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Life on the Deckle Edge

"Spooky" Guest Author, Nancy Raines Day!

Calling all ye ghosts and goblins - ready for some spooky fun? Award-winning author Nancy Raines Day has dropped by to tell us about her latest picture book from Abrams, ON A WINDY NIGHT.

Welcome, Nancy. The book's jacket flap copy says your birthday is in October, and you used to have Halloween parties with cold spaghetti guts and peeled grape eyeballs when you were growing up. My brother and I always "haunted" much of our house for the neighborhood kids, with the same yucky attractions. (One year his costume was even a haunted house! He's an engineer now.) Have you always loved Halloween like I have?
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Kristin O'Donnell Tubb Does Things Different

Before I turn things over to this week’s fabulous award-winning author, Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, let me tell you why I especially love her first book, AUTUMN WINIFRED OLIVER DOES THINGS DIFFERENT (Yearling/Random House, 2008). When my brother and I visited my grandparents in Knoxville, we often drive into “the hills” to Gatlinburg (for my fellow Georgia residents, imagine Helen on steroids – lots of steroids). Even more special were trips into the Great Smoky Mountains, where my grandparents had hiked and explored back in the 1930s, and where we wandered barefoot through pebbly streams. For many reasons, the little village of Cade’s Cove at its entrance is a place I’ll always treasure.

Welcome, Kristin, and congratulations on such a successful writing career! In your delightful novel, 11-year-old Autumn becomes wrapped up in how the opening of a national park affects her small community. Autumn is definitely feisty! How long had you been living with this character before she made herself known on the page?
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Just One Bite with Lola M. Schaefer

My office kitty, May, with a spread from Lola M. Schaefer's JUST ONE BITE
Today I'm thrilled to feature award-winning author Lola M. Schaefer and her hot-off-the-press new picture book from Chronicle, JUST ONE BITE. Exactly how much food can a rabbit eat in just one bite? How about a Komodo dragon? An elephant? Would you believe this volume offers life-size illustrations (you read that right) for bitefuls of food for eleven different animals, from a worm to a sperm whale?  Read More 
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Amazing Faces

Tomorrow kicks off a week of "Random Acts of Publicity" in the children's lit world, thanks to Darcy Pattison (our keynote speaker for the SCBWI Southern Breeze fall conference, by the way). See http://www.darcypattison.com/pr-notes/random-acts/

I have too many authors to brag about for just one week, so I'm stretching it out for the next month or so. I'd actually like to usher in all this fun with a poetry anthology just out this summer. Lee Bennett Hopkins's AMAZING FACES (Lee and Low), illustrated by the award-winning Chris Soentpiet, amazing himself, lives up to its title. Read More 
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Historically Speaking from the Decatur Book Festival

Greetings from Decatur, Ga., where thousands of folks have been enjoying the gorgeous weather and taking in all-things-books! Between shifts at our SCBWI PAL booth near the Children's Stage, I was able to listen to some fabulous authors speak about writing historical fiction. Here's a gem or two from several participating in a couple of different sessions:  Read More 
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Mom 2 Mom Connection interview!

I'm thrilled to be featured on Heather Ivester's great blog, Mom 2 Mom Connection, a terrific source of encouragement for busy parents who also love to write. Copy and paste this link for the interview:

http://heatherivester.com/2010/08/31/author-interview-robyn-hood-black/

Heather is a talented author who knows a bit about combining mothering and writing. As it says on her site, "Heather Ivester has a heart for parents who feel called to write, as she’s the mother of five school-aged children, and writing is the only way she can complete a sentence around her house." Ha!  Read More 
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Are you a Bella or a Bean?

Part of the excitement of a new school year is meeting new folks! My daughter is heading off to college and my son's 10th grade class is welcoming some fresh faces this year.

These new beginnings, with mixes of new personalities, put me in the mind of Rebecca Kai Dotlich's charming BELLA & BEAN (Atheneum, 2009).


Bella wants to write poems.


Bean wants to go for a walk.


Bella wants to write poems.


Bean wants Bella to look at her cute toes.

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Check out Elizabeth Dulemba's Coloring Pages!

My friend and award-winning author-illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba took a special liking to the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve's new baby zedonk. So today, for the Coloring Page she offers each Tuesday on her website, she has an adorable picture of a zebra! (And a picture and links to some of the online zedonk coverage.) Check out www.dulemba.com

But first, read what she has to say about why she offers these fun, free coloring pages to her happy followers:

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Gail Karwoski Workshop!

Are you eager to learn the ins and outs of writing and publishing for children, and are you somewhere near north Georgia? Whether your passion is picture books or novels, award-winning author Gail Langer Karwoski is the teacher for you.

On Saturday, April 17, and Sunday, April 18, Gail is offering The ABC's of Writing for Young Readers at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville, Ga. See www.ocaf.com under "Literary Arts" for workshop details, but here are the highlights: Read More 
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SHARING THE SEASONS - a look at the book

Pre-spring's first rumble of thunder today calls me to make good on my promise to share great books in my blog this year.

A perfect first "share" is SHARING THE SEASONS, a glorious hot-off-the-press collection by renowned poet/anthologist Lee Bennet Hopkins, illustrated by Caldecott madalist David Diaz (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010).  Read More 
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