HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!!!

I would like to invite all of you to wish a very HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY to The Boy Who Cried Shmutz.


Just yesterday I received an email from the uTales editorial panel that my second book, The Boy Who Cried Shmutz, illustrated by Claudia Fehr-Levin, was approved and published.

Claudia and I could not be more excited about this book!  I hope that you read it, enjoy it, and KVELL about it to all of your friends!

Words From the Wise #8 -- Olivia

Today's feature was quite a surprise for me.  I happened to just run into Olivia, from the book, Annie and Me.  I hadn't seen if her a while, and invited her for vanilla ice cream and an interview.  She jumped at the opportunity to meet with me.  We sat down at the park and had a chat.  Enjoy!

1.  Olivia, it is so good to see you again!  What have you been doing since the release of your book, Annie and Me at the beginning of February?


It is good to see you too.  My life has been so busy since the release of the book.  I have been visiting schools all over the country.  Some of them have been right there in the classroom, and one was even over the computer with this fancy computer program called Skype.  I have shared my story with children and answered their questions.  Many of their questions are about what it is like to have a friend move away, and many of their questions have been about how to make a book, especially an ebook like Sandi and Barb did on uTales.








2.  Your story is written about Annie's move 5 years ago.  How has your friendship with Annie changed since her move?


Annie and I are still great friends.  We talk on the phone, send emails, and visit each other occasionally.  It is hard when you don't see someone everyday, but that gives us more to talk about when we do see each other.  Things are not as easy as just going to each others' houses.  We have to rely upon our parents to get us together, and parents have very busy schedules.  When we do see each other, we like to play some of the games that we used to play when we were younger, but we also do new things too. Now we talk about school--we were only in kindergarten before and now that we are in 5th grade, we have a lot more to discuss.






3.  What do you think of illustrator, Barb Dargony's portrayal of you in the book?


Barb did a fantastic job!  We had met a few times before she drew the illustrations, and she watched my facial expressions and how I move.  I think that the pictures look just like me, and she got Annie's hair down perfectly!  I would love to see Barb again to show her how much Annie and I have both changed.  We are a lot taller now, and my hair is much longer than it used to be in kindergarten.  Annie doesn't need her mom to put her hair up in pigtails anymore.  She usually wears it in french braids that she does herself.






4.  What are some of your favorite books to read?


I have started reading historical fiction and mysteries.  I also like to read books about strange facts, like the world records books--they always amaze me.  I mean, who would think up putting a bunch of tennis balls in their mouth and then setting a world record about it?  Is anyone else really trying that?  I have started to read a lot on my Kindle.  Isn't that funny how my story is an ebook too?  But my bookshelf  at home is pretty full with paper books.  I share them a lot with my younger sisters.  I like to recommend to them books that I liked when I was their age.






5.  Now that you have been featured in Words From the Wise, who else might you like to see interviewed here?


I would love to see some of my favorite authors--Eric Carle, Judy Blume, Roald Dahl (I know that he died a long time ago, but it would still be interesting to read about him).  I would also like to see people who are involved with making books like publishers and editors too.  I would like to learn more about he book making process.


Thank you so much for interviewing me today.  I really am glad that we ran into each other.

Words From the Wise #7 - Emma Dryden

Two and a half years ago at the SCBWI-Los Angeles Working Writer's Retreat I had the honor and the pleasure of meeting Emma D. Dryden of drydenbks.  Not only was she a critique group facilitator, but she was also a featured faculty member.  Emma spoke about the importance of developing an online presence as a writer, and the start of ebooks for children.  I recall sitting there completely overwhelmed, and thinking that ebooks for children was a completely silly concept.  After all, what good parent would allow their children to read digitally?  If you have followed my blog at all, you know how my feelings have changed on this one.  

I invite you to enjoy Emma's thoughts as we all wish her a congratulations on the success of her company,  drydenbks, which has just celebrated its second anniversary on March 11.  Happy Anniversary Emma, and wishing you many more successful years in the world of Kidlit!

 1. Please describe your history on how you became involved in children's books.

 My parents instilled in me a great love and appreciation for books and reading. In school, I took all of the art class, English classes, and writing classes I could take. For my senior project in High School, I intended to write a picture book based on a Greek myth—which ended up being about 10,000 words!  I realized then and there that writing for children is really, really hard! In college, I wrote a lot of poetry and plays, but determined I didn’t have quite the discipline to write my own books.  I thought I might be good at helping and inspiring writers to write their books, so I set out to find an entry-level job in publishing—with a special interest in children’s books for the sake of the stories and artwork I loved so much.  Between my junior and senior years, I landed an unpaid summer internship with Viking Press Children’s Books (I was a gal Friday, doing anything anyone asked, and I soaked it all up like a sponge!) and my first job right out of college was with Random House Children’s Books, where I was assistant to two brilliant editors. And that’s how it all began.  

