Summer

Summer flowers (these are Kalmia -- very showy, no? -- even the buds are interesting) and new life (those are junco eggs in our fuschia) give us so much pleasure. We're having very lazy days reading, playing games, watching the birds and squirrels in our backyard, going swimming, even napping. I had hoped to work more productively on my novel revisions, but find that I'm too tired to work at the end of a lazy day.

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What I am doing is writing in my notebook -- I usually start out with a writing prompt from this wonderful book: Prompts and Practices by Judy Reeves. After a few minutes, it invariably leads me to some random bit in my novel. I write for as long as I can, usually about 20 minutes or so, before my train of thought is interrupted. But it's enough for now. I hope I can find all the good bits in the fall ...

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I realize that I need to be able to write daily to keep my equilibrium. Writing is how I make sense of the world, how I process thoughts and ideas. I get cranky without my daily writing fix. My trusty notebook and pen go everywhere with me.

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Tell me, how do you stay disciplined during the summer? Or do you take the summer off and just recharge, be lazy? Before school days, I worked only on short stories, I mean very short stories, those you can scribble out a first draft in 10-15 minutes, but I find that for longer works I need more than 15 minutes to make progress. An hour with no interruptions is the bare minimum. And I can carve out that time at night ... but I'm sorry to say, my discipline is flagging.

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I've been reading some wonderful books instead:

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The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson is the kind of book that makes you think -- deep and hard -- about what it means to be human. As a scientist who doesn't always believe in progress (just because you can do something doesn't necessarily mean you should do it), I found this to be a thought-provoking book. I am usually not a fan of novels written in the present tense, but it is just the right voice for this book.

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The Doctor by Patricia Duncker is historical fiction that imagines the life of James Miranda Barry, who was discovered upon his death to be a woman. I was instantly reminded of Rough, Tough Charley by Verla Kay, who was able to encapsulate the life of a certain Charley Parkhurst in just 32 pages. Mem Fox was right when she said, "Writing a picture book is like writing War and Peace in Haiku."

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling is probably my most favorite book out of the series. We are finally reading these books together with the children and they are enjoying them immensely. Both kids are also reading ahead, but reading together is something I hope we will continue for a long time to come.

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I Asked a Tiger to Tea

My seven-year-old daughter received this book as a birthday present. It appeals to her sense of whimsy and word-play. She enjoys writing and since her brother got to do a review, she wanted to review this book. Here it is:

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I Asked a Tiger to Tea is a funny book with very funny poems. It has new pictures [by Melanie Hall] to go with old poems [by Ivy O. Eastwick]. My favorite poem is The Extraordinary Puffin because there is a puffin trying to learn all he can -- history, geography, algebra, wisdom and wit. I want to be as smart as he is.

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May is my birthday month and the poem "May" feels like it was written just for me.

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The Mysterious Universe

This is what my nine-year-old son has to say about this book:

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I think THE MYSTERIOUS UNIVERSE is a great book because it describes everything it talks about very well. It has lots of facts about light-years, dark energy, supernovae and black holes. It has really great photographs by Nic Bishop. There are even parts that are funny. This is a great book on astronomy. Anybody from 8 to 88 can read it and understand it. Happy Reading!

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I think my son might well be the first child to have read and reviewed this book. I agree with him. Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop have done a beautiful job explaining this mysterious universe. Read an interview with the universe here. And get ready for some very interesting conversations with your children.

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Epiphany

Despite a very busy weekend filled with baseball (what else?), June is starting off good on the writing front. Tonight while working on the messy second half of my book, my cat came up for cuddles and pets, so I took a little break and pondered, while the cat purred on my lap. I reached over to take this picture once I'd had my epiphany.

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Bingo! The entire section that I removed (because I was giving my character a break) made me realize how my main character can get to where she needs to be organically. I love it when the plot falls into place. The sad part is that the solution was under my nose all this time, but it never even occurred to me until tonight.

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I want to stress that a book must come to not just its natural conclusion, but the inevitable conclusion, that things had to be this way and no other. I already had the ending, but there was this gap, where I didn't know how to make my characters go to that place. I made up something, but it was too contrived. Now one thing leads to another and the various threads make a tight braid. I can't help but have a big grin plastered on my face.

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Never, never settle for less. I think we know in our bones what the right story is. I also think it helps to pet the cat ... the purr-fect solution eventually does present itself.

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Corollary: do not give your characters a break. They don't need it. Neither do your readers. Make them suffer (the characters, not your readers).

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The cat and I bid you goodnight.

Ciao Meow.

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Baseball

That's my son batting at the beginning of the baseball season. He has improved so much over these past two months ... he no longer waits for the perfect pitch, but takes a risk and swings. And good things happen -- he hits the ball, he gets to run. I need to take those same risks with my writing. Too many times, fear stops me. I didn't realize I was afraid of so many things -- failure, disapproval, even success. This year (I know that it's almost half over) I am going to try to write fearlessly in just my notebook and see where it takes me.

