Game Day Stories from New Orleans

In a house full of lifelong New Orleans Saints fans, last Sunday was a pretty exciting day. Like many members of the Who Dat Nation scattered all over the country, we wished we were in New Orleans when the final seconds of the clock ticked down Sunday night. To celebrate vicariously through my New Orleans friends, I asked two ladies to share their stories here. Many thanks to Alyson Smith (school teacher extraordinaire) and Evelyn Cathey (owner of Creations Galore).

Welcome Alyson! Where did you watch the game?

I watched the game in my home with the family - Donna Johnson spent the weekend with us and was here, too.

What did you do after the game?

Donna and I watched a few minutes of the postgame show then went as quickly as possible to Gretna to Academy Sports and Outdoors. Our neighborhood was lively - fireworks, airhorns, people in the streets hugging and dancing around - but it was nothing compared to Carol Sue Blvd. When we turned onto Carol Sue, there appeared to be a crowd waiting for a parade. The closer we got to the crowd, we saw they were not only on the sides of the road - they were IN the road. WE were the parade. Donna and I did as the cars ahead of us and rolled down the window, honked the horn, and slapped "five" to the revelers in the streets. It was unbelievable.

We made it to Academy to find the parking lot quite full. We parked near the Casey Jones grocery store and got in line. After about an hour in line, we made it to the corner of the building. When we made the left turn to what we thought would be a short line to an open door, we found a queue line instead. It was like being in line for Space Mountain at Disney World.

The parking lot, however, was a mini-parade in itself and quite entertaining. Young and old alike were in their cars with music blaring (mostly "Stand up and get Crunk"). It was a fantastic sight! I can't adequately describe the euphoria of the crowd. "I can't believe it!" We finally did it!" and more "Who Dat" that you can imagine. I've only been a New Orleanian with Saints Fever for nine years; seeing these lifelong fans living a dream is almost indescribable. It was enough to make you forget about the extremely cold temperatures that were causing frostbite in your toes.

What is your favorite memory of this week?

My favorite memory will be the Super Bowl Parade on Tuseday, February 9th. Several friends from school all packed up after an early dismissal and rode the Algiers ferry over to the East Bank. We chose a spot on Convention Center Blvd. across from the Hilton. It wasn't crowded at all, so our whole gang took up the curb space on the corner of the Harrah's parking garage. After a 5:00 start, the parade finally reached us about 7:00. We were so close to the players, it was unreal. Even though we were very near the end of the route, the team seemed to be eager and fresh. They were still throwing beads and signing autographs. Drew Brees' float stopped in front of us for a full five minutes. It was awesome!

The kids at school have also been in a frenzy all week. I've managed to pull lessons from the newspaper, internet, and even from the pictures I took at the parade, etc. just to keep kids' interest and keep them working this week.

My family thinks I'm crazy to have been out until midnight just to get T-shirts and to enjoy a parade, but I can't imagine being any place else. The Saints may win more Super Bowls, but there will never be another first one. I sure wish you could've been here!

Me too, Alyson. It sounds crazy and wonderful!

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Welcome Evelyn! Where did you watch the game?

My husband, Sonny, and I watched the game at the American Stage Theater at the WWII Museum. It was an experience since the projection TV was the size of the stage, more than lifelike. We had a tasty meal at John Besh's Restaurant and Bar located inside the museum.

What did you do after the game?

We left hurriedly on foot with the throngs of others with our destination Bourbon Street in mind. We found a taxi, jumped in for a quick ride to Rampart. We worked out way to Bourbon via Conti, with a short stop at the Bombay Club, one of my old haunts. Said hello to some friends and off to Bourbon, so we thought. The crowd was backing towards us on Conti, but we finally made it into the crowds of happy, tearful, gleaming Who Dat fans! Joy was everywhere. Beads were flying from balconies, folks singing, cheering the Who Dat chant everywhere. The Quarter was a wonderful, friendly, Who Dat sea of folks just trying to absorb that we were really World Champs!!

What is your favorite memory of this week?

