Archive for August, 2008

Also, some newsy bits…

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

The phenomenal Alice Pope interviewed me for her newsletter and blog!

And Slidy Diner gets its first review, from KIRKUS!

In as fine a game of Grossout as ever was, a child squires an anxious-looking friend around a diner in which, she claims, the cuisine runs to Pumpkin Asparagus Pie and Greasily Niