Season's Greetings on Poetry Friday!

I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season and celebrating in your own wonderful traditions. In my family we celebrate Christmas. I have treasured memories of family holiday meals celebrated together. This poem is a purely imagined silly take on a Christmas dinner from a desperate youngster's point of view.

Seasons greetings to you all!

MISTLETOED

This year – I promise – I’ll behave

For Christmas with my Great Aunt Maeve.

I’ll set the table, smooth the lace,

Fill water glasses, say the grace.

I’ll serve the turkey, pass the yams,

I won’t make mashed potato dams.

I promise I won’t fuss or squirm

Or call my brother Ben a germ.

I’ll mind my manners, I won’t burp,

Or spit or whistle, pick, or slurp.

I’ll clear the dishes, wash them clean.

I’ll clap when Maeve plays tambourine.

I’ll give up all my gifts for free,

To kids who need them more than me.

I’ll do all this without a show

If you’ll hide Aunt Maeve’s mistletoe.

© 2013 Tamera Will Wissinger all rights reserved 

Poetry Friday is at Buffy's Blog!

Writing Community in a Debut Year

Here is an excerpt from my recent post at Smack Dab in the Middle Blog:

One of my favorite parts of being connected to the children’s literature world is the spirit of kinship that comes with this field. Whether your orientation is toward teaching, parenting, writing, editing, library science, reading, marketing, or selling, it seems to me that one of our common goals is to produce good stories and ensure that those stories find their way into the hands (and hearts) of children.

This has never been more evident to me than this year - the year my first children’s book debuted. As a result of my soon-to-slip-away debut author status, I have had the good fortune to be a member of two debut author groups – The Class of 2k13 and The Lucky 13s; groups whose members have eased the uncertainties of a debut year through collaboration around common goals.

To continue reading, click through to Smack Dab in the Middle Blog

The Class of 2k14 is hosting a GONE FISHING giveaway!

This week The Class of 2k14 is giving away a copy of GONE FISHING as part of the transition from 2013 to 2014. If you don't have a copy yet, here's your chance. From the Class of 2k14 website:

Welcome back to another Class of 2k14 giveaway!  This week we have Tamera Will Wissinger’s GONE FISHING!

A quick refresher for anyone who’s visiting us for the first time: The Class of 2k14 is just the most recent of the Class of 2k’s. Each year, the newest class celebrates our most recent “graduates” with a series of giveaways. What are we giving away? Books of course!

The Class of 2k13 has been celebrating the debuts of all their fabulous members this year, and we want to continue that celebration by giving away ALL of the Class of 2k13 books. This week’s feature is GONE FISHING:

Click here for a link to the giveaway.

Good luck, and thanks for stopping by.

11.18.2013

Half-Baked Writing or Getting to Yes

I'm a contributor at Smack Dab in the Middle Blog, and yesterday I wrote an essay for our NO-vember theme. Here is an excerpt from my essay entitled HALF BAKED WRITING or How So Many "Nos" and a "Maybe" Got me to Yes:

Thanksgiving is on the way and I'm hungry for all of the flavors of the season. One of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving meal is the pumpkin pie –to me, it’s the exclamation point on this traditional, celebratory meal. If you have ever baked a pumpkin pie, you know how soft (and messy) it is when it goes into the oven.  

When I began writing for children, I simply wrote. I knew so little – I didn’t even know what I didn't know – kind of like baking a pie from scratch without a recipe – or an oven. I knew it wasn’t very good writing, but I was engaged and having fun. Eventually, that wasn’t enough and I began to seek out good writing ingredients and an oven through workshops and instructors. I learned the basics, joined SCBWI, attended conferences, joined a critique group. My stories improved and I gained confidence. I baked up a storm of stories and poetry.

Several years later I started to submit my stories, and soon after I started to hear "no." I racked up dozens of: “thanks, but no,” “thanks, not right for us,” and one “not my cuppa,” which still makes me smile...

Click on the cuppa for a link to the full article.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tamera

11.15.2013

Clang! Clang! Boodle-Bang! THIS OLD BAND Has A Cover!

Hello, and thanks for stopping by!

I've been looking forward to sharing the cover art that Matt Loveredge has been working on for my new picture book, This Old Band. Here is the Sky Pony Press description from Goodreads:

What kinds of instruments would you imagine a band of cowboys playing? Surely nothing fancy, but they can still make do with what they have, like jugs, combs, boots, and whatever else they can find. Out on the open range, with no one to tell them to quit their hollerin’, a cowboy band counts from ten to one in a tune children are familiar with. Silly phrases, toe-tapping rhythms, and the occasional twist make these cowpokes a great addition to any story-time or bedtime lineup.

Featuring a ragtag group of cowboys from author Tamera Will Wissinger, and colorful, offbeat illustrations by Matt Loveridge, This Old Band is sure to delight children and adults alike (and teach kids a few things about counting and noises) with a fun take on a popular nursery rhyme.

And here is the beautiful cover artwork: 

I love that the old band looks so playful, bright, and entertaining. What do you think?

Here's a link to GOODREADS if you'd like to add it to your to-be-read list: This Old Band on GR

THIS OLD BAND will arrive on June 3, 2014 from Sky Pony Press.

10.22.2013