Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 34

Five Things on a Friday

Photo by my husband, John

1.  I finished up my line edits and sent Loonsong back to my editor. I think the next stage will be copyediting, though I'm happy to do another line-edit pass if my editor wants to.  The longer we put off going to "track changes," the happier I am! The good news is that even after all these readings and revisions, I tear up every time. That's when I know it's the words themselves that hold the power. Because I've read those scenes and sentences many times and there is no surprise there. I know what it says. I know what will happen. And still, it hits me.

2.  My daughter got a goldfish to keep her company in her apartment. He's beautiful!

3.  Today, the sato puppies that I've worked with at our animal shelter are going up for adoption, so I'm going over there at noon to help with that.  I'm hoping the puppies all find homes soon. 

4.  One of the hard parts of meeting a writing deadline is all the things you've put off while you're working hard on a book are waiting for you when you're done. I have so much mail and email to answer that I'm a bit overwhelmed this morning looking at it. 

5.  I'm so happy for my critique partners!  One Cool Friend, Toni Buzzeo's book, illustrated by David Small won a Caldecott Honor and was named an ALA Notable.  And my other critique partner, Terry Farish's book, The Good Braider, was named a Best Fiction for Young Adults title! I'm thrilled for them both! We'll have much to celebrate when we see each other again!

Wordless Wednesday

Fryeburg, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

Puppies!

Yesterday afternoon, I helped out at our local animal shelter with a group of sato puppies that we received from Puerto Rico. What cuties!

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I had to wear scrubs and gloves, because they're in quarantine until they're checked out by the vet. 

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Sato dogs run loose on the streets and beaches in Puerto Rico and often lead very hard lives. So there are a few organizations who work with these dogs and puppies trying to find homes for them. Our local shelter worked with All Sato Rescue to get these puppies to Maine.

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They're all mixed breeds, but different mixes. Such happy puppy energy!

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We have 10 puppies in all.

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All different, all cute, all funny. They'll make some families in Maine very happy. 

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My Assistant

Takes a break from answering emails.

Six on a Saturday

Pemaquid Light, Pemaquid, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

1. I submitted a proposal for my chapter book series yesterday. We'll see how it goes!  I'm excited about it, so I hope my publisher gets excited, too.

2.  I'm 3/4 through the line edits on Loonsong, my next novel. Outside, it's been hovering just above and below zero degrees, so I haven't been able to work in my writing shed. I have a heater out there, but it can't really handle that kind of cold.  So I went back to the college library where I wrote most of Rules. It was fun to be back there. It brought back a lot of memories of working on that book.

3.  I received pages for our next Hamster book, Hot Rod Hamster: Monster Truck Mania. It's looking GREAT!  I love it!

4.  My daughter got a library job!  She'll be working at Countway Medical Library at Harvard.  I'm so proud of her.


Roy, one of the pups coming to our shelter

5.  I've been volunteering at my local animal shelter. This weekend we have 10 sato (Puerto Rican street dog) puppies coming in, and I signed up to help with their arrival and do shifts at the shelter over the next couple days to help socialize and care for them. I can't wait. There's nothing like a puppy.  

6. This weekend is ALA Midwinter, which is where some of the biggest children's book awards are decided. My thoughts and best wishes are with the authors and illustrators who are in the mix for those awards. It's a fun experience, but also hard. There's the joy of knowing you created something that people consider worthy, but there's so much build-up to that decision that there's also the feeling that if that phone doesn't ring that you've let down your publisher and all the people who want your book to win. It's not reasonable, but it's hard not to feel that way. So it can be a complicated weekend for authors and illustrators.

More photos from Celebrate Literacy Week in Florida

These photos are from the Miami area.



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Brrr! Let's put on the flip-flops and sunscreen.

It's one degree outside. Somehow I have to channel my inner summertime today to work on line edits for my book.



It's going to take a lot of imagination.

And maybe a slideshow. When I have to write out of season, sometimes I'll set up my projector to scroll through photos so every time I glance up from my pages, my eyes are seeing the right settings and scenes for the book. 

Cookie

Our guinea pig is quite a character.  He brings me a lot of smiles every day.  Yesterday Cookie was swinging around a paper tube that I had given him. It looked like he was training to become the first guinea pig Jedi Knight.



When I change Cookie's cage, he spends time rearranging his furniture. He's like a little guinea pig bulldozer, pushing things around. "No, Cindy! The hidey house goes HERE. The toilet paper roll goes THERE." When it's finally the way he wants it, he goes in his house and takes a nap. He's actually asleep in this photo. Most times, he sleeps with his eyes open.

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I'm so glad I saw his photo on our Humane Society's Facebook page and brought him home to us. 

In a poem personal yet universal, Maine poet unites | The Portland Press Herald

In a poem personal yet universal, Maine poet unites 

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.


Bailey Island, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

I have done a lot of new things this month. And it's been richly rewarding to stretch and grow in some new directions. Every stretch, every risk, every new experience changes you. 

I encourage you all to try something new with me this week in honor of MLK. To take that first step on the staircase, even if you don't see where it leads. To risk reaching out to people and experiences outside your usual comfort zone.

To make the whole world a little smaller.
And your own world a little bigger.