Early Sunday morning thought. My cat woke me at 5:00 to remind me to get up and work on my novel—and give him his morning treats—which I did, like any obedient cat slave–I mean, owner. Now, light has filtered in to my office and my left-brain is too awake to novel-write anymore, which led me to think on other things.

Yesterday I attended a “critiquenic” in Bakersfield, CA, with a group of fellow SCBWI members. We got to talking about teen-lingo and activities, such as text messaging. Someone brought up the fact that there is a book series by Lauren Myracle, called The Internet Girls. The book titles are “TTYL,” “TTFN,” and “L8R G8R” (I’ll let you figure them out ;-).

On my drive home, I was thinking about this, and it occurred to me that the text-messaging thing isn’t all that new. Well yes, the means to do it is, but abbreviating words to convey messages was started long ago. By Tigger, of all people (yes, I look at Tigger as a person).

Our beloved Tigger, who was created by A.A. Milne, as one of Winnie the Pooh’s friends, and later took on an even grander life with the help of the early Disney geniuses, was ahead of his time. It was Tigger who bounced away, hollering back to his friends of The Hundred Acre Woods, “TTFN!”

What a cat! Let’s here it for Tigger, a feline well ahead of his time.

TTFN…

I love so many things about being an author, but one thing that I loathe is the photo thing. A simple reality that you cannot escape is that once you have a book out, someone (most likely your publisher) is going to want a photo of you for publicity purposes.

I hate this.

You might say, “Why Terry, you’re always such an upbeat person, why the sudden negativity?” Or as my husband would say, “Honey, would you like a little cheese to go with that whine?”

Well, I’m in the process of organizing a PowerPoint presentation for the annual SCBWI Ventura/Santa Barbara Writer’s Day (click here for details), and I have to include two photos of myself. Ugh…two??? Whose big idea was this anyway? Oh, right…that would be Alexis, my regional advisor (thanks, Alexis!). But I really only have myself to blame, as I’m the coordinator so I should have come up with some clever excuse to exclude myself.

I’ve been sorting through pictures and it’s no easy task—hmm…do I want something that shows what I do in my spare time (maybe catch the attention of that editor who has been looking for someone who knows a lot about backpacking or trimming cats’ claws), or do I choose one of me doing a school visit (to appeal to that person in the audience who is in charge of booking authors at his/her school), or do I pick one that shows me surrounded by my cats as I’m scribbling away on a notepad (to connect with the other writers in the audience). Now before you say, “Holy cow, Batman, that’s the longest run-on sentence I’ve ever seen!” or “You husband is right—you DO need a little cheese to go with that whine!” you must understand my frustration.

I collect photos from many other authors and illustrators for this project, and some (ahem, Mary Hershey, Val Hobbs, Lee Wardlaw, to name a few) take awesome photos! (Wait—it just occurred to me that they all live in Santa Barbara. Maybe they all use the same photographer–yes, surely that’s it.). Compared to some of these other writers, I feel like I should put a bag over my head with a couple of holes for eyes. Hmm…I do have some artistic friends who could come up with a really pretty bag…

I used to think it was because I didn’t have enough selection (I was always the person shooting the pictures), but I’m finally remembering during the course of the year to take pictures of me at interesting moments. Uh…that didn’t seem to help either. Let’s face it, but there’s nothing like a picture taken by a professional photographer. And I didn’t see any this summer on Mt. St. Helen’s or on that cool whale watch I did off of Cape Cod.

So once again, I’ll harangue my poor husband into taking about 30 pictures of me so that I can find one that doesn’t make me totally cringe (until I can find a reasonable photographer that I like where I live). It’s like the old I Love Lucy episode where she and Ethel have to get pictures for their passports for Europe. They have to settle on the best one out of 100, and even at that, poor Lucy’s face is as twisted as a pretzel.

What’s my point? Save those good photos (unlike the one above)—save the posed shots, action shots, professional ones and fun snapshots. You never know when you’ll need a huge selection to find “the magic one” for the right publicity opportunity. That is, unless your Mary, Val or Lee!

I just got back from a two-week trip to the East Coast, which included my first visit ever to New England. In my vow to keep my blog related to writing for children (and not bore people with things like what I had for lunch today), I’ll bring up two writing-related incidences—both occurring in Boston (a city which totally rocks, by the way).

