BLOGGER-ILLITERATE - MOI

Hey, did you know that if you checkmark a box somewhere on the blogger set-up screen you then have to go "moderate comments" so that they actually show up?

Well I KNOW you all know that....But I just found out why all of my childhood insecurities about popularity and getting picked last came to a head in the blogosphere here...I figured my recent posts (some of which actually included writer stuff) were dull rejects on the path of urls.

So...in response to all who responded and now are posted....Thanks for your comments. I even intend to go back and respond to your responses.

Learning curve: 6
Feeling Dumb: 9

MEMEME MY TURN

I've been tapped in the tag team event to jump into the ring and add my voice to this crawling kidlit quest. I hope I don't expose any holes in my character with my choices - but then again a flawed character is a real character!

One book that changed my life: "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut - after discovering this book in the Worcester Public Library when I was 13 I officially graduated into adult-themed books and devoured everything Vonnegut had. I remember feeling like I was "smart" and reading something no one else I knew had heard of (yet).

Book you have read more than once: "In God We Trust - All Others Pay Cash" by Gene Shephard. I loved the first person narrative of his memory-stories and laughed as he painted all the pictures that would later become the fave movie "A Christmas Story".

Book you want on a desert island: "Gilligan, Maynard and Me" by Bob Denver - perhaps there'd be some sage advice how to turn two coconut shells into an iPod...

Book that made you laugh: any of the "Adrian Mole" books by Sue Townsend (also in the category of read more than once!) - but must confess I chortle out loud at any Pinkwater book, especially "Borgle".

Book that made you cry: "This Boy's Life: A Memoir" by Tobias Wolff - an amazingly well-told story of the struggle to survive in a world of neglect and abuse. The book did me in. The film version - left me in the movie theater seat for ten minutes after the lights came up.

Book you wished had been written: "Emotional Health For Dummies"

Book you wished had never been written: "SPAMMING for Dummies"

Book you're currently reading: "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak - so slowly paced with the care and skill of someone completely in control of the story. The details get spooned out sparcely and with wonderful language and cadence!

Book you've been meaning to read: "Harry Sue" by Sue Stauffacher - ever since I saw it on the shelf I was drawn to it but just haven't picked it up...yet.

As for tagging someone new...I went to check with the people I planned to tag - and they'd already all done it...How's this: add your TAG suggestions to my COMMENTS and I'll give you the SHOUT to jump into the ring....

TAG-US INTERRUPTUS

Hi all (and especially to you demented Mermaids of Disco fashion) -

It is with apologies that I post without fulfilling my duties with the now infamous "TAG". Twas a busy day being in the world of TV where I had to go "pitch" stuff to people (always a mix of fun and trepidation depending on the beverages served)

I just got home. Tired and full of airplane air. So just you wait til tomorrow and I shall fulfill thine quest!

Oh. And thanks for the TAG!

hasta manana

(VIRTUAL) FAIRY GODMOTHER

Today's adventure begins with the discovery that makes any author's heart go pitter-patter: a really GREAT review. POND SCUM is almost a year old so in my GOOGLE wanderings I don't expect to find many new reviews out there. But leave it to the only READIOLOGIST I know to discover my book and make me want to send cookies. Buckets of them!

I've been a fan of Esme Raji Codell since I had the pleasure of reading SING A SONG OF TUNA FISH as an ARC. The quirky hysterical voice and ability to retell such picture perfect - sometimes heartbreaking stories from her childhood made me think of Pinkwater, Annie Lamott and my own fifth grade year (a dreadful time of husky pants and really bad hair). Then when I wandered upon her PLANET ESME website with its vast resource lists for teachers and parents and its dedication to making books accessible to kids - I knew this was someone I wanted to know!

So how do you make believe you know someone who you really don't know? Read her blog!

The PlanetEsme Book-A-Day-Plan: The Best New Children's Books is a comprehensive guide to books of different reading levels and themes. The truth is - I'm sure her site is already bookmarked by everyone who stumbles upon me - but in case it isn't - allow her magical advice inspire you!

BACK TO THE PLOT

Finally. Done. Disney script handed in, which means I can float in the pool and tell myself what a puctual, creative and god-like writer I am.

Okay. 1) I have no pool unless you count the basin of mosquito-infested water sitting in the wooden barrel my wife "rolled" home last summer, 2) I don't really think I'm "god-like", I'm much more "false-idol" worthy, and 3) being done never means much more than a quick five-fingered pat on the ol' back before jumping back into the moving traffic of writing other stuff.

In this case I am ecstatic to get back to BOOK #2 and see what the characters have been doing while I left them in the lurch. Hopefully they are past their abandonement issues, have wonderful secets to tell me and none of them have been abducted by brain-altering aliens from the planet Schmootz (tho on second thought - could be interesting).

