Quick – somebody please write a strong, wonderful, beautiful book about the life and times of Harriet.
I’m too busy to do it, but that is a book that I want to read.
New look to this corner of the forest
Thanks to my computer-giftedly kid, adastraperasper, we are making some design changes here at LJ-land.
What do you think about the new look?? What do the colors look like on your computer?
Wolf whistle
Does anybody know what that means? A wolf whistle is the obnoxious tweet-tweeeee whistle that some men make to show appreciation of/interest in a passing woman. Note to guys: girls do NOT like this. Ever. In fact, it pretty much guarantees that in her head she is condemning you to the lowest level of hell. Running after her screaming “shake it, mami, shake it hard” is also a Bad Thing. If you want to let a girl know you think she’s hot, then a polite, restrained nod of the head is the way to go.
Anyway, in my daughter’s China journal today, she points out that construction guys in China do it, too. Kind of makes you want to sing “It’s a Small World,” doesn’t it?
(The reason it is funny that she would be mistaken for a Latina, is that she has blazing white skin and red hair. Mostly, she gets mistaken for a tourist from Dublin.)
Congrats to Sarah Dessen writergrl (and my in-laws Darice, Gregg, Eric, and Anna) on the win of the Caroline Hurricanes, and to Alex Flinn on the Miami Heat.
Back to the doc today for more tests about the stupid infection. Bah.
And more fact-checking and obsessing about words in the picture book.
fact checking
One of the things I love most about the world of children’s publishing is that the people involved are (generally) very serious about keeping their facts straight. If you write historical fiction for grown-ups, I am told you have lots of latitude to make stuff up. Not in my world. There are legions of librarians and teachers out there who trust us to present accurate information, even in a fictional setting.
You can imagine how tight the rules are when it comes to non-fiction!
I am taking some time off from the new WIP to go back to my historical (non-fiction) picture book, due out next summer. I received the manuscript back from the very nice Expert Historian, and I have the sketches from the artist. At my meeting with my editor last week, we discussed a couple of design changes that should make the information flow more easily. So I have a lot to do this week!
Right now I’m combing through my notes looking for the sources of information about those points that the Expert questioned. Once she and I agree about a couple of interpretations, I’ll work on fixing the text to accommodate the design changes.
This might sound tedious, but really, it is very exciting.
Trust me.
Note to Olivia in Florida
I am sorry that I haven’t returned your book yet, but I cannot read your street address.
Can you send me a note with the correct address on it?? Thanks!