Augusta Scattergood's Blog, page 46
June 6, 2013
The Esthers...
The wisdom acquired with the passage of time is a useless gift unless you share it.
Esther Williams
When I named the synchronized swimmers at the Community Pool for the most famous swimming movie star of the 1950s, I was certain young readers of my novel GLORY BE wouldn't really get why I'd called those friends of Mrs. Simpson's
THE ESTHERS.
(Of course, I wasn't too sure they'd understand who Elvis Presley was either. Shows what I know.)
Check out the swimming suit and high heels. What passed for swim attire in the 1950s...
In an early draft I went on and on, describing the water ballet, having Glory and Frankie watch and comment. On and on and on.
CUT!
When revising, I used a word or two of description, mentioned green hair from the swimming pool, and moved on. But I knew I'd named those ladies for
I love all the layers a story offers. You get what you get, take what you can and skim over what doesn't connect to you as a reader. Note to young readers: only if it's a minor detail like synchronized swimming. Don't skip over the important stuff, please!
Since Esther Williams died today at the age of 90, I'm sharing this treat, clips from her movies.
Click HERE to watch her swimming. And water skiing!
Esther Williams
When I named the synchronized swimmers at the Community Pool for the most famous swimming movie star of the 1950s, I was certain young readers of my novel GLORY BE wouldn't really get why I'd called those friends of Mrs. Simpson's
THE ESTHERS.
(Of course, I wasn't too sure they'd understand who Elvis Presley was either. Shows what I know.)
Check out the swimming suit and high heels. What passed for swim attire in the 1950s...
In an early draft I went on and on, describing the water ballet, having Glory and Frankie watch and comment. On and on and on.
CUT!
When revising, I used a word or two of description, mentioned green hair from the swimming pool, and moved on. But I knew I'd named those ladies for
I love all the layers a story offers. You get what you get, take what you can and skim over what doesn't connect to you as a reader. Note to young readers: only if it's a minor detail like synchronized swimming. Don't skip over the important stuff, please!
Since Esther Williams died today at the age of 90, I'm sharing this treat, clips from her movies.
Click HERE to watch her swimming. And water skiing!
June 3, 2013
Florida in my Rear View Mirror
Although I'm happy to be back in New Jersey for the summer, there are so many things I'll miss about Florida. Especially my Critique Group friends.
At my final meeting, we stayed for lunch. And we chose a new, more-appropriate-to-our-group name: Skyway Writers, reflecting our trips to and fro, all around Tampa Bay. Plus, I like the image. Can't you picture floating in a cloud with your ideas?
Our fearless leader Teddie Aggeles gave us gifts (she made the adorable blue bags for each member). Colorful paper clips, tiny writing pad, candy-- I thought I'd looked carefully at the treats inside. But I'd missed one. See that tiny eraser?
I don't know if each eraser holds a different message.
But I know mine is most appropriate.
FAITH.
Yep, that's what I had all these years.
It may not happen overnight- the faith in your own writing. But eventually we have to believe that the writing skills will develop, the critique group will be downright perfect, and the book will get published.
Know what I mean?
At my final meeting, we stayed for lunch. And we chose a new, more-appropriate-to-our-group name: Skyway Writers, reflecting our trips to and fro, all around Tampa Bay. Plus, I like the image. Can't you picture floating in a cloud with your ideas?
Our fearless leader Teddie Aggeles gave us gifts (she made the adorable blue bags for each member). Colorful paper clips, tiny writing pad, candy-- I thought I'd looked carefully at the treats inside. But I'd missed one. See that tiny eraser?
I don't know if each eraser holds a different message.
But I know mine is most appropriate.
FAITH.
Yep, that's what I had all these years.
It may not happen overnight- the faith in your own writing. But eventually we have to believe that the writing skills will develop, the critique group will be downright perfect, and the book will get published.
Know what I mean?
