Stephen Penner's Blog
April 28, 2011
I was originally going to title this post "Long Time, No Blog" but then I thought of the subtitle "But I've Been Writing" and thought that sounded more positive. It's also true.
Now, to be sure, my lack of blogging hasn't been exclusively because I've been devoting all of my waking hours to the next great American novel. I've also had some huge stuff at the day job, and some important stuff at home to attend to. And I've also been writing, so it was hard to justify using what little writing time I had on blogging.
Which brings me to the point of this particular post. Blogging vs. Writing. There's a lot of buzz about authors' platforms, and how a blog is an important way to reach potential readers and fellow writers. I get that, but by definition it takes time away from real writing. I don't know the solution to this issue, but I think it's interesting. You're supposed to take time to blog about the writing you're not doing when you blog. At least Twitter is only 140 characters at a time.
Well, I have resolved to be better at the blogging thing. Day job has slowed down a little, home stuff is resolved, and the writing I was furiously doing in Feb and Mar is complete (mostly). We'll see if can be both a writer and a blogger. But if can't, I'm going to choose writer.
What do you think about Blogging vs. Writing? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
-Steve
http://www.StephenPenner.com
Now, to be sure, my lack of blogging hasn't been exclusively because I've been devoting all of my waking hours to the next great American novel. I've also had some huge stuff at the day job, and some important stuff at home to attend to. And I've also been writing, so it was hard to justify using what little writing time I had on blogging.
Which brings me to the point of this particular post. Blogging vs. Writing. There's a lot of buzz about authors' platforms, and how a blog is an important way to reach potential readers and fellow writers. I get that, but by definition it takes time away from real writing. I don't know the solution to this issue, but I think it's interesting. You're supposed to take time to blog about the writing you're not doing when you blog. At least Twitter is only 140 characters at a time.
Well, I have resolved to be better at the blogging thing. Day job has slowed down a little, home stuff is resolved, and the writing I was furiously doing in Feb and Mar is complete (mostly). We'll see if can be both a writer and a blogger. But if can't, I'm going to choose writer.
What do you think about Blogging vs. Writing? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
-Steve
http://www.StephenPenner.com
January 27, 2011
Most (all?) of you know me as the author and illustrator of PROFESSOR BARRISTER'S DINOSAUR MYSTERIES, a series of chapter books for K-3+. Many of you also know that, while I wait for PROF B #4 to get back from edits, I've been working on a new project. I haven't given a lot of details on it, for many different reasons, but for this post it will suffice to know: (1) the main character is a 4th grade girl, and (2) the manuscript is out with beta readers right now.
One of the beta readers is the wife of a coworker. She's an elementary school teacher in, well, a pretty rough part of a pretty tough town. A lot of her kids have a lot of disadvantages, and a big part of her job is just controlling the classroom.
One girl in the class is in 4th grade but reading at a 7th grade level. So she's pretty smart. But she also has defiance issues and so can be tricky to keep engaged.
Yesterday morning my friend's wife brought my manuscript to school and gave it to the girl first thing, to read quietly while the teacher tried to get the rest of the kids under control.
Now this is the MANUSCRIPT. No slick multicolor cover, in fact no illustrations at all (I'm still working on them). And it's not bound with nice large print either. It's courier 12 point on loose sheets of 8.5x11 copy paper.
The girl says okay and the teacher walks away. The teacher comes back a little bit later after getting the room (mostly) under control. The girl has read the first 3 chapters and is loving it. She tells the teacher that she totally got into the book, that she could see the characters and settings in her head, and she felt like she was there with them. And she wanted to keep reading so she could get back in there.
So this one little girl, with lots a disadvantages, and an uncertain future ahead of her, forgot about all of that for a few minutes while she entered a world I created.
I don't know if this book will ever be published, but I already know it was worth writing.
