Gone Fishing Good News!

I'm happy to announce that GONE FISHING is going to be released as a paperback! It will arrive from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on March 24, 2015. It's now at Barnes and Noble and Amazon for presale.

Welcoming Two New Picture Books From Friends!

This is a day of celebration - I have two Hamline MFAC friends who are celebrating book releases: Jamie A. Swenson is welcoming IF YOU WERE A DOG, illustrated by Chris Raschka; and Miriam Busch is welcoming LION LION, illustrated by Larry Day. This news makes me very happy. CONGRATULATIONS, JAMIE AND MIRIAM! 

Here is information on both via Amazon:

IF YOU WERE A DOG by Jamie A. Swenson, Illustrations by Chris Raschka

If you could be any kind of animal, what would you be? Would you be a dog that goes ARRRROOOOOOO? Or maybe you would be a sharp-toothed dinosaur that can CHOMP, STOMP, ROAR! Perhaps you might want to be a hopping frog that goes BOING, BOING, RIBBET! But maybe you would want to be the best kind of animal of all: a child!

With joyful, impressionistic illustrations from Caldecott Medal–winning illustrator Chris Raschka and spare, rhythmic text from author Jamie A. Swenson that invites playful interaction, If You Were a Dog is the perfect read-aloud for your favorite little animal. 

What reviewers are saying:

"Raschka brings movement, energy, and personality to his vibrantly colored art . . . A fun way to get readers to use their imaginations in the natural world." - School Library Journal

"Addressing both a winsome girl character and child readers, Swenson invites kids to speculate what sort of dog, cat, fish, bird, bug, frog and dinosaur they might want to be . . . Swenson's rhythmic cadences coupled with Raschka's wry, upbeat illustrations yield a title that's a cheery picker-upper." - Kirkus Reviews

“Swenson’s playful language and Raschka’s amiable cartoons lend a welcome unpredictability to this animal game.” -Publisher's Weekly

~~~~~

Lion, Lion by Miriam Busch, illustrated by Larry Day

For fans of Ezra Jack Keats, this perfect read-aloud is a timeless story featuring plenty of animals!

A little boy is looking for Lion. Lion is looking for lunch.

And so our story begins. But look closely. . . . In this tale, nothing is quite as it seems!

Children will delight in this classic picture book with a mischievous twist.

What reviewers are saying:

“Beautiful pencil and watercolor illustrations give this book an old-fashioned feel…the story will keep readers on the edge of their seat. With a trick up his sleeve, our brave hero outwits a…hungry lion. With sophisticated humor and an ingenious twist, this story begs to be read and reread.” (Erin Barker, Hooray for Books!, Alexandria, VA for the Autumn 2014 Indie Next Picks)

“Sly, dark humor for little ones—at its best.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“With plenty of chuckle-worthy illustrations and a simple but enjoyable story, this should work well in storytimes or for one-on-one reading.” (School Library Journal)

~~~~~

What fun it is to welcome new books into the world!

9.30.2014

Celebrating WHEELS OF CHANGE and Authenticity in Historical Novels by Darlene Beck Jacobson

I am pleased to welcome Darlene Beck Jacobson, author of WHEELS OF CHANGE, which has arrived from Creston Books TODAY, 9/22/2014. Congratulations Darlene! It’s an honor to help celebrate the release of your new book!

WHEELS OF CHANGE has been receiving excellent reviews, including this stellar review from KIRKUS REVIEWS:

Excerpt: "Resemblances to To Kill a Mockingbird are strong, especially during a tea party hosted by Emily’s mother. A nice touch: Throughout much of the book, Papa teaches Emily—and vicariously, readers—new vocabulary words. The strength of the text lies in Jacobson’s ability to evoke a different era and to endear readers to the protagonist. The prose is straightforward and well-researched, heavily peppered with historical references and containing enough action to keep readers’ attention