2.    I have discussed uTales quite extensively on this blog.  What is your involvement with uTales?  Is there anything that you can tell us about how the site will continue to evolve in the future? 

I’ve been interested in keeping my hand in anything to do with publishing children’s apps and eBooks and it’s been exciting to see the launch of the digital picture book platform, uTales.  One of the first illustrators to work with uTales brought them to my attention and I greatly admire the people behind uTales as well as the philosophy and goals for this start-up. They’ve brought me on as an editorial and publishing consultant as well as the leader of their Quality Editorial Panel, which offers feedback to uTalers about their work and oversees approvals of all the English-language uploads.  I know uTales is expanding their platform to start publishing eBooks in Swedish soon, and they intend to offer eBooks in several other languages before too long, so this truly is a global platform for authors and illustrators.  There are some terrific partnerships uTales is securing that promise to result in some very important and smart picture books. And I’m excited by the founder’s directive that uTales offer books that are entertaining as well as educational—perfectly suited for sharing between parents and children as well as between teacher and classroom.

3.    Do you feel that authors who are sticking with only traditional print publishing will be left by the wayside, especially if they are not already well established? 

Not at all.  I think traditional publishing is here to stay for a good long while yet. I do, however, think it behooves authors and illustrators to educate themselves about the various publishing options that are now open to them in order to stay savvy to changes in the marketplace. I also think there are wonderful opportunities right now for authors and illustrators to publish in a variety of formats and on different platforms without hurting themselves or their reputations in any way—and by doing so, they could thereby expand their reach to their target audience and at the same time become more adept and flexible as to how best to format, market, and produce their work. 

4.    You have spoken a great deal about the importance of social networking for authors.  Can you explain some of the ways that up and coming authors can get involved with and use social networking to their advantage?  Do authors who have well established careers need to use of social networking in order to keep up with changing trends in publishing, or will their catalogues be able to sustain themselves without it?

One of the key outcomes of the changes that have resulted in our society from so much digitization is the proliferation of companies and consumers being in direct communication with each other. We can apply this on a more personal scale when we think about how an author (or illustrator) can benefit from being in direct communication with their readership.  Social networking channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ etc) give authors an opportunity to communicate with their readers—not so much the young readers (unless you’re a YA author), but the adults who are so important to the sale of your books: parents, teachers, librarians, bloggers, reviewers, editors, agents; not to mention, fellow authors and illustrators!  Not every social network platform reaches the same audience nor has the same results, so it’s important for authors to do their homework to determine which platform/s might best serve them and with which they’ll feel most comfortable.   Social networking is NOT meant for the hard sell, but rather for communication, a sharing of ideas, a give and take—which ultimately can and will result in people being interested in your work and in buying your books.  So saying, I feel it’s wise for pre-published authors to start gaining a good “webutation” through social networking and for published authors to retain their audience and stay attuned to new readers and new developments in the marketplace through social networking.  Always at a level of commitment that makes sense for that author.

5.    How do you think that e-books are effecting the amount of reading that people are doing?  Specifically children?  Are they replacing traditional books with e-readers, are they reading e-readers in addition to print, or are they not changing at all?

It’s not news that really young children are adept at using the devices their parents are using—smartphones and tablets—and as a result, they have access to apps and eBooks through these devices. While I can’t say if young children are reading more because of these devices, what I can say is that if they are reading at all on these devices, we may as well pay attention to puttinng the very best quality books on them.  That being said, there are a lot of studies being done to determine who is really reading on devices and how they’re reading in general—and the most recent study I’ve seen is that middle graders and teens aren’t doing a whole lot of reading on devices.  I’m not going to be the one to decide whether or not we should be letting and encouraging our children to read on devices—rather, I am of the mind that reading is excellent for children in any way they can get good books. What I am seeing most of all is more opportunities for reading for children through the availability of books (paper and boards), eBooks, and apps (and I’m talking about books on apps, not games). I don’t think digital is replacing paper and boards at all, but is simply an alternative form of delivery.  When it comes to the very young, I do believe it’s still essential there are books available that don’t make sounds or have special effects, but that simply make use of text and illsutration to stimulate a child’s imagination—I know traditionally published picture books do this; I have seen a handful of digitally published picture books do this, too.

6.    What are the 3 best pieces of advice that you can give to someone who is trying to break into the world of children's publishing? 

1. Read.   2. Write.  3. Join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).  Read as many children’s books as you can—read them silently; read them aloud. Look at the jacket artwork. Look closely at the illustrations. Listen to the voice. If you’re a picture book author, read picture books, of course, but also read some poetry, middle grade, YA, and non-fiction. If you’re a YA author, read YA, of course, but also read some middle grade and picture books.   Write as much as you can. Experiment with your writing, trying different perspectives and points of view. Write a scene only in dialogue. Write a paragraph and then try to rewrite it in one sentence. Play with language. Just keep writing.  And join SCBWI– a global organization that offers resources, information, support, and community to children’s book authors and illustrators.