One of the beta readers is the wife of a coworker. She's an elementary school teacher in, well, a pretty rough part of a pretty tough town. A lot of her kids have a lot of disadvantages, and a big part of her job is just controlling the classroom.
One girl in the class is in 4th grade but reading at a 7th grade level. So she's pretty smart. But she also has defiance issues and so can be tricky to keep engaged.
Yesterday morning my friend's wife brought my manuscript to school and gave it to the girl first thing, to read quietly while the teacher tried to get the rest of the kids under control.
Now this is the MANUSCRIPT. No slick multicolor cover, in fact no illustrations at all (I'm still working on them). And it's not bound with nice large print either. It's courier 12 point on loose sheets of 8.5x11 copy paper.
The girl says okay and the teacher walks away. The teacher comes back a little bit later after getting the room (mostly) under control. The girl has read the first 3 chapters and is loving it. She tells the teacher that she totally got into the book, that she could see the characters and settings in her head, and she felt like she was there with them. And she wanted to keep reading so she could get back in there.
So this one little girl, with lots a disadvantages, and an uncertain future ahead of her, forgot about all of that for a few minutes while she entered a world I created.
I don't know if this book will ever be published, but I already know it was worth writing.
January 20, 2011
So it's been a while since I blogged. Part of that was the holidays; part of it was using my writing time for writing. But it's been over a month since I posted so I figured it's a good time for an update.
I currently have too many irons in the fire. Well, not too many, but quite a few nonetheless. However, they are at different stages of forging and so I can stay busy with one while the others either heat up in the fire or cool down in the water.
PROFESSOR BARRISTER'S DINOSAUR MYSTERIES #4: THE CASE OF THE COLORFUL CAUDIPTERYX is complete--both manuscript and FULL COLOR illustrations--and is with the publisher undergoing edits. I'm looking forward to getting it back, but there's nothing for me to do with it in the meantime.
The first draft of the manuscript for PROFESSOR BARRISTER'S DINOSAUR MYSTERIES #5: THE CASE OF THE CRESTED CRYPTOCLIDUS is complete. It is sitting a bit to give me distance for when I go back to it for editing and polishing. Once that's done, I'll start on the illustrations. But no point in getting too far ahead until #4 is back from edits.
For more about the PROF BARRISTER books, check out http://www.ProfessorBarrister.com
I'm also working a different kids chapter book. On that one, the manuscript is done and has been sent off to various beta-readers (and, more importantly, their kids). I'm getting good and varied feedback and will be ready for the next round of edits in February. In the meantime, I've begun sketching out the illustrations.
Then there's that novel I wrote for National Novel Writing Month back in November. It finished up at a healthy 80,000 words--dead on for the genre (science fiction). It needs a LOT of work. Story structure, characterization, plotline consistency. And that's before I even get to editing for language and style. That one will be sitting in the fire a bit longer. I figure I'll be able to get to it this spring or maybe summer.
Finally, I remembed that I had a few projects in my desk drawer before I broke through with Professor Barrister and Nimble Books (shout out and thank you to Nimble Books!). Two picture book manuscripts (that I intended to illustrate with full page painted illustrations--I may NEVER have time for that!) and another chapter book style book. Those are irons over on the other side of the shop. But they're there.
So what I'm learning is a balance that works for me and which is built around a sometimes difficult concept: PATIENCE. It's going to take a while for a story to go from idea to finished book; there are a lot of steps along the way; and some of those steps include doing nothing while other people do things or time simply passes.
I used to feel like I was wasting time not doing any writing or drawing, but now I've figured out how to stagger my projects so I can work on one while the others sit and wait (heating or cooling as the case may be). This in turn helps me be patient as to any particular project, while also using my time to improve my craft.
It's slow, but I'm not in too big a hurry. I've learned that I want to take the time for the project to be good, not just done.
For more about me and my published books, check out http://www.StephenPenner.com
I currently have too many irons in the fire. Well, not too many, but quite a few nonetheless. However, they are at different stages of forging and so I can stay busy with one while the others either heat up in the fire or cool down in the water.
