July 28, 2008

All Booked Up . . .

My husband pointed out that in the past six months, I've had three books come out that were either written by me or contained something written by me. I hadn't thought about it, but hey, he's right.

Here are the three books . . .

1) Editor, Alice Pope, just sent a copy of the brand new Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market. I've purchased this annual market book every year for the past decade, so it's quite a thrill to be included among such professionals as Lisa Wheeler, Kathleen Duey, Cecil Castellucci, Kirby Larson, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Kelly Milner Halls and others.



The article I contributed is titled: "Six Reasons to Quit Writing (& One Reason You Shouldn't)." What's with me and long titles? I presented a short speech on this topic at the Florida SCBWI Conference last January.

2) How to Fit a Car Seat on a Camel and Other Misadventures Traveling with Kids edited by Sarah Franklin, is a must for any parent preparing to travel with children. It's filled with funny and not-so-funny essays about the unexpected things that occur when travelling with children.


My contribution is an essay, "Road Trip Through Adolescence," about the adventures I had with my (then) eleven-year-old son. We slept on a boat in the Boston Harbor and hiked crazy, scary rock formations at Acadia National Park in Maine. It was one of the best road trips I've ever taken.

3) Finally, I managed to write nearly all the words in this book:



I can barely believe nearly six months have passed since the release date. I'm still smitten with Kenneth Holcomb's cover. Thanks, Kenny! And I continue to be happily surprised when I read reviews, like this one by Barbara and Gary Bleeker in the Topeka Capital-Journal. Thanks, Barbara and Gary.

4) Why stop there? While awaiting revision requests from my editor for my second novel, I'm hardly, um, hard at work on Novel #3. I'm aiming for two things with this novel -- a fun/funny main character and a really, really long title. So, if you have any ideas, send them my way. I assure you they'll be promptly considered and disregarded. (Did I say that out loud?)

Hope you're all booked up with the things you love best,
Donna

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