Augusta Scattergood's Blog, page 24
February 22, 2015
Happy Birthday BLOG.
In a million years when I first started this blog, seven years ago, I couldn't have dreamed I'd have two books published by this time.
Or that I would have written all these posts, all these days.
Are blogs still being read in this new age of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.? Are posts too long? Do we have a reason for being?
If your answer is yes and you are considering starting your own blog, check out THESE IDEAS for writing your posts.
If you are curious about how my own blog began, here's the very first post.
And this is what I was thinking about last year on my Blog Birthday.
Thank you, friends and family, for stopping by to see what's up in my world of books et al.
February 20, 2015
And the winner is...
Leigh Anne EckClark Middle School (Indiana)
Congratulations! The giveaway was a HUGE success.With tons of entries. Wow. We're thinking this will be an annual event. Stay tuned till next February.
And thanks for all the amazing work you do.
Authors Love TeachersWe love your hard work, your enthusiasm and your dreams!
Congratulations! The giveaway was a HUGE success.With tons of entries. Wow. We're thinking this will be an annual event. Stay tuned till next February.
And thanks for all the amazing work you do.
Authors Love TeachersWe love your hard work, your enthusiasm and your dreams!
February 17, 2015
My Winter so far
I promise, people of the Frozen North, no pictures of sunshine and sand.
I spent a longer-than-planned weekend in Chicago. My first visit to the American Library Association's Midwinter Conference as a writer!
One of my very first school visits to celebrate THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY. The Gombert Elementary School, hosted by the great Anderson's Books. I spoke at two schools but alas, my wonderful photographer and I mostly got pictures at one.
Signing books. Their school mascot is the Gator. I felt right at home.
At the first school, Puffer Elementary in Downer's Grove, I noticed a wall filled with Dots!
A break between schools.Time to rest and relax at the Naperville Public Library. This was at the check-out desk.
Something I have never seen in my many school visits in Florida.
A day at the Chicago Art Institute with my friend Patty. Fascinating library!
And then it started to snow. And snow. And snow. I was warm and cozy inside my hotel.
We ate some amazing food. A lot of amazing food.
AND I got to hear the announcements of all the ALA awards. A highlight of the weekend.
Thank you, Scholastic for inviting me to be a part of that terrific event!
PS: I love the signature on my Anderson's Book Fair contact's emails. So true, right?
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." ~Dr. Seuss
I spent a longer-than-planned weekend in Chicago. My first visit to the American Library Association's Midwinter Conference as a writer!
One of my very first school visits to celebrate THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY. The Gombert Elementary School, hosted by the great Anderson's Books. I spoke at two schools but alas, my wonderful photographer and I mostly got pictures at one.
Signing books. Their school mascot is the Gator. I felt right at home.
At the first school, Puffer Elementary in Downer's Grove, I noticed a wall filled with Dots!
A break between schools.Time to rest and relax at the Naperville Public Library. This was at the check-out desk.
Something I have never seen in my many school visits in Florida.
A day at the Chicago Art Institute with my friend Patty. Fascinating library!
And then it started to snow. And snow. And snow. I was warm and cozy inside my hotel.
We ate some amazing food. A lot of amazing food.
AND I got to hear the announcements of all the ALA awards. A highlight of the weekend.
Thank you, Scholastic for inviting me to be a part of that terrific event!
PS: I love the signature on my Anderson's Book Fair contact's emails. So true, right?
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." ~Dr. Seuss
February 14, 2015
We Love Teachers BIG Giveaway!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Can you imagine a better Valentine's gift than a whole bunch of books?
And what if they were brand new signed-by-the-author books just perfect for you and your students?
Interested?
Here are the rules.
The giveaway is open to any teacher, any subject, media specialists, reading specialists, librarians, whatever title you possess.
We want you and your students to have these books. Because teachers are our Rock Stars, you know.
Leave a comment to my blog.
Or tweet, using #MGAuthorsLoveTeachers. You must use that hashtag or we won't know you're out there!
