You Heard it Here First: Viviane Elbee's Cover Reveal!

Today I'm delighted to introduce you to Viviane Elbee and her debut picture book, TEACH YOUR GIRAFFE TO SKI (Albert Whitman, November 2018). I met Viviane in 2010 when she attended the Charlotte, NC critique group which I led. She came to our group brimming with ideas but without the writing or publishing experience to bring her manuscripts to life. I remember suggesting that she join SCBWI and attend the Carolinas conference. She recently told me she was glad I convinced her to take those steps! 

Although I don't have a picture of Viviane and I (my cell phone didn't take pictures then!), here's where we first met:

And here is Viviane with her sparkling smile now:

Path To Publication

Without further ado, let's hear from Viviane.

CAROL: How did you get to this point in your writing career?

VIVIANE: I've wanted to be a writer since I was 8, but I couldn't seem to finish any of the novels I started. After the birth of my first child I fell in love with picture books and board books. About 8 years ago, I wrote a few stories and joined an in-person SCBWI critique group. My supportive and encouraging critique partners urged me to turn one of those stories into a picture book. A year later, I joined SCBWI and went to my first SCBWI conference, which was inspiring and informative. 

Three years after I joined the Charlotte critique group, one of my very prolific critique partners (Dorothy H. Price) got a publishing offer. I was very excited for her, and her success taught me an important lesson. Prolific authors are more likely to get publishing offers. I had spent three years perfecting one manuscript but I had nothing else in the pipeline. To push myself to be more prolific, I joined Julie Hedlund's 12x12 community. With the help of 12x12, I was able to write 12 new drafts that year. 

After many years of writing, reading and learning, I got my first acceptance from Highlights High Five magazine and was awarded a diversity scholarship from 12x12.

CAROL: What was your inspiration behind TEACH YOUR GIRAFFE TO SKI?

VIVIANE: I share that journey in this blog post.

CAROL: How did you meet your editor, Annie Nybo?

VIVIANE: I signed up for a critique at the SCBWI-Carolinas 2016 conference, and was very lucky to get Ms. Annie Nybo as a critiquer. I was convinced she would have tons of fabulous advice on how to improve my manuscript. To my surprise, when I walked in, she exclaimed that she had been looking forward to meeting me. She was very enthusiastic about TEACH YOUR GIRAFFE TO SKI and asked me if I could change the ending and submit the story to her. Then she asked me if I had any questions, but I was in such a state of shock I'm not sure any questions came to mind. 

After the conference was over, I changed the ending and submitted my manuscript to her. I didn't hear anything for months. When I finally decided to nudge, I discovered Annie had left her publishing house. 

A few months later, one of my critique partners texted me. Annie Nybo had joined Albert Whitman and Company. I decided to send her a nudge email, though it had been nine months since the initial submission and I wasn't even sure she would still remember my story. I included the full manuscript with my nudge email, just in case. 

Twenty-four hours later, Annie sent me a publishing offer. My manuscript was the first one she showed the editorial staff at Albert Whitman!

CAROL: What a great story, Viviane. How did you get your agent?

VIVIANE: I signed with Natascha Morris at Bookends Literary Agency after getting the offer of publication from Albert Whitman. I sent "Offer of Publication" queries to five agents including Natascha. She was already familiar with the story because she had seen it while working at Simon and Schuster. 

Cover Reveal

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for, here is Viviane's cover marvelously executed by Danni Gowdy!

GIVEAWAY

Leave me a comment and your email address (if you are new to my blog) and I'll put your name in the hat to receive the ARC of this humorous picture book. I'll be reviewing it later this year and I'll give it away then. 

Remember! One way we support our favorite authors is by pre-ordering their books. If you pre-order now, you don't have to pay for shipping! Here's the link to Barnes and Noble. 

You Heard it Here First: OOTHAR THE BLUE by Brandon Reese and a Giveaway!

Congratulations to Linda Phillips who won the ebook copy of Rebecca Petruck's new book, BOY BITES BUG.

