Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Blog, page 55
October 27, 2015
LOUD LULA by Katy Duffield and Mike Boldt launches today!
LOUD LULA launches from Two Lions today! Written by Katy Duffield and illustrated by Mike Boldt, LOUD LULA is southern-flavored tall tale about a little girl with a big voice. "...Little ol’ Lula’s big ol’ voice wreaks ten kinds of havoc from the day she’s born, and that doesn’t change one smidgen when Lula starts kindergarten. As you might imagine, Lula’s oversized voice isn’t a great fit for the classroom—or maybe it is…"
See Katy Duffield's answers to my Three Questions.
See Mike Boldt's answers to my Three Questions.
October 26, 2015
Halloween Reads: BOO-LA-LA WITCH SPA and THE GHOSTS GO SPOOKING
Looking for some new Halloween books to share with young readers? Here are two recent releases that would make fun read-a-louds:
BOO-LA-LA Witch Spa, written by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Isabel Roxas (Penguin Random House):
and THE GHOSTS GO SPOOKING, written by Chrissy Bozik and illustrated by Patricia Storms (Scholastic Canada):
October 23, 2015
New free, print-ready poster: "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend" Groucho Marx quote
With a slightly creepy feel appropriate to Halloween coming up, I've added one of my favorite Grouch Marx quotes about books to For The Love Of Reading as a free print-ready poster.
For all my free, print-ready material, visit Debbie's Print-Ready Archive For Teachers, Librarians, Booksellers and Young Readers.
October 22, 2015
October 21, 2015
Three Questions With Mike Boldt: Advice For Young Writers, Storm Troopers, LOUD LULA
Also see Three Questions With Katy Duffield, author of LOUD LULA.
Mike Boldt has been illustrating for kids for the last 16 years. Over that time he's worked on puzzles, video games, comics, and even toy design. He now spends most of his days writing and /or illustrating picture books such as 123 VERSUS ABC, COLORS VERSUS SHAPES, and I DON'T WANT TO BE A FROG. Mike lives just outside Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife and three children.
You can find out more about Mike and his work at MikeBoldt.ca, on Twitter at @mikeboldt (where he's most active), Facebook and Tumblr.
LOUD LULA is a new picture book written by Katy Duffield and illustrated by Mike. Also check out yesterday's Three Questions with Katy Duffield.
LOUD LULA synopsis (launches from Two Lions on Oct. 27, 2015):
In this southern-flavored tall tale, little ol’ Lula’s big ol’ voice wreaks ten kinds of havoc from the day she’s born, and that doesn’t change one smidgen when Lula starts kindergarten. As you might imagine, Lula’s oversized voice isn’t a great fit for the classroom—or maybe it is…
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
This is Stormy, my Storm Trooper friend. It's not a very inventive name, and in real life his name was probably Tim or Julian, but Stormy as I know him has been with me for at least 16-18 years. He was my brother and myself's first room mate actually. Then, nearly 9 years ago, Stormy moved with me to my studio when I started out my pursuit of publishing books. He now stands normally over my left shoulder in background and protects everything when I'm not around - or he keeps me on track for my deadlines.
Q. What advice do you have for young writers and/or illustrators?
I would suggest to anyone who wants to get into publishing that it will be to you what you treat it like. If you treat writing/illustrating as a hobby, there's a chance that's all it will ever be. Hobbies are for "fun" and you can walk away and pick it up at any time. But if you treat it like your career, there is a similar commitment you'll have to make to it as you would a regular job. There's a chance you'll be more willing deal with opposition, perseverance, rejection, if you recognize it's now a part of your job, and the success you find will be cherished because of how hard you've had to work for it.
Q. What are you excited about right now?
I'm excited about a number of things these days. LOUD LULA's launch on the 27th feels right around the corner and I can't wait to see folks reading it. It's a really funny story that I felt I could relate to very well with my own children. The first of three chapter books I've illustrated, THE DINO FILES by Stacy McAnulty, is out in January, which was a totally different challenge from picture books. I'm also working on another hilarious FROG book with Dev Petty which I believe is coming out at around the same time as my next picture book A TIGER TAIL with S&S next year. This all said, picture books in general have me excited these days. Every week it seems I'm alerted to a new book's release that looks incredible and can't wait to read. It's a very inspiring time to be in the publishing world, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of it.
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
October 20, 2015
Three Questions With Katy Duffield: Advice For Young Writers, Persistence and LOUD LULA
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Katy Duffield is the author of twenty books for children including the picture books FARMER MCPEEPERS AND HIS MISSING MILK COWS (illus Steve Gray Rising Moon), LOUD LULA (illus Mike Boldt, Two Lions) and the forthcoming ALIENS GET THE SNIFFLES, TOO (illus K.G. Campbell, Candlewick).
