Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 130

Guest Post: Karen Rock on Happily-Ever-(NOT): Writing Unforgettable Endings

Get to Know Karen Rock!By Karen Rock
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
Warning: some spoilers for model books.

Many jobs entail courage and risk. Writing is one of them. Creating unforgettable endings that are not ‘Happily-Ever-After’ may be one of the bravest and most honest things an author can do.

Sure, it might mean opening your P.O. Box with one-eye shut, bracing yourself for penned diatribes. Some fans may chastise you for leaving out the rainbow-unicorn finish.

Brace yourself. The con...

Guest Post & Giveaway: Varsha Bajaj on Reading Across Borders & Cultures

Varsha (taller girl) with her mother and sister.By Varsha Bajaj
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

I grew up reading cross culturally because I didn’t have a choice. In the late '60s and '70s, British and American authors wrote the children’s literature available in India.

While I had not seen anyone with red hair like Anne Shirley in Anne of the Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (1908), I understood her desire to please Marilla Cuthbert; it was the same as my desire to please my mother.

I...

Guest Post: Pamela S. Turner on Telling True Stories

By Pamela S. Turner
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

It's hard to write a boring book about dolphins. They are the low-hanging fruit of reader interest.

Dolphins have personalities. Dolphins are active, highly social, and ridiculously smart.

Who doesn't love dolphins?

To write The Dolphins of Shark Bay, with photographs by Scott Tuason (Harcourt, 2013), I traveled to Western Australia and spent a couple of weeks tagging along with Janet Mann, a scientist who has been studying bottlenose dol...

Guest Post & Giveaway: Debbie Ridpath Ohi on Illustrating Naked! (& what I did differently from I'm Bored)

By Debbie Ridpath Ohi
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

Naked! is a new picture book written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by yours truly, published by Simon & Schuster at the end of April 2014.

This was my second picture book project and second collaboration with Michael.

While some aspects of the process stayed the same, I also discovered several differences.

​In this guest post, I'm going to tell you some of them as well as what I've learned, in case it helps other writer/illus...

Guest Post: Christopher Cheng on SCBWI: Celebrating 10 Years in Bologna

SCBWI Bologna BoothBy Christopher Cheng
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

The SCBWI booth, a hotbed of activity? Yes, according to Publishers Weekly!

This year the SCBWI celebrated 10 years in Bologna. We have had a Bologna Children's Book Fair presence every second year since 2004. That first booth was under the direction of the Erzsi Deak.

Here's a peek at what happened at the 2014 SCBWI booth from March 24 to March 27.

Showcasing the PAL works of our members and regions worldwide is what S...

In Memory: Maya Angelou

Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Remembering Maya Angelou from NBC News. Peek: "The renowned poet, author and civil rights activist with the unmistakably regal voice died on May 28 at the age of 86."

Wishing You "Amazing Peace," Maya Angelou by Sylvia Vardell from Poetry for Children. Peek: "Maya Angelou published several works for young readers, including..."

In a Commanding Literary Voice, Maya Angelou Sang Out to the World by Elizabeth Alexander from The New York Times. Peek:...

Cynsational News & Giveaways

Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

The Fight for Desegregation by Julie Danielson from Kirkus Reviews. Note: Focusing on Duncan Tonatiuh’s Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation (Abrams, 2014). Peek: "My artwork is very much inspired by Pre-Columbian art, especially by Mixtec codices from the 14th century. That is why my art is very geometric, my characters are always in profile, and their ears look a bit like the number three. My intenti...

Guest Post & Giveaway: Stefan Bachmann, Katherine Catmull, Claire Legrand & Emma Trevayne on Writing Prompts

By Stefan Bachmann, Katherine Catmull, Claire Legrand & Emma Trevayne
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

The Cabinet of Curiosities began in January 2013 as a spooky-stories website devised by Emma Trevayne, who invited Stefan Bachmann, Katherine Catmull, and Claire Legrand to join her.

Each month they choose a theme, from cake to love to Halloween, and each Wednesday, one of them posts a scary middle-grade story written to that prompt.

On May 27, 2014, Greenwillow/HarperCollins released...

Guest Post: Jennifer Ziegler on How to Live Happily Ever After With Another Writer

Authors Chris Barton & Jennifer Ziegler; photo by Sam Bond PhotographyBy Jennifer Ziegler
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

I keep getting asked: “What is it like, living with another writer?”

Chris Barton, the love of my life, who lives with me in a not-quite-big-enough house in Austin, also writes books for young people.

This shared pursuit brought us together in the first place, and had a lot to do with our courtship.

Now it’s a huge part of our marriage.

I think what people are specifi...

Guest Post: Gail Giles on Writing Across Mental Abilities

By Gail Giles
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

Okay, so I’m going to try to write a book that fully explores the life of a special needs girl, two of them in fact. And I’m going to do in in alternating voices—in first person.

How do I get in the heads of people that I am not? Whose mental abilities are different that mine?

First, I have a background. I taught special needs (the upper end) in my classes when I taught high school.

 Some would be able to read and some never would, but they...