Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Dunski Rinker is absolutely beautiful, from start to finish. Flawlessly written, adorably illustrated, this book is timeless. The Littles, with a newfound fascination of construction trucks, love this book. It teaches the big construction trucks, in a playful way that captivates readers. It adds in some fun, too, when a person yells to one of the trucks, “Hey, pipe down!”–both of the kiddos favorite line. It’s a story that just makes you want to snuggle up and unwind. A story well written, well illustrated, and well loved.
Category Archives: Everyday “Posts”
Highlighted Book: If I Had a Gryphon by Vikki Vansickle
If I Had a Gryphon by Vikki Vansickle is a book that the kids and I just adored this week. We found it in the new section at the Delaware County Library, lured by it’s unique cover art and gripping title. It definitely didn’t disappoint. The Littles, usually swept up in the world of princesses and occasional construction trucks, surprisingly couldn’t put this one down. From manticores, to unicorns, chupacabras, to dragons, this book covered literally every mythical creature in existence… even ones I didn’t know of! The art pulled them in as they learned all the names of the creatures (with the exception of the phoenix because there was a giant manticore mouth being flossed on the accompanying page and well, who can ignore the appeal of saying, “EWWW” over a firey bird?). This book was delightful. I took a few minutes when we returned it to see if the library held anything else by the author without any luck, so I believe this may be her debut book–and a stellar one at that! It captivated us from the start and saddened us when we put it back in the drop box. I don’t doubt it will be widely enjoyed, and I wanted to take a moment to help spread the word because it deserves every borrow and purchase. Well done Vikki, please, keep writing! 🙂
Absent Excuse…
Yes, it’s been awhile. Like, a long while, since I’ve written. Things have been bustling! We’ve had a car breakdown, house remodel still in progress, ac install… all of which has added up to very little time (plus a personal announcement coming SOON! 🙂 –Not pregnant, before anyone jumps there 😉 ).
Things have been busy–oh, we also had a little getaway recently too! Whew, things are just moving… All of this adds up to very little free time because very important house projects are on the move. So, writing is sort of on hold. Not cancelled, just on hold while other things are set in motion. I may still reach out to an agent here and there, but manuscript writing has definitely come to a halt (however, if you ARE an agent looking at this right now, there are 3 manuscripts ready for reviewing!). However, there is some exciting news to share! This week we will be attending a party to celebrate the publishing of the Orange Branch Anthology! I Dreamed is at the presses as we speak. It’s so exciting! Hopefully I can share some pics of the event with you all soon, but until then, I wanted to at least take a couple of minutes to update you on the happenings and to let you know that you are not forgotten 🙂
Guest Post: What the Heck is a Synopsis?
Head on over to the Highlights Foundation blog to get a better understanding on synopsis and to learn more about the great workshops they offer:
http://www.highlightsfoundation.org/7738/what-the-heck-is-a-synopsis/
Highlighted Book: Love You When by Linda Kranz
Love You When by Linda Kranz is a book I came across in the littles’ collection. I had been putting their books away during nap and saw this, and the beautiful cover immediately caught my eye. I opened it up to be met with beautiful rock paintings filled with color, life and imagination on every page.
The story, as you can imagine, is a heartfelt tender book about how much the parent loves their little one. I’ll admit, the beginning felt a little choppy and boring, but after that it picked up and filled my heart with fuzzy feelings. It didn’t really mean much to the 3 & 4 year old, we mostly just discussed which ones were our favorite on each page, but it did to me as a caregiver. This book would fall under the “loved one” audience, where a parent or grandparent buys a sentimental book for the little one in their lives. It’s great for adults and maybe as a bedtime story, but it definitely doesn’t catch my little ones’ interest at least.
It did make it onto the highlight list though because of the beautiful illustrations and sentimental words. I could see buying this as a gift for someone. I can see it as a book handed down from generation to generation. It has the timeless feel to it, and is well worth picking up if you come across it.
“How is your manuscript going?”
At my recent Writer’s Group meeting someone asked me, “How is your manuscript going?” It caught me off guard, and I kind of stumbled through the response, “Umm, well, I’ve submitted to some agents. I just don’t have the time to keep reaching out to publishers and am hoping that this may be a better fit for my work.”Everyone’s attention was on me and I was unprepared. But this answer seemed to satisfy them, and they all wished me well on my endeavor as we all went our separate ways until the next meeting. The truth is, it’s going better than that. Or at least, I could have presented it much more confidently. At this point Bunny Shapes has been submitted to a few agents. I’ve gotten one response, a kind rejection letter, but otherwise haven’t had much movement on it in either direction. Still waiting, giving the agencies I have submitted to time to review my work and the fair first shot at it. I’m not a fan of simultaneous submissions, it’s too easy to get confused about what you’ve submitted to who and when, and then if you get a rejection letter without anything personal you don’t know what has been rejected. So, I will wait patiently for the next couple of weeks to hear back. And honestly, that’s a good thing. This week my husband and I leave for DC to visit my sister-in-law for the Regeneration Who con event (we’re all huge fans of Dr. Who and want to experience our first con together!), so that time is out for writing. Next week will be some changes at work, so time there will be figuring out the new rhythm and schedule. During that time I hope to get some responses. If not, I will go back to the book and contact others who feel like the right fit. So, writing comrade, my manuscript is going well. It’s searching for a home with a positive attitude.
