Monday Miscellany

For today's blog post I offer you a grab bag of happy-making things:

TEA AND A GARDEN WALK
This past Tuesday I picked up my dear friend Michelle in Dallas and we had quite the tea adventure in Fort Worth. I'd read glowing reviews of Antique Outlet and Mitra's Tearoom on Teamap. When we arrived, we were afraid the GPS had failed us -- all we found was an old and mostly dead strip mall. Upon closer inspection, we noticed the "Antiques and Tea Room" sign. We ventured inside to find a fairly ordinary-looking antique shop. At the back, however, was a little Victorian oasis of dainty, chintz-bedecked tables surrounded by teacup and teapot displays. Mitra's Tearoom doesn't actually offer an afternoon tea, but we enjoyed a "combo" lunch that included soup, tea sandwiches, salad, and dessert. It was DELICIOUS. Our tastebuds rejoiced and our tummies groaned.

We poked around the antiques afterwards, but soon realized a brisk walk was in order. Hence we made our way to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.


See Michelle above with our tea and muffin appetizers (or would you say amuse-bouches?). On the right is a lovely wooden path through the Botanic Garden. We certainly met our goal of walking off the meal--the garden encompasses 110 acres--and the fact that it was 90 degrees outside made it even more challenging. But what a gorgeous place! I can't wait to visit when the trees are in full leaf.

KIDLIT CELEBRATION

On Friday I took Michelle to the airport (wah!) and immediately set out for Tulsa, as this past weekend was the "Ignite the Spark" conference for the Oklahoma region of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Our regional advisors put together a splendid panel of agents and editors, and, as always, I enjoyed meeting up with old friends and new. (Above you see me with Valerie Lawson and my roomie/critique partner Brandi Barnett.) I left inspired and recharged, which is a good thing as this week I REALLY MUST GET SOME WRITING WORK DONE.

BRAINY COSTUME DRAMA

Finally, I just wanted to point out that the BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall is finally coming to PBS! Above you see Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell, and I am delighted to learn that Damian Lewis plays Henry VIII. This six-part series actually covers both Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies. The Guardian called it "sumptuous, intelligent, event television." Go here for more review blurbs that seem to indicate an overwhelmingly positive critical reception of the mini-series. Huzzah!

Check out the BBC trailer:



Wolf Hall premieres Sunday, April 5!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

Friday Favorite: SCBWI

It's taken me days to recover, but I'm finally here to tell you I had a great time at NYSCBWI last weekend.


Got to hang out with agent Jenn and some of her super cool clients, including Ward Jenkins (seen above), Kristen Kittscher and Mara Rockliff -- kindred spirits, to be sure!

Other highlights:

-- enjoying tea with my editor at the Morgan Library and Museum (love that place!).

-- hanging out with the illustrious Maddee James of xuni.com.

-- meeting new friends and catching up with old ones. (Thanks for being my Saturday buddy, Maurissa Guibord!)

-- learning revision techniques from Cheryl Klein. (Just go ahead and buy her book, you guys.)--(Oh, and check out Maurissa's post on this.)

-- coming to the realization that I should think of my career more in terms of the long haul. It's easy to fixate on what I want NOW, but what about my entire writing career? What would that look like? Am pondering this.

Have a grand weekend, everyone!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Hello Monday!

I know yesterday was tough for many people. I wondered how to honor the day without giving in to gloom. Mostly, I thought about human strength and resilience. I contemplated how to be a more compassionate citizen (and less of a mole in a hole). I avoided TV as much as possible.

I also thought good thoughts about kidlit writers. :) You see, on Saturday I attended The SCBWI Oklahoma fall conference. Such a great group of people! I always leave these events cheerful and inspired.

It was a special honor to see Kathi Appelt speak. Her presentation on emotion was so unique and engaging -- I'm still thinking about the songs and images she shared. She's a wonderful lady, warm and generous, and I owe her thanks for the use of her projector during my own presentation. (She helped me get set up and everything!)

It also was an honor to sign a copy of The Revenant for her. I mean, WOW! That was a nice feeling.

There was a bad feeling, too, because I'd forgotten to bring my copy of The Underneath for her to sign. In all the craziness of packing up my stuff, it somehow didn't make it in my bag. I thought about explaining this to her, but it sounded lame --as if I hadn't bought it yet and was just making excuses.

But I DO have it, Kathi! See:

However, I have another confession about this book. I am TERRIFIED to read it. You know how it's so hard to read a book or watch a film in which children are in peril? Well, for me, stories of animals in peril are 1000 times harder. But I'll be brave and read it. I just have to work up my courage. (Dude, it's a Newbery Honor book and National Book Award finalist.)

One thing that Kathi talked about on Saturday was the power of endowed objects -- personal items that have a special power or emotional resonance. (Not necessarily a magical object -- the power is more related to memory.) She suggested that, in fiction, it was effective to express emotion through these objects. On Wednesday I'm going to talk a little more about endowed objects. And I'm going to do a GIVEAWAY.

Stay tuned!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Happy things for a Monday (+ 1 sad thing)

Had a great time at the SCBWI OK conference this weekend. All the presenters were top notch and extremely generous with their advice, but I bonded particularly with Kate Jacobs (Roaring Brook Press) over a shared devotion to Omar from The Wire (hee!), and my socks were completely knocked off by Nicholas Eliopulos of Scholastic, who gave a very inspiring talk about genre fiction. (If you have an MG or YA boy book, please consider adding him to your submission list -- I bet he would be lovely to work with! Here's an interview with him if you'd like to know more.)

Best part of all was spending time with my crit partners Brandi and Lisa.


Here we are after having just stuffed ourselves at Abuelos. Mmmm . . .

In other news, I finished South Riding yesterday. Sometimes I feel like I should force myself to take a break from my YA addiction, and this was just the ticket. I agree with Andrew Davies that this novel, originally published in 1936, is "as bold and ambitious as Middlemarch by George Eliot," and Sarah Waters is spot-on in calling it "a twentieth-century classic." I won't bore you with my ill-explained summary of the story. Instead, I offer the trailer of the BBC adaptation as a teaser:



I can't wait until this mini-series comes to the U.S.! If you know me at all, you know the story of a girls' school headmistress taking a post in the English countryside is TOTALLY my thing. And the cast is spectacular, don't you think? I love the idea of Anna Maxwell Martin as Sarah Burton.

P.S. I know many are mourning the loss of Diana Wynne Jones. My condolences to her fans.

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Friday favorites

Two things today:

1. I'm going to the SCBWI Oklahoma conference this Saturday! Yes, I am a conference junkie, but there are always so many lovely people at the Oklahoma regional events, and I get to hang out with Brandi Barnett and Lisa Marotta. Yay!

2. Duran Duran is on Ellen DeGeneres today. Set your DVRs!

Did you know Ellen was featured in the "Rio" video? Check it out:





Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy your weekend. :)

Off we go!

Hey all! I'm heading out to NYC tomorrow (in the wee wee hours of the morning) to attend the SCBWI Winter Conference. Maybe I'll see you there? Hope so! (If I don't see you at the conference, maybe we can have a drink at Kidlit Drink Night?)

I'll definitely post some photos upon my return.

I also wanted to direct your attention to a giveaway the Elevensies are really excited about. Click the poster for more information:



Have a great weekend, everyone!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]