PROFESSOR BARRISTER'S DINOSAUR MYSTERIES #4: THE CASE OF THE COLORFUL CAUDIPTERYX is complete--both manuscript and FULL COLOR illustrations--and is with the publisher undergoing edits. I'm looking forward to getting it back, but there's nothing for me to do with it in the meantime.
The first draft of the manuscript for PROFESSOR BARRISTER'S DINOSAUR MYSTERIES #5: THE CASE OF THE CRESTED CRYPTOCLIDUS is complete. It is sitting a bit to give me distance for when I go back to it for editing and polishing. Once that's done, I'll start on the illustrations. But no point in getting too far ahead until #4 is back from edits.
For more about the PROF BARRISTER books, check out http://www.ProfessorBarrister.com
I'm also working a different kids chapter book. On that one, the manuscript is done and has been sent off to various beta-readers (and, more importantly, their kids). I'm getting good and varied feedback and will be ready for the next round of edits in February. In the meantime, I've begun sketching out the illustrations.
Then there's that novel I wrote for National Novel Writing Month back in November. It finished up at a healthy 80,000 words--dead on for the genre (science fiction). It needs a LOT of work. Story structure, characterization, plotline consistency. And that's before I even get to editing for language and style. That one will be sitting in the fire a bit longer. I figure I'll be able to get to it this spring or maybe summer.
Finally, I remembed that I had a few projects in my desk drawer before I broke through with Professor Barrister and Nimble Books (shout out and thank you to Nimble Books!). Two picture book manuscripts (that I intended to illustrate with full page painted illustrations--I may NEVER have time for that!) and another chapter book style book. Those are irons over on the other side of the shop. But they're there.
So what I'm learning is a balance that works for me and which is built around a sometimes difficult concept: PATIENCE. It's going to take a while for a story to go from idea to finished book; there are a lot of steps along the way; and some of those steps include doing nothing while other people do things or time simply passes.
I used to feel like I was wasting time not doing any writing or drawing, but now I've figured out how to stagger my projects so I can work on one while the others sit and wait (heating or cooling as the case may be). This in turn helps me be patient as to any particular project, while also using my time to improve my craft.
It's slow, but I'm not in too big a hurry. I've learned that I want to take the time for the project to be good, not just done.
For more about me and my published books, check out http://www.StephenPenner.com
December 17, 2010
I am pleased to report that this week I finished the first draft of Professor Barrister's Dinosaur Mysteries #5: THE CASE OF THE CRESTED CRYPTOCLIDUS!
This is very cool for at least two reasons
(1) Book #4 (THE CASE OF THE COLORFUL CAUDIPTERYX) is still in editing, so I'm working ahead, as it were; and
(2) It appears I have a lot of books in my head and I really enjoy writing them.
From what I hear, one of the keys to long term success as an author is being prolific, that is, writing a lot of books. A publisher wants an author who will continue to produce after the first book. As with a lot of things, the people who produce the most of something, or devote the most time to something, etc, tend to be those who actually enjoy doing it.
Turns out that's me! Whew. I have spent the last two months writing like crazy. In addition to Prof. Barrister #5, I "won" NaNoWriMo with over 50,000 words of a novel, and have also been editing/rewriting another work-in-progress.
I couldn't possibily do it if I didn't enjoy it. But I do. I really do.
And that's pretty cool, because it means I'll keep on writing.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
This is very cool for at least two reasons
(1) Book #4 (THE CASE OF THE COLORFUL CAUDIPTERYX) is still in editing, so I'm working ahead, as it were; and
(2) It appears I have a lot of books in my head and I really enjoy writing them.
From what I hear, one of the keys to long term success as an author is being prolific, that is, writing a lot of books. A publisher wants an author who will continue to produce after the first book. As with a lot of things, the people who produce the most of something, or devote the most time to something, etc, tend to be those who actually enjoy doing it.
