Lisa Yee's Blog, page 14

Dear Bully

I am in an undisclosed location right now. (Hint: Sailing on the American Girl 25th Anniversary Cruise to the Carribbean.) However, through the magic of my Time Machine, here's an event that I took part in not long ago . . .

I was invited to contribute to DEAR BULLY: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories.



At first I thought that I didn't have anything to add to the dialogue. After all, I hadn't been bullied when I was growing up. Plus, I wasn't a bully, myself. Then I realized, perhaps I was worse. Why? Because when others were teased and bullied, I did nothing to stop it.

Here's what the NEW YORK TIMES had to say about the book . . .



My essay is called REGRET. Here's a snippet of it . . .

"Putting someone down was a sport. Like dodgeball, it could be fun or scary, depending on where you stood. However, instead of balls being hurled at you, it was insults. I if you were lucky, eventually the teasing would move on to someone else and you could exhale."

Recently, I joined other DEAR BULLY authors at a reading at Vroman's in Pasadena . . .



Joining me were Melody Shore, Amy Goldman Koss, Cecil Castellucci, and Nancy Holder . . .



Whoops! Where's Melody? Oh, there she is!



We had a full house . . .



And each read our essay . . .



Novelist Elizabeth Massie made these bracelets for us. The yellow bead represents a person in need of protection and support, and the other beads those who rally around them . . .



On the topic of bullying, my novel WARP SPEED is about a Star Trek geek who's beat up every day at school.



I don't write "issue books," I write about kids. However, they do have issues in their lives, and when I write their stories, I hope that my readers can identify with my characters.

Not long ago I received a three-page handwritten letter in the mail . . .



It was from a U.S. Marine based overseas . . .



He continued, "Growing up, I was never the popular kid. In fact I was bullied, not so much physically, but verbally quite horribly, which made my life a living nightmare. Middle school and early high school was tough for me and I hated having to go to school--"

Through running, this soldier gain self-esteem and was able to face his bullies. Today, when he returns to the states, he speaks at anit-bullying events at his old high school.



It gets better. If you don't believe me, here are lots of other authors who feel the same way.



Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








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I Love Libraries

In case you can't tell by looking at me, I think libraries are awesome . . .



When I was a kid, I used to play library. Um, I still do . . .


(For you young folk out there, that's a library card that you sign and get stamped when you check out a book. This is pre-scanner, pre-computer, pre-e-books. Yes, I am old.)

I was thrilled to be invited to speak the the Young Adult librarians at the main branch of the LA Public Library . . .



It's gorgeous inside . . .



I was part of a YA author panel that took place in the Mark Taper Auditorium . . .



LAPL Manger of Youth Services, Eva Mitnick (left), led the event, and our panel was moderated by Penguin/Dial Books for Young Readers VP of acquisition and development and editor Jennifer Hunt . . .



The panel included Cecil Castellucci, Holly Goldberg Sloan, Sherri Smith, Margie Stohl, Carol Tanzman, Janet Tashjian, Angelina Jolie, and Moi. (Well, most of those people.) We had a WONDERFUL dialogue with the attractive, witty and smart YA Librarians . . .



Later, some librarians shared their favorite books with us . . .



Since we were on the YA panel, it was only fitting that we visit the Teen Center . . .



Then get this . . . we went SHOPPING at the LIBRARY with a GIFT CERTIFICATE the librarians gave us!!!



After, it was off to Cole's for a literary lunch with Cecil and Sherri . . .



We love Cole's and have been there with authors Ransom Riggs and Sonya Sones! (Though not at the same time.) And we love librarians, too!!!



Oh! And what did I end up getting at the store? How's about this . . .



What's that, you ask? Why, it's old fashioned vintage rubber stamps of things called typewriters and rotary dial phones!!!



NEXT BLOG: Letters like this are why I'm an author . . .



Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Lisa Yee








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Wowed at the Willows

As you may know, my Peep and I visit lots of schools. Our latest was The Willows Community School in Culver City, CA where we were greeted by librarian extraordinaire Cathy Leverkus. Then we breezed through security . . .



We explored the library, and Peepy was faced with some very difficult questions . . .



Look! A photo of one of our friends. At least we think the R.L. Stine is our friend, even though we had a disagreement not too long ago . . .



Oh, wait! We made up . . .



The students were awesome and amazing and we had a great time talking to them . . .



