Author Interview with Lucienne Diver and Giveaway of Vamped from Linda Gerber: YA Author. Peek: "When I was young (about six or seven years old), I wanted to be a cryptozoologist–be the person to actually find the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot and all that. I think when I grew up that interest in exploration and discovery led to my major in anthropology." Note: see more about the launch from Lucienne's LJ!More News
Happy Buy Indie Day! Note: "The idea: buy one book—paperback, hardcover, audiobook, whatever you want!—at an independent bookstore near you."
Hugh Jackman on Free Comic Book Day (the first Saturday in May), not to mention, the trailer for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Peek: "Free Comic Book Day is a single day--the first Saturday in May--when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free* to anyone who comes into their stores." *Check with your local shop for their participation and rules.
The 10,000 Hour Secret To Success from Donna Bowman Bratton at Simply Donna. Peek: "I was a competitive child and, when I was as young as eight, I was showing Quarter horses. At that age, I lost more than I won. My parents would soothe the hurt by sharing some wisdom that I didn't quite understand at the time. 'We all have to pay our dues.'"
The Golden Age of Picture Book Biography from Mark Tyler Noble at Noblemania. Peek: "Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman is a picture book and it is shelved in the children's section of bookstores, but I wrote it for all ages. I've appeared at a diverse bunch of venues for it, from museums to comic conventions. At most of them (aside from school visits, naturally), I seem to be signing more books to adults than to kids."Austin SCBWI-Blooming Tree Writers' Bootcamp Conference Report from Madeline Smoot at Buried in the Slush Pile. Includes links to her handout for an online marketing session and a checklist for critiquers (PDF, scroll to end).
Attention Authors: Link to Your Local Independent Bookstore by Josie Leavitt from Shelftalker: A Children's Booksellers Blog. Peek: "...you've supported a store that has supported you." Note: We should all be actively championing our indies and looking for ways to raise their profiles in our communities. See also Adult Readers in the Kids' Section. Note: about half of my reader mail comes from folks over age 25.
What's Cool about Being a Writer from Carrie Jones. Peek: "Did I mention the whole not-having-to-get-up-early to go to work thing?" Read a Cynsations interview with Carrie.
An Exploration of Dialogue-Heavy Scenes from Varian Johnson from Crowe's Nest. Peek: "...in instances where an author wishes to move a reader through a scene very quickly, the author must cut out as much unnecessary material as possible, while still conveying the thoughts and feelings of the main character." Read a Cynsations interview with Varian.
Writing Race by Mitali Perkins from Mitali's Fire Escape. Peek: "...ten questions we writers can ask ourselves once we've completed a story." Read a Cynsations interview with Mitali.
Flux Holds Steady Through Changes by Claire Kirch from Publishers Weekly. Peek: "Flux reports a 30% increase in sales this year over last year, and its two in-house publicists have been fielding calls recently from Hollywood agents and producers looking to tap into popular teen reading trends by adapting Flux titles for television shows targeting that market."
SCBWI Annual Summer Conference: see faculty, schedule and more information. The event will take place Aug. 7 to Aug. 10 at the Hyatt Recency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Note: registration opens May 5. Source: Alice's CWIM Blog.
Check out this book trailer for If I Stay by Gail Forman (Dutton, April 2009) Source: Literaticat.
Cynsational Author Reminder: consider listing your title, byline, publisher, publication date, and illustrator (if you have one) on the dedicated website page for each of your books. It's not a bad idea to include the ISBN too.
Cynsational Author Reminder: you (probably) own the copyright to your book, not to all reviews about it. Don't republish them in their entirety without permission. Note: if you offer a short quote, it's also courteous to include a link to the source.
Blog Central: Children's Book Reviewers from Anastasia Suen's Blog Central. Newly updated. Note: Cynsations doesn't review per se, but rather offers recommendations (positives only) and conversations. See guidelines.
Congratulations to Aimee Bissonette on the release of Cyber Law: Maximizing Safety and Minimizing Risk in Classrooms (Corwin, 2009)!
Congratulations to Tony Abbott for receiving the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Fiction for The Postcard (Little, Brown)(author interview) and to John Green for receiving the 2009 Edgar for Best Young Adult Novel for Paper Towns (Dutton)(author interview about previous release). See all the winners and finalists here. Sponsored by the Mystery Writers of America. Source: GalleyCat.
More Personally
Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith posted by Mrs. Johnson from Pettus Secondary Library Blog. Peek: "The ending brought a tear to my eye--total selfless love is a wonderful thing."
Congratulations to Austin's own Alison Dellenbaugh on signing with a literary agent!
Here's one last pic from the Kansas-Arkansas pic. Here we have Greg with Dr. Bushman of The Writing Conference and Sheryl Servatius-Brown, librarian of Ottawa High School. See my complete event report!
