Random fact: I sing alto. If I have a cold, my voice goes even deeper, pitching down into Lauren Bacall range. But apparently, under the right circumstances, my voice climbs the octaves until I sound like a very small mouse or someone who has spent too much time around helium balloons.

The "right circumstances" being a phone call from those loverly, sweet, blessed people who sat on The Margaret A. Edwards Award committee for the American Library Association,. That's right; I sounded like Mickey Mouse when I received "The Call."

Want proof? Watch this adorable video filled with clips of lots of us who received The Call, including Jackie Woodson, Neil Gaiman, Kathi Appelt, Melina Marchetta, and Beth Krommes. I squeak briefly at the 1-minute point, then give a rambling extenda-squeak (showing no vocabulary depth whatsoever) at about the 3-minute mark. I had no idea my voice went up that high. I must say, it's very fun to be able to relive the moment with this video. Thank you, AGAIN, ALA!

Speaking of Margaret A. Edwards, you might want to read this wonderful story about the legacy left to the readers of Baltimore by one of Ms. Edwards' protégés. Inspiring!

You wrote: Lately I've been going crazy with literature directed at authors (Like guides to the markets, writers' monthly publications, etc.) and I find them very helpful, but I'm never sure if the advice I'm getting is any good. Were there any guides or books that specifically helped you become a better author? Or perhaps a particular strain of advice?

When I started writing I was a faithful reader of Writer's Digest magazine. I still have a number of article about craft that I cut out of it filed away. Note to self: must consult these again! I read every book I could about the process of writing and publishing. I also read many biographies of writers, hoping to glean hints about their process.

I mentioned Harold Underdown's book earlier this week. It wasn't published when I was starting out, but I sure wish it had been. The other two books about writing I recommend are Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott and On Writing, by Stephen King. I also found the creativity exercises in Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way useful.

Best advice? It's OK to revise over and over again to make your book as good as possible.
Second best advice? Don't worry about trends.

The frozen waterfall off the back porch finally came down, but it slid off so slowly I didn't notice. Sort of like a wave kissing the shore.

Scribblescribblescribble.....

I'm not sure how to explain this video. Um....

It's a bit of pre-Newbery/Caldecott dinner madness combined with Project Runway reactions. So it's kind of silly and fun and you might get a charge out of watching it. The masterminds behind the piece are Maria van Lieshout, Jim Averback, and Betsy Bird helped, too.



They also posted longer bits from their interviews with people like Ambassador Scieszka, Mo Willems, Roger Sutton, Linda Sue, Park, Betsy Bird, John Green, Yuyi Morales, Matt Faulkner (who illustrated THANK YOU SARAH, and INDEPENDENT DAMES), Brian Kenney, Don Wood, Nathan Hale, Sid Fleischman, Ellen Hopkins, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, Susan Kusel and Jen Robinson, Samantha McFerrin, and Mark von Bargen. Very, very fun! Thank you Maria and Jim and Betsy!

Today's goal: Write for 15 minutes.

Today's mindset: silly.

Today's prompt: Write a picture book. You have 16 two-page spreads and 500 words in which to tell a story. You need a character, a conflict, rising tension and resolution. Oh, and a beginning, middle, and end. The character needs to solve her own problem. Don't spend much time describing how things look - the art will take care of that. Focus on action and dialog. Hint: verbs are your friend today.

Do not despair if it takes longer than 15 minutes to do this. My picture books take months and months. But you can get started today!

Scribblescribble...

We'll start tonight's picture show with the gorgeous smiles of Kevin Lewis and Holly Black.

Yes, he's Holly's editor, too.

If you're a teacher or librarian, you want to know the good people of TeachingBooks.net. TeachingBooks " is a time-saving portal to thousands of online resources you can use to explore children's and young adult books and their authors." It has loads of terrific material about authors and their books. I particularly adore the Author Name Pronunciation Guide.

But the absolute highlight of the conference was an unexpected, serendipitous meeting with an author whose books are among my very favorites. As I walked on the conference floor, the loud speaker announced that this Incredible Author was about to give a reading from her new book. I sprinted, sending librarians and publicists scattering like bowling pins. (I do apologize for an injury or loss of dignity I may have caused.)

The new book?

Quakeland (for grown-ups, this time).

( That's right folks, I met Francesca Lia Block! )

Before I start with the photos, I want to make sure that you know that on today, JULY 2ND!, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was actually signed.

