What can we say but THANK YOU from all the nooks and crannies of our hearts for cheering us on and showing us love during our debut year! We couldn't have done it without you. Every single one of us at New In Nineteen has had a spectacular year celebrating each other and the launch of our picture books. It's been dreamy and quite the ride.
To end the year in dazzling picture book style, we are hosting a #NewIn19 EOY Picture Book Giveaway Bonanza! One bundle of 18 books for one lucky winner! The giveaway begins today, Dec. 19, at 6 a.m. CST and ends Dec. 31, 11:59 a.m. CST. But, before we go ... a new year is about to begin. Please throw your support and love to the new groups of picture book authors/illustrators debuting in 2020, including: The Soaring '20s, Perfect 2020 Picture Books, & 2020 Debut Crew. Congrats to them all! And please continue to follow us @NewInNineteen, as our members have new books coming out, too, including (but not limited to): Vivian Kirkfield -- MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: THE INSPIRING FRIENDSHIP OF ELLA FITZGERALD AND MARILYN MONROE (Jan. 14, 2020) Jonathan Stutzman -- DON'T FEED THE COOS! (Feb. 25, 2020) Ioana Hobai -- A WHALE OF A MISTAKE (March 17, 2020) Kristin L. Gray -- ROVER THROWS A PARTY (March 31, 2020) Lisa Robinson -- MADAME SAQUI, REVOLUTIONARY ROPEDANCER (March 2020) and WAS I NOT A GIRL: THE INSPIRING AND TRUE STORY OF DR. JAMES BARRY (Fall 2020) Lisa Rogers -- HOUND WON'T GO (April 1, 2020) Katrina Moore -- GRANDPA GRUMPS (April 7, 2020) Jenn Harney -- SWIM SWIM SINK (Spring 2020) Jamie LB Deenihan -- WHEN GRANDPA GIVES YOU A TOOLBOX (Spring 2020) and TOOTH FAIRY VS. THE EASTER BUNNY (Spring 2020) Hayley Barrett -- GIRL VERSUS SQUIRREL (June 2020) Lindsay Leslie -- DUSK EXPLORERS (June 2, 2020) K-Fai Steele -- PROBABLY A UNICORN (illustrating, Sept. 2020) Sandra Sutter -- STAN'S FRIGHTFULLY CLUMSY HALLOWEEN (Sept. 2020) *** HAPPY NEW YEAR! ***
The #NewIn19 EOY Picture Book Giveaway Bonanza includes:
HONEYSMOKE by Monique Fields, illustrated by Yesenia Moises NOVA THE STAR EATER by Lindsay Leslie, illustrated by John Taesoo Kim 16 WORDS: WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS & "THE RED WHEELBARROW" by Lisa Rogers, illustrated by Chuck Groenink LOLA SHAPES THE SKY by Wendy Greenley, illustrated by Paolo Domeniconi NOT A BEAN by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, illustrated by Laura Gonzalez GIRLS WITH GUTS! by Debbie Gonzales, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon PIRATES DON'T GO TO KINDERGARTEN! by Lisa Robinson, illustrated by Eda Kaban DANCING THROUGH THE FIELDS OF COLOR: THE STORY OF HELEN FRANKENTHALER by Elizabeth Brown, illustrated by Aimee Sicuro NOTHING WEE ABOUT ME! by Kim Chaffee, illustrated by Laura Bobbiesi A GREEN PLACE TO BE by Ashley Yazdani THE REAL FARMER IN THE DELL by Sandra Sutter, illustrated by Chantelle and Burgen Thorne BIRTH OF COOL: HOW JAZZ GREAT MILES DAVIS FOUND HIS SOUND by Kathleen Cornell Berman, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown I WILL BE FIERCE! by Bea Birdsong, illustrated by Nidhi Chanani SMALL WORLD by Ishta Mercurio, illustrated by Jen Corace THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS by Lindsay Leslie, illustrated by Alice Brereton COWHIDE-AND-SEEK by Sheri Dillard, illustrated by Jess Pauwels ARABELLA AND THE MAGIC PENCIL by Stephanie Ward, illustrated by Shaney Hyde UNDERWEAR! by Jenn Harney
Terms & Conditions
Giveaway begins Dec. 19, 2019, at 6 a.m. CST and ends on Dec. 31, 2019, at 11:59 c.m. CST. Winners will be selected randomly via Rafflecopter.com and notified via Twitter or email. New In Nineteen reserves the right to publish winner’s first name and last initial. Each winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. New In Nineteen also reserves the right to choose a different winner in the case that the randomly chosen winner refuses to cooperate with rules, reply to winning email in 48 hour time period or does not have verifiable entries. Each author will ship their book to each winner directly. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of prize, unless otherwise noted. Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to New In Nineteen. New In Nineteen will not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Open to US residents only, ages 18+. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. If you have any additional questions – feel free to contact us: https://newin19.weebly.com/contact.html
