Emily Wing Smith's Blog, page 5

The Happiest Post on Earth

Awhile ago, back when I was feeling semi-confident in my ability to maintain a weekly blog, my buddy Nancy Bo Flood emailed me.   I've been told I overuse BFF, to the point that when people find out I'm actually friends with said BFF, they're  surprised.  So Nancy is not my BFF, but it sure seemed like it as we brushed our teeth together in a dorm bathroom  at Vermont College, where we were both getting our MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Now Nancy has written a YA novel...

How To Be Prepared…For An Impromtu Found Art Exhibit

The other day I was telling my agent Michael, who recently moved to Los Angeles,  about my fear of earthquakes.  We're talking verging-on-paranoid fear (some might say I've already reached the point of paranoia).  He assured me that one of the first things he did when moving to California was prepare survival kits for the house and the car.

Truly, he is my kin.  I'm all over emergency preparedness kits.  For the house.  Because, well, I'm not in my car that often.  And I tend to forget that...

This Would Be A Sweet April Fools. But It Isn't.

Ah,  American health care.   Truly, you are an admirable foe.  One of your many mysteries in the Flex Spending Account.  Supposedly at the beginning of the year we intuit how much money we will spend on health care the following year, and if we predict correctly, we get to use  it tax-free.  If we guess incorrectly, the money is gone.  You, my friend,  are like a Japanese game show.

My Flex Spending Year was winding down, yet money remained.  A lot of money.  Which begged the question, which p...

Winners Announced! And A Mad Tea Party

The moment you've all been waiting for…the winners of  the WIFYR giveaway are:  Laura, Kaylie and Lana!  Congratulations!  Please email me with your address and choice of book!  This is where my friends say:  "Email address in the sidebar," but I don't know if my email address actually is in the sidebar, so it's just: emilywingsmithATgmailDOT com.

In case you wondered how the winners were "generated" it was by a complex algorithm in which I wrote down everyone's name as many times as they...

A Brush With Stardom

If you haven't already, check out my uber-swank contest promoting the Writing for Young Readers Conference this summer!  Yours truly will be teaching the beginning novel workshop,  so for all you writers out there, sign up!  You will be hard pressed to find a better value for your money out there.  And I'm all about  value for da money, trust me. If you're not a writer, or just can't swing the conference this year, help promote it and be eligible for the same great prizes!  The contest ends o...

Princess Parties And Free Books

When I was five, I was invited to a princess party for my friend Emily P.'s birthday.   Even though I was then, as I am now, not a huge princess person, I waited for the party with baited breath.  Seriously, baited.  And then, one day, as I was expressing this anticipation to my mother for the zillionth time, she said, "Wait!  The party's right now!"

This wasn't just a cruel joke.  She had FORGOTTEN about the party and by the time we got there, it was over.  Oh, the humanity!  Emily P. opened ...

Register Once, Win Fource (What Is Four Times Called?)

I am a bad, bad, person and didn't post last week.  That's right. Lately my goal has been a mere ONE POST PER WEEK.  And I couldn't even swing that.

I hate myself sometimes.

Especially times like this, when I had something really, really important to blog about.

I'll be teaching a beginning novel workshop at the annual Writing for Young Readers conference this summer.  This is one of the premier  writing conferences for writers/illustrators of kids/YA books.  PREMIER!

The thing is, this year...

TrainBuddies And Other BFFs

Those of you who know me, or are regular readers of this blog, know I love me a good Game Night.  And my game of choice?

Ticket to Ride, or "Train" as it is affectionately known by the Friday-night Train group consisting of me, Daniel, my sister Juliana and bro-in-law Reo.

The best part of Train is when two players build on parallel tracks and call out "Train Buddies!"

As you might have guessed, this is not actually a rule.  In fact, I doubt anyone else does it.  But in our group it's a long...

My Computer Skillz This Week

I found this photo a long time ago and loved it…but it is only now that I have summoned the savvy to share it.

What do you think?  Will this image hold true much longer?

What's Your Love Language?

Happy Post-Valentine's Day Post!  I hope everyone is feeling adequately loved, or at least adequately comforted by chocolate.  These cupcakes were made by my oh-so-talented sister Juliana and they rest upon an old-school Strawberry Shortcake paper plate.   Remember old-school Strawberry Shortcake?

I so don't get why they made Strawberry Shortcake look all different now.  She had a good look going.

This Valentine's Day was unique because I had  conversations with various friends about  their...