Geeky Writer Joy

I'm still basking in my geeky writer joy well over two weeks after attending the annual SCBWI conference in New York.

Everyone takes away a little something different from the award-winning authors, publishers, agents, and people who appreciate all-that-is-the-written-and-illustrated-word.

I have attended many a conference, small and gargantuan, over the past years. At each one, I've gotten tidbits to take away with me; to mull over and to incorporate or apply to my own writing.

This year had a very common thread for me. The thread was simple, but it spoke volumes. It was basically, be kind to each other. Support your peeps. You are all in this thing together. When you break it all down, we all have the same hopes, dreams, fears, and insecurities. Prop up your fellow illustrators and writers -- whether it be with just a kind word of encouragement, or a positive comment on a blog post.

Writing and illustrating can be a lonely process. Hang together and support each other.

And now ... the answers to the last Trivia Tuesday questions. (See previous post for pictures, etc.!)

1. Who is the awesome author/SCBWI Team Blogger/cupcake aficionado on the right?

That is Jolie Stekly, a.k.a. Cuppa Jolie!

2. Identify the author of the upcoming, One For the Murphys.

Linda Mullaly Hunt's One For the Murphys will be released this May!

3. Name the Texas Sweetheart on the left.

That is Jill Alexander, the author of The Sweetheart of Prosper County and Paradise.

4. Okay, I sort of cheated with this last photo. That is Peggy Conway Haywood, my mom! It is one of my favorite pictures of her. She taught me to appreciate and cherish art in my life!

SCBWI New York and Trivia Tuesday

This past weekend was the "Lucky 13th" Annual SCBWI New York Winter Conference, so my questions for Trivia Tuesday, all have to do with Kidlit! And just for the fun of it, I will remove my "No Googling"rule today. Tomorrow I'll post the answers, with links!

1. Who is the awesome author/SCBWI Team Blogger/cupcake aficionado on the right?

2. Identify the author of the upcoming, One For the Murphys.

3. Name the Texas Sweetheart on the left

(there was a hidden clue in there!).

4. Name the illustrator/painter in this amazing retro photo:

And finally, not really a trivia question, but more of a polling question...This last photo is of a gentleman who sets up shop around the corner from my daughter's apartment. Who thinks we should get him to do, at the very least, a break-out session at the next conference?

And last, but not least, the answers to last week's trivia questions:

1. What was the name of Erica Kane's high school sweetheart on All My Children? Phil Brent.

2. Name the host of Hollywood Squares. Peter Marshall

3. How many choices were behind the wall on The Dating Game? 3

4. What was the name of the Brady Bunch's dog? Tiger

5. Who were the only two members of the Partridge Family who actually sang? Shirley Jones (Mom Partridge) and David Cassidy. The rest were pretty much Milli Vanilli.

Bonus: On what day was Jennifer Tompkins born? Sunday

SCBWI Seattle

I always miss it before I'm even gone. Driving across the 520 bridge, passing the University of Washington...Mt. Rainier off in the distance...I totally took that all for granted when I lived there.

So it was pretty fantastic to combine my favorite place with my favorite kind of people--my family and my writer friends. Speaking of fabulous writer friends, here I am with Jolie Stekly and Sara Easterly.

And what great planning on the part of Laurie Thompson and those amazing SCBWI Western Washington people. Besides having an incredible conference, they

planted a cupcake place right across the street!

There's my partner-in-cupcake crime, Jolie Stekly (www.cuppajolie.blogspot.com)!

And I finally got my hands on a copy of my pal, Suzanne Young's, THE NAUGHTY LIST. They were all sold out at the SCBWI New York conference.

The person in

front of me in the bookstore line got the LAST copy! I told Suzanne I was going to have to get all Cabbage Patch Doll/Tickle-Me-Elmo ugly if it happened again. I had on my running shoes and I was prepared to use my Karate skills...

I always have a great time seeing Jay Asher. His amazing book, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY has now been on the New York Times list for 58 weeks!

It was so great to see Holly Cupola again. I

can't wait to get my hands on her new book, TELL ME A SECRET. It is arriving very soon!

And I always learn something new from Mitali Perkins . I have now gotten the opportunity to hear her speak on both coasts and I am so impressed with her generosity when it comes to the kidlit community!

