Angela Cerrito

Poetry Repeat

2012-02-11T02:32:00.000-08:00

After preparing toast for Sama today, she took the knife and removed the "extra" butter. She looked at me and shrugged, "Couldn't help it."

"I know," I told her. "You like your toast just so."

It brought to mind this poem I wrote when she was two...

Morning Ritual

Sama insists
her toast be cut
into eight pieces.
Melted butter
poured corner to corner
spread thin
to cover every bit.
Required is the "purple" fork
part of the kitchen playset.
It is actually pink.
Sometimes honey.
Occassionally jam.
Always melted butter
spread from end to end.
Always eight pieces.
Only with the special
"purple" fork.

Beauty and the geeks

2011-12-19T14:17:00.000-08:00

Cheer shorts $9
Cheer shoes $54

Watching an 11 year old teach two old geeks to cheer....

... you decide!

And the winner is...

2011-11-06T05:12:00.001-08:00

Thank you to everyone who entered the book giveaway at Get Lost in a Story - the winner was selected using Random.org and the winner is....

Dana!

I died and lived to tell about it (A true tale posted for Halloween)

2011-10-29T04:38:00.000-07:00

In kindergarten the Boogey Man became really real for me thanks to a man, a guitar and a fairy tale.

During my childhood it was common for parents (or any adult) to threaten kids with the Boogey Man. “Eat your vegetables or the Boogey Man will get you.” Sit up straight. Be nice to your sister. Wash your hands. Listen to your mother. Don’t talk back. And so on… or the boggy man will get you.

I was skeptical. Who was this Boggy man? What did he look like? Where did he live? Why did he want to hang around with children anyway…especially the bad ones? Didn’t he have a mom too?

My mother couldn’t answer my questions. Then how do you even know he is real? I asked her.

Everyone knows the Boogey Man is real. (NOTE: This is the same mother who later tried to convince me that I didn’t want to do what everyone was doing ---stay out late, go to a party without parents present and jump off cliffs.)

I wasn’t sure the Boogey man was real until a guitar playing story teller visited kindergarten and told us Rumpelstiltskin. It freaked me out. This Rumpelstiltskin freak did want to “get” babies. He even sang and danced about it. Maybe I stopped listening or was just too afraid to pay attention. Or perhaps I heard a twisted version of the story.

I went home and told my mother that I learned all about the Boogey Man at school. His name was Rumpelstiltskin and he got babies and killed them.

She tried to assure me that the princess found out his name and her and the prince kept her baby.

“No, he takes children.” I was so afraid.

I had a nightmare. The Boogey Man (named Rumplestiltskin) followed me home from school. I was all alone on my walk. I saw him. And he killed me by bashing my head in with a rock. I tried to say his name and save myself. But it was no use. He kept right on pounding the rock against my head. I remember looking down at my dead self.

Those who say you don’t die in your dreams or you die in real life didn’t have my Boogey Man / Rumpelstiltskin experience as a child.

I died and lived to tell about it.

And I grew up to become someone who enjoys jumping off cliffs!

Happy Halloween

Get Lost in a Story

2011-10-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to be featured on Get Lost in a Story and interviewed by the amazing Maureen McGowan, author of Cinderella Ninja Warrior and Sleeping Beauty Vampire Slayer.

Check out the interview and learn more about the international contest (closes 3 November 2011)

Something on Sunday - Going Camping

2011-10-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot today was Sunday! A few days of vacation will do that to a person.

In less than an hour we will leave to go camping.

Our last camping trip was Urban Camping

We were one tent in a crowd!

And we also went canyoning here

It was a bit of an adventure

Cold...but fun

This time we will be in a cabin in the woods...I can't wait!!!

Where is your favorite place to camp?

SomethingOnSunday - SCBWI Library Day

2011-09-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was able to spend my entire day at the library! Best of all I was joined by SCBWI illustrators & writers. And even better that kids, teens and parents came to enjoy the day ---LIBRARY DAY!

Kirsten Carlson
Kids fell in love with Kirsten's books and had a blast learning to draw various sea animals

look at all those kids (and adults too!)

It was an interactive bunch!

and Kirsten got results

Next up was Daniel Jennewein
He taught about three different kinds of buffalo. The Asian water buffalo, the American Bison and the buffalo who stars in the books by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Daniel.

Next he took requests - he took ALL kinds of requests
including --- Buffalo drum roll please ----

Please draw a horse jumping over a house with a mole hanging onto the horse's tail for its own dear life.
Yes, that was a request from a young child and she did say "for its own dear life" and it was so cute that Daniel just had to draw it!

We were all sad that the one and only Jen K Blom was not able to attend. Tracie Miller the librarian stepped in. Tracie read the first two chapters of POSSUM SUMMER and the local TV station recorded her! POSSUM SUMMER draws you in from page one with a feisty main character who manages to be tender and tough at the same time.

Juliane Kayser gave a great TV interview

She also read from her book and told how her research added power to her fiction

I ended the day with a presentation for teens about creating characters. I was thrilled that adults and younger kids joined us too.

My thanks to Kirsten Carlson, Illustrator Coordinator for SCBWI Germany, Tracie L. Miller librarian in Stuttgart, the entire Stuttgart library staff and SCBWI Germany for running such a great event and for including me. It was a wonderful day!!!

SOS - Something on Sunday - Better than a fairy tale

2011-09-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time long, long (okay not that long) ago...

In a magical place

Pacific University

This girl

met this guy

and they decided to

and they lived happily ever after!

WAIT! Rewind

This is NOT a fairy tale... it's better because it's real life

They had to miss a day of school to get married, work two jobs each through college and grad school, study hard, pass tests and in the end they managed to graduate with a ton of debt.

They moved around searching for work

made great friends

mourned the loss of people they loved

experienced all of the ups and downs of real life

Some days life was

a walk in the park

other times it was

a rollercoaster ride

The only thing certain was

CHANGE

and MORE CHANGE

Yesterday was a very important anniversary for us -we have now spent half of our lives together.

I don't read fairy tales to my girls much anymore...but when I did I changed the last line. I didn't read "and they lived happily ever after." Instead I said, "and they had good times and bad times and shared them together."

That's real, that's life and, if you ask me, it's better than a fairy tale.

SOS ~ Something on Sunday ~ what is it about photos?

2011-09-09T23:32:00.000-07:00

Recently Meg Rosoff wrote about human nature, photographs and the passage of time My Good Side

Her post took me back to a day in Sicily with my grandfather, his girlfriend, my aunt and a beach. My grandfather was 89 and had returned to his home city for the first time after 80years.

We visited the small town of San Leon and wandered around until we ended up at the sea. The water was warm!!! We wanted to swim!!!!!

None of us had bathing suits.

It was one of those moments in life when you have to decide...in the future which would I regret more -partially undressing or missing out on a chance to swim in the sea on the Sicilian coast?

First, I made my grandfather promise not to take any pictures. Then I made my own bikini out of my undies and bra and ran for the water.

Later, when my wet bra -or...top of my bathing suit- was tied to the edge of my bag to dry, his girlfriend, Dot, said, "I have to get a shot of you like with your bra on display." I posed. She clicked and then confided, "You didn't make me promise not to take a photo of you."

What the ---!

Didn't she know about girl code???!!!

I didn't know Dot well and couldn't tell if she'd taken a photo or not. And I couldn't tell by her expression either.

She wasn't giving anything up. She just shrugged and said, "I'm in my 70s. What I wouldn't give to have a picture of me when I was in my 30s running on the beach."

To this day, I don't know if she took the photo or not!
But why do we worry so much, really? There are so many pictures of me on FB where I look downright scary! Sometimes I want to remove the tags, but I don’t …who cares?
Life is SHORT!

Let’s be silly! Let’s have FUN!

SOS Something on Sunday ~ my sister’s birthday

2011-09-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Kelli!

In high school my sister and I used to take each other out to lunch to celebrate our birthdays. I remember we promised we would do it every year “no matter what.”
Umm…that didn’t exactly work out. And it’s my fault.
I moved away and never moved back.

This year, thanks to technology, a few people suspected I forgot Kelli’s birthday because I didn’t post on her Facebook wall. I called her, people! I sang Happy Birthday and everything!!!

There is a famous riddle: When does the first child come to terms with the birth of a sibling?
Answer: How long does it take to adjust? 6 months? A year? Two years? The answer starts with an n and ends with an r. That’s right – Never!

But, I lucked out. Even though I did try to give her away to our next-door neighbors when she was a newborn infant within a matter of months (not years) I was her biggest fan.

I even permitted my mother to dress us alike.