You may also stop by Lynda Mullaly Hunt's blog and leave your comment there:
https://lyndamullalyhunt.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/middle-grade-authors-love-teachers-giveaway-mgauthorsloveteachers/
And some day soon, after February 19 to be exact, your mailbox will begin to fill with these beautiful books.
If you're a teacher of older kids, enter the Great YA Giveaway by clicking over to THIS BLOG, or by tweeting #YAAuthorsLoveTeachers.
Good luck and comment/ tweet soon!
____________________________
Rules: ***Giveaway ends on Wednesday, February 18th at 11:59 PM. Winner will be announced on the 19th.
1) This is to show our appreciation for teachers and librarians, specifically. Therefore, the winner must have a school mailing address and be presently employed at that school. (Sorry–no international winners this time.)
***2) Please remember this giveaway is all about appreciation. We know that teachers do not get the appreciation they deserve. This giveaway is a reminder that WE appreciate you. Yes—we write the books, but YOU get the books into the hands of our readers. For that we are most thankful.
THANK YOU for visiting our giveaway!
February 12, 2015
Book Party in Pictures
Last night we had a party!
Any excuse to celebrate books, right?
Thank you to all the great people who came. I especially loved seeing the teachers and media specialist on the front row who trekked in from Plant City and made a Girls Night Out of the evening. And bought my books to take back to their school. And to Joan, my friend from last year's school visit to her library.
For those of you who don't know this store,
INKWOOD BOOKS has been transformed by the amazing owner, Stephanie.
I missed her last night because she was at Winter Institute (a pretty good excuse, right?).
Her daughter, a voracious reader and member of their kids' Book Club, came and told me she loved my book.
Sigh.
Amanda and her helpers ran the show, made the introductions, sold a lot of books.
Thanks, guys!
Somehow I missed a photo of the card catalog display but I did capture the typewriter!
I was surrounded by critique group members, past and present. And fun food and drink.
There were a lot of writerly questions.
After everyone left, I thought of some better answers.
Of course.
Doesn't that always happen?
One question still rattles around in my head.
"Was it harder writing a boy narrating this than having a girl narrate GLORY BE?"
I gave what I thought was an adequate answer.
But here's another thing. I did have to pay attention to what Theo actually sees and notes in both dialog and interior monolog, which is the same thing, kind of, when you're writing in first person. And when I stepped over the line into girlie talk that didn't fit Theo's personality, my writer friends pulled me back.
A boy like Theo might not notice Miss Sister's hair or dress or tap shoes the same way a girl would. He might describe things a bit differently from Glory. But I don't think I can only narrate stories told by girls like me. That's when research and careful reading and writing kick in. So there's a longer answer to that question.
To the person who asked about outlining in advance v. jumping right in, so to speak.
Here are the links I mentioned.
PRE-WRITING WORKOUT by Wendy Mass.
Both my friend Shannon and I can attest to this helpful kickstarter for your plot.
Here's a post I wrote about it. I still love the quote, by the way.
NANOWRIMO= National Novel Writing Month.
November. For all ages. It's fun. But prepare to re-write.
Any excuse to celebrate books, right?
Thank you to all the great people who came. I especially loved seeing the teachers and media specialist on the front row who trekked in from Plant City and made a Girls Night Out of the evening. And bought my books to take back to their school. And to Joan, my friend from last year's school visit to her library.
For those of you who don't know this store,
INKWOOD BOOKS has been transformed by the amazing owner, Stephanie.
I missed her last night because she was at Winter Institute (a pretty good excuse, right?).
Her daughter, a voracious reader and member of their kids' Book Club, came and told me she loved my book.
Sigh.
Amanda and her helpers ran the show, made the introductions, sold a lot of books.
Thanks, guys!
Somehow I missed a photo of the card catalog display but I did capture the typewriter!
I was surrounded by critique group members, past and present. And fun food and drink.
There were a lot of writerly questions.
After everyone left, I thought of some better answers.
Of course.
Doesn't that always happen?
One question still rattles around in my head.
"Was it harder writing a boy narrating this than having a girl narrate GLORY BE?"
I gave what I thought was an adequate answer.
But here's another thing. I did have to pay attention to what Theo actually sees and notes in both dialog and interior monolog, which is the same thing, kind of, when you're writing in first person. And when I stepped over the line into girlie talk that didn't fit Theo's personality, my writer friends pulled me back.