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These past two months have been hectic. Between the practices and games, we're often busy with baseball every other day, and most weekends. But seeing the kids getting better, learning teamwork and now with the weather improving, I am almost sad that this is coming to an end. My daughter and I enjoy sitting on the blanket, watching the game, playing games of our own and just relaxing together. I've learned much about baseball and knowing the rules makes watching a game much more meaningful.

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And as always, watching the kids gives me lots of story ideas. Who knows, some day I may write a story involving a ball :)

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Tagged ... Five Things

Fiona tagged me again to play and I'm feeling mighty playful. However, a meme of five things should really have five questions to make it a perfect square.

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read the player's blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?
I gave away most of my science stuff because I started to write seriously, two hours every night, after the toddlers and husband were tucked into bed. Writing brings me home.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
Finish revisions on a magazine article, pick fresh spinach and lettuce for supper, refill bird feeders, write to my sister and two aunts. Mission accomplished since it's late in the day.

What are five snacks you enjoy?
Tim's vinegar and sea salt potato chips, spicy chewda (fried spiced lentils), samosas (spicy potatoes in a pastry), cherry red tomatoes off the plant, blueberries off the bushes.

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
Become a publisher, write more, travel more, rest more, give more.

What are five of your bad habits?
Chewing my fingernails ... gosh, that's the only one I can think of. Feel free to tell me more.

What are five places where you have lived?
India, Belgium, and in America -- Pullman WA, Long Beach CA, West Lafayette IN. I love small university towns, wheatfields for miles and miles around.

What are five jobs you've had?
Dishwasher, fortune-teller, teacher, scientist, mom (and I'm still washing dishes).

Five people I'm tagging:
Let's see, who hasn't been tagged yet --
Bish at Random Thoughts
Rachel at Rachel Writes for Kids
Darcy at Revision Notes
Jacqui at Jacqui's Room
Peggy at A Sound from My Heart
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Kudos for Frankie Stein

This is one happy dude. The sole male and the sole illustrator in our critique group, Kevan Atteberry, has every reason to be gloriously happy.

Frankie Stein, written by Lola Schaefer and illustrated by Kevan, is the winner in the picture book category of the National Children's Choice Book Award. I'm not one bit surprised. Here's what my kiddos had to say about:

Daughter (age 7): Frankie Stein is a very funny book because Frankie's mommy and daddy are scary but Frankie is not. And when he tries, it's even funnier. I like the family tree with all the scary relatives.

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Son (age 9): Frankie Stein is a really funny book because the parents are so silly. When Frankie tries to act and look scary, he looks like someone dressing up in a Halloween costume. The ghost and cat are very funny. You can spend a lot of time looking at the pictures of the scary furniture and toys. This is a great book that will bring laughter to people aged 2 to 102.

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A Taste of Summer

Looks like I brought back some of that sunshine from Conn. I'm having a taste of summer and it is glorious. Clothes flapping in the breeze, birds singing, nibbling, taking a bath. I write in my notebook outside.



The rhodies are bursting open (they're late this year -- they're always in full bloom for Mother's Day). This chipmunk scolded me for getting too close. I guess I'd better stick to the writing.



This weekend, a birthday celebration. My daughter has turned seven. She's invincible.

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Teaching

I've just returned from an intensive training session at the Institute of Children's Literature (ICL). I took their basic course several years ago. Loved it. Loved my instructor -- my mentor, really. And I can see why after meeting the wonderful folks at ICL. Now I'll be joining them in making dreams come true. So bring me an apple! I'm ready to teach.

I've been teaching in some form or another since I was kid. I started teaching English to my friends who didn't speak it in India. I taught them bad words and incorrect meanings for hilarious results. But even with all the monkey business, I managed to teach my friends a decent amount of correct English. In high school, I continued to help ESL students (no monkey business) but also started tutoring kids in science and math. During the college years I taught organic chemistry. I was set for a career in academia but I never knew how much I'd want to stay home with my children. And I reclaimed an old love -- writing.

And as a mother, I'm never not teaching ... But I do regular teaching as well, writing and science workshops in my children's classes, writing workshops for adults who want to write for children. So I'm not surprised that my writing journey is leading me back to ICL.

The best part? I can do it in my pajamas.

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The Best Part

I saved the best for last. My dear friend, Fiona, stayed with me for the conference. Not only did we have a marvelous time staying up late and gabbing, we also worked on our articles that were due right after the conference. I think this is the first time we'll be sharing an issue. It's going to be in KNOW.

Fiona was gracious enough share the galleys of her book, BUBBLE HOMES AND FISH FARTS. It is a collection of the amazing ways that animals use bubbles. I don't know how often I said, "Cool, I didn't know that." It's sure to be a kid pleaser. Carolyn's illustrations bring the text alive and I can't wait to see it in book form! Good thing time flies.

Here they are, Carolyn and Fiona, meeting for the first time. I hope they make more books together.

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