Heidi Schulz's Blog, page 9

Show Me Your Pirate Face Giveaway

Exciting Thing #1

Last week I turned in a round of revisions on Hook’s Revenge: The Pirate Code (Hook’s Revenge Book 2, out in September 2015). It’s getting closer to becoming a real book!

Exciting Thing #2

My first book, Hook’s Revenge, is out in less than two months! And, it has already gone into a second printing! So exciting!

Since the best things happen in threes, how about we have another exciting thing?

Buildup to Exciting Thing #3

I have spent the evening annotating my very last advance copy of Hook’s Revenge, filling it with secrets and inside details, like this:

(Jocelyn is also the name of my main character.)

Want it?

OKAY.

Exciting Thing #3

IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME!

I’m going to send the following items to one of you:

Peg-leg pirate pencil sharpener
Pirate stencil kit
Loot (a fun pirate card game)
Aaaaaand, the aforementioned annotated advance copy of Hook’s Revenge!
Bonus: signed Hook’s Revenge swag!

Here’s how you can win:



I want to see your fiercest pirate face. Show me you mean business and you won’t accept no for an answer. Make me believe you will stop at nothing to get your prize.

Apple and I will demonstrate (because what is more fierce and terrifying than a woman and her black-as-sin chicken?*).

Enter as often as you like, in as many of the following ways you like:

Post a picture of your pirate face on your blog, linking back to this post.
Post your pirate face to Twitter, using both these hashtags: #PirateFace #HooksRevenge
Post your pirate face to Facebook, using both these hashtags: #PirateFace #HooksRevenge
Post your pirate face to Instagram, using both these hashtags: #PirateFace #HooksRevenge
Post your pirate face to Tumblr, using both these hashtags: #PirateFace #HooksRevenge

Note: Please make sure your privacy settings are set to public, so I can see your posts. And don’t forget the hashtags, or I won’t be able to see your entries!

I will choose a random winner on Saturday, August 2 at 9:00 pm Pacific.

This contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only. Sorry, international friends.

*Please be aware, you do not need to have a chicken in your pirate face photo. However, if you do, I will high-five you to the moon and back. I will also send you something special because regardless of the contest results, if you take selfies with chickens, you are a winner in my book.

Good luck! ARRRR!

 

 

In the Middle with Dana Alison Levy

Oh hi, faithful readers! Wondering where I’ve been? Well, I’ve been hard at work on Hook’s Revenge: The Pirate Code, with little time to check in here. I’ll put together a new post with updates on me and Hook’s Revenge and perhaps even my chickens very soon.

In the meantime, please get to know the lovely Dana Alison Levy, author of The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, joining us in the middle today.

 

Meet the Fletchers: four boys, two dads, and one new neighbor who just might ruin everything.

Sam, age 12

Mostly interested in soccer. And food. And his phone.

Jax, age 10

Psyched for fourth grade. Thinks the new neighbor stinks, and not just because of the skunk.

Eli, age 10 (but younger than Jax)

Delighted to be starting this year at the Pinnacle School, where everyone’s “the smart kid.”

Frog (not his real name), age 6

Wants his new friends at kindergarten to save a seat for his invisible cheetah. 

The start of the school year is not going as hoped for the Fletcher brothers. Their miserable new neighbor, Mr. Nelson, complains about everything. Even worse, each boy finds his plans for school success veering off in unexpected directions. As the year continues, the boys learn the hard and often hilarious lesson that sometimes what you least expect is what you come to care about the most.

From camping trips to scary tales told in the dark, from new schools to old friends, from imaginary cheetahs to very real skunks, the Fletchers’ school year—as always—is anything but boring.

THE MISADVENTURES OF THE FAMILY FLETCHER is available online or in stores now! Ask your local bookseller or check out these links: Indiebound | Barnes&Noble | Amazon

Q&A with Dana

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?

I have always loved kidlit, from the time I was reading these books myself; through college, when I took several children’s literature classes; to adulthood and parenthood, when I began to share them with my own kids. My first few attempts at novels were for adults, and I don’t think I made it more than fifty pages in any of them. But the first time I started writing a book for kids…well, I couldn’t type fast enough to get the words out! Middle grade books — books for nine to twelve-year-olds — are amazing, because they encompass such a magical and difficult time of life. So much is changing at that point: friendships, families, and the awareness of the wider world. There is a lot to play with as a writer, from the hilarious to the heartbreaking.

