Better Late than Never

Due to circumstances beyond my control - aka sick computer - this Fabulouslyfantastic announcement is overdue!

My real-life writing mate and CP, Christina Phillips, has

a 2 book deal!

Here's the PM announcement:
Christina Phillips’s HIS FORBIDDEN PRINCESS, in which a Roman centurion leads an invasion into Cambria, and the druid princess who both defies and enthralls him, to Kate Seaver at Berkley Heat, in a two-book deal, by Emmanuelle Alspaugh at Judith Ehrlich Literary Management.

Doubly Amazing

Penguin and the New Baby was one of the first picture books I had published.

I was talking to an editor on the phone about a completely different ms I'd submitted

and she said she was desperate for some picture books.

I 'wrote' 2 Penguin books there and then over the phone!

Unfortunately, that publisher went bankrupt before the hardback editions were published

but the paperback rights had been sold and they were published in 1992.

Yes, seventeen years ago - so I was amazed to see a recent review!

The second amazing thing is it was reviewed by a young girl taking part in

Premier's Summer Reading Challenge 2008-9

in Western Australia.

I've not shown her name, but here's what she said:

Penguin and the New Baby by Pat Posner and Alison Finch

I read Penguin and the New Baby written by Pat Posner

and illustrated by Alison Finch.

They had a new baby in the house and Penguin was sad because the baby cried a lot.

Then they went to the park and Penguin got to sit on the front of the pram.

Every one crowed the baby. The baby cried again.

When they went back home they feed the baby again

and the baby smiled at penguin.

I liked this story because they get a new baby in their house and because the baby smiles at Penguin.
Girl age 6 from Kinross 14 January 2009

OYEZ! OYEZ! HEAR YE, HEAR YE...

Please go and congratulate Amanda Ashby my ‘genie-us’ friend – who’s also one of my crit partners – on her ‘djinnous’ news.

This is the announcement on Publisher's Marketplace:

Amanda Ashby's untitled middle-grade series about a girl who accidentally gets turned into a djinn (genie) the day before starting sixth grade and has to learn to deal with her new powers without her mom finding out, to Karen Chaplin at Puffin, in a three-book deal, by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency (world English).

Takeover Tuesday!

Edited to add: If you're wondering

why I've taken over this blog for the day...

Go here
http://sallyquilfordblog.co.uk/

My name is…
Well, it doesn’t matter what it is because it might

be changed anyway.
I am…
A girl.

I think I’m about eight or nine years old.

For a long time, I was running around

inside a head answering questions.

Sometimes, because the person whose head I was in

didn’t seem to like the answers,

I was asked to change them!

I got so dizzy, so hemmed-in, I kept yelling to be let out.

Eventually, I got my own way.

You’d think life would have got easier then,

wouldn’t you?

But it didn’t. I’ve spent the last few days

answering – or trying to answer –

more questions.
Until today.

Tuesday August 11th 2009.
The thing is, I’ve told ‘my person’ what I’m called,

what colour my hair is, where I live,

who I live with, what my problems are -

that’s apart from the problem of how to stop her

asking more questions so I can get on with life!

who my friends are – or are not – and stuff like that.
Right now, my person is busy studying all my

answers to her questions and writing

lots of notes so while she’s doing that

I thought I’d ask a few questions of my own.

Seeing as my person is too busy to answer them,

I’m hoping that some of you,

who have lived inside someone’s head,

will answer them.
I think I’ll call this post:

Character to Character

When the person whose head you’ve been

running around inside of lets you out,

do you have to answer loads more questions

like I did?

If you’ve already told that person your name,

does h/she ever say it’ll need

to be changed

because it doesn’t go with

the colour of your hair,

or your size, or the year you’re living in,

or your personality?

Does your person try to stop you

doing something you want to do –

or does your person let you

have your own way to see what happens?

Oh, sugar and sherbet!

My person needs to check something out with me.

It looks like she’s in a bit of a tizz-wozz

so I better go.

I’ll try to come back later and, meanwhile...

It would be great if some of you –

or some of the people whose head you lived inside –

could answer my questions.

Been Busy...

Been bubbling ideas in my head
Until last week; the bubbles began to burst
So I started to write a new book
Yay! After 'mumble-mumble' rewrites I'm on
........ chapter four

I just did an experiment
To see if something I thought of for my
..... MC to do would work
'
Success

Forward I go
Upping the pace...
Nurturing this baby

Hmm, my agent is tons better at these acrostic thingies than I am but until next time
Acrostically Yours...