Later, we had lunch in library, and lots of people shared with Peepy . . .



Then it was time to autograph books from the Scholastic Book Fair . . .



On our way out, we couldn't help but admire the sights . . .



Thank you Willows school for a great day!



NEXT BLOG: We visit this bookish place . . .



Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Lisa Yee







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Celebrating Cecil, Plus "You Sneaky Mom!"

Guess who's was, and will be, at Skylight books in Los Angeles?

First Clue: Cecil Castellucci!!!!

Yes, not only was it a book launch party for Cecil's latest novel, FIRST DAY ON EARTH -- but it was her birthday, too!



And how does Miss Cecil celebrate her birthday? How about, by giving away present to the people in the audience???!!!!



Wheeeee!!! Look at the cool Queen of Cool swag we got . . .



Later, Peepy went to celebrate Cecil's birthday with a slice of this . . .



Now then, guess who will be at come to Skylight books this Saturday? Here's a hint . . .



Still not sure? Here's a second clue: Me!!! Plus these some totally awesome dads. Why? Because . . .

It's a special event featuring the new anthology Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood. Join the anthology editors Tomas Moniz and Jeremy Adam Smith, anthology contributor Jason Sperber, special guest Lisa Yee, and musical guest Mista Cookie Jar for an event celebrating the rad dads we all know and love!

Skylight Books
Saturday, November 11 at 5 p.m.
1818 N. Vermont, LA, CA

And lastly, check out this video. Jimmy Kimmel asked parents to lie to their kids and tell them they ate all their Halloween candy. This clip is of a couple brothers who are hilarious, especially the big brother . . .



Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



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Pseudonymously Speaking . . .

So then, when I spoke to the PTA at Clairbourn School, they were gearing up for their Country Fair-themed book fair. I was invited back to check it out . . .



The farm theme carried over to the library. Can you see Peepy hiding in the trees? And oh wait! Who's that with the sunglasses on?



Hmmm, that sure is a mystery. Can you guess who this is? (Hint: The green shoes are his/hers, the others are mine.)



Peepy decided to follow him around and see if she could figure out the mystery . . .



Using her Nancy Drew skills, she was able to identify the very secretive


Of course, he was smitten by her, and offered to write down all his secrets . . .



At least that's what she told me . . .




Live in or near Pasadena, or have a car, plane or train? Then join me and my friends at Vroman's

Wednesday, November 9 at 6pm
695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA

Group event for the anthology, Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories --
featuring Cecil Castellucci, Nancy Holder, Amy Goldman Koss, Melodye Shore and Lisa Yee

You are not alone. In this deeply personal collection, at turns moving and self-effacing, today's top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying, as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators.

--------
Or, hey! Are you a dad? Do you know a dad? Then come to Skylight books!

Saturday, November 12 at 5 p.m.
1818 N. Vermont, LA, CA

It's a special event featuring the new anthology Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood. Join the anthology editors Tomas Moniz and Jeremy Adam Smith, anthology contributor Jason Sperber, special guest Lisa Yee, and musical guest Mista Cookie Jar for an event celebrating the rad dads we all know and love!

Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

University Speech and Saying "Thammasat Tantipinichwong"

Even though we were in California for Halloween, via our Most Excellent Time Machine, we are now back in Alabama for another adventures. Yes! My Peep and I were invited to speak at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as part of the Writers Series. Our venue was this wonderful former church on campus . . .



While others were working hard and getting everything set up, Peepy decided to go exploring . . .



She couldn't find herself on the honor roll, so Peeps went looking for Rebecca to clear up the obvious mistake . . .



Meanwhile, my dear friend Norah, who is author/UAB creative writing faculty member Kerry Madden's daughter, was busy at work . . .



(Kerry and I are friends from Los Angeles, but she moved a couple of years ago to teach creative writing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Here's Kerry's going away party.)

Peepy got back from her explorations just in time for the pizza party. Soon it was time to speak to this awesome group of students/writers/cool people . . .

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Thank you, UAB for your wonderful hospitality!!!

Sadly, our trip home was not nearly as fun. First there was a "bird strike" in the air and the plane was delayed and had to be examined . . .


(Poor bird.)

Then on the connecting flight, there was a foul smell in the bathroom (and I mean FOUL), and it was so bad the pilot could not take off until an engineer fixed the cable or whatnot . . .



But we managed to make it home and be greeted by Puppy!