20 Comments
Once upon a time, way back in eighth grade, my English teacher, Ms. Ribar, asked the class to write a creative story. I still remember sitting at my wooden school desk wondering what to write about. My classmates were scribbling away, but I was stuck. What should I write? When I glanced around the room for inspiration, I noticed a pencil lying on my desk. It could have been a binder or a paperclip, but it wasn’t. A story began to form about a seemingly ordinary, yellow number two pencil. At the time, I was 13 and my life had been disrupted by the arrival of a new brother. He was two then and I was annoyed with him messing up my ever-so-important teenage stuff. So, it’s not surprising that a little brother was a key character (or should I say antagonist?). I ended up writing a story about a little girl with a magic pencil. Where everything she drew became real. And everything she erased was gone forever. The seed of the idea for Arabella and the Magic Pencil had sprouted. Many years later, when I was finally ready to commit to writing creatively, the story resurfaced. After weeks of rebuilding the story from memory and revising it to work as a picture book, it went out on submission, directly to publishers, and found a home. Fast forward to today, that story I wrote in English class all those years ago has become my debut picture book, Arabella and the Magic Pencil, illustrated by Shaney Hyde and published worldwide by EK Books in September 2019. Now, as a new author, I get to bring my story full circle – back to the classroom. I like to think that Arabella and the Magic Pencil belongs there. Hopefully, it offers young readers and future writers a sense of endless possibility. Students can create their own stories about a magic pencil and the class can problem solve together figuring out how to get their sibling back if they’ve erased him. (Yes, Arabella really does erase her brother.) I reconnected with Ms. Ribar to acknowledge that this book began in her classroom. As always, she was encouraging and supportive. I hope that young learners appreciate the teachers who are there every day helping them discover their talents before they even know what they are. About the Author Stephanie Ward is the author of Arabella and the Magic Pencil, illustrated by Shaney Hyde, published by EK Books in September 2019) and a yet-to-be-announced picture book due out in Spring 2020. After many years in marketing, Stephanie now spends her time writing sweet, silly and sidesplitting stories for children. Too old to blame it on youth, she still hasn’t settled down and spends her spare time traveling. At present, she can be found in London, England with her husband and young son. Arabella and the Magic Pencil Arabella is a beloved only child who has a picture perfect life until her brother, Avery, arrives. While she loves him, it’s sometimes hard to like him. She spends her days creating marvelous things with her magic pencil, and ignoring him. But when Avery spoils a perfectly proper tea party, Arabella erases him from her life. Oops! How can she get him back? --
Stephanie Ward is the author of two picture books scheduled for release in 2019. (It’s all under wraps at the moment, but stay tuned for details!) To date, her stories have appeared in the Creative Kids Tales Anthology and the CJ Dennis Poetry Anthology. Due to ever-present wanderlust, Stephanie has traveled to all seven continents, lived in four countries and holds three passports. Currently, she lives in London, England with her husband and young son. No matter where she is, you can always find her on www.stephaniemward.com.
Do we have any book lovers out there? We hope so! All of us debut authors, illustrators, and author/illustrators at New In Nineteen are dedicated to creating the best work we can to hook young readers and grow their love of books. So, let's celebrate #BookLoversDay with another epic GIVEAWAY! We have four fabulous book bundles. Enter one...enter them all! But whatever you do, keep reading, keep reading to the kiddos in your lives, and keep reading in front of them. Spread the book love!!
Our #BookLoversDay giveaway starts Aug. 9 at 6 a.m. CST and ends Aug. 14 at 1 a.m. CST. Here are the bundles!
