Jody Feldman

Proposed Dictionary Addition

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:08:26 GMT

Incom(ma)petent -- (adj.) How I feel when I look through my copyedits.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:41:26 GMT

... then it must be Barrie Summy's Book Review Club.

(But first, because of the new FTC policy, I suppose I should state that no one strong-armed me or twisted my arm or otherwise paid me an arm or a leg or a cent to choose to review this or any other book on my blog. It’s by whim that I review the books I do. And while I do receive and read some ARCs, I will only review those I like ... and hopefully that’s enough of that. Now, on to the review.)

A lot of famous and/or classic books seemed to miss me for a variety of reasons. And when I was in San Antonio, having finished the only book I brought, Danielle Joseph’s very fun Shrinking Violet, I walked the three minutes to a B&N near my hotel, looking for something to read in restaurants while I waited for and ate my dinners.

Having already spent a lot of energy during the first few days of my school visits, I needed something that wouldn’t be angsty or particularly heart-pounding or drain me even further. So I bypassed a lot of books that were on my list. Then I saw this one: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. It was time to finally pick it up.

Now, it’s one thing to buy and read the 1968 Newbery winner. But why review a book with ample recognition, thank you very much? Why didn’t I choose to write about a lesser-known book, one that might benefit from the publicity?

It’s mostly because I was mildly shocked at the way I went about reading this book. Usually, I walk halfway through books, then read as fast as I can to outrace my annoying astigmatism that tends to make the words dance so much that I often can’t get to ‘the end’ in the next gulp.

With this book, though, I took it slowly. Savored the plot. Let it unfold to see how this brother and sister who had chosen to run away from home then camp out in New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art; see how they went about trying to survive on little money, trying to solve a mystery the experts couldn’t, and trying to keep from getting caught, and also figuring a way to save face, go home again.

Often these days, books (mine included) are written at a blinding pace in order to keep kids turning pages rather than veering off to play flash-a-second video games. I loved the fact that this book took its time, but still held my attention all the way through. And I appreciate how it may have taught me much as a writer.

This Time It's Different

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:29:12 GMT

FAQ: Isn’t it hard to make up all those puzzles?

Standard Answer: Puzzles are easy; plotting is hard.

New Corollary: When you decide the puzzles need to help drive the plot ... argh!

And It Begins ...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:29:43 GMT

I know when it’s time to start, I often tell the students when I’m visiting schools. It’s time to start writing that new book when my the ideas get so strong, they threaten to blow out my ears.

After an October of travel, I’d planned to get serious about Potential Book 3 on November 2. Today. This morning, however, the ideas are barely whimpering. It’s okay, though. I actually began writing PB3 on September 4, 2007. I got about 30,000 words into it and stopped to work on my 6th-ish to last version of The Seventh Level. I’m thrilled I did stop. For three reasons.

1. The Seventh Level is the right next book.

2. Those 30,000 words were wandering, aimlessly.

3. Time away has allowed me to realize the cause of that aimlessness – mushy backstory.

So while the ideas are not blowing out my ears, my desire to develop the perfect backstory is growing quite strong.

Now I just need Mr. Hoyt (or whatever his name turns out to be) to open his lips and speak sweet history to me.

Thursday Thirteen

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:19:00 GMT

Without further ado, here are the 13 remaining schools I visited in San Antonio last week and the week before.

East Terrell Hills, with its mural and loaded with beautiful and fun reading statuettes....

At Wilshire Elementary (home base of Ginny Walsh, the unbelievable organizer of this extended visit) ... cushy and colorful.

Serna ... where the murals are unbelievably realistic ...

West Avenue,where the world's within reach ...

Harmony Hills with the hallways on the other side of the bookcases ...

Wilderness Oak, the type of library that pulls you in ...

Castle Hills, always ready for storytime and eager readers.

Dellview, Lone Star State, through and through ...

El Dorado ... shipshape, including the old card catalogue ...

Clear Spring ... bright, spacious, and tropically touched, no matter the weather ...

Fox Run, or should we call it "Fox Fun" ...

Regency Place, very royal and regal ...

Colonial Hills ... just pull up a chair or, as most schools needed to do, push them aside to find floor space for all the wonderful students ...

