Happy New Year!

2011 is the year of the Robot, the Goldfish, and The Zombie!

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year...and remember, "don't go with your song still inside you."




Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra, from the movie THE SHIFT.

Thankful

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I'd like to give a shout out to my new friends in Rochester, New York. Northwood, Village, and Quest Elementary Schools hosted my visit earlier this month and I had a terrific time!

BIG thanks to Julie Rapp who organized my visit from start to finish.

Assistant Principal Karen Bolinger read THE SANDWICH SWAP to every single class at Northwood Elementary while dressed as a peanut butter & jelly sandwich! I want to bring her on the road with me as my mascot!


These two lovely young ladies wrote their own lyrics to a beautiful song about friendship and they sang it to me! Thank you, girls! You are so talented.



An amazing gallery of "Sandwich Friends".

Me and more Sandwich Friends.


These little helpers did a fantastic job sharing what they remembered about the beginning, middle, & end of the story in my HUNGRY FOR BOOKS program.



And a great, BIG, GIANT thank you goes out to Brooke who made this enormous, custom sandwich for me for my school visit programs. Check out Brooke's Etsy store, Royal Rugrats, to see all of her adorable felt play food sets.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers!

A Halloween Treat

This Halloween I am passing out a little eye candy - - -
the cover and a few random pages from ZOMBIE IN LOVE! (Simon & Schuster, 2011)
Illustrated by the spooktacular Scott Campbell.
Way better than Milk Duds.
Enjoy!

G4P LIVE!

Saturday, September 11th at 10:30 am GRACE FOR PRESIDENT will come to life on stage with Portland Stage's Theater for Kids! Click the link for more information.

Way to go, Grace! Way to go, kids!

A Look Back at LA...

It's that time of summer again! Next week I'll be in Los Angeles for the SCBWI summer conference. I've been attending this conference nearly every year since 2003. If you're a children's writer, I highly recommend the conference. If you can't swing a trip to California, be sure to check out your local scbwi chapter for regional & state conferences. Michigan has a terrific chapter. If it weren't for scbwi, I think I'd still be collecting stacks of rejection letters.

My first conference in 2003. Pictured with the legendary Tomie dePaola.

The petrified look on my face pretty much sums up how I felt that first conference: I can not believe I am here.

Feeling much more relaxed my second year!

Hangin' out with Rhea and Danny at Storyopolis.

Michael impersonator & me in front of the Kodak Theatre. 2006.


The very best part of LA...time with my girlfriends!

Left to Right: Paula Yoo, April Fritz, Lisa Wheeler, Me, Hope Vestergaard


Lisa Wheeler with SIPPING SPIDERS THROUGH A STRAW illustrator, Gris Grimly. 2007.


One of my heroes! Former Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Jon Scieszka.

New York Times bestselling author, Jay Asher. FYI: What happens in LA, doesn't always stay in LA.

Paula Yoo and former CWIM editor and current SCBWI blogger, Alice Pope.

Left to Right: Paula Yoo, Me, Lisa Wheeler, Carolyn Crimi, April Fritz, & Autumn Cornwell 2008.

Left to Right: Ben Esch, Sonya Sones, Stephanie Hemphill, Paula Yoo,

Steven Malk, Lisa Wheeler, Deanna Caswell, Me, & Donna Bray

Shiny, happy people: Me, Lisa, Agent Steve Malk, Paula

2009. In LA with my husband. That white dot above my head is the

Hollywood sign.

Check back this fall for 2010 conference pics!

25 Things You Don't Know About Me...

1. I got fired from my very first waitressing job at BIG BOY.

2. I have freakishly small baby toes.

3. I grew up in a haunted house. (this one---> )

4. I love to watch TOP CHEF, but I hate to cook.

5. I believe in extraterrestrials.

6. I delivered all three of my children without any pain medication. Two were delivered by a midwife.



7. When I was a child, I had a pet goat named Ladybird Johnson.
<-----this is her.

8. I like liverwurst sandwiches.

9. My appendix was removed by mistake.

10. I started writing children's books because of a dream my aunt had after my grandpa died in 1993.

11. For 20 years I drank instant coffee (gack!). Now I am a total coffee snob and I only drink brewed Starbucks French Roast.

12. I dislike Christmas.

13. I take at least 20 vitamin, mineral, & herb suppliments every day.

14. I have Barry Manilow songs on my iPod.

15. I am most proud that my children have a sense of humor.

16. When I was a child, I caught a live bat and kept it as a pet for a whole week.

17. My grandma will be 103 years old in September.

18. I like burnt potato chips.

19. My favorite flowers are lilacs.

20. The first picture book I ever wrote was about a turtle who wanted to learn how to dance. (I am a terrible dancer!)

21. I have a bachelor's degree in child psych. & development.

22. Five years ago a psychic predicted that one of my books would be featured on Good Morning America. I did not believe her. (THE SANDWICH SWAP, April 27, 2010)

23. Sedona, Arizona is one of my favorite places on the planet. Ironically, my favorite thing to do on vacation is beachcombing.

24. I love the smell of puppies.

25. I'm not very good at updating my blog, but you probably already know that!

SANDWICH SWAP #1 on NY Times bestseller list!