Best Seller = Let's Color!

A fun discovery for me this morning, was finding that Waiting for James in a Sea of Pink is on MeeGenius' best seller list... AGAIN!

*Does a little jig*

To celebrate, I'm making two coloring pages available!! The incredible, sensational, super-friendly illustrator of my book, Tyler Parker, has made these for your kiddos (or, let's be honest, for YOU!). Nice, huh? He's awesome!

So, here you go!! I'll be working on a little easy-access link for my sidebars. In the meantime, enjoy! Thank you for loving my book... You truly have no clue how much this means to me!

I Ponder... Wednesdays: The Waiting Game

This year, for me, was devoted solely to writing. I joined Julie Foster Hedlund's 12x12 in 2012 challenge at the end of 2011 and made a promise to myself that I wouldn't submit anything to anyone all year long. I really wanted to have an entire arsenal up my sleeve. I wanted to feel like I had something much larger to offer if an agent became interested in me. I wanted to be able to submit multiple manuscripts to multiple editors, so that maybe I'd lessen the odds of being rejected.

Well, I broke my promise.

Within the last week I submitted, and submitted, and submitted. It was a rush, I tell ya! I had been doing so much research, I had gone to a fantastic conference where I had been given better opportunities to submit to the unsubmittable, and I had been told I had a product worth looking at. So, I sent out those emails with great pride, diligence, and a teensy amount of unshakable fear. 

Umm... Now what, Bethany?

Ah yes. Now I remember this part. The part where you sit and think of nothing else except 800 million what-if scenarios. The part where you literally put everything else on stand by so that you can check you emails. The part where you chant- "They said four to six weeks... They said up to three months... They said four to six weeks... They said up to three months..." Yeah, THAT part.

Crap.

I've heard of the waiting game as a slow killer of creativity. I'm not sure who said that, but I suppose it could be true. I DON'T WANT IT TO BE TRUE!!!!!


Okay, so I decided I would stay off my computer for nearly a week. I decided that I would focus on the manuscript I have going on for this month that I just cannot seem to find an ending for, and I would concentrate on the other four trillion things I have to do... Like, um, LAUNDRY! Yes, laundry definitely will keep me busy... Right? No? Double crap.

So I turn to you, my faithful, knowledgeable, helpful friends:

When you're stuck in the inevitable waiting game, what do you do to pass the time?

What do you concentrate on? How do you handle each passing day?

Right now, I think I'll take up a new hobby. Underwater basket weaving, anyone? No? Nah... Me either. I think I'll sit here, with this gal...





 http://postadaychallenge2011.com/
2011/12/03/weekly-photo-challenge-waiting/

Happy writing!!

I Ponder... Wednesdays: How do you want to be remembered?

Yesterday was a sad day for all of us in the kidlit community. Mr. Maurice Sendak, author of over a dozen Picture Books, passed away. To me, he was someone I didn't understand until I was older. I was one of the stranger kids who grew up actually not liking Where the Wild Things Are. But when I had kids of my own, and when I began my adventure of writing, I understood him. He wasn't a fan of the sugary-sweet, cookie-cutter stories that many of us think we need to write. He told things how they were, and any interview with him only proved that point. To say he thought outside the box, is a gross understatement. And I cherish him for that.

He once said, "Children have ferocious fantasies." How true is that?! I really think that when HE wrote, he crawled into the exact mind frame of a child. He understood them. He understood what made them imagine. He got it.

All day long yesterday, I was kind of in this distraught, melancholy state. It's been a hard week for me, started by the awful passing of Adam "MCA" Yauch last Friday. He, too, was a great part of my childhood and teen years. But I started to think about the things people have been saying about both of these talented men. Mr. Sendak had a reputation to be brash, frank, and a little obscene (for a children's author) in his interviews. But, he also was seen as a creative genius. He wasn't what you'd picture a writer of children's books to be like. He was simply... Maurice.

"The children know. They have always known. But we choose to think otherwise: it hurts to know the children know. If we obfuscate, they will not see. Thus we conspire to keep them from knowing and seeing. And if we insist, then the children, to please us, will make believe they do not know, they do not see. They are remarkable--patient, loving, and all-forgiving." -- Maurice Sendak

Thinking about his life and what he contributed to my own, I started to ponder what I might be remembered for one day; Would it be my ability to offer help to others in really crappy situations? Would it be my mothering (in)capabilities? Would it be that at one time in my life I was a strange gothic child? Would it be my love of popcorn or my terrible fear of balloons? Or would it be my books, even?

I think it'd be grand to be remembered as a writer who loved all things peaceful and bizarre. I'd want my books to hold a special place in someone's heart, even if that means just in my childrens'.

