AS RELEASE DAY NEARS

It’s February 5, 2013. Four weeks from today, GONE FISHING releases. It’s an exciting time, these weeks just before a release. And busy – I’ve been working on book marketing and promotion – which is new for me, and thankfully, is something that I enjoy. Here are a few things that are brewing, all with the help of others:

• Several very kind and generous bloggers have offered to interview me on or around my release date, so I've been responding to their questions,
• A few bookstores have agreed to help me coordinate events and we're making plans,
• There is a chance that I’ll be able to participate in one or two industry conferences this year as a panelist or workshop leader,
• I’ve been trying to stay engaged with social media – including Twitter, Facebook, this online journal, and a few group blogs in which I participate.

In the mean time, I’ve also been trying to continue work on my poetry and story writing. Some days are better than others; that’s just the way it is right now. When a bust of writing energy comes, I do try to grab it. And of course there is the house project and my good life beyond my writing life. As I said, it’s busy, but it’s a good busy.

I’ve decided that preparing for a book release isn’t the time to sit back and relax, it’s a time to lean forward and do what I can to help shepherd this new creation into the world. Some have likened a book release to expecting a baby or sending a child to college. While those analogies make sense, to me, releasing a book into the world is more like a first day of kindergarten. GONE FISHING has been developing, growing, getting stronger, and being prepared to interact in the world beyond its own back yard. It will always have a place at home with me, but it’s no longer just for me. I’m sending off my book with the best first day of kindergarten wishes I can gather: go make friends, be good, find your way in the world. This is a time when anything is possible.

The book is ready, I’m ready. Whatever happens next remains to be written.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Speaking of releases, my fellow Lucky 13 Middle Grade Author, Tim Federle is releasing his debut novel BETTER NATE THAN EVER today. CONGRATULATIONS TIM! I had the opportunity to read the first chapter of this very funny, energetic novel and I’m looking forward to picking up my copy and reading the rest of this story soon. If you'd like to check out Tim, his website, and his new book, click on the cover. They're all hilarious in the best possible meaning of the word.

A POSTER FOR NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

In preparation for April's National Poetry Month, The Academy of American Poets recently unveiled their 2013 National Poetry Month poster. Graphic artist Jessica Helfand designed the poster to echo this year’s celebration of “the important and enriching role that letter writing has played in the lives of poets.” I wanted to share it here because I think it's beautiful and thought-provoking:

I think the poster is quite striking. I love how, from a distance, the poster looks vintage, intriguing, and maybe a bit random, but upon closer look, the intricacies of each piece quilted together create something structured and significant, essential even – echoing how each word in poetry works, I think. Look at that amazing postcard penmanship, the rich colors of the print ink, the shape and feel of the primer letters and numbers in the corner. Can you just feel and smell the dusty paper, taste the cool metal weight of one of those pens on your lips as you think of that just-right phrase? There are tickets, envelopes, an invitation. It seems to say: “Look where we’ve gone, what we’ve been, how we’ve operated. Where might we go, what will be, how it will happen?” So much poetic goodness.

If you click on the poster, the link will take you to the Academy of American Poets site where there are many wonderful Poetry Month activities already planned, and if you're organizing any Poetry Month events, you may request a free poster! 

More about poetry: 

For Verseday today, Gabrielle Prendergast is welcoming verse novelist Carolee Dean at versenovels.com  

Tomorrow, Poetry Friday is being hosted by April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors

GOOD NEWS: Kirkus Reviews Gave GONE FISHING a Good Review

Kirkus Reviews posted this review on their website on January 28, 2013:

GONE FISHING A Novel in Verse Author: Tamera W. Wissinger Illustrator: Matthew Cordell Review Issue Date: February 15, 2013
Online Publish Date: January 28, 2013
Publisher:Houghton Mifflin Pages: 128 Price ( Hardcover ): $15.99 Publication Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-0-547-82011-8 Category: Fiction

A playful verse narrative of the joys and perils of a family fishing trip.

In her poetic debut for primary graders, Wissinger tells the sweet domestic tale of a much-anticipated family outing from the viewpoints of young Sam, sister Lucy and Dad. Sam eagerly looks forward to fishing solo with his father—“It’ll be like playing catch or / painting the garage. / Just Dad and me. / Fishing”—when younger sis Lucy horns in and threatens to ruin the fun. First, Lucy disturbs the contents of Sam’s tackle box, then renders Sam despondent when her singing helps her catch a handful of fish even before Sam has caught one. But the trip vastly improves for Sam when he lands a sizable catfish, leading Lucy to gush with pride for him. The resolution to this muted sibling-rivalry plot is reached via a number of verse forms, from the kid-friendly acrostic, haiku and concrete poem to the purposefully silly double dactyl, a form so complex Wissinger admits her example here follows only in “spirit.” Alongside the poems, Cordell’s light yet expressive illustrations neatly capture the day’s shifting mood. Perhaps in a nod to teachers, Wissinger tacks on a note on writing poetry, adding definitions of literary terms and verse forms in language too sophisticated for many in the work’s intended audience.

Appendix aside, this tender, well-crafted sibling story should hook many readers. (bibliography) (Verse fiction. 5-9)

POETRY INSPIRATION: Revision & Home Renovation

We are in the midst of a home renovation. We’ve done a few over the years, so it’s not surprising when we walk in and the kitchen looks like this:

Do you love my new kitchen island?

Maybe because I’ve been writing and revising throughout the process (thank heaven for temporary housing), the renovation has caused me to draw the parallels between revision and home renovation: Starting with a good idea and a framework, we must decide what’s worth keeping, and what needs to be demolished and then built back up in a better way. The process is messy and time-consuming, yet it can also be rewarding as the new structure begins to take shape. We are propelled on by the promise of the something improved, something inhabitable, a result in which we can take pride. 

Here is the start to a poem that was inspired by another house at another time that was giving us fits: 

OUR HOUSE

In nineteen-hundred-twenty-two,

our house was tidy, fresh and new.

But decades passed and we admit

we have neglected things a bit.

Our door is cracked, the railing creaks,

the doorbell doesn’t ring, it squeaks.

Our toilets tinkle, faucets drip,

the stairways waggle, sway and dip…

© 2013 Tamera Will Wissinger

Don't you just love the possibilities that come with do-overs?

Enjoy Poetry Friday at Tabatha Yeatts: The Opposite of Indifference.

01/25/2013

VERSEDAY #4: Movies about Poets

VerseDay is a yearlong celebration of poetry and verse. This week’s VerseDay post is is a quick look at movies about poets by Gabrielle Prendergast, at Angelhorn.com

Here is an excerpt:

“VERSEDAY #4: Movies about Poets

 It’s VerseDay again, and another installment of our yearlong celebration of verse. This week, in honor of Kill Your Darlings, an Allen Ginsberg biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe, that debuted at Sundance recently, I thought I’d take note of a few other films that celebrate (and I use that term loosely) the true lives of poets…”

Enjoy!

01/24/2013