Journey of Little Thief! Chota Chor!

I'm so excited to share my newest picture book with you all. It's Little Thief! or Chota Chor! in Hindi. Based on a real experience when I was a child in India, I wrote about it 18 years ago for my ICL Assignment 3, a description of a place we remember using all five senses. More on this later. 

So I wrote about the time I awoke in the middle of the night to my mother screaming, "Chor! Chor!" The door to our home was thrown wide open; we were terrified. The thief got away with a few things--my mother's watch, money, and a box of river rocks that my sister and I had collected. The thief also dragged a suitcase of our clothes outside and we were most worried he might've taken our American panties. Priorities! We had returned to India just a few months prior after living in the US for a year and loved our ultra-thin, ultra-comfortable, elasticized American underwear. My sister and I laughed in relief to find our precious panties, then laughed about those rocks; we imagined the thief opening the cardboard box and getting mad. Serves him right, we thought. 

Fast forward to 2017. There was a call for diverse stories on the SCBWI Blueboard from Benchmark Education. They were starting a trade imprint, Reycraft Books, with a focus on #ownvoices stories. I sent them a couple. No cigar. So I revised this memory with an outcome I've always dreamed of...and it was accepted! We went through several rounds of revision. One day I hope to do a revision workshop with Eileen Robinson, my editor. She is phenomenal. If she's ever teaching near you, sign up. You will learn so much. She asks the best questions and of course, it is in the answering that one finds the better path. My new Charleston critique partners gave me valuable suggestions too--Andrew Barton, Muffet Frische, Rebecca Ivester, and Mo Morris. Thank you! I hope we can meet soon. I miss you.

I received e-galleys earlier this year and was I blown away by the art! The colors are so vibrant. Although the story takes place at night, it's not a dark book. It's filled with light and shadows--and just look at those shadows--how menacing they can be! Now my husband finally understands why I still sleep-walk and talk. I love how the artist Nayantara Surendranath, captured the imagination of my child-self.

So about that ICL assignment 3: Memories are great but I discovered that adapting this to the present moment is a very easy way to work yourself out of writer's block, if it happens. Focus on the concrete without any judgments. Allow the words to flow and in a little while, you'll make connections with other things swirling in your head. I find that my blocks almost always occur because I have too many things on my mind and if I can tease out one thread, I can be very focused. I know that every writer is different but it's something to try. 

And now, I just have to share my wonderful instructor's response: I must confess that I was quite dazzled by this piece of work--which is more a description of an event than a place, but I'm certainly not about to quibble about that. What makes this piece especially fine is the quality and quantity of specific, concrete sensory impressions that you've woven into it; pots aren't merely stacked in a corner, they are "nested inside each other"; cockroaches aren't simply big, but are "the size of baby mice" (eeek!); Mother's purse isn't soft, but "soft as a moss growing on tree bark"--all of which provoke images in a reader's mind that stick there. 

She went on to make minor suggestions with big impact--word choice--with instructions for the next assignment, and ended with: Marvelous! I loved every word...  Such wonderful encouragement. I have learned to teach writing from one of the BEST. Pat Calvert, thank you! 

Another Writing Retreat Gone Wrong

By now I should know to not have expectations, to simply go with the flow, accept all things as the will of God, right? But it seems I need to learn this lesson over and over again. Sigh. My grand plans for a writing retreat while the family was visiting in WA was not what God had in mind. Instead I spent a lot of time praying while pondering this image that hangs in my office and the words of Jesus to St. Bernard of Clairvaux when he asked what was His greatest unrecorded suffering. Jesus answers, "I had on My Shoulder, while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound which was more painful that the others and which is not recorded by men. Honor this Wound with thy devotion and I will grant thee whatsoever thou dost ask through its virtue and merit and in regard to all those who shall venerate this Wound, I will remit to them all their venial sins and will no longer remember their mortal sins." 