First, (and shhh, don’t tell my husband this), I was on a secret mission to find the memorial statue of MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, one of my favorite classic children’s books. I love the story and the artwork, how the monotone illustrations capture the essence of all that is “duck.” We had barely gotten off “the T” and strolled over to the Boston Common when we found it. I was delighted in watching others approach the ducks and talk about the story. Children climbed onto the Mrs. Mallard’s back and hugged her as their parents snapped off photos. Kids and adults alike talked about the plight of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard of finding the perfect home for their ducklings. It was so wonderful to have that common bond with complete strangers of a favorite children’s book—a young woman half my age, young children, parents, and grandparents. Isn’t that what children’s literature is all about?

The second kid-lit related incident occurred in a graveyard, of all places. We were leaving The Granary Burying Ground (where we had seen Paul Revere’s grave), when a tour guide’s voice caught my ear. “So there you have the gravesite of Mother Goose.” Huh? I spun around so hard I almost gave myself whiplash. Mother Goose’s gravesite?

While doing research for the brief history of Mother Goose, which I had to write for my MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES series, I had read about Elizabeth Foster Goose, a Bostonian woman who supposedly wrote rhymes for children. However, my research also pointed out in France in the 1600’s, there were references to “Mere L’Oye”, the wife of King Robert II, who also was believed to have created stories for children. Not much later, there were British references to Mother Goose.

Interesting how some people interpret history (such as the tour guide who so solidly deemed the woman in this grave as the definitive Mother Goose). Someone once told me that history is 10% facts and 90% interpretation of those facts. Good observation. Even where dear, old Mother Goose is concerned.

Ahh, Oregon. My home away from home. I just returned from an extensive stay in the Evergreen State. It’s beautiful, it’s down-to-earth and it’s the birthplace of Blackberry Banquet . Blackberry bushes are everywhere in the Pacific Northwest. They’re actually a highly invasive plant, seen as an annoyance by many, but in a few weeks, the delicate white flowers will have all disappeared and made way for the plump, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth sweet sensation that only comes from a blackberry fresh off the bush. Ahh, Oregon!

I took my camera for photographing pictures for future inspiration. I took many walks and bike rides to do “that ruminating thing” that writers must do for their creative spirit (that was how Blackberry Banquet came about, after all). Going to Oregon is like dipping my writing spirit into the well of creativity. Perhaps because I spent part of my childhood in the Pacific Northwest, perhaps because it’s so very different from my desert home. Or perhaps there’s a magic in The Pacific Northwest that lends itself to folks like us. Ah, Oregon!

I’d never heard of “8 Things Meme” until this morning, when Gregory K. swept me into the game (oh, the things people will do to play on the internet!). Here are the rules:

Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

So, for all of you who are just dying to learn some tidbit factoid about me (and I know there are tens, perhaps teens of you), here you go:

1. I’ve hiked from Yosemite National Park to Mt. Whitney in one trip (5 weeks), and of course, kept a daily journal.

2. I once knocked out a 2nd Degree Black Belt at a Women’s Self-Defense Seminar (this was before I took any TKD lessons).

3. I hate math. Just seeing math problems makes my stomach “go acrobatic.”

4. I kiss cats (but not stranger cats, just those in my family).

5. Dinosaurs fascinate me.

6. I have a stuffed monkey who screams and whoops when I squeeze his paw. I only squeeze it when I get a contract offer. He’s a good luck charm from my husband.

7. My favorite time of day to write is between 5:00 AM to 6:00 AM, in my dimly lit office, with a cup of hot coffee in front of me and my cats snoozing away nearby.

8. I can cook one mean Thanksgiving dinner. Rachael Ray, watch out!

Okay, here’s the hard part–hmm…which friends do I want to list? I hate doing these kinds of things, which is why you should never send me a chain letter (another fact to know about me). Let’s tag (see how I made it plural, incorporating readers into it, like it’s beyond my control), Robin and Mary at Shrinking Violets Promotion, and of course, Greg Trine (AKA, Melvin Beederman), and Kristen Kofsky (who just recently started her blog–welcome, Kristen!). That’s only four, but oh well!

Authors receive many letters from students—there’s nothing new about that. We love hearing from kids. They are, after all, who we write for.

What I like about the following letters is that both students talked about their teacher, Ms. Lowry. Perhaps because this took me back to my former grade school teachers whose influence still resonates in me today. I’ll always remember Mrs. Barnes, who invited students to her home over summer vacation, so she could finish reading a novel she’d begun at the end of the school year. Or my fifth grade teacher who taught us simple conversational Russian, during the time of the cold war, when the USSR was considered “the enemy.” She modeled respect for other cultures by exposing us to the language and the people (wow–what a great lesson to learn!).

