The Need for a Title on the Railroad Cookbook

 We are in the midst of getting the railroad cookbook ready for publication, and that includes the design of a cover and yes, a title.

You would think that we would have settled on one by now, but that is not the case. We've been more concerned with the content and historical trivia that is contained within the handwritten recipes of the journal. But the time has come to start turning our attention to this detail.

So we are asking for opinons!

Here is what we have so far. Let us know what you think and send us new suggestions if you have some.

1. The Roundhouse Cookbook. Recipes of a Railroad Housewife
(problem: no roundhouse in Avis, only the "shops" where the NYC line trains were rolled in and out for repairs)


2. From Rivets and Rails, Recipes of a Railroad Housewife


3. Working on the Railroad, Recipes of a Railroad Housewife


4. From Rivets and Rails, Recipes from a Railroad Boarding House


5. The Cookery Journal of a Railroad Housewife


Thank you! We look forward to your feedback!


 

Picture Book Marathon

I am floating somewhere in the midst of the middle of the marathon, realizing I may only finish a half-marathon, but I'm totally digging that, especially since this month's running has been piggy-backed with the release of The Ghost in Me, and readying the release of Little Red Riding Hood, Into the Forest Again. It's been busy. And Little Red would be ready to go, but I need to find a pdf conversion program that will not compress the resolution of my images inside the book to a quality that is lower than 300dpi. (IF ANYONE has any SUGGESTIONS on this, please send them my way. I would be so appreciative!)

Aside from that FRUSTRATION, I'm completely thrilled with the picture books I have drafted so far, and can't wait until I can dive into creating them sometime in the next couple months!

I have so much going on right now in my life, it is crazy! I hope someday I feel like I'm getting it all done.

Love you all,
me

Rambling, Again

A copy of In Black Bear Country arrived last week on my doorstep (yes--it was actually put there by the postman), and I must say, it looks great. I'm so excited to think it may soon be reaching kids in classrooms. Thanks so much to the editors at Richard Owens Publishers for giving this book a chance. I tried getting my camera to upload a copy, but it's a no go at the moment. Agch technology!

It's been a while since my last post. I've gotten a new manuscript written--which could be a creative nonfiction companion to In Black Bear Country--and am now going through the critique-group route with it. I'm hoping to have it sent out to an editor or agent by the end of summer.

In the meantime, Rick and I are keeping our fingers-crossed on a new manuscipt we wrote together at our last retreat. The whole process of writing it was so hilarious and fun, it almost still makes the waiting game bearable. Almost................

Twiddle, twiddle, ...let's see if that chunk of chocolate cake I just ate for a near midnight snack will kick in and spark some sort of imagination into these ramblings.... Sugar rush, anyone? Maybe not such a bright idea for one who has not slept much the last week. I still need to get up and work tomorrow. New quarter starts for the kids at school.

As for being mom to my own kids, I took my youngest to the dentist to check up on a tooth his brother yanked out this past winter....(they wanted cash from the toothfairy, who tends to be a bit of a slacker in this household and who doesn't seem to be too worried of threats to have her replaced...). Anyway, seems the boys loosened and yanked a tooth they shouldn't have. That tooth they plucked wasn't really ready to come out for another 2 years or so... SO, youngest will have a gaping hole in his smile for another 2 years. Poor guy. His brother wasn't too remorseful. Played the big brother part to form by laughing while reminiscing their whole foolish adventure.

(Nearly) Hot off the Press!

I admit, I can be a glass-half-full sort of person. But I also know I am quite capable of completely filling that glass up. All it takes is allowing myself to get into one of my chipper, carefree, no-worries-in-the-world kind of moods.... And a little bit of good news is more than helpful in putting me there. Like finding out that after more than 7 years your book is finally going to be published. Plus the fact that you've actually just seen the layout of the pages and are actually making final proof edits. Yes, that is more than a little helpful in filling my glass up for the day. Or the week. Or the month.... And if I can tie all this into a few good days of fishing, it could definitely last longer than that.

