The U.S. Marine Corps was so flattered that Bugs Bunny decided to become a Marine in [Super-Rabbit] they officially inducted him into the force as a private, complete with dogtags. The character was regularly promoted until Bugs was officially "discharged" at the end of World War II as a Master Sergeant. ~ From Wikipedia
Hare meets Herr
Falling Hare
Bugs Bunny - Super-Rabbit
Posting a picture of Bugs with his shirt off would be pretty pointless. But did you know there's a website devoted to exploring all the times he dressed in drag?
(I actually did the writing, and Dan Santat did the illustrations, but Peeps claims that everything was her idea.)
How did we celebrate? Why with Dot's Cupcakes, what else . . .
Later, it was time to do all those exciting and glamorous things authors do when they are not writing. Like laundry, paying bills, and this . . .
Um, that's Peepy at the grocery store. The dog poster scared her, so she tried to hide from him . . .
Then it was time to go home . . .
. . . where we prepped for out teaching gig at the Santa Monica Public Library this Wednesday. The last time we were there, we were onstage with the Fonz . . .
This time, we'll be teaching and talking writing with teens as part of . . .
Inspire Me! A Teen Writers' Workshop
An intensive workshop where teens meet with local writers, develop their creative writing skills, and get a chance to publish their pieces in a Teen Zine. Authors include Sonya Sones, Lisa Yee , Robin Benway, and Ron Koertge. .
Hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day! Peeps and I watched our hometown parade . . .
BTW, even though we have been known to eat non-healthy desserts, here's what I did not eat for 4th of July, courtesy of the website "This is why you're fat . . . where dreams become heart attacks."
To see more heart cloggers, CLICK HERE.
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I am not ashamed of my legs, exactly. But i am a very pale-skinned person. I have done my time on swimteam and lifeguarding outdoors. Skin cancer runs in my family. I see no reason to actively pursue a tan.
I am also very tall.
This means that when i do wear shorts, there is an awful lot of white leg on display.
And while i am relatively comfortable with the color of my skin--because i know it will keep me healthier and younger looking longer, etc, and well, it is the color that i happen to be--other people have trouble with my skin color.
But today was hot; so i decided (as i do maybe once or twice a summer) to go out in public in my shorts.
Did the clerk at the grocery store comment on the color of my skin? Oh, yes, he did.
Maybe i am old enough that i can get stubborn about this now. Or just invest in goth makeup and more black than i already wear... But that latter option sounds hot and slimy.
I am exhausted.
So I leave you with my favorite beach picture-- from our deep sea fishing trip. This is me and my fish with Pirate In Training Eric.
PIT Eric: sewed up his own flesh wounds with a bottle of Jack Daniels and a needle, smoked like it was going out of style, and was very excited about fishing. Also hot.
My fish: Was way harder to reel in than he looks. With the fight he was putting up, I anticipated a 500 pound water bear to come crawling over the side of the boat.
I: Must be referred to as Pirate Jackson SparkleBoots the Mighty from now on.
I'm really pleased to see how this community and the fandom is thriving - so much wonderful art, fic, and impromptu collaborated medleys. I've never been part of such a small fandom, especially in its infancy, so this is a neat experience.
I greatly enjoyed TDL - really, it's a stunningly good first novel from an author, and the writing didn't at all disappoint me from what she produced as Maya. All the fannish activity has kept me pondering the book, though - oh, and I can't wait for the sequels - but I thought I'd pose a question to all of you, for general discussion, about something which Sarah might discuss in future books.
( cut for spoilers )
Also, has anyone considered making a community exclusively for fanfic and fanart of Sarah's works? It might be useful to have a place where it's separated from just one all-purpose community, as this one, which is filled with a lot of reviews and other stuff. And hey, I think her fandom deserves multiple communities. :D
P.S.: I was just looking at the community's profile, and shouldn't someone edit the part about "her upcoming publication"?
