Smoky Mountain High

The Smoky Mountains = My Heart's Home.

I recently met my Smoky Mountain Soul Sister, Kerry Madden, online. We realized we have a lot in common, particularly our love of the beautiful Smoky Mountains. We both write books for children set there.

Her latest is Louisiana's Song, which is the second of a trilogy. I haven't read it yet because I'm currently reading the first in the trilogy, Gentle's Holler. I'm loving loving loving reading about those places I'm so familiar with. She captures the setting to a tee. Her love of the mountains comes right through the pages of that book. (And you gotta love a dog named Uncle Hazard!)




I can't wait to read the others.

(My book, Me and Rupert Goody, and my upcoming novel, Greetings from Nowhere, May 2008, are also set in the Smoky Mountains.)

I grew up at the base of those mountains and have many wonderful childhood memories about my time in them. I went to summer camp there. I've sat in the backseat of my family car as it zigzagged back and forth and around and around those mountain roads. I've hiked along those mossy, fern-lined trails. I've had picnics beside the flowing mountain creeks.

I've jumped from rock to rock in those creeks and waded in the clear, icy water.




















My parents loved those mountains, too. My mother spent the vacations of her youth there.













Even my grandparents spent many happy times there. Here they are in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (with an unknown person):













In the background of the above photo is one of those little mountain motels. Greetings from Nowhere is about one of those motels.

The Art of Procrastination

To avoid writing, I read about how to write.

It works every time.

My current Tool of Procrastination is Elizabeth George's terrific how-to book, Write Away.

Per Ms. George: "I've long believed that there are two distinct but equally important halves to the writing process: One of these is related to art; the other is related to craft. Obviously, art cannot be taught....But it's ludicrous to suggest and short-sighted to believe that the fundamentals of fiction can't be taught."

I find that my writing benefits from taking some refresher courses from time to time - rereading those writing how-to books I love - studying character development and dialogue and even that simple little motto: show, don't tell.

Then I come back to my stories a lot freer to enjoy the art of writing.

"The art of writing is what you get to do once you become familiar with the craft."

Dear Mrs. O'Connor (last time, I promise)

Okay, I just couldn't resist a few more. These are the last, I promise:

"You must hate the mailman for giving you your rough draft back with red marks all over it from your editor."

"I just do not know how you can stand seeing red marks on your papers. Seeing red marks makes me feel sick."

"Yesterday after school, I went to the library and checked out one of your books on Eleanor Roosevelt." [um, I've never written a book about Eleanor Roosevelt]

"Thank you for sharing your writing techniques with us. My technique is to stare at trees."

"I like your books. I don't want to be a writer when I grow up."

[After one of my writing workshops] "We all now know that we can make a story better by using 'show, don't tell' and by not using words that end in y."

These are for the birds

How cool are these? (Thanks to BB Blog.)

Dear Mrs. O'Connor again

More from those funny darned kids:

"Does your hand ever get tired writing a book?"

"When you were speaking, I noticed that you were very calm and not really tense."

"You are a great writer and I will meet many people in my life but you will stay with my soul and heart."

[After I told the class that my cure for writer's block is to eat a lot of Oreos] "Your Oreo theory is very accurate."

My favorite:

"Thank you for sharing your books and telling us how much trouble it is to write a story."

Dear Mrs. O'Connor

I have a great collection of letters from kids, who, "say the darnedest things". (If you remember that TV show, you're old, like me.) A few of my favorites:

"I have never written to an author before, so you'll have to bear with me."

"You've been really awesome in jamming the steps into our heads." [He's referring to a writing workshop.]

"I have read some of Moonpie and Ivy but I had to return it."

"It must be frustrating looking up all those facts and getting all those red marks. I hate writing."

Interesting comment

I was checking out of the garden department of Home Depot yesterday and had a lot of items in my cart. I had sorted and arranged them so that they would be easier for the checkout person. Like, all the impatiens together in a tray...all the herbs together...the tomatoes plants by size of pot.

The checkout gal commented, "You're so organized...but in a quiet way."

That was an interesting comment.

Before I could respond, she said, "Well, you know, some people are so aggressive about being organized."

Alice's garden

(See post below titled Life Imitates Art)

This is Alice's garden. See? All overgrown. It used to be sunflowers and tomatoes and squash.














Sigh.....

Life Imitates Art

Like all authors, I often use bits and pieces of real life in my writing.