A boy like Theo might not notice Miss Sister's hair or dress or tap shoes the same way a girl would. He might describe things a bit differently from Glory. But I don't think I can only narrate stories told by girls like me. That's when research and careful reading and writing kick in. So there's a longer answer to that question.
To the person who asked about outlining in advance v. jumping right in, so to speak.
Here are the links I mentioned.
PRE-WRITING WORKOUT by Wendy Mass.
Both my friend Shannon and I can attest to this helpful kickstarter for your plot.
Here's a post I wrote about it. I still love the quote, by the way.
NANOWRIMO= National Novel Writing Month.
November. For all ages. It's fun. But prepare to re-write.
February 8, 2015
SETTING: 101
Today I'm thinking about setting.
(I'll be musing even more about this topic when I share my new book on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7 PM at INKWOOD BOOKS in Tampa. I'd love to see you there!)
When I started writing THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY, I had just moved to Florida. I was a total Fish Out of Water. The flora and fauna mystified me!
Can you-- should you-- write about a place you've never visited, never lived, know nothing about? Well, here I was. Surrounded by setting.
I took a lot of walks and lots of pictures. I felt the Spanish moss, the prickly aloe plants, the fat green leaves where tiny lizards hid.
There were many houses that looked just like the Rest Easy Rooming House and Dance Studio!
And there were flowers everywhere.
Take bougainvillea.
On a walk near the library where I was writing, there it was. Gorgeous.
Look at those tiny white centers. Perfect- I'd never noticed them before.
There's a DO NOT ENTER sign at the footpath to this garden.
So at first I didn't see the fig tree.
Just like the one I grew up playing under, low and bushy.
Mine was a great hiding place.
But that day I saw figs. Not ripe figs, but figs.
Which reminded me to put a fig tree in something new I'm noodling.
There's already a garden in that story.
Where of course, there would be pots for raising cuttings, starting seeds, Pass-a-long Plants.
This one's not set in Florida, but in the South where everybody had a garden, many started from plants shared with neighbors.
Perfect.
So work on your settings, writers young and old.
Add that layer of richness, the color and the smells.
And for anyone freezing all over the country today, here's a beautiful Poinciana tree that will bloom in late spring near my house.
I love this picture.When I took it last year, there was a sign next to it saying what kind of tree it was and Please Do Not Pick the Branches or the Blooms.
Shared Links, about setting:
Barbara O'Connor quoting Elizabeth George. What could be better?http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2008/09/writing-tip-tuesday_16.html
A reminder of how the setting can change your character in this review of a book by Kimberley Griffiths Little, set in Louisiana:http://www.shalleemcarthur.com/2011/05/book-reviews-for-writers-deepening.html
And okay, I know you can't travel everywhere. Or even find pictures of everything. (Hogwarts, anyone?) So here are some tips for figuring out setting in Fantasy and Science Fiction. http://marissameyer.livejournal.com/244238.html
(I'll be musing even more about this topic when I share my new book on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7 PM at INKWOOD BOOKS in Tampa. I'd love to see you there!)
When I started writing THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY, I had just moved to Florida. I was a total Fish Out of Water. The flora and fauna mystified me!
Can you-- should you-- write about a place you've never visited, never lived, know nothing about? Well, here I was. Surrounded by setting.
I took a lot of walks and lots of pictures. I felt the Spanish moss, the prickly aloe plants, the fat green leaves where tiny lizards hid.
There were many houses that looked just like the Rest Easy Rooming House and Dance Studio!
And there were flowers everywhere.
Take bougainvillea.
On a walk near the library where I was writing, there it was. Gorgeous.
Look at those tiny white centers. Perfect- I'd never noticed them before.
There's a DO NOT ENTER sign at the footpath to this garden.
So at first I didn't see the fig tree.
Just like the one I grew up playing under, low and bushy.
Mine was a great hiding place.
But that day I saw figs. Not ripe figs, but figs.
Which reminded me to put a fig tree in something new I'm noodling.
There's already a garden in that story.