And one more picture ...
While it came from one school, it could have been from any of them.
Thanks, San Antonio North East ISD Schools. I couldn't have felt more welcome!

People

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:52:11 GMT

I’m hoping to get my act together later (not sure if that means later this afternoon or later this week) to post more pictures of the libraries I visited in San Antonio. This morning, though, I want to tackle something a little less time consuming and a lot less about me.

But yes, it does start with me taking a side trip to Austin the Sunday before last. School librarian and adopted cousin Felice Feldman volunteered to drive me to BookPeople for P.J. Hoover’s and Jessica Lee Anderson's book launches. P.J. and I were in the Class of 2k8 together, and I’ve loved spending time with her on two previous occasions in San Antonio. Here we are ...
Me and P.J.; Jessica and P.J.; the SRO crowd at BookPeople

It was great seeing Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, Jo Whittemore and Jennifer Ziegler. And I’m still embarrassed about not recognizing you, Jennifer, then forgetting your name again three seconds later. I can blame exhaustion, but ... well, yeah. I’m playing the exhaustion card.

Plus, to show that some good deeds go unpunished, Felice won an author visit from P.J. She’s so excited.

Switching gears ...

Author Susan VanHecke – great writer, selfless promoter and total whirlwind (I’m guessing this would be true if I ever met her in person) – has two new books recently released ...

*Picture book, An Apple Pie for Dinner, with illustrations that look almost 3D.

*YA, Rock ‘N’ Roll Soldier, a Vietnam War memoir, co-written with veteran Dean Kohler and with a foreword by musician Graham Nash. Very cool.

Last, but not least ...

If you’re in a voting mood, you may want to cast your ballot for T. Rex in the Library to be included in boxes of Cheerios. This book is by author/librarian-extraordinaire/all-round-fabulous-person Toni Buzzeo. This voting page loads very fast; no need to register for anything. Just go to more titles and click on T. Rex.

Bad Blogger Me

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:24:43 GMT

I owe you. I owe you big time. I could make excuses about the spotty nature of the Internet at my hotel (it was wonderful in every other regard; can’t beat the accommodation/value combo of San Antonio Stone Oak Comfort Suites), but the fact is this: Visiting 15 schools and giving 36 presentations in 9 days just wiped me out. So outside of the one post, I had to totally neglect the blogging and non-essential emails in favor of simply sitting and being after hours.

I’ll be playing catch up starting tomorrow. Today, though, I’m giving myself time to indulge in guilty pleasures including watching DVR’d shows, playing computer games and going without makeup or shoes. I’m staying put.

If It's Monday ...

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:24:32 GMT

... It must be Wilderness Oak.

This on-the-road, school visit thing has got to be one of the best things going. I've gotta tell you, though, I come back to my hotel, totally whipped. I must spend a lot of energy in front of those kids.

The plan was to show you pictures from the 8 school libraries I've visited here in San Antonio. So far. Seven more to go. But the network's been unreliable at the hotel, so I'm posting these first two before it kicks me off again. Each library has a distinct personaility, and I've loved every one. Thanks to the librarians who have made me feel at home and who have kept me well-fed.

Redland Oaks ... Raccoon Roost ... and the backdrop for the video morning announcements ...

Camelot ... love the way they carry out the theme ... good fiction, good knight

Ah, The Busy-ness!

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:59:06 GMT

The past week-plus was wonderful. I need to finish packing, but the short version ...

*Attending and presenting at the Missouri Literary Festival in Springfield
*Visiting with 6th graders at Southwest Middle School in Manchester, Missouri

*Talking to and with librarians – always a treat – at the Missouri Library Association Conference in Columbia

*Speaking at The Big Read in St. Louis ... with the most fun ... hanging out with Cindy Lord before, during and after (see her blog for more details right here)

And now, the granddaddy of them all, starting tomorrow ... visiting 15 schools in San Antonio.

The last time I was away from home for this long? I was about 15, and my parents took us for our first big trip, driving the southern route to Los Angeles, going up Highway 1 to San Francisco, then navigating the northern route back to St. Louis.

My mileage on this trip won’t compare, but I have a feeling the experiences will be just as rich.