May 31, 2013
Shameless Self-Promotion
It's come to my attention that GLORY BE seems scarce as hens' teeth (what does that mean anyhow) in all the usual places. Scholastic assures me that will be remedied soon. I think this is a good problem for me to have, but not so good for those readers and gifters who'd love to buy a book. (Perfect for 5th grade graduation, so I'm told!)
If you'd like an autographed book, please check out LEMURIA BOOKS in Jackson, where I signed quite a few. Here's the link: http://www.lemuriabooks.com/index.php
Here's the contact info:
Lemuria Books
202 Banner Hall
4465 I-55 North
Jackson, MS 39206
Phone: 601.366.7619
Toll-free: 800.366.7619
Emily, the children's book buyer, assures me they have enough to last till the next shipment.
Give them a call. Happy gifting!
If you'd like an autographed book, please check out LEMURIA BOOKS in Jackson, where I signed quite a few. Here's the link: http://www.lemuriabooks.com/index.php
Here's the contact info:
Lemuria Books
202 Banner Hall
4465 I-55 North
Jackson, MS 39206
Phone: 601.366.7619
Toll-free: 800.366.7619
Emily, the children's book buyer, assures me they have enough to last till the next shipment.
Give them a call. Happy gifting!
May 30, 2013
KIDLIT Cares
This is SO easy to do. I bet some of you have already donated to the Red Cross. And now, you could also win an autographed book.
Here's the link:
http://www.katemessner.com/lets-help-kidlitcares-for-oklahoma/
Deadline is June 7th, which will be here in a flash. So click on over, send your donation receipt to the email link, and voila! You could be a winner.
Here's the link:
http://www.katemessner.com/lets-help-kidlitcares-for-oklahoma/
Deadline is June 7th, which will be here in a flash. So click on over, send your donation receipt to the email link, and voila! You could be a winner.
May 28, 2013
Happy Summer to All!
A HUGE thanks to all the teachers and librarians who've invited me in to share GLORY BE this year.
As you eat ice cream, race in your Field Games, plan your summer reading, I'm remembering what fun it was to hear your questions, your suggestions, your brilliant ideas for sequels.
Here are a few of my own memories from my final spring school visits. Thanks for having me!
A morning with the fifth graders at Kent Place School, Summit NJ, where I was a librarian for ten years.
I shared my inspiration, Ruby Bridge's speech to faculty and students there. And I signed a lot of books!
While in New Jersey, I also visited the awesome After School Book Group at the Christa McAuliffe Middle School in Jackson Township. What great kids! Here's the table. Decorated for the occasion.
They presented me with my own little Junk Poker box! Filled with all sorts of treasures, including a piece of "Elvis's wallpaper" that's very close to the real thing. Those kids are careful readers. Wow.
A closeup of the table.
(He plays Robbie in the book trailer, below!)
Here they all are!
My last school visit was with the terrific readers at the Nightingale Bamford School in New York. I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I couldn't resist this. She was in a big crowd of adorable finger puppets. Kind of reminded me of Glory in her bathing suit!
As I was leaving, I received a handful of great thank you notes. I love this one. I wonder if she was channeling Elvis.
And now for the crowning glory (no pun intended). The kids at Christa McAuliffe, all on their own, created this book trailer for Glory Be. Thank you, thank you very much!
GLORY BE BOOK TRAILER
Kids and teachers- Click on over to fellow Florida writer Donna Gephart's blog and scroll all the way through to the end for her excellent suggestions of Things to Do This Summer!
And check out the BANK STREET BEST BOOKS of 2013. Some perfect selections, by age and genre, for summer and winter reading!
As you eat ice cream, race in your Field Games, plan your summer reading, I'm remembering what fun it was to hear your questions, your suggestions, your brilliant ideas for sequels.
Here are a few of my own memories from my final spring school visits. Thanks for having me!
A morning with the fifth graders at Kent Place School, Summit NJ, where I was a librarian for ten years.
