Jess Keating's Blog, page 10
August 2, 2013
Weekly Tweetly Roundup!
It is FINALLY FRIDAY. Here are some THINGS for you:
HOW TO OUTRUN A CROCODILE WHEN YOUR SHOES IS UNTIED isn’t available for preorder yet – it’s not out until next June! But that didn’t stop lovely friend from sending me this! My first pre-order!
And no, her last name isn’t really VON FLOOFINGTON. But she’s still pretty awesome. GUSH.
The awesome folks over at YA Highway are having a huge giveaway to celebrate their four year anniversary! Some amazing books are up for grabs, as well as query and...
July 9, 2013
Picture Books, The Banana Song, and Synopsis Help!
Hello my cheeky monkeys! Lots going on this week. I’m currently working on a second book for Jabberwocky Kids! I am all kinds of excited to work on another book with them, and I cannot WAIT to tell you more about it! (Also, it is very surreal to be working on another book before HOW TO OUTRUN A CROC is even published. Weird.)
But for now, it is top secret! To make it up to you, I have LINKS:
Tonight I’m going to see Despicable Me 2! I love date night, mainly for the popcorn and the entertainmen...
June 28, 2013
Your Weekly Tweetly Writing Roundup
Thank you all so much for your lovely tweets and comments about my big news this week! It means so much to me to share it with you all!
I’ve just added an author page on FB (noob alert!), so definitely join in here if that’s your thing!
Some great writing links up this week:
Anna Staniszewski has a great post up about the challenges of writing a series
Writer Unboxed talks about the importance of building an audience of readers (and not just writers)
MG Mafioso checks out the latest YA from Andrew...
June 24, 2013
BOOK DEAL NEWS!
My cheeky monkeys!
I am so thrilled to report that my incredible agent Kathleen has SOLD MY BOOK!
FEAST YOUR EYES! (click to embiggen)
The non-teeny tiny version:
Jess Keating’s debut HOW TO OUTRUN A CROCODILE WHEN YOUR SHOES ARE UNTIED, when a shy 12-year-old girl gets news that her zoologist parents are moving the whole family into a zoo AND they’re all going to be on TV, she tries to channel her inner chameleon and fade into the background, but things are changing too quickly for her to keep u...
June 20, 2013
Book Shout Out: WIRED FOR STORY
My cheeky monkeys!
Today I want to let you know about a new writing craft book that you might want to add to your shelves. Scratch that, YOU DO want to add to your shelves.
Because it is awesome.
Lisa Cron’s WIRED FOR STORY focuses on telling a great story. This isn’t the same thing as ‘writing well’, but it’s just as important. Using neuroscience as a backbone, Lisa describes several ways in which we are ‘hardwired’ to storytelling, and how we, as authors, can use this to make our writing bette...
June 13, 2013
It’s A Small World
When I was a little chipmunk, I used to spend hours sprawled out on the ground with a magnifying glass. I LOVED discovering the teeny details of the world that we often missed, and many of the things I found ended up as inspiration for stories. Nooks and crannies become entire worlds, simple things became intricately detailed, and even the most boring little blueberry became a monster with a personality.
In highschool, I was lucky enough to try out a macro lens. This is basically a camera lens...
May 23, 2013
The Sea’s Strangest Square Mile
Looking for something weird and wonderful today?
The Lembeh Strait near Indonesia is home to some of the wackiest creatures around. I *desperately* need to write a fishy book — ALIENS ARE AMONG US!
P.S Baby cuttlefish ROCK.
May 15, 2013
Some Wilderness for your Wednesday
“Kids are so very good at still being shape-shifters, and shifting into feathers and fur. They still understand that we are connected to everything in this world, and that we are part of an incredibly intricate woven web of life and creatures.” – Cornelia Funke
With the warmer weather (sort of) hitting my neck of the woods, I’ve been lucky enough to spend some more time writing in the forest. Typically, I take my notebook and a pen, some snacks, and my trusty hiking boots and let myself have a...
January 23, 2013
Five Things About Plants That Should Freak You Right Out (a giffy post)
If you know me and how we do things around here, you know I’m no stranger to weird creatures. There are scary animals, wacky animals, deceptively simple and terrifying animals.
It was only a matter of time before I cracked. Because, you see *whispers* animals aren’t the only creepily, jawdroppingly amazing things out there.
Today we’re going to talk about PLANTS.
You might think, BUT JESS, PLANTS ARE BORING. They just grow! They can’t actually DO anything remotely similar to what WE FANCYPANTS A...