If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell her?

Keep writing. I kept journals from the time I was seven or eight, and I always wanted to be a writer. But after college I filed that away under “ridiculous” and tried to get a real job. Spoiler alert: in most of my “real jobs” I spent a lot of time writing, because it’s what I do best and enjoy the most. So I’d tell myself not to prevaricate* so much! Also, I’d tell myself not to believe the hairdresser who said I’d look like Pat Benatar with short hair. He was wrong. I didn’t look like a sexy 1980s rock star. I looked like a boy.

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?

Questions that I haven’t been asked include but are not limited to:

Why are you so tall?
Wow! How did you sell a book when you were so very young?
What are you going to do with all that money?
You never seem to waste time! How do you you stay so laser- focused?

However, one that deserves an answer might be: What are five books that pop into your head (without going to look at your bookshelves) that all kids should read?

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
One Crazy Summer by Rita Garcia-Williams
The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Whew, those are random! But I stand my them — they are all worth a read!

*Prevaricate is a pretty good word. Look it up if you don’t know it!

The photo of you and that llama is my favorite photo of this whole series. Every successful childhood should include a portrait with a llama. Thanks for dropping in and congratulations on your debut!

Dana Alison Levy was raised by pirates but escaped at a young age and went on to earn a degree in aeronautics and puppetry. Actually, that’s not true—she just likes to make things up. That’s why she always wanted to write books. She was born and raised in New England and studied English literature before going to graduate school for business. While there is value in all learning, had she known she would end up writing for a living, she might not have struggled through all those statistics and finance classes.You can find Dana online at www.danaalisonlevy.com or on Twitter and Facebook.

In the Middle with Tara Dairman

Warning: This week’s In the Middle just might make you drool. Cover your keyboards.

Today, we are chatting with Tara Dairman, author of All Four Stars (Putnam/Penguin).

“A scrumptious gem of a story!”—Jennifer A. Nielsen, New York Times bestselling author of The False Prince

Meet Gladys Gatsby: New York’s toughest restaurant critic. (Just don’t tell anyone that she’s in sixth grade.)

Gladys Gatsby has been cooking gourmet dishes since the age of seven, only her fast-food-loving parents have no idea! Now she’s eleven, and after a crème brûlée accident (just a small fire), Gladys is cut off from the kitchen (and her allowance). She’s devastated but soon finds just the right opportunity to pay her parents back when she’s mistakenly contacted to write a restaurant review for one of the largest newspapers in the world.

 

But in order to meet her deadline and keep her dream job, Gladys must cook her way into the heart of her sixth-grade archenemy and sneak into New York City—all while keeping her identity a secret! Easy as pie, right?

All Four Stars is available on all of the following websites, and bookstores near you.

Indiebound * Penguin * B&N * Amazon * BAM * Powell’s * Walmart * Indigo * Book Depository  

Q&A with Tara

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?

Middle graders are the perfect mix of curious and capable—just starting to show hints of their adult potential, but not so far removed from the world of play that they’re all jaded about things yet. Plus, most of my favorite books are middle-grade ones, so I guess it’s no surprise that I ended up writing it myself!

If you had a time machine and could visit middle grade you, what would you tell him/her? (If you have a photo of yourself at this age, I’d love to post it.)

Sixth grade was a pretty tough year for me. There was some bullying. Most days I wouldn’t have anyone to play with during recess, so I carried a notebook out onto the playground and worked on a (never-completed) science fiction novel.

If I could go back in time, I guess I would tell myself that one day, far in the future, my dreams of completing and publishing a novel would come true, and that they’d draw on that tough year more than sixth-grade me could probably ever imagine.

Or maybe I’d just sign sixth-grade me out for lunch, so she could go eat something tasty for a change and not have to worry about how to get through recess.

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?

