
Book Size Matters
What a surprise when I finally got my copy of Switching on the Moon, edited by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters. Not a surprise because I got the book but a surprise because I finally saw its size. This is a BIG book! See, it’s almost as wide as my shoulders.
I’d only ever seen a photo of the book cover before. Not until I held it did I think of its dimensions. A child could really get lost in this book the illustrations are so large. It’s perfect for a bedtime read. And my piece of real estate on page 28? I love it!
I had a very large edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses when I was little. I love the idea that some of today’s children might build similar fond feelings about poetry with this book.
My thoughts on my first chance to read the book all the way through, not just my own poem? Wow. This poetry anthology is top notch. I’m going to gift this book whenever I can.
(And it’s just been shortlisted for a Cybils award in the poetry category!)
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Katie Comes to Life
I must indulge in a bit of squee for a moment:
My author’s copies of Ladybug arrived!!!
What author doesn’t love holding their published work in their own hands? Up till now what you’ve written might have been a rather ephemeral creation–text on a computer screen, a printout of your manuscript on your own paper. They don’t cut it quite the same.
When you hold your published work in an actual magazine, one that will be read by many a child and parent, it makes your story suddenly very real. And look at my characters brought to life in those illustrations by Blanche Sims!
Thanks to the Ladybug team for helping my words reach readers. I hope they’re enjoyed.
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Patience and Published in Ladybug Magazine
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Ladybug, October 2010 |
My short story is finally published in Ladybug magazine! October 2010!
Why the word finally up there? Cause I’ve waited a long time. You know how writers are told you have to have patience in this business? I signed the contract for this story in 2004.
I’m not particularly bothered by that, although it’s always nice to see your work in print quickly. But I’ve been a magazine editor and I know that sometimes editors have to wait for the right issue to slot a piece into in order to ensure that each issue you put together is a pleasing and cohesive whole.
This story, published under the title “Katie Kicks,” was inspired by my daughter and her first attempts at playing soccer. She was dressed in her lovely clean white team shirt and black shorts. She held her very own soccer ball proudly. She was looking forward to it. And then we arrived at the field and she wouldn’t even set foot on to the small patch of grass they’d set out for her team. She watched her teammates but she was too shy to join in herself. It really affected me. I struggled with feelings of understanding where she was coming from as well as a tinge of embarrassment as a parent that my child wasn’t out there like the others. So I went home and jotted down my thoughts about this and it eventually became a short story. From her point of view though, not mine.
Now that it’s in print I’m very pleased. I can’t wait to see it myself. I’ve combed the stores looking for the issue but it’s nowhere to be found. So I will just have to be patient awhile more while I wait for my authors copies to arrive.
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Anthology Appearance!
I have some book news! It’s not a book written by me, but I do have a poem (my “Bedtime Teeth”) appearing in a new poetry anthology. Yay!
Switching on the Moon is compiled by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by G. Brian Karas. It’s published by Candlewick Press and is out September 14th. And it just got a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly.
I originally sold this poem to Babybug magazine. They published it in 2000, reprinted it in 2008, and now here it is in a book in 2010. It’s definitely been to my advantage to sell only first North American publication rights and non exclusive reprint rights. It might seem like you’ll never be able to resell a piece, but you never know.
And because you never know, it kinda keeps you going as a writer, don’t you think?
No part of this blog may be used without written permission from the author.