I shared my inspiration, Ruby Bridge's speech to faculty and students there. And I signed a lot of books!
While in New Jersey, I also visited the awesome After School Book Group at the Christa McAuliffe Middle School in Jackson Township. What great kids! Here's the table. Decorated for the occasion.
They presented me with my own little Junk Poker box! Filled with all sorts of treasures, including a piece of "Elvis's wallpaper" that's very close to the real thing. Those kids are careful readers. Wow.
A closeup of the table.
(He plays Robbie in the book trailer, below!)
Here they all are!
My last school visit was with the terrific readers at the Nightingale Bamford School in New York. I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I couldn't resist this. She was in a big crowd of adorable finger puppets. Kind of reminded me of Glory in her bathing suit!
As I was leaving, I received a handful of great thank you notes. I love this one. I wonder if she was channeling Elvis.
And now for the crowning glory (no pun intended). The kids at Christa McAuliffe, all on their own, created this book trailer for Glory Be. Thank you, thank you very much!
GLORY BE BOOK TRAILER
Kids and teachers- Click on over to fellow Florida writer Donna Gephart's blog and scroll all the way through to the end for her excellent suggestions of Things to Do This Summer!
And check out the BANK STREET BEST BOOKS of 2013. Some perfect selections, by age and genre, for summer and winter reading!
May 23, 2013
What a Beauty!
Driving home from the library just now. I had to stop the car. Gorgeous.
The leaves look like my childhood mimosa tree.
A little sign tacked to the tree trunk says Royal Poinciana.
Underneath, it shows the pronunciation.
Poin- cee- anna
Love it!
The leaves look like my childhood mimosa tree.
A little sign tacked to the tree trunk says Royal Poinciana.
Underneath, it shows the pronunciation.
Poin- cee- anna
Love it!
May 21, 2013
Celebrating, Southern Style
I love my amazing friends in the Tampa Bay writing community. Thanks to the Florida SCBWI for all these connections.
My critique group(s) -- I've slipped into more than one since moving to St. Petersburg-- have been with me every step of the way.
(Thanks, Sue Laneve. Thanks, Sylvia Salsbury for your original hostings!)
Last night my current group and the writers who've supported the journey, organized by our fearless leader Rob Sanders, gathered for a southern supper. Where else but Cracker Barrel!
Here we are, rocking the evening!
(Missing, Sue Laneve and Greg Neri who were off doing exciting things. But definitely part of this book's journey.)
Writers are so creative.
Check out a few of their fun mementos of the book. They are very careful readers of GLORY BE.
Evening in Paris perfume. (I will have to visit THIS shop! http://yesterdazevintage.com)
Candy, lots of vintage candy.
A note, folded into a tight triangle.
A quarter, from 1963, which would surely have been in Glory's Junk Poker box.
The perfect candle: CLOUD 9
A shell, beautifully decorated
A poem, a picture frame
Southern-themed napkins
A tiny worry doll
Very special Elvis memorabilia. Wow.
AND
Floating body parts... eyeball. Teeth. (enough said)
(Not pictured: the cupcake, which I ate. Yum.
Thank you, Nancy Cavanaugh! But that's the box, decorated with kites and a Way to Go sticker, pictured.)
It was a very special evening, filled with fried okra, turnip greens and lots of laughs. The Southern Theme was carried out in full. You writers totally rock. Not just the chairs.
(Rob's napkins. Sigh.)
I'm eternally grateful to these creative people.
Thanks for celebrating GLORY BE's Crystal Kite.
Wow. Cloud 9, indeed.
My critique group(s) -- I've slipped into more than one since moving to St. Petersburg-- have been with me every step of the way.
(Thanks, Sue Laneve. Thanks, Sylvia Salsbury for your original hostings!)
Last night my current group and the writers who've supported the journey, organized by our fearless leader Rob Sanders, gathered for a southern supper. Where else but Cracker Barrel!
