Kirby Larson's Blog, page 100

All Aboard

Do you need a ferry fix? If so, hop across the Sound to Whidbey Island on June 12, 2010 for dinner with local authors to top off an all-day writerly chat with some pretty darned amazing folks, including Patrick Jennings and Jamie Ford! (Oh, and I'll be there, too, at the Children's Literature Chat House with Patrick.) You'll not only learn lots and have a great time, you'll be helping a great cause: the relaunch of the Whidbey Island Writer's Conference.

Get more info here.

Ten in 2010

One of the lovely book suggestions I've garnered from Nancy Pearl was this charmer:


When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put, by Vivian Swift. I'm only allowing myself to read one month at a time, and during the right month (i.e., to read January's entry in January); however, I got behind so read April's section a few nights ago. Swift talks about April being the month of Lost and Found and I was taken with that notion, thinking it'd be a lovely one for our challenge ...

Wordy Wednesday

Karen Cushman

Last night, I spent the evening listening to a writer who has been a genuine inspiration to me. She was one of the first speakers I heard at the big SCBWI conference in LA, and when I heard that one of her favorite picture books

(How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen) was also one of my family's favorites, I paid even closer attention to her pearls of wisdom. What especially stuck with me then was her admonishment to find your own passion and embrace it. There were t...

Don't Miss This

If you live anywhere within driving distance of Seattle Pacific University, be there tonight, 7 pm, for the last SCBWI meeting until programming starts up again in the fall.

I will be taking copious notes during the Mini-Session: HELP! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO CALL THIS! — HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT TITLE with Lenae Nofziger.
This woman may be smiling but she is serious about titles!

from the SCBWI website: A great book title is an invitation that readers can't refuse. But how do you create such a titl...

Happy Birthday, to Donna

There is a family story: upon my seeing my mom's high school graduation photo on my grandma's dresser, I said, "That's my mother. She's so beautiful."
Wedding Day, August 15, 1953

Now, my mother raised me on the notion that "pretty is as pretty does," and I have to say, even against this stringent standard, my mother is Beautiful, with a capital B.

She was the kind of mom who let us build forts out of all the couch cushions. Five, soon to be six, Miltenbergers

And who would be up with you at 2 am...

It's a Date

If you live in the Puget Sound area, come to Tacoma on May 20, from 6:30-8 pm , to celebrate the second anniversary of ColumbiaKids, the online magazine of the Washington State Historical Museum.

Thanks to the amazing Stephanie Lile and her crew, there is an amazing resource for northwest kids to learn more about northwest history in an uber-cool way! And I am honored to have been one of the early contributors to this fantastic e-zine. AND my story was illustrated by the incredibly talented Ri...

Muddling Along

I'm in the chicken scratches stage of a new project. I have some general ideas (exceedingly general!) but am keeping myself open to possibilities. After going bleary-eyed doing internet research, I headed over to Third Place Books (recent Honorable Mention in the Women's National Book Association Panell Award!) to browse. Though Third Place primarily carries new books, there are always used gems studded throughout the shelves.

I brought home an armful, including this title:

Seriously. How could...

Wordy Wednesday

You can buy these charming flashcards at PapierValise.com!

What with my travels last week, I completely forgot about Wordy Wednesday. Not that the outcry was deafening. . .but I'm sure one of my two blog readers was disappointed so I will persevere!

Twice lately, I've been asked if I limit the vocabulary I use in writing for younger readers. Both times, I answered (probably a bit snippily) that I focus on staying true to the story and trying to tell it as honestly as I can. I think my dander go...

Soup

Soup bubbling away on stove

I am a passionate soup maker but am in desperate need of some new recipes. If I offer my favorite tomato-basil soup, given me by my dear friend, Jaime Cornutt, would you consider giving me one of your favs?

I call this my vat-o-soup recipe because it makes a ton. Freeze it in one cup containers and you'll always have something yummy on hand for lunch!

Nordstrom's Roma Tomato Basil Soup

1/2 cup olive oil
1-1/2 lbs carrots, cut in coins
1-1/2 lbs. yellow onions, chopped or...

Good Excuses for Not Posting

You may not realize it, but I've been working very hard since my return from IRA (post to come on that whirlwind trip). Since arriving home, I've painted a table for Shangri-Lar and helped Neil shovel one-half yard of gravel (did you know one-half yard of gravel weighs one-half ton? My body can vouch for that!).

I''m going to share the other thing I've been doing as a cautionary tale. As you know, I have a book coming out in the Dear America series this fall. The Fences Between Us gave me the ...