I wish I could have spent more time with Joni Sensel, Jaime Temarik and Kim Baker! The last time I saw Jaime and Kim, we were fending off frostbite, searching for the perfect cupcake on a very frigid New York night! More support for the belief that true happiness is only a good book and a cupcake away...

Writer Peer Pressure

It had been not quite six months since SCBWI (Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators) Los Angeles, and I was having serious withdrawals...I couldn't wait to get to New York and see my Seattle friends.

I am originally from the Seattle area, so when I see the Seattle SCBWIers, I feel

like I'm back in the old neighborhood. My purple stingray with the high handlebars and the banana seat may be gone, but the people are just as awesome. You've got to love people who will go on a cupcake quest with you late at night in Greenwich Village when it is about thirty below zero!

We may have looked lost, but we were just huddled in the subway to get warm! On the left is the talented Jaime Temairik, aka, Cocoa Stomp and my 2k9 sister, Sydney Salter's husband, Mike. (Does that make him my 2k9 brother-in-law??)

On the right with me are my East Coast pal, Penny Piva, aka, sweetbrownpoison, and Sydney.

We finally found the elusive cupcake place and even though we were all suffering from hypothermia, it was definitely worth it!

And there I am with the wonderful,

Jolie Stekly, aka, cuppa jolie. It was the third anniversary of our friendship which spans over three thousand miles! Ours is kind of a twilight zone friendship where we led practically parallel lives for years, until three years ago when we finally collided at the writer's intensive at SCBWI New York!

On the right is me with the amazing Kim Baker. Kim doesn't know it yet, but I might be sneaking into her Seattle conference in April...I have a family event a few days later, so really, how could I not go? It's a weird kind of writer peer pressure...you know you want to go...everybody's going...the next thing I know, I'm looking for plane tickets and filling out the conference form...

Looking pensive on the subway is my vlog partner, Jame Richards.

Both Ja(i)mes are amazing, and I can see as it

would be easy to confuse the two...

Jame Richards writes historical fiction and vlogs with me...

Here is her book...

Jaime Temairik has never vlogged at my house,

but I have her wonderful art on the wall in my house. It makes me happy every time I walk by it.

You can buy it on Etzy.com and you can

see her latest creations on her

blog, CocoaStomp. Come on, go there;

you know you want to...

When my parents tried to teach me about avoiding peer pressure, I'm sure they had no idea how persuasive writer friends can be. One second you are safely in your toasty warm hotel room, and the next second you are forming a posse on the subway in subzero temperatures. I've always said the writer's life was solitary, but not when you are at SCBWI...

Facebook Rules and More SCBWI New York

I am pulling out some of my mad first grade teacher skills and asking the question, can you identify the owner of the boot? Which author/illustrator/artist belongs to each boot? And no, Penny, it's not the same as the Sesame Street question, "which of these things doesn't go with the others"...

Well? Put your wild and not so wild guesses in the comment section.

If you would like a few hints, click on this for a video edition of The Backstory. (If you missed Part I, you can go to the blog post before this and click on "video blog"...)

Vlogging with Jame Richards at SCBWI New York

My two critique groups collided...in a good way...at SCBWI (The Society of Chidren's Book Writers and Illustrators) New York last weekend!

I got into town a little early for a book signing with some of my Class of 2k9 siblings, along with Ellen Hopkins, at Books of Wonder...

Seated are Sydney Salter (MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS, JUNGLE CROSSING) me (ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER), Albert Borris (CRASH INTO ME), and Fran Cannon Slayton (WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS).

Standing in picture on right are me, Albert Borris, Lisa Greenwald (MY LIFE IN PINK AND GREEN), Fran Cannon Slayton, J.T. Dutton (FREAKED, STRANDED), Ellen Hopkins (CRANK, BURNED, GLASS, IDENTICAL and TRICKS), and SYDNEY SALTER.

The next afternoon, I had a little down time, so Jame Richards (THREE RIVERS RISING) and I decided to make another video blog. I was worried that Jame might still be mad, because in our last vlog, I may have insinuated that Nancy Drew was historical fiction. Since Jame writes historical fiction, she might have taken that a little personally...you be the judge...does she look a little miffed? ...or is she just concentrating on the beat boxing lessons we were taking? It all goes to show you that anything can happen if you find yourself with five minutes of down time at SCBWI New York...