoked, but the article ended abruptly, summing up too quickly, leaving me without hope of resolution.
My hands stretched toward my monitor like those of a sunburnt, dehydrated soul upon the appearance of an oasis that dissolves into mirage. Why, oh why, I lamented, if double-u is based on U, why why WHY is it pointy like a V?
Scrolling for answers, I stumbled upon a wiseman.
Mark II answers thusly: "Because…. in Latin (of which most of the English language is based), “U” looks like a “V”. You boneheads."
SCENE:
Mother and son sitting at breakfast table. Mother sips cappuccino while eating Entenmann's Rich Frosted donut. Son eats Trix. Both stare thoughtfully out the window, through which the mist rises from boggy woods and birds alight in the oak, waiting their turn at the bird feeder.
Son: Mom?
Me: Yes?
Son: What's thirty-six divided by twelve?
Me: Three.
Son: Oh. I was just wondering.
END SCENE
I just got an email and I don't know what to think. The sender used no emoticon. Furthermore, they didn't use an exclamation point after my name (not happy 2 hear from me?)--they used a comma (I thought we were friends), but TG they didn't use a period (gasp! are u mad at me?).
Our use of technology (please note I didn't say technology but rather, the way we use it) has turned us into a bunch of paranoid suckers, bleeding all over the keyboard while pecking away like drones. "Why r u smiling?" we ask our friend at the lunch table. "Nothing," she says. She is caught in the tractor beam of her iPhone. We don't worry; she is probably texting us right now with the link to whatever made her smile. Smiling is the physical representation of the colon followed by a parenthesis; which came first, do you know? I mean, do u know?
I can write in cursive but my kids cannot. Our county is not required 2 teach it. I understand that; kids now present in Power Point; laser printed papers r preferred 2 handwritten. I ask y then isn't typing a required subject. R children shud no qwerty 2 b mor fishent on keybrd. Srsly, if they're gon enter work force b w/you, I want them 2 have skilz. R they gon print their names where their contracts ask for "Signature" or can they just use their avatars?
But even that's beside the point. When before We Wrote Letters--sometimes even writing them on scrap paper in pencil before copying them in pen onto the stationery we received on our birthdays--we thought about what we had to say. We pondered our words before giving them life. The letter had a journey to make, after all. When we licked the envelope (mmm! minty!) and put on that stamp, we knew our thoughts would take three days to arrive at the home of our beloved friend. We could picture our friend clearly, looking at the return address and skipping--no leaping!--because the letter was from us. So we often drew stickmen on the envelope so that our friend would enjoy the experience of us even sooner.
Checking the mailbox was once rated top of the list of enjoyable things in home life. Hearing the phone ring was on the irritating list.
I post a Tweet, then stay on--Did anyone reply? Did someone think it was funny? Let me check my four email accounts. Why has that person not responded? I wrote them an hour ago! Are they out of town? Did they get my email, it was raining, you know, maybe their line went down. Or they're mad at me--yes, that's it. They don't like me anymore or, no, no they're dead! Their status hasn't been updated in TWENTY-SIX minutes.
OMG! *sips Monster, takes deep breath*
Okay, they have five more minutes. Five minutes to respond or I swear I'm going to poke them.
This morning has a bit of a chill, not quite sixty degrees but the sky is happy blue with feathery clouds and the sun is warming everything up. (♬Mr. Bluebird's on my shoulder. It's true! It's actual! Everything is satisfactual!♬)
I thought I'd be all nature-y and take my laptop outside and be inspired by all that is around me. Not working. I can barely see the screen because my apertures are accommodating for my bright backyard; I could turn around, but I'd be facing the wall and my dirty windows. Plus, this table is wobbly. My cappucino has twice sloshed dangerously close to my laptop.
♬ Zip-a-dee-do-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, COME ON! You know the words! ♬ My, oh, my, what a wonderful day! ♬
Tooling around the Internet last night and look what I found:
The German to English translation is "The Summer I was Almost Hit by Lightning." Click here to listen to the title in German!