Here we are, rocking the evening!
(Missing, Sue Laneve and Greg Neri who were off doing exciting things. But definitely part of this book's journey.)Writers are so creative.
Check out a few of their fun mementos of the book. They are very careful readers of GLORY BE.
Evening in Paris perfume. (I will have to visit THIS shop! http://yesterdazevintage.com)
Candy, lots of vintage candy.
A note, folded into a tight triangle.
A quarter, from 1963, which would surely have been in Glory's Junk Poker box.
The perfect candle: CLOUD 9
A shell, beautifully decorated
A poem, a picture frame
Southern-themed napkins
A tiny worry doll
Very special Elvis memorabilia. Wow.
AND
Floating body parts... eyeball. Teeth. (enough said)
(Not pictured: the cupcake, which I ate. Yum.
Thank you, Nancy Cavanaugh! But that's the box, decorated with kites and a Way to Go sticker, pictured.)
It was a very special evening, filled with fried okra, turnip greens and lots of laughs. The Southern Theme was carried out in full. You writers totally rock. Not just the chairs.
(Rob's napkins. Sigh.)I'm eternally grateful to these creative people.
Thanks for celebrating GLORY BE's Crystal Kite.
Wow. Cloud 9, indeed.
May 19, 2013
True confessions: Google Alerts
Everybody has one. Or that's what I was told before my first book hit the stores.
Mine's kind of lame. Maybe Google's tired of me, but I rarely get a hit reported.
So when I saw something from HERALD De PARIS. Well, you can believe I clicked on that one. Glory Be international!
Turns out, they'd picked up this delightful review on the National Geographic Kids Blog:
http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/17/glory-be/
But still, how cool is this for a person whose almost favorite city is Paris?
Well, okay, my favorite city.
Pretty cool.
SCIENCE
NEWS FOR KIDS
EN FRANÇAIS
Glory Be
BY WIRE NEWS SOURCES ON MAY 18, 2013
BOOK NAME: Glory Be
AUTHOR: Augusta Scattergood
Glory’s lazy summer had been slowing strolling along until a big event happened that didn’t just change her summer, but her whole life! Set in 1960s Mississippi, Glory Be introduces you to Glory, a regular eleven year old girl who bothers her older sister, causes trouble, and looks forward to the swimming pool during the blazing summers. She’s had every birthday celebration there since she could swim, but now there are rumors the pool might close. In fact, nothing in town has been the same since a Yankee girl named Laura and her mother have come from Ohio to stir things up. Apparently those folks in the north don’t care much for segregation. In fact, Laura evens goes so far as to help an African American girl drink out of the white’s only fountain!
Glory doesn’t know any different way of life because she has grown up with segregation. But now there’s all kinds of talk about change such as her best friend leaving her school if it becomes desegregated. All these different opinions are making Glory’s head spin as she witnesses first-hand the civil rights movement starting into motion. She is now faced with some difficult choices as she stands up for what she believes is right.
This book was truly amazing and readers will love it just because it is a good read, and they won’t realize they are learning at the same time. The southern spin on the book also makes it all the more enjoyable, opening up a new window to the world for me as a northerner. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about an interesting topic in our nation’s history or just wants a book to brighten up dark days.
Mine's kind of lame. Maybe Google's tired of me, but I rarely get a hit reported.
So when I saw something from HERALD De PARIS. Well, you can believe I clicked on that one. Glory Be international!
Turns out, they'd picked up this delightful review on the National Geographic Kids Blog:
http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/17/glory-be/
But still, how cool is this for a person whose almost favorite city is Paris?
Well, okay, my favorite city.
Pretty cool.
