SCBWI MId-Atlantic Fall Conference

Heading to the SCBWI Mid-Atlantic conference tomorrow in Arlington, Va.!! So very excited as it's my first writer's conference. I feel like a kid the night before a trip to Busch Gardens. A little nerdy, I know!

I'll be volunteering with the food committee partly because I almost always volunteer at whatever I do and partly because I figured it was an easy way to meet people since I only recently joined SCBWI.

I have to be in Arlington, which is about an hour drive from the country where I live, by 7:00 a.m. which means I'll be up at 5:00 a.m. On a Saturday. After a week of having the flu. Not looking forward to that but I figure it'll be a wash and go day! So, hopefully I'll fit through the door with my frizzy curls. And my cherry cough drops.

Thanks to my friend at The Virginia Scribe, I am prepared with business cards, which I frantically ordered from my local Staples having no idea they were something a writer needed. Last time I was in possession of those little goodies, I was a commercial real estate agent working in Dupont Circle and the conferences were boring updates on the exploding real estate market (too bad that's not still the case). Thanks to Jessyca at the Warrenton Staples for the 4 hour turnaround!

Can't wait to blog about the going's on and especially looking forward to hearing Patricia Reilly Giff speak. I've been reading her books lately and oh so love them.

Talk to ya soon!

Best Children's Books of 2009

Just in time to make those Christmas purchases for the children in your life, Publishers Weekly has posted their list of the top 100 books for children published in 2009.

Hitting the top spot for a picture book is Chris Barton's "The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors". The brothers developed the first flourescent paint which was initially used by the military. Illustrated by Tony Persiani, PW describes this book as a tale about following your dreams.

To continue reading, go to My Examiner Page.

Kate DiCamillo's "The Magician's Elephant"

First, I apologize for the lack of a picture but my computer is winning today and insists it doesn't feel up to adding one! I'm about to kick it out! I'm diffusing now....

Who out there has eaten way too much of their kids' Halloween candy? I'm having diabetic moments and still feel the need to "help" my kids out by savoring their treats. Plus, we have a lot left over from our own supply since the rainy night made for a small crowd. I hope my daughter doesn't miss that Butterfinger(ssss)!

But, I did finish a great read recently. Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant. How does she do it? Her writing is so, and I don't use this word lightly, profound! Her characters have similar feelings we all have and yet they are not typical. She doesn't draw them by giving us a lot of detail and yet, we know them. This is such a deep talent that it sometimes brings my own writing to a halt. How can I do that? Well, we'll save the self ridicule for another blog.

Here's the review I wrote for a new writing gig I took on The Examiner. which, by the way, I don't think I'll be doing since they can't get the technical gliche I have to go away.

The True Magic in The Elephant’s Magician

Kate DiCamillo, author of the novels The Tale of Despereaux, Because of Winn-Dixie, Tiger Rising, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane as well as the easy reader stories of Mercy Watson, has once again provided her readers with a story full of enchanted verses, beautifully drawn characters and mystic longing.

From the first chapter, the reader is captured and taken on a journey through the main character’s search for his sister. Peter is an orphan who believes his sister to be alive when his fortune is told. The fortuneteller instructs him to follow the elephant to her. And, so the story begins.

DiCamillo melds action, description and character like a master weaver. As in her many other tales, we want to ingest the entire story in one helping. This is not a book to be read in bits and pieces but devoured. So strong is the need to see Peter through his journey that many a reader will not put the book down until the final words conclude Peter’s adventure.

As we have seen with Despereaux and Because of Winn Dixie, a motion picture version of this soon to be classic DiCamillo story will most likely be coming in the near future. Better to find the story in the flesh of the pages first. You can always munch on popcorn and Twizzlers while you read.

Happy sugar rush to you all!