Me: I'm visiting your school in a few weeks.
Son: I'm going to be sick that day.
My dog likes cough drops.
I discover her chewing on something, wrangle her to the floor, and retract tattered wrappers from her unyielding jaws. She wags her tail, licks my face--"I've done nothing wrong"--and I am bathed in the scent of warm mentholyptus.
My kids worry about her.
"I think it's okay," I say. "Look--she's not coughing."
My Favorite Christmas Every Things
Movies
Favorite: Elf
Runners up: A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life (which I have to wait at least ten years before watching again.)
TV Special
Favorite: Winnie the Pooh, where Piglet learns to ice skate on a barrel.
Runner Up: Rudolph, first appearance of the Abominable Snowman.
Song
Favorite: Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Bruce Springsteen
Runner up: Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, Dolly Parton
Cartoons of any length
A Christmas Carol, the old, almost black and white cartoon version
The Snowman, brr! so haunting!
Walt Disney Sing-A-Long Songs: Very Merry Christmas Songs
Local Event
Favorite: Light Up Mount Dora
Runner Up: College Park Tour of Homes
Decoration
Snowmen
Food
Favorite: My mom's nutbread
Runner up: The ginger cookies I just discovered at Starbucks!
I had a GREAT TIME at NCTE 2010 in Orlando! And not just because it's my home either--I met a famous rodent, some of my favorite authors, and the wonderfully funny people from Walker Books, my publisher.
My time at the conference kicked off Friday, when I presented with Wendy Mass. Our topic: how research plays into fiction. I love talking about my research because I get to share the histories and photos of the places and people who've inspired certain elements in my books. Plus, Wendy autographed my personal copy of A Mango Shaped Space. After that, Emily Easton (Walker publisher) and I headed to the Bloomsbury/Walker booth for signing.
Saturday, I sat at a table during the Author Mosaic with Brandon Mull (Fablehaven) and Suzanne Morgan Williams (Bull Rider) and about eight or nine educators. Brandon and Suzanne were very passionate about their books, and Brandon and I discovered we've both worked with Brandon Dorman. Brandon D. illustrates the Fablehaven series, and he also created the cover art for The Summer of Moonlight Secrets. Then it was off to dinner with Kate Messner, Jaclyn Dolamore, Jessica Warman, and the folks from Walker: Beth Eller, Emily Easton, Melanie Cecka, and Katie Fee.
Sunday, the Florida branch had invited me, along with other authors from Florida, to attend a luncheon honoring outstanding Florida writing students. Alan Sitomer, a three-time Teacher of the Year winner, was a compelling speaker, as was Alex Flinn, who was the keynote speaker. Both were funny and offered stories from their own teenage years that were like universal memories.
I had a three hour gap before dinner. Fortunately, I came prepared with my new Sinbad DVD: Afros & Bellbottoms. Oh, my gosh! It was so funny! There I sat in the hallway, my legs pulled up under me, my earbuds in, LAUGHING OUT LOUD as people passed. I tried to suppress it, but I couldn't. Sinbad is quick, clever. This DVD came out in 2006 and I definitely recommend it, along
with Sinbad: Where U Been?
The ALAN Reception was next. We milled around, spotting people we knew and authors we hadn't met yet. The cheese was good.
Lisa Yee taking a picture of Peepy with the crowd.
Kate Messner taking a picture of Lisa taking a picture.
Kate, me, Lisa Yee, and Ann Angel
Me and Gary Paulsen!
Kate Messner, Jaclyn Dolamore, Katie Fee, Danette Haworth, Beth Eller, Jessica WarmanThis year's NCTE will be held right here in O-town--Orlando, the City Beautiful! I'm presenting Friday with Wendy Mass in the company of the wonderful Kate Messner and signing books right after. Saturday, I'm participating in the author mosaic, which is like a speed dating event between authors and conference attendees; and Sunday, I'm honored to sit with accomplished student writers at the FCTE luncheon.