SCIENCE
NEWS FOR KIDS
EN FRANÇAIS
Glory Be
BY WIRE NEWS SOURCES ON MAY 18, 2013
BOOK NAME: Glory Be
AUTHOR: Augusta Scattergood
Glory’s lazy summer had been slowing strolling along until a big event happened that didn’t just change her summer, but her whole life! Set in 1960s Mississippi, Glory Be introduces you to Glory, a regular eleven year old girl who bothers her older sister, causes trouble, and looks forward to the swimming pool during the blazing summers. She’s had every birthday celebration there since she could swim, but now there are rumors the pool might close. In fact, nothing in town has been the same since a Yankee girl named Laura and her mother have come from Ohio to stir things up. Apparently those folks in the north don’t care much for segregation. In fact, Laura evens goes so far as to help an African American girl drink out of the white’s only fountain!
Glory doesn’t know any different way of life because she has grown up with segregation. But now there’s all kinds of talk about change such as her best friend leaving her school if it becomes desegregated. All these different opinions are making Glory’s head spin as she witnesses first-hand the civil rights movement starting into motion. She is now faced with some difficult choices as she stands up for what she believes is right.
This book was truly amazing and readers will love it just because it is a good read, and they won’t realize they are learning at the same time. The southern spin on the book also makes it all the more enjoyable, opening up a new window to the world for me as a northerner. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about an interesting topic in our nation’s history or just wants a book to brighten up dark days.
May 18, 2013
Thanks, Jaimie!
While I was blabbing nonstop about my book to the most enthusiastic kids in the world (more later on my two weeks in NY/NJ), a fellow Florida SCBWI member posted this interview with me.
http://jaimiengle.com/2013/05/16/augusta-scattergood-an-author-who-is-leaving-her-mark/
Thanks, Jaimie!
If you're so inclined, please pop over and read all of the interesting posts she's shared.
Especially that fascinating piece about how many rejections is Just Enough.
Feel free to comment!
(Jaimie loves comments.)
http://jaimiengle.com/2013/05/16/augusta-scattergood-an-author-who-is-leaving-her-mark/
Thanks, Jaimie!
If you're so inclined, please pop over and read all of the interesting posts she's shared.
Especially that fascinating piece about how many rejections is Just Enough.
Feel free to comment!
(Jaimie loves comments.)
May 15, 2013
Elvis is in the building...
I have so many great stories (and maybe half-great pictures) from this week in NY/NJ.
School visits, Book Group chats, walks in my winter coat. Okay, maybe that's not so great.
But for now, in the interest of time (mine) and quality, I'll share two that made me smile.
Often kids give me things to add to my Junk Poker box. This trip, I added grass and surprisingly-close-to-Elvis's wallpaper from the fabulous group at Christa McAuliffe Middle School's amazing after school book club party.
Those kids had totally read my book's tiniest details.
(They also made the little Junk Poker boxes for everybody. And gave me that book they'd created. Great readers!)
And yesterday, as I was leaving the Nightingale Bamford School in NYC where I'd spoken to the 3rd and 4th grade classes, the teacher handed me thank you notes.
This one takes the cake, big time. Not sure if she's a big Elvis fan or whether the reference was purely accidental.
I'm going with the Fan option.
And thank ya, Thank YOU very much, kids!
School visits, Book Group chats, walks in my winter coat. Okay, maybe that's not so great.
But for now, in the interest of time (mine) and quality, I'll share two that made me smile.
Often kids give me things to add to my Junk Poker box. This trip, I added grass and surprisingly-close-to-Elvis's wallpaper from the fabulous group at Christa McAuliffe Middle School's amazing after school book club party.
Those kids had totally read my book's tiniest details.
(They also made the little Junk Poker boxes for everybody. And gave me that book they'd created. Great readers!)And yesterday, as I was leaving the Nightingale Bamford School in NYC where I'd spoken to the 3rd and 4th grade classes, the teacher handed me thank you notes.
This one takes the cake, big time. Not sure if she's a big Elvis fan or whether the reference was purely accidental.
I'm going with the Fan option.
And thank ya, Thank YOU very much, kids!