And I'm Rarely Late

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:31:35 GMT

This past Saturday night, I was 15 minutes late to the cocktail party, held for the patrons and us authors as part of the Missouri Literary Festival. Truth is, it’s easy to slip into the mingling conversations of a cocktail party. And 15 minutes is still within fashionable lateness. But the crowning reason that erased any guilt? It’s what made me late.

Earlier in the day, I attended three sessions from other children’s authors – J.B. Cheaney, Louise Jackson and Kate Klise. (All wonderful, by the way.) Kate’s presentation came just before her duties as our moderator for a panel on getting published. As timing would have it, we found ourselves walking back from the venue to the hotel together. And that’s when she handed me an ARC of her newest, Book One in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series, Dying to Meet You (2009, Harcourt Children’s Books).
(Turns out, it wasn’t just any ARC; it was her marked-up copy with notes to her publisher. Which I still have, but no worries she’s missing it. She told me to throw it away and she’d give me a clean copy. No thanks. This is better.)

I decided to open the enticing cover with the dilapidated Victorian house, always a lure for me. Knowing this was an epistolary novel, I thought I could read some of the correspondence between the characters, put the book down, get dressed and walk the 10 minutes to the Hammons Field clubhouse (a non-stinky locker room in a baseball stadium – very cool) for the party.

Now, you can certainly guess what happened next. I finished the book, jumped into my clothes, slapped thirty seconds of makeup on my face, ran to my car and drove the three blocks. Nope, I didn’t want to put the book down.

Dying to Meet You allows readers the privilege of seeing all the correspondence among the fabulous cast of characters. The three main ones:

*Ignatius P. Grumply, a crotchety, old children’s author who rents the Victorian house as the perfect spot to write his next book. He’s already long past missing his deadline and has spent his huge advance.

*Seymour Hope, an 11 year old, left to live on the third floor of the house while his parents are in Europe.

*Olive C. Spence, now dead 97 years, and who once promised to haunt this house she built until she gets a publishing contract or until forever, whichever comes first.

Other correspondence comes from Seymour’s parents, Ignatius’s lawyer and agent, the town newspaper and others who tie the whole wonderful tale together. The perfect illustrations are, as always, by Kate’s sister M. Sarah Klise.

With Dying to Meet You, Kate Klise has masterfully combined humor (often tongue-in-cheek) with a compelling story, perfect for readers from reluctant to voracious. I, for one, am dying to meet the next books in the series.

Yeah. And to hang out with Kate again.

P.S. You guessed it. This is part of Barrie Summy's Book Review Blog-o-Rama (not the real title, but you get the drift). Thanks for organizing us, Barrie!

No, I Haven’t Dropped Off the Face of LJ ...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:42:02 GMT

... it only looks like I have.

Recently, it’s been a whirlwind of stuff that’s kept me away from both writing and reading. Some not so good, some very good. The not-so-good is, thankfully, getting better. The very good is remaining that way. I am off, in 3 minutes, to an impromptu local school visit, and I hope to be back to LJ more regularly. Tomorrow, in fact, I'll be part of Barrie Summy’s Mega Book Review Day. Can’t way to (try and) catch up!

Friday Five, Because I Forgot How to Say “No” Edition

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:49:58 GMT

1. I haven’t started working toward my JoNoWriMo goals.

2. I haven’t even thought about the WIP.

3. I haven’t yet finished my preparations for next weekend’s talk at the Missouri Literary Festival.

4. I’ve neither cooked much nor eaten well.

5. I feel more than pretty good about helping a worthwhile organization this week.

(Oh,but on Wacky Wednesday I did manage to post about why I once wrote a novel in 10 days. You can read it at ...

kidlit_central)

Oh. My.

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:26:01 GMT

During all those years of rejection after rejection, I would think ...

“I just want a chance to get into schools; have kids read my books; have some fun.”

So, we interrupt the Friday Five for this wonderful letter and news video that totally overwhelmed me.

Good evening! I'm writing on behalf of the Community Read Committee
at the Victor Intermediate School. You may have been in touch with
Maggie Elliott recently, but I thought I'd let you know that our Kick-
Off Celebration was a HUGE success. I've attached the link of the
news story to this email. We literally had nearly 1000 students
stomping their feet, waving their arms, and cheering for your book!
The Marching Band performed, and our local newscaster, Kevin Doran,
introduced the book with amazing flair! He definitely had the kids
all riled up.