But it's not that often that I come across something specific in real life after I've used it in my writing.

For instance, one time I was in the grocery store and a little girl came in who WAS one of my main characters. I was so shocked. I could not stop staring at her. (The character was Bird from Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia.) Instead of seeing the girl first and writing the character, I created the character and then saw her.

Life imitating art.

Yesterday, it happened again.

In my next novel, Greetings from Nowhere, one of the main characters is an elderly woman who has recently lost her beloved husband. He just keeled right over in the tomato garden. His garden eventually becomes overtaken by weeds (and becomes an important story element).

In real life, there was an elderly woman in my town named Alice. Such a perfect name. She went to my church and came every Sunday and used the special earphones for the hearing impaired. She crocheted dish towels for the Ladies Alliance. She lived on a main road in a little white house with a very small rectangle of a vegetable garden in the side yard, surrounded by a chicken-wire fence. I've passed by it a bajillion times.

She died not long ago.

Yesterday, I drove by her house. It's empty. It looks like an empty house. The yard is full of dandelions.

And her vegetable garden is completely overgrown with weeds.

It looked so sad.

Life imitating art.

Grace Lin's Book Launch Party Part 1

I went to Grace Lin's book launch party on Saturday. Wow, that girl can plan a party! Here's how it went:

I took the train in to the city (Boston). On the way, I played Mario Brothers on my Nintendo and got irritated by people talking on cellphones (which was everyone but me).

As soon as I arrived at the party, the first person I saw was Grace, looking so pretty and happy and smart and like someone who should definitely be named Grace.

Here we are (we got our glasses at a two-for-one sale):















Okay, so then I headed for the food. But it was so dang pretty, I wasn't about to be the first one to mess it up:

























I guess when you have a book launch party, you get hugged a lot. This is Leo Landry hugging Grace (or Grace hugging Leo Landry).

Grace Lin's Party Part 2

Okay, so now I've gotta mingle. Here I go...

This is Horn Book's designer and production manager, Lolly Robinson (in red, back to camera. Sorry, Lolly) and friend (I can't remember her name but she went to Harvard, so, hey, I remembered something) talking to Blue Rose Girl, Elaine Magliaro.















Lolly and I were convinced we had met before. But we tossed out every conceivable event, from PLA to IRA to ALA to NPA (National Partyers Association) but no luck.

She was recording a podcast for Horn Book and I got to talk a bit about my new book (How to Steal a Dog). Lucky for me, it was just reviewed by Horn Book, so I had something Horn Bookish to say on the podcast.

Here is the same group, joined by Little Brown editor, Alvina Ling. I love her blue rose ponytail.

























Here is Grace with Pat Keogh (Foundation for Children's Books and Creative Arts Coordinator for the town of Weston, Massachusetts). Pat is the world's biggest supporter of children's literature. She's amazing. She's read every children's book and knows every children's author on the planet. I think.

Grace Lin's Party Part 3

This is Alvina with another Blue Rose Girl, Libby Koponen.
















Libby and Alvina selling books and raffle tickets:










Grace preparing to announce the lucky winner of a piece of her original artwork. The proceeds from the raffle sale went to Dana Farber Cancer Institute:















Here, Grace is thinking, "Yikes, how did these chocolate rats get into the raffle bucket?" (I was promised a chocolate rat in my goodie bag, but I got a chocolate seashell. Now seashells are very nice. But how can a seashell compare to a rat? I know, I know, Grace is thinking, "Good grief, Barbara, get over it, wouldya?)














The woman in the background watching Grace's surprise over the chocolate rats in the raffle bucket is Jennifer Cusack (holding blue coat and books), Executive Director of the Foundation for Children's Books in Boston.

Great job, Grace! Everything was perfect.

Boston Globe Review

Review of How to Steal a Dog in Sunday's Boston Globe.

(Hopefully you won't have to register to access that link...)

Missing it...

This is the first time in about 11 years that I haven't gone to the annual New England SCBWI conference.

It feels weird.

I miss it.

(And I know Kim Marcus is there partying with EVERYONE.)

Spreading the word

Because I love the Shrinking Violets blog and I love independent bookstores, I'm helping to spread the word about the Shrinking Violets' contest: The Ten Best Reasons to Shop Your Local Bookstores."

I went to Grace Lin's book launch party today! It was awesome. The girl can plan a party!

I have lots of pics and stuff. More later.