No one has asked me yet which of the desserts featured in ALL FOUR STARS is my favorite! While I love a lot of them, I’d have to go with the “bluebarb crumble,” which has a special significance for me. Instead of a cake, my  husband and I had “wedding pies” at our wedding, a different flavor on each table. But for our own special pie, we weren’t sure what flavor to choose. My favorite kind of pie is rhubarb, and his is blueberry. So we asked the baker if she could put them together, and voila: bluebarb pie was born. And it was so good that I decided to immortalize it in my novel.

Thanks for having me, Heidi!

The pleasure was all mine. Seriously. You brought pie! I might not ever let you leave.

Tara Dairman is a novelist, playwright, and recovering world traveler (2 years, 74 countries)! Her first middle-grade novel, All Four Stars, will be published on July 10, 2014 by Putnam/Penguin. Tara has a B.A. in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College, and currently teaches writing to students aged 6-13.. Connect with Tara on TaraDairman.com, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

In the Middle with Adriana Brad Schanen

This week we are In the Middle with Adriana Brad Schanen, author of the adorable Quinny & Hopper.

Quinny has a lot to say. Hopper gets to the point.

Quinny has one speed: very, very, extra-very fast. Hopper proceeds with caution.

Quinny has big ideas. Hopper has smart solutions.

Quinny and Hopper couldn’t be more different. They’re an unstoppable team. But when summer ends, things suddenly aren’t the same. Can Quinny and Hopper stick together in the face of stylish bullies, a killer chicken, and those new Third Grade Rules – especially the one that says they’re not allowed to be friends anymore?

Combining emotional realism and adventure-driven plotting, this young MG alternates between the comically-different perspectives of a boy and a girl whose close summer friendship runs smack-dab into the uncertainties of a new school year that could change everything…maybe even for the better.

Quinny & Hopper is available on IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and in bookstores near you.

Q&A with Adriana

What draws you into writing for an MG audience?

I was a restless, reluctant reader as a kid. Picture books were fun, but I stalled after that. I remember sitting there in 3rd grade, staring out the window as the teacher droned on from a giant language arts textbook. And those numbered reading comprehension questions at the end of each section were just the pits. It all felt like an obligatory blur.

Today there’s often more choice and creativity in early elementary language arts curriculums, but I still think we lose a lot of kids in between picture books and middle grade. I want to grab hold of that 8 and 9 year old and keep it interesting for them, keep them in the game. If kids aren’t having that special relationship with a book and a flashlight under the covers at ages 8, 9, 10, they may not hang on with books at all.

I’m particularly drawn to writing contemporary/realistic early MG because that’s what reached me at that age. I could have used more Ramona, and older Ramona, and foreign Ramona, and Ramona in a wheelchair. Like millions of other kids, I loved Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume’s books, but that kind of flesh & blood reading felt separate and somehow less legitimate than the textbook reading we did in school.

The author, when she was about Quinny & Hopper’s age, posing with her childhood neighbor and bff, Kirsten

If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell her?

Can I bring stuff, too? If so, I‘d go back and hand 2nd grade me The Year of Billy Miller and Anna Hibiscus. Then I’d zoom ahead to 4th grade me and offer her One for the Murphys and So B. It and The Penderwicks.

Lastly, I’d find 7th grade me and tell her to take her creativity seriously. Pursue it, indulge it, develop it. Don’t think of it as goofing off. It’s currency, lifeblood. It’s how you’ll try to make the world a more beautiful place.

Or maybe I’d just give her a copy of Miss Rumphius. No one needs picture books more than people who think they’ve outgrown them.

Is there an interview question you’d love to answer but haven’t been asked?

Well…I’d love to be asked how I manage to keep my home so clean and my children so well-mannered and my complexion so radiant, all the while producing profound, witty, world-changing books. Alas, it has not happened yet.

For the time being, life is filled with dust bunnies, tweeny bickering and insomnia-induced pallor — not to mention a meandering second manuscript in need of merciless revision. And the gratitude I feel for every crazy, beautiful moment of it all is bone deep.

Dust bunnies are part of the creative process, right? Thanks for dropping in, Adriana, and congratulations on your debut!

