The Story Behind: I Love You, Be Careful

Judy Snider is co-author of I Love You, Be Careful. Today she shares the inspiration behind her heart-warming book.

Hello ! It was fun to think of why my sister, Joan and I wrote, I Love You, Be Careful! We talk on a daily basis on the telephone and during one of our conversations we discussed being mothers, wives, friends, sisters and how important our loved ones are. Joan began talking about her fun grandchildren and how she worries about them as well as her own grown kids. We said no matter if our kids are 4 or 40, you still want the best for them and for them to “be careful”.

The next day we spoke again and said how we had told our husband’s to “be careful” and we loved them as they left for work. This led to what a great idea it would be to write a picture gift book that shows all the “be careful” moments in life, for any person, no matter what language they speak or what country they are from.

We began a rough draft and worked every day to combine our ideas as to what should be in the book. We took from all our own “be Careful” moments in life with our kids and began looking for an illustrator. We were lucky we found Cady Driver, because besides being a wonderful illustrator, she is a mother and a very creative and fun person to work with! She is in a different state, so all our interactions were on the phone or on the computer.

It was fun work and wonderful to hold our finished book in our hands. Before we finished the book, we thought who would want to read it. We have found it is mothers of daughters, parents of those in the military, new brides, fathers of daughters, and new moms and grandmothers who love the book and find it sentimental. Yet, we were surprised that kids liked the book.  They enjoyed finding the hidden “be careful” in every picture and talking about their own “be careful” children’s moments.   We were lucky to have a video trailer done by Virginia Grenier and to be on this book blog tour.

I hope you like the book. Remember, everyone has a book inside them!

Creating Characters

Renee Hand shares her thoughts on developing characters.  She has received a Best Book Award, a National Literary Award, and a Preferred Choice Award for her children's series and adult books.  Renee is the author of the mystery series known as the Crypto-Capers. Recently, she won a Seal of Excellence Award in Storytelling for her Joe-Joe Nut and Bisquit Bill series. 

Creating characters is a very important job. Without good developoment, characters can be lifeless and dull. Too many times, writers will tell about their characters, but not show who their characters really are. In order for characters to be believable, you must make the reader feel something about them. Good description is key, but it's not enough. How may times have we read a book or watched a movie and have cried or laughed with the characters? We want what they want. We do so because we made a connection with the characters. We felt sympathy or empathy. We love or hate characters based on how the writer makes us feel about them.

When I create characters, this is what I do. My characters are never lifeless and boring. They are dynamic and evolve as the story continues; they have depth. They don't just exist and are meaningless. I put myself in their shoes and walk around. I think how I would feel if that happened to me and I share my feelings. The best thing you can do as a writer is to share your characters' feelings. You can't just tell what a character is doing. A writer must show how a character feels: their pain and suffering, their happiness and joy, and their fears. That makes a character believable—a reader can relate to that. There is more, of course, a lot more to character development, but the above is a good start.

Check out Renee's website at: http://www.reneeahand.com/  to learn about cyrptograms and how to solve the ones that are in her books.

Listening to Chuck

I had registered for a workshop on getting an agent, which would be presented by Writer’s Digest Editor Chuck Sambuchino.  Due to an illness however, he had to cancel.  In the meantime, I registered for a picture book workshop for March 26^th at Joseph Beth Booksellers.  Unbeknownst to me, Chuck’s workshop had been rescheduled for the same day.  Decisions, decisions.  Which one would I go to?  How I would have loved to have cloned myself to be able to attend both.  In the end, I decided to attend Chuck’s, which ran from 9:45 – 11:45, and then catch the tail end of the picture book workshop, which ran to 1:30.

I made the right choice.  Chuck’s presentation was amazing.  He was confident, personable, direct, and lively.  Throughout the lecture, he paused to answer questions and afterward, kept the presentation moving smoothly.  The audience was respectful, keeping their questions directly related to the topic.

Chuck suggests, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”  In other words, have other works in progress should an agent expresses interest.   He also had some pointers for query letters:  

Keep a query to one page. 

Personalize the query (no Dear Agent)                                

Paint a picture of your book

Refer to an agent’s books

After his workshop a light bulb went off in my head.  I have to try harder to get an agent.  My picture book has won three awards—three!—so why haven’t I any takers?   I blame it on my query.  So, together with my notes from the workshop and Chuck’s book, 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, I will edit my query to make it stronger, more enticing.  I am stoked.  I feel more confident and have the tools to” bring it” to an agent. 

