Las Vegas!

Henny's heading to Las Vegas for some fun with the American Library Association!
We've packed up our buttons and bangles and are anticipating a fine time with the people who do books best!

I'll be there in my chicken hat, signing books, this Sunday at the Simon and Schuster (booth #302-303) from 2:30-3:00 p.m. So if you're planning on attending, DO stop by for a Henny hi-5!

Should be a blast--as well as a blast of heat--it's supposed to be 108 degrees on Sunday!

Hope you all are fine, and Henny and I will check in next week!
-ERS

She's ARRIVED!!

HENNY's day has finally arrived!  She's officially hitting the bookstore shelves today!
And to herald her in, Mr. Schu is posting an interview as well as premiering her video trailer on his blog Watch. Connect. Read. (http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2014/01/book-traier-premiere-henny.html)     Pop on over, in HENNY's honor, and take a gander-- you can even see her in her debut dress ;)

Thank you, everyone, for supporting HENNY over the last couple of years!
You are, one and all, simply awesome!  xxoo

A Little Tour

I was tapped recently or, more specifically, "tagged" by my friend Dana Sullivan to keep the ball rolling on what is called "The Next Big Thing" -- a blog tour aiming to raise awareness of authors and their work. It started in Australia and has now gone international.  
Here's how it works:

Authors answer ten questions about their new, next, most recent picture book/novel/collection/whatever before tagging a few authors who agree to do the same thing one week later. Then author participants spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, and other online venues.

    

The debut of HENNY is still a little way away, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to give her a little shout out. Brace yourselves--when the book IS released (February, 2014), you will all be hearing about it...ad nauseum ;)

So here goes:
Sneak peek at the cover:

(cover design by the inimitable Lucy Ruth Cummins!)

1) What is the working title of your next book?
      um...HENNY?  ;)

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

      A couple of years ago, I started drawing birds with arms.  I think it all began with Herr Vogel:

     A few months later, my first version of Henny appeared.  She has obviously morphed :)
  I remember at the time, I just thought a bird with arms was funny.  

3) What genre does your book fall under? 

      HENNY is a picture book.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
       Daniel Day Lewis would play everyone.  I think he could handle it, don't you?

  

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
      From the announcement in PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "HENNY tells the tale of a young chick who is born just a little different from everyone else in the barn, and learns how to use her special gift to come into her own."  

       

6) Who is publishing your book?
     Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
      This is hard to answer because I think HENNY really evolved over a year or so.  However, when I actually sat down, I think I pulled the first book dummy together in a morning.  My amazing agent, Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary and Media, weighed in with a few suggestions, and then HENNY was born!  

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

      HENNY is a strong character-driven story perhaps in the spirit of the incomparable OLIVIA or Paul Schmid's incredibly beguiling  HUGS FROM PEARL .

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
      Henny did.  She made me do it ;)

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
       If the reader's interest isn't piqued by a chicken with arms, then I'm not sure what will.  

Now for the fun part--
Here are two talented author/illustrators I've tagged...so be sure and look for their blog posts next week!

Courtney Pippin-Mathur 

Anne Belov 

What a Week!

Greetings, Blog Friends!!
My almost-a-whole-week in New York was amazing!  I left a few days before the conference started in order to see family and friends (definitely NOT enough time for this), and to meet with the fabulous people at Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books.  We were originally scheduled to have lunch on Thursday of last week, but my art director, the brilliant Lucy Cummins, decided to go dog-sledding up in the wilds of Canada!  So we had breakfast on Wednesday, instead.  My intrepid agent, Joanna Volpe (New Leaf Literary and Media) joined us-- as well as, of course, my editor and publisher, Paula Wiseman herself :) After a delicious omelette and a much needed cup of coffee (my west coast bio-rhythms told me it was 6 a.m.), we walked over to the S and S offices for a gander at some samples of HENNY.  It was so wonderful to hear all the enthusiasm they have for my dear little bird! It was so exciting to hear that the release date for HENNY is slated for February 4, 2014 AND that she may be ready for pre-order on Amazon.com SOON (could be two weeks, or two months. This seems to work in mysterious ways...apparently we just have to keep checking!).
Here we are at S and S:

l to r: Paula Wiseman, ERS, Joanna Volpe, Lucy Cummins

It was truly a fun and thrilling morning with these gracious and talented professionals!

 

Leading up to the conference, I got to hang out with some family, visit some bookstores, pop into the Society of Illustrators, and had a nano-second to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art--just enough time to take in one exhibit. It was a tough call between the Matisse and the George Bellows exhibits. I chose George. It was stunning! 

Then Friday rolled around, and the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writer and Illustrators) conference began. First up was the Illustrator's Intensive--lasting all day and ending with the portfolio showcase in the evening. I am so happy to report that my very talented friend Lori Nichols (Lori is also represented by Joanna at New Leaf Literary) and my fellow Seattle resident and illustrator-extrordinaire, Jessixa Bagley, were honored as portfolio runners-up. Huge congrats to Lori and Jessixa! 

Then on to the main events...talks, presentations and breakout sessions, and in-between gatherings with so many fun and talented people.  

The conference presenters included a star-studded cast of writer/illustrators, including 

(but not limited to):

Shaun Tan

Barbara McClintock 

Mo Willems

Tomie DePaola

David Ezra Stein

The Brothers Hilts

Floyd Cooper

and...believe it or not, Julie Andrews (yes, that Julie Andrews) and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. Who knew?

I also had the great pleasure of meeting Alexandra Penfold, who was my editor for HENNY. Alexandra, seeking more time for her growing family, has moved on to be an agent at Upstart Crow Agency. I was so sad to see her go, but also excited to have Paula Wiseman as both my editor AND publisher!

The conference was as exhilarating as it was exhausting.  I met some fascinating people, got some fabulous feedback on my portfolio, and learned a lot.  I'd say... "Mission Accomplished!" 

So, dear blog friends, those are the highlights :)  

I leave you with a few pages from my portfolio (click on the images if you wish to enlarge). 

I am looking forward to playing catch-up with all of your blogs!  

Thanks, as ever, for stopping by :)

-ERS