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You know how I love sharing fellow writers good news--particularly for those who are debut authors. When I read on the SCBWI-Carolinas Pals group that Brandon Reese's first picture book was coming out in May (Lion Forge) I knew this was a story I wanted to share here. Since Brandon is the author/illustrator--you get to hear about his publishing journey AND see some of his great illustrations!

CAROL: What was the inspiration for OOTHAR THE BLUE? I love his name! How did you come up with it?

BRANDON: As with most of my stories, Oothar started out with a sketch. I keep a sketchbook and try to draw in it everyday. If I’m lucky, those drawings become the seeds of a story. 

To be honest, I’m not really sure how the name Oothar came about! I wanted something fantastical and Scandinavian sounding and Oothar just popped into my head.

CAROL: This is your debut picture book, but you have illustrated others. Can you share about how you went from illustrator to illustrator/writer? 

BRANDON: Being an illustrator/writer has always been the goal. I knew I needed to strengthen my writing. So I worked on it by regularly attending SCBWI conferences and just making myself work through a story. 

CAROL: Tell us more about your path to publication. 

BRANDON: I drew constantly as a kid. My mom read somewhere that if you wanted to foster creativity in your child you shouldn’t give them coloring books. Instead you should give them blank pieces of paper to draw and color on. So, blank sheets of paper were never in short supply!

I went to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale where I took some art classes but not a lot. The focus was on graphic design. After graduating I eventually got a job art directing and designing a small children’s magazine. I would assign myself illustration jobs for the magazine. It’s there where I honed my illustration skills... or at least started to. 

OOTHAR with Fettle the Wizard

CAROL: What role did SCBWI have in your life?

BRANDON: SCBWI is a great organization. I wish I had joined years ago! It wasn’t until after attending my first conference that I started to get some traction in the publishing world. 

CAROL: What role has your critique group played in your development as an author/illustrator?

BRANDON: The most beneficial thing I’ve done to help my writing is join a critique group. You know right away if something is working by the reactions. Nothing is better than hearing a critique partner giggle their way through your manuscript. Well, a humorous book, that is! I suppose it would be a bit of a nightmare if a reader is laughing their way through a serious project. Illustrating and writing are mostly solitary endeavors. It gets lonely. It’s great to have a group of artists who understand your struggles and cheer your successes. 

Brandon created his artwork using digital painting in Adobe Photoshop

CAROL: What was the process of getting your publisher?

BRANDON: Connecting with Lion Forge and ultimately selling Oothar to them was a bit of a surprise. I had some down time and I was looking for comic book illustration work. I worked up a mock Oothar cover and sent it to a list of publishers I found online. Andrea Colvin, the executive editor at Lion Forge, wrote back right away and said that unfortunately she didn’t have any illustration work at the moment but wanted to know if I had any manuscripts she could read. 

I’m still thinking she wants comic book or graphic novel stuff, so I sent her three stories I thought would translate well to that format (Oothar being one). It wasn’t until she wrote back to say she loved Oothar and wanted to take it to an acquisitions meeting that I found out she was looking for picture books. So I quickly sketched up some extra sample art for her to take to the meeting.
 

The poster Brandon sent to publishers.

CAROL: When did you get your agent? Did you query several before signing?

BRANDON: I signed with Jennifer Mattson from Andrea Brown Literary in February. I still have that new client smell! I queried maybe 15 other agents. I had other offers but I ultimately felt Jennifer was the best fit for me.

CAROL: What are you hoping your young readers will take away from OOTHAR?

BRANDON: Feeling blue or depressed is a normal emotion. It is an indicator of something askew in our lives. If something isn’t bringing you happiness anymore, you can make a change!

Remember what I said last week? One way we support authors is by preordering their books. Click on over to Amazon and preorder OOTHAR now!

To enter the giveaway for your copy of OOTHAR, please leave a comment along with your email address if you are new to my blog. Share this on social media (please tell me what you do) or become a new follower of my blog and I'll enter your name twice. Winner will be chosen on March 16.