What a powerful promise. So when God gives these opportunities, I take them, albeit reluctantly, but it's only in retrospect I can see how beautiful it is to be able to contemplate. You see, right before we were getting ready to leave, I tripped over Sunny and fell so hard, the breath was knocked out of me. I could only lie there in stunned silence. It hurt to breathe. My knees swelled up. And my shoulder has lost its mobility--it's the only joint in the body that can move in any direction. . After nearly three weeks, it still hurts. No broken bones but a possibly torn rotator cuff. I alternately exercise and rest it. I've learned to do a lot of things with my left hand, including hanging out the wash. I'm thankful I can type with ease. And of course, read :) And right now I'm loving what I'm reading--my own novel that needs a good polish!  

Usually writing makes me forget about pain but this time it's different. Maybe the Lord wants me to slow down, take the time to pray more. Perhaps it's the most powerful thing I do. Here's a beautiful prayer, the Memorare, that St. Bernard composed.

Reading, Writing, and Revising

I won another picture book over at Picture Book Builders! Jennifer Reinhardt's Playing Possum. I am quite partial to these nocturnal creatures even though they raid our garden on a regular basis, so I really enjoyed this book. Such a beautiful story that encourages the shyest among us to befriend another. Alfred and Sophia are a delight, as is her hat! At the back there's a description of the animals that appear in the book. I feel most like the porcupine :) 

I'd seen The Secret Life of Squirrels many years ago at B&N and decided I had to have it. I love watching squirrels and to have them photographed with miniatures is just darling. These aren't doctored photos--the author made the props and the squirrels came to investigate. She has a tripod set up to take pictures. The simple story and photos are beautiful. You must get it for the people in your life who love little things. 

I have always wanted to go to one of Darcy Pattison's workshops on whole novel revision but could never make it happen. Well, the next best thing is her workbook, Novel Metamorphosis. I've been using it the past couple of weeks to revise my historical and so happy with the greater insights I'm having as a result of the exercises she's posed. I'm not even close to being done, thanks to an accident at the very beginning of my writing retreat, but there's no rush, right? 

On Critiquing

This is much too funny not to share ... http://pages.towson.edu/lieb/bestchristmascard.html

I was cracking up at the animal rights, fat Santa jokes, and losing the paragraph!!! Giving my critters a big THANK YOU!!!

Writing through the Holidays

The end of November already. How'd all you Nano-writers do? I didn't finish polishing my historical, but I'm halfway through, so it's progress.

These are all pictures Max took on our walk to the cemetery on the island. I like going there often with our dog, but in Nov. we make a special emphasis to go as a family to pray for the dead. It is beautiful and peaceful and I find myself singing: For the Beauty of this Earth.

A new liturgical year begins tomorrow, and I'm taking stock of how I spend my time, and making the necessary changes I need to stay productive. An observation: it makes writing through the holidays a lot easier :)  So if you're worried about the holidays derailing your writing, now's the time to create habits that help you to write with your family and festivities. Wishing all my brothers and sisters in Christ a most blessed Advent.

DONE!!!!

This evening, I finished a grueling round of revisions on my historical that has taken me over a year (in fits and starts). The holes are filled, the characters deepened, and I understand my story better.

I'm looking forward to taking a break from this for a couple of weeks, concentrate on the upcoming conference and other short stuff I'm writing. The next round will not take nearly as long as I'll be revising for pacing and clarity, but tonight, I am so thankful to be done with this revision.

This historical has a long history. It's the first novel that I ever attempted to write, when I had no skills. The ideas were nebulous. There wasn't a burning question in my heart, just a desire to understand something that happened in India's history when I was ten years old. I can't say I do now, but over the years, I collected books and read articles, which made me ask even more questions. Much like when you do science.

I abandoned the novel almost as soon as I started it, because I didn't know how to write a novel, and decided to focus on short stories. I love the form because my head is full of stuff and it was a way to explore many different ideas. But at least once a year or so, for about a month, I worked on the historical. And each time I picked it up, I eliminated one of the plot threads because there was just too much going on ... I mean, you can't have a political intrigue, love, betrayal, industrial accidents, religious conflicts, and assassinations all in one book. Oh, and there was time travel too ... because I love time travel books. You can see the problems with this novice writer ...

