Category Archives: On Writing

Golden Kite, Golden Dreams

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One of the neat things about being a part of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is that it not only provides a fantastic support base and introduces me to new friends, it also opens the world of illustration.

If not for SCBWI’s inclusion of both writers and illustrators, I would have never met many of the interesting artists in our local group. I also wouldn’t have attended a beautiful art show.

The OKC part of our state’s SCBWI generally meets once a month at a magical, old-fashioned, wooden-shelved, rolling laddered(!) bookstore called Full Circle Books. Local people, it’s at 50 Penn Place, and if you haven’t been there, please go. Please.

But this month, we were invited to attend a special art show at Oklahoma City University, Golden Kite, Golden Dreams: The SCBWI Awards. We were hosted by Mike Wimmer, Department Chair and SCBWI member.

The different pieces of art were fascinating. Pictures representing winners from each year of the Golden Kite awards were on display, along with information about the artists and the books they appeared in. It was interesting to see how styles have changed over the years.

It also struck me how each illustrator truly has their own style. You hear it again and again – how each artist must find their own voice – but when the art was all lined up like that, it was apparent how true it really was. There was so much beauty in those pictures, and each person told it in their own personal way.

The exhibit will be on display at the Nona Jean Hulsey Art Gallery, on the Oklahoma City University Campus, through October 20, and is well worth a visit. The gallery is open 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Golden Kite, Golden Dreams: The SCBWI Awards is presented by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature.

Looking at all the beautiful artwork made me think of some of the beautiful scenes I remember from books. My mind immediately goes to the work of Garth Williams – his black and white drawings in Charlotte’s Web and the Little House on the Prairie books still tug at my heart when I see them – and the deceptively simple beauty of Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. I know there’s more that I’ve loved and admired, but for some reason, those two illustrators are the first in my mind when I think about art that’s touched me in children’s literature.

Who are some of your favorite children’s illustrators?

Anna Myers

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So, after reading Assassin by Anna Myers recently, I went on an all-out Myers binge.

I read Time of the Witches, Tulsa Burning, Stolen by the Sea, Graveyard Girl, Flying Blind, Fire in the Hills, and When the Bough Breaks.

I read them one after another. Some took me one day. Some took a little more.

I enjoyed them all, but my favorite, hands down, was When the Bough Breaks. I liked the complexity of the book. Instead of one storyline, there were two, woven together – and I liked both of them. Sometimes when I read a book from multiple points of view, I prefer one character and want the other to shut up and let me get back to my favorite. This time, both were intriguing. Both had terrible secrets – and both were satisfying to discover.

I also still love the little things you find in a book written by a person you actually know in real life. One of the storylines – the one featuring teenager Ophelia – includes a scene at the cemetery, which is across the street from the school. I’ve been to Myers’ hometown, and the cemetery in that town is indeed right across from the school. I was driving around, killing time before a SCBWI Oklahoma workshop, when I went by the school and noticed the cemetery nearby. I thought it was a little creepy and strange, and wondered what the students though. Later, when I read the When the Bough Breaks, I was delighted to see the school and cemetery put to use in literature.

Myers’ books are such a good way to combine fiction with historical events. We homeschool, and I think her work will be a great way to supplement history when we are doing studies this year. My oldest daughter doesn’t care for history, but I think that’s just because she hasn’t had it come alive for her yet. She enjoyed Assassin. Now I just need to add more historical fiction to the curriculum.

Time of the Witches – This one focuses on the Salem witch trials and the effect on the life of an orphan named Drucilla. She is separated from her bff, Gabe, and moves in with a crazypants woman and her weird family. After she and her foster sister start visiting the servant of the town’s new reverend, several girls, including Drucilla, start claiming they are being attacked by witches.

Tulsa Burning – A story of a boy named Noble who lives in the small town of Wekiwa and faces the Tulsa race riot of 1921. His friend is trapped in Tulsa, and Noble (nicknamed “Nobe”) goes into the burning city to find him. Wekiwa had a lot of twists with who was related to who – I would have liked to have seen a dossier on all of the people who lived in the town!