We did take video of the celebration, and there was a news story that
has been taped as well. I'm sure that Maggie will send you those in
the upcoming weeks.

I just wanted to extend my thanks for writing such an amazing book.
Our kids have already latched on before they've even opened the first
page!

http://rochesterhomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=119262 (Link to
News 8 Now story about our Opening Ceremony)

Have a great evening,
Kimberly Farrington
Victor Community Read Committee Member

Thank you so much, Victor Intermediate students, Community Read committee and Victor Intermediate librarian Maggie Elliott whom I had the pleasure of meeting this summer. I’m speechless.

(Note: If you watch the video, there will be a brief commercial first.)

To Boast or Not to Boast

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:55:49 GMT

Growing up, I don’t know that I was ever told, point-blank, not to brag or boast, but I knew that’s something I shouldn’t do. I suppose I extended the lesson a little far, and I say that because, when I was about ten, my mom needed to teach me how to accept a compliment.

Still, old habits are hard to shake. I do feel mostly comfortable saying thanks when it’s warranted. I understand the necessity of plugging my books, yet, when I was up on that stage during the St. Louis Art Fair on Sunday to promo my appearance at October’s Big Read, I wasn’t 100% comfortable making my 15 minutes all about me.

So I came well-prepared to plug another author who’ll also be there. After I made my intro, read my chapter and told people to come see me, I did a wonderful job (yes, boasting a little) deflecting the attention off me. I held this up.

"How many of you have read this or otherwise know about this book?" Almost every hand went up (which made me very proud). So even though its author wasn’t there, she helped me out. And I have to say, it was much more fun boasting about Cindy than figuring out how far I should go myself.

Friday Five ... Checklist Edition

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:54:12 GMT

1. Go to lunch with Cindy Reeg andthatgirlygirl ... check!

2. Get a tad nervous about sharing a stage with Ridley Pearson, Sunday 12:45pm, at the St. Louis Art Fair ... check!

3. Finish presentable draft of talk for Missouri Library Association conference ... check!

4. Buy mushrooms, egg rolls and an estate in the south of France ... check! check! and, um ...

5. Have a parent tell me I’m bigger than Hannah Montana to her daughter ... check!

On Page 77

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:47:11 GMT

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was more-than-comfortably late getting to Mrs. P’s for dinner. It wasn’t like my lateness caused the roast to burn in the oven. We were going to order out. But I knew she was hungry. And we’re good enough friends that she could have had that slightly annoyed look on her face when I walked through the door. But she was grinning. I wanted to ask her whose canary she ate, but I let it play out.

Mrs. P is her elementary school’s literacy coach which means she helps the classroom teachers teach reading and writing. Or something like that. It has required her to read a lot of texts on current methodology and all that good stuff you need to be effective.

So when she led me to the kitchen and I saw her stack of books on the table, I didn’t think anything of it. And when she picked one up, I didn’t think anything of it. Maybe she had an urge to look at something. Ours is the type of friendship where we do laundry when the other is over.

But then she turned to page 77 of The Café Book: Engaging All Students in Daily Literacy Assessment and Instruction by Gail Boushay and Joan Moser.

Her grin came back. She handed me the book. I looked at it, and two words caught my eye: Gollywhopper Games.

Last school year, it seems, a student named Amanda had been conferencing with her teacher on a regular basis to help improve her reading accuracy and comprehension. It also seems that the book she was reading during one such conferencing period was mine.

So there, in a teaching-teachers-type book, where Mrs. P expected to see such a title as Number the Stars (or other usual suspects) was my title.

Anyone who came in for dessert would have though we both ate canary for dinner.

We Have 2 Winners!

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:39:34 GMT

It’s a lazy Labor Day, so I took the lazy way to pick my winner for The Impromptu Contest. I was going to write each name on a slip of paper and choose two, but with slightly under 100 entries ... Too. Much. Work. So instead, I employed the random paper toss method.

1. Cut squares, numbered 0 - 9. (Yes, I realized after the fact I could’ve used playing card and saved a tree, but it was scrap paper at least.)