Click for full review. 

~~~~~

ABOUT DARLENE

Darlene Beck Jacobson has loved writing since she was a girl.  Although she never wrote to a president, she sent many letters to pop stars of the day asking for photos and autographs.  She loves bringing the past to life in stories such as WHEELS OF CHANGE, her debut novel. If you’d like to see a trailer for this book click here:  http://youtu.be/qtGXALonq4w          

Darlene’s blog features recipes, activities, crafts and interviews with children’s book authors and illustrators. She still loves writing and getting letters.  Check out her website at:  www.darlenebeckjacobson.com 

or on Twitter @dustbunnymaven

ABOUT WHEELS OF CHANGE:

Racial intolerance, social change, sweeping progress. It is a turbulent time growing up in 1908. For twelve year old EMILY SOPER, life in Papa’s carriage barn is magic. Emily is more at home hearing the symphony of the blacksmith’s hammer, than trying to conform to the proper expectations of females. Many prominent people own Papa’s carriages. He receives an order to make one for President Theodore Roosevelt. Papa’s livelihood becomes threatened by racist neighbors, and horsepower of a different sort. Emily is determined to save Papa’s business even if she has to go all the way to the President.

~~~~~

As a reader, (and a writer) I love historical fiction and being transported to a past time and place. So I took this opportunity to ask Darlene to share a few details about one of the areas of writing historical fiction that is fascinating to me: Authenticity. Here is Darlene's thoughtful essay on Authenticity in Historical Fiction:

AUTHENTICITY IN HISTORICAL FICTION

by Darlene Beck-Jacobson, author of WHEELS OF CHANGE

To create authenticity or believability in historical fiction is just like setting a scene in any kind of writing.  The writer needs to pay attention to details. As a reader, I’m more likely to immerse myself in a story universe that is believable and accurate.  If I want readers of WHEELS OF CHANGE to follow Emily Soper’s adventures, they have to be grounded in the reality of 1908 Washington DC.

What was life like in the Nation’s Capital 100 years ago?

It was very rural for one thing. With the exception of Pennsylvania Avenue, the area around the train station, and a few streets bordering 7^th Street – the main street of commerce - there was only gas lighting and no electricity. Indoor plumbing was still a novelty.  Many roads were unpaved or had cobblestones. There were farms and wooded areas surrounding the government buildings. Most people still rode in horse-drawn wagons, carriages, or buggies.  Many goods were still made by hand.  Incorporating these details into the story grounds it and fixes the time and place. 

Character is another way to create an authentic story.  When a story takes place in another era, the writer has to be sure to use language and sentence structure that rings true.  In 1908, children spoke in a more formal style, like their parents.  Very little slang was used.  Children addressed other adults as Mr. or Mrs. and often used “sir” or ‘ma’am” when speaking to their parents.

A character’s actions and behavior was different than it is today.  Expectations for males and females were much more divided and specific.  Boys had more freedom to explore and be adventurous.  They were expected to roughhouse and get into trouble now and then.  Girls on the other hand, were expected to be lady-like and exhibit proper behavior at all times.  They were encouraged to excel at the “domestic arts” such as sewing, cooking, housekeeping, and child rearing.

Here are some of the “Rules of Etiquette” young people were expected to follow at the turn of the Twentieth Century.

GENERAL RULES OF ETIQUETTE FOR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

13 Mannerisms To Be Avoided By All:

1. Whispering or pointing in company.

2. Giving attention to only one person when more are present.

3. Contradicting parents, friends, or strangers.

4. Laughing loudly.

5. Making noise with hands and feet.

6. Leaning on the shoulder or chair of another.

7. Throwing things instead of handing them.

8. Crowding or bumping elbows.

9. Contempt in looks, words, or actions.

10. Drawing attention to self with dress.

11. Lending a borrowed book.

12. Reading when there is company, or when others are speaking.

13. Laughing at the mistakes of others.

Manners Approprite For All:

1. To be gentle and patient with others.

2. To remember that while speech is wonderful, it is sometimes better to be silent.

3. Speak with a gentle tone and never in anger.

4. Learn to deny yourself and put others first.

5. Give applause only by clapping hands – not by kicking or stamping feet.

6. Rise to one’s feet when an older person or dignitary enters the room.

All this makes me wonder: How many of these rules do any of us consider important today?

~~~~~

Thank you for these excellent insights, Darlene. You ask a great question at the end. Some of these rules seem outdated, but many of them are very good rules. I wonder what would happen if we started to follow those again.

More Darlene Beck Jacobson Blog Tour Goodness:

On 9/19, Darlene joined Tara Lazar to discuss popular toys of the era. Click here to learn more: www.taralazar.com     

Tomorrow, you can join Darlene on her tour with Holly Schindler where she is sharing an excerpt from WHEELS OF CHANGE: www.hollyschindler.blogspot.com       

Thank you for making The Writer’s Whimsy a stop on your blog tour, Darlene. Best wishes on the release of WHEELS OF CHANGE, and again CONGRATULATIONS!

9.22.2014

BOOKS THAT HAVE STAYED

On Facebook, my good writing friend Jamie Swenson asked me to list ten books that have stayed with me - here they are. Some go way back to my early childhood. In all, I'm listing fourteen. That seems like a good number - and yet not enough. At the core, though, these are the books that have shaped my love of stories and poetry and helped me write my own stories and poems. Thanks for asking, Jamie. 

Do any of you want to make your list? Jump in if you feel so inclined!

TAMERA's list of books that have stayed:

Over in the Meadow by Olive A. Wadsworth/Ezra Jack Keats

Disney's Fantasyland Stories/Mother Goose Rhymes

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan

Summertime Waltz and Four in All by Nina Payne

Danitra Brown series by Nikki Grimes

Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff

Morning Girl by Michael Dorris

The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse 

Bonus books:

Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse by John Hollander

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Author Eleanora E. Tate talks about DON'T SPLIT THE POLE: TALES OF DOWN-HOME FOLK WISDOM

Today, at Smack Dab in the Middle Blog, author Eleanora E. Tate is joining me for a guest interview and I wanted to also feature the interview here. Eleanora’s middle grade novel DON’T SPLIT THE POLE: TALES OF DOWN-HOME FOLK WISDOM, Author’s Guild Back-in-Print Edition published by iUniverse, Inc., rereleased in May 2014! Congratulations, Eleanora, and welcome!

I met Eleanora while I was a student in Hamline University's MFAC in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. We both spent part of our lives in Iowa, so we had an instant connection. I hadn't read this book until now and I wanted to share my thoughts: 

It was a delightful read, humorous and quick-paced. I found myself chuckling out loud a number of times while I read through these seven short stories. Eleanora has a gift for voice, which is where much of the humor lies. She also has a talent for weaving timeless stories with rich details and vibrant characters. I'm very happy that this book is back in print and making its way into the hands of children and adults!

Photo by Andy King

Here is Eleanora’s Biography:

Eleanora E. Tate, author of eleven children’s and young adult books, has been an author in schools, libraries, on university campuses and at literature conferences around the country (and in Canada and Bermuda) for over 40 years.  She’s on the faculty of Hamline University’s Masters degree seeking low-residency program “Creative Writing for Children andYoung Adults.” She taught children’s literature at North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC and has been an instructor with the Institute of Children’s Literature at West Redding, CT.

Her book Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2007), is a recipient of the 2007 AAUW North Carolina Book Award for Juvenile Literature, and an IRA Teacher’s Choice Award winner.  In addition to Don’t Split the Pole, her other books are The Secret of Gumbo Grove; Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!; Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School;  Just an Overnight Guest (made into an award-winning television film); African American Musicians; To Be Free; A Blessing in Disguise; The Minstrel’s Melody; and Retold African Myths.  Two books are audio books; another was both a Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies and a Bankstreet Child Study Book Committee “Children’s Book of the Year.” 

She was a Bread Loaf Writers Conference Fellow; a National Association of Black Storytellers  (NABS) Zora Neale Hurston Award recipient, and a former NABS national president. Her short stories have appeared in American Girl Magazine, Scholastic Storyworks Magazine, Gold Finch Magazine, African American Review, and in numerous short story book collections. Her latest essay “Harking Back to Hargett Street” is in the 2013 anthology Twenty-Seven Views of Raleigh.