Of course, there's this part of me that is anxious aboutwhat I'll find when I peek back under the lid. What if my characters have packed their bags and split? What if the story no longer even reads well? What if I CAN'T WRITE A SINGLE WORD!!!! (Hey, I'm a writer - insecurities are part of the job.)

Rambling over. I feel better. Time to go before I find more ways to not start again!

TOO BUSY - A GOOD THING

Truth is - with Disney deadlines fast approaching (tomorrow) I simply must avoid taking time to post, which means this isn't really a post. Simply a post-ette.

Shout outs to BURIED IN THE SLUSH PILE for included yours truly in her "Writers I would Like to Work With" wish list. Wow! The honor would be all mine! (mini shout-out to Gregory K. for actually alerting me to the fact - even though it was last week, which in my own defense was the week leading up to my wife's b-day, so I was wicked busy arranging for a Salsa teacher to arrive at her party as a surprise.)

That's it. I hear Mickey Mouse's voice in my head yelling at me to finish "or at least teach Mini how to Salsa."

ps: the cartoon has nothing to do with writing - I just liked it.

PROS & CONS OF STRAIGHTJACKETS

Monday. Again.
Book #2 is on hold as I put my nose to the grind-stone of deadlines on my Disney Channel movie. I have to turn in the rewrite by Friday and the wonderful feeling is - I see that happening (more important than "seeing" it happen, I know I will cross the finish line in time.)

Comparing the process of film and book writing is always a "grass is greener" scenario. When I'm book writing - I often long for the structure the films straightjacket me into; 3 major acts. 104(ish) pages. No scene longer than 3 or 4 pages. The writing can sometimes feel more mechanical, no less creative of course - just more like a watchmaker tinkering on a timepiece.

Of course, when writing the structured Swiss timepiece of a movie it is the book writing I dream of. Writing books (for me anyway) is the opposite: straightjacket off I am free to wander and discover things that when writing scripts I would easily overlook. I turned to books because I was tired of the constraints both TV and film put upon me. The page counts. The act breaks. The commercials!

But I am human. Which means I crave sweets and have the capacity to learn. Having both disciplines to bounce between gives me the chance to appreciate each form for the process it guides me with. Both structure and freedom are needed to get me through the twisted jungle of my brain. I find that ideas spring forth when I am terribly lost without the map - and sometimes are there when I need them because that's exactly what my map says I need right then.

That's what I'm thinking anyway. Time to get back to the straightjacket...so snug and warm it actually feels wonderful!

ps: Thanks to Cynthia Leitich Smith for a nice mention over at Cynsations where there is a great roundup of kid-lit info!

TOO DARN HOT!

click the pic to see it full!

Yup. The wall of exhaust fumes masking as breathable air has hit Montreal too and I'm worthless in all things brain. Doodled this in response to my inability to do much else. Going back to the one air conditioned room now - my son's, where he will attempt again, to teach me how to play Star Wars Battlefront. (the things we parents do!)

GREAT IDEAS...just add water

It comes as no surprise that the wonders that be Hollywood feed on the edges of pop culture always in search of the next big thing, or even "the next thing that isn't really big, but might be popular enough so we can make everyone think it's big!"

In the spirit of "I can't wait for this one" - I have just learned that there is a plan afoot to make a movie of THE AMAZING LIVE SEA MONKEYS. For anyone unfamiliar, those are the little brine shrimp that come alive in water and then die peretty fast. As a kid it was always a disappointment to see that they didn't have crowns or even smiles like the drawing on the package. Ah, the life lesson of my first let-down.

Surprising fact number two, though I really haven't thought of this in years...in my days of living in L.A. and traveling the circles of kid's TV, I was once a writer on the TV show, THE AMAZING LIVE SEA MONKEYS, produced by none other than the shiny-headed Deal-No Dealer himself, Howie Mandel (not pictured - he played the kooky "Professor" on the live action show).


That's it for today's confessional. Time to get back to work!

EMBRACING THE CHILD (or else!)

My learning curve of the kid-lit universe continues to swoop upward thanks to GOOGLE. Yes, as already admitted, I am an obsessive author who takes the daily (hourly?) trip through various search engines in search of treasure. Am I looking for good places in Montreal to buy chocolate cake? Researching the secretive BOOK #2?

Alas, the truth is shamefully simple: I am seraching to see if there be new news of a certain Pond Scummy book. How else can I keep my finger on the ooze of my loins? I suppose I could make random phone calls to bookstores in the country and disguise my voice (as if my voice could be recognized) and ask "Do you have a book called...." I mean, not that I've actually done that! (much) But GOOGLING my book has offered me new doors and contacts and the sort of virtual relationships that actually is making this solitary job much less lonely (Greg.K, Fuse8, et al).

