Forthcoming Release Information!

And the Crowd Goes Wild!: A Global Gathering of Sports Poems

Release Date:  August 2012
Available in both paperback and e-book formats. 
www.CrowdGoesWildPoems.com

Poetry for Children Interview

Great interview on Sylvia Vardell's blog "Poetry for Children" with co-editors Carol-Ann Hoyte and Heidi Roemer.  This five-question interview gives a behind the scenes look at how the book "And the Crowd Goes Wild! A Global gathering of Sports Poems" came to be.   And a preview of one of the poems included in the anthology.

http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2012/04/5q-poet-interview-series-carol-ann.html

Exciting Book News!

Happy National Poetry Month!   

I have some exciting, and timely, news to share.  I found out yesterday that my rock climbing poem entitled "Rock n' Rappel" will be included in the upcoming anthology:  
AND THE CROWD GOES WILD: A GLOBAL GATHERING OF SPORTS POEMS.
Fifty poets were selected from around the world including J. Patrick Lewis, Charles Ghinga, Laura Purdie Salas, Avis Harley and several Illinois friends and critique buddies - Carmela Martino, Eileen Meyer, Michelle Schaub and Patty Toht.

Huge congrats to everyone! And many thanks to editors extraordinaire Heidi Roemer & Carol-Ann Hoyte for this opportunity. The book is scheduled to be released late this summer in both paperback and e-book format. I'm so honored to be included with such fabulous poets.  Woo hoo!
                                               
                                  More information coming soon!

2012 is off to a great start!

I think that 2012 is going to be an amazing year.  It's definitely off to a great start with writing, which makes me SO happy!  I received my author copies of the February issue of Ladybug magazine, including my poem "Goldfish".  The illustrator, Linda Hill Griffith, did an amazing job.  I love how the two-page spread turned out.  It's always fun to see how an artist interprets your words. 

I also received a letter from High Five magazine and my poem "Dandelion Wishes" will be published in their August issue.  I'm looking forward to seeing it. 

Finally, I am really excited about the revisions for a spunky character-driven picture book that I started last year.  After putting it away for months, it felt great to tackle it again with fresh eyes.  I  LOVE this character (is that weird?) and would be beyond thrilled to see him come to life in book form and be able to share him with children.  Go GK!

New Year Inspiration!

Happy New Year to all of you!  Here's some inspiration for the new year.  I just came across this and had to share it.  It's Ira Glass on storytelling from David Shiyang Liu.  Wow!  Enjoy...

http://vimeo.com/24715531

PiBoIdMo Update!

Well, it's December 1st and time to report how I did during this month's challenge.  I have to admit that I have been on a writer's "break" recently.  Needed to recharge after a few rejections that came REALLY close.  After awhile, it was stinging a little too much.  So, less than enthusiastically, I decided to sign up for this challenge.  Maybe it would be just the boost that I needed... 

It turns out it was exactly what I needed!  I ended up with 45 shiny new ideas for picture books - some that I am VERY excited to start working on.  (It also gave me an idea for a middle grade book and one for a YA novel - which is very strange because I've never written either of those types of books before.)  Reading all of the guest blogs and that daily advice on picture books also helped me to identify some areas to work on in my other picture book manuscripts.  I'm really looking forward to digging into all of my picture books - new and old - and whipping them into shape. 

Thank you so much Tara Lazar for coming up with the wonderful idea for PiBoIdMo and coordinating all of the inspirational guest blogs and the Facebook group camaraderie.  It really was time well spent.  I am so thankful that I decided to participate.  If you've ever considered doing it but thought the task seemed too daunting - I encourage you to sign up.  Even if you tell yourself that you'll just do it for a week.  I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised and will want to continue.  I'm surprised that even though it's December and the challenge is over - I'm still coming up with more ideas than usual. 

I guess once you give your muse that extra boost you never know what can happen...

http://taralazar.wordpress.com

Picture Book Month!

November is picture book month!  If you haven't had a chance yet, definitely check out the website www.picturebookmonth.com.  What a great way to remind everyone why the world needs printed picture books.  There's nothing like holding a real book in your hands and sharing it with a child.  In my opinion, the digital version can't compare. 

So, gather a big stack of picture books from your shelves at home or head out to the library.  I think I've reached my library card's limit this month.  (Might have to find another place for the huge stacks before Thanksgiving dinner.)  That's one thing I'm very thankful for...picture books!    Share them with someone you love!  
                                                        
                                    Read * Share * Celebrate!