Here’s a description of DON’T SPLIT THE POLE: TALES OF DOWN-HOME FOLK WISDOM:

Nine-and-a-half-year-old Russell James finds that "a hard head makes a soft behind" when he tries to catch a catfish by hand. A giant glob of Gurdy's Greasy Grape Groaners Gum attacks eleven-year-old Shaniqua Godette, who learns the hard way that you should "never leave your pocketbook on the floor. " And when twelve-year-old height-challenged Tucker Willis saves a life with the help of a ghost, he proves that "big things come in small packages. " A celebration of storytelling and folk wisdom, this is a perfect collection for sharing and reading aloud.

Here are ways to connect with Eleanora and her newest release:

Eleanora’s Website, iUniverse, 

Here is my Smack Dab in the Middle Blog guest interview with author Eleanora E. Tate:

Tamera Will Wissinger, a delightful writer and Hamline University MFAC alum, brought me to this blog. What a hoot! Her intriguing questions about writing and my books, most specifically my recently re-issued Don’t Split the Pole: Tales of Down-Home Folk Wisdom, reprinted by iUniverse  (May 2014) made me think hard. Delacorte Press first published it in hardcover in 1997 and in paperback in 1999. It’s been out of print until now. Goes to show that you can’t put -- or keep -- a good book down!

1. Don’t Split the Pole: Tales of Down-Home Folk Wisdom consists of stories told from different points of view. Can you talk about how the idea for the book came to you, and the virtues and challenges of writing a book in short story form?

To paraphrase a familiar adage, “Beauty (and a saying) is in the eye (and mind) of the beholder (reader or writer),” a proverb or saying can be applied to many dissimilar events, depending on how different people interpret it.

Proverbs and sayings have been part of all cultures ever since people first gathered around fires or in their huts to share feelings and embrace community. Proverbs and sayings are also known as aphorisms, mottos, Biblical expressions, similes, or rich brief anecdotes. They explain a truth or a moral, offer opinions, summarize an action or thought, are phrases or tidbits of songs repeated so often that they enter the lexicon, and so on.

I’ve written several books that contained proverbs and sayings and that reflected their settings’ regional vernaculars, but with this book I wanted to pinpoint particular adages and wrap stories around them in a short story collection. Short stories aren’t any easier to write than novels, but they can take less time.

As to points of view, four stories -- “You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks,” “Slow and Steady Wins the Race,” “A Hard Head Makes a Soft Behind” and the title story “Don’t Split the Pole” -- spoke most strongly in third person, for distance.

The remaining three stories -- “What Goes Around Comes Around,” “Big Things Come in Small Packages,” and “Never Leave Your Pocketbook on the Floor” made better fits through their narrators’ first-person voice. I switched POV back and forth during revision until I was satisfied. Each story maintains only one point of view, which I like.

Choosing the sayings was easy. Coming up with convincing stories using each saying as a vehicle for plot and theme was not. At the time I approached my editor with my idea I was living on the North Carolina coast, where I’d already written Retold African Myths and A Blessing in Disguise. After weeks of dismal literary meanderings, I finally pretended I was holding a conversation with a unconditional, loving, best friend. I started out by talking into my tape recorder (remember those?): “I want to tell you about the time … ”, rambling along until the seed of a viable story sprouted.

When about one-third of the stories stubbornly refused to germinate, I climbed among the dunes on the beach with my tape recorder. While watching the seagulls, dolphins and the ocean, I “talked” to my best friend. That’s probably why most of the stories take place on the North Carolina coast and several involve a coastal environment. 

2. Was Don’t Split the Pole always for middle-grade readers? If so, why did you choose middle grade? If not, what had to change for it to be considered a middle grade novel?

It was conceived as a middle grade work, since that level is my writing/publishing niche. Now I’m hoping to market it to adult storytellers, folklorists, ministers, teachers for classroom use, counselors to share with troubled teens, and to anybody else who loves to read. My book also can be a springboard to help folks to identify their own meaningful sayings, and to develop stories to tell or write to illustrate those meanings.

Seemed like everybody in northern Missouri (where I was born, in that triangle with Illinois, Iowa and the Mississippi) and Iowa (where I grew up) spoke so colorfully that the words almost knocked me off my young feet!