Where of course, there would be pots for raising cuttings, starting seeds, Pass-a-long Plants.
This one's not set in Florida, but in the South where everybody had a garden, many started from plants shared with neighbors.
Perfect.
So work on your settings, writers young and old.
Add that layer of richness, the color and the smells.
And for anyone freezing all over the country today, here's a beautiful Poinciana tree that will bloom in late spring near my house.
I love this picture.When I took it last year, there was a sign next to it saying what kind of tree it was and Please Do Not Pick the Branches or the Blooms.
Shared Links, about setting:
Barbara O'Connor quoting Elizabeth George. What could be better?http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2008/09/writing-tip-tuesday_16.html
A reminder of how the setting can change your character in this review of a book by Kimberley Griffiths Little, set in Louisiana:http://www.shalleemcarthur.com/2011/05/book-reviews-for-writers-deepening.html
And okay, I know you can't travel everywhere. Or even find pictures of everything. (Hogwarts, anyone?) So here are some tips for figuring out setting in Fantasy and Science Fiction. http://marissameyer.livejournal.com/244238.html
February 6, 2015
Anne Tyler
Has a new book coming. What an absolutely gorgeous cover!
CLICK RIGHT HERE to read a super interview and essay from the Wall Street Journal about her and her writing.
Love this:
She treats her creativity as a leap of faith. She won’t read her reviews, worried that, good or bad, they will interfere with her work. Over her desk, where she writes novels in longhand, she keeps a quote from the poet Richard Wilbur, which reads in part: “Step off assuredly into the blank of your mind. Something will come to you.”
You might also like:
This, about her writing.
And an Anne Tyler quote, from one of my very earliest posts:
"All really satisfying stories, I believe, can generally be described as spend-thrift... A spendthrift story has a strange way of seeming bigger than the sum of its parts; it is stuffed full; it gives the sense of possessing further information that could be divulged if called for."
CLICK RIGHT HERE to read a super interview and essay from the Wall Street Journal about her and her writing.
Love this:
She treats her creativity as a leap of faith. She won’t read her reviews, worried that, good or bad, they will interfere with her work. Over her desk, where she writes novels in longhand, she keeps a quote from the poet Richard Wilbur, which reads in part: “Step off assuredly into the blank of your mind. Something will come to you.”
You might also like:
This, about her writing.
And an Anne Tyler quote, from one of my very earliest posts:
"All really satisfying stories, I believe, can generally be described as spend-thrift... A spendthrift story has a strange way of seeming bigger than the sum of its parts; it is stuffed full; it gives the sense of possessing further information that could be divulged if called for."
February 4, 2015
Top Ten...
While I was gone, celebrating books and librarians and enjoying a few Chicago snow flakes, my Nerdy Book Club blogpost went up.
Here's the link to the TOP TEN THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM KIDS ABOUT WRITING A BOOK.
https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/top-ten-things-ive-learned-from-kids-about-writing-a-book-by-augusta-scattergood/
It was a fun thing to write. I love those Book Nerds.
And dogs, too. My number ONE thing I've learned.
Here's the link to the TOP TEN THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM KIDS ABOUT WRITING A BOOK.
https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/top-ten-things-ive-learned-from-kids-about-writing-a-book-by-augusta-scattergood/
It was a fun thing to write. I love those Book Nerds.
And dogs, too. My number ONE thing I've learned.
January 28, 2015
Introducing Your Book to the World
The best time to launch a book set in sunny Florida? Why, January of course! Who knew?
But is there a better time to think about bourgainvillia, baseball spring training, and best friends hanging out at the beach? Especially if you're digging out from a foot of snow. (Sorry, friends up there freezing and shoveling.)
I loved having my Book Launch Party at the wonderful Dunedin Public Library. Thank you to the terrific librarians. Thanks also to the fabulous librarian at the Curtis Fundamental School in Dunedin for supporting the event.
Jan Hager's students at Curtis Fundamental (who hadn't even read the book because- hey- it wasn't a book yet) made super posters for her contest.
The judges chose five winners: Alexandra, Anna, Ava, Mckenzie, and Alaya and Sara.
Here they are!