One of my favorite childhood memories are the mornings when Kelli and I woke up before anyone else. We’d pull our blankets off our beds (the floors and the rooms were still cold) and sit by the heat vent in the floor and talk about our futures.

This was a part storytelling and part memory exercise. It was a given that we’d both grow up and live in big houses on a farm (near each other, of course) and then we’d take turns naming the animals we were going to have.

The conversations went like this:
Angela: I’m going to live on a farm with 12 horses
Kelli: At my farm I will have 20 horses and 10 cows.

Angela: Ok, I want 21 horses and 15 cows and 3 pigs.
Kelli: I will have 30 horses, 20 cows and 50 pigs!

~ Statements like these called for my big-sisterly guidance ~
Angela: You can’t have 50 pigs. Pigs will stink up your whole farm and your horses and cows and cats will run away. Your farm will be nothing but pigs and rats.

Sometimes our farm animals included a bit of adventure – like lions and alligators

Or even elephants

But most of the time we just kept going… naming animals right down to mice, frogs, fish and hamsters. No farm is complete without a hamster collection, right?

What are some of your favorite childhood memories?

~ SOS ~ Something on Sunday <-What’s this?

2011-09-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

SOS “Something on Sunday” is my attempt to post something to this blog on a weekly basis.

I’ve been long absent from blogville. While I’ve still enjoyed reading my favorite blogs and finding some new ones, I haven’t been commenting as much or posting at all.

In an email exchange with a friend about something excited, she responded, “I can’t wait to go to your blog and read all about it.”
I had to write back and warn her…my blog was a ghost town.

I will give SOS a try. I hope it will work or I may have to change SOS to SOSS “Something on some Sundays” and that doesn’t sound as cool.

Cynsations

2011-05-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

I've been reading Cynsations the blog of Cynthia Leitch Smith for years.

Today she has an interview with me

There are NO words!!!

(I feel like I've just seen my face on a stamp)

Bologna 2011

2011-04-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

I love the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
I love the feeling of possibility before the fair opens

flowers wait to be distributed to the larger booths

a car sits covered

the illustrators' wall is a blank slate

then the fair is off and running

the wall is overflowing with art

And we are surrounded in a world of books
CHARLIE JOE JACKSON'S GUIDE TO NOT READING by Tommy Greenwald

International publishers

three books by Liz Rettig (one of my favorite writers)

Art

Artwork by Yusof Gajah

Display of illustrators from Lithuania

an exibit for Nikolas Heidelbach (his art literally made people gasp -this was a fantastic show of his work)

Great food

Hanging with kidlit people. Talking books.

OpenBook discussed ecological books and projects for children

and before long

... people are tired

This year's new event was the Tools of Change Conference the day before the fair. See the write up by Bridget Strevens-Marzo

Bologna is an inspiring town for photos

Last time I posted Via Malcontenti This year I bring you two signs:

There are big plans for the SCBWI Showcase in 2012 and for presentations during the fair.

On a personal note I was able to see my debut novel for the first time at the fair, talk with my publisher and meet two of the subrights agents for The End of the Line.

Book News

2011-03-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

The End of the Line will be out next month! I can't believe it!!

If you'd like to enter to win a copy, stop by Shanyn Day's Chick loves lit blog and read this Fun Five Interview

Check out my website for other interviews and events

Kid Talk - taking pills

2011-03-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

Sama (1 Euro short): Please?
Me: You don't need it
Sama: But it has the Eiffel tower on it
Me: No
Sama: And look it holds pills
Me: You don't even take pills
Sama: I will, I promise. If you buy me this I'll start taking pills

Why Read Aloud?

2011-01-27T13:54:00.000-08:00

When you’re 9 there’s not much you have control over – meals, bedtime, homework, the long walk to and from school. It actually feels like your life is a big long stretch of doing what you are told, no matter what. And kids of 9 carry a huge burden. They have the hugest imagination of anyone. They wonder about everything.

When I was 9, I wondered what it would be like to be a boy. I wished I could try it out for a few hours or a day. I wanted to talk to animals, really understand them. And I wanted to fly.

All of these dreams were realized when Mrs. Hawkins pulled her tall wooden stool to front of the class room, perched upon it and opened THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN by E.B. White.

She read and I became a boy (Sam Beaver). While Mrs. Hawkins words washed over me, I could talk to a swan named Louis. Not only talk with him, join him on his quest. And Louis’ quest is everyone’s quest – he had to find his voice (don’t we all?), discover the best way to show his love and he struggled to stay safe in a world that was often dangerous.

I don’t remember much about 4th grade. Did Mrs. Hawkins teach us long division? Did we make maps of the world? I bet we studied the Nile (we seemed to study it every year in elementary school). Honestly, I didn’t remember the name of my 4th grade teacher, so, last night I sent a text to an old friend.

She wrote: Mrs. Hawkins. Yeah, Louis the swan with the slate and the trumpet. I cried in class when she read it. (Thank you, C.S.!)

That’s something I remember. I cried too.

Mrs. Hawkins, I’m sorry for forgetting your name. And I’m sorry if I don’t remember the subjects we studied that year. But I know one thing for certain. Each day when you perched up on that tall stool and opened the book it was like you took the entire class in your arms, brought us to Canada and introduced us to Louis. Reading THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN aloud was the best lesson you could have taught.

It helped me to find my voice. And to find my way in the world.

Author Rick Walton is collecting stories about readign aloud; share yours here http://whyreadaloud.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/hello-world/#comment-37

Kid Talk: When I grow up

2010-11-14T10:25:00.001-08:00

Samantha, "I used to want to be a movie star or someone who helps orphans. But, after coming to this island, I know for sure what I want to be when I grow up."

"I want to be an explorer."

"I found 7 different kinds of seaweed, just on this beach. That doesn't even count the seaweed I found yesterday."

Across the World Book Tour for Across the Universe

2010-11-11T03:27:00.000-08:00

Across the Universe is a sci fi coming out from Penguin/Razorbill on January 11, 2011. Author Beth Revis describes it as "a murder mystery set in space," but it also has romance, adventure, and dystopian elements. In the book, a girl boards an interstellar spaceship in a journey across the universe to find a new planet.

To celebrate the book's upcoming release, Beth's gathered together writers and readers from across the blogosphere to share their stories of adventures they've had across the world. Check out her site the first two weeks of November to read about adventures from the Wild West to Indonesia, from Europe to Africa.

Today's post is my greatest adventure: Angela Cerrito's Adventure of a lifetime

And as you're going across the world with all these adventures, be sure to pick up the clues. On Beth's webpage is a secret link--LOOK for it, and you'll SEE it. But it's password protected! To find the password, you'll need to go on the adventures with us, pick up the letters, and re-arrange them into the secret phrase.

What do you get for playing? On the password protected page there's tons of secret information about the book--hidden Easter Eggs, the surprising origins of one of the characters, and the unexpected inspiration behind the space ship. But, more than that--there's also a chance for prizes! Only accessible from the password protected page is a form to enter a drawing--the winner will get a signed and doodled ARC of Across the Universe, pin-buttons featuring the book, star-related swag--and a secret something else!

All you have to do is follow us across the blogosphere, pick up the letters, and unscramble the password! Your clue for today is...

It's here! It's Live! It's interactive!

2010-11-10T12:56:00.001-08:00

I have owned angelacerrito.com for over a decade.
Today it is a real live -interactive- website

Please visit to find out more about my debut novel THE END OF THE LINE and join in the fun by sharing your list about yourself!

Thank You!!!

Overheard: Baby, I miss you so much

2010-11-08T22:58:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I hang out at this coffee shop with free wifi.

The other day there was only two guys there so I couldn't help overhearing them.

One guy told his friend, "I can't talk right now. I'm about to skype with my wife. She's in Japan."

So his friend left. Leaving just me and the guy about to skype with his wife. I wasn't trying to listen --- really.

Below is half of a skype conversation:

Baby, I miss you
I miss you so much
No you don't understand
I really miss you
Here's the truth, I can't even sleep in our bed.
No, I don't even like to go into that room.
I'm sleeping on the couch.

I don't even know her, but hearing that sadness in his voice, I missed her too!

Embarrassing!

2010-11-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

I’m thrilled to have a chance to post on the contemps a blog that spotlights contemporary fiction for teens written by some of my favorite YA authors!

The topic --- embarrassing moments!

I embarrass myself on a regular basis, so I thought it would be a breeze to pick a great story for this post. I was determined to come up with something from my teen years and, even though I was an award-winning dork back then, I couldn’t think of anything BIG enough.