Stolen by the Sea – A girl named Maggie rides out the Galveston hurricane of 1900. I didn’t even know about this event before reading the book. According to Wikipedia, the Galveston hurricane is the deadliest natural disaster to ever strike the United States. An estimated 6,000-12,000 people died. In the book, Maggie stays in her home, struggling for survival with the help of Felipe, a Mexican boy from the orphanage who works for her father.

Graveyard Girl – Another new event for me – the yellow fever epidemic in Memphis in 1878. I loved the newspaper quotes at the beginning. I also adored a quote from Grace, the Graveyard Girl, about life and death. This was a library book, and I meant to write it down before I returned the book yesterday, but of course I didn’t. Figures. I did not really love the artwork on the front, and I was surprised at how that colored my view of the title character. It reminded me of someone, and that was hard to shake. On Amazon there’s a different cover for the paperback, which obscures Grace’s face. I wish I’d seen that one first.

Flying Blind – Told from two points of view – a young boy named Ben and…wait for it…a macaw named Murphy! I enjoyed it. This book looked at the problem of plume hunting in Florida at the turn of the 20th century. The line between right and wrong isn’t so clear when Ben learns that two of the plume hunters are orphans that use the sales of feathers to survive. Plume hunting took a terrible toll on birds, with millions being killed every year just for fashionable hats for women.

Fire in the Hills – This one was about a girl in a tiny Oklahoma town who loses her mother and cares for an ill military deserter during World War I. I liked the main character, Hallie, quite a bit and wouldn’t have minded this story going on a little longer.

All in all, eight enjoyable books. I probably should have spread them out a little more so I could give each one a post. Or maybe I should get back to writing my own novels.

When you find an author you like, do you rush and read everything by them that you can get your hands on? What authors have inspired you to race through all their books?

SCBWI Oklahoma Spring 2013 Conference

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So I went to my first writers’ conference on Saturday!

SCBWI_HeaderI have been excited and nervous about it for months. I’ve only been a part of SCBWI since January, but I’ve been attending all the gatherings faithfully. I wanted to make sure I knew people before going to my conference. I’m so glad I did!

This year’s conference was in Tulsa, but I couldn’t spend the night there because of $$ concerns. The eldest daughter also had a dance competition all weekend, so I was at that with her on Friday until late. I ended up getting about four hours of sleep, and then I met with some writer friends and we drove to Tulsa together. (I’ve only been to Tulsa a handful of times, so I was thankful for my mom’s GPS.)

The conference was absolutely perfect. I cannot think of a way it could have gone any better. Of course, we’re not supposed to discuss specifics from the speakers, but they were all great. Here’s a little overview.

First we heard from Maria Middleton, Associate Art Director at Abrams Books for Young Readers. Since my focus is on YA, I didn’t think that I would get much from this speaker, but it was really enjoyable. I had no idea how many steps were needed to tie art into a manuscript. Her step-by-step discussion allowed us to learn about the fascinating process. I particularly enjoyed seeing early sketches and polished artwork compared via Powerpoint.

Next was Katie Carella, an editor at Scholastic. She was so cute, funny, and just a joy to listen to! She focused on Scholastic’s newest line, Branches, which will launch on May 1. These books are aimed at ages 5-8 will bridge the gap between picture books and chapter books. I took a lot of notes for this one – I may attempt to write something in this vein after I’ve gotten caught up with my current ideas.

Claire Evans was next. She is assistant editor for Dial Books for Young Readers and Kathy Dawson Books. She talked about some facets of the publishing world that writers might not consider, like money management, sales force, and marketing. She also had us do several exercises with our own writing…and she gave prizes. I did not raise my hand and share my work because it wasn’t particularly fantastic, but I thought the exercise was a great way to get the audience involved.

Then came lunch, hooray! We had sandwiches and some kind of chocolate caramel pie dessert. I also grabbed one of the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten. We moved to assigned tables at that point, and each table had a published author, editor, or agent at it. I was at table six, and was giddy when I realized Claire would be at our table! I read some info about her before the conference, and it looked like she might be interested in manuscripts like Pairs. We each got to take a turn talking to her about our work. My hands started shaking when the person just to my right was speaking, but when it was my turn, I was able to get through it. I think I probably talked very loud and fast, but it went all right.