BUNDLE #1: FIVE Books to Treasure!
HECTOR: A BOY, A PROTEST, AND THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT CHANGED APARTHEID by Adrienne Wright HONEYSMOKE by Monique Fields, illustrated by Yesenia Moises BIRTH OF COOL: HOW JAZZ GREAT MILES DAVIS FOUND HIS SOUND by Kathleen Cornell Berman, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown DANCING THROUGH FIELDS OF COLOR: THE STORY BY HELEN FRANKENTHALER by Elizabeth Brown, illustrated by Aimee Sicuro SWEET DREAMS, SARAH by Vivian Kirkfield, illustrated by Chris Ewald
BUNDLE #2: FIVE Books to Adore!
NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE by Ashley Franklin, illustrated by Ebony Glenn I WILL BE FIERCE! by Bea Birdsong, illustrated by Nidhi Chanani COWHIDE-AND-SEEK by Sheri Dillard, illustrated by Jess Pauwels WHEN GRANDMA GIVES YOU A LEMON TREE by Jamie LB Deenihan, illustrated by Lorraine Rocha GUITAR GENIUS by Kim Tomsic, illustrated by Brett Helquist
BUNDLE #3 FIVE Books to Cherish!
SMALL WORLD by Ishta Mercurio, illustrated by Jen Corace NOAH NOASAURUS by Elaine Kiely Kearns, illustrated by Colin Jack KOALA IS NOT A BEAR by Kristin L. Gray, illustrated by Rachel McAlister AMY WU AND THE PERFECT BAO by Kat Zhang, illustrated by Charlene Chua ONE HUG by Katrina Moore, illustrated by Julia Woolf
BUNDLE #4: FIVE Books to Love!
MY SHAPE IS SAM by Amanda Jackson, illustrated by Lydia Nichols THE REAL FARMER IN THE DELL by Sandra Sutter, illustrated by Chantelle and Burgen Thorne PIRATES DON'T GO TO KINDERGARTEN! by Lisa Robinson, illustrated by Eda Kaban NOVA THE STAR EATER by Lindsay Leslie, illustrated by John Taesoo Kim 16 WORDS: WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS & "THE RED WHEELBARROW" by Lisa Rogers, illustrated by Chuck Groenink ***GOOD LUCK!***
Terms & Conditions
Giveaway begins Aug. 9, 2019, at 6 a.m. CST and ends on Aug. 14, 2019, at 1 a.m. CST. Winners will be selected randomly via Rafflecopter.com and notified via Twitter or email. New In Nineteen reserves the right to publish winner’s first name and last initial. Each winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. New In Nineteen also reserves the right to choose a different winner in the case that the randomly chosen winner refuses to cooperate with rules, reply to winning email in 48 hour time period or does not have verifiable entries. Each author will ship their book to each winner directly. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of prize, unless otherwise noted. Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to New In Nineteen. New In Nineteen will not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Open to US residents only, ages 18+. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. If you have any additional questions – feel free to contact us: https://newin19.weebly.com/contact.html By: Lisa J. Rogers Few analogies are perfect, but after my fourth marathon, I couldn’t help noticing some parallels to one of my other passions, writing. Commitment: Your Number 1 Must-Do You’ve got to put in the miles. The midweek runs. The weekend long run. The Monday recovery run. Lots of times, especially in more brutal Boston winters than this one, I did not want to get out there. But I went. There’s no way to go the distance otherwise. Putting in writing time can be tough, too. It’s easier to do other work—important work--like going to conferences, meeting my critique group, reading blogposts and connecting with writers on social media. I have a problem with sitting still—one reason why I do a lot of writing on a train. So when I can, I take the train rather than driving—and the spottier the WiFi, the better! We all have other responsibilities or activities that compete with writing. Committing to your goal is the first step in achieving it. Preparation: It all Counts Every step I take makes me a better runner. Even when I have a lousy day, I’m training my brain and well as my body. It increases my emotional and physical stamina. Same for writing. Every class, every critique --however painful-- brings you closer to your goal. It’s all prep for becoming a better writer. Many writers cringe (and I’m one of them!) when they look at their early attempts, but those stories lay the foundation for success. What counts is that you do the work. Knowing When to Change it Up Whether it’s changing your running route or justifying an indoor run on a cold day, varying a routine can be beneficial. In my training, I used my treadmill time to ramp up my speed even if my schedule didn’t call for that. It made me feel good, and I became faster. Writing your story from a different perspective or changing its format can yield results, too. I agonized over a complicated nonfiction piece, tweaking it this way and that, then wrote the first half of it as graphic nonfiction. What had been struggle became