Extraordinary: A Review and an ARC Giveaway!

In some ways books are like babies: conceiving them and bringing them into the world requires a lot of effort. The mother (writer) does most of the work, but there’s usually a team that assists with the delivery.

As the critique coordinator for the SCBWI Carolinas Charlotte group for over twenty years, I had the privilege of helping several fellow writers "deliver" their books. Whenever they did, I’ve been as proud as an aunt and enjoy celebrating the arrival of their “babies.”

You heard about Linda Phillips’ book Crazy last fall and now it’s Miriam Franklin’s turn. Both authors brought their books through one laborious draft after another until their stories emerged- beautifully formed and ready for a world of readers.

Over ten years I read several drafts of Miriam’s debut novel Extraordinary (Sky Pony Press, May 2015). In each one the kernel was the same: Ten-year-old Pansy's best friend, Anna, develops meningitis after a spring break camp. Pansy decides that if she becomes extraordinary, Anna will forgive her for all the promises she didn't keep. “Extraordinary” Pansy also wants to be the first person Anna sees after her brain surgery that hopefully will reduce her seizures.

Pansy’s wishful thinking—that she and Anna will return to the days of swimming at the beach, playing LEGOs with Anna’s twin brother Andy, and being Girl Scouts together—is not uncommon for children and adults when facing tragedy.  

Pansy hasn’t forgiven herself since she backed out of her promise to Anna to attend camp over spring break. Pansy got scared, the two girls fought, and Anna slammed the door behind Pansy. The next time she saw Anna, her friend was in a hospital bed. "Anna couldn't talk, she couldn't understand what people were saying, and she didn't act like she knew me at all." (p.3) 

While going for a hike with Andy, she thinks about how his family had to stay home with Anna. "You couldn't push a wheelchair on a trail in the mountains." (p. 86)

Pansy doesn't want to admit her fears:

In the spring they'll come with us. I wanted to say. And Anna will win Poohsticks, like always, and she'll be the first one down the steps to the falls. But I kept my words inside. Maybe I was afraid to say them out loud, afraid they would just disappear as soon as they were out of my mouth--as if by telling someone else how I get, I might keep my hopes from coming true. (p. 86)

The book is full of Pansy's efforts to become extraordinary in order to be the type of friend Anna deserves. Some of her actions have funny, unexpected consequences. For example, she attempts to improve her Rollerblading skills but ends up being pulled by two huge dogs around a park. But her drive to redeem herself for her failures and be an extraordinary friend propels her forward.

Before Anna's brain surgery Pansy reflects,

No matter how worried or nervous I was, Anna always believed in me. And I knew she still did. I would never have put on skates, gone to the top of the list for Independent Reader, or joined Girl Scouts if it weren't for Anna. But now, it was my turn to be there for her. To believe that she as going to pull through this surgery, that she was going to come out of it stronger than ever before. That she was going to be Anna again and that she would be so proud of me for all I'd done. So I blocked out all those questions and concentrated on one thing: in less than two weeks, I'd be sure to have my best friend back. (p. 151)

Pansy can't wait to see Anna after her surgery. She's heard that it was successful and she goes to the hospital armed with high hopes, a balloon, and a box of Oreos--Anna's favorite. Pansy is stunned at her friend's appearance and behavior:

She just lay there, her head drooping down, her eyes poking lifeless. She didn't seem to care if I was there or not. (p.196)

When Anna drops her hand on the package of cookies, her family is ecstatic because she's finally using her right hand. But for Pansy, all is lost.

I'd imagined it all--Anna understanding my words when I told her about my goals, Anna looking at my badge and getting that I'd earned it for her. Now I knew that Anna hadn't understood that I was doing any of those things for her.

All my dreams about Anna's recovery instantly evaporated into the air. They were just dreams. That's all they were. (p.198)

Pansy wrestles with the hard facts of Anna's illness and discovers that by following Anna's brave example she can conquer some of her own fears. In that way, Pansy finds her own path to extraordinary. 