Turns out that's me! Whew. I have spent the last two months writing like crazy. In addition to Prof. Barrister #5, I "won" NaNoWriMo with over 50,000 words of a novel, and have also been editing/rewriting another work-in-progress.
I couldn't possibily do it if I didn't enjoy it. But I do. I really do.
And that's pretty cool, because it means I'll keep on writing.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
December 3, 2010
So NaNoWriMo (NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth) has ended. I am happy to report that, in my very first year of doing it, I "won"! -- that is, I met the goal of writing 50,000 words in one month. In fact, I crossed the finish line a few days early on the 27th. I then plugged ahead and actually finished the novel (which is longer than just 50K). In October I had an idea for a novel and now I have the first draft of that novel out of my head and on my computer. Very cool.
Now I will completely ignore it until 2011. I want to come back to it after it's spent a month in a drawer, as the saying goes. So what will I do in the meantime?
Well, two things actually. First, I was about half way through Professor Barrister #5, so I plan to complete the manuscript for that now. Also I have another work-in-progress that I finished in October and which spent its month in the drawer while I did NaNoWriMo. So I will spend December working on those projects.
Which will give my friend from work a chance to catch up. You might recall I challenged him to do NaNoWriMo with me. He accepted the challenge, and while he didn't make it to 50K, he did make it to 30K. More importantly he realized he can write, he likes to write, and he's determined to finish his novel. So he'll be using December to try to write the next 30K. Then in January maybe he'll get to put his manuscript in a drawer.
Either way it was a win for him and a win for me.
As always, thanks for your interest and support.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
P.S. Autographed Prof. Barrister's Dinosaur Mysteries books are on sale on my website and at http://www.ProfessorBarrister.com
Now I will completely ignore it until 2011. I want to come back to it after it's spent a month in a drawer, as the saying goes. So what will I do in the meantime?
Well, two things actually. First, I was about half way through Professor Barrister #5, so I plan to complete the manuscript for that now. Also I have another work-in-progress that I finished in October and which spent its month in the drawer while I did NaNoWriMo. So I will spend December working on those projects.
Which will give my friend from work a chance to catch up. You might recall I challenged him to do NaNoWriMo with me. He accepted the challenge, and while he didn't make it to 50K, he did make it to 30K. More importantly he realized he can write, he likes to write, and he's determined to finish his novel. So he'll be using December to try to write the next 30K. Then in January maybe he'll get to put his manuscript in a drawer.
Either way it was a win for him and a win for me.
As always, thanks for your interest and support.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
P.S. Autographed Prof. Barrister's Dinosaur Mysteries books are on sale on my website and at http://www.ProfessorBarrister.com
November 4, 2010
This will be a quick post because (1) I'm supposed to be writing my NaNoWriMo* novel and (2) I have the flu.
*(NaNoWriMo = NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth. A worldwide challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel in the month of November. More info at http://www.nanowrimo.org)
The NaNoWriMo is going great. I was worried about finding the time, but I'm not needing much time. The story is "writing itself" as they say, so no bouts of writer's block. What also helps is I'm writing the entire thing on my smartphone, so I can literally write anywhere anytime. To be on track for 50K by 11/30, I should have 6668 words by now, and I already have 10334! Over 20% done.
The better part of this is that I have a friend who has dabbled in writing but never really made a go of it. I challenged him to do this with me and he accepted. He's working really hard and is writing a book he's wanted to write for a long time. That's pretty cool.
To my Prof. Barrister fans: don't worry. This is the perfect time to be doing this. Book 3 just came out (have you bought your copy yet? http://www.ProfessorBarrister.com/Pur...) and book 4 is written & illustrated and going through edits. I've even started in on book 5, so Prof. Barrister, Nate and Emily aren't going anywhere (except maybe Triassic South America).