Princess for Hire
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lindsey_leavitt) Princess for Hire. The release date on the book is not until next March, so i had a bit of a time warp moment. (Especially since a coworker had just been complaining about there being catalogs with Christmas books in them--something we don't want to be thinking about in July.) But i was also thrilled! I love all of my writer friends, and i am proud of all of you, but i have to confess that i am particularly proud of Lindsey.I remember the first piece of hers that i ever read. It was on the SCBWI's discussion board. It was about a girl who wanted to be a cowboy and a cow that wanted to be... oh, dear, here my memory is fuzzy--i think the cow wanted to be in a parade. Or maybe it wanted something even grander. But the two team up, get most of what they wanted from each other, and ride off into the sunset together. I laughed. It was brilliant. I could totally see it as an illustrated picture book, the images were that clear. So, i emailed her. We've been friends since.
I did not see a whole manuscript for Princess for Hire, but i remember the idea in concept. I remember thinking, if not saying, after reading the first sketch paragraphs, that this was a book that would sell. And it did.
You might think that believing in Lindsey's perpetual brilliance would set me up to be disappointed at some point. But it never has. The lady has a way with words--her characters are so lovably funny, her descriptions so spot on humorous. I stayed up very late last night, reading Princess for Hire, thinking "just one more chapter and then i'll go to bed". I finally had to force myself to go to bed, but the first thing i did when i got up this morning was pick up the book. I loved it. But i suppose that is not a surprise to me; i knew i would.
What i love most about Princess for Hire:
1. Lindsey's trademark humor--Desi is adorably self-focused and so very fourteen.
2. How beautifully unglamorous/mundane/not-at-all-what-you-d
3. How Desi's self-confidence grows.
4. How the book celebrates standing up for who you are and expecting respect from others for who you are.
In short, i can't wait 'til March when i get to start encouraging kids (and adults) to read it.
Although to be honest, I'm not super-fond of fireworks.
And on this particular 4th of July, I'm a bit concerned that at least some of the rockets and bombs were sent up by North Korea.
- Feeling groovy?:
somber - Listening to anything?:Star-Spangled Banner (brainradio)
Writers find inspiration, like lint or spare change, in a variety of places. Historical writers will have different muses I'm sure from fantasy writers, etc. As someone who loves surrealism, and who would place their writing in the damp place between the umbrellas of "magical realism" and "fantasy" I have a few very special sources for inspiration.
I'll preface by saying that I do, of course, research any historical elements in my projects, and I do also find much of my inspiration from the world around me. TSM was found in an abandoned lot, where a single door had yet to be torn down.
I look to folklore and fairy tale, and my academic fascination with archetypes and oral lore definitely cross over into my fiction.
But there are times when neither looking around nor closing my eyes seems to get me what I need, and when that happens, I often turn to Duy Huynh.
A painter whose incredible palettes, sleepy edges, and stunning visuals capture me every single time, Duy is one of my favorite muses.
I'm lucky enough to own a very small glazed piece of his, with a dark-haired girl in a forest, held aloft by strings, on then end of which are yellow butterflies. My parents own a larger one with a train, the smoke of which forms a sleeping body.
I invite you to check out the whimsy of Duy Huynh's work, regardless of whether this sort of thing inspires your writing or not. He's simply an amazing artist who deserves the following.
His Website.
Originally published at The Dialectic. You can comment here or there.
Fellow Deb and Word Ninja Cyn Balog’s debut novel, Fairy Tale, is giving the zombies a serious shamble for their money as the hot new “creature” of Young Adult fiction. Who will replace vampires? Werewolves had a brief appearance, zombies have a good head start, but with books like Fairy Tale, Wings, and Faery Rebel, and Eyes Like Stars cresting, could fairies (or is that faeries) be the next big thing?
About Fairy Tale
Morgan Sparks and Cam Browne are a match made in heaven. They’ve been best friends since birth, they tell each other everything, and oh yeah- they’re totally hot for each other. But a week before their joint Sweet Sixteen bash, everything changes. Cam’s awkward cousin Pip comes to stay, and Morgan is stunned when her formerly perfect boyfriend seems to be drifting away. When Morgan demands answers, she’s shocked to discover the source of Cam’s distance isn’t another girl- it’s another world. Pip claims that Cam is a fairy. No, seriously. A fairy. And now his people want Cam to return to their world and take his rightful place as Fairy King.
Determined to keep Cam with her, Morgan plots to fool the fairies. But as Cam continues to change, she has to decide once and for all if he really is her destiny, and if their “perfect” love can weather an uncertain future.
