Recent mentions that made me smile
• Over at Waltzing Matilda, Charlotte shares the details of the Prairie Thief book club meeting she hosted. She is tremendously creative and I so enjoyed seeing the activities and treats she came up with to go along with the book. She had the fun idea of having me record a video greeting for the kids.
• At Everead, Alysa’s young son wrote a book report on Fox and Crow Are Not Friends and drew the absolute cutest illustration to accompany it. I melted. Several times.
• Kort, whose blog is quietly wonderful and gives me a little burst of happiness whenever it pops up in my reader, wrote a sweet note about Julie Bogart and me. Julie‘s one of my favorite people on the internet, too, so I was delighted to be in her company.
• Last Saturday, one of my books made an appearance at the Virginia Discovery Museum: children were invited to “join Kelly Sulick, principal flute of the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra, and Kate Tamarkin, CUSO’s music director, for a musical reading of Fox and Crow are Not Friends.” Now that’s a performance I wish I could have seen! Especially since there was an “instrument petting zoo” afterward. 🙂
I have been pretty low-profile about my work this past year, after a busy 2012 when I had three books launch in the same month. I do occasional local events but don’t undertake a lot of travel, not nearly as much as most of my kidlit author friends. I’m always reading (with pleasure) about the conferences they attend, the bookstore appearances, the school visits all over the country; and I enjoy their travels vicariously but know that I couldn’t maintain that kind of pace myself, not without giving up the learning-time with my kids that I treasure so much. (Not to mention without seriously impeding Scott’s ability to do his own work.) So while I do have several events planned for this summer, and a giveaway in the works for next week, I’ve been feeling a bit guilty about not having lined up a full slate of events to usher Inch and Roly and the Sunny Day Scare into the world. I’m fond of the childbirth metaphor for book publishing, but it falls apart the moment the book is ‘born’ into the world (generally about a year after delivery)—because by then, the moment of its appearance in the wide world, I’m already about fourteen months pregnant with the next one. So it is with this newest book-baby—actually in this case I’m about forty months along with the next one, who promises to be a twelve-pounder. (It’s possible the metaphor is getting away from me here.) At any rate, the point of all this musing is that in a season when I can’t do a lot of traveling to help my books meet new readers, it is deeply gratifying to see them land in the hands of kids who enjoy them.
kortney says:
looking forward to the day this new Inch + Roly is in hand!
good work–on the books + the children.
On May 7, 2014 at 7:54 pm
Erin says:
Thank you for mentioning what you have to give up to maintain the time for your children. It often seems like none of the other women I know or read about have to give up anything to live their fabulous lives. I know quite well that I’m having to make sacrifices to maintain a common space/time with mine, and it’s comforting to know it’s not because I’m doing something wrong. You’re absolutely one of my heroines, and knowing you’re consciously making these choices makes it easier for me to be happy and certain about the choices I have to make. Thank you, and congratulations again!
On May 8, 2014 at 5:58 am
Karen Edmisten says:
Great links and fun stuff!
I love the pregnancy metaphor and can’t wait to see that 12-pounder. 🙂
Echoing what you said about needing to limit travel, etc., to maintain the kind of home/homeschool I want to maintain. There is always give-and-take, and sacrifice on one side or the other.
On May 8, 2014 at 6:20 am
Charlotte says:
I can’t tell you how much I respect your decision to maintain your work/home life balance. It’ s a beautiful testament to you and your family.
On May 8, 2014 at 5:29 pm
Alysa says:
Haha! I love the “twelve-pounder” bit. 🙂 And when I saw Benjamin’s completed book report I knew I had to share it with you, somehow. It was just TOO cute to keep to myself. Thanks for re-sharing the love. 😀
On May 14, 2014 at 6:51 pm
tanita says:
Hey, busy person, launching books quietly – I gently tap you for a blog hop when you have time. Even though I didn’t really have time, actually writing what I was working on, and why/how it was different from other books was weirdly helpful. ☺
On May 15, 2014 at 4:09 pm