As for my favorite memory, there were so many...the Saints winning, sharing the win with friends and those I did not know. The Quarter is a unique melting pot and I will always remember being there when the Saints became World Champs!

It sounds amazing, Evelyn. Thanks for sharing your story!

SCBWI Winter Conference Blog

The SCBWI Winter Conference takes place in New York City next week. I will be attending for the first time! The official conference blog is online now with interviews with conference speakers and tips for newbie conference goers. Anyone interested in writing or illustrating books for children can follow the blog while the conference in underway to keep up with each day’s events. Click here for the Official SCBWI Conference Blog.

I had the great experience of being on the blog team for the SCBWI-Midsouth 2009 Blog. I know the conference blog is a time consuming project, but one that is greatly appreciated by conference attendees and SCBWI members who cannot attend the conference. So many thanks to the SCBWI Blog Team for taking the time to provide this great information.

Books Before Movies (I heart Percy Jackson)

I want to know why no one told me about the Percy Jackson books before now. Oh wait. They did. I’m just slow on the uptake sometimes. My daughter is a big Percy Jackson fan. She has talked about the books so much at the dinner table that my son and I were both convinced we must read the books or die. Well almost. Earlier this week, I went to my local bookstore and bought a box set of the first three Percy Jackson books. It’s finally my turn to read book one, The Lightning Thief. (My son is a fast reader.) After reading chapter one of book one, one word: Wow! It was possibly the best first chapter I have ever read. Amazing. I’m a few chapters in now and I want more.

I’m glad that Percy Jackson & The Olympians is coming to a theatre near us on President’s Day. I might not have been compelled to read the book now if the movie release were not a few weeks away. As I’ve mentioned before in a previous blog post, I’m a books-before-movies reader. I also read the first Harry Potter book before seeing the first movie. I was hooked.

Are you a books-before-movies reader? Have you ever heard other people talking nonstop about a book, thought they must be exaggerating, finally gave in to read the book and got hooked yourself?

Books Read in 2009

It’s time to close the excel spreadsheet on my computer titled ‘Books Read in 2009’. Yes, I am one of those geeky writers who keeps a list of every book I read with author’s name and sub-genre/target age group. Reading over the list at the end of the year makes me smile when I see the name of a favorite.

Just a few of my favorite reads this year:

KidLit:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (all four books in the series) by Jeff Kinney
Swindle by Gordon Korman
The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman

Teen Fiction:
Hope was Here by Joan Bauer
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Books for grown-ups:
Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo
Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

Favorite Re-read:
Holes by Louis Sachar

As a writer and reader, I am always looking for new books by new authors to try. Care to share your favorite books of the year? Book recommendations are welcome in the comments section.

Setting the Scene's Season

When you start writing (or reading) a new book, do you know what season it is set in right away? If it is a holiday story, the obvious answer is yes. If not, this may not be important to you at first. What if the story is set in a place where temperatures vary only slightly year-round? Will a reader notice which season the characters are in if only subtle hints are added? If a story is set in a place where there are four distinct seasons, weather is a detail that will probably make its way into the story.

I started thinking about this when the topic of seasons came up in my critique group recently. Last week I took a drive on the Natchez Trace to see the colors of the fall leaves. It was raining that day, which made some of the paths slippery. A rainy fall setting might provide a few changes from the spring road trip setting where my Natchez Trace novel is set. Take a look at the photos below. Do you see any differences?

Spring Photos

Fall Photos

Top 10 Best Things about the Rutgers One-on-One Plus Conference by Hannah Dills

The Rutgers Council on Children’s Literature sponsors the Rutgers One-on-One Plus Conference each year to help aspiring children’s book authors and illustrators. My friend, Hannah Dills, attended the conference this year. I am pleased to have her share about the experience.



Welcome to the blog, Hannah! What is the Rutgers One-on-One Plus Conference?

Thanks! It’s great to be here!