I searched my memories for a dumping-my-lunch-tray-on-my-crush moment or a toilet-paper-trailing-from-my-underwear-on-stage event. No luck…errrr…unluck.

I put in an emergency phone call to my mom who reassured me, “You’ll think of something. We were laughing at you ever day.” (Thanks, Mom!) She easily listed the times I got into trouble and the times I got into REALLY BIG trouble. She informed me that I enjoyed my first birth control pill while still in elementary school (sharing one with my sister, of course.) But the most embarrassing thing I did happened when I was a toddler –a topic for another blog post. “Think of food,” my mom advised “Food is always funny.”

So, if you’d like to read about my most embarrassing Thanksgiving check out my guest blog post on the contemps A photo of me in high school is included free of charge!

What was one of YOUR most embarrassing teen moments?

looking up

2010-11-02T23:48:00.001-07:00

taken in the city center of a very small town

Spell

2010-10-31T00:44:00.001-07:00

You don’t know
this spell
is for you

I am determined

Conjured words
draw eyes
to this screen

I have your sight

Naked truths
Breasts thighs
Half uncovered

I have your interest

Boiled phrases
Delightfully thick
Injected slowly

I’m in your blood

Dangerous path
Detour ahead
I lead

You will follow me

(a poem for Halloween by Angela Cerrito...if you've read all the way to the end...it's too late, there is no turning back now! Happy Halloween!)

Kid Quotes: Halloween (from my very own Sama)

2010-10-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Mom, I have a costume for you: wear a bikini top, a skirt and tall boots and you can be a dancer lady.(Note: I so could NOT be a dancer lady, but I appreciate the thought)

Everyone I invited said they can come to the party, except some of them aren’t sure.

I’m going to be a box or popcorn. No, I’m going to be a devil. What do you think, box of popcorn or devil?
I’m going to be a princess or a punk rocker, I think.
Hey, could you buy a wig at the store? I’m going to be Barbie for Halloween.
Here’s what I’m going to be, vote for one of these: A princess, a punk rocker, Alice in wonderland, a girl vampire.
I’m going to be a punk rocker.
I STILL don’t know what I’m going to be for Halloween!!!

We need a really, really scary movie except not too scary.

Wow, I haven’t carved a pumpkin in a long time. It’s been a whole year.

Wellness

2010-10-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is a spring bath in my town. There are certain rituals associated with walking in the water bath. (I started out doing it wrong and my neighbors corrected me.)

Step 1: Enter the water bath and make your way to the handrail - careful the steps are slippery.

Step 2: Walking around the handrail. It is very important that your foot fully exits the top of the water with every step.

Step 3: Continue walking around the handrail at least 5 times.

Step 4: Exit the water, sit on the bench and wait for your feet to dry. Do not attempt to dry them off; they must air dry.

Repeat steps 1 - 4 two or three more times

Oh and did I mention the water is freezing cold?!

Dragonfly

2010-10-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been over 1 month since my last post!

My girls have fall break for 2 weeks and it is one of my favorite times of the year. This year dtr #1 spent 5 days in London with her class.

We didn't take a family get-a-way this year, so I'm sharing a dragonfly my love found on one of our hikes. (I only found a rock that looked like a molar, not very exciting, I know!)

Peace

2010-09-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

The Magic that is SCBWI

2010-09-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

I loved reading this blog post on the new blog of the 2010 SCBWI Illustrator Mentees: Where the Sidewalk Begins

Writer-Illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi's post is titled: How a rejection got me a book deal: My Career-Changing SCBWI Summer Conference Expereience.

Read and enjoy the magic that is SCBWI

Johannifest

2010-09-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Every year, at the start of summer, the fourth class gathers wood. They build for days. Then, on Johannifest, they march into the field with lighted torches, sing and start the bonfire.

We gather round the flames to cook & eat & play & talk.

The instruments are unpacked. Children grab partners. Adults kick off their shoes

Around the fire, we dance.

First this way

And that way

We dance. Long into the night

And every year we say
This is so much fun
We should dance more often
Maybe meet each week
Or at least once a month

Summer pulls us away from home and ends too quickly
Before we know it, the fourth class begins fifth grade.
The days grow short and cold. Winter holidays are upon us.

We remember dancing and think ‘yes, soon. We really must meet up and dance again’

The sun returns. We clean and plant. We meet about the next Johannifest

And the fourth class gathers wood.
A new bonfire is lit.
And finally, we dance again.

Candy!

2010-08-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Hot Cider anyone?

2010-08-22T00:52:00.000-07:00

At Borough Market in London

A sidestreet in Paris

2010-08-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

Kid Talk: ear itches

2010-08-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

"When I was little, like 5, and my ear itched, I used to think it was from caterpillars that lived inside my body and were wiggling around by my ear. I never liked that very much." Child age 7

TV, Books and TECHNOLOGY

2010-08-07T05:43:00.000-07:00

In the early 90s, my family (of 2) stopped paying for and watching TV. We realized there were only two times we turned on the TV –I listed to one of the music video channels and my love tuned in for the sports scores. Both of which we could get for free from the radio.

Then we left the country and came back to the US (with a +1) later in the 90s. We chose to use the internet and radio instead of a TV. Yet we had a webcam to connect out of state grandparents with our little toddler.

It wasn’t until 2000, when kid 1 was in preschool that someone gave us a TV and a VCR. It broke a few months later and we left the country again (a family of 4.)

We didn’t really miss TV living in Europe. Our youngest was almost 2 the first time she saw a TV turned on. She kept walking behind it to look for the little people.

A few years later we discovered the joy or checking out TV series from the library. THE SHEILD was our first addiction. We also added a slingbox for my love to keep up with his favorite sports team ROLL TIDE! And now even download some TV shows from networks like CBS.

We’re still not heavy consumers of TV, but we watch on our own terms. I know we aren’t the only ones who buy a new season of WEEDS each year and watch it in mini-marathon sessions instead of being spoon fed the episodes week by week.

The same is true for books. Ebooks are everywhere. My GPS came with sample chapters of books. At the Frankfurt book fair last year, the booths with the longest lines were ones that had free book or partial-book downloads.

I haven’t bought a professional journal in paper format for over 10 years. The last resource I bought for work (textbook type) was 3 years ago. I read professional journals, news reports, case studies and research online. And professional content now includes videos, up-to-date statistics and easier access to world-wide resources, like the genetics database.

For me, reading doesn’t mean holding a paper book in my hands...What about you?

Happy!

2010-08-03T09:20:00.001-07:00

Serious Subjects

2010-08-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

I've created a website to list and discuss serious subjects in children's literature.

www.SeriousSubjects.com

I've already posted to the blog Serious Talk

About How Books Change Lives

and how I was a coward and did nothing to help girls at a French brothel.

Please check it out and leave me a comment or two!

Summertime

2010-07-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

Kid Talk: (Text) - Camp

2010-07-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

Daughter #1 Text: I'm doing gr8

Dad: Was it everything you hoped for?

Daughter: Everything and more!

And that was just the first day of acting camp!

(& she's remembering to text us each night!)

International Candy

2010-07-26T12:23:00.001-07:00

Candy & Cookies from Amsterdam

Kid Talk: College Fun

2010-07-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

"So, Mom...did you have any friends in college?"

Daughter #1 when I told her that I volunteered to teach exercise classes at nursing homes on weekends in college.

Sardinia

2010-06-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

At a Park in London

2010-06-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

OTHER by Karen Kincy

2010-06-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Please check out my interview on the Elevensies site

Signs of London

2010-06-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

Hey, speak for yourself!

Did NOT eat here...too many slugs on lettuce to deal with back home!

Message from London

2010-06-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist photographing this!

Paris Photos

2010-06-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Marketing Tip for Writers

2010-06-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

Writers try THIS

Ingredients:
One Kid who likes to draw and doodle
Like this one:

Art work (drawings and doodles)
Like this one:

Drawn on the back of the first page of your manuscript

Directions:

Kid doodles on the back of your first page

Kid brings doodling to school (to work on during free time –not class time, of course)

Kid’s friends ask ‘Hey, what’s that written on the other side?’

Kid reads your first page to her (or his) friends (and translates as needed)

Kid's friends say “I want to read that book”

!
Really
!
They really really said that
!

Yes I was all excited and over confident

Me: Really? Really? How many?

My artist-doodler-kid: I don’t know 10 or 12 kids, or more. Just whoever was around.

Me: Wow! Maybe 5 of them will buy the book.

My artist-doodler-kid: Mom, they said they wanted to read it, not buy it. They could just get one and share it.

Still, that’s good for one book sale at least (maybe 2?)