We got a sneak peek!
Nothing makes your writing more real than having a sneak peek at the cover design. This past Wednesday we had our monthly writer’s group at DCDL, and were surprised to receive a copy of the cover/back of our book! The art for it is pretty special, as it’s done by one of the authors in the book. She is blessed to have the best of both talents, and the group and publisher felt it was fitting to have someone within the group with such great talent to pull it all together. We also were given our submissions for final revision. It was the last time we’d see our work before it is handed to us bound and professionally printed. We took our time to look it all over and many submissions were covered in sticky notes. Mine was the only one which was fine as it was, because it is just a short picture book piece. Having that editing time allowed me to introduce myself to two new visitors to the group and get to know them. After a good half hour of last minute changes, we began the normal critique routine, everyone just a little distracted from the excitement of publishing. Within the next couple of months it sounds like our book will be out there for the world to read! We couldn’t be more excited!
Highlighted Illustrators
As I was looking through an amazing author at the library the other day it hit me: I haven’t really expressed the value of a good illustrator. Without a good illustrator that matches the heart of the story, it will fall flat, not matter how well the author wrote it. Despite the saying to “never judge a book by its cover”, we do. Sometimes the title can convince me to pick up a book that at first glance didn’t catch my eye, but it really is a perfectly balanced partnership that needs to work together to reach its audience.
Below are illustrators both the kids and I have fallen in love with. If you’re not too into the story, at least check out the book for its astounding illustrations:
Aaron Becker has both written and illustrated two books: Journey & Quest. Now, I say “written” loosely, because the books have no words, but they still are written. His illustrations tell a story, one that he must have had to go through the writing process to develop. These illustrations quickly capture imagination, and you feel instantly transported to the most beautiful world you have ever seen.
Wendy Grieb illustrates for Paul Czajak’s Monster & Me series, one that I absolutely adore. Every single one of them are fantastic. Above is from Monster Needs a Costume, their Halloween masterpiece, but every one of them are fantastic. This is a team that was just meant to be. Without each other, I don’t think the books would be as endearing, but combined every one of their books have found their way onto my shelf. I look forward to what they make next, and, if for some reason Czajak stops writing, I pray that Wendy Grieb continues illustrating.
Brendan Wenzel is the illustrator for Angela Diterlizzi’s Some Bugs. This book is fantastic. The bugs are cute–no idea how Wenzel manages that but someone who can pull that off is a winner in my book. They are all so vivid. They are full of choas, but calm. He creates so much for your eyes to look at. Diterlizzi has come out with a sequel, Some Pets, and I really hope Wenzel did some amazing illustrations for that, too.
Antoinette Portis did an amazing job with Not A Stick and Not a Box. I love the simplicity of them. She did both the illustrations and writing, and worked them together seamlessly. To me, she shows imagination. She works it so that you see what is really there, and then the fantasy that our minds fill in. I wish she had done more, for children everywhere.
More highlighted illustrators coming soon.
Agent Response Times…MUCH quicker!
I was thrilled to see how quickly the first agent I reached out to got back to me. After reaching out to publishers for over a year, I’ve grown used to waiting a good two months for that rejection letter, but this time I received a response in just a little over a week! Spoiler alert: it was still a rejection 😉 But, I consider it great writing practice. The agency asked some great, thought provoking questions upon submission that made me stretch my muscles a little more than usual.
Today I reached out to another agency. Only time will tell where that one takes me.
Make the time.
Chinese Lantern Festival, December 27th, 2016
It’s becoming a very old saying for me: life’s a balancing act. I feel like every other month I’m writing something to you about how something has come up, thus shortening my writing time. It’s still true, and getting busier. But just as with anything else important in one’s life, you make time for it. So, I’m making time for my writing. Today, despite the tornado that struck only inside my house leaving it it quite the state of untidiness, I’m going to contact an agent. It keeps looming over me. Like homework being pushed off to the last possible second. But no more. I desperately want Bunny Shapes to get out there and be seen. I know it’s good. I just need someone to see it. Will they be the right fit? Only God knows the answer to that. I trust that He will work it out one way or another, but I have to give Him the chance. I have to get Bunny Shapes out there if I want to have any chance of it landing a publishing deal. So, I making that first scary step. It’s also really, really, exciting! Here’s to reaching out. Here’s to the beauty of life and it’s craziness. Here’s to Bunny Shapes. Here’s to the journey of authorship.
Writing Concepts 