John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, the next day, saying "The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

So why do we wait until the 4th to celebrate? There was a little editing done, and the final, final version was completed on the 4th. Writers everywhere will understand.

Onto the second round of photos from ALA. We'll start with this glam shot:

Me and my Simon & Schuster editor, Kevin Lewis. I do all my historical books with him.

( Want to see more? )

Whew! I spent an hour in the garden this morning (harvested some sugar snap peas, weeded, weeded, weeded, and admired my just-about-to-bloom hollyhocks), then started the post-conference paperwork and email,...

....and then I wrote - for an hour. 'Twas heavenly.

( And now it's time to start showing you the ALA coolness! )

This was where I worked until the sun chased me inside. Notice the toe peeking just above the screen of the laptop.

The trip out to Anaheim was lovely and uneventful. They even gave us free crackers on the plane.

My ALA whirlwind doesn't start until this evening, so I am sneaking in writing time while I can. Poolside. Coated in sunscreen, sitting in the shade, but, yeah, I'm lounging next to what I think is a bougainvillea plant, underneath a palm tree.

Some parts of this job do not totally suck, I must admit.

Another cool thing is the email I've been getting recently. I don't know why, but suddenly teen boys are reading TWISTED (because it's out in paperback?) and are emailing me; often at 4am. Several of them are demanding a sequel like this guy, who wrote:

Thank you for grasping what us, as teenagers go throu on an daily basis and putting it into words. Reading your books, gives me hope to get throu the weeks. Espicllly TWISTED, its my favorite so far, and I would like to know what ends up happening to Bethany and Tyler, Yoda and Tylers sister Hannah??(name has slipped my mind) and if Tyler continues on with his new ways and becomes the man he wants to be.

Many of the guys who are writing want to see more of the relationship between Tyler and Bethany. Must ponder this....

I will try to take lots of pictures this weekend and post them (and yes, I'll try to make a video again), but the Internet connection at my hotel is really slow, so it might take until Monday before I can put up anything substantial.

Now I will lean back, close my eyes, and absorb this memory so I can pull it out during a blizzard next February.

We have a male goldfinch who thinks our house is a romantic rival. Seriously. For three days, he has been flying up to the building and attacking it with his beak. He is most persistent. I've heard him muttering: She's mine, I say, MINE. get away, you fool. Don't you see your quest for her love is in vain? Back, back to the foul place from whence you came!

At first I thought he wasn't seeing the glass, so I pulled the shades, and tinkered with the angle of the windows (they open outwards). Didn't help. He's attacking the siding, too. I'm worried that the little guy is going to break his beak, or get a concussion and forget which nest is his, then his true love will pine away in sorrow, and their children will be sent to a cruel orphanage in the north on England and will have to eat gruel.

Writing Process and More!

Mitali Perkins has posted the Q&A I did on the readergirlz forum last week. In it, I talk about the hardest thing about YA writing, inspiration for various novels, and the challenges of writing outside my gender and ethnic background. Thank you, Mitali, divas, and girlz! I had fun with youze!

ALA

I leave for the annual American Library Association conference on Thursday. If you see me wandering around, please come up and say hello because I am always intimidated by these events and am most grateful for friendly faces.

Along with much wandering, this is my official ALA schedule:

Saturday, June 28
10-11am Signing at the Simon & Schuster booth, #2499

3-4pm Signing at the Penguin booth, #2616

5:30pm-? Come hang out with Tanya Lee Stone and me in the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel. No tickets! No lines! We'll be chit-chatting about our new non-fiction historical picture books: Elizabeth Leads the Way, about the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Independent Dames, about women and girls during the American Revolution. Both of us also write YA, so I imagine the conversation could go anywhere. This very informal, just a chance to sit around and talk with librarians without any hoopla.

I'll be at the S&S party on Saturday night. Must remember not to wear heels to that one. That was a big mistake last year.

Sunday, June 29
noon - I'm going to the Art Luncheon! (very stoked about this) Matt Faulkner, who illustrated INDEPENDENT DAMES and THANK YOU, SARAH will be there, along with Robin Preiss Glasser, Kadir Nelson, and David Small.

4-6pm VOYA Reception for the Perfect Tens 2007 at the Hilton

6-11pm Newbery/Caldecott Banquet. (Might wear heels to this one. Might even wear a dress.)


Sadly, my plane leaves on Monday, so I'll miss the Printz Awards on Monday, which are always a lot of fun.

Will I see any of you in Anaheim?