What do you think?

Kid Talk: War and Peace

2010-06-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Me: How did you get that bump on your forehead?

Sama: We were playing War and Peace.

Me: War and Peace? How do you play that?

Sama: Well, one team is war and the other team is peace and you fight to see who wins.

Me: Fight? How do you fight?

Sama: You throw pinecones, of course.

Kid Talk: Anything I want

2010-05-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

My neighbor (5 yrs old) was playing outside

Me: hi

Her: I am pretending I live in a lake and I’m a mermaid and I can do anything I
want because I have (holds up a stick) a magic wand

Me: Really? Wow!

Her: I can do anything I want with this magic wand

Me: Wow

Her: Anything in the whole world that I want, because it’s magic

Me: Well, what are you going to do? What do you want most of all?

Her: I want to swim in my lake and be a mermaid and play with my magic wand.

PS the photo isn't my neighbor, it's a picture I took of my daughter years ago -it's the ocean not a lake, but I thought it fit to this post

Murder on your mind? Guest post by Donna Ballman

2010-05-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to have Donna Ballman author of The Writer’s Guide to the Courtroom posting today.

Who Might Your Murderer Character Want to Kill Off (Besides Lawyers)? Six People Who May Just Need to be Murdered

When I teach at writers conferences about using the law in stories, sometimes writers have no idea how helpful the law can be. One of the ways the law can really help your story is the characters. If you’re writing a murder mystery, you need a victim. Who gets killed and why are central to your story. Now, everybody knows the first thing you do is kill all the lawyers (at least if you want to overthrow a government, as was the context of Shakespeare’s quote). So I won’t bore you with why lawyers make good murder victims. Res ipsa loquitur (the thing speaks for itself).

I want to talk about some other people operating in the legal system who move around enough or who have enough information that they might be asking to be killed off. I’m going to tell you about six of them, but my book, The Writer’s Guide to the Courtroom: Let’s Quill All the Lawyers, has loads of suggestions if you need more.

1. Legal secretaries handle scheduling, prepare some court notices, draft some minor court documents, prepare letters, type (although this is becoming less of the job now that most attorneys prepare their initial drafts on their own computers), transcribe (again, more and more rare), file, deal with client and opposing counsel calls, and keep the lawyer’s office running smoothly. You could have a legal secretary who steals a trust account check and the lawyer faces disbarment, or who knows the lawyer is the perpetrator of a giant ponzi scheme. Legal secretaries know everything about the attorney, so they make great witnesses, or blackmailers. Which makes them excellent murder victims.

2. Office managers handle the business and human resources end of the law practice. If your paralegal or legal secretary character starts mouthing off to the boss, the office manager may be the one to step in. Maybe he steps in front of a two-by-four wielded by a disgruntled secretary. Office managers can also be used in your story to do the dirty work: getting rid of staff, hiding documents, moving people from department to department to keep any one person from knowing too much. Does this get them killed? Do they embezzle the trust money? They will probably have passwords and access to the firm’s accounts. Frequently seen in larger firms, this role is now being handled in midsize and smaller firms by someone trained in either accounting or administration. Could your office manager character be quietly figuring out how to retire? Could she be undercover trying to bring in a crooked attorney? Or did she fail to end up in witness protection before the mobster client whacked her?

3. Notaries witness and put their seal on signatures to verify that they obtained good identification from the person signing and that the signature is true, and certify copies of documents as being true copies. They can give oaths and perform wedding ceremonies. Banks, law firms, and copy centers frequently have staff notaries. Did your dishonest notary put a piece of property in their own name? Did they notarize a document with lots of white space and turn it into a will in their favor? Or, do they know uncover a forgery? Notaries can be witnesses to all kinds of fraud in your stories. They could be on the run, in witness protection, or a murder victim.

Unscrupulous notaries can use the Spanish translation, “notario” to bilk unsuspecting immigrants. The term notario can refer to a lawyer or someone of similar stature in some countries. Many notarios engage in the unauthorized practice of law here in the U.S. This comes up frequently in immigration fraud scams. Is your character an illegal immigrant who thought they were legal? Did the notario’s scam get them deported? Might be a motive for murder.

4. The judicial assistant, or JA, handles scheduling of hearings, trials, and other court proceedings. They usually handle and mark the evidence when it is admitted. In other words, they are the judge’s right arm. The demeanor of a judicial assistant is usually a good reflection of the demeanor of the judge. Dealing with a great JA is one of the great pleasures of legal secretaries, paralegals and lawyers. A nasty or incompetent JA can make legal life miserable. Your characters can show up to hearings that aren’t on the calendar, sit in the courtroom for hours as proceedings run late, have courtesy copies of motions and cases that were sent to the judge well in advance suddenly lost, and other JA-caused tribulations. Could drive anyone over the brink, couldn’t it? The JA could also witness bribery, threats, or jury tampering, which means they could blackmail a lawyer or judge. We know what happens to blackmailers and people who know too much, don’t we?

5. Process servers hand court documents to people who don’t want them. Lawsuits, orders to testify in court or bring documents, or orders to stop doing something, your characters won’t be happy to see a process server. Many people try to evade process servers, who have to get clever to serve those individuals. Fake pizza deliveries, exterminators, pulling fire alarms, could be used to humorous advantage in a story. Or get your process server killed. Most people realize that the process server is just doing their job. The likely reaction of your character served with a suit is to thank the process server. Boring, but accurate. But maybe they see the character with a mistress. Many process servers are also private investigators, and some have law enforcement backgrounds. Having a character who moves around lots, who is observant, and who knows something about the law could come in handy in all kinds of creative ways, couldn’t it? Or do they know too much?

6. A court reporter’s job is to write down every word said in court, listen to every word of every legal proceeding they cover, and be able to write it down accurately. A missed word can be catastrophic to a trial. Imagine the deposition transcript in your story with an omitted “not” or “no.” Or with the wrong speaker listed. What if a court reporter hates your attorney character because he broke up with her? She might decide to change the words. Court reporters are almost invisible. During breaks, lawyers and witnesses forget they’re even there, so court reporters hear all kinds of things they probably shouldn’t. You can have one hear a death threat or blackmail. If someone prone to murderous rage suddenly realizes the court reporter was present, who knows what might happen?

Some others who might be in a position to blackmail or witness something they shouldn’t have seen are bailiffs, runners/messengers, and paralegals. We all know that the motives for murder can be complex or simple, funny or horrible. Murder mystery writers need to choose their victims carefully.

Hopefully now you have some more ideas on who your murderer needs to knock off. The rest, my friends, is up to you. Happy writing!

About Donna Ballman:
Donna Ballman has practiced employment law for 24 years. She was named in The Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs' Lawyers in America, 2007, and has received numerous awards. Donna’s book, The Writer’s Guide to the Courtroom: Let’s Quill All the Lawyers, is part of Behler Publications’ award-winning “Get it Write” series.

Where to find more info or ask questions:
The Writer’s Guide to the Courtroom: Let’s Quill All the Lawyers, by Donna Ballman, is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and many other stores online.

Donna blogs at The Write Report. She covers writing and publishing news and some of the gaffes she sees writers make, along with tips for fixing those problem areas.

Use Donna Ballman's website to reach her. There's contact form there to ask her about using the law in your writing. No personal legal questions please!

About The Writer’s Guide to the Courtroom:
For novelists and screen writers, The Writer’s Guide to the Courtroom has everything you need to inspire your writing, help your characters navigate the legal system, and get your story right. When your fiction or non-fiction calls for a character to sue someone or be sued and survive the ordeal, this book should be number one on your docket. It’s a primer on the major types of law, who the players are, how to research the law, how trials really work, and what happens from the moment a client walks in the door in an attorney’s office.

Things my mother told me

2010-05-09T02:05:00.000-07:00

Be careful who you choose for a friend

Do your best

Do your very best

Sit up straight

If you think you can’t, you can’t

You can do anything

I love you

Look it up in the dictionary

Yes, a girl can be president of the US
(I doubted this was really true because there hadn’t been one)
There are female presidents of other countries, ours will have one too

No one should be treated differently because of the way they look

If you dream it, try it

Brush your teeth

Dreams take time

Keep practicing your music

If someone tells you they won’t be your friend unless...that person is not a friend

When you start something, don’t quit

Turn out that light an go to sleep

Tell the truth

If you tell a lie, you will end up having to tell another lie, and another lie, and another lie

I love you, no matter what

Don’t read in the dark

Slow down, you can’t be doing 100 million things and do them all well

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

Take time to eat a warm breakfast

Don’t forget to floss every time you brush

Turn out that flashlight, put the book away and go to sleep

School is your job, I expect you to do well in school

Don’t cheat

Cheaters never win and winners never cheat

Drugs kill

You can tell me anything

He’s too old for you

He’s too old for you, too

You met this guy where? I swear Angela I’m going to lock you in a closet until you are 18 –or 30

Birth control, birth control, birth control, birth control if I ever teach you one thing it is going to be about birth control

Sex is a beautiful and wonderful thing between two people who really love each other

Sex without love isn’t a beautiful thing

Sometimes when you think you are in love, you’re not

Wanting someone to love you and really being in love are two different things

If you don’t love yourself, you can’t love anyone else

Love isn’t two people giving 50%, it’s two people giving 100%

I think I could keep going on and on. My Mom is such an amazing person. She taught me not only with the sayings above, but by how she lives her life and shares it with others!

