Cover Reveal Set for Friday, July 13th
Just a few more days before I can show you the final cover for When Day Is Done. In the meantime, I can show you this snippet: 
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Cover to When Day Is Done
I’ve seen a sneak peek of the cover for When Day Is Done and can’t wait to be able to share it with you! I can’t give away any details, but I think illustrator Robert Dunn has really captured the mood of the book. Illustrations set the overall mood of the book, add another layer of meaning, bring out emotions and amplify the humor. In picture books, the illustrations often tell more of the story than the words do – especially in the case of an unreliable narrator! I am in no way an illustrator, so there was never any thought in my mind that I could do the illustrations myself. However, after working for so long on the words it’s not an easy thing to step back and release everything else to other people. I’m sure we’ve all seen a movie and thought, that’s not how I pictured that character. Everyone visualizes a novel differently, although we read the same words. Similarly, every illustrator puts his or her own take on a manuscript. The process of planning and executing the cover design and illustrations takes a long time, so authors usually have a year (and often more) to wonder what the final illustrations will be like. The good news is that I’ve heard time and time again that the illustrations are always “so much better” than the author imagined!
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Poetry Madness Results
Once again I was eliminated in the third round, which means I made it into the top sixteen – a respectable showing. This year I wrote poems with the words frazzled, incoming, and confidante. You can find them at madnesspoetry.com. I also composed poems with the words flouted (I didn’t particularly care for that word!) and spurious just for fun.
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Madness Poetry!
2017 was my first year to participate in Madness Poetry, an event in which 64 poets from around the world are pitted against each other in a battle of words and wit until just one remains. It takes place during March, and I decided (somewhat foolishly?) to participate again this year. Last year I made it to the 3rd round (top 16) and I hope to make it as far again. It won’t be easy – 32 of us will be eliminated after just one poem.
Here’s how it works: each poet is given a word which they must use in a poem and submit before the deadline. Usually you have about 36 hours in which to create your masterpiece. Then the other “authletes,” classrooms of students, and individuals vote for whichever poem they like best. Folks, these words are not the easiest words to nonchalantly slip into a children’s poem: last year I composed poems with the words hodgepodge, sabbatical, and introspection!
I haven’t been writing as much as I should recently, so this should kick my butt into high gear. Even if I do get eliminated in the first round I think I’ll arbitrarily assign myself another poet to follow and use that person’s word as a prompt. It will at least get me writing!
Name Change
Sparkhouse has a new name! My debut picture book, When Day is Done, will be published under the new name: Beaming Books. Read more about it here.
Friday Favorite – Book Darts
These days when I read it’s for education as well as entertainment. When I find a particularly pleasing sentence I mark it with a book dart. Later I go back and add the passages to a file if I still find them striking.
The book darts are gentle on the pages and don’t leave any marks, though you do need to be somewhat careful.
I purchased the tin of 125 in mixed metals, thinking I would give some to the members of my book club, but I love them so much it remains to be seen whether anyone else will actually get any! I find them immensely satisfying – the reading equivalent of writing with your favorite pen.
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Words of Wisdom – from Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi
One of the benefits of working at a library is that I bring a lot of books home. Sometimes the books are for me, sometimes they are (also) for my two children. You might think that someone who goes to the library five days a week (sometimes six!) would never have overdue books . . . but you would be wrong.
There are just so many I want to read!
Bored and Brilliant is one of the new books at the library that caught my eye. In the first twenty pages, I have already marked seven places.
It’s a library book, so by marked, I mean marked with my new book darts – archivally correct, and a safe alternative to paperclips.
The premise of the book is that boredom is necessary for creativity – “to think original thoughts, we must put a stop to constant stimulation.”
We must embrace the “tedium of creativity.”
This doesn’t mean that creativity is joyless, far from it, but often the joy comes after wrestling with some aspect of the creative endeavor. Most writers would be quick to admit that there are parts of the writing process they do not particularly enjoy. For some writers it is the first draft, for some writers the revisions . . . you get the idea.
If you want to be more creative, go ahead, be bored.
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Bullet Journals
I first heard about bullet journals at a library class offered by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. The teacher said one of her most successful adult programs was how to set-up and maintain bullet journals. She showed us a video explaining what they were, and it all looked very lovely – great for people who are doodlers or scrapbookers or illustrators.
I am not any of these, nor do I have the patience or desire to make a journal look pretty.
However, I looked up more information and found that the original intent didn’t involve aesthetics at all. The creator touts them as “the analog system for the digital age.” (Check out bulletjournal.com to see the basics.)
Like a combination of journal, planner, notebook and productivity booster – whatever you want it to be. The beauty of it is that it can take the form you need.
Since my husband bought me three lovely notebooks for Christmas, I decided to try bullet journalling with one. How will this help me as a writer? I plan to keep track of writing tasks I want to accomplish. I’ll also have a place for lists that I like to keep: novels read, picture books read, fun words or phrases, fun rhyming words, new words I’ve learned etc. There can be pages for anything you want. I expect mine will mostly be a combination of writer’s notebook, planner/calendar, and to-do list. One page is already started for ideas from Storystorm with Tara Lazar in the month of January.
If you’re like me, your mind is always whirring with things you know you need to do – things you don’t have the time or energy to do right now, but don’t stop thinking about it or you might forget! The bullet journal allows you to “brain dump” and then stop worrying that you’ve left something undone.
There’s also something very satisfying about making lists and checking items off.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to check off “write blog post” in my bullet journal.
Firsts
This is my first post on my author website. Like most firsts, it’s a little scary.
Will I have anything to say – on a regular basis – that others will want to read?
Am I even allowed to have an “author” website when my first book hasn’t been published yet?
Yes.
Yes, I am.
Because we all have to start somewhere.
And if I don’t start now, then when?
Here’s to growth, encouragement, insight, and celebrating all the words!
Yours and mine.
Come, join me on this journey . . .