Clone My Brain (Part 1): Q&A from SCBWI Austin
Pleased as pie to have spent such delicious time with the creators at the SCBWI Austin Conference. This welcoming and boundlessly productive conference was planned, encouraged, and steered by the grand Debbie Gonzales, Carmen Oliver, Mark G. Mitchell, and a bounty of clever volunteers. This Q&A is a result of my presentation and individual consults with creators. Why a Q&A a week later and 2,000+ miles from the original source? There is only so much time in a conference weekend, so I requested written questions and promised this follow-up post. Brain Cloning Q: Can...
Read MoreAustin Bound
The Austin SCBWI Regional Conference is just around the corner and they are touting the title, “Something for Everyone.” I am happy to say that Curious City is one of those “Somethings.” Whether or not we are for “Everyone” is up for debate… Honored to be invited to speak and hold consults with nine fine authors including Cynthia Levinson, Nikki Loftin, Lindsey Lane, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Margaret Wortham and Jennifer Zimmerly, Debbie Gonzales, Carmen Oliver, and Mark G. Mitchell. Also thrilled to get my first look while in am in Austin...
Read MoreBalloons Over Broadway & No Strings International
It was was with loud cheers and bright tears that children’s literature enthusiasts met the news that Melissa Sweet had won The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal for her visually stunning, playfully funny, and meticulously researched, Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. In honor of Melissa’s brilliant work and in memory of puppeteer Tony Sarg who she so lovingly portrays, readers around the country are making small donations to No Strings International, an incredible UK charity. No Strings teams the wonderful...
Read MoreWalk a Mile
On entering the sound studio at Mind’s Eye Productions you are confronted with a pile of shoes (as producer and narrator Bill Dufris welcomes only those that tiptoe into the sound booth on stocking feet). Cowboy boots kicked off, striped tights hiked up, and my script in hand, I was ready to work on another book trailer audio with Bill and his merry band of voice actors. Actor Brent Askari followed me in with his copy of the script (marked with all the inflections taught to him by his Italian friends and from hours spent watching interviews with Italian director, Roberto...
Read MoreSirenz Song
In Greek myth, the Sirens were said to be impossible to resist. I found the Sirenz creators to be equally tempting. How is this for a first client meeting? Pop to the front of the line of Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty show at the Met with a snap of author Natalie Zaman’s manicured hand and then off to Alice’s Tea Cup to nibble scones with Zaman and classy co-author Charlotte Bennardo. We all had “The Nibble” (and were stuffed for a week). Charlotte and Natalie write in the alternate voices of Shar and Meg, two modern teen girls whose...
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