Poor Theo! What a dilemma! You can see it on his face.
Anabel and Theo= friends forever.
Wow! Look at the cool colors. Great bat.
The choices we make along the way to our destiny...
A peace symbol, lots of musical notes, fabulous piano.
Here I am, yacking away, signing a few books.
Thanks, Barnes & Noble for bringing and selling so many!
One of my original Florida SCBWI critique group members lives in Dunedin. Denis always supports our Tampa Bay gang. My writer friends Sue and Teddie were also there, along with lots of new friends and so many kids with their families. What a great afternoon!
Note the library camera guy in the background and my basket of goodies on the table. Lots going on. Lots of fun.
I truly appreciate everybody who came, all of you who've bought THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY , and especially those who've shared your nice thoughts about the book.
I guess it's real.
If you're still scrolling, thank you.
If you have a few minutes and haven't had enough of me, the wonderful Dunedin librarian just emailed the video from my presentation. Be warned- it's not short.
:)
But is there a better time to think about bourgainvillia, baseball spring training, and best friends hanging out at the beach? Especially if you're digging out from a foot of snow. (Sorry, friends up there freezing and shoveling.)
I loved having my Book Launch Party at the wonderful Dunedin Public Library. Thank you to the terrific librarians. Thanks also to the fabulous librarian at the Curtis Fundamental School in Dunedin for supporting the event.
Jan Hager's students at Curtis Fundamental (who hadn't even read the book because- hey- it wasn't a book yet) made super posters for her contest.
The judges chose five winners: Alexandra, Anna, Ava, Mckenzie, and Alaya and Sara.
Here they are!
Poor Theo! What a dilemma! You can see it on his face.
Anabel and Theo= friends forever.
Wow! Look at the cool colors. Great bat.
The choices we make along the way to our destiny...
A peace symbol, lots of musical notes, fabulous piano.
Here I am, yacking away, signing a few books.
Thanks, Barnes & Noble for bringing and selling so many!
One of my original Florida SCBWI critique group members lives in Dunedin. Denis always supports our Tampa Bay gang. My writer friends Sue and Teddie were also there, along with lots of new friends and so many kids with their families. What a great afternoon!
Note the library camera guy in the background and my basket of goodies on the table. Lots going on. Lots of fun.
I truly appreciate everybody who came, all of you who've bought THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY , and especially those who've shared your nice thoughts about the book.
I guess it's real.
If you're still scrolling, thank you.
If you have a few minutes and haven't had enough of me, the wonderful Dunedin librarian just emailed the video from my presentation. Be warned- it's not short.
:)
January 26, 2015
Writers Love Readers
One question I often get from kids involves "favorites."
Which character do you like most?
Which chapter was your favorite to write?
And now, which is your favorite book?
Of course, authors always compare it to having a favorite child, or student, or pet.
Taking the easy way out of that question!
But I truly don't have a favorite. I have favorite scenes, yes. Okay, you can call them chapters. And maybe I like a character a lot. But favorites? That's harder.
And just because a new book comes out, we're not forsaking our firstborns.
That's what tickled me so much when my writer friend SHANA BURG sent this video to share her young neighbor's enthusiasm for GLORY BE.
Thanks, ladies. This tickles me to no end.
(Her name is Jocelyn. I wrote her a note and told her I thought of giving my character Jesslyn that name. And okay, Jesslyn might just be near the top of my favorite character list.)
Which character do you like most?
Which chapter was your favorite to write?
And now, which is your favorite book?
Of course, authors always compare it to having a favorite child, or student, or pet.
Taking the easy way out of that question!
But I truly don't have a favorite. I have favorite scenes, yes. Okay, you can call them chapters. And maybe I like a character a lot. But favorites? That's harder.
And just because a new book comes out, we're not forsaking our firstborns.
That's what tickled me so much when my writer friend SHANA BURG sent this video to share her young neighbor's enthusiasm for GLORY BE.
Thanks, ladies. This tickles me to no end.
(Her name is Jocelyn. I wrote her a note and told her I thought of giving my character Jesslyn that name. And okay, Jesslyn might just be near the top of my favorite character list.)