So, reflecting upon Mr. Sendak's life, answer this:

As a writer, how do YOU want to be remembered?

Thanks for stopping by, today. Happy writing, reflecting, and reading. 

And Mr. Sendak, may you forever be known as KING of all wild things.



I Ponder... Wednesdays: What does Sarah Perry ponder?

Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn't. Last week I was absent from the blogosphere and so was the I Ponder post. Why?? Well, ask my thumb. It decided to completely dislocate itself and make things complicated for me! HA! All is good now, and I will save last week's post for another time.

Today, I am so thrilled to say that Sarah Perry has a question for you to Ponder. She is the winner of last year's MeeGenius Great Author challenge. Her book, PAJAMA GIRL, is totally cute. She is also the queen blogger over at The Restless Writer (she even interviewed yours truly!).

She's awesome... Take it away, Sarah!

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Everyone hears about the solitude of writing. The tortured soul, up late into the night, all alone at their desk, tearing their hair out as they stare at the blank screen. Ah, writers! Those poor lonely creatures slaving away while the rest of the world gathers to play.


But, does it have to be that way? After all, didn't the YA Golden Boy, Jay Asher, and the charming Carolyn Mackler just write a successful novel together? Another YA novel I loved, but was completely under the radar, Rob&Sara.com was beautifully written by P.J. Peterson and Ivy Ruckman. Lin Oliver and Henry Winkler write together. So the creative process doesn't have to happen all alone.


Which brings me to my question:

Have you every considered collaborating on a writing project with someone? Do you think it would be easier or harder than writing alone?

I know, as I continue to grapple with just the write ending for my YA novel, I wish someone else could just come along and work on that instead. Voila! Collaboration. If only in my dreams.

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Thank you, Sarah! What a wonderful question... Let's share, friends! Happy writing!!!

I Ponder... Wednesdays: What Does Being a Writer Mean to You?

I may not have a lot of followers, but at least my name is getting out there enough to finally receive an angry email! *GASP!* I know... However, I rather enjoyed it. It let me know that some of the things I may say (or forget to mention) make somewhat of an impact. It's not my goal to spark arguments, by ANY means, and in fact, I kind of feel the point of this blog is to bring about the opposing affect! I want to know your views on things. This is a free and safe space, friends.
Remember? Bethany = very clean (both by law and personal hygiene) Hippie!

Anyway, to get to today's thought:

We've all seen this...

Or even this...

And, let's face it. They're hilarious (I'll even admit to having the PB one as my desktop background picture!) and sometimes kind of true. It's interesting to me to find the way the world views writers and illustrators of any kind, let alone ones that write or illustrate for kiddos. I could probably fill an entire separate post just on the reaction we get when we explain what we do. But as creatives, that doesn't (SHOULDN'T) matter!


What matters is the way we view what we do. What matters is the characters we create, the lessons we teach, and the fun we share! For me, being a writer means constant adventure. It means peace, and understanding that a child can look at something I have written and relate so much they fall asleep at night with my book in their arms. It means compassion. It means truly getting to know my boys and what makes them tick. It means accomplishing goals, overcoming fear, and discovering something new about myself.

But, to me, being a writer also means never having a vacation. Seriously! Can you take a vacation from your thoughts? Nope! It means being stuck hours on end over one simple sentence- I once sat and revised a WIP for two hours, only to discover that I'd simply changed twelve words around. It means patience... loads and loads of patience. It means rejection, humility, and anxiety.

So please tell me (and be honest!),

What does being a writer mean to YOU?

I cannot wait to hear your answers. I hope this lifts discouraged spirits this week. I find that when others are having a difficult time believing in themselves, all it takes is a simple reminder.

Happy writing, everyone!

I Ponder... Wednesdays: What does Jennifer Young Ponder About?

Hi, y'all!

So, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. You might know her- she's getting famous!- it's...

Jennifer Young!!

We met through... Wait, what did we really meet through? For me, it started when she was my competition in the first round of the MeeGenius Great Author Challenge. I read her book, and I said (completely out loud!), "Oh CRAP. I'm so out of my league." She finished 9th that round, and me? *whispers* 57th... Anyway, I ended up sending her a message on Facebook asking her if she was a finalist in that challenge. Long story short, we both went through that loooong ordeal together, and now we're pals! She's awesome and she just got her first book published (have I mentioned that 100 times yet?!)- but I'll get to that later. For now, Jennifer... the stage is yours!

*****

I feel so honored to be here at your blog today Bethany. To top it off, you want me to be a guest ponderer!!! How fun is that?! I always love hearing what you have to say on Wednesdays. So here's a big THANK YOU for having me on. I will try not to disappoint and to stay in true likeness of your fabulous feature.

