Summer's here

The catalpa trees are in full bloom and yesterday after a nice shower, a carpet of white blossoms lay under each one. I always associate those blossoms with my daughter's birthday, which is this week. They were blooming when she was born and a friend brought a bouquet to the hospital.

I had a yoga retreat last weekend and that was a wonderful transition from working with hundreds of young authors to focusing on what I want to do this summer.

A new picture book is close to being ready to send off and I'm continuing to revise a YA novel. I'm also going to Printer's Row Book Festival this weekend in Chicago where I will be on a panel with Barry Lyga, Stephanie Hemphill, and Daniel Kraus. I am eager to hear what they have to say.

And I'm pleased I will get to be with my sister who lives there on the day my mother would have turned 80. We will tell stories together and think about all the ways her love of books and words is part of us.

Summertime Blues? No Way!

As a stay-at-home dad my routines follow the school calendar, which means: it’s summer vacation, baby! 

What will my ten-year-old son and I do with our time?

We’ll run errands, do the household shopping, keep the house clean, tend the yard and perform whatever other chores need to be done.  But we’ll also cook dinners for Mama, hang out with buddies, read books, play online math games, go out in the yard or to a park and toss a football or baseball, or kick around a soccer ball.  We’ll ride our bikes to the library or the small local bookstore (which just happens to be located across the street from an ice cream shop!).  We’ll go to the beach and search for driftwood “blasters.”  We’ll have driftwood “blaster” battles.  And then we’ll go sailing with Mama!

Two desperadoes holed up in a driftwood fort

Summer certainly means less Daddy Time, but for me the tradeoff is worth it.  The more I interact with and experience the world through a ten-year-old’s eyes, the more I feel inspired to continue pursuing my dream of writing books for children.  Time on the boat also provides a break from my usual routines, which ensures I will get “unstuck” from any ruts I may have fallen into over the long wet winter.  And on days when we are home I can still work for a few hours, and I still hope to achieve my goal of picking a picture book and/or chapter book project from last year and actually finishing the thing in the next few months!

It’s been four years since I finished (read: submitted) a novel-length work.  I’ve had a couple shorter things published in the interim, but I feel like it’s time again to see where my work and studies have brought me.  Maybe this time will be “the” time.

If not, school begins again in a few months and I’ll return to my regular schedule and keep typing away….

Busy Summer

On my day to post, my busy summer had already begun. I was in route to the Outer Banks of North Carolina where I will spend this week with all my family--both children, their spouses, and all six grandchildren. Before I left, my brother flew in from Colorado to stay with our parents, so I can be worry free this week!

This morning I am ensconced at a desk with a view of the ocean to the east (the only reason I can see right now is that the early morning sun is hidden behind a cloud) and, if I walk to the other side of the room, a view of the sound to the west. There's even a captain's watch (a small deck on the roof of the rental house), which last night offered a spectacular view of the starry night.

On Monday I start teaching an 8-week online writing workshop through McDaniel College's graduate certificate program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. My students have already been introducing themselves online, and I think I'll have an enthusiastic group to work with. I am planning to give myself the same schedule of writing my students will have, with the hope I can finish the first draft of my novel-in-progress.

And when I'm not caught up in teaching, writing, and family events/obligations, I am overseeing a 2-day SCBWI conference in July with an amazing line-up of speakers, which include award-winning authors Richard Peck, Deborah Wiles, Sally Walker, and Bobbie Pyron, illustrator Jaime Zollars, and an array of editors and agents. I'll be sure to post some photos from this amazing conference in mid-July.

To round out the summer in August, I'll be attending the huge annual SCBWI conference in Los Angeles. Diane, maybe we can meet up again this year?

Mairin, Annabel, Aria, Piper, and Gareth are clamoring for a walk to the beach, so I'll close for now. Happy summer!

Summer plans

This is where I will be this summer, at my drawing table, working on the illustrations for my book tentatively called "Art Attack." The revisions for the illustrations have been shaping my life this past year, so much so that I missed posting during our last round. If all goes well, I'll be starting the final artwork in a couple of weeks, and although the new deadline is October, I'd love to have the majority of it done by the time my friend Gary and I go on a September vacation. Lauren's diligence on her latest project will be my role model as I try to stay focused.

This summer I will also be celebrating the release of my new picture book IT'S A TIGER!, beautifully illustrated by Jeremy Tankard. I'll be giving several "summer reading" library presentations and speaking at a couple of librarian conferences throughout the state (I'm especially looking forward to my visit to Lanesboro, MN, where I will be lodged at a bed and breakfast). Once again I'll be spending a day as the featured author at the Minnesota State Fair (as will fellow spuds John and Lauren), and I know that will be a good time.