This went on for five years. I'd work on the historical for a month and put it aside since I was busy with my young family and almost always on deadline doing work-for-hire. But this is not the ideal way to write a novel. Then for five more years, I put it away completely. I worked on a different novel, a contemporary. It took me three years to finish. I spent the second half of last year querying. But it was a disappointing experience. Even the agents who praised the book, didn't love it enough to take me on as a client. Three new novels were percolating in my head. But this historical wouldn't let go. I told myself I owed it to myself to finish this.

I am so happy I did and the timing couldn't be more perfect. The novel is so much richer now for having sat in a box for five years. I am no longer the same person I was five years ago, and the insights I gained have not just been linearly incremental, but exponential. My critique partner asked me whether I have intentionally put this book aside because I'm afraid. It is such a personal book.

Short answer, no, not intentionally. But I do think there is a right time for everything, and this is the right time for it, and not a moment sooner. I'm a better writer now. And being a Catholic makes all the difference in the world. Thank you, Lord.

Have you ever resurrected an old manuscript after many years?

Back on the Hamster Wheel of Revision

The Easter chocolate's been eaten and lookie! Robo is finding a way to escape his new little cage ... It was fun to watch him eat some popcorn in there, up close and personal. He will sometimes sit in our cupped palms and nibble on a seed or popcorn, but this is so much more relaxing, given his penchant for escaping.

After a very relaxing Easter vacation, I am ready to get back to work. I read the historical in one fell swoop and happy to discover it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. But it needs a lot of work -- my seams are showing and I seem to forget that readers cannot read my mind. My narrative arc needs to be tied to the emotional state of my main character. This is a very happy place for me though. Revising. I'm armed with sticky notes, colored pens, a notebook, index cards -- hello office supplies! -- but most importantly, a great love for this story. I hope I won't be on the hamster wheel for too long. Actually, I have a deadline. Seven weeks. Before school lets out for the summer holidays.

Here are some of my favorite books/tools on revision -- some pages it seems I have to read over and over again.
Novel Metamorphosis by Darcy Pattison (her website is very helpful too)
Second Sight by Cheryl Klein
Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass
Stein on Writing by Sol Stein

Please share some of your favorite books and tools for revising a novel.

My Home Writing Retreat

It started out badly. Migraines. Need I say more? I spent half of both Mon and Tue in bed with my pets beside me for comfort. I took the dog for a short walk during the day and then let her run around in the evening … I was grateful for the quiet. 

I made a decent outline, looked through old pages, cringing at the thought that five years ago I believed the first half was in “pretty good shape.” NOT. Oh, there were good parts (scenes). But lots had to go (summary). I also spread out all my research papers, books, and notes to immerse myself in the period and the story. That was probably the most fun part, just reading and soaking it all up.

Wed. morning I woke up to my normal self. Praise God! By evening, I hit a writing stride. It was fabulous to be able to revise old pages and write new scenes. I had three big writing sessions per day. In between, walks for the dog and me, prayers, goof-off time, reading time. Books are like good friends, always there. Stein on Writing kept me company, as well as encouragement from writing friends.

I had tasty leftovers for the whole week, some frozen food (I can highly recommend Udupi Masala dosa), cups and cups of minty tea, and you bet I helped myself to the kids’ Halloween candy! They don’t realize what a favor I’m doing for them, trying to save them from rotting teeth.

So, did I finish the book? Nope. My grand total – 80 pages revised. I already had 60 done over the past six weeks. I’m nearly at the end of Act II and I’m confident I will reach the finish line before Christmas. It's great having my family home again ... 

The writing retreat ended badly. Very badly. I decided to clean house, including the hamster cage. And I lost this little guy …

Stay tuned.

My Mother, Curry, Purgatory, Thanksgiving and Revision Update: Do I have a bit much on my mind?