Come by and say hi! I'll be wearing black. (Oh, right--we'll all be wearing black.)
See you there!
Well, it looks like we all have to wait till Friday to find out who are the remaining 88 sexiest men alive--according to People Magazine, that is. Ryan Reynolds is holding the crown this year. Hmm . . . I don't know. I just don't know.
But I will know this Friday! Talk to you then!
The pub date for ME & JACK is June 2011, so when my editor sent me the cover, I thought I'd hold onto it for a while. Then I saw it on AMAZON! So here, making its debut on my blog, is the gorgeous cover illustration by Greg Swearingen:
| Twitter blurb: Me & Jack: New kid has problems: he’s an outsider; no one likes his dog; and his dad’s a recruiter for Vietnam. Done talking—time to fight. Longer blurb later! |
My arms look like I've run through briars at high speed or like I have defense wounds from fending off a knife attack.
Neighbor: Hi Da--what happened to your arm? (Note: This was before other arm was utilized.)
Me: Oh, we have a new puppy.
Husband: You really need to put something on those, like Neosporin.
Me: I already did.
Kid in neighborhood: You need to scream really loud to make her stop when she does that.
Me: I am already doing that naturally.
I had an epiphany the other day: The dog ate my homework is true. I saw her do it as I applied BandAids to my arms.
Getting ready to get your stuff done--this short video captures it perfectly!
How's your day going? Want to make it even better? Check out these bits; most are short, all are funny.
Without further ado, the answers to the comedy quiz:
1. "Rice is good food, if you're hungry and want 10,000 of something."
MITCH HEDBERG
Oh, my gosh, watch the whole thing, TOO FUNNY! Fishsticks, club sandwiches, OMG, excellent! Saw him in person, so great. Humor is a gift, and he had it.
2. "Dad is great; he gave us chocolate cake."
BILL COSBY
This whole CD is great.
3. "Will do."
KEVIN MCDONALD, KIDS IN THE HALL, King of Empty Promises. So dry!
4. "A dingo ate your baby."
ELAINE, feeling uncomfortable at a party on SEINFELD. Good line to use at conferences if you feel awkward!
5. "They're just dumb old donkeys; they don't have a show to put on."
BRIAN REGAN, master of comedy, anything by him is my favorite. Check out Pop Tarts, Emergency Room, and I think we lost Bobby back there (don't know the name of this bit).
6. "You old guys don't need a young woman; you need a woman who recognizes the signs of stroke."
SINBAD, SINBAD, WHERE U BEEN? Excellent comedy! Clever, observational, and his improvisation is quick and spot-on. YOU MUST WATCH THIS BIT!
7. "I'm ready to go."
JAMIE FOX as WANDA, Living Color. I don't think she says it in this skit, but she's funny on the DATING GAME.
8. "I gotta have more cowbell!" Who doesn't know this one!
CHRISTOPHER WALKEN, SNL
9. "Sausages . . ."
SCOTT THOMPSON, Kids in the Hall. This skit is strange and oddly literary.
10. "Am I smiling?"
JOAN RIVERS, Geico commercial. Haha!
11. "Go to sleep, tiny dancer."
OWEN WILSON as HUTCH, STARSKY AND HUTCH. After the dance-off between Starsky and some club boy, Hutch finds out what Starsky has been putting in his coffee.
Charles Gramlich has posted a series of quizzes at which I have failed miserably. After post-quiz sackcloth and ashes, I realized that the only way to redeem myself was to post quizzes I ALREADY KNEW THE ANSWERS TO!
So, with that in mind, I begin my quiz series with a subject close to my heart: comedy. Charles makes his quizzes user friendly by giving you a matching set of mixed-up answers from which to choose. I do no such thing. If you want to be deemed The Armchair Queen/King of Comedy, you must recognize these quotes like sight words. Hey, if winning were easy, losers would do it.
Who said these funny lines? Post your answers in the comments! I'll post answers later!