Adriana Brad Schanen was born in Romania, raised in Chicago, and now lives in the vibrant, diverse town of Montclair, NJ with her husband, two daughters and a shaggy 60-pound lap dog named Oliver. She can often be found in her attic study, writing books for kids and teens or the occasional screenplay. Her first early MG novel, QUINNY & HOPPER, releases June 10, 2014 from Disney-Hyperion.

Connect with Adriana on her website, AdrianaBradBchanen.com, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

On My Mind June 9, 2014

one

Chickens!

They grow so fast! These pictures of Liza Minnelli and Apple were taken just six short weeks apart.



Unbelivable.

two

Stuff I’m doing. If you are local to me, come see me Wednesday night, talking Twitter at Willamette Writers. Details on my events page.

three

Chickens, again—a little bit sadder. Due to an ill-timed gust of wind and a heavy coop door, we lost our Annie. Perhaps she has joined Phillis somewhere? I hope so. They were the best of friends.



Farewell, Chicken Annie!

four

And now for something happier! There are only 100 99 days until Hook’s Revenge is released!



Start practicing your pirate here.

five

Still chickens. I couldn’t resist. Meet Fat Amy (blonde) and Matilda (brunette).

What’s on your mind today?

BEA and Kids Author Carnival

Last week, I was in New York for two really amazing events: BEA (Book Expo America) and the Kids Author Carnival.

BEA is a giant publishing trade show. This year, it was even better than ever before (at least for me) because the Disney*Hyperion booth was giving out advance copies of Hook’s Revenge!

This, right here, was the best part of the entire show:

Look what my kid scored @HeidiSchulz #BEA14 pic.twitter.com/xCpmqq0o7p

— Ella Schwartz (@ellaschwartz) May 31, 2014

I also had a great time connecting with friends, my wonderful agent, my amazing editor, and other Disney team members. But I took photos of almost none of it. (I really need to get better at that.)

On Saturday, I saw the culmination of the last few months of hard work. My dear friend Claire Legrand invited the lovely Lauren Magaziner (please do yourself a favor and read their amazing books) and me to help her plan the Kids Author Carnival. This event was modeled on the popular Teen Author Carnival, but focusing on middle-grade books.

Tonight at 6pm: @KidAuthCarnival! Say hi to your hosts @clairelegrand @HeidiSchulz @laurenmagaziner! #BEA14 #KAC14 pic.twitter.com/26CAENkM9o

— Brooks Sherman (@byobrooks) May 31, 2014

The stunningly beautiful Jefferson Market Library (it looks like Hogwarts!) hosted the event. After the library closed to the public, the doors opened for the carnival.

Claire, Lauren, and I had high hopes, but even we couldn’t have predicted what a wild success it would be. We had 37 fabulous middle grade authors playing charades and Pictionary, leading writing exercises, and sitting on Q&A sessions in front of a crowd of about 200 readers, mostly kids.

Readers everywhere & this is only 1/4 of crowd @jmarketlibrary for @KidAuthCarnival led by @clairelegrand pic.twitter.com/5fKzL4HjfU

— Marietta B Zacker (@AgentZacker) June 1, 2014

.@KidAuthCarnival There’s also charades (There’s Tim Federle!) w/ Team Harry Potter (!!!) participants! #BEA14 #KAC14 pic.twitter.com/2DqP1tS4us

— Alexa S. (@alexalovesbooks) May 31, 2014

I got to sit on and moderate a panel with Bruce Coville, Danette Vigilante, Josh Burk, Kate Milford, and Dan Poblocki. Secrets were shared, such as the number of notebooks in Kate’s bag that evening (nine) and how one of Bruce’s books actually saved a pair of children from a carjacker.

.@KidAuthCarnival Writing Q&A with Team Matilda (!!!) participants! So cool. #BEA14 pic.twitter.com/q7bQyRDp26

— Alexa S. (@alexalovesbooks) May 31, 2014

Authors, parents, kids, librarians, teachers, and the booksellers at the event have all expressed to us what a special experience it was. The night was truly magical. I can’t wait for next year!

Announcing “Hook’s Revenge: The Pirate Code”

See this face? This is the face of someone with news to share.



Good news.



Exciting news.



Are you ready?



OKAY.  

I always hoped I could tell more of Jocelyn’s story. From the very beginning, I knew she had more than one adventure in her. I’m thrilled that Disney*Hyperion agrees! I’m also both humbled and honored that they are willing to take a chance on a sequel—even before the first book is released!