LOUD LULA's illustrator, Mike Boldt, will be answering Three Questions for me on Inkygirl tomorrow, so do check back!
You can find Katy at KatyDuffield.com and on Twitter at @KatyDuffield.
LOUD LULA synopsis (launches from Two Lions on Oct. 27, 2015):
In this southern-flavored tall tale, little ol’ Lula’s big ol’ voice wreaks ten kinds of havoc from the day she’s born, and that doesn’t change one smidgen when Lula starts kindergarten. As you might imagine, Lula’s oversized voice isn’t a great fit for the classroom—or maybe it is…
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
I’ve had this papier-mâché rocking horse for close to thirty years. I don’t know what about it caught my eye when I purchased it for a whopping six bucks. Maybe it was simply its whimsy or maybe it was because I’ve always been an animal lover and a kid at heart.
And I don’t know why I’ve held onto it for all of these years. Maybe it’s because I owned and showed quarter horses or maybe it’s because I can still see my son as a baby sitting astride it. Lately, though, since I recently lost my mom, it’s taken on another meaning.
I bought the rocking horse at a shop that Mom and I often visited. Looking at the horse now reminds me of our frequent, fervent shopping trips. I see Mom and I roaming up and down the store aisles, pointing out this adorable purse or that sparkly candlestick. I see us sniffing new scents at the perfume counter and dodging raindrops, heading back to the car before a storm hits. I see us sitting across from one another, sharing stories, sharing laughs over Crab Rangoon and Cashew Chicken. When I look at the rocking horse now, I’m transported back to that time; I see my mom. I see the good times we shared.
If I wasn’t sure before, I’m now convinced that my bargain rocking horse is worth a whole lot more to me than the six dollars I paid for it. It’s amazing the memories a “knick-knack” like Rocky can evoke. I think I’ll keep him—maybe even another thirty years or so.
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
Sometimes it’s hard to know what happens next in a story. Sometimes the stories in our heads don’t match up with the stories we get down on paper. Or we get THE GREATEST IDEA EVER, but we can’t come up with the perfect ending. And you know what happens then… FRUUUUSSSTRATION!!
When these frustrations hit, the easiest thing to do is wad up your story and throw it in the trash. All you have to do is hit the delete key or rip that paper to shreds and frustration fizzles. But my advice to you is—hang tight to all of your stories—even the ones you think are awful—even the unfinished ones—because you never know where they might take you…
My latest picture book, LOUD LULA, illustrated by Mike Boldt, is a great argument for not throwing away ANY writing. I first began working on LULA (the main character’s name was originally Hazel) in 2004. 2004! I’d written probably three-fourths of the manuscript at that time, but I could never come up with a strong, funny ending. I fiddled with it off and on for a while, but then, since nothing I did was working (I was FRUSTRATED!), I put it away and moved on to other projects.
Then one day, SEVEN YEARS later, I was going through some old documents on my computer, and I ran across Hazel/Lula’s story. As I read it through, I giggled. I thought, you know, this isn’t half bad. In fact, it’s kind of cute. BUT…it still didn’t have an ending. I pulled it out anyway and started working on it again.
I’d love to tell you that the perfect ending came to me instantly, that I sent it out, and that it was immediately snapped up by a publisher, but that didn’t happen. I STILL had to work and search and struggle for that just-right ending. But that’s okay—I eventually found it. And now I’m celebrating the publication of a new picture book—all because I didn’t throw away the original story.
And speaking of writing tips, I hope you’ll look for a new feature on my Twitter feed (and website)—#tips4youngwriters—Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, I tweet a new writing tip that I hope will inspire kid writers to take their own writing journey. I hope you’ll join me!
Q. What are you excited about right now?
As a first-time grandmother, it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that I’m excited about my beautiful granddaughter, Amelia. And I am, of course, but what I’m also really excited about is Amelia’s immense love for books. I have never seen a 15-month old so obsessed with books. As long as you’ll read to her, she’ll bring you another and another and another book off of her overstuffed bookcase. And the extra-special part is that it won’t do for her to sit beside you or in front of you while you read. No reading can take place until she’s properly situated in your lap. Thanks, Debbie for indulging me as I include a photo of Amelia surrounded by some of her books. ☺
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
October 18, 2015
Be aware when research & prep becomes a crutch. At some point, you need to jump in & WRITE.
Be aware when research & prep becomes a crutch. At some point, you need to jump in & WRITE.
I love creating found object doodles and post them on Instagram, "Found Object Art" gallery on Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr and in my Found Object Art portfolio.