Happy Mothers Day to all of the mothers out there!

Now, tell me: What did your mother tell you?

ZOOM!

2010-04-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Picture Book Workshop in Paris

2010-04-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Shaping a Picture Book / Shaping Character

Thursday May 6, 2010

Parsons Paris School of Design, 14 rue Letellier, PARIS 15eme
(Metro: La Motte Picquet-Grenelle)

with author-illustrator teachers and SCBWI board members:
Pat Cummings and Bridget Strevens-Marzo

A picture book intensive for writers and illustrators, in two optional parts:

Part 1: 16:30-18:45 Shaping a Picture Book
The nuts and bolts of picture book creation (for unpublished illustrators)

Part 2: 19:00 - 21:30 Shaping Character*
A hands-on creative workshop on character development, for writers and illustrators of all levels of experience.
*Advance preparation for required for Part 2

email by May 4, see Assignment* below

In this two-part, two-person pooling of resources and hands-on recipes, designed for SCBWI members and Parsons students,
Pat Cummings and Bridget Strevens-Marzo will first cover the basics of picture book creation and then help you to help your characters come alive and survive in the real world of the children's book industry.

Fee:
One part: 20 euros, (Non SCBWI members: 30 euros )
both parts (full 5 hours): 30 euros (Non SCBWI members: 40 euros)

Please email Jeanne de Sainte-Marie to register (specify for which part if not both) and to send your check in advance: jeanne.desaintemari e35@gmail.com

A limited number of pre-booked individual reviews are available at 25 euros.

Assignment* for both writers and illustrator attendees of Part 2, Shaping Character to email by MAY 4 to: b@bridgetstrevens.com
up to 50 words describing one character of your choice.
up to 50 words describing the setting your character inhabits.
up to 50 words describing a conflict, predicament, or obstacle your character has to confront.

Illustrators may ALSO if they wish, bring to the workshop 3 pictures on 3 separate A4sheets illustrating these three aspects (character description, setting, conflict)

Kid Talk: Wishes

2010-04-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Wishes of first graders:
1. I wish I had a dog

2. I wish I had a hamster

3. I wish I had a horse and I would giv it a apple

4. I wish I was a peprecon

(I was lost with #4…my only thought was peppercorn...can you figure it out?)

5. I wish my great granma didn’t die

6. I wish my dad would come home and we could get a baby

7. I wish my grandma would visit

8. I wish I had a lot of hamsters

9. I wish I were rich

10. I wish I knew the high school musical people

And then I finally figured out #4 when I read #11

11. I wish I were a lepracon (i.e. leprechaun)

Kid Talk: Opposite Day

2010-04-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

“You can’t say ‘It’s opposite day’ on opposite day because that would mean that it isn’t opposite day.”

Photos of Bologna

2010-04-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

Breaking the Silence

2010-04-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wrote that I talk too much; that was an understatement!

I remembered today was Day of Silence when I woke and quickly discovered that I talk more than I even realized. I say a lot of things out loud -to myself, to the dog we are babysitting (though he doesn't really listen) and to Buddy, our parrot. I think Buddy was a bit freaked out by my silence.

The girls were totally cool and helpful this morning.

I drove to work and discovered the challenge of NOT singing to my favorite CDs. Switched to talk radio -without talking back to talk radio.

But entering the gated community where I work was odd. I didn't say 'good morning' or 'have a nice day' to the guys at the gate. WEIRD!

I was the first one to work but prepared a note on my phone about the Day of Silence. I was first to work and left before anyone else showed up...so I didn't have to worry.

I did talk during my home visits, of course, and it only confirmed that I LIKE TALKING! I exercised with friends at lunch and they were so beyond great about me being silent. They gave me lots of extra attention and hoovered around me a bit like I was ill. (I loved the special treatment!) We got into a discussion about bullying, teen suicide (them talking, me typing) and it was good -not happy, but good.

One of my home visits was cut short by the family due to a conflicting appointment. I didn't want to leave!

At home, my kids were really patient with me and I got into a nice conversation with my oldest (her talking, me typing) about the day of silence.

I know some people wonder if bullying will ever stop -if that is even possible. I think it is possible. A starting point would be to reduce the frequency and the severity of bullying.

Children should be safe in school!

Children should have the protections at school that I have at work.

Too many children feel they have no choice; too many kids chose to end their life because they can't face another day of school.

Too many children who were once with us are now silent.

Day of Silence

2010-04-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

I don't mind silence. I don't need music or TV in the background when I'm working.

But, when I'm around people, I like to talk. I am a talker. I'll admit it - I talk too much.

Tomorrow, 16 April, is Day of Silence to bring awareness to name-calling, harrassment and bullying of LGBT students in schools.

I won't be in school tomorrow due to spring break and I will have to talk with the families I work with. But in class, in the office and at home (until 1800) I will be silent.

I understand what Lee Wind means when he says there is a time to speak out. I have felt that some moments of silence in the past to happen at times when I wanted to scream for minutes not be silent for a moment.

But, for me, 16 April is a time to think about those who can not talk...because they are not here. That should be motivation enough, even for a talker like me!

Twitter Terrors

2010-04-10T04:39:00.000-07:00

I try not to do something just because everyone else is doing it. But, after careful reflection, I think this is what happened with twitter. For a long time twitter was just something I kept forgetting to do.

And then the twitter terrors started….

Someone I knew well –over 7 years and many kidlit bookgroups –began following me. I clicked to follow her.

Twitter gave me a message “your friend confirms the people who follow her on Twitter please prove you are a real person”

And I did – my account name, email and password

NOT SMART!

And nothing happened…for a few weeks

Until I started getting random twitter messages from followers that said, “Is this you?”

And then my followers started getting twitter messages from ME that I didn’t send. It was the same “Is this you” message with a picture of a girl holding a picture and a link.

I knew something was up when I had 63 messages from followers informing me that my twitter was hacked and I needed to change my password. On the plus side –it was nice to hear from so many of my friends because even with twitter and FB and blogs it seems like we don’t always have time to stay in touch. On the minus side –my twitter account was hacked. Hacked!

So, I changed my password –EASY.

And tried to send messages to followers to let them know my message was spam –
IMPOSSIBLE. Twitter has a limit on the amount of tweets one can make / day and this includes message. I kept getting a message that said “sorry we know you have a lot to say but you have exceeded the number of tweets for the day.”

And that night I had a twitter terror. In my dream I was in a hostage situation enduring long interrogations in which my captors wanted the secret passwords. I didn’t give in…I escaped!!!

A day later Twitter allowed me to send messages and I could thank you the followers who tipped me off.

But, I was also on the receiving end of messages. These were much more risqué and graphic than the ‘hey, is this you?’ messages sent from my account.

And then I made my dreams come true. I escaped.

I haven’t tweeted once since –even though I keep getting more followers.

I haven’t updated my list and followed the people who have followed me.

This makes me think….are we really communicating more? Or just making more noise?

The best part of this whole experience was a message from my friend Amy who wrote to say she thought I got hacked and should change my password but also took the time to say, “I’ve been thinking of you. Yesterday I saw a lady holding a baby who looked like you and she looked at me and smiled such a nice smile just like yours.” Wasn’t that nice?

That’s what I call communication!

SCBWI Bologna 2010

2010-04-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

Photos of the SCBWI Showcase at the Bologna Book Fair

Bridget Strevens-Marzo displays MINI RACER by Kristy Dempsey

John Shelley and Doug Cushman dueled it out at the SCBWI Booth. A picture book manuscript by Susan de Sola was read.

Steve Mooser and Richard Peck celebrating 40 years of SCBWI

Daniel Jennewein displays IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN? by Audrey Vernick and Lenore Appelhans points to her name in the dedication.

