Birth Announcement

I received a wonderful package in the mail the other day. It wasn't an early Christmas present or a fruit basket, but it was the best kind of present a writer can receive. The package held six copies of an activity book that I had written earlier this year for Warner Press. The finished product! No matter how many times you've received a package like this in the mail or have seen your work in print, the thrill doesn't seem to diminish. Each time is just as exciting as the last. Like giving birth to a second or third child (except a little less painful!), you know what to expect, but you still feel the excitement and thrill of seeing your baby for the first time. I've seen my "babies" in the pages of newspapers, magazines, on greeting card and calendar racks, in Christian bookstore gift departments, and activity book shelves, but never yet in the picture book or novel section of a bookstore. That is my next goal. But, unlike real babies, the process is taking a lot longer than 9 months. Patience is a virtue.

Best Books of '08

When the editors of School Library Journal make a list of the Best Children's Books of 2008, writers--and readers--listen. This isn't just any old magazine, but THE world's largest reviewer of books for young readers.

Here's just a peek at a few of the books they chose -- I plan on checking out some of the ones I haven't already read over Christmas break:

PICTURE BOOKS

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury

Mail Harry to the Moon! by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley

NON-FICTION

Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature’s Footprints by Jim Arnosky

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson

FICTION

The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath

Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith

Christmastime is here...

Whoa! Where is the month of December going? We're already almost halfway through the month, and in 5 minutes it will be only 10 days until Christmas! I'm not ready! We haven't even watched A Charlie Brown Christmas yet! Can someone please slow things down a bit?

We did do some fun "Christmasy" things this weekend, though. On Friday night, we went to see A Christmas Carol at Madison Park Church of God. This is the first time we've been to see the show, and we were pleasantly surprised! The music, acting, set and costumes were very impressive. On Saturday night, we attended the Anderson Symphony Orchestra's Christmas Concert featuring jazz pianist Lori Mechem. What a great concert! It definitely put us in the mood for Christmas!

Top 10 Gifts for Writers

1. A new laptop. (Santa, please take note.)
2. A digital recorder for interviews. (Not necessary if #3 is purchased)
3. A Livescribe pen that records interviews and transcribes them for you when you download them to your new laptop. (See #1)
4. An idea that publishers can't say "no" to. (Good Luck!)
5. Gift cards for Panera Bread, Starbucks, or other coffee shop hangouts that play jazz and provide great ambiance for writing.
6. Homemade gift certificates for TIME to write. (Especially priceless to a mother of three.)
7. An iPod nano to play cool music that will inspire creativity.
8. An all-expense paid trip to the SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles.
9. A beautiful new journal.
10. A good book to read while you're waiting for your muse to kick in.

12 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Because I have been so completely delinquent when it comes to blogging on a consistent basis, I am giving myself a "12 Days of Christmas" blogging challenge for the month of December. The challenge is simple: I must blog at least 12 days this month. Anything less, and I'm a loser (OK, no comments on that one, please). Anyone else out there who would like to follow suit is more than welcome to join in the festivities.

I'm back at my old haunt--Panera Bread--tonight for a rare Internet surfing and blogging evening. I used to come here quite regularly to get out of the house and find some peace and quiet (and a bagel or bowl of soup, of course) while I worked on freelance projects. But there's one thing that's missing from the picture of those days gone by -- the freelance projects (I'd even settle for a singular "project" right now). Not that I have been pounding the pavement in search of projects, mind you, but I do fondly remember the day when the projects used to come to me. It was heavenly. Now, I sit staring at my inbox waiting for an e-mail from one of my contacts who's ready to assign a lucrative project. My eyes are getting tired.

Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge has been completed. Keep in mind, I never said that these had to consecutive days. Just 12 days during the month of December. Stay tuned for Days 2 through 12...

The Art of Procrastination

Once again, Debbie Ridpath Ohi at inkygirl has hit the nail on the head. How does she do it? Her comics all seem to be about my life as a writer. Does she have one of those hidden cameras mounted in my house somewhere?

I fear I am becoming a once-a-month blogger, but I'm just not ready to give up on the whole blogging thing just yet. We'll see what the New Year brings. Did I just say "New Year"? Freaky, isn't it, to think that 2009 is only a little over 2 months away? Whoa! I still remember all those nuts who were stocking up and getting ready for Y2K! (Forgive me if you were one of them.) Now we're sitting on the edge of Y2K+9! Crrraaaaaazy!

Blogger's Guilt

I'm feeling quite guilty for not having blogged in over a month. My poor blog. Just sitting here all alone with no one to update it. What's a blog to do? I'm surprised it hasn't left me in search of a more prolific blogger. Frankly, I've just been too busy dealing with LIFE to write. I haven't been writing anything other than lesson plans lately. And that's... OK (to steal a phrase from the early 90s Stuart Smalley SNL skit).

There's nothing like a Writer's Conference to get the juices flowing again. A good one is coming up in Indianapolis, but I'm not sure whether I'll be going or not. Depends on whether I can scrounge up $99 by Oct. 1. We'll see.

Well, there. I've blogged. Are you happy now? (That's a rhetorical question.) See you next month... :-)