Just Me and 6,000 Rats Review

I absolutely adore children's books! I found a fun, slyly educational book today in my local library. It's called, Just Me and 6,000 Rats, and the subtitle is, a tale of conjunctions. It's by Rick Walton, illustrated by Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon.

This book is about a little boy who goes to the big city for the first time. Apparently where he comes from its normal to have 6,000 rats. They play tourist in the city. They go out to see the attractions, and before you turn each page, there's a conjunction to connect the story to the next page.

The 6,000 rats are the key. Without them, this story would not be entertaining at all! The text is subtlety hilarious and the illustrations are charming, witty and creative. I had some good chuckles over this book!

Maybe I will write that silly grammar book I thought of after all! If you want to write a book, go read books! Get inspired! See what works and what doesn't. If nothing else, it's enjoyable!

Inspiration

  It seems inspiration is everywhere. Today while I was working on my toilet monster story, I looked out the window at a little squirrel scattering about on my neighbor's roof. Squirrels are funny little creatures, and this one was no exception. It looked nice and healthy; ready for a long winter. I wondered if it was the same squirrel who raided my sunflowers upside down a month ago, then I remembered a story idea I had written down involving a squirrel. Watching the squirrel spurred some thoughts about the possible characteristics of the squirrel in my story idea.

  Having my own children spurs ideas as well. Oh the things they do! What better way to get into the child's point of view than a 12 hour day, 365 days a year observation? Though, I'm not always looking for a story.

  I was on a bike ride with my son yesterday, and he wondered aloud why the lines coming down from the telephone pole to the ground were shaped the way they were. He noticed they weren't going at their normal angle to make a triangle between the pole, line and ground. At first I was surprised he even noticed something like that. I hadn't even noticed it was there, really, so I looked, and I saw from his perspective and asked in my own head why. The wires had been pushed out so it looked more like half of a house drawn by a child. It only took a fraction of a second in my adult mind to figure out why, but it was asking that I found significant. "Oh," he said, "It's so people can go under it on the sidewalk." And off he rode.

  I suppose what I'm getting at is, if you need an idea, or if you have writer's block, open your eyes. Look outside yourself. Look from a different perspective. I'm beginning to find that there's plenty of ideas out there, you just have to be paying attention in order to catch on to it. Sometimes we learn from participation, and sometimes we learn from being quiet. Be an observer. Be quiet for a while and just watch, listen, feel and be inspired.

So Sad...Or Not

I heard back from the greeting card publisher, and sadly they did not accept my card ideas. It's too bad. Hmmm. Maybe it's a good thing. I'm refocusing to the Toilet Monster and New King stories. I have limited amounts of time to dedicate to writing, so it's probably a good thing not to split it too many ways. When I need a break from stories, or when I feel inspired I'll still write my card ideas and submit them occasionally, but I've decided I don't want it to be a main focus. I'm excited to move forward with my stories, I'm excited with where they were going. I thought I was done with the Toilet Monster, but it told me otherwise. It's in a complete rewrite, and I'm loving where it's going. That's all for now friends. I'll let you know how it goes. ;)

And the Winner is?!

My last post was about the greeting card ideas I sent out to a publisher. I was told a final decision would be made by mid-June. Maybe their running late? Maybe my ideas were so hot that they called in their international greeting card gurus to clammer over them. Unlikely, but just maybe.

I e-mailed the editor today to find out the final decision. I have questions running in my mind like, have they not told me because my card ideas weren't accepted? Should I have e-mailed sooner? Would that have put me on their radar more? Maybe this whole thing is a scam and all greeting card companies take all the submissions and print them as their own idea. I mean, who would know? I'm not going to be scanning their shelves for my ideas just incase they stole them. Unlikely, but just maybe.

On another note, I've really got to start writing again. I've acheived much on the home front, and some things, like my piano playing has gotten so much better. The dedicated time for writing though is still a challenge. They say if  you want something enough, it's not so hard, you just get it done. I don't think that's quite true. There's some truth there, but not the whole truth, is it?

Occupation? Greeting Card Author

Well, not yet! I just submitted my very first greeting card idea!!!!

I'm super excited about the prospect of being a writer of greeting cards. Hmm, what would my title be? Greeting Card Author? Greeting Card Writer? Conveyor of Relationship Strengthening Ideas? When I was growing up I thought about that sort of thing. Ditties, poems, sentiments, silly and clever hahas. When asked, "So, what do you do?" I would love to reply, "I am a mother of two, and an author of children's stories, novels, and greeting cards." Yep, I'd like all of those in my repertoire, how fun!