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Miriam Franklin has captured a difficult topic for young readers to understand: how do you respond when your best friend suffers a serious illness. I hope you will consider pre-ordering this well-written book for yourself, or for a young reader in your life. This will be a perfect book for families who have experienced similar tragedies and will speak to adults as well as children. As Angela Ackerman said in a recent blog, this book is very relatable. 

Leave me a comment by 7 PM on April 8 if you would like to receive my gently used copy of this ARC. If I don't have your email address, please make sure you leave that also. If you become a new follower of my blog or post this to your social media of choice, I'll enter your name twice--just make sure you let me know what you do. 

Introducing Jenn Bower, "Authorstrator": Part I

Being a member of a SCBWI critique group has lots of advantages: I receive feedback about my manuscript and have the opportunity to learn more about writing by critiquing others. I also meet wonderful writers who are serious about honing their craft and getting published. And every once in awhile, skilled illustrators wander into our group and I'm astonished at their work. Since I can barely draw a stick figure, I'm always in awe of their abilities to tell stories through art and to deepen a story's impact through images.

Jenn Bower is new to the Charlotte SCBWI critique group, but not new to the creative arts. When she started talking about how she illustrates digitally, I begged her to educate me--and my readers--on how this is done. She agreed to fit me into her busy schedule and answer several questions.

Jenn also introduced me to the idea of "Authorstrator"--writers who are also illustrators. I think you will agree that the next four blog posts demonstrate her skills as both. Take it away, Jenn!

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CAROL: Tell us a little about yourself and why you consider yourself to be an "authorstrator”.

From "Bo Peep Gets a Makeover"

JENN: As a kid, I dreamed of being a model, actor, and architect.  I loved telling stories with laughable characters and regaled my relatives with ‘Myrtle the Turtle’ and ‘Chubby’ imitations.  I always made things: Barbie clothes, Barbie homes out of wood blocks, sewing and knitting projects, homemade cards.  I also wrote, produced, directed, costumed, set designed, and stared in some form of homespun Holiday two-man pageant, with my younger sister, or performed in all the school plays.  I knew, since the First Grade when I won the Great Pumpkin Decorating Contest, I was born to create.  

A bit of a late bloomer with a horrible sense of direction, I attended UNC-Chapel Hill for Journalism & Advertising and then earned my BFA-Interior Design degree from Winthrop University.  Too clumsy to be a model, too camera shy to be an actress and lacking any affinity for load bearing wall calculations, I then promptly went to work in the insurance, luxury retail, and investment holding industries.  I hated my life and was insanely jealous of my younger sister who was pursuing her second degree in Children’s Illustration.

The birth of my daughter made me examine the shape of my own life as I was molding hers.  What examples did I want to set?  I always dreamed as a child but fear addled the pursuit.  In 2001 I enrolled in writing for children literature course but found my writing to be acerbic and serious.  I needed to peel back layers of adulthood so from 2008-2010 I wrote and published poems and short stories under a pseudonym.  There was a fantastic online community at the time called URBIS.  I connected with a talented group of writers who really challenged my writing.

In 2010 while cleaning out a closet I unearthed my old college art bin.  As I tested decades old markers and pens for life, I doodled a character and then posted a picture on Facebook.  It was the most commented on and ‘liked’ post of the year.  The match was struck and I couldn’t stop drawing again.  I tend to work in extremes so when the drawing rocketed the writing abruptly halted.

From "Kidlitart Process Post"

In 2011 I joined SCBWI, primarily as an illustrator.  At the 2012 Regional Carolinas conference an editor said something that stuck with me: “You illustrators need to step up your game and learn to write as well.”  Frankly, it pissed me off.  I wondered why this individual didn’t toss down the same white glove to writers.  It nagged at me for a year.  