Here we go:
1. "Rice is good food, if you're hungry and want 10,000 of something."
2. "Dad is great; he gave us chocolate cake."
3. "Will do."
4. "A dingo ate your baby."
5. "They're just dumb old donkeys; they don't have a show to put on."
6. "You old guys don't need a young woman; you need a woman who recognizes the five signs of stroke."
7. "I'm ready to go."
8. "I gotta have more cowbell!"
9. "Sausages . . ."
10. "Am I smiling?"
11. "Go to sleep, tiny dancer."
The woman who owns the cockapoo family emailed me new photos of our puppy. We get to pick up this cute little bundle this weekend!
.....
On her website, Kathy Carmichael provides all kinds of guidance on query letters, synopses, and elevator pitches. She even hosts a pitch generator--just fill in the blanks and it spits out your pitch! Try it! Here's the link.
The good people at TeachingBooks invited me to record myself explaining how to pronounce my name. Want to hear it? Click here, then go to "Author Pronunciation."
I listened to lots of other authors saying their names and I'm proud to say I can now correctly pronounce"Maggie Stiefvater."
I'm not normally in the business of telling you where to spend you money, but I believe the service I'm about to mention is truly worth it:
On September 23rd, Writers Digest is hosting an ONLINE WORKSHOP with CRITIQUES. The seminar runs ninety minutes and is run by Mary Kole from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, an agency specializing exclusively in children's books for the past thirty years.
For those of who haven't attended a conference, this online workshop might be equally as good: it's cheaper; it's closer; you know the food will be good; and you're going to receive instruction and personal feedback on your work from a publishing insider.
The critique alone is an excellent service. If you've never exposed your work before, if you've been afraid to submit, this, I think, would be a good answer for you.
Here's the link:
http://www.writersdigestshop.com/product/Publish_Your_Childrens_Tween_Teen_Fiction_webinar/?r=wdpb091910
Good luck!
*Ring, ring*
Mom: Hi, Danette. [Actually, she used my super secret nickname.]
Me: Hi, Mom. Did M tell you? My family's getting bigger next month!
Mom: YOU'RE PREGNANT!
Me: No, we're getting a dog.
Mom: That's great!
Baby girl cockapoo is 3 1/2 weeks--we get to pick her up next month. Here's her picture:
From The Mixed-Up Files blog:
And now, dear readers, an exciting giveaway we will have! Tom [Andleberger] has generously offered *this* ORIGINAL illustration from THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA to accompany the already fabulous prize of an AUTOGRAPHED COPY of his BOOK. Make a comment between now and September 1 to enter. A winner will be announced September 2.
Remember those yoyos you'd get as part of the birthday favor bag, your departing gift after playing musical chairs and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey? Back then I thought the object was to throw the yoyo down and return it to my hand. That, I thought, was talent. If you could do it.
Oh, how wrong I was.
I spent the weekend at the World 2010 Yoyo Contest in Orlando. For those of you in the know, I met Patrick Mitchell, Mateusz Ganc, Andre Boulay, Paul Han, Jensen Kimmitt, Jon Martin, Will Neimier, Zach Gormley, many more--all talented guys (very few female yoyoers).
This competition was to yoyers what a weekend conference is to writers. My son was among his own as soon as we stepped into the ballroom. Black clothes, busy fingers, yoyos of every shape, size, and color everywhere. Incredible talent. Three days of yoyo excellence.
For those of you who think "Walk the Dog" is the height of yoyo tricks (as I once did), I give you Paul Han (from CA).
YES! We're going to see my favorite comedian, Brian Regan, this September!
I just bypassed Ticketmaster who only wanted to give me seats way in the back--stupid lottery system! Instead, I called the venue directly and got closer seats, which happen to be on the inside aisle. For those of you who are not 5'2", let me explain: that aisle will leverage out the height of the tall men I must strain to see over.
Hooray!
Once again, my goal is to out-yell the other audience members during the encore for Brian to do his "Flipper" bit.