There are many greeting card companies. For my first submission, I chose one that fits my witty side. If you are thinking you might want to submit all those clever ideas you have, just do a good Internet search and find a company that has cards that fit your style. There are many types; funny, naughty, sentimental, Christian, and there are even a couple of web sites that you can create your cards, and customers can order your designs, have them printed, and sent out by the host company. The largest companies seem to have staff writers instead of free-lance. For the companies that accept free-lance work, some companies want the ideas sent snail mail, and some are e-mailed. Some have a minimum number of ideas that must be sent together. Just make sure you follow the company's guidelines (usually found on their website) to make sure your ideas would fit what that company does. In all my experience...well, that's what I've learned so far.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Toilet Monster...Still

And I thought I was done, ha!

I was happily typing along, doing what I thought were the last few changes to my Toilet Monster story,

An awesome illustration by my son. I figure it's
close to what I look like when happlily typing along. ;)

when during a conversation with my sister, I discovered that if I rearrange the storyline it would be so much better! Arg! Yeah!

Don't worry, the basic premise for my story about a giant is well noted and is contentedly waiting it's turn. I am going to finish my Toilet Monster story first. Once it is written, I'll hand it over for illustration.

While the story is out for illustration, I'll search and study how to e-publish. I'm so excited to learn how to e-publish, and I can't stop smiling about the thought of one of my stories being accessible to others to enjoy. I can sense the feeling of momentum and smell the coming accomplishment. The end result of the changes will be well worth the extra effort, and as I find out how to e-publish an illustrated children's book, I'll let you know.

Check out my handmade deadlines on the right. I'm incorporating time dedicated to writing into my daily routine to meet my deadlines. It seems if it's not on the schedule, it doesn't get done...so now it's on the schedule.

Giants!

Announcing my new illustrated children story's key element: giants!  It's going to be a story inspired by and written for my youngest child. I don't know the characters or premise yet, just that at least one character will be a giant. I'm also going to attempt illustrating. I'm terrified of the outcome, but I won't improve unless I practice. Here's my first practice piece. I sat down with the intention to create something with a giant's something-ness. IPad doodling I suppose. It was actually a lot of fun! I realize I lack training, knowledge, know-how and experience, but I've got to start somewhere!

I think certain giant stories and ideas have been overdone, so I'm doing some research. I want to discover what's been done, what works, what doesn't and why. In my community's many libraries, there was an abundance of Jack and the Beanstalk re-tellings, and even a spin on it from his sister's perspective. Boy oh boy has that one been done. There's also a tale from Ireland that I found many versions of, but I'm not familiar with it, so I want to read a few and find out why it's been copied so many times. Those two seemed to dominate the giant themed books.

I chose one that I was hopeful to be unique to read before I left the library.

It's a book called Mangaboom, by Charlotte Pomerantz and pictures are by Anita Lobel. At first glance I thought the illustrations were playful and inviting, but I was hesitant at the length of the text. I was also concerned when Mangaboom said, among other things, that she spoke Spanish and English, and the little boy said he knew a few words in Spanish. I was afraid this promising story was going to turn out to be a language lesson.

When I began reading, the story was intriguing and the characters were charming. The languages did not detract from the story, but added to it in a welcoming manner. Mangaboom, the lady-giant, lives in the top of a mango tree. A boy happens upon her. They become fast friends. He is an honored guest as she receives love letters and is set up with eligible giants by her aunt. He is a witness to a true lady finding love. A beloved, who loves her for all she is. The story is charming, witty, and I was gently taught by Mangaboom what a lady is. This story is a gem among giants.

What Works:

The lady-giant seems normal and mostly because she believes she's great the way she is, and it's not preachy or overbearing

Each character has a distinct voice; the lady, the boy, the over-bearing aunt, the unworthy eligibles, and the Romeo

Colorful, inviting, fitting illustration without the perfect angles, perspectives, planes...per my sister who I asked what the proper vocabulary is. Apparently I need to learn more about this! I loved the playful imperfection!

There wasn't any danger! It seems giants are usually deemed dangerous, and why wouldn't they be? If a giants were angered, they could certainly squash us poor tiny folks. This was just a story whose characters happened to be giants. Very neat.

What Doesn't Work:

Mangaboom likes to "skinny-dip and turn cartwheels on the beach". While it gives insight to her character, and it's hilarious to think about, I'm undecided as to whether it's appropriate for a children's book to refer to skinny-dipping. Hehe! I'm still giggling.