This is my mother as a young woman. She died over twenty-five years ago and her birthday always falls around Thanksgiving. Funny story: my mother loved curried vegetables and so the first time she fixed turkey, it was curried. I don't think any of us cared for it (but we ate it). She did the same to broccoli, and for a long time I detested broccoli. At the time, I did not appreciate her willingness to experiment with new foods. We ended up having chicken curry on Thanksgiving in later years. And I prefer my broccoli stir-fried with minimal spices or with cheese or raw. Never curried. And we like our turkey roasted! With cranberry sauce, squash, stuffing, the works. We typically host Thanksgiving and I've always wished she could partake. I ask that you remember her in your prayers. I used to always think she was up in heaven, but I realize I don't actually know this.

The people in heaven do not need our prayers, the people in hell have rejected God and don't want our prayers, so why in the world should we pray for the dead? For the people who are being purified and refined into perfection. It took me a long time to understand why we ought to pray for our dead. I figured that Jesus has already paid the price, and I could never do anything that would even compare. So why? Because our prayers do make a difference. I will appreciate your prayers for my mother. And another thing ... prayers stand outside of time and space, so your prayers for your parents and grandparents might be the very thing that helped them not to despair or make the wrong decision before you were born. I'm thinking how to use this in a book ...  
Back to purgatory. The word never appears in the Bible, but the concept is there.
Mt. 5:48 -- be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect
Heb. 12:14 -- strive for that holiness without which cannot see God
2 Macc 12:44-46 -- atoned for dead to free them from sin
and there are many more references.

Here is a wonderful article that explains the biblical roots of purgatory.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I kept thinking of the first Thanksgiving -- the Passover meal where Jesus instituted the Eucharist (which means Thanksgiving in Greek). And since we'd just made a trip to St. Augustine, I realized that the first Thanksgiving on US soil happened not at Plymouth Rock in 1621, but here, in St. Augustine on Sept. 8, 1565.

Anybody want to write a picture book about this? I have a novel to finish revising. And this itch to work on another book is typical when I get to the middle of a novel, no matter whether it's a first draft, second, fifth or tenth. Not only do I have several new ideas, but I had to turn down a project that I would love to have taken on. The sacrifice! I'm committed to finishing this round of revisions before the end of this year. I'm more than half-done, past page 120 ... so must keep trucking along.

My family returns tomorrow, and I'll be very thankful to have them back, and you'll be spared the musings of a person with a too-full brain.

Thank you for hanging around, for your love and friendship, for inspiration, for just being!
God bless you.

A Thanksgiving Writing Retreat ... Yes, Really!

So, I was reading this book last week, and my husband pipes up, "What's this, another fantasy novel?"

Laugh. He knows me too well. I am a slow writer. Methodical. Even scientific. Checking facts. I can be highly distractible. Procrastinator extraordinaire. I don't actually expect to ever participate in NanoWriMo and I suspect many of you are pounding the keyboard right now. I am in awe of you. I'm cheering you on. So although it may be too late for you this year, this might be the perfect little preparatory tool for next time.

But even for slowpokes like me, this is a fantastic resource. It works great not only for giving the idea shape, but also for revising. So while most folks are gearing up for Thanksgiving madness, I am having a *very quiet* home writing retreat with my pets!

What?

How?

Why?

Yeah, I know. I'm crazy. But writers are allowed this. My husband planned a trip to Disney World, invited his parents for a longish visit, and so ... I bailed out. I was in the process of figuring out pet care and knew the best solution would be for me to stay home, take care of the furry critters, and write like a madwoman. I've already had a very productive morning scribbling in my notebook.

Can I finish the whole thing in a week? Is it a fantasy? Come back next week and find out. 

Until then, have a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving holiday*. Do eat an extra slice of pie on my behalf.

ETA: I took a picture of my new work area, the entire dining room table, all tidied up! The oak leaves are from our backyard. I love all the color in my kitchen.

