Okay, now they're scaring me....

Okay, so.... I love all things Apple.

But, um, now they're scaring me.....

How did they know my son is graduating from college?

I have a fan club!

Remember those great kids from High Meadows School in Roswell, Georgia?

They went and formed a Barbara O'Connor Fan Club!

How cool is that?

And look what they sent me!

THANKS, Y'ALL!!!!

My trip to New York

Last week I took the train down to New York.

I visited the office of my publisher, Farrar, Straus & Giroux:

Which is very conveniently located next to this!

With the most amazing cupcakes I've ever seen. (Take note, Grace Lin.)

And this is pretty handy located next to a children's book publisher:

I loved snooping around my editor's office. This is an amazing painting by the brilliant Peter Sis, who thought she needed a window (back when she had a windowless office):

I loved seeing all of the books in various stages of production, tucked away on a shelf, waiting to become real books and fly out into the real world.

Of course, I was particularly interested in these two:

Here I am (right) with my brilliant editor, Frances Foster.

And I finally got to meet Lisa Graff (left), associate editor, author, and blogger (Longstockings). (See how much fun Lisa is having?)

Frances and Lisa and I had a wonderful lunch. First we debated the possible shape of cavatappi. Then we had some great conversations about writing, books, and the importance of dressing well when taking airplane trips.

After saying goodbye to Frances and Lisa, I went to my son's senior thesis photography show (Parsons School of Design). It was wonderful. (Those art school kids work hard!)

And I was very proud.

Check this out

A bookmark lamp!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my Old Geezer of a husband - 60 years old today!!

I warned you

7 days old

Hollywood?

I haven't had to pick out my dress for the red carpet yet....

.....but the movie option for How to Steal a Dog has been renewed by Tracy Kilpatrick.

So....who wants to ride in my limo?

Coming back to life

About a five-minute drive from my house is the most amazing RV/trailer park.

It's on PRIME REAL ESTATE - an amazing bluff overlooking the ocean - with million dollar views.

I have a special place in my heart for it because it helped to inspire an important story element in The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis. (There is a motorhome in the story.)

You might remember these photos.

Or these.

I'm sure some day there will be high-rise condominiums there - or a fancy schmancy gated community called Oceanview Estates.

But for now - it is FUNKY.

I walk my dogs through there year-round.

I love watching the seasonal changes.

In the summer, the joint is jumping.

Lawn chairs circled around campfires.

Barbecue grills. Bicycles. Card tables. Tomato plants in pots. Coolers full of beer. Whirlygigs and Red Sox banners. Kids and dogs and retired folks.

Then, in the fall, slowly slowly slowly.....the RVs drive away.

The trailers are boarded up.

They pack up the barbecue grills and the bicycles...

And everyone leaves.

Then, in the spring, slowly slowly slowly....the RVs come back.

The trailers are opened up and aired out.

The grills come out and the lawn chairs are set up.

And the joint jumps again!

I walked through there today.

It's starting to come back to life again!

Next time I go there, I'm going to take a video of it for you (with that Flip Video I had to have and never use).

Grace Lin Auction

The May auction is on over at eBay.

Bid on one of Grace Lin's beautiful paintings and help The Foundation for Children's Books.

This episode is brought to you by the letter P

This is cool: F is for Fail: An Alphabetical Odyssey Through the Creative Process.

I most relate to the letter P.






Thanks to BB Blog for the link.

Warning

To all you puppy-haters out there, consider yourself warned. I'm not going to be able to resist launching cute puppy pics your way.

Here's the gang at four days old.

I know, I know..... awwwww

Seems like so long ago

Long ago and far away....

....in a galaxy far far away....

.....once upon a time....

...there was a clever, bored boy.

Because of that clever, bored boy, a book was born!

That book is The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis.

I can hardly wait to send a copy to the clever (and hopefully no longer bored) boy.

Taking a poll

My writer pal, Sarah Miller and I were chit-chatting the other day about some of our favorite books...

...and some of our favorite authors...

...and what makes them favorites....

....which made us curious to hear from other book folks.

Who do you consider to be some of the most skilled writers for young people?

By "skilled", I mean, writers you think are particularly good at one - or all - of the elements of the writing process, such as dialogue, setting, character development, plotting, etc.

Any particular books that stand out with regard to one or more elements?

A big shout-out

Just wanted to give a big shout-out and a thank you to the 4th and 5th grade students at High Meadows School in Roswell, Georgia - along with their teacher, Ms. Portis.

Thanks so much, y'all!!!!

They're holding their favorite books, which, um, look familiar. :-)

Thank you, Mr. Mailman

Look what the mailman brought me!

Bound galley of The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis!

Baby pictures

Here's the first photo of my new puppy.

She was born Wednesday night.

Her name is Ruby.

Isn't she cute?