It looks like a working summer for me, but I'm working at what I want to do most. And I'm going to remember to take time to relax by going on some walks in the woods and reading in the evening.

The discipline of hope

. . . is active waiting. Arnold Lobel explores this concept in "The Garden" from Frog and Toad Together. Toad admires Frog's garden. /"Yes," said Frog. "It is very nice, but it was hard work." /Frog offers seeds to his friend, and Toad runs home and plants them in the ground. /"Now seeds," said Toad, "start growing." /He paces up and down but the seeds don't grow. /"Toad put his head very close to the ground and shouted, 'NOW SEEDS, START GROWING!'" /Toad explains that Frog is frightening his seeds. /Frog then begins tender and consistent cultivation of his seeds: he keeps his seeds company in the dark, reads stories to his seeds, sings songs, reads poems, and plays music for them, until exhausted, Frog falls asleep. /"'Toad, Toad, wake up,' said Frog. 'Look at your garden!' /Toad looked at his garden. /Little green plants were coming up out of the ground." /The story ends with Toad saying, "You were right, Frog. It was very hard work."

Beyond a trip to ALA, I have nothing scheduled this summer. I am waiting for my harvest, the publication of two books in the fall: Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building written and illustrated by me (Lee & Low, Sept 2012) ISBN 978-1-60060-651-9, and The Forgiveness Garden by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by me (Fiewel & Friends, October 2012) ISBN13: 9780312625993. I will take tips from Frog and Toad and nurture my garden until my seeds burst forth. There is plenty of action I can take now: researching my audience and how I can reach them, as well as creating curriculum and web pages to accompany the publication of my books.

Here's the front flap copy and a sneak preview of my second author/illustrator project. Shown are the front cover, interior spread, and a slice of the back matter. This is a 40-page book with fifteen pairings of children's building play and examples of modern architecture from around the world. Fourteen internationally recognized architects of both genders and many races are featured here.

Children building—
Concrete poetry—
Pair them with notable structures
from around the world and see
children’s constructions taken to
the level of architectural treasures.
Here is a unique celebration of
children’s playtime explorations

and the surprising ways childhood
experiences find expression
in the dreams and works of
innovative architects.

Come be inspired to play—dream—
build—discover!

And yes, I am planting new seeds for future harvests. And that too, is very hard work!

Summer

I can't believe summer is almost upon us. Mine will include trips to Eugene for college registration for my youngest who will start at the University of Oregon in the fall. If she graduates next week as planned. Oh just kidding. Barring any unseen disasters, she will be walking across the stage June 8th, ending 12 years of school, mainly public, although I did homeschool her for 3rd and 4th grade when we lived on Midway Island. Here she is on the last day of kindergarten in 2000 in Iowa.

I remember being all teary that my baby was done with kindergarten. Believe me, I bought waterproof mascara for next week...
Writing -wise? Summer should prove to be crazy. I must finish the sequel to The Compound, which, by the way, just won the 2011-12 Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award in the middle grades category. And as soon as the sequel is into the revision stage, I must start writing the first book of my new middle grade series.
Other than college stuff in Eugene, other things on my calendar include a trip to the Midwest in August. I already have tickets to the pre-season Packer game on August 16.  And before Tanzie heads off to college, I'm taking her to NYC for a couple days. But that will be a story for fall...
Here's to a productive summer for all us Spuds!

A Little Too Much Community and Not Enough Writing

This past month I have been so caught up in “community” and writerly activities that I actually forgot to post on my day. I was at the end of a week as author-in-residence at Yellow Springs Elementary School, where I worked with three fifth grade classes. Some of the writing the students produced in that one week is amazing, and I am touched by the letters they wrote me. Here are a few comments: “You helped me to pursue my happiness,” from Elizabeth; “Your saying specific is terrific improved the details in my story,” from Ben; “I really enjoyed the four days of writing,” from Michael; “Ever since you came, I have been writing,” from Alex; “You helped me discover new word choices for my stories. Like you said, specific is terrific,” from Kevin; and “I enjoyed writing about my querencia. I read that piece of writing to my grandma and she had tears in her eyes,” from Gabby.

Then, before there was time to rest, I was off to Louisville, Kentucky to speak on an alumni panel at the Spalding University MFA residency, along with fellow spud Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen. It was fun to have a chance to catch up with Stephanie and some other old friends from Spalding. (Wish I had a photo to post, but we were so busy, it didn't cross my mind until too late.)

But I am an introvert at heart and am longing for the seclusion of my writing cabin and a chance to get back to my novel-in-progress, which is where you’ll find me this week.