2. Shuffle said squares, making sure they’re all faced the same way.

3. Hold squares vertically between thumb and forefinger, shut eyes, toss up with flick of wrist.

4. Those landing face up are still in the game. Repeat until only one number is face up.

5. Gather all squares, repeat 2-4 for the second digit of winning number.

6. Repeat 2-5 for second winner.

7. Count the comments – it was predetermined that LJ comments would go first, private comments would be sequentially numbered there after – and the winners are ...

#60 and #28.

Congratulations #11 from Mrs. Virgin’s 5^th grade.

Congratulations #15 from Miss Barfield’s 5^th grade.

(Oh, and great system to make it safe for all you students to enter.)

Thanks to everyone for playing!

Friday Five

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:04:31 GMT

1. The Impromptu, Win a Book, an ARC and a T-Shirt Contest is on through 10pm tonight. Here's how to enter.

2. Yes, I’m early (don’t faint), but happy birthday, Snoop! I’d send you a book and a t-shirt, but I know you already have those. Maybe a card. Maybe it’ll get to you by October.

3. To those of you who can’t relate to this, sorry. But it’s football season!

4. And football season usually signifies back-to-school season which puts me in the mood for first-draft-of-new-book season. The timing is great because ...

5. After two full revisions and two more limited ones, and despite my thickheadedness with one issue, The Seventh Level is finally off to copyediting. I can’t say enough about the wonderful editors at Greenwillow – especially the magnificent M – who pushed and pulled and prodded me through this process.

With Fear and Trepidation, I Opened the Book (A Review)

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:12:17 GMT

What I’m about to describe is hardly unusual. An author gets a plot/theme/character/title/or-other-piece-of-an idea. Said Author finishes very promising first draft with said idea central to the book. Author smiles; thinks this book will be the best yet; totally unique. Three days later, Author hears buzz that, say, this coming October will bring the release of a big book with similar plot/theme/character/title/setting/or-other-piece-of-an idea. Author stops smiling. Someone read Author’s brainwaves and beat Author to it.

So even though its release followed The Gollywhopper Games, it was with a sprinkling of fear and a handful of trepidation that, last Friday, I finally opened my long-ago-bought copy of The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin. It’s not that I expected it to be like my book. It was more fear and trepidation that it would be like other books that are in my mind and in my idea folder and in other stages of incompletion, waiting for their 50,000 words.

But, giving myself permission to put the book down at any point, I did read the first chapter, then the second, then the third, and suddenly I was swept into the world of 12-year-old Winston (a self-admitted puzzle geek) who attracts a trail of characters including his pals and sister and town librarian and reporter and unsavory sorts as they try to solve a puzzle that’s supposed to lead to treasure.

This is the most uncrackable puzzle Winston has ever seen. And Winston’s seen a lot of them. A self-admitted puzzle geek, he lives to solve any means of challenges. He creates them, too. Nothing’s off limits in that respect. Not even pizza toppings or baseball uniforms.

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen contains two sorts of puzzles – the non-plot-integrated puzzles he receives from the people who know his passion (with the answers printed in the back) and the global-types that make up the plot.

As a puzzle lover myself, I was able to crack many of the challenges in the book. And I like to think I could have handled them all if I’d taken the time to study them longer. But the plot had this tendency to push me forward, toward the solution of the overall mystery. And that’s what a good book’s supposed to do.

So was I right to read this? It turns out, my fear and trepidation were mostly unfounded. Even though I might have liked to, I would have never written this particular story. And my next book is nothing like this. However, the one that’s half written? That other idea in my file? I promise, Eric, those were in place before I opened your book.

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

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Oh, yeah. And this review is part of Barrie Summy’s Book Review Club.

State Lists!

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:19:35 GMT

Over the weekend, I read about Lisa Schroeder’s exciting news. Her book being included on two state lists. She’d had no idea.

How did she not know? I don’t know. It just happens.

Thanks to correspondence from Texas and North Dakota, I did found out my book was to be on their lists. Vermont, I learned about through my publisher. But I stumbled upon Pennsylvania totally by accident.