Ah hem. How are you at pronouncing names from books? Check out this Scholastic OOM blog and test your skills. Can you say "Thammasat Tantipiniciwong Schneider"? He's a character from my YA novel ABSOLUTELY MAYBE! (I borrowed his name from a friend of Teen's!)



BTW, here's what Thammasat a.k.a. Ted looks like, on left. That was the original book cover. The final cover is on the right . . .

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Live in or near Pasadena, or have a car, plane or train? Then join me and my friends at Vroman's

Wednesday, November 9 at 6pm
695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA

Group event for the anthology, Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories --
featuring Cecil Castellucci, Nancy Holder, Amy Goldman Koss, Melodye Shore and Lisa Yee

You are not alone. In this deeply personal collection, at turns moving and self-effacing, today's top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying, as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators.

--------

Say there, are you a dad? Do you know a dad? Then come to Skylight books!

Saturday, November 12 at 5 p.m.
1818 N. Vermont, LA, CA

It's a special event featuring the new anthology Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood. Join the anthology editors Tomas Moniz and Jeremy Adam Smith, anthology contributor Jason Sperber, special guest Lisa Yee, and musical guest Mista Cookie Jar for an event celebrating the rad dads we all know and love!

Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

Yay! Boo! Happy Peepy Halloween!!!

I don't like really scary movies. But I do like sorta creepy things. That's why I loved Miss Perigrine's Home for Peculiar Children . . .



It was written by sandwich-eating, foot-wiggling Ransom Riggs . . .



Speaking of creepy cool, recently a totally creepy cool place opened across from my beloved Rialto Theatre.
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As many of you know, the Rialto features prominently in WARP SPEED, my novel about a Star Trek geek. Marley Sandelski's family lives in the old theatre, and some say the place is haunted . . .



So I thought that for Halloween, we should pay a visit to The Curio Emporium in my hometown . . .



Peepy was awed by all the cool creepy things she had never seen before . . .

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Oh, look! The owners of The Curio Emporium are in one of these photos. Can you guess which one?



Meanwhile, about last Friday, Scholastic had its annual Halloween Costume Party, and I was there! (Sort of.)



Who took 2nd place??? Why, none other than Tracy van Straaten, dressed as everyone's favorite Peep!!!!



And finally, Scenes From a Past Spooky Peepish Blog . . .




HAPPY HALLOWEEN from me and my Peep!!!

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Live in or near Pasadena, or have a car, plane or train? Then join me and my friends at Vroman's

Wednesday, November 9 at 6pm
695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA

Group event for the anthology, Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories --
featuring Cecil Castellucci, Nancy Holder, Amy Goldman Koss, Melodye Shore and Lisa Yee

You are not alone. In this deeply personal collection, at turns moving and self-effacing, today's top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying, as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators.

--------
Or, hey! Are you a dad? Do you know a dad? Then come to Skylight books!

Saturday, November 11 at 5 p.m.
1818 N. Vermont, LA, CA

It's a special event featuring the new anthology Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood. Join the anthology editors Tomas Moniz and Jeremy Adam Smith, anthology contributor Jason Sperber, special guest Lisa Yee, and musical guest Mista Cookie Jar for an event celebrating the rad dads we all know and love!

NEXT BLOG: Who's that girl and what's she writing?



Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

Down Home Alabama Folk Art and Dreamy BBQ

Lemme see, where were we? Oh, yes, Birmingham, Alabama!

The next morning after the Southern Breeze conference, there was a meeting for SCBWI PAL (published and listed) members at the pool . . .

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I attended and talked about my undying love of Scrivener, a writer's best friend.

Then, it was off to explore Alabama with my dear friend, the talented Kerry Madden and her awesome daughter, Norah. When they took me to Vulcan Park, I got all excited, thinking it was about a certain Vulcan from Star Trek . . .





BTW, here's an awesome review of WARP SPEED, my novel about a Star Trek geek who's bullied and beat up everyday at school.

And here's my very own Vulcan, er, Leonard Nimoy autograph . . .


In fact, the day before, my writing students had been doing their own Vulcan salutes . . .

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However, the Vulcan in Alabama, was someone else entirely. Here's Norah and Olive, the dog, doing their best Vulcan . . .



So then, after visiting the non-Star Trek Vulcan, we headed to Tuscaloosa. I was shocked to see the damage from the tornado that hit a few months earlier . . .