I have always had goals set for myself.

Graduate college- check,

Get married – check,

Have kids- check,

Yes, there's more that I won't bore you with. But, when it came to my writing I didn’t set up a long term goal plan. I think it was because at first I wrote in hobby form (a little here and there). I'm good at short term goals and I know I will always write but I’m still not sure how much.

So I find myself pondering-

When I imagine myself older, many many decades from now…okay maybe just a few, I imagine myself as a writer but I wonder what level of writing I want to be at? Will I look back at my life and be happy with having only a few stories published or will I be disappointed I didn’t take time out to write more? Will I be satisfied creating hundreds of stories and publishing dozens of them? Will I become a full-time writer, part-time writer, or will my writing still be a hobby? These are the questions I wonder about myself.

Are you a goal setter when it comes to your writing or
do you sometimes wonder about your writing life, like I do?  If you do set goals, what type are they and do you make them easy to obtain?

*****

Thank you, friend!

Guys, Jennifer's debut eBook , Poison Apple Pie, is available now! Please go check it out! Also, she has a fantastic blog that you can get to be clicking HERE.

I Ponder... Wednesdays: Celebrity Perks?

WARNING! This post is two-fold, and the end might end up looking a little like this:

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akhadnkajhkjfhagbjdyrik47reoe9diwl2m3nhrugof!!!!!!!!!!

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More on that, later. Anyway, the first part is, have you noticed my blog's pretty new makeover?? I feel so special! The illustrator responsible for my beeeeautiful banner is none other than the amazing Valerie Parker! Isn't it great? Round of applause for Valerie!! She is an emerging illustrator whom I have encouraged to join SCBWI. She's all signed up, and ready to learn! Please welcome her to our incredible community!

 Also, the I Ponder... series has an official badge! One of my dearest, sweetest, most selfless friends, HANDMADE this for me. The tree is made from scraps of very meaningful bits of text... She even threw an elephant somewhere in there! So, it is literally a picture of her fantabulous craft (I hope to have it framed and put on my wall soon!), but the simplicity and elegance of it makes me happy and proud. Thank you, Laura Fay!!!

Please feel free to take the badge to your own site...

Your thoughts are valid here, so you deserve a badge for sharing them!!

Alrighty, time to get to this week's thoughts. Deep breath...

I have been annoyed, no, mad, no, FLABBERGASTED, with something I see growing in serious popularity amongst the kidlit community. I know that you might be too, so I can't wait to hear your thoughts. I am appalled by just exactly how many CELEBRITIES have picture books out there! Good grief! You name a celebrity, odds are they have a children's book. I looked at a list last night, and some names like Jewel (coming later this year, I believe) make sense! She's a well known poet and songwriter. So I get that. But, Terrell Owens? Joy Behar? JAY LENO?? And believe me, these are just to name a few! These people are great at their day jobs- there's no doubt! But the fact that they are rewarded the opportunity to write something that we put our blood, sweat, and gallons of tears into, based on their NAMES alone, seems absurd.

Steven Colbert did a spoof with Where the Wild Things Are Author, Maurice Sendak. Mr. Colbert jokingly (I hope!) talked about how it's not hard to write a Picture Book. All you need is to be a celebrity. Of course they go off on a billion different tangents, but the point is still made. As long as you have a name that people know, YOU can write a book!

It had me rolling on the floor! Here's part 1:

Funny, right? Okay, back to business!
You know what is worse? Most of the books that celebrities write are GOOD. Have you read Billy Crystal's I Already Know I Love You? Tear-jerker-city, I tell ya! And there is no doubt in my mind that ANYTHING written by the insatiable Dame Julie Andrews is perfection. But I can't imagine that Snooki's inevitable children's book will be anything to line up for (no, any legal team out there... I am NOT saying that Snooki has a book deal. However she will be having a baby this year, so she's qualified, right?).

Yes, I'm a bit peeved. Yes, that is unlike me. And YES it squashes my sense of creativity (going back to last week's post). I sit here and struggle to get attention from agents, publishers, and even my own children for crying out loud! Pity Party, table for one?

Calm me down, friends. Tell me, what do you think?

Do the celebrity perks of writing bother you,
 or do they motivate you to work harder? 

Alright. I'm off to take the chill-pill my 3 year-old has just invented (ingredients include- but aren't limited to- sandwhich crust, carrots from the floor, and bits of napkin). I've been informed that the sound of my angry fingers on my keyboard can be heard down the hall. I think that's my cue to take a breather!

Happy writing, everyone!