So yesterday – mostly to confirm my 4 states were still there, that it hadn’t been a wonderful mirage – I followed the link Lisa used to make her wonderful discovery, typed in my title, clicked it when it popped up and ... not four lists. There were five!

Thanks so much, New Mexico librarians, for including The Gollywhopper Games in your Battle of the Books. I wish I’d known in June so I could have thanked you sooner. And I wish we’d had a battle like that when I was a kid. I would have SO joined a team.

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:25:02 GMT

1. I’ve spent way too long researching LCD projectors online. Someone, please just tell me which brand to buy.

2. I met Marc Tyler Nobleman at a Houston school event this past spring. He recently posted his 10 most memorable school visits. Fun (and touching) reading. If you’d like the countdown in order, start here ... http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2009/08/10-most-memorable-school-visit-moments.html (LJ doesn't want me to embed today.)

3. Selections from this weeks mindPod ... Jet by Paul McCartney, Leaving by Jesse McCartney (when the mind went there I had no clue as to the artist’s name ... so no intentional relation to previous song; it was the “no stress, no stress, no stress” lyrics that caught me), Miss Independence by Kelly Clarkson.

4. Next Wednesday includes another installment of Barrie Summy’s Mega Book Review Mania (or something like that), and I’m about to start a book I’ve been wanting to read for a long time ... one that would definitely interfere with my writing. Good thing I’m not writing right now. (Little break until after Labor Day.) http://barriesummy.blogspot.com

5. But first, on Tuesday, I’m gearing up for a marathon viewing of Pride & Prejudice, the long version. I’m excited to introduce it to my sisters-in-law. And my parents (who already love it) are coming over for the ride. We’ll break for lunch. If you’re in the neighborhood and want to join us, just knock.

The No-Excuses-Necessary Contest Extension

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:14:18 GMT

Due to popular demand (or maybe a teacher asking pretty please with no expectations), I’ve decided to extend the deadline on the Impromptu, Gollywhopper-Games-Paperback-Is-Out Contest (see previous post) until Friday, September 4.

For those of you screaming, “No fair! I’ve already met the deadline!”... I’ve also decided there will be two winners. So bring on the entries!

Impromptu Contest for a Launch that Came Around Very Fast

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:20:45 GMT

I’ve known for a time that The Gollywhopper Games, The Paperback would launch August 25. But with the busy-ness of the summer, it was always a far-off date on the calendar. Until this morning. I woke up. Looked at the calendar. August 25.

Oops.

It’s not like I ever considered having a real launch, but I did think I’d plan a decent blog post. My first instinct was, no big deal. Just let it launch and see who notices. My seconds instinct walloped the first. I couldn’t let the day tiptoe by.

But no time to lose. With The Seventh Level still on my brain, I decided to run with my first idea.

So here’s the impromptu contest ...

In the paperback edition of The Gollywhopper Games, you’ll find the first two chapters of The Seventh Level. Well, two chapters as I submitted them. Since then, they’ve been cut and mangled and sliced and diced and otherwise edited. The first few paragraphs, however, have remained nearly the same. Just a little tweaking.

Below the cut (which didn't quite take) I’ve posted the first four paragraphs as submitted AND those same paragraphs as they currently stand.

1. Read both sets.

2. Look for the changes.

3. Describe, simply, three of them to me in either:

A. An email to jody(*at*)jodyfeldman(*dot*)com or

B. A comment post here. (And no fair cheating if you haven’t played first; the game isn’t that hard.)

AS SUBMITTED:

I’m free! I want to run to the other end of the school and slide down the bannister, but every classroom still has kids and especially teachers, so that would be stupid.

Anyway, Senora Morales said, “Be quick, Travis.” Or really, “Rapido, Travisito.” And she did let me out to fetch the blowfish from my locker even though I was supposed to bring it to the beginning of class.

I go downstairs, slurp from the drinking fountain, peek into Matti’s science room and make a face at her without the teacher seeing, then I turn the corner to go back upstairs.

When I open my locker to get my blowfish, it’s not the only weird thing in there. Balanced at the top on my emergency Three Musketeers bar, there’s a big, blue envelope. Not normal blue, but shine-under-the-surface blue like my favorite Hot Wheels car ever.