All that to say...by checking on my whereabouts I discovered POND SCUM was the BOOK OF THE MONTH for a kid-lit organization EVERYONE MUST KNOW ABOUT!!!

EMBRACING THE CHILD is a wonderland of resources ranging from recommended books by age-group and theme to author interviews and educational resources. Links guide you to lesson plans and activities. All great stuff to add to your files!

BUT here's the thing that should make you go there right now - Embracing The Child is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing reading resources to under-served populations.

Maybe everyone already knows about ETC. Again, my world-view is opening slowly. But if you don't already know the great work they are doing - check them out. Or better yet, DONATE!

CAFFEINE MONDAY

It's Monday and the coffee is yet to infuse my brain cells with their magic, which means I am sitting in the office wondering if three shots is enough.

The weekend was spent working on Book #2 and the Disney project - so it was a back and forth, see-saw of creative energy that sometimes actually connected. On a walk yesterday with my wife I wondered aloud (for the millionth time) if, given my issues of insecurity, anxiety and childhood trauma, I really made the right choice doing this whole "writer" thing. She kindly reminded me (again) that I go through these feelings every time I am in a new project. I gave her the "you have no idea who I am" tortured look, which really means, "I love you".

Watching my son play The SIMMS I realized he was practicing to become the writer he already wants to be. In the game, you create characters and give them attributes and then let them wander around. They tell you what they "need" and if you give it to them (or help them find it) you get rewarded. In the game that means they continue to live. Of course in my case, if I succeed in making my characters happy, I get more pages. Not a bad reward!

Given I have now written two entries and spent a half hour trying to convince Blogger to upload my cartoon....I think it's time to round up the muse and turn the music up.

Later...

CHASING RAY

Just a little thing - as I have way too much to do and have already spent all of my procrastination chits for the day!

No surprise - I am new to BLOGGING and my stumbling upon great kid-lit sites is sporadic and haphazard (thanks to all who point and click the way for me!) But today I fell into CHASING RAY, which is the blog-world of Colleen Mondor, reviewer extraordinaire. Not only did I get lost in her vast site of opinions and reviews of all kinds - I recalled the name as the same who reviewed my book in a spring issue of ECLECTICA MAGAZINE.

Nice to link you Colleen!

And for those who want to see the POND SCUM review that made me want to send flowers - (it's the third one on the page)!

TWO FOR ONE SPECIAL

So I've got a new dilemma: instead of procrastinating on one project, I have managed to get myself into the situation of procrastinating on TWO! Now as any writer, artist or sous chef can tell you - staring at the empty bowl can create more than a fair share of anxiety. We all know that sudden fear that seems to start at the nape of the neck and spread hither and yon - the "This is another fine mess I've gotten myself into" voice. Sure there are tricks to loosen the wheels - games to be played that might yield a sentence or perchance paragraph! But it all comes down to the same thing - deadlines, dreams, ideas that are just out of reach and that desperately want to be put onto paper if only they can be tamed (or lured) to the bait.

Lucky for me, not only am I working on the mysterious "BOOK #2" (shhh!) but I have a TV movie to write for the Disney Channel - and with it a hard and fast deadline (which seems to get closer by the day!). Staring down the pipe of just one project - I find the terror of too much wide open space and simply find myself going out for the proverbial walk. But now that my time has been impaled by (gasp) actual paying work...I miss my book writing like a best friend shipped off to an asylum. And I have to, HAVE TO LIKE MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT get the other thing written (the tic-toc of Hook's crocodile always by my side). So do I sit and dilligently pound it out? Nay! I go out for the proverbial walk.

The thing is - my procrastination seems to diminish the more things I have on the burner - and with two competing needs in front of me, why I think I've solved a problem. Now I can work on the "one" while letting "the other" languish on the vine. And as soon as my brain wants to wander away - I can flip to the project in the wings, giving that baby the attention it craves - until of course I find a way to wander from both. Perfectly allowable and encouraged: there are always cookies in the kitchen, iced espresso waiting for more ice cubes and then the 5 minutes or so it takes me to pick the right colored straw. Because as all writers, artists (and sous chefs) will tell you - sometimes it comes down to the straw in the iced coffee!)

But alas, as the crocodile is tic-tocing again and my hooked hand aches at the reminder - it's time to turn one of my heads to the project most needing to be soothed.

As soon as I get the right straw.