fun. While I’m still not sure what form this manuscript will take, the process freed me to think differently and helped me move on to another revision. Don’t Go It Alone: Asking for Help I don’t usually run with a partner, though when I do, it makes the time fly —and my feet, too, if I’m running with someone faster! In one 10K, when the timer called out the first mile’s pace, my friend and I looked at each other in disbelief. It’s still the fastest mile I’ve ever run, that I know of! In writing, I can struggle with a manuscript and not know why. I also can think I’ve got the best thing going. Then I take it to my critique group, and their suggestions are amazing. They don’t tell me what to do, but they tell me where my manuscript falls short. Working on your own leaves room for self-doubt and might it take longer to reach your goal. Persevering: Hitting Bumps in the Road No matter how diligent your training, the road to success never does run smooth, (almost) said Shakespeare. I was psyched because this year was the first year that I was going into a marathon uninjured. Even after I sprained my ankle at mile 2, I was still on track for my best time yet. But a couple of trips to the medical tent added up, and once again, I was hobbling toward the finish line, an hour later than planned. While my ankle was being wrapped, I called my husband. Before I could spin my tale of woe, he broke in: “You are so gutsy!” I was? Ok, if he thought so! What was 11+ more miles? I dug deep the whole rest of the way, shutting out almost everything besides my laser focus on the finish. I almost gave up on my dream of having a book with my name on it in a library. I decided to give it one more chance. Two months later, my agent signed me, and very soon after that, I had my first offers of publication. In September, my dream will come true. But I’m not stopping there. I haven’t reached the finish line yet. -- Lisa Rogers is the author of the forthcoming picture book 16 WORDS: WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS AND “THE RED WHEELBARROW.” (Schwartz & Wade, 9/24/19). She credits the 12 x 12 online challenge for keeping her dream alive and leading her to signing with her agent, Erzsi Deak of Hen&ink Literary Studio. She lives outside Boston near the halfway point of the Boston Marathon, which she’s run four times, and wrote this blogpost on a train.
We are at it again! This time we're celebrating because it is #NationalLibraryWeek (April 7-13), and we love librarians! We want to honor all of you sharers of knowledge and heroes of books. So, if you are a librarian, this giveaway is for you. It's time to get out those kazoos, throw on your party costumes, and get ready for a GIVEAWAY! We are extending our giveaway, so you have more than 19 hours to enter! The giveaway will end on April 12 at 1 a.m.!
What’s up for grabs? Lots and lots of the latest and greatest in picture books by some of our wonderful and oh-so-creative members. Some of these books aren’t even on the shelves yet, but will be soon! There are FOUR #NewIn19 Book Bundles to win. So, check out each Rafflecopter below and enter. You must be a librarian to win. We will announce the winners here on April 13 and contact them via Twitter. Bundle #1: FIVE Fun with Feeling #NewIn19 Picture Books COWHIDE-AND-SEEK by Sheri Dillard, illustrated by Jess Pauwels THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS by Lindsay Leslie, illustrated by Alice Brereton TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrated by Jay Fleck LOLA SHAPES THE SKY by Wendy Greenley, illustrated by Paolo Domeniconi CHIP AND CURLY by Cathy Breisacher, illustrated by Joshua Heinsz
Bundle #2: FOUR Non-fiction #NewIn19 Picture Books
DANCING THROUGH FIELDS OF COLOR by Elizabeth Brown, illustrated by Aimee Sicuro 16 WORDS: WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS & "THE RED WHEELBARROW" by Lisa Rogers, illustrated by Chuck Groenink SWEET DREAMS, SARAH by Vivian Kirkfield, illustrated by Chris Ewald BIRTH OF THE COOL: HOW JAZZ GREAT MILES DAVIS FOUND HIS SOUND by Kathleen Cornell Berman, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown
Bundle #3: SIX Full of Wonder and Empowering #NewIn19 Picture Books
HANDS UP! by Breanna J. McDaniel, illustrated by Shane W. Evans I WILL BE FIERCE! by Bea Birdsong, illustrated by Nidhi Chanani SMALL WORLD by Ishta Mercurio, illustrated by Jen Corace HONEYSMOKE by Monique Fields, illustrated by Yesenia Moises MY SHAPE IS SAM by Amanda Jackson, illustrated by Lydia Nichols LENA'S SLIPPERS by Ioana Hobai
Bundle #4: FIVE Out-of-This-World Hilarious #NewIn19 Picture Books
NOAH NOASAURUS by Elaine Kiely Kearns, illustrated by Colin Jack LLAMA DESTROYS THE WORLD by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrated by Heather Fox LET'S HAVE A DOG PARTY by Mikela Prevost NOVA THE STAR EATER by Lindsay Leslie, illustrated by John Taesoo Kim KOALA IS NOT A BEAR by Kristin Gray, illustrated by Rachel McAlister