AS EDITED:

I’m free! I want to run through the halls and slide down the banisters, but every classroom still has kids and especially teachers, so that would be stupid.

Anyway, Senora Torres said, “Be quick, Travis.” Or really, “Rapido, Travisito.” And she did let me out to fetch the once-alive, now-stuffed blowfish from my locker even though I was supposed to bring it, first thing, to class.

I go downstairs, slurp from the drinking fountain, peek into Matti’s science room and make a face at her without the teacher seeing, then I turn the corner to go back upstairs.

When I open my locker to get my blowfish, it’s not the only weird thing there. Balanced on my emergency Three Musketeers bar, there’s a big, blue envelope. Not normal blue, but

shine-under-the-surface blue like my favorite Hot Wheels car ever.

I’ll send a randomly chosen winner these prizes:

*A Gollywhopper Games t-shirt

*A signed copy of The Gollywhopper Games paperback

*And the ARC of The Seventh Level when it becomes available.

Let’s give this contest a week. All entries are due by 10:00pm, your time zone on ~~September 1~~ Friday, September 4.

Good luck!

Edited to add:
IMPORTANT! If you submit an answer in the comments, please make sure you identify yourself in some way so I can contact you if you win. Thanks!

And edited again:
GOOD NEWS! With the extended deadline, I'll now draw 2 WINNERS!

Friday Five

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:11:26 GMT

1. I think the Air part of my Nikes has a leak. Step. Squeak. Step Squeak. Step. Squeak.

2. That didn’t stop me from being very productive. By the time I came home, I’d decided on my dedication and had written the thing.

3. Not only did I write it in my head, I remembered to type it out when I got home. No small feat for me.

4. I suppose the acknowledgments are next. They’re scary. So I think I’ll change the subject. Ah, yeah. Food’s always good.

5. If you ever come over for dinner, we can talk books and writing, or weather or not, and if you’re real good, I’ll reprise the Tony’s canneloni I made last night. So delicious.

Why I Gave Away My First and Only Copy

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:23:07 GMT

One week from today, the paperback version of The Gollywhopper Games officially launches. My plan was to post some pictures of the book itself ... especially the pages which got me super excited, the two-chapter preview of The Seventh Level.

However, I gave away the only copy I had.

Eventually the UPS guy will knock on the door and leave me a box of 24, but for those of you who’ve had a book come out, you know there’s something about that first copy sent directly from your editor.

And yet, I gave it to a kid I’d only met once and for about three minutes, maybe less, eight or nine years ago. To explain it all, let me backtrack a year or so previous to that.

Due to circumstances unimportant to this story, we’d been on a weekend getaway with Phillip’s parents. While I didn't know them well, we connected quickly, and when his mom asked, I felt comfortable sending her something I’d written, something she could read with Phillip. I mailed her an early draft of The Gollywhopper Games.

Fast forward about a year. We’d just driven 400 miles to attend an event at these people’s house. We were barely in the door when the mom asked if I’d mind meeting Phillip before he went to his grandparents’ for the evening. He came shuffling into the room, barely looking up. Making full eye contact with the floor, he scuffed his foot and, in halting speech, said, “This was ... the best book ... I ever read.” Then he practically raced out of the room.

His mom stood there with her mouth open. “I think I need to borrow you again. We can never get him to shut up.”

What happened in the kitchen gave me the confidence to dust off The Gollywhopper Games from its long-time place in my file cabinet, revise it and submit it for critique at the 2002 SCBWI Conference in LA. After that, the wheels started turning on the book.

This many years later, no matter how much I appreciate what transpired that day, I wouldn’t normally send my only copy to Phillip. But then his dad came into town this weekend.

I hadn’t seen him for several years, and it was great to catch up. Phillip is now heading to college, his dad said. Just the other day, he reminded Phillip that he’d have limited space in his dorm room for personal items and asked what he planned to take. Phillip looked around, past his signed sports memorabilia, past other items his dad thought were sure things. He pointed to his copies of The Gollywhopper Games, the hardback and the manuscript pages he’d kept all these years. “Just those,” Phillip said.

That’s when I pulled out my only paperback copy, signed it and gave it to the dad for Phillip, my first fan. It couldn’t be in better hands.