Emma has been part of the children's book world for 25 years.  She has edited almost 500 children's books of all genres.  Her titles have included books that have become Newbery Medal, Caldecott Honor, and Coretta Scott King Author Honor books, just to name a few.  Emma is currently on the SCBWI Board of Advisors, as well as the head of the uTales Quality Editorial Panel.

Words From the Wise #3 -- Barb Dragony

This week in Words From the Wise, I am featuring Barb Dragony, the illustrator for Annie and Me.  Since you have all been learning so much about me, I figured that it was time we all learned some more about Barb.  Enjoy!

1.  How did you get your start as an artist, and particularly as an illustrator?
I've been drawing ever since I can remember. My grandmother always provided me with paper and crayons and I just drew! In kindergarten, I was coloring with wild abandon and the teacher tried to get me to color "in one direction" and the proverbial "inside the lines". I did like she asked, but  as soon as she walked away, I went back to my wildness. Again, she told me to color in one direction. How did she know? She wasn't watching me color? My 5 year old mind didn't grasp that she could see the crayon strokes…I just figured she was all knowing and all seeing. It wasn't until high school that I finally broke free of trying to stay within the lines.
When I went to art school I was thinking of going into Fine Arts or Photography, both of which held great interest for me, but decided on Illustration. I began to like the process of giving life to the characters that lived in my head…and those that lived in the heads of others through their stories.




2.  What types of art to you specialize in?  What is your favorite medium to work with?  Where do you find your inspiration?
I'm not a cartoonist by any means, but my drawings range from quirky little line drawings to children's books. Since the Mac came into my life in the mid 90's I work in Photoshop and Illustrator, casting aside the little tubes of watercolors, inks and brushes. I still keep a box of 64 Crayola Crayons nearby just to remind me of my roots! I scan in my sketches and redraw them on my Mac. I still like the feel of being able to create and put my ideas and layouts down on paper first.
Everything inspires me! That would be hard to pin point. On any given day it could be swatches of colors on fabric, an ad in a magazine, or my dog sleeping with her toys. When I get the story from an author, I first give life to the characters…what do they look like, what would they do…then I do a story board layout and break down the "scenes". 




3.  Can you describe for us the process that you went through in designing the artwork in the uTales format, and specifically for Annie and Me.
I went through the same process as I described, but this time  I had to be conscious of the limitations of web vs printed colors and also that animation and sound could enhance the story. This was my first time designing an ebook. When I received the story of Annie and Me, I really wanted the two girls to come to life! 

4.  Is uTales something that you would recommend to other illustrators, and is it something that you would be interested in working with again?
I really enjoyed the whole uTales process and have been recommending it to my artist and writer friends. To be able to collaborate with writers and other artists all over the world has been wonderful. And, the uTales team is very helpful!!

5.  Where do you envision yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully continuing to create books for kids! I was so blessed to have a grandmother who taught me the love of reading. I want every child to have the opportunity set their imaginations free. You don't have to color inside the lines!

Bio: Barb Dragony resides in Cleveland OH where she has lived all her life. Being close to family and friends, a plethora of museums and theaters, and of course that big, beautiful Lake Erie, give her the inspiration she needs for her creativity. When not at her drawing table giving life to the characters in her head, Barb can be found bringing life to characters on stage where she has performed for over 20 years.

I Am Officially a PUBLISHED Children's Author!

I am thrilled to share the news with all of you that I am now officially a PUBLISHED children's author!

Today I received an email from uTales that my book had been approved. . .  and published.

As an author, it is one thing to think that your story is worth sharing, but to have a panel of editors agree with you is an unbelievable rush.  I have not stopped smiling since that email came in, and I am already excited to work on the next one.

I was very fortunate with work with illustrator, Barb Dragony.  Her beautiful pictures bring the story to life.  Barb did a fantastic job of adding animation and sounds to the story.  Barb, I cannot thank you enough for all of the time and hard work that you put into Annie and Me.

Each day I am more and more amazed about how digital publishing is changing the world of children's literature.  Our children are developing a different style of reading than we did as children.  I am eager to see how this trend continues over the next several years.


I invite you to read Annie and Me .  It is the story of young Olivia, whose best friend, Annie, has moved away.  Olivia and her mother travel to visit Annie in her new home reminiscing about the girls' past adventures.

I hope that the story makes you smile as much as it has made me smile today.

I want to especially thank the 4 girls who inspired this story--  Emma, Allison, Julia, and Ellie.  Without the four of you and your special friendships, this story never would have been written.

Thank you to Rob, my husband, for putting up with my years of agonizing over this story, and for believing in me to get it accomplished.