Laura Watkinson displaying The Netherlands Chapter of SCBWI at the Bologna Book Fair

Read SCBWI Bologna 2010 presenter Interviews on Cynsations

Catch up on blogs about the Symposium and the Bologna Book Fair
John Shelley
Candy Gourley
Beth Beck,
Sarah Blake Johnson guest blogs on Through The Tollbooth
Jan Markley blogs about Bologna...also check out her Bolgona Photos post too!
Rhiannon Lassiter has 3 posts about Bolgona 2010 -and gives a shout out about SCBWI's dance party. Also check out posts by Rhiannon's mother, Mary Hoffman aka Book Maven

If I missed your blog about SCBWI Bologna -that it because I have been away from blogville.... post your link in the comments and I'll add it here!

Overheard: Do you think this is mean?

2010-03-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Two woman sat at the table beside me at the cybercafé

They discussed patterns. They pulled out their knitting needles.

They faded into my background until one of them slapped down her knitting, pulled out her phone and said to her friend, “Do you think this is mean?”

She clicked her phone on, scrolled to the messages and read:

You asked if we can still be friends. I didn’t break up with you to be your friend. I broke up with you to get you out of my life for good. You are OCD, ODD, anal retentive and a control freak. If you ever get over all that, call me and maybe we can be friends.

She finished reading and looked up at her friend, “That was mean. Wasn’t it?”

Her friend said, “Well, it wasn’t nice.”

!

I’ll say!

Kid Talk: Be careful what you ask

2010-02-21T03:30:00.000-08:00

How would you like your eggs?

3 yo girl: In the shape of a girl holding a fairy on her hand, please.

Something Beautiful

2010-02-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I saw a great big dark brown horse walk down a path and into the field. As soon as he got to a soft flat area, he got down and rolled around in the snow for the longest time. I wanted to pull out my camera. But I didn't want to look away.

Kid Talk: The sound I made

2010-02-11T23:53:00.000-08:00

A quote from our young dinner guest: Do you know the sound I made when I was being born?

(curious silence ?)

It was a sound like this (filling her cheeks up with air and popping them) like the sound when you squeeze the last bit out of a plastic ketchup bottle.

Serious Subjects - MG & YA

2010-02-09T22:19:00.001-08:00

Please help! Let me know you favorite books for MG & YA readers that explore serious subjects.

OVERHEARD: At the club

2010-02-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

Setting: Long line of women in a crowded hallway outside the ladies' restroom at a dance club - one guy standing around staring at the door waiting for someone to come out.

Door opens - line moves forward - random girl crowds into crowded hallway and approaches the guy

Guy: How is she?

Random girl: Not good. She's bad.

Guy: Bad? How bad?

Random girl: She's puking.

Guy: Puking? She better not be puking. I mean it. I'm going to be so upset...

[dramatic pause]

Guy continues: I made her chicken alfredo for dinner. It was sooo good. I can't believe she's in there puking it up!

Have you overheard any fun conversations lately?

You guys are FUNNY!

2010-02-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

Here are the details on the contest winners.

First of all Liz won the fight. She is going to obtain and send the books to the winners. I tried to insist that I get them, but she came back with "I can sign the books."

I just couldn't top that!!

This post took awhile becasue Liz and I both had a hard time selecting our favorites. I was able to narrow mine down to two and she was able to narrow hers down to three...and none were the same!

So we had a top five ...

I made my selection... Natalie's entry about eating everyone.

Liz narrowed her three top choices down to two top choices and decided to award two more winners. They are Llehn's whale joke and Evelyn's joke about Ace's being the higher power.

So Natalie, Llehn, and Evelyn please get in touch with Liz (liz.rettig@btinternet.com)to share your address!

And everyone please thank Liz for being so generous and sharing her books!

And the winners are....

2010-02-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

But first ... a video of me reading the entries to my kids!

More News

2010-02-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks for everyone who entered and spread the word about the JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS contest. Winners will be announced soon!

In other news...

The SCBWI Bologna website is now updated and packed with information.

Cynthia Jaynes Omololu's YA novel Dirty Little Secrets is a Borders Original Voices for February!

Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt comes out next month, but if you can't wait (like me) the UK edition has already been released.

Special thanks to Purplume for interviewing ME on her blog!

Around the web

2010-01-25T15:18:00.000-08:00

Contest is still open enter to win a copy of JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS by Liz Rettig.

Jean Reidy is having a Too Purpley Party to celebrate the release of her book by the same title. Visit for a chance to win some great prizes.

Cynthia is back from Vermont College of Fine Arts and blogging up a storm on Cynsations

Lee Wind just posted about college scholarships for LGBT students

And I'm thrilled to report that my poem TRUE SELF was honored as the runner up in WordWrangler (Donna Earnhardt's) poetry contest

Review & Contest: JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS by Liz Rettig

2010-01-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

When I first saw JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS, I did not want to read it.

No fault to the cover

See? It’s pretty, sparkly, and fun.

Or the title. JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS let me know there would be mix-ups, miscommunications and fun.

Or the blurb. The blurb so made me want to read the book.

I’ll blame it on the author, Liz Rettig.

What did she do? Well she wrote two other books MY DESPERATE LOVE DIARY and MY NOW OR NEVER DIARY. Both feature one of my favorite literary characters, Kelly Ann. I regarded JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS with apprehension. While it was written by an author I admire, I knew it wouldn’t be about Kelly Ann. I wasn’t sure I could trust JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS.

But Liz hooked me again right away, this time with Cat.

Cat never tries to compete with her twin sister Tessa who is ultra thin, gorgeous and gunning for one wealthy boyfriend after another. In Cat’s world, boys can’t help falling for Tessa –it’s a natural law, like gravity.

Enter Josh, new kid from America and so hot Cat has to call her best friend and report that he is “sex on wheels” (too bad Josh overhears her). Besides being good-looking, Josh is an athlete, has a great sense of humor and on top of all that, he’s nice too!

Tessa throws herself at him. Something no boy on planet earth could possibly resist. So, when Josh turns Tessa down, Cat jumps to her first confusion. As Cat tries to help Josh fit in at school and adjust to life in Scotland, the confusions escalate and Cat can’t see what is right before her eyes. But Cat’s a busy girl, trying to match make her friends and nurture a secret crush she is sure will blossom into true love.

Yes I laughed-out-loud especially during cultural confusions between Cat and Josh. I fell for Cat’s sweet silliness. JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS layered on the confusions and teen drama all the way to the end. Most of all, I love Cat. I love her love of literature, her way of jumping into the mix of everything, and how she thinks she has everything all figured out. Even when she so does not!

Because I love JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS, I’m sharing it with you… my blog readers.

Liz and I are currently fighting about who will actually give away and post books to the winners, but there will be winners – two of them.

Here’s how to enter to win a copy of JUMPING TO CONFUSIONS

Make us laugh! Post a comment that includes one of the following:

1. A time when you jumped to a confusion
2. A personal experience with culture clash
3. A joke of any kind (yes, even knock-knock)

You may enter as many times as you like, each entry in a new comment. Contest closes on 31 January 2010.

Kid Talk: Names

2010-01-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

"Are Einstein and Frankenstein related? Because their names kind of sound the same."

Revision

2010-01-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

This is a repeat, but I'm revising like crazy these days and this photo still makes me smile.

SCBWI Bologna

2010-01-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

I can't beleive SCBWI Bologna is just 2 months away. In a few short weeks I will have a chance to learn from all of these great people!

Ellen Hopkins, New York Times best-selling author

Leonard Marcus, writer and judge of the Bologna Ragazzi
Award

Frane Lessac, award-winning author-illustrator

Richard Peck, US National Book Award finalist and Newbery Medal Winner

Fiona Kenshole, Vice-President Story Development & Acquisitions for Laika Film Studios

Steve Mooser, Author, SCBWI President

Author Lin Oliver, SCBWI Executive Director

Tessa Strickland Publisher of Barefoot Books (UK)

Val Brathwaite Art Director at Bloomsbury (UK)

Sarah Odedina Editor at Bloomsbury (UK)

Neal Porter Editor Roaring Brook

Stephen Roxburgh President & Publisher namelos

Sarah Grant Editor at Working Partners (UK)

Deirdre McDermott Editor and Art Director at Walker Books (UK)

Gita Wolf Publisher Tara Books (India)

Editor Sarah Foster of Walker Books (Australia)

Sarah Davies Agent with Grenhouse Literary (US & UK)

Marcia Wernick Agent with Sheldon Fogelman Agency (US)

Frances Plumpton Agent Richards Literary (New Zealand)

Kristen Nelson Agent at Nelson Literary (US)

Rosemary Stimola Agent at Stimola Literary (US)

John Cusick Agent of Scott Treimel (US)

The small world of publishing

2010-01-13T07:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at work a friend told me her daughter is on a book cover.

