I will be at book fairs the next two Saturdays.
On April 27 I’ll be at the Albany Children’s Book Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Albany Academies, 140 Academy Road, Albany, New York.
Then on May 4 I’ll be at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival, also from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Hudson Junior and Senior High School, 215 Harry Howard Avenue, Hudson, New York.
If you are around either day, drop by and say hello!…
I have been very quiet here these last few months, not because I haven’t been busy, but precisely because I have been super-busy. Here are some of the things that have been going on:
* Gil Marsh was nominated for the 2013 Teen Choice Book Awards. (Voting is still open until February 13 here)
* In November, I had the great pleasure of participating in the Bring Your Own Book and Blanket evening at the Davis Street Elementary School in New Haven, Connecticut. I met with a great group of inquisitive and engaged students who joined me to think about how you go about writing books that include many different cultures.
* In December, I finished the novel that I had been working on for NaNoWriMo, only to realize that I have to entirely restructure the beginning. I have since been working double-time to complete a serviceable first draft. At some point I’ll share some of the fascinating research I have been doing to help it along.
* In January, I presented at the first Shoreline Arts Alliance Winter Workshops for Writers & Illustrators in Chester Connecticut, and discussed the art of revising novels. The workshops were well attended, and as a bonus, the proceeds went to benefit the Tassy Walden Awards: Fresh Voices in Children’s Literature.
And coming up:
* Gil Marsh will be released in paperback on February 26th. Woot!…
On Saturday September 15 I’ll be at the BranfordReads festival from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Branford Green, in Branford, Connecticut. The celebration includes presentations by a host of authors (I present at 12:30), book signings, puzzle contests, a Brainquest challenge, a silent auction, food, music, and at 2 p.m. there will be an award ceremony honoring the top summer readers from Branford public schools. Come join the fun!…
I had the great pleasure of spending this morning at Lyme Consolidated School as a guest speaker for their Young Author’s Day. I got to meet all the students there, from kindergarten through 5th grade. I told stories, read a few, and told them what it was like to be an author of children’s books.
The students were wonderful! In turns insightful, curious, and attentive, they asked terrific questions, and were very patient with me as my voice croaked and squeaked (leftovers from a cold and allergies). I had really good time!
I want to particularly thank Pricipal Jim Cavalieri and Media Specialist Shanon Pimentel for making me feel so welcome, and all the teachers who helped and asked questions, too. What a great school!…
This next month will be a busy one for me. Here’s a list of some of the places I’ll be:
Wednesday, April 18 at 1 p.m., I’ll be appearing at the Barnes & Noble in North Haven, Connecticut with Amanda Marrone, for a talk and book signing.
Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21, I’ll be attending A Celebration of the Picture Book conference at the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Rosemary Wells will be one of the keynote speakers, and my friend, the author/illustrator Deborah Freedman will be presenting at one of the panels, along with many other talented folks.
Saturday, April 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., I’ll be at the Albany Children’s Book Festival in Albany, New York, signing books and schmoozing with over 70 children’s books authors and illustrators.
Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., I’ll be at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival in Hudson, New York, signing and schmoozing with over 85 children’s books authors and illustrators.
If you are at any of these events, come by and say hello!…
I will be giving a talk and signing books on Wednesday April 18 at 1 p.m. at the Barnes and Noble in North Haven, Connecticut, along with author Amanda Marrone. We’ll be talking about how we combine realism with the supernatural to create fiction. It’s part of Educator Appreciation Week when K-12 educators using an Educator Discount Card will get a 25% discount on books, toys, games and classroom materials, and a 10% discount on movies and music. Educators can enter a raffle for a chance to win a NOOK Tablet or $500 gift card.
The line up for the other Author Days is also quite impressive. On Tuesday April 17, author/illustrators Deborah Freedman and Nancy Elizabeth Wallace are scheduled to appear, and on Thursday April 19, authors Leslie Bulion and Leslie Connor.
Stop by and say hello!…
Here’s what you need to know about Amy.
Twenty eight years ago, when rumor went around that Woody Allen planned to show up for a screening of his new movie, Broadway Danny Rose, she asked me to go with her.
“Sure,” I said.
She turned to her boyfriend’s roommate. “How about you?”
He said, “Sure.”
And then she told us, “Oops. I forgot. I’m supposed to be somewhere tonight. Why don’t you go without me?”
Lying is not Amy’s strong suit. Neither of us believed her, but we knew she meant well. So, standing there awkwardly, I asked, “Uh. You want to go?”
He seemed equally awkward. “Sure,” he replied.
I know I’ve had more disastrous dates, but this one was memorable. It was a cold February night, the rumor was false, and we searched for the screening site, going from one university building to another, in vain. We finally decided on an arts flick, Born in Flames. Let’s just say that a feminist movie about the lives of prostitutes isn’t exactly conducive to romance. He did get points though for not making fun of it afterwards, and we warmed up over ice cream. Somehow our sense of humor meshed, and we agreed to see each other again. We have been together, ever since.
“I knew it’d work out,” Amy told me.
A lot of things have happened since then. Amy and I worked side by side, for years. We attended each other’s weddings. She came to the rescue when I needed help during one of my pregnancies. She stayed with us when her newborn needed to be kept safe from the flu coursing through her house. We’ve celebrated holidays and marked milestones.
So when No Castles Here was published, Amy told me, “I’m throwing you a party!” And what a party—friends, great food, good cheer. We had such a good time, that when Come Fall came out, she threw me another one. “We do this again for the next one, too,” she said. So, on Sunday, we celebrated Gil Marsh: we laughed and schmoozed, ate awesome food and had a grand time, the way good friends know how.
I hugged Amy more than once.
“You’ve got to publish another book,” she said. “These parties are so much fun!”
No arguing with that.
Thank you Amy, Steve, and all those who came. It was a blast!…
This 32-second video was made by kids at the Hudson City Junior and Senior High School for the Hudson Children’s Book Festival.
It does its job really well. Congratulations!
P.S. I’ll be at the festival, too.
P.P.S. If the embedded video doesn’t come up on your screen, click on the Read more. . . link below.…
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to do a fun reading at the Alphabet Garden Bookstore in Cheshire, Connecticut. I read two chapters from Gil Marsh, the crowd had some great questions for me about the book and my writing process, and we all got to eat some tarte au sucre (sugar pie).
Thank you to Karlene Rearick and Renee Geiger of the Alphabet Garden for helping me make the event such a success!…
This Saturday March 10 at 11:30 a.m. I’ll be at the Alphabet Garden Bookstore to read from Gil Marsh, talk about the book and answer questions folks might have. We’ll have tarte au sucre (“sugar pie”), a Quebec favorite, maple cookies and maybe some lemonade. (Sorry. I couldn’t manage poutine.) Come by and say hello!…