If you’re thinking about getting an agent, I highly recommend following Chuck’s blog: literaryagent@fwmedia.com and taking a look at the his literary agent guide book.  Better yet, think about registering for one of his workshops.

And the winner is...

 

Last month, The Maggie Project sponsored a picture book

giveaway contest. 

The winner is Cheryl Malandrinos.  She wins a copy of             

Monkey Made Dream. 

Congratulations and happy reading, Cheryl! 

Writer's News



photo by Lucas



Maggie and the Third Grade Blues has been
submitted to 23 editors and 8 agents. These are the latest results:

Charlesbridge—sent manuscript, no reply  

GP Putnam—sent manuscript, no reply

Houghton Mifflin Children’s Books—sent manuscript, no reply 
Clarion—equery, no reply 

Susan Schulman Agency—queried, no reply

Pippin Literary Agency—e-query; no reply

On the other hand, after I queried Editor-at-Large Melanie Kroupa, she sent a lovely hand written note addressed to me personally, not to “author.” Melanie wrote that she was taking on few projects.  This is what many in the publishing world say is “a positive rejection.” This means that she read my query and it was professional enough to garner a personal note.  

Maggie and the Third Grade Blues has been entered in four contests.  The Kay Snow Willamette Writers Contest will make the final contest, the deadline being this April.  To date, the picture book has captured three contest awards!

More news:  I will post a review of Chuck Sambuchino’s workshop “Everything You Need to Know about Getting an Agent.”   And, I will be hosting two special guests next month.  On April 11^th Renee Hand will offer her insights about creating characters.  On April 15^th Judy Snider will present the back story of I Love You, Be Careful.  

Until then, happy writing!

A letter to Merilee

photo by McBeth

How would I describe you to someone who never knew you?  You were my dad’s girlfriend, a beautiful blond, a fabulous cook, a dancer, a friend to my family, and a cheerleader of my writing.  When I’m quiet, I can hear your voice from your cell phone:  “Hi, this is Merilee, leave me a message.”  And when we’d connect, we’d talk and talk.  I am lucky to have some of your recipes, preserved on note cards—my favorite, the scrumptious honey bun cake!  I have some jewelry you had given to me as gifts.  You knew me well, knew that I liked small earrings.  I still have a most unusual gift from you:  a crystal angel lamp that lights up and warms perfume.  

When I saw you for the last time, I whispered in your ear, “You were the best thing that has happened to our family.” I meant it, though you modestly shrugged it off.  Six years is not long enough to have known someone.  But who am I to question God’s plan?  I would loved to have walked with you in the arboretum.  I would have loved for you to have joined more family celebrations.  I would have loved to have one more day with you.  It’s hard saying good bye.  Merilee, I miss you.

Book Review: Monkey Made Dream

Monkey Made Dream 

by Tom Listul, Heather Listul Hewitt

Primary    Trafford Publishing    40 pp.

12/2010     ISBN-10:   1426949863  ISBN-13: 9781426949869

Monkey Made Dream is a whimsical story of a little girl who wakes up one morning to find a monkey lying in her brother’s bed.   After dressing him, combing his hair, and brushing his teeth, they get ready to go to school.  But her mother doesn’t notice anything different, and neither does her teacher.  Her friends don’t understand when she tries to explain he has a name.  What’s a sister to do?  Monkey Made Dream is full of subtle humor and colorful illustrations. Though the rhyming is not always spot on, this light-hearted book is sure to delight and entertain young children.  Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Book World are just a few of the sites where Monkey Made Dream is now for sale.

Enter the free book giveaway!

For each thing you do (see the list that follows), your name will be entered into the giveaway. This giveaway is open until the end of the month, March 31, 2011.  On April 1, 2011, I will randomly select a name. Then, I will announce the winner that day with instructions on how to claim your copy of Monkey Made Dream.

1.  Become a follower of The Maggie Project.

2.  Leave a comment on The Maggie Project.

3.  "Like" the Stories for Children Fan page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Stories-for-Children-Magazine/101731646536813 and leave a comment at The Maggie Project to let me know you have (and your FB name is, if different).
4.  Follow SFC Publishing on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sfcpublishing and leave a comment at The Maggie Project to let me know you have and what your Twitter ID is.
5.  Leave a comment on Tom and Heather’s tour page on Facebook at  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=198703490158349 and leave a comment on The Maggie Project to let me know you have.