Know why else I’m making that face? I am so excited to be working with my editor Rotem Moscovich, and the whole team at Disney*Hyperion. They are top shelf!



Speaking of shelves, thanks to those wonderful Goodreads elves, Hook’s Revenge: The Pirate Code is already listed and ready to add to your Want to Read shelves, if you like.



Thank you, dear readers, for your support. Your excitement, your sharing of Hook’s Revenge on social media, and your pre-orders undoubtably made this happen. I appreciate it more than you know.



Looking forward to setting sail together on this next adventure!



Yo ho!







P.S. If you are going to be in the Portland area in September, I’d love to celebrate with you. Check my Events page for details!

In the Middle with Kate Hannigan

Prepare yourself for adorableness in this week’s In the Middle. Not only is Kate Hannigan’s Cupcake Cousins an adorable book, her childhood photo (in the interview below) is one of the cutest ever.

Baking a fluffy pink cupcake is awesome, but wearing a dress that looks like one? No, thank you! Cousins Willow and Delia can’t wait to spend a week vacationing together with their families. Their aunt is getting married, and Willow and Delia are hoping their tasty baked goods will be enough to get them out of being flower girls in the wedding.

But with a mischievous little brother, a bacon-loving dog, and a misbehaving blender in the mix, their treats don’t exactly turn out as planned. When a real emergency threatens to ruin the wedding, will their baking skills be enough to save the day?

Join Willow and Delia in the kitchen by following their scrumptious recipes for whoopee pies, peach pancakes, and other tasty treats!

Cupcake Cousins is available on IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and in bookstores near you.

Q&A with Kate

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?



I don’t feel all that removed from the 10- or 12-year-old I once was. My kids find that hard to understand, of course. But I feel like that time in my life is still crystal clear. And I believe middle-grade is where the truths are, where the essence of what you are is present, and the promise of what’s to come is a just glimmer on the horizon. And good middle-grade books make older readers remember what it all was like, and they help younger readers see what’s possible.

If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell her?



First I’d tell myself to stop fighting the curly hair and just embrace it already! No more hot rollers to try and calm it!

I was and still am a World-Class Worrier. Give me 20 minutes and any topic you want, and I’ll find a variety of things to get into knots about. Back when I was in grade school, it was the Africanized killer bees. (Look! They’re still coming!) So if I could hang out one day with my younger self, I would say not to worry. It all works out in the end, for the most part.

Oh, and I’d tell my younger self that Mom and Dad are really close to caving on the dog question, so keep begging!

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?



What one piece of advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Don’t get discouraged. Sometimes a “no” just means “revise it.” There are so many people involved in bringing a story to life, and each of them brings her vision to the work. While you have to stay true to yourself and your project, realize that other eyes and opinions can help improve it. So when you hear, “It’s not right for me” from an agent or an editor, take that as an opportunity to make the manuscript stronger.

I was terrified of killer bees too! Those things are scary! Thanks for dropping in, Kate, and congratulations on your debut!

Kate Hannigan stepped up her domestic skills after her daughter read LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE and started asking to make Johnny Cakes and candles. A former newspaper journalist, Kate is now an active blogger and dangerous home cook. When summer rolls around, she does everything she can to get to Northern Michigan for fruit picking, bike riding, and hunting for Petoskey stones. CUPCAKE COUSINS is her debut novel. Her historical fiction for middle-graders, THE DETECTIVE’S ASSISTANT, comes out with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in 2015. Connect with Kate on her websites, KateHannigan.com and AuthorOf.blogspot.com, Facebook and Twitter.

In the Middle with Rebecca Petruck

Today, we are in the middle with Rebecca Petruck, chatting about her middle grade debut, Steering Toward Normal.

Eighth grade is set to be a good year for Diggy Lawson: he’s chosen a great calf to compete at the Minnesota State Fair, he’ll see a lot of the girl he secretly likes at 4-H, and he and his dad Pop have big plans for April Fool’s Day. But everything changes when classmate Wayne Graf’s mother dies, which brings to light that Pop is Wayne’s father, too. Suddenly, Diggy has a half-brother who moves in and messes up his life. Wayne threatens Diggy’s chances to win Grand Champion, horns in on his girl, and rattles his easy relationship with Pop.