The regional vernacular that I fell in love with  -- some call this vernacular “voice” -- in Missouri and Iowa was what I placed in my first book Just an Overnight Guest, which takes place in Missouri. After I moved to South Carolina in 1978, I was introduced to a distinctively southern, specifically South Carolinian vernacular. The Secret of Gumbo Grove, Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! and A Blessing in Disguise, which take place along the coast of South Carolina, are full of the Palmetto state’s language of home. 

3. How did you choose which sayings to wrap stories around? 

My first story, with Maggie the basset hound and One-Foot the seagull in “You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks,” came from my “dunes-top” experience. Maggie’s voice is in third person. “Don’t Split the Pole,” the title story, is a saying I’ve heard all my life, and I wanted to try my hand at re-interpreting it for young readers. It came from watching boys on skateboards whiz up and down my street, smash into cars and crash into flower beds. I grumbled that they should have their own skateboard park and voila! A ghost-inhabited flea market vision appeared to me.

“Never leave your pocketbook on the floor” was so unusual that I had to include it. I’d never heard it expressed until I moved to the south. What if a creepy crawler or somebody’s fingers crept into my purse that set on the floor? My imagination sizzled!

My “slow and steady wins the race” tale is not the same as how Aesop the Ethiope wrote his, but the themes are, and I still include a turtle.  My inspiration came from a small pond in our back yard that snapping turtles, herons, snakes, rabbits, fish, and dozens of other creatures called home. 

“A hard head makes a soft behind” adage left a very personal impression on me when I was four or five years old. After trying to climb up on a stool in an ice cream parlor against my grandmother’s wishes I landed on the floor on my butt. In my story when a boy tries to catch a catfish by hand (a Missouri tradition) he gets the point  -- the hard way, too.

“Big things come in small packages” was easy. I wanted to honor height-challenged boys and also write about Richard Etheridge, a Lifesaving Station hero. “What goes around comes around” grew out of thinking about how girls support or hurt each other in their relationships. But I also wanted to make it funny, which is how Mother Gratify and her Psychic Network got involved.

The time period in all the stories is contemporary, to show readers that these adages have pertinent applications in today’s world.

By the way, I wrote a short piece about some of the origins of those sayings for inclusion in the original manuscript, but space and politics killed that. Well, I plan to write a full essay about those origins now!

4. When Don’t Split the Pole was first released in hard cover in 1997 (in paperback in 1999), Publisher’s Weekly wrote in a starred review, “Adult rules and regulations are turned on their heads by this crafty author whose stories leap off the page and lodge straight in the funny bone. This collection of seven short stories … are unconventional and exuberant.” Can you talk about the process of re-releasing a book? What, if any, changes needed to occur?

After my book went out of print (OOP) a few years after the paperback was issued, I requested from my publisher that all rights be reverted back to me, and this was granted. I’ve since been able to have two of the stories reprinted in anthologies and in educational publishing programs, so they continue to bring in money. 

Last fall Hamline faculty member Liza Ketchum told me that the Authors Guild writers organization (we’re both long-time members) had a “Back in Print” program through which Authors Guild members can get their OOP books reprinted at no charge. I jumped at the chance. 

If my book sells well on this next go-round I’ll reap nice royalties again. That’s important when senior citizen writers like me are on fixed incomes. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

A final note: In order for OOP books to get reprinted by other publishers, writers should already have reversion of rights provisions in their contracts with the original publishers. When their books go out of print they should immediately contact their publishers and request written reversion of rights letters. This speeds things up or at least keeps things less complicated when they decide to take that reprint step. When negotiating with new publishers, they should carefully read the fine print in all contracts and instructions, and question anything they don’t understand or that they disagree with. 

The publishing world evolves at warp speed these days, and writers need to be aware.

Happy reading!

Thank you for joining us, Eleanora. Congratulations, again, on the rerelease of DON’T SPLIT THE POLE: TALES OF DOWN-HOME FOLK WISDOM!