On a related note, my awesome publisher, Nimble Books, just lowered the price on all the books, so you can enjoy these well-reviewed adventures for even less.
As always, thanks to everyone for your interest and support.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
*(NaNoWriMo = NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth. A worldwide challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel in the month of November. More info at http://www.nanowrimo.org)
The NaNoWriMo is going great. I was worried about finding the time, but I'm not needing much time. The story is "writing itself" as they say, so no bouts of writer's block. What also helps is I'm writing the entire thing on my smartphone, so I can literally write anywhere anytime. To be on track for 50K by 11/30, I should have 6668 words by now, and I already have 10334! Over 20% done.
The better part of this is that I have a friend who has dabbled in writing but never really made a go of it. I challenged him to do this with me and he accepted. He's working really hard and is writing a book he's wanted to write for a long time. That's pretty cool.
To my Prof. Barrister fans: don't worry. This is the perfect time to be doing this. Book 3 just came out (have you bought your copy yet? http://www.ProfessorBarrister.com/Pur...) and book 4 is written & illustrated and going through edits. I've even started in on book 5, so Prof. Barrister, Nate and Emily aren't going anywhere (except maybe Triassic South America).
On a related note, my awesome publisher, Nimble Books, just lowered the price on all the books, so you can enjoy these well-reviewed adventures for even less.
As always, thanks to everyone for your interest and support.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
October 19, 2010
So I haven't blogged in a while, in part because I've been pretty busy, both writing and regular life (family, day job, etc). But it's a good busy and I'm pretty excited about my projects for the remainder of 2010.
First, I just finished a chaper-by-chapter outline for Professor Barrister #5. That means the next step is writing the actual words. Professor Barrister #4 is already written and illustrated. I'm just waiting on the edits from the publisher. When those come back it's "drop everything" time.
Second, I'm less than an hour away from finishing the edits for my other kids book work-in-progress (#wip for you Twitterers). Then it will be ready for what I've learned are now called 'beta-readers' -- people who read your manuscript and critique it. My betas will be the elementary school children of coworkers. I expect them to be brutal.
Third, I think I'm actually going to do this crazy 'National Novel Writing Month' challenge (#nanowrimo). I had an idea for an adult scifi novel but figured it would just sit and atrophy in my brain. But then I heard about NaNoWriMo and thought it would be a good excuse to try to get it down on paper. The challenge is to write 50,000 words in 30 days (November). In truth, a scifi novel needs to be more in the 80-100K range, but it's a start. I learned a while ago that I need external deadlines and exposure to motivate me (exposure=other people know my goals and deadlines) so I challenged two friends of mine who are aspiring authors to do it with me. A bit to my surprise, they accepted the challenge. So we've got a prep schedule and are meeting weekly to help each other stay on track.
Then, on top of it all, I have a huge project at work (#dayjob) that starts October 28th and will last into December. Probably the biggest thing so far in my career.
November will either be an epic fail or an epic success. When I was in college I always got better grades when I had too many classes, rather than too few, because I knew I had to buckle down and work. I'm hoping November will be like that again.
Wish me luck.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
First, I just finished a chaper-by-chapter outline for Professor Barrister #5. That means the next step is writing the actual words. Professor Barrister #4 is already written and illustrated. I'm just waiting on the edits from the publisher. When those come back it's "drop everything" time.
Second, I'm less than an hour away from finishing the edits for my other kids book work-in-progress (#wip for you Twitterers). Then it will be ready for what I've learned are now called 'beta-readers' -- people who read your manuscript and critique it. My betas will be the elementary school children of coworkers. I expect them to be brutal.