No, I don't live in New York City -or even in the US!

She pulled up the book online and it is the paperback edition of a book I've been telling everyone about THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH!

THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH -love, adventure...& zombies too!

Warm Thoughts

2010-01-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

Editorial Letter Number 1

2010-01-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

I’ve heard horror stories about the dreaded editorial letter. So I took the necessary precautions to prepare my family, my dh especially.

Me: Many writers become depressed when they read editorial letters. They sort of forget that the publisher and editor really do like the ms, plan to publish it, actually paid for it.

Him: (nodding gravely – after all this is serious!)

Me: Some writers get all freaked out. Think they can’t write. They get like brain freeze or something.

Him: You mean writers block? Don’t worry you won’t have that.

Me: How do you know I won’t get brain freeze / writers block?

Him: It’s kind of the equivalent of being stunned silent or not having something to say. And, I can’t imagine that ever happening to you.

Me: (feeling a bit better) Okay, but I need to tell you your lines.

Him: My lines?

Me: Yes! If you come home and find me throwing stuff around, breaking things, screaming or acting some other form of crazy you are not to confront me. Simply state in a calm voice, ‘Angela, did you get your editorial letter today?’ And try,really try to act normal.

Him: I’m supposed to act normal?

And I’m happy to report that HE WAS RIGHT! I never shut up.

And my editors are wonderful.

The letter was long and single spaced and perfect.

In short, I was nodding along with everything I read.

Nothing is broken.

Revision is in progress.

Things around here are … normal, well normal for us!

Kid Talk: Avatar

2010-01-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

I took a group of girls age 9 – 14 to see Avatar. Here are some of their comments:

1. I f you pay that much to see a movie, you should be able to see it more than once

2. It was sooooo beautiful and sooooo sad and sooooo beautiful

3. It was a ten and a half

4. It was so good, I didn’t even mind that it took so much of my time to watch it

5. You know how when they make a movie they always get at least two or three things wrong? Well this movie didn’t have even one thing wrong. They did it every bit completely right.

Have you seen Avatar?

What did you think of the movie?

A question for my dog

2009-12-30T08:20:00.001-08:00

Dear Max,

I understand you have a thing about fireworks. Something about the noise or the pressure makes you want to run and hide. And I can understand you feel the same way about thunderstorms, even though I love them.

But church bells? Church bells also frighten you?

Please, please explain!

Kid Talk: Santa Stuff

2009-12-24T17:52:00.000-08:00

7 yo Girl: Do you think Santa has germs
me: ?
Girl: Like, maybe we should just wrap his food and he can take it with him to eat it?
me: !

5 yo boy: Santa's animals need food too. And they eat vegetables. Every vegetable except eggplant.
me: why not eggplant?
Boy: because it's purple!

And from my own crafty youngest dtr: Santa travels from north to south, right?
me: I guess so, why?
my youngest: well, if we can't get plane tickets to Sicily, we could wait on the roof for Santa and then....

Winter Wonder Land

2009-12-22T09:23:00.001-08:00

Last month we visited some Christmas markets. I could have posted so many more pictures, but here are a few!

Discussion BEFORE I DIE by Jenny Downham

2009-12-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

Below are the questions I wrote for my book club about the book.

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest.

Discussion Points BEFORE I DIE by Jenny Downham (prepared by Angela Cerrito)

1. Tessa’s list is a vehicle to move the story forward. Discuss how the list related to the action of the story, personal relationships and Tessa’s overall character development.

2. Some items on the list were illegal. What do you think of the consequences (natural and imposed) for Tessa resulting from these actions? Do you think her terminal diagnosis should have any bearing on the consequences? If so, how?

3. Writing. Writing the list and writing on walls in her home was a powerful means of communication for Tessa. Why did Tessa choose to communicate in such a way instead of spending the time talking? How do these writings relate to past experiences and past loses?

4. Tessa writes down the things she will miss on her wall, yet at the same time she destroys her possessions. Is this a contradiction?

5. Sexuality and a deep craving for sexual experiences is a consistent theme throughout the book. Is this an expected emotion for a teenage girl? For a terminally ill girl? How were Tessa’s experiences with her two lovers different? Was Tessa’s relationship with Adam love? Friendship?

6. Cal brings a sense of honesty to these pages, especially on the subject of death. All siblings fluctuate between being allies and enemies at this age. When was Cal her ally? Enemy? Discuss how Tessa’s relationship with Cal differs from her relationship with her mother, father, Zoey and Adam.

7. In the beginning, Tessa describes Zoey as a near opposite of herself and Tessa relies on Zoey to execute her plans. Yet, early on this dynamic changes and Tessa moves forward on her own and with Adam. Discuss the ways in which Tessa is a source of strength for Zoey. Is Zoey in competition with Adam for Tessa’s time and attention?

8. Tessa’s relationship with her mother had been injured before the novel opens. Throughout the novel, Tessa attempts to include her mother in daily life (and in her illness) as a way to get close. Did her mother make progress in building a relationship with Tessa? Did they ever repair the past?

9. Tessa made her own funeral arrangements and left instructions for her father. Do you think that her wishes will be fulfilled? As she is dying, the reader learns of further instructions for family and friends. Do you think Tessa actually wrote these down? How did Tessa’s wishes (instructions) for her loved ones differ from her list (or wishes for herself)? How are they similar?

Book Giveaway Winners

2009-12-20T11:59:00.000-08:00

And the winners are....

If you want to see the drawing on video

Part 1

Part 2

And the winners are

Andrea
&
Katie

Please send me an email with your address for your prize

Book Contest BEFORE I DIE by Jenny Downham

2009-12-11T15:09:00.001-08:00

Two lucky blog readers will win a copy of BEFORE I DIE by Jenny Downham.

Earlier in the year I reviewed the audio version this book

This month I shared the book with my book club (they cried but they all loved it - and they forgive me!!!) Today writers were talking about BEFORE I DIE on the blue boards and it reminded me that it has been way too long since I've had a book contest.

In BEFORE I DIE, Tessa has given up cancer treatment and she makes a list of things she hopes to do before she dies. (for more details, click the review link above)

For a chance to win a copy of the book answer ONE of the questions below in the comment section. You can enter twice (once for each question) but this will require two comments.

1. If you were in Tessa's place, what is one thing that would be on your list?

2. Some of the things on Tessa's list are illegal. Do you think because Tessa is terminally ill, she should face lighter punishment? Why or why not?

Contest ends at noon EST in the US on 20 December.

Thank you!

Kid Talk (about Everything)

2009-12-04T09:25:00.001-08:00

Found these gems while reading a kid’s friendship book(the children, mostly girls, ranged in age from 6 – 12 years)

What is your hobby?
Carnivals
math (9 year old),

What are you a fan of?
Animals
sweets
my family
horses
dogs
boys
sea horses
crying
big rabbits and small rabbits
animals with fur

What is something you don’t like?
fighting (most popular answer)
hitting
getting yelled at
when I’m not allowed to do something
when the change in my pocket isn’t enough money
lice
hating
lying
boys
bad friends
rain
toothaches

What is your favorite things to do?
open presents
play
dream
explore

what job you want when you grow up?
animal helper
zoo keeper
I don’t know yet
horse rider

What are your wishes for the future?
to do magic and see a unicorn
that polar bears survive the world
that my dad will come back and live with us again
witches
to change
horse (most popular answer)
to live in a barn (two kids said this)
dog (two kids)
rabbit
that I always have a family like I do now
to always smile and be happy

Food & Love

2009-11-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

My grandmother loved to take us on hikes and point out the edible plants.

“Don’t listen to her,” my grandfather would warn. “She ate poison ivy.”

“Just once,” she answered, smiling at Grandpa to show he hadn’t gotten under her skin. In a lower voice, aimed at me and my sister, she said, “It was awful.”

Way back in the old days, when her children were young, Grandma was a Girl Scout leader. She informed her troops that she’d discovered wild strawberries in the woods. There was no fruit to be found, but she bit into a leaf.

“My entire mouth was on fire. I got poison ivy hives from the inside out.”

I preferred scratching my mosquito bites down to rows of scabs. That’s how much I hated itching. “All the way down your throat? Into your stomach?” I imagined worms wiggling under my skin, thinking about itching way deep in the gut.

Grandma said, “I spit it out, didn’t swallow a bit, but my whole body broke out. Everywhere. I really know the difference now.”

