Robyn Hood Black - children's author

Happy March!

Still feels like winter, but the sun is out and most of the snow has melted away. I drove through a mini-blizzard (OK, Georgia-style) to visit with the great kids at Cleveland Road Elementary School in Bogart, Ga., on Tuesday. First time I've been presenting at a school when it closed early! No, the kids weren't excited or anything....

Our SCBWI Southern Breeze Springmingle was a big success, with the highest attendance ever. I had a hard time settling into a "civilian" role this year, but it was wonderful to sit in sessions and be able to think about how ideas presented related to my current writing projects - instead of what was next on the schedule, and was everything covered?!

I particularly enjoyed meeting Meredith Mundy Wasinger, senior editor at Sterling. Her passion for her work came shining through, and she offered a nice mix of reality (she had to persist at finding editorial work after more than one layoff early on) and insights ("Find the emotional center of your character.")

From keynote speaker Jane Yolen: A good book takes "awareness, careful consideration, and concentration."

From editor Cheryl Klein: "Right after you finish writing that book, don't start revising. You're still the same person who just wrote it."

From agent Josh Adams: "Build lasting relationships."

We also celebrated several Southern Breezers presenting new works in our annual "book launch."

Thanks to Jo, Donna, Heather M., Heather K. and all the volunteers who made Springmingle a success this year, and of course to our wonderful bookstore, Little Shop of Stories.