Third, I think I'm actually going to do this crazy 'National Novel Writing Month' challenge (#nanowrimo). I had an idea for an adult scifi novel but figured it would just sit and atrophy in my brain. But then I heard about NaNoWriMo and thought it would be a good excuse to try to get it down on paper. The challenge is to write 50,000 words in 30 days (November). In truth, a scifi novel needs to be more in the 80-100K range, but it's a start. I learned a while ago that I need external deadlines and exposure to motivate me (exposure=other people know my goals and deadlines) so I challenged two friends of mine who are aspiring authors to do it with me. A bit to my surprise, they accepted the challenge. So we've got a prep schedule and are meeting weekly to help each other stay on track.
Then, on top of it all, I have a huge project at work (#dayjob) that starts October 28th and will last into December. Probably the biggest thing so far in my career.
November will either be an epic fail or an epic success. When I was in college I always got better grades when I had too many classes, rather than too few, because I knew I had to buckle down and work. I'm hoping November will be like that again.
Wish me luck.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
October 2, 2010
This will be a series of minimally related sub-posts. The relationship will be my writing career. Just musings of one author...
Prof. Barrister #3 THE CASE OF THE ENORMOUS EORAPTOR has been released! It hit Amazon yesterday in both paperback and Kindle. The Kindle version is only $2.99. The paperback price is a bit higher than I might like but I have good reason to believe it will come down soon.
Prof. Barrister #4 THE CASE OF THE COLORFUL CAUDIPTERYX is off to the publisher for review/edits. I'm very happy with it and the illustrations are full-color which was different, difficult and fun.
Prof. Barrister #5 THE CASE OF THE CRESTED CRYPTOCLIDUS has been plotted and awaits detailed outlining.
So those are coming along well. I love the characters and concept and have many more ideas for future books. In addition, I spoke with my publisher today, Fred Zimmerman of Nimble Books, and was reminded how much I like working with him. He's accessible, responsive, professional, and all around just great to work with.
In other news, I just finished the first draft of a manuscript for a completely unrelated kids book. It's similar, in that it's an elementary school chapter book, but it's for older kids. It's 10K words instead of 5K, the protagonist is a 4th grade girl, and there are no dinosaurs. I plan to polish it until it shines, then ... well, we'll see.
Finally, November is "National Novel Writing Month." There's an event planned by a group called NaNoWriMo and the goal is to write 50K words in one month. For more details, check out http://www.nanowrimo.org. Anyway, I just happen to have been stricken with a great idea for a scifi novel, and I just happen to have a friend at the day job who's an aspiring writer. So I challenged him to participate with me. Not only did he accept, but we brought in a third friend. So we'll see if I can get that story out of my head and down on paper in 30 days. It's a good time, tho, because I'm caught up/ahead on Prof. B books, so I won't feel like I'm neglecting that.
So that's what next. Part of me thinks I can't do it all. But part of me thinks I can. I guess either way I'll be right.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
Prof. Barrister #3 THE CASE OF THE ENORMOUS EORAPTOR has been released! It hit Amazon yesterday in both paperback and Kindle. The Kindle version is only $2.99. The paperback price is a bit higher than I might like but I have good reason to believe it will come down soon.
Prof. Barrister #4 THE CASE OF THE COLORFUL CAUDIPTERYX is off to the publisher for review/edits. I'm very happy with it and the illustrations are full-color which was different, difficult and fun.
Prof. Barrister #5 THE CASE OF THE CRESTED CRYPTOCLIDUS has been plotted and awaits detailed outlining.
So those are coming along well. I love the characters and concept and have many more ideas for future books. In addition, I spoke with my publisher today, Fred Zimmerman of Nimble Books, and was reminded how much I like working with him. He's accessible, responsive, professional, and all around just great to work with.
In other news, I just finished the first draft of a manuscript for a completely unrelated kids book. It's similar, in that it's an elementary school chapter book, but it's for older kids. It's 10K words instead of 5K, the protagonist is a 4th grade girl, and there are no dinosaurs. I plan to polish it until it shines, then ... well, we'll see.