Grandpa didn’t caution us further; he wasn’t the type to repeat himself. He expected his words to be understood and followed, the first time he spoke them.

No matter what he said, we trusted her. She was our Grandmother. She could nurse an injured bird back to health, prepare a pasta dinner for 70 people, spin a cartwheel and do the splits, and name the birds just by hearing their songs.

So I opened my mouth, let her place a leaf on my tongue, and tasted spearmint.

There are words to describe abundance. When I think of a bountiful harvest, the pictures in my mind are not fields.

Instead, I see:

A mulberry tree providing food all afternoon as I read in its branches

Grandpa with his wheel of cheese, the biggest I’ve ever seen, patiently grating a chunck by hand

The loaves of bread my great-grandmother baked every day, rain or shine

A fig tree in my grandparents’ backyard, branches drooping, loaded with fruit

The vacant lot at the corner where Grandma sent Kelli and me to pull up chicory. We brought armfuls into the warm kitchen and she tossed the greens with boiled noodles.

Apples from the backyard tree, peeled, sliced, and coated with cinnamon and sugar for pie

Grandpa stirring a giant pot full of mustard greens, the fumes stinging our eyes. The air filling with the odor – it smelled like pee.

A long line of rhubarb by the back fence

Each of us with a bowl of popcorn, my Grandpa reclined, the bowl planted on his chest and his tongue darting out like a lizard’s for each kernel.

One mound of vanilla ice cream covered in Grandma’s home-made chocolate sauce

Some things in life are perfect.

My grandparents taught me that food is everywhere.

And the number one ingredient in every meal is love.

Book News

2009-11-14T10:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the hard work of my amazing agent, Holiday House will publish my middle grade / tween novel: THE END OF THE LINE

I’m so excited! I got a few emails from friends prodding me to blog about the news. I don’t know why it has taken me so long. I guess, I feel like I’m always talking about it.

I heard about the possibility of an offer weeks before I posted my first hint. And during that time I kept my husband fully informed of the time in NY.

When the offer came, I called home and told my daughter one word (YES) and she knew. I told her to let her father know it was a VGWD (very good writing day). I hinted about it on one of my posts at Envisage photo blog

And went into even more detail with this photo when I signed the contract.

But it was important I wait for the countersigned contract before blabbing to the world.

Of course my mom, kids, and my first readers knew about it. And a few close writer friends. But, before I told everyone, I wanted to let my librarian know. I posted the story about telling her on the blue boards

I told my Kelly Milner Halls and Roxyanne Young at www.smartwriters.com because the ms took 2nd place in a WIN contest years ago.

And finally, I’m blogging about it.

During this process I have so much to be excited about. My first book will be published. YAY! Kids will read this book! The editor I will be working with is someone who wrote to me years ago (about another project) and I’m thrilled to start working on this novel with her. And Holiday House has long been a dream publisher of mine.

I have so many books published by Holiday House on my shelves. My bookshelves are arranged in a way that only makes sense to me. But the books that are most precious to me are on the highest shelves and they are behind glass doors. Of these are NF PBs, memoirs, historical books, books from my childhood and foreign language books I’ve picked up in my travels. The majority of the NF PBs are published by Holiday House. And, in time, my name will be on one of their books!

I don’t want this post to be all about me, or all about THE END OF THE LINE. The timing of this post works out perfect to congratulate the following people:

Siobhan Mitchell – recently signed with an agent and her work is going out on submission

Candy Gourlay’s debut novel TALL STORY sold to David Fickling Books Candy's v cool youTube video is here

Chris Cheng has been awarded the Lady Cutler Award for his service to children's literature.

Please visit their blogs and shout out your congratulations!

Frankfurt Book Fair 09

2009-10-18T16:59:00.001-07:00

Frankfurt... a feast of books!

China was guest of honor this year. Ah....China, I lived in Jiangsu once upon a time

Making books

I blogged about this book's creation from Bologna 08, back when the paper engineers were still hard at work. So it was very cool to see the public enjoying the book.

Hella von Sinnen entertained a HUGE crowd in Hall 3 at the Egmont stand

To me, the kids are what it's all about & I really enjoyed how they got into the fair

I made it to the antique books this time

The Gourmet Area

The last is my favorite pic....kids enjoying books

Signs of Ireland

2009-09-29T13:20:00.001-07:00

beware of wind

The tag line does not make me want to shop there!

Isn't it obvious?

Warning on the top of the rubbish bin becasue maybe some people thow something of value in there?

Why? What are they going to do?

Sometimes, I agree

stone upon stone upon fallen stone

my favorite

Don't try to trade your sports cards here!

Is that hour or hourS?

Happy New Year

2009-09-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

September is a new beginning. I've always loved the first days of a new grade & even though I'm not returning to school, September 2009 has brought me many new things:

I joined a group of woman photographers (Envisage 365) and started posting a photo a day on 1 September - that's taking and posting a new photo each day. You can follow my pics at envisage2009 / angela

I started cooking every evening - it's a huge change and so far I'm doing great and no one is starving.

I re-entered revision land with my YA ~trying something new with the entire ms.

I started posting FB notes (there will be a verb for this soon, I'm sure - noting?)about health care. I want to be part of the global conversation on the issue and as a health care provider in the US and a consumer in many cultures, I feel like I have a lot to say. Read the first case study and leave any comments you wish to share.

What does the new year have in store for you?

La mia maestra d'italiano

2009-09-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

This is Chiara.
She's 8 years old
And she's teaching me Italian
"Hello"

and....
~ sorry video of Chiara naming fruit somehow got cut to a single word "mele" ~
and....

that was about the experience of swimming in a swimming pool pool and then getting into a hot tub and then getting back into the pool again.
and...

goodbye

Introducing Buddy

2009-08-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

This is Buddy

He is 14 weeks old and has been living with us for two weeks

He can already purr like our cat, fly from his perch to our hands and is starting to mumble

SCBWI LA

2009-08-19T04:12:00.000-07:00

Richard Peck

Yes, I bought one.

The Amazing Lin Oliver

Numbers on the Scale

2009-08-11T21:05:00.001-07:00

Got a scale to weigh our luggage (lots a books). Scales didn't work very well. The batteries went because who ever stored them stacked them on top of each other so they were constantly weighing themselves.

The photo I didn't take

2009-08-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

The SCBWI conference hotel is on near the MGM studios in LA, and an upscale mall that does not have a Footlocker (much to the disappointment of my kids who won’t be getting the heelys and converse I promised them). The location is far from residential – but yesterday I was lucky enough to spot 4 boys on bikes.

They were age 10 – 12 sported big soled shoes, new jeans and rode bikes that were totally trashed. It gave the busy intersection a homey feeling. I’m a writer, I can’t help it, I studied them.

The boy who looked the youngest had a giant cigar (still wrapped in plastic) in his mouth. He was a character, a subject waiting to be photographed.

I made a sharp turn, grabbed my camera and zoomed it tightly to the sidewalk so I’d only need to lift it to get his profile. His head was down, hands pealing the plastic off his cigar.

I waited, thinking "Bring it to your mouth", got my camera (still hidden) ready.
And the light changed.

The cigar stayed in his hand now grabbing the handle bar.

I could have taken a picture of their backs. But I didn’t click. The picture I wanted was already in the past.

Costume Party

2009-08-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

L to R Ellen Hopkins, Angela Cerrito, Kathleen Ahrens, Suzanne Gervay, Frances Plumpton, Cecila Yung, Kathleen Duey

SCBWI & Candy

2009-08-06T23:35:00.000-07:00

After two trains and two planes and two trips through customs, I'm finally at the SCBWI conference in LA.

And already great things are happening. Catching up with old friends, plans to meet up with people I only know on line and today three authors who I LOVE and ADMIRE stopped me becase they wanted to talk to me!

And the best thing of all... I GOT CANDY! It relates to my candy post from long ago. I'm constantly amazed that people read my blog and comment here. Now... a blog reader who I admire who has a wonderful blog of her own brought me candy!!!

Am I lucky or what? Thank you, Steph!

10 x 10 Contest news!

2009-08-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

If you entered my birthday 10x10 contest and haven't received an email from me, PLEASE write me at angelacerrito AT yahoo DOT com

All entries should have already receive either a critique of your ten lines or a request for a critique of ten pages.

Thanks to all who entered and to all of the birthday wishes!

Street Art

2009-07-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

What do you say -- Artists? Or Criminals?

Kid Talk – waking up

2009-07-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

My kid: Can I run on the treadmill?

Me: Treadmill? Didn't you just say you were tired?

My kid: Yes, how else do you expect me to wake up?