*And if you are struggling to balance writing with family and food preparations this week, you have my sympathy. Oftentimes, it's easier to simply put the writing aside. Enjoy your family. Maybe you can plot and plan a family vacation while doing dishes ...

On Editors

Have you said "thank you" to your editor recently?

Just this week, I finished a project that made me very appreciative of the good editors I've been blessed to work with. I started out writing for magazines and pretty much took my editors for granted ... until the time I worked with an editor who wasn't so very good. It made me realize how valuable and essential they are in helping me become a better writer, guiding me to say what I mean to say, untangling the messes I get myself into at time. Some of my favorites are ones I've worked with over and over again, like Paula Morrow, Beth Lindstrom, Marileta Robinson, Matthew Broadhurst, Sue Thies, and Mel Boring (RIP). Others I've worked with on only a single project, like Mary Jo Gediman, Sarah Schuette, Marianne Knowles, and others. Every one of them has taught me so much. If you ever get a chance to work with them, think of it as a great gift. Some of them are freelancing, so if you're in need of one, check them out. 

Thank you, my dear editors.



Here I am working with one of my dream editors, Stephen Roxburgh, at Chautauqua. He's the only one I've ever met. Others I'd like to work with some day -- Molly O'Neill, Cheryl Klein, Andrew Karre, and Sharyn November.

And here's a book that every children's writer should read: Dear Genius: the Letters of  Ursula Nordstrom. Great wit and wisdom.

In the meantime, do you have a favorite editor? Do share.
*

Finis ... for now

Sometimes novel revisions look like this, especially when you're doing in-depth revisions. Sometimes I shave off too much. There are pieces that seem out of place, the transitions get all messed up when adding new scenes or deleting others. You don't really want to go out in public.

I don't know about you, but it takes time to re-vision and re-write so that the manuscript looks like this ... and of course, the hard work (just do it).

Well, after several years, and with much help from my furry friends, I am finally ready to submit my first novel manuscript!

It is not the first novel I've written ... 

Here's the stash of papers from the various revisions. I tried to save paper, but I guess I'll just have to plant a tree ... a tea bush will be more likely.

Ummm, I am not only the cook, housekeeper, writer, and teacher, but the family hair-cut-giver. This little *accident* happened on my husband's watch ... for which I'm eternally grateful. It came pretty soon after the hack-job I did on my daughter's head, which had to be fixed by a professional hair-dresser.

I am so proud of my son ... he went to school as usual and told the truth. That his parents make mistakes. Nothing that a little time and prayer can't fix.

September Means School

A little girl inspired me to post this picture. I came across this alligator-turtle on my morning walk. He obviously had to get to the other pond.

We are now in the new school/work routine (doesn't my family look great in their uniforms?), which means I'm writing a whole lot more (in my nightie). Well, revising madly, actually. The last round before I send this puppy out ...  Please tell me I will not turn into a neurotic mess when I enter Queryland.

Here I am reading Faith's manuscript! As I recall, I could not go to bed. It is soooo GOOD!

Here's wishing you all a great September of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

I Sold a Book Today!

Yeah!

"Oh yeah? Just what kind of a book?" asks this feline.

.

.

.

.

.

Okay, it's not a book that I wrote, but a textbook from last year that my son was using. A very nice lady called and we had a great visit talking about schools and camping and summer programs for kids at the community college. I might have to check out their continuing education series because this is how I fell into writing. A writing class always stretches me.

Lest you think I jest too much, I have new books coming out. I'm not at liberty to say much right now, but these will be my first fiction books. There's also nonfiction in the mix. It's been a very interesting experience because I've had to write stories to match the pictures. I didn't think I could do it, but I've done it a few times now and enjoyed it very much. I also like doing layout and design and have loved doing the photo research. I've also had the chance to write some original stories and I can't wait to see these in print. And my fifth grade history teacher would be proud. I finally *know* some Indian history. I had to learn it to write the book! I don't know why I was always day-dreaming, but every time a fact was tossed out about some war or the other, I wondered about the common people. What did they do? How did they survive? What did they eat? This is why I love historical fiction. It brings the common, the mundane to life.