Tips for SCBWI Conference newbies and 2nd-timers plus challenge for many-timers
Registration opens tomorrow for the SCBWI Winter Conference! You can follow the pre-conference excitement virtually via the #NY16SCBWI hashtag on Twitter as well as the SCBWI conference blog. Do read Jennifer Laughran's recent "Ask The Agent" post about SCBWI-NYC.
I'm excited about rooming with my friend Hazel Mitchell again this year. Hazel's also my agency sister! Both of us adore Ginger Knowlton, our agent at Curtis Brown.
Here's my updated SCBWI Conference Advice post for first-timers (as well as a challenge for the many-timers):
If you're a conference newbie who is nervous, I encourage you to browse my SCBWI Conference Newbie comics. I created these when I was a nervous newbie as well! So many people think I'm an extrovert, but I'm actually very much an introvert and was terrified (to the point of sweating palms, pounding heart, hating the idea of having go up and introduce myself over and over) about attending my first regular SCBWI conference back in 2009.
(Edit re: above comic: I did end up meeting Jay at the conference and he was really nice! And he didn't mention his Amazon ranking EVEN ONCE! Heh.)
I've posted advice for first-timers before and will post it again at the end of this piece, but now that I've attended other SCBWI annual conferences (and had my career jumpstarted because of the 2010 SCBWI-LA Conference), here is some additional advice I have for those who have attended more than once:
Don't get offended or disheartened if people you've met before don't remember you.
This is something I've learned from both sides. As a 2nd- and 3rd-timer (and so on), I've sometimes gone up to a person or group I've met and had my confidence deflated when it becomes clear they don't remember me at ALL from the previous year. My inner reactions ranged from embarrassment, humiliation, irritation, frustration and even brief anger ("I guess I'm just NOT IMPORTANT enough for xxx to remember!! Hmph.").
Having attended many times now, I've learned the following:
- I'm terrible at remembering people unless I've had multiple conversations or interactions with the same person.
- Even then, especially if I'm tired or am in a noisy crowd (remember what I said earlier about being an introvert?) or have met many new people in a row just before, I may still forget having met someone before.
I still accidentally re-introduce myself to people whom I've met before, sometimes whom I've met EARLIER IN THE CONVENTION. I'm always horribly embarrassed when this happens.
Make sure your name badge is easily visible.
Also, when I approach someone whom I've met before but with whom I don't have constant contact, I usually try saying something that will help remind them of our mutual context, or remind them of having met at xxx. Until I'm sure they actually do remember me, I try very hard NOT to put them on the spot (e.g. I don't say, "So, what did you think of my most recent post?" etc.).
When someone does this to me (subtly or unsubtly :-) setting the context and helping me remember), I immediately feel more at ease with them and am more likely to want to chat with them in the future.
Another tip: if someone DOES remember you, never assume that they're up-to-date on all your exciting news. I've had the occasional person react badly when they realize I'm not aware of their new book ("?? But I posted it all over Facebook!") I never assume anyone reads all my posts or keeps up with all my news. People have busy lives and different priorities.
Something else I've learned: even so-called Big Name authors and illustrators can be insecure. I am faaaar from being a Big Name, but having had a bit more experience at conference-going now, I also realize how some of the Big Name types who seemed standoffish to me actually weren't.
Be gracious, be forgiving and try very hard to assume the best about a person rather than the worst.
And I apologize ahead of time if I don't remember your name or re-introduce myself. :-\
And here some tips for first-timers who feel nervous about attending for the first time, or are normally very shy or introverted and dread the idea of having to meet a lot of new people:
1. Be brave and make the first move. You'd be surprised at how many other attendees feel exactly the same way as you do. Introduce yourself to people you sit beside, stand in line with, notice standing alone.
2. TAKE BUSINESS CARDS. Yes, even if you aren't published yet. We're all going to meet a lot of people over the weekend, and taking away a business card from an encounter or introduction will help the people you meet remember you. If you're an illustrator, take postcards or make sure a sample of illustration style is on your business card.
3. Have realistic expectations. Don't expect to be "discovered" at the conference.
4. In my experience, you're much more likely to meet new people if you're alone. If you're always chatting and hanging out with the same person or people, you're not as approachable. I'm not saying that you SHOULDN'T hang out with people you like, of course! Just keep in mind that as a group, you're probably not going to meet as many new people as someone who is by themselves.
5. If you're on Twitter, write your Twitter handle on your name badge somewhere.
But most of all: TRY TO HAVE FUN.
***** A CHALLENGE TO THE "MANY-TIMERS" OUT THERE ****
Try to remember what it was like when you attended your very first event, or how insecure you felt in the beginning. Then make it a personal challenge to find at least one lost-looking or nervous conference newbie who is sitting or standing alone. Introduce yourself, chat with them, find out what they're working on, perhaps (if appropriate) offer some advice.
Give good karma and it WILL come back to you.