In Black Bear Country is going to the printer on Wednesday. It's being published by Richard C. Owen Publishers of Katonah, NY, for the educational market, and my editor expects that they will have books in house on April 9... just in time for my birthday a few days later. (I won't tell you what year I'm celebrating.) This has all come as quite a shock over the past 24 hours, since I thought the books weren't going to be ready until April 2011. Suddenly, it seems like all sorts of exciting things are happening. Although really, to be honest, not all that much is unfolding here on my end of the spectrum, but it's neat to think that a flurry of activity is happening somewhere out in the broader world that is linked directly to something I did.

I'm especially excited that this book is going to be published for a lot of reasons. One, it will show kids, teachers, and parents an aspect of black bear ecology they probably don't know about. Two, it may rekindle or strengthen an interest in the the protection of black bears and preservation of their habitats, which include much more than a cave on mountain in the woods, which seems to be the limit of what most young kids know. Three, it shows how preservation and protection has been accomplished for one area in Vermont. Four, did I mention 7 years? Yes, it's been a long wait. Good thing I'm patient. Although, in truth, I didn't expect publication would happen at all for In Black Bear Country, because 4 years ago I'd been told the project had been dropped. It wasn't until 3 months ago I received a letter telling me it'd been picked up again. So, here we are--sitting on a small, yet happy, mountain of news.

To celebrate, I'm heading out to enjoy the sunny, blue-sky weather with my dear friend Kristen and kids. They'll soak up the sun, and with a little luck, I'll hook a finny or two with a lucky cast on the fly.

Enjoy the day, everyone.

Another blog, and interview

Okay, so life has been a bit crazy the past few months, and while surfing the web this morning, catching up on what my writer friends have been doing, I realized I forgot to share an interview that I did with Lori Nawyn in August. August.


The calendar tells me that was 2 months ago.... To me, it seems like that was merely days ago, or at least a handful of them. But, if you're interested, you can check out the interview here, as well as the other useful and insightful posts and interviews she has. Hopefully, I'll soon have good news to share on some of the projects I talked about. (Fingers crossed!)


Lori has her own good news. The book she illustrated, What Are You Thinking?, written by Valerie Ackley, is a 2009 National Best Books Awards finalist. What a wonderful accomplishment! Congratulations to Lori and Valerie!


Make it a great day, everyone.

A quick update...

I attended a children's writers conference at UVU last week. Shannon Hale (Goose Girl, Princess Academy, Book of a Thousand Days) gave the keynote address, which pretty much kept me laughing for about 30 minutes--she's quite entertaining, to say the least. And inspiriing. I loved her favorite quote:

"Fairy tales don't tell us that dragons exist. They tell us that dragons can be defeated."

G.K Chesterson said that. And I think it's pretty cool.

Other than that, Shannon said she keeps on top of her writing by setting daily goals, and then making them. ... Something I should start doing. Work, of late, has gotten sorely in the way. BUT! With my new-found inspiration, that will change.

Happy Spring, everyone. The snow is melting and the air is quickly growing warm.

I Have A Dream ...

Yes, we all have dreams, and yesterday was a particularly exciting day for me to watch Barack Obama's inaugoration. It is so inspiring to think that we are truly embarking on a new period of change in so many ways; and I look forward to being a part of the positive experiences and journeys that are to come in our world.

As for my personal space on the planet, I just received good news that a poem of mine has been given preliminary acceptance into June Cotner's upcoming book: Earth Blessings, which will feature a collection of prose, poems and prayers about the earth. Truly exciting. This will be the second book of June's in which a poem of mine has been published. The first book was called Miracles of Motherhood: Prayers and Poems for a New Mother.

June has other projects ongoing, for which she is accepting submissions. Check out her website for more information: http://www.junecotner.com/.