After we all introduced ourselves, we talked a little more, and then she excused herself to look at the portfolios on display by our group’s illustrators. I got a second cookie, ate half and wrapped the rest in a napkin and put it in my pocket, and headed to the art room. (No food allowed in the art room!)

There were too many portfolios to really give them the time they deserved, and it was crowded in the room, so I browsed through a few. I’ve enjoyed visiting with SCBWI Oklahoma’s Illustrator Coordinator, Jerry Bennett, so I made a point of looking through his entire portfolio. Wow. Just wow. I thought he mainly focused on comic book art, but his gift was apparent in his selected pages. He had some comic art, and some whimsical pieces that I think of as picture book art – and then there was this pencil sketch that was absolutely beautiful. What caught my attention the most was two young boys sitting on a couch. Their legs and feet were bare, and I am still awed at the beauty of their legs and feet. It seriously was like a photograph – but with a pencil. I’d really like a chance to look at it again, because I felt like I needed to hurry back to the conference room. It was really just a work of art…and that doesn’t really describe it. It just…it moved me.

With Jerry’s art still on my mind, I headed back to the conference room. Part two of the to-die-for cookie was gone before I got back to my seat.

Our first speaker after lunch was Katie Bignell, Assistant Editor at Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books. We didn’t have to take a lot of notes for Katie, because she thoughtfully provided us with an outline of her talk. Good thing, since everyone was in a sort of post-lunch stupor! I was especially thankful for the outline, because halfway through her presentation, my phone started vibrating. My eldest daughter, who was continuing the dance competition with my mom as her chaperone, could not find her hip hop shoes. I ended up taking four frantic calls out in the hall from various family members regarding the shoes. (They ended up being in the back of Mom’s car.) Back to Katie, who was concentrating on picture books! She also spent some time taking about rhythm and rhyming books, which was of particular interest to me, since I’ve always loved writing verse. She had several good tips that I’m planning to use when I revise some of my poetry.

The last guest speaker was Karen Grencik, an agent with Red Fox Literary. Karen went over many of the reasons that books are rejected, and what to do about it. She told us her history in publishing; how she got started and the challenges she faced along the way. It was very interesting to hear her journey from court reporter to agent. She also provided a thick handout of 101 + Reasons for Rejection! I’ve been going over it, and it’s helpful to see what to avoid.

After Karen’s presentation, there was a speakers’ panel with pitch critiques and Q & A. I didn’t submit anything for the pitch critique; they had to be typed and I don’t have a printer right now, and I never found time to run by the copy shop. It was great listening to other pitches though, gathering ideas and hearing what the professionals liked best.

Finally came announcements. Jerry announced the Best of Show from the Portfolio Critiques, and our regional advisor, Anna Myers, named the winners in the Nita Buckley Scholarship Contest. I was interested in this, because I had participated in the contest, which required writing 250 words from a prompt. The winner would receive a paid trip to California for the SCBWI conference there. Well, I didn’t win first, but I did win second! It was very exciting. I got a copy of the book “The Fault in Our Stars,” (which I read yesterday – wow) and free tuition for next year’s SCBWI Oklahoma conference! It was the perfect prize for me. I mean, I would have liked to win first, but I was honestly a little nervous about going to California and attending the big conference. I think I’d like a little more time to pass before I dive into that pool!

After the conference, we were welcome to go to sort of an after-party at a local restaurant, where we could visit with the speakers. I really wanted to go and speak to Karen Grencik. She had critiqued the beginning of Pairs and the synopsis, and she was very complimentary of it. She mentioned during the conference that anyone with one of her critiques was welcome to come talk to her about it. The ladies I drove with were very gracious about going to the restaurant, even though we still had to get back to Oklahoma City.

I’m so glad we went. I was able to talk to Karen, and she went over the critique with me. She was very gracious and kind, and I left the restaurant feeling very encouraged!

I swear I have hardly stopped smiling since Saturday!

Like I said – perfect, perfect day.

Thank you to all the people who made this day possible. I’m not sure who wants their name published on my blog, so I’ll just express my appreciation to everyone at SCBWI Oklahoma who helped to make this conference a reality. I also need to thank my family for taking care of my children’s needs so I could be a part of such a special day. I am so lucky!

I’m still smiling!