Tim and Ted with a Plea to all you Animal Lovers

"We're lucky. We get plenty of food but..."

The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily so they can meet their quota of getting FREE FOOD donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute (about 15 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals for free'. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site! Please pass it along to people you know. http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

"Please click every day"

Tail wags

Tim and Ted

Big Squeeee for a CP!

Christina Phillips - one of my three fantastic CPs, on the right in the photo - has just signed with the agent of her dreams.

We're all very excited because we all loved this book from its birth. Pop over to her

blog to read more.

"A good leak in June sets All Things in Tune"

I so hope that old country saying won't come true in the House up the Hill. I wrote about a leak on March 28th. We've had two more leaks this month with water pouring through the kitchen ceiling again - in a different place from previously. This time it was the hot water cylinder - we're on spring water here which is great except for the fact it eats its way through copper. So plumber came and put a new cylinder in. Trouble was, as we found out the next morning, a joint (or something!) on the cylinder was faulty and let water out. *Sigh*

In spite of that, I have managed to write a synopsis and 2 chapters of a new book.

When do you write your synopsis?

I will never, ever again write one before getting a word of the book on paper. OK, I know you're not tied to the synopsis but once it was written, it was in my head and it made it much harder than usual to get the 'magical' first lines right.

The 2 Ts aren't in the book as themselves - but in a way the 2 human MCs have a lot in common with Tim and Ted - and there are puppies in it who do some of the things T&T do.

Speaking of Tim and Ted...

"Do you think we've grown?"

"It's June 1st tomorrow. Let's remind all our blog mates to say 'White Rabbits' three times over in the morning before speaking to anyone."

Book Covers

Did You Make a First of May Wish?

Right now: I'm frustrated because, in my head, I can see pictures to go with the text in my current WIP and the mock-ups are more than ever MUCK-UPS!

So, what's that got to do with the header? Well...

On the first day of every month I try and remember not to speak to anyone until I've said 'White Rabbits' three times and made a wish. If on the First of May you wash your face in early morning dew, then say 3x White Rabbits, then make your wish (all before uttering a word to anyone) your wish has more chance than ever of coming true because May dew has magical properties. Hmm...

If I hadn't spoken to Husband up the Hill and T&T before remembering the date, I would have done the above and my wish would have been: "I wish I could draw!"

So did you make a wish this morning? And if you didn't, what would your wish have been? You can tell me, because I washed my screen with May dew and that might help your wish come true!

*Edited to Add
I've just read about AV's Ms Bo: Absolute Vanilla... (and Atyllah)
So my May Day wish is for Ms Bo's safety and happiness now she's making her journey into the big wide world.

On a Writing Roll

I started writing a new book on Easter Sunday. I've just finished chapter four - aka 8,002 words. But I've made myself dizzy by imagining I was riding on an out of control...

There must be a better word than 'dizzy'.

Disorientated, giddy, wobbly, woozy,

wibbly-wobbly, dazed, dazzled.

Any suggestions?

Tim and Ted's Busy Day Posing...

And there are some more photos over at http://shirleywells.blogspot.com/ cos she's the one we posed for!

Tim and Ted brought me Good Luck...

...an agent for my children's books. An American agent!

OK, I meant to show another photo not a repeat, but I am so excited I can't work out how to delete the repeated one.

Writing while Puppies Sleep and...

...mopping up leaks!

After a last but one edit of the picture book I wrote this week during T&Ts' nap times, I went to make a much deserved coffee. At first, when I saw the flood on the kitchen floor, one of the Ts had done a huge wee. In a way, I wish that had been it. But, no! Old house, old plumbing = water flooding from pipes inder the bath (or somewhere in the bathroom) down into the kitchen.

So I turned the water off, mopped up, phoned the odd-job guy and mopped up again - and again and again. Then I though 's*d it', threw a few old towels down, came back into my study to do the final edit and left Tim and Ted using wet towels as a skating rink.


Here's another of my fun mock-ups I did for my picture book.

Surprise! Surprise! Aka Double Trouble!

Three weeks ago we went to see a litter of 5 week old rough collies.

They were born 3 days prematurely and we chose the tiniest (3ozs at birth; his siblings were 5 ozs and a bit).

We went to fetch our Tiny Tim on Saturday.

Tiny Tim

We came home with his best brother buddy, too - Tough Ted! (Well, Ted thinks he's tough but he's very laid back really!

Tough Ted

With thanks to Loretta for the photos. More to follow soon!