About Cyn Balog
Cyn Balog is a normal, everyday Jersey Girl who always believed magical things can happen to us when we least expect them. She’s also the Race & Event Manager for several national fitness magazines. She lives outside Allentown, Pennsylvania with her husband and young daughter. Both are 100% human, or so she thinks. FAIRY TALE is her first novel.
My probing and insightful questions
What is your favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite?
Considering I LOVE writing so much, it’s weird that I think my favorite part is writing “THE END”. Maybe because it’s kind of a love/hate thing… I adore it when a scene is working and loathe it when it’s not. I hate revisions, though… I can’t stand reading over and over the same tired stuff I wrote until I want to go crazy. Usually I end up sending revisions to my editor not when I’m satisfied of it, but when I’m so sick of the manuscript I can’t look at it anymore.
What writing “gear” do you like (could be anything from your favorite tool to your favorite tchotchke)?
I am pretty much a minimalist. I need a laptop, with Word, and that’s about it.
Zombie, Pirate, Robot, or Ninja…you must chose one.
Zombies. I adore zombies. Which is odd considering that they scare the crap out of me. I just had a dream a couple nights ago that they were invading my neighborhood and I’ve never woken up so scared in all my life!
Buy this book or face the…er…zombie fairy…
I wasn't intentional about reading CHAINS during the week of July 4th. I read it because it was right there within easy reach at the local library. Because it is historical fiction. And because I know how Laurie Halse Anderson writes!Indeed.
What an astute move on Laurie's part to tell a slavery story that takes place in 1776 - right there in New York City where Loyalists and Patriots were duking it out over the colonies' desire to be free from England.
Isabel is supposed to be freed upon her owner's death but the owner's greedy relative snatches her and little sister Ruth up and sells them. However, Isabel's knowledge of her intended freedom and her own belief in the right of all people to be free, do not allow her to ever be fully enslaved.
She works for her viscious new Madam because she must. But when she meets another slave - a boy who works for the Patriot's cause, she finds herself in a position to work against her Madam and the Loyalists. The risks she takes lead her into deep trouble.
But it's possible that risk-taking ultimately leads to her independence.
Of course we do not know for sure what happens to Isabel. We will have to wait for January 2010 to read the rest of her story in FORGE, a sequel.
First line of Chains: The best time to talk to ghosts is just before the sun comes up.
Chains won the Scott O'Dell Award 2009 and was a 2008 National Book Award finalist. Laurie won the Margaret A. Edwards award for lifetime acheivement in young adult literature.
Huzzah! Huzzah!
Here's to the freedom of all people everywhere. And freedom from our own chains which we unwittingly cling to because we're afraid to take risks.
Here's Mickey and Louie sharing a holiday meal. Natural enemies, best of friends. Much to be learned over a dish bowl, methinks. Now I'm off to put that potato casserole into the oven before the picnic (go AWAY, rain!) and check that key lime pie....
2. We went to multiple stores yesterday looking for a decorative but HEAVY chain to hold up the antique chandelier we bought, oh, a year or more ago. We can find heavy chains that will hold the heavy chandelier but they look like the ones you use to tow a car. And I am sure that when the electrican goes to hang it he is going to find more a problem in the ceiling. It's just the way it goes with this house.
3. The bird bath in the backyard overflows, which is good, to water the fern/wetlands area near the patio. However it does not flow the direction one would think, as in down the steeper incline. It flows toward the patio so much so that we now have a bog. Which is not good. We have played with multiple solutions and while they MIGHT work, none of the strike me as ones that WILL work for sure which is realy frustrating.
4. We have lived in this house for over two years now and the living room still does not have any furniture or a purpose or a hint of a purpose that would help me figure out what to do with it. It's a funky design that makes it even more difficult. So basically you walk into the house and see a junky room which is, let's face it, rather depressing.
5. I am trying to find a handyman or a carpenter or someone to build us sturdy garage cabinets, ones that don't have particle board shelves that will warp as soon as you put a can of paint on them, but they don't seem to be anywhere around.
6. Okay so those are only five things that are frustrating me but it frustrates me that they are bugging me so I'm counting that as number six.