Just down the road, the annual Kentuck Festival of the Arts was in town . . .



We got to meet awesome artist and picture book illustrator Bethanne Hill . . .


Peepy loved all the art . . .

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(While there, a woman came up to me and said, "Why do you hold up that yellow thing when you take pictures?" I explained who Peepy was, and she just said, "okay," then walked away.)

It was such a thrill to meet Kerry's famous folk artist friend, Charlie "Tin Man" Lucus . . .



Peepy noted that Tin Man already had yellow paint, and she offered to let him paint her. Who knows . . . ?



Further along, we saw more fascinating sights . . .



Later, we had delicious BBQ at local favorite, Dreamland . . .



Thanks, Kerry and Norah for a marvelous day!!!!



Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Lisa Yee







Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



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Desserts, Speeches, and SCBWI's Southern Breeze

Recently, Peepy and I were in the Birmingham, Alabama area for the SCBWI Southern Breeze 20th Anniversary Conference . . .



We arrived early and were able to get some writing done in the hotel room. That is, until Peepy saw some presents and insisted on opening them . . .



Soon it was time for a dinner, and oh man, do these people know how to put on a spread!!!

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The conference organizers, volunteers, agents, authors, and editors took part in a toast to everyone's favorite Peep . . .



After dinner, it was time for the Dessert Party . . .

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The next morning I gave the conference opening keynote speech to these dessert-filled authors and illustrators . . .



Then they were serenaded by agent Rubin Pfeffer, agent Linda Pratt, Penguin Young Readers executive art director Deborah Kaplan, Chronicle editor Melissa Manlove, and others . . .

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(It's possible that they weren't singing, but rather talking about what they look for when reviewing manuscripts. However, I was still on a sugar high from the night before, and therefore easily befuddled.)

In addition to doing manuscript critiques, I taught three writing workshops . . .

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Oh dear. Those were my "let's act weird" workshops. Here are my writing workshops . . .



I also got to meet Ashley Parsons.



It was fun talking with her, because we have this in common . . .



Oops. That's Agent 007. I meant to show this photo . . .



That's right. It's Jodi Reamer, literary agent extraordinaire, and Ashley just signed with her!

All too soon it was time for the closing keynote. It was given by 50% of the founders of the 22,000 member strong SCBWI. That would be Lin Oliver, whose Hank Zipzer books have sold millions . . .



(Lin is wearing white gloves, because 1) she is very prim and proper, or 2) she presented the Crystal Kite award to Jo Kittinger and didn't want to smudge the award.)

Since Lin is the president, and I'm on the board of the SCBWI, we wore our official SCBWI uniforms -- brownish/eggplant-ish velvet . . .



After the conference, the speakers and organizers and volunteers were still full of pep, so we all gathered for a fabulous dinner and wild rumpus . . .



What a great conference!

NEXT BLOG: Spock, is that you?



UPCOMING APPEARANCE: November 9 at 6 pm, Vroman's Bookstore, group reading from DEAR BULLY: Seventy Author Tell Their Stories. CLICK HERE for more info.

Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



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The Three P's . . . Peter Brown and PTA and Peepy

After our trip to Florida, we journeyed all the way down the street to Clairbourn School in San Gabriel, CA. It looks like they were expecting us . . .



We were the guest speaker for their PTA meeting and Book Fair kick-off hoopla. However, before we went on, there was a professional singer. Here he is serenading Peepy and her beauty . . .

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As I was being introduced, there was a gameshow-style quiz all about my career, and guess what???? I got (most of) the answers right!!!



Everyone was uber enthusiastic . . .

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Later, as I signed books, my Peep admired her presents . . .



One of the gifts was a Starbucks gift card. So we indulged in a caramel frappuccino and when we got home we shared it with our dear friend, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy . . .



The fun continued that night when we went to our local indie bookstore, Vroman's. We met up with Bob Boyle (glasses) and Dan Santat (sleeping) who illustrated our BOBBY series to cheer on our pal Peter Brown (reading) who shared his latest book, YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND, with us . . .

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Fun Fact: While Suzanne Collins was writing the HUNGER GAMES, she worked on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! an animated TV show created by Bob. (BTW, don't you think that Wubbzy and Peepy could be cousins?)

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NEXT BLOG: Who are these people and why are they doing that???!!!



Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

CLICK HERE to find out about Lisa's newest book, WARP SPEED!!!

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




Or you can click this for a RSS feed...