The Rutgers Conference provides authors with a unique opportunity to receive individual feedback on their work directly from one of nearly eighty industry professionals. The list of the 2009 Rutgers mentors, including editors, agents, and published authors, may be found at: http://www.ruccl.org/mentors_2009.html. Authors start the day with an individual one-on-one session. I was extremely lucky – my session was with Bloomsbury editor Caroline Abbey and she was fabulous! Caroline reviewed the first few pages of my manuscript, a synopsis and query letter. Her suggestions helped me enhance the materials that are key to catching the attention of an agent or editor.

Authors also get to participate in a five-on-five session with their mentor and four other publishing experts. I was excited to meet and hear advice from Shauna Fay (G. P. Putnam’s Sons), Annette Pollert (Simon Pulse), Alison Weiss (Egmont), and Becca Stumpf (Prospect Agency).

The day also includes a panel about trends in the publishing world and author guest speakers. Lunch provides yet another opportunity to personally meet and learn more about publishing professionals. The conference is held at Rutgers University in New Jersey and makes a fun fall trip.

How can someone sign up for the conference?

Information about the registration process for the Rutgers conference may be found online at http://www.ruccl.org/One-on-One_Plus_Conference.html. Interested authors should complete the application and mail a three page sample of their work to the appropriate contact for one of the three categories: Picture Books, Middle Grade, or Young Adult. The application deadline was in early July this year and notifications were made for successful applicants in early August. The conference was held October 17th.

What was the best thing about the conference?

The best thing? That’s a tough question! How about the top ten best things : - ) ?

1. I really appreciated the individual feedback on my work; Caroline Abbey provided some fabulous input that helped enhance my query, synopsis and first pages of THE GUARDIANS: DESTINIES REVEALED that I hope will someday turn me into a Rutgers success story…
2. I loved the Success Story author, Karen Rostoker-Gruber, who inspired all of us at breakfast with her account of how she became a published author as a result of the Rutgers Conference…
3. I was happy to meet several of the wonderful Rutgers Council members who devote countless hours to making this event possible every year, including Marcie Aboff, Caroline Abbey, Courtney Bongiolatti, and Samantha McFerrin…
4. My five-on-five session (mentioned above) was entertaining and informative…
5. Little Brown editor Alvina Ling introduced me to one of my favorite middle grade authors, Wendy Mass in person (big fan!)...
6. I met authors from across the country and shared their hopes…
7. I traveled with a great group of writers from Nashville’s Mid-South SCBWI chapter – Sharon Cameron, Jessica Young, and Howard Shirley (or should I say the Charlie’s Angels : - )?)...
8. The trip to New Jersey was fabulous – we got a fall leaf tour of the northeast included in our conference trip thanks to Sharon’s navigation skills…
9. I was excited to see Candlewick editor Kaylan Adair (a fabulous critiquer) and Nancy Gallt agent Marietta Zacker again only three weeks after meeting them in Nashville…
10. And, the dream that Rutgers makes seem possible…that someday I may get my book published!

Would you recommend it to other writers and illustrators?

I would highly recommend the Rutgers Conference to my fellow writers. It is one of the best conferences I’ve ever had the opportunity to attend! I am very fortunate that one of my favorite fellow writers recommended this conference to me…thanks Rae Ann!!!

Thank you Hannah!

Inspiration (and fun) at the Southern Festival of Books

The Southern Festival of Books was held this month in Nashville. The highlight of the festival for me was hearing Kate DiCamillo speak. She is the Newbery award winning author of Because of Winn Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux and other fabulous books. The path to publication must have been easy for her, right? Wrong. She received 470 rejection letters before her first book sold. Four HUNDRED seventy. She talked about the importance of learning to write by reading good books. She also emphasized the importance of persistence in writing. To summarize in my own words: Keep writing and don’t quit.

I also attended the Sisters in Crime panel discussion, Researching the Mystery, talked to writer friends, and bought books. Since this book festival is held in Nashville, there is also music. I enjoyed some music at the Café Stage by Will Kimbrough and author/musician Tommy Womack.

For more info on the festival, click here.

[photo by John Parker]