Terms & Conditions
Giveaway begins April 8, 2019, at 6 a.m. CST and ends on April 12, 2019, at 1 a.m. CST. Winners will be selected randomly via Rafflecopter.com and notified via Twitter or email. New In Nineteen blog reserves the right to publish winner’s first name and last initial. Each winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. New In Nineteen blog also reserves the right to choose a different winner in the case that the randomly chosen winner refuses to cooperate with rules, reply to winning email in 48 hour time period or does not have verifiable entries. Each author will ship their book to each winner directly. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of prize, unless otherwise noted. Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to New In Nineteen. New In Nineteen will not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Open to US residents only, ages 18+. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. If you have any additional questions – feel free to contact us: https://newin19.weebly.com/contact.html By Bea Birdsong I love stories about the different paths authors take to publication. The variety is encouraging. Each story is unique, which means there is no one way to sign with an agent or sign your first book deal. In February of 2017, I had been working as a freelance writer and editor for the education market for about seven years. This job taught me how to revise based on feedback, how to edit others’ work without stripping it of their voice, how to meet extremely short deadlines, and how to fit the maximum content into a minimum of space. For many projects, I am allotted a certain CWS count. This stands for Characters with Spaces, meaning each letter, punctuation mark, and space is counted. After a few of those projects, the idea of being able to use up to 500 words to tell a story seemed like an abundance of riches. Getting back to February of 2017, I was also working on a middle-grade novel, and I was a member of an in-person critique group. For the past year or so before that, picture books had been popping into my head and sometimes I’d send one in for critique instead of a chapter in my middle-grade book. One week I sent in the manuscript for what would become my first book, I Will Be Fierce. Two of my critique partners contacted me early in the week to say, “I can’t even wait until we meet to say that you have to send this book out to agents.” One of them threatened to come to my house with an electrified cattle prod if I didn’t send it out. We are a hardcore group. So, I went on Twitter, because that is what all productive writers do with their time, and I looked up the hashtag MSWL, which stands for Manuscript Wish List. Agents and editors use this hashtag to tweet what they are looking for in their submissions. That particular week, it seemed like every other agent tweeted that they wanted something fitting the description, “Nevertheless, she persisted.” So, I sent a query letter to four of them, including the one I ended up signing with, Melissa Edwards of Stonesong Literary Agency. This was her tweet: She also posted this: Put together, those tweets describe I Will Be Fierce. The “Don’t care what form it takes” part was key to me choosing to query Melissa because I was her first picture-book client. I took a chance querying her and she took a chance signing me, but it paid off. Melissa was the perfect advocate for my book. We ended up having interest from multiple editors. Melissa set a date for an auction, but before we got there we accepted a preempt deal with Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan). Connie, like Melissa, was passionate about my story. She had a vision for it that included asking Nidhi Chanani, creator of the graphic novel Pashmina, to illustrate it. Nidhi was the perfect choice. Our book will be in the hands of readers on April 23, 2019. I could not have written a better story for my path to publication. Thanks for reading about it. I hope to read about your path to publication soon! XO, Bea Bea Birdsong is a former teacher whose time in the classroom left a lasting impression of the awesome power of books to educate, entertain, and empower. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Sisters in Crime. Bea lives in North Carolina with her husband, son, and spoiled rescue dog. She spends her free time reading, traveling, and searching for hidden doors to other worlds. Bea is the author of I Will Be Fierce! (Roaring Brook Press) and the upcoming Sam’s First Word (Little, Brown Young Readers). Visit Bea at www.beabirdsong.com and @BeaBirdsong on Twitter. As my launch date approaches, I’m in a constant quandary as to where I should invest money on promotional materials and where I can get by with a little DIY-ing. The need for a book trailer falls into the quandary category. Is it crucial to have one? If so, who do book trailers appeal to and why? What are some of the key elements required to construct a compelling book trailer? Being the fact-finder that I am, I did a bit of poking around to see what goes into creating one. In doing so, I discovered a step-by-step approach to analyzing previously-crafted book trailers, or to dare to make one for yourself. I took this a step further and made a guide packet to help all of us figure this out together. (Click on the link! It’s yours for the taking.) Book trailers are short and interesting because they focus on the highlights of a book without giving the entire story away. The purpose of these mini-films is to capture the attention of the viewer and get them interested in reading the book. To make a book trailer, its creator must have a solid understanding of the story’s beginning, middle, and end, as well as four basic elements that make the project great. Effective book trailers concentrate on only a few main characters and leave the minor characters out. This technique enables the book trailer creator to focus on the most important aspects of the story. Also, it is not necessary to present characters as they physically appear in the story. Images serve as effective symbols for characterization. For example, a daisy can represent a tender personality, or a snake might show the evil side of a character. Overloading the book trailer with too many details causes it to be slow and uninteresting. It is best to choose a few plot points and then develop those through revealing specific detail. It’s best to pick a few key moments in the story and elaborate on them. Highlight what makes a key moment memorable or interesting. Perhaps, state how it creates a plot twist, or how it sets up a conflict between characters. Tell what is at stake or ask a compelling question of some sort. Pare down the plot by deciding which key scenes best represent the overall premise of the story. If you are considering making your own book trailer, storyboarding your project is a must! Storyboards create visual maps for book trailers by planning for the final book trailer visuals and script in a concrete manner. Movie makers use story boards to combine the script and the visuals together before filming the shots. Plans for sequencing and transitions are made through story boarding – be it text, sound or visuals. Once the story board script and visuals are satisfactorily completed, it is time to create a digital representation of your book trailer project. After doing the research to make the Book Trailer Basics guide, I’m seriously thinking about attempting this process on my own. Though I might make a mess of the project, I’m going to give it a whirl. How about you? Are you daring enough to take the plunge with me? Let’s do this! Debbie Gonzales is a career educator, curriculum consultant, former school administrator, adjunct professor, and once served as a SCBWI RA for the Austin Chapter. Deb currently devotes her time to writing middle grade novels, crafting educator guides with Guides by Deb, producing The Debcast (a podcast dedicated to the empowering spirit of the female athlete) and various freelance projects. She’s the author of six “transitional” readers for New Zealand publisher, Giltedge, and the forthcoming non-fiction picture book Girls with Guts: The Road to Breaking Barriers and Bashing Records (Charlesbridge, 2019). Deb currently serves as board member for the Michigan Reading Association. She earned her MFA in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Learn more about Deb by accessing www.debbiegonzales.com. This month, THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS will hit the shelves (Feb. 19!). It is as much my book baby as it is Alice Brereton’s. Alice is the super talented illustrator who brought THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS to life. Her quirky style combined perfectly with my quirky writing. I had a chance to ask her a few questions, so without further ado … : How did you find your way to illustrating children's books? The first things I drew were pretty Cat Ladies with big ears and poofy tails. From middle school to high school I drew Anime and when I went to community college I started trying to find my own style. But the first time I knew children's illustration was the way I wanted to steer my portfolio was at the Academy of Art University in Children's Illustration 1. My teacher Julie Downing was lecturing about what a children's book was and wasn't and as she showed slides of beautiful, insightful, and cheerful illustrations my brain latched on. It had everything I wanted to draw! After that first class I started adjusting