I have also asked writers outside of children's and young adult fiction if they might know someone who wouldn't mind reading a text (for a nominal fee). Just last fall I asked Blas Falconer, a professor at Austin Peay State University and an award winning poet if he would read something for me. Blas is amazing, and I had the honor of teaching some young adult students with him last summer. He wasn't sure about the young adult audience so asked a friend, Curtis Crisler to give it a look. As is turns our Curtis published a critically acclaimed young adult poetry book Tough Boy Sonatas with Wordsong (one of the imprints of Boyds Mills Press), so we shared the same editor. I would have never asked Curtis to read the manuscript because I was too intimidated. But small world. Curtis gave me a terrific critique in exchange for a small fee, which he used to buys YA fiction.
If you feel you really just don't know anyone, then take a look at the web site of the IEG or Independent Editors Group. This is a group of New York based professional book doctors who practice in many genres and with many different processes and fees. The one thing they all have in common is that they are experienced and ethical in how they work with clients. They have been together for ten years and have worked with clients like Stephen King and Maya Angelou. These editors are not inexpensive, but they know what they are doing.
I have to say, Stephen gave me the best advice I've ever received as a writer. His first comment as my editor was, "Cut all the interior monologue." Doing that changed Long Gone Daddy into a better book, made it 100 pages shorter, and helped me see how to leave room for the reader in my manuscript.
So that's our week. I'm off for a cook out and some fireworks!
I can't wait for Kara's comments on my picture book manuscript. But in case you're interested, here's the text as it stands now (see below). On this very happy independence day, I'm thinking of my friends in South Africa, their new democracy, and the hope they share. Let freedom ring...in peace, y'all. Anon. HHThe Peace Garden of Manenberg
Rita rakes the tender sand.
Until one day, the people of Manenberg said, “No More!”
No more stones.
No more bullets.
No more graves.
“Make us a peace garden?” they asked Rita.
“Yebo,” she said.
And Rita began to rake.
And the people began to plant.
And the land began to come alive
With paths for running
And bridges for wishing
And a community amphitheater for music and dancing.
Rita and the people raked love into the soil.
Peace began to grow.
Now, each day the garden explodes with the colors of the South African sky.
The flowers are rich ruby, purely pink, mango, and spicy yellow.
The leaves are soft silver and leathery purple.
And each day Rita rakes.
And stones become flowers,
And flowers become love,
And love becomes hope,
In the peace garden of Manenberg.
Author’s note: Manenberg is one of several townships that surround Cape Town, South Africa. The township, a community marred by high unemployment, gangs, crime, and drug abuse, is home to seventy thousand poor South Africans of mixed race who were relocated during apartheid. After fifteen years of South African democracy, the town felt little was being done to better their community, so the people of Manenberg decided to take matters into their own hands. The Peace Garden of Manenberg was open in February, 2008 in conjunction with Proudly Manenberg, a community-activist group, and Western Cape Environment, Planning and Economic Development. Proudly Manenberg is also working to improve education opportunities for children, create employment within the community, and stop gangs by shutting down their operational space. The Peace Garden of Manenberg is their first community effort to stop gang violence.
Page Summary
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fuseno8 : Video Sunday: Parrots and Zombies (but sadly, no zombie parrots) [+0] - kris_reisz : Why America is awesome (part 3 of 3) [+0]
- lisayee : An Author's Off Day(s) [+0]
- edit_anon : Definitions for the Perplexed: "Pre-Published" [+0]
- edit_anon : Consistency, Thy Name Is Not Editor [+0]
- edit_anon : I Won! I Won! What Do You Mean, Who Else Was in the Running? [+0]
- amjenkins : (no subject) [+0]
- annecy_dit : And a Mini-Rant [+5]
- watchmebe : Vacation End [+5]
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marmalade_fish :: lavinialavender : Question to ponder about the future of the canon... [+4] - annecy_dit : Princess for Hire [+6]
- kellyrfineman : . . . and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air . . . [+3]
- veschwab : Inspiration: Duy Huynh [+12]
- jonnyskov : 3 Questions with Cyn Balog [+0]
- moyer_girl : CHAINS (Just in time for Independence Day!) [+0]
- traciezimmer : Happy 4rth [+2]
- blackholly : Trying out something new for the frontpage of website [+28]
- susanwrites : Six on Saturday - the things that are frustrating me edition [+0]
- thru_the_booth :: helenhemphill : Who you gonna call? [+2]
- fuseno8 : Help! My Ten-Year-Old Wants to Read Twilight [+0]