Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 65

Sundays at the Library

My local library is a modern vibrant place, but the the library was first built in 1904. In the years since then, it has been renovated and expanded, but the 1904 part has been kept intact.  And on winter Sunday afternoons, they light the fireplace in those rooms.

My writing shed has heat, but if the temperature outside is in the teens or below, the floor never really warms enough for my feet to be comfortable. So for the past two Sundays, this has been my view as I read through my chapters and keyed in changes.



I've come home smelling of woodsmoke. My local librarians are excited that I'll get to meet some librarians in Belarus.  Melissa, the YA librarian, gave me a stack of pretty bookmarks from our children's and YA departments to give them from my own local library.

And a week from today, I have my first 2012 school visit. It's at a K-2 school in Wilton, Maine. It'll be fun to begin my visits with a whole school full of happy, excited Hot Rodders. :-)

A Snowy Day

Fryeburg, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

is a good day to write.

Five Things on a Friday

Chocolate Maine Quarters, by Wilbur's of Maine

1.  I spent Wednesday buying gifts for my trip to Belarus.  It's traditional to exchange small gifts when you do business or are taken out to supper, etc. So I bought some things from L.L. Bean for my Embassy hosts, and then little things representing where I'm from for the people who are hosting at each of my event venues. 

The Embassy is giving away copies of Rules in Russian at all my events, but I'm also bringing bookmarks to sign for the children, and little bags with a red, white, or blue chocolate star, a chocolate Maine quarter, and a maple drop for my hosts.  I'm going to make up the bags when I get there, though.  These things should be fine going through Belarussian customs and security. But if for some reason they refuse something, I won't lose everything I've brought. 

  Here's what they'll look like when they're done.

I have a conference call on Tuesday between me, my state dept. person, and the Embassy in Belarus to go over what I'll be doing. I need to prepare my talks, and it would help to know exactly who the audience will be for each one (Are there kids coming, for example?).  What kind of equipment can I expect? Practical issues like that.

2.  Yesterday I drove down to Massachusetts to celebrate my mom's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  It was lovely to spend the day with my parents. Mom didn't receive the cool pinata, pin the tail on the donkey game, or racetrack from Happy Birthday, Hamster, but I did have the waitresses at the restaurant bring her a piece of cake and sing to her 

3.  We got another 4-6 inches of snow last night.  Milo refused to leave the porch until I shoveled for him! 

4.  It's nice to have American Idol back. :-)

5.  Tonight, I'm going out to supper with some writer friends.  That's always fun! They all live locally, but I don't see them very often.  I love hearing what they are all doing. 

Wordless Wednesday

Minsk Exhibition Pavilion, where the Minsk International Book Fair is held. 

It's s*n*o*w*i*n*g***

Portland, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

This morning, I woke up to snow. Big, fluffy flakes. This photo was taken a few years ago, but it's the same kind of snow falling outside the window--sticking snow that outlines every branch.

Milo is curled up beside me, fast asleep. He's much less impressed! :-)

2012 Book Babies!

    If you are a regular reader of my blog and have a book scheduled to be published in 2012, I'd like to wish you a happy book birthday on your release date.

So who are the book babies of 2012?  Please email me or post below in the comments (release date, title, your name as it appears on the book, publisher) if you have a 2012 book, so we can give you a shout-out.

2012 Book Babies!

January

February

March
6: Me Want Pet! by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Bob Shea, Simon & Schuster
13:  Eye of the Story by Kate Messner, Walker Books

April
1:  Marty McGuire Digs Worms by Kate Messner, Scholastic
3: Bawk and Roll by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Bob Shea, Sterling
10: The Night She Disappeared by April Henry, Henry Holt

May
8:  See You At Harry's by Jo Knowles, Candlewick

June
1:  Capture the Flag by Kate Messner, Scholastic
19:  Violins of Autumn by Amy McAuley, Walker Books

July

August
7:  Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, Disney-Hyperion

September

October
9:  Princess in Training by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Joe Berger, Harcourt</p>

November

December

Hot Rod Hamster's Coming Through!

I love seeing kids' artwork based on books I've written. It always feels like they've given the book back to me, new and whole and wrapped in their own creativity. I feel that way about these adorable Hot Rod Hamster drawings. 

Bravo, Second Graders!

Five Things on a Friday

1.  Milo does not love the snow.  The look on his face here says it all. We had a snowstorm yesterday and he was not keen to spend any more time outdoors than he absolutely had to. Me, either!

2.  Yesterday, my daughter took her GRE tests for graduate school.  The snow fell all day and the roads were messy and slick, so my husband drove her. They made it, made it home, and now she can complete her last application for grad school. 



3.  I've been working on my novel. My main character takes a series of photos in the story, so I've been working on shooting photos in between writing. Over the past few days, I've taken a lot of shots of rock candy! Oooo, sparkly!

4. I have a quieter winter and spring ahead than the last two years, but still, it'll be busy.  I have trips to Belarus, Kentucky, North Carolina, Connecticut, Alabama, New York, 9 schools in Maine, and 3 conferences in Massachusetts (Foundation for Children's Books, Massachusetts Library Association, and NESCBWI).  



5. Speaking of Belarus, I received my flight itinerary and a packet with information about my trip. I've also been practicing saying "hello" and other simple phrases in Russian. 

I particularly like Victoria at FunRussian.com.  She's very calming--exactly what I need. :-) 

Nice!

My husband's photo of the Bowdoin Mill and the bridge between Brunswick and Topsham is in this month's edition of Maine Magazine, and they showed his photo on TV this morning in a segment about the magazine.  :-) 

Wordless Wednesday

Spruce Head, Maine. Photo by my husband, John