Despite his high hopes, eighth grade quickly turns into Diggy’s worst year ever, filled with jealousy, fighting, and several incidents involving cow poop. But as the boys care for their calves, pull pranks, and watch too many B movies, they learn what it means to be brothers and how weird the concept of family can be as they slowly steer toward a new kind of normal.

Steering Toward Normal is available on Indiebound, B&N, Amazon, Books-A-Million, Indigo, the Abrams/Amulet website, and in bookstores near you.

Q&A with Rebecca

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?

I love how willing middle grade readers are to suspend their disbelief and go with a story that catches their attention no matter how outrageous the idea—even if the “outrageous” idea is only that they might ever live on a farm and raise cattle. I think middle grade readers don’t have a lot of filters yet so they seem more willing to let themselves experience a wide range of possibilities through story—which gives me a lot of room to play.

Also, middle grade years are when decisions begin to have more impact with greater repercussions. Good role models are vital, and books have always been a source of positive role models for me.

If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell her?

Middle grade self, choose Erica’s side! She is fun, smart, and could be a great friend if you are brave. Sure, it’s cool to be picked by Wendy because she’s popular. But you know you choose her because saying no means getting on her bad side, and that means being treated the way she treats Erica. The thing is, by choosing Wendy, it means she expects you to be mean to Erica, too. And you do it. Just the once, but it’s enough. Erica is never your friend again, and this time when you move away, you are glad. It doesn’t help, though. You become a teen, an adult, a middle-aged lady, and you often think of Erica and write letters of apology she’ll never receive. Losing her friendship is one of the biggest regrets of your life. So: Be kind. Be strong. Choose wisely. And don’t back down. You will never, ever regret it.

Leaving for a week-long 4-H summer camp. Crying when I say goodbye is something I inherited from my grandma.

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?

Why, WHY did you pick ENTOMOPHAGY for your next book project? Why?! You’re going to have to EAT BUGS. Did you think of that AT ALL before you committed to the idea?

Entomophagy has interested me since I first read about it in National Geographic a few years ago. It’s the eating of insects for nutrition, and will likely be how we successfully make long space voyages in the future. For those of us still on Earth, entomophagy is common in most cultures—Americans and Europeans are the weirdos who still don’t eat insects regularly. Which is problematic because what we do eat requires a ton of resources that we are running out of. Raising bugs is highly resource-efficient, and the insects are both nutritious and are supposed to be quite tasty. Logically speaking, I

But no, I didn’t really think through the fact that I would have to eat bugs. Trying bug treats was going to be my winter project, but uff da, this was a bad winter, wasn’t it? And spring isn’t a good time because it’s so pretty outside! Must take advantage of it before the North Carolina summer heat and humidity sets in. So testing bug dishes will be my summer project, and no, I haven’t been procrastinating at all!

The things we do for our art, right? Good luck with the bug eating and congratulations on your debut!

Rebecca Petruck is a Minnesota girl, though she also has lived in Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, England, Connecticut and, currently, North Carolina. A former member of 4-H, she was also a Girl Scout, a cheerleader, and competed in MathCounts. She reads National Geographic cover to cover. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing, Fiction, from UNC Wilmington, and is represented by Kate Testerman of kt literary. Her first novel, STEERING TOWARD NORMAL, is an American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce New Voices selection and a Spring 2014 Kids’ Indie Next List title. Vanity Fair’s Hollywood dubbed it a “book we’d like to see made into a film.” STEERING TOWARD NORMAL will be released by Abrams/Amulet May 13, 2014. You may visit her online at www.rebeccapetruck.com or connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

The Mystery of the Missing Phyllis: Epilogue

After we destroyed her secret nest, Phyllis disappeared again. It’s been more than two weeks and we are quite certain she is not in the yard. I think she may have taken her final bow.

Goodbye, Phyllis, you wonderful, terrible diva, you!

Meanwhile, Liza Minnelli awaits in the wings, looking forward to the spotlight.

I can’t even guess as to what antics she will get up to.