Finally, November is "National Novel Writing Month." There's an event planned by a group called NaNoWriMo and the goal is to write 50K words in one month. For more details, check out http://www.nanowrimo.org. Anyway, I just happen to have been stricken with a great idea for a scifi novel, and I just happen to have a friend at the day job who's an aspiring writer. So I challenged him to participate with me. Not only did he accept, but we brought in a third friend. So we'll see if I can get that story out of my head and down on paper in 30 days. It's a good time, tho, because I'm caught up/ahead on Prof. B books, so I won't feel like I'm neglecting that.
So that's what next. Part of me thinks I can't do it all. But part of me thinks I can. I guess either way I'll be right.
http://www.StephenPenner.com
October 1, 2010
I am pleased to announce the following winners in my book and artwork giveaway! I will identify the winners by their Twitter handle since each one has a Twitter account (although may have entered a different way):
3rd Place, An original drawing (by me) of the dinosaur of your choice:
@ShellyPicarella
2nd Place, An original illustration sketch from Book #3:
@AileenWStewart
1st Place, A signed copy of any Prof. Barrister book (1-3):
@ManOfLaBook
If you're on Twitter consider following each of these fine people.
THANK YOU to everyone who entered!
http://www.ProfessorBarrister.com
3rd Place, An original drawing (by me) of the dinosaur of your choice:
@ShellyPicarella
2nd Place, An original illustration sketch from Book #3:
@AileenWStewart
1st Place, A signed copy of any Prof. Barrister book (1-3):
@ManOfLaBook
If you're on Twitter consider following each of these fine people.
THANK YOU to everyone who entered!
http://www.ProfessorBarrister.com
September 23, 2010
To celebrate reaching 200 followers on Twitter, and in anticipation of the imminent release of PROFESSOR BARRISTER'S DINOSAUR MYSTERIES #3: THE CASE OF THE ENORMOUS EORAPTOR, I hereby announce my first ever CONTEST and GIVEAWAY!
Here are the prizes:
3rd Place: An original drawing by me of the dinosaur of your choice
2nd Place: An original hand-drawn illustration from Book #3, signed by me
1st Place: A signed copy of any Prof. Barrister book (your choice)
How to enter:
Send me either (1) the title of your favorite children's book and why, or (2) the name of your favorite dinosaur and why. Send it any way you want:
-On Twitter by direct message or @mention (@StephenPenner)
-On Facebook by post or message ("Stephen Penner" or "Professor Barrister's Dinosaur Mysteries" page)
-On Goodreads by message or by comment to this blogpost
-By email at: stephen.penner@yahoo.com
Who's eligible:
Anyone connected to me by "social media":
-My Twitter followers
-My Facebook friends or FB fans of the Professor Barrister's Dinosaur Mysteries page
-My Goodreads friends or fans
The contest ends September 30th at midnight Pacific time. Winners will be announced October 1st.* Good luck!
*[Winners will be chosen by me based solely on the entries and stuff. :) ]
Here are the prizes:
3rd Place: An original drawing by me of the dinosaur of your choice
2nd Place: An original hand-drawn illustration from Book #3, signed by me
1st Place: A signed copy of any Prof. Barrister book (your choice)
How to enter:
Send me either (1) the title of your favorite children's book and why, or (2) the name of your favorite dinosaur and why. Send it any way you want:
-On Twitter by direct message or @mention (@StephenPenner)
-On Facebook by post or message ("Stephen Penner" or "Professor Barrister's Dinosaur Mysteries" page)
-On Goodreads by message or by comment to this blogpost
-By email at: stephen.penner@yahoo.com
Who's eligible:
Anyone connected to me by "social media":
-My Twitter followers
-My Facebook friends or FB fans of the Professor Barrister's Dinosaur Mysteries page
-My Goodreads friends or fans
The contest ends September 30th at midnight Pacific time. Winners will be announced October 1st.* Good luck!
*[Winners will be chosen by me based solely on the entries and stuff. :) ]