my portfolio to follow that idea. What/who inspires you? Stuff... Things? If I am feeling uninspired, cracking open an art book might help, but I've noticed I usually get my best ideas from nature documentaries and everyday life events like hanging out with friends, grocery shopping, or driving. My best ideas come from everywhere I am not looking for them. My favorite artists (for this moment) are Eyvind Earle, Hayao Miyazaki, and Bob Ross. What were your first thoughts when you read the manuscript for THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS? My first thoughts were all about me! I was so excited that I had been chosen for this story! My second thoughts were that I loved the idea of the story and the way it was clearly written. My last thoughts were "Soooo. What am I drawing exactly?" Tell us a bit about your process with this book, the routine you go through to start creating. The first part of my routine is to, of course, read the story over and over again until I really have a feeling for how it works, what it wants, and where it needs to go. Then I forget about it for a week and work on something else completely different. After a week I go back to the story with a familiarity but also a more realistic view on it--less cheerleader, more critic--and I start doodling little ideas, very sketchy and loose. These are the sketches no one sees! Not even the cats. Sometimes I take out my pencil and sketch in my sketchbook; other times I doodle with my mouse in Photoshop because I'm lazy. On very rare occasions I actually take out my WACOM to sketch!? The 2nd pass of sketches I do use my WACOM and those are the sketches I send to the editors to review. I usually try to complete the final sketches in two days so I don't get distracted or lose focus of the book world I'm trying to explore. Then after a few or several revisions my sketches get approved and I can start finals! Finals go much easier because I have the sketches as a blueprint to follow and I try my best to address all the problems in the sketch phases so I don't have to worry about it later in the finals. Any challenges? Yes. The biggest problem being "how do I draw the main character" and then realizing the entirety of the book is the main character. The kid holding the book is holding the character? And we're looking into the book's mind as it's imagining its own story? Wooaaaooooh. Do you have a favorite illustration in the book and why is it your favorite? My favorite spread is the Ghost spread! The Librarian and the Ghost are totally going to fall in love! What do you wish authors knew about working with you or any illustrator? Hmmm. That's tough. I can't think of anything big I want to rant about. If the Author does their job "write" I can do my job right! So I suppose all I want the author to know is that I will obsess over their story as much as they did. I've got to know what you love so much about pickles or anything pickled! I wish I had a more interesting story. I had to pick a website name for a website design class and I figured I'd just buy the name, get the grade and pick a new name later. But I never got around to doing that... Now I'm stuck! I really do love pickles though. Highly recommend "Wickle's" if you can find them. You have a free Saturday to do whatever. What do you end up doing? If the weather is warm and dry, I like to go Lakewood Cemetery and play boardgames with my boyfriend! And if the weather is cold and wet, I like to stay inside and play video games with my boyfriend and the cats! Thanks for joining us, Alice! ------- Alice Brereton grew up in Minneapolis, MN, and is absurdly proud of that fact. Her artwork is colorful, textured, shape oriented and always strives to be quirky or “smile inducing”. Alice has won a slough of awards from her school, the Academy of Art University, and Adobe, and keeps them in a nice humble pile next to her collection of dinosaur and donkey figurines. When Alice was nine, her imaginary friend was a gigantic Tyrannosaurus that she liked to imagine eating her best friends. Her favorite food is “pickled anything” and if she were not an illustrator, Alice would be at the bottom of a sea in a submarine discovering new kinds of sea life and naming them ridiculous names … one day the “Tooty-McFlippery-Banana Butt” will be found! Lindsay Leslie is the author of THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS, her debut picture book (Page Street Kids, Feb. 19, 2019). By Sandra Sutter It was the Fall of 2016. I was a children’s book writer who had been misplaced in the legal profession for almost a decade. A few lousy manuscripts sat in a drawer and I knew I wanted to do something more. Using my trusty research skills, I stumbled across registration for the 2017 SCBWI Winter Conference. After some encouragement from a super supportive