Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Blog, page 44
June 17, 2016
June 13, 2016
#BookADay and *Giveaway*: DRAW THE LINE by Laurent Linn (Simon & Schuster, 2016)
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#BookADay: DRAW THE LINE by Laurent Linn (Simon & Schuster, 2016). An amazing debut YA novel that handles difficult issues (including hate crimes, bullying) with sensitivity and authenticity. Loved the geeky humor throughout! Loved the main character's superhero comics, and that the superhero refuses to fight hatred with hatred. Loved how the friendships progress throughout the book, and how the main character develops. Just LOVED.
Author Laurent Linn.
I have an extra copy of the book, so am having a GIVEAWAY. To enter, just post a comment at the end of this blog post or on Facebook in response to my giveaway post. I'll choose a random commenter next week. Open to anyone in Canada or the U.S.
Synopsis: "Adrian Piper is used to blending into the background. He may be a talented artist, a sci-fi geek, and gay, but at his Texas high school those traits would only bring him the worst kind of attention.
In fact, the only place he feels free to express himself is at his drawing table, crafting a secret world through his own Renaissance-art-inspired superhero, Graphite.
But in real life, when a shocking hate crime flips his world upside down, Adrian must decide what kind of person he wants to be. Maybe it’s time to not be so invisible after all—no matter how dangerous the risk."
More info on the Simon & Schuster website, DrawTheLineNovel.com and Laurent Linn's website.
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
June 7, 2016
Advice For Young Writers, Fortune Cookies and THE FIRST LAST DAY: Three Questions with Dorian Cirrone
Congrats to my friend Dorian Cirrone on the launch of THE FIRST LAST DAY (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster) today! Can't wait to read this.
Dorian Cirrone was a dance teacher, a choreographer, an assistant city editor for a daily newspaper, and a college English instructor before becoming a writer. Her middle-grade novel THE FIRST LAST DAY will be her fifth published book. She has also published short stories and poetry.
I so enjoyed meeting Dorian at a SCBWI Florida Regional Conference (a fantastic event, strongly recommended) and had fun collaborating on a food doodle with her as well as talking kidlit/YA. You can see our collab at the bottom of this pic:
Dorian claims she's not an artist, but she sure has a way with radicchio! You can find out more about Dorian Cirrone and her work website, blog, FB and Twitter.
Synopsis of THE FIRST LAST DAY by Dorian Cirrone, which comes out from Simon & Schuster on June 7, 2016:
"After finding a mysterious paint set in her backpack, twelve-year-old Haleigh paints a picture of her last day at the New Jersey shore. The next morning, her wish for an endless summer has come true. But she soon learns that staying in one place—and time—comes with a price."
Q. Could you please send me a photo of a random object in your office and tell me about it?
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I’ve had this fortune taped above my computer for several years (as you can see by how yucky the tape is). When I published my first novel DANCING IN RED SHOES WILL KILL YOU in 2005, I was fortunate enough to publish three more books and a couple of short stories in the next three years. And then I hit a dry spell. Dark paranormal and fantasy became popular, and it wasn’t something I was interested in writing.
I wrote three novels that no one seemed to want. So when I got this fortune, I needed to have a reminder from the universe that if I kept working I’d sell another novel. And I did. After extensively revising one of the three novels that I had written, it sold to Simon & Schuster last year.
I’ve kept the fortune taped to my bookcase because I know there will always be ups and downs. The words are a reminder to me that I have to power through those downs in order to reap the rewards of a long-term career.
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
Don’t worry about coming up with the most original idea in the world. Even if someone has a similar idea, if you write from your own experiences and from the heart, your story will be different enough.
Q. What are you excited about these days?
In addition to having a new book out and working on other fun projects, I’m also excited about my work as Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI-Florida. I’ve been a volunteer for a while, but I’m finding my expanded role very satisfying. It’s been great getting to work with writers, agents, and editors in planning for our conferences, boot camps, contests, and workshops.
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
June 3, 2016
#BookADay: MY LIFE BEFORE ME by Norah McClintock (Orca)
Just finished MY LIFE BEFORE ME by Norah McClintock (Orca Book Publishers, 2015). Inspired by a talk at CANSCAIP by Norah and some of the other SECRETS authors, I bought the whole set of SECRETS books last year. I was intrigued by the premise and also liked the fact that each of these YA books is standalone. I was also inspired to do a bit of fan art (see attached image).
Norah's book pulled me right in, and I actually missed a subway stop and got off at the wrong subway stop earlier this week because I was too engrossed in the story. Loved the main character, Cady: she's smart, resourceful and I liked the fact that she didn't have a romantic interest; I don't mind a good romance (I'm reading Martha Brockenbrough's THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH right now, and the romance is deliciously heartbreaking) but it's a refreshing change. The focus is on the mystery, and packed with twists and gripping suspense and a thoroughly satisfying ending.
Love the fact that Cady is a young aspiring reporter; Nellie Bly is one of her heroes. She has so many obstacles in her way, including sexism in the 1960s newspaper office, and people in a town who resist change (one issue that comes up: racism) and cover up truths. Don't want to give away spoilers so don't want to say more.
Highly recommended.