Teachers are some of my most favorite people, and there are many excellent ones out there—influencing our children for the moment and for the future, laying the groundwork for their lives with care, creativity, dedication and countless hours beyond what their contract dictates.

Many teachers are now counting—not as in counting with their students, but counting the days til summer vacation. It’s almost upon us and I hope all teachers enjoy a well-earned break. It’s their time to rev up, recharge and recreate!

Here are a couple more letters I received from students:

Dear Ms. Pierce,

Sincerely,
**** **** ♥

Last week I had the privilege of participating at the Kern Reading Association’s Young Author Fair, in Bakersfield, CA. In three words, What a Blast! Not only did I enjoy spending time with other folks who love children’s books (students, fellow authors, reading enthusiasts, librarians, educators) but I had the joy of visiting four fabulous schools—Columbia Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary, Franklin Elementary and Sequoia Elementary. The event culminated with the Young Author’s Fair, where thousands of student-written books were displayed at Standard Elementary School. This truly was a happening event that highlighted many, many outstanding young authors.

The things that struck me the most about my week in Bakersfield were the amazing students and their dedicated, hard-working teachers and staff. Children were courteous, enthusiastic and eager to hear my stories and ask questions about writing and being an author. Educators had prepared their students for my visit, thus creating an atmosphere of interest and excitement (one school had been reading my jokes over the loud speaker during the various times of the day—since January!).

I saw school staff bending over backwards to insure that books were placed into the hands of children. I was particularly touched to hear about the students of a high-poverty level school who were paying for their books with coins they had scrimped and saved—surprising the school staff and clearly showing that children are thirsty for books and will do what they can when the opportunity presents itself to them.

At the KRA Author Dinner on Friday night, each author had to give a brief talk about our week. I shared a statement that night that I’d like to repeat here—people who say that the public school system is failing our children have clearly never been to Bakersfield. And I know this concept is not limited to Bakersfield. Amazing things occur in classrooms throughout the U.S. every day. I only wish other folks could see the magic firsthand.

One class wrote me some letters and I’d like to share some of them on my blog (with their permission, of course). So, here is the first one:

Dear Ms. Pierce,

Sincerely,
*** ***

This week is National Library Week. Here are a few interesting facts about libraries:

The first “lending library” in our country was started in 1731 by a book-lover, avid reader and printer named Benjamin Franklin. You might have heard of him before. At that time, books were expensive and not easily available to the general public, so he and a group of fellow printers decided that if they pooled their financial resources, they could buy books from England and let community members borrow them.

The first municipally supported public library in the U.S. was the Boston Public Library, which was established in 1848 and is now a historical national monument.

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world. It was founded in Philadelphia in 1876.

Visit your local library this week and take advantage of all it has to offer!

I’m a bit late in posting something about the recent debate over Susan Patron’s Newbery-winning novel, THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, but since the controversy still rages on…

Admittedly, I haven’t read the book yet—I’m number six on my local library’s waiting list, but I’ve gleaned enough information to say that, IMHO, this entire thing seems a bit nuts (no pun intended).

The anatomical term—scrotum—is used on the first page of the novel. Apparently, it is not used in a vulgar context; it’s in reference to a dog being bitten on the scrotum by a rattlesnake (the image of the poor suffering dog should warrant more distress than reading the word “scrotum”). I simply do not see why this is an issue with some folks. Do they object to the use of all anatomical terms in children’s books as well? How would they handle a reference to a mother who is breast-feeding? There’s nothing more natural than that, but dare an author use the word “breast”?

The other irony I find is that the people who are objecting the loudest to the use of the term are some librarians, who find it their duty to control what goes into their libraries and hence, what children read. Ahem…the American Library Association gives the Newbery Award. Shall I say it again? The American LIBRARY Association. This makes as much sense as a librarian holding in one hand a lit torch to a pile of banned books and holding a fire extinguisher in the other hand.

However, if you want to rile up a group of kid-lit folks, this is the way. This treads beyond a dog’s nether regions, it goes to censorship issues and if one really wants to push the argument, the whole religious right movement that’s occurred in our country for the past six years. And one thing about Americans—we love our First Amendment rights and we love a good debate. No matter who gets bit in the scrotum!

I hope Ms. Patron, a writer AND librarian, benefits from this with thousands of additional book sales. She deserves it—after all, she did write a Newbery Award winner—and that’s far more important than one little word.