I participated in PiBoIdMo that November and generated a month’s worth of picture book ideas.  They hibernated in a Moleskein pocket sketchbook. Here is a short video showing me paging through a similar notebook:

At the 2013 conference I participated in the Illustrator’s Intensive led by Dan Yaccarino and his Art Director, Patty Ann Harris from Little Brown Books for Young Readers.  They gave us an actual working manuscript and tasked us to develop characters based on the story.  Something clicked during the process and I knew I was a storyteller that had to write and illustrate my own stories.  The remainder of the conference I sat in on every breakout session related to the craft of picture book writing. 

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Join us next week when Jenn shares her creative process!

Until then, here is Jenn's Facebook profile picture. You can see this lady is someone special!

Jenn getting kisses from Trinity,
her 18 month old, 82lb Doberman rescue.
Really. 

Behind the Scenes with Gretchen Griffith's New Picture Book and a Giveaway!

Many years ago, Gretchen Griffith commuted to Charlotte to be a part of our SCBWI critique group. Since then she has found a group much closer to her home in Hickory, NC, but I have watched from afar as she got her much-worked on article "Finding Forty Two" published in Highlights in 2009, and then went on to publish two books set in the North Carolina mountains. Today, I'm happy to share the story behind her newly-released picture book, "When Christmas Feels Like Home." Her publisher, Albert Whitman, is providing a giveaway copy. Details at the end of the blog. 

Carol: Can you share the backstory of this book? What influenced you as you wrote it? How did you come up with the story idea? How did you find your publisher?

Gretchen: I wrote the manuscript in 2008 for the 2009 Highlights for Children writing contest when the theme was “contemporary world culture stories,” but it was in my head for quite a while before that. I lived in Lima, Peru when I was in high school, so I have experienced the anxiety associated with moving into a new culture. For several years I’ve worked with high school exchange students who go from the US to other countries and those who arrive in North Carolina as well. Our orientation materials tell them to anticipate milestones of when they will fit into the new culture, as well as the ups and downs they'll experience.

With that concept in mind, I began to think about the milestones my fourth grade students would face moving into a new culture, or even if they were just moving from one town to the next. When would their new city feel like home?

By the time I received word that my manuscript didn’t win, I had gone on to other projects, to honing my craft, attending conferences, and studying how to revise what I had written. Most key to this manuscript, I began reading blogs that offered tips on submitting. Somewhere along the line I found a reference to an editor at Albert Whitman & Company looking for international or diversity themed children’s picture books.  

I dragged out the manuscript from the floppy disk (yes, it was that long ago technology-wise) and took a new look at it. Being away from it for over a year helped me see it as a stranger would and through this new perspective I was able to find flaws. I rewrote, fielded it to my critique group (essential step) and revised it again. I submitted and returned to my other projects, always writing, always tending to improving my writing, and I admit, always checking the mailbox.

When the letter came, it wasn’t an acceptance. It was a “the pacing needs some work and we’ll look at it again” kind of letter. I revised and resubmitted a few more times until the offer finally came. Even then, I had to mold and refine until the words sang.

Carol: The illustrations truly complement the story. What are your thoughts about how the book has been illustrated? Did you submit the manuscript with many art notes? 

Gretchen: The illustrator, Carolina Farias, is from Argentina. I had nothing to do with selecting her, but what a perfect match to my manuscript!  I offered no input other than a few minor points. I did say that there couldn’t be any older brothers in the family illustrations because the story line of the main character being alone wouldn’t have worked.

I'm on the picture book authors’ panel at this year’s fall SCBWI Carolinas conference in Charlotte, September 27-29 where I’ll fill everyone in on more details. Meanwhile, stop by and visit my blog. Comments are always welcome!

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To win a copy of this book (think: present for a fortunate child or grandchild!) please follow these rules:

• Post this blog on your social media site of choice OR become a new follower of this blog and I'll enter your name once. 
• Post this blog on two different social media sites OR become a new follower of this blog AND post it on a social media site and I'll enter your name twice.
• Either way, leave a comment with your email address (if you are new to my blog) with what you did. 
• Winner will be drawn on Monday morning, August 26 - so get those entries in!