PAPERBACK POND SCUM Part 2

As you know I just received the paperback cover for POND SCUM and raved about it a few posts ago. I gave credit to the harcover artist, Dave Roberts for his whimsical take but neglected to mention who did the new art. Hyperion has informed me the new graphical take is none other than JOHN ROCCO, he of the amazingly mystical Percy Jackson covers (and I am again giddy to have my cover done by someone else so talented and terrific). You MUST check out his website ROCCOART to get a true sense of his genius.

LIFE IS A CARNIVAL (Of Lit)

Okay, here's the thing. Stop whatever you're doing with the exception of reading this, of course. Head over to Big A little a for the amazingly compelling and varied Carnival of Literature #5. (I particulary am enamored with Fusenumber8's eyebrow fiasco at the Newbery/Caldecott Awards, such pathos - and good food!) The roundup of kid-lit blog entries are varied and amusing with some great reviews thrown in and "A rather hysterical piece by Mr. Pinkwater," says Alan.

For more laugh out loud blogging - it's a quick dash directly to the Disco Mermaids for their Fondue Friday #2. A must-read!

PAPERBACK COVER ROCKS!

Much can be said about the road us writer-folk wander: it's bumpy and full of demons whispering for you to step off the journey and just eat one cookie...read one article online....make one quick phone call. But as we who brave such demons also know, it's a road filled with bursts of exhiliration and joy - the thrill of that sentence that just sings...the moment your character whispers something new to you that suddenly opens so many new doors!

Today's thrill comes in a different form (as my pesky characters seem to have gone to the beach without a word of new wisdom whispered!) I just got to see the COVER ART for the paperback of POND SCUM! As you can see it's wonderful (I think so anyway!). It has a real-kid feel and the kind of detail I think really jumps at you. Don't get me wrong - I loooove the hardcover. The talented-beyond-words Dave Roberts illustration captures the whimsy and wonder of my book. But this new art takes that and twists a bit into an older feel, which feels right to me.

But of course the thrills of the road are simple ones - to be in the club, or circling near it is its own reward and I can't get through a single day without pinching myself that this is the journey I am on.

Onwards!

MAD-KIDS PICKS POND

Yes, I know it's self-promotion. But apart from discovering what someone had for dinner or what they thought of last night's SCRUBS - isn't that the mesmerizing, self-important joy of BLOGGING?

So in that spirit....LOOK! LOOK! POND SCUM has been highlighted in the latest issue of MADKIDS magazine. I can officially get on with the rest of my life now that I've been connected to the magazine that first introduced the concepts of satire, parody and "fold-in" into my early life. Thanks HYPERION and thanks MADKIDS.

POND SCUM Book Trailer

Help spread the word.
IF YOU LIKE IT - LINK IT!

BOY BOOKS - POND SCUM

It is always a great endorsement to be included on lists of "Boys' Books" and I am thrilled to discover POND SCUM on a new list published by the Grace A. Dow Library in Midland, Michigan. It's a large list of books with lots of the usual names included; REDWALL; HOLES; TIMEWARP TRIO. Finding POND SCUM listed in the "humor" category does my heart good - it is a very funny book and to see it listed with the likes of Daniel Pinkwater's HOBOKEN CHICKEN EMERGENCY and Dave Pilkey's CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS makes me feel like the luckiest new kid on the block!

Colleen Mondor of ECLECTICA MAGAZINE has a wonderful review of POND SCUM that also endorses it as a boy-read and believe me, I appreciate the positive view of the book.

POND SCUM is a great BOY BOOK. It has gooey stuff and gross stuff and an 11 year old boy at the center of the story. BUT - it is also a wonderful GIRL BOOK - I know this from the hundreds of responses I get from girl readers who love the book and have no problem getting into the typical "boy" story. I know the research shows that it's boys who need the help finding books to hook them and that girls are much more open to reading books of all kinds. I am glad for the endorsements (keep 'em coming) - but I think sometimes it can be a diservice to label a book "BOY or "GIRL", the danger being creating even more of a segregation within the schools and that is always something I think we all have to be wary of.

POND SCUM for Boys - YES!
POND SCUM for Girls - ABSOLUTELY!
POND SCUM for All - SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!

POND SCUM TAKES FLIGHT

With GOOGLE at my fingertips I am able to scan the virtual world for word of POND SCUM's popularity. Sure I get some great surprises (that's how I first learned the Washington Post named Pond Scum the "book of the week"). And of course I always hope to find a new review picked up by a magazine or newspaper or blogger - but what a HUGE SURPRISE to find Pond Scum inside the inflight magazine of OMAN AIR - yes, I have a fan somewhere in the mid-east and whoever you are, a big thanks to you. I hope you get frequent flyer miles for that review!