I love discovering new words. The other morning, when I was working my daily crossword puzzle, the answer was CLEW. The definition was: a ball of yarn or cord. I laughed and said, “I haven’t got a clew!” But this word is trickier than that. On checking Webster’s Ninth, I found out that the other spelling for clew is clue and it also means a piece of evidence. I was clueless about clew! So why have I never heard of the other spelling or the other meaning until now? It could be an omen! Stephanie and I are working on a mystery. We believe in omens. Of course they don’t always work out…like all those frogs we kept seeing when we wrote the frog story that still hasn’t sold. (Oh, yeah, we have those, too.) About omens and how they work–I haven’t got a clue about that, either. Judy
Archive Page 2
New Words and Omens
Peeves
Is it only me or is anyone else bothered by magazine publishers who send you a “renew or else” notice only three months after you’ve subscribed? Now I’m getting them just six months after subscribing for some magazines for my grandkids. I’ve marked my calendar for renewal dates that are closer to when the subscriptions expire–unless I get so peeved by reminders that I decide not to.
Book Love
Board books and picture books are spread like leaves across the carpet. This is a wonderful assortment of books: some with babies, some with animals, some new and some that have stood the test of time, some with full stories, some with no words at all. My younger granddaughter, a toddler, loves books–a joy for a children’s book author, for certain sure. Plop! She is on my lap ready to read. One of her favorites is Everywhere Babies written by Susan Myers and illustrated by Marla Frazee. This little one has favorite pages and favorite parts of pictures. I love sharing this book. Judy
I received a nice surprise in the mail today: a check from Highlights for Children magazine. This wasn’t a check for a story I just sold; it was a check for reprint rights for a story they published in the fall of 1998. As authors we all want to see our names on book covers, but don’t ignore the magazines for young readers. Look for guidelines on line. Magazine writing helps you tell a concise story. Every word has to count. Magazines reach lots of kids, you get a good writing credit, you get a morale boost while you wait for your book manuscript to find its way out of the slush pile, and those stories in magazines may live even longer than your books. You never know when a nice surprise will arrive in the mail. Happy writing! Judy
Last Saturday we signed Smile, Principessa at Village Books in Bellingham (Fairhaven), Washington. Kids were treated to cookies, crowns, and royal bookmarks. They made faces and pretended to snap, snap, snap pictures while we read. There were great kids, fun parents, and a bocce ball tournament right outside the door. Judy and Stephanie
PRINCIPESSA SAYS: I made a red crown and a gold crown (Bino says it’s yellow, but I know it’s gold.) We ate lots of cookies. I liked the story about me and Bino. Papa took pictures, of course. I smiled my most beautiful smile. Bino made faces!
Tales from the Rushmore Kid Want to read some great interviews with children’s authors and illustrators? Visit Tina Nichols Coury’s blog to read about lots of great folks in the children’s publishing world. You’ll also find out about Tina’s new book. And speaking of visiting, check out the links on our Writersinkville site. You’ll be amazed at the people you’ll meet. Judy
Coloring
When was the last time you colored? For me it was yesterday when I spent a rainy day with my granddaughter who is five. I forgot how much fun coloring can be and even created some polka-dotted shirts and plaid skirts. The coloring book was Dick and Jane! Made me feel even more like a kid again. I learned to read with Dick and Jane back when I was five! (That was only a few years ago.) At the end of the day, I only had to wash off colored freckles from the markers we used and admire our artwork. Judy
Principessa’s First Day
For Principessa’s first day on the town, friends and family joined us for the Princess’s official California Book Launch. On July 25, 2007 at the amazing childrens’ bookstore, Adventures For Kids in Ventura, California , we read SMILE PRINCIPESSA, kids decorated cookies and made bookmarks. Everyone had fun, especially the young readers who discovered cameras hidden among the books.
NOTE FROM PRINCIPESSA: All I got to do was SMILE until my face hurt. Well, I did eat four cookies with pink frosting. My baby brother Bino made a big mess with sprinkles but everyone thought HE was sooooo cute no one made him clean up.
Watch for more news from Bellingham, Washington where we’ll launch again at Village Books in Fairhaven. A bocce ball tournament will be going on at the village green. We’ll have to keep a close eye on Principessa and Bino.
Welcome!
In celebration of our new picture book, SMILE, PRINCIPESSA! we’ve
opened a blog boutique in Writersinkville. Principessa’s Closet will
feature fashions, thoughts, and findings about writing children’s
books, parenting and grandparenting, and life in general. Glad you
stopped by for our grand opening. Come visit again soon.
Thanks,
Judy Enderle and Stephanie Gordon,
Writersinkville Mayors
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