Norah McClintock is best known for her YA crime fiction, and after reading MY LIFE BEFORE ME, I definitely want to check out her other crime fiction for young people.
More about MY LIFE BEFORE ME on Orca's website
More about The Secrets: http://www.readthesecrets.com/ (and again --- each is a standalone book, and you can read them in any order)
"In early June 1964, the Benevolent Home for Necessitous Girls burns to the ground, and its vulnerable residents are thrust out into the world. The orphans, who know no other home, find their lives changed in an instant. Arrangements are made for the youngest residents, but the seven oldest girls are sent on their way with little more than a clue or two to their heritage and the hope of learning about the families they have never known. On their own for the first time in their lives, they are about to experience the world in ways they never imagined…"
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
June 2, 2016
#BookADay: I LOVE CAKE by Tammi Sauer and Angie Rozelaar
#BookADay: I LOVE CAKE: Starring Rabbit, Porcupine and Moose by Tammi Kippes Sauer and Angela Rozelaar (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins). Now that I've had the privilege of meeting Tammi in person, I can see her joyous personality throughout this story, and I love Angela's adorable characters. This is such a fun story, and now I am desperately craving CAKE. :-)
More info about I LOVE CAKE on the HarperCollins website.
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
June 1, 2016
How does Penguin Random House senior art director Guiseppe Castellano find illustrators?
Aspiring children's book illustrators should check out Guiseppe Castellano's blog post, "The Search For Illustrators." Lots of useful and interesting info here about how to connect with people in the industry, whether or not you're an illustrator.
May 31, 2016
May 30, 2016
Advice For Young Illustrators, Office Corners and THE STORY CIRCLE: Three Questions with Wendy Martin
Thanks to Wendy Martin for making Inkygirl.com a stop on THE STORY CIRCLE / EL CIRCULO DE CUENTOS blog tour. And Happy Book Birthday to THE STORY CIRCLE, which launches TODAY!
A transplanted New Yorker now living in Missouri, Wendy Martin has worked as an illustrator for more than 25 years. She has written and illustrated several picture books for children, including An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child, which was a finalist for the 2009 COVR Visionary Awards. You can find out more about Wendy and her work at her website, her blog, on Twitter and on Facebook.
THE STORY CIRCLE is a new picture book written by Diane Gonzales Bertrand and illustrated by Wendy Martin, out from Piñata Books (an imprint of Arte Publico Press) on May 30th, 2016 -- TODAY!
Synopsis:
"Monster floods closed school for three days. The children return, finding the new bookshelves empty. “What will we do for story circle?” they ask. A charming book about the joys of telling stories and using imagination will spark conversations with children, spurring them to write and illustrate their own stories. "
Q. Could you tell us the story behind something in your office?
This is my computer corner desk:
The desk is a custom-made corner hugger that my father made way back when he was investigating artificial intelligence. That was before and during my teen years. At some point in my 20s, I ended up with it. I don’t remember why Dad wanted to get rid of it, or how I came to have it, but it’s followed me through 2 apartments and 3 house, including a move across the country.
The desk is made of 3 units that come apart. The top, which is covered in a laminate in a utilitarian beige; the little unit of shelves on the left, it’s open now, but it used to have a door with a magnetic lock; and the long shelf unit on the right, a perfect size and depth for large art paper.
The units fit together with grooved ledges, which are then screwed in to keep them tight and sturdy. After so many years and so many moves, the holes for the screws are worse for wear, and there are pieces of laminate missing in place where edges caught and pulled. I think about replacing it about once a year and go searching through the Internet for an alternate. I have yet to find one that is as sturdy, or has the shelving that works for all my art papers, so the old desk stays. I will have to replace it someday, but today is not that day.
The process progression for a spread from ’The Story Circle.
Q. What advice do you have for young illustrators?
Draw everything, all the time. The artists I know who are at the top of their game are constantly drawing. I once was lucky enough to attend a workshop with James Gurney. He was seated in front of me before he went up front to give his speech. The entire 20-25 minutes he sat there, he was drawing everything and anything around him. I was so mesmerized I missed the entire session of whoever was speaking before him. That man is A-MAZ-ING!!!
Q. What are you excited about right now?
I’m thrilled that The Story Circle by Diane Gonzales Bertrand is being released today. It’s a bilingual (English/Spanish) story from Piñata Books / Arte Public. Ms. Bertrand wrote a story about the aftermath of a flood on a school and how the children coped with the loss of all their favorite books. It was a thrill to take her spare text and illustrate it with explosions of colorful and magical imagery.
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Wendy will be visiting Michelle Henninger's blog tomorrow! Do check out the rest of THE STORY CIRCLE blog tour between now and June 26th. You can also follow the #storycircletour hashtag.
For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
May 29, 2016
May 27, 2016
#BookADay: BASEBALLOGY by Kevin Sylvester (Annick Press)
BASEBALLOGY and Kevin are responsible for turning me into a baseball fan (especially a Toronto Blue Jays fan). Even if you're not a fan of baseball, you will find these facts fascinating....and who knows? This book might convert you. And if you ARE a fan, you NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.
More about the book on the Annick Press website.
You can find out more about Kevin on his website and Twtter.
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