I am so close to finishing my book, I can't hardly stand it. I can almost taste victory. I don't really want to rewrite any more scenes, but send it off to my readers, but that would be premature. In my heart and my mind, I've already sold this book. Is it strange to think like this when I don't even have an agent, and only three people have read it (one being my son)? We were talking about making book trailers today ... I showed him Lori Mortensen's and Maggie Stiefvater's trailers for their books, and his head of full of ideas! Of course, my daughter has asked me when she can read my book, and she is waiting patiently for me to finish "Mommy's book."

So I'd best finish. So that I don't have to cry wolf again ... and this is really a street in our neighborhood. I think someone ought to set up shop, printing chapbooks or something.

Adios my friends.

On Writing with Family

I've not had days to myself at home for a long time. I think the last time was a couple of years ago when the rest of the family went camping at Glacier, but I was too sick to go. So I took care of the pets and wrote, and missed my family and watched old movies ...

This weekend, my husband helped drive the Boy Scouts for their annual summer camp, and he took our daughter along for a little fun and games on the way home. I thought surely I'd have the second half of my novel ship-shape. Ummmm. Nope. I did the laundry, cleaned house,

 tidied the kids' drawers -- does a girl really need to have an *entire* drawer full of socks? I took long walks with the dog. I watched the hamsters play, and petted the cat. I savored the quietness. I frittered away time on the net -- I watched funny cats, Argentine tango, listened to some old Marathi songs my mom used to sing, read blogs, commented on many, drank iced tea, looked through photo albums. It was procrastination at its very best.  

I did eventually get to revising my novel. And I made progress (about 50 pages). I did big picture stuff and left notes for myself to rewrite scenes. I rewrote some. Cleaned up others. But I'm sure happy to have my husband and daughter at home again. And I can't wait until this weekend when my son will be back from camp ... and I'll have to do several loads of laundry, and tell the kids to stop bickering, and clean up their rooms, but when I have everybody under this roof at night, I am content.

I tell you, no matter how much I might whine about juggling too many things, one thing is for sure -- my family routines are integral to my writing routine. Take away my family and I waste time. A lot of time. They also keep me on the straight and narrow path, the right path. I think without my family, I'd sink again into a den of iniquity, becoming self-absorbed and selfish.

Family life and writing go well together. For all the young mothers who struggle to carve out precious time to write while taking care of the myriad needs of their children, take heart. Write when you can. The children grow up too fast, so savor and enjoy them. There will be time enough for the books you want to write. When I look back at the little stories I wrote in 15-20 minutes of stolen time at the kitchen counter, and the revisions we did together at the dinner table (they'd draw cars in the margins or write their name on the papers), I feel a sense of accomplishment. Now that the children are older and go to school, the rhythm of the day is different, but it pretty much revolves around the family, and I do get my work done.

Sometimes I am envious of the writers who seem to write fast and well, who jet set and go off to amazing retreats where all they have to do is write and take care of personal hygiene. Even meals come prepared ... but I think I'll take my family and all the tumble and chaos they bring with it. Katherine Paterson said it best in her wonderful book The Gates of Excellence: "The very persons who took away my time and space," she says, "are the ones who have given me something to say."

Have a safe and happy 4th of July. God bless America. Let freedom ring. And when you fold your flag, think of these things. I learned about it on Flag Day, which we celebrated on the Yorktown with the Boy Scouts. Below are some pictures I took then. Enjoy.

  

Making It Real Transcript

The transcript of the Making It Real Workshop is up. Jan is quite a master at stitching together all the comments into something that's actually readable. Thanks for inviting me Jan, and thanks to all who participated. I had a good time. Let's do it again!

Remember: NOUNS and VERBS
Keep writing. Keep the faith!

I am going to really push to revise two novels by the end of this year. My current one and the one that placed in the contest. Nothing like a little bit of validation to set me on fire!