spouse, I signed up and headed for NYC. What was the worst that could happen? I decide not to write anymore and go back home? No. The worst that could happen was I would fall in love with it and want to quit my job. Two weeks later, I was turning in my keys and working from a new office with a much shorter commute and extremely casual dress code. I discovered rather quickly I had NO idea what I was doing. All I had were ideas and the desire to write. Oh, and those research skills too. Which landed me in an on-line course on writing picture books at the Children’s Book Academy. It looked legit: comprehensive, great track record, and an enthusiastic instructor with years of experience in the business. Was it all that I dreamed of? Yes! Did I meet others in the Kidlit community who were kind, helpful, giving, and welcoming? Yes! Did I get a picture book contract with that amazing story I worked on in class? No … but I was one step closer. During that first course, I found out about a similar one for illustrators (which I am not, but I signed up anyway). I thought maybe, just maybe, I could learn to think like an illustrator and get better at “showing” rather than “telling” in my own manuscripts. Was it all that I dreamed of? Yes! Did I meet others in the Kidlit community who were kind, helpful, giving, and, welcoming? Yes! Did I get a picture book contract with the amazing story I worked on in class? Yes! Yes, I did! Say what? A book contract from an illustration course? That is exactly what happened to me. When the editor critiquing my thumbnail sketches saw my story, she was hooked. She asked to show the manuscript to her publisher. And several days before Christmas 2017, I got the call that changed everything. Of course, I did not end up illustrating my book (no surprise there). But I get to work with an amazing publishing team, and a close-knit group of talented authors and illustrators that support one another on this journey. It seems that it happened so fast, and in some ways it did. But there is still more to do! I feel compelled to work harder and stretch myself more than ever. One thing I know is if I can do it, so can you. Be persistent and give it all you’ve got. Stay open-minded and learn from everyone you can. Give back, and be patient. That next opportunity might just be “the one” for you. -- Sandra Sutter lives among the beautiful Kentucky horse farms with her husband and two young children. Having grown up in Colorado, she left a piece of her heart in the Rocky Mountains and often daydreams of permanently returning one day. Her upcoming debut picture book, The REAL Farmer in the Dell, was in part inspired by a love for the West. A former attorney and therapist turned children’s book author, Sandra is grateful to be on this amazing journey. When not writing or researching a new project, Sandra is likely planning fun adventures with her family. It almost always involves mountain biking, skiing, hiking, or water. Although a trip to the big city is often in order! She is fueled by coffee and enjoys really good chocolate chip cookies. Find out more about Sandra at www.sdsutter.com or follow her on Twitter @sandradsutter. Thank you to everyone who participated in our #19Hours of #NewIn19 Giveaway! We are very excited to announce the winners, so without further ado ... (drum roll!)
BUNDLE #1 goes to ... KARI A.! FIVE On-the-Serious-Side #NewIn19 Picture Books HONEYSMOKE (signed copy) by Monique Fields, illustrated by Yesenia Moises HER FEARLESS RUN by Kim Chaffee, illustrated by Ellen Rooney PIPPA’S PASSOVER PLATE by Vivian Kirkfield, illustrated by Jill Weber SMALL WORLD (signed ARC) by Ishta Mercurio, illlustrated by Jen Corace WHEN GRANDMA GIVES YOU A LEMON TREE (an F&G copy) by Jamie L.B. Deenihan, illustrated by Lorraine Rocha BUNDLE #2 goes to ... CAROLYN L.! FOUR Get-Ready-to-Giggle #NewIn19 Picture Books CAVEKID BIRTHDAY (an F&G copy) by Cathy Breisacher, illustrated by Roland Garrigue NOAH NOASAURUS (an F&G copy) by Elaine Kiely Kearns, illustrated by Colin Jack PIRATES DON’T GO TO KINDERGARTEN (an F&G copy) by Lisa Robinson, illustrated by Eda Kaban UNDERWEAR! (signed copy) by Jenn Harney BUNDLE #3 goes to ... JENNIFER B.! THREE All-the-Feels-and-Funny #NewIn19 Picture Books LET'S HAVE A DOG PARTY (an F&G copy, bookmark and signed print) by Mikela Prevost NOODLEPHANT by Jacob Kramer, illustrated by K-Fai Steele THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS (a signed F&G and swag) by Lindsay Leslie, illustrated by Alice Brereton ***CONGRATULATIONS!!!*** A New In Nineteen representative will be reaching out to each winner to coordinate fulfillment of the prizes. |
Who's #NewIn19?We are a group of authors and illustrators with trade picture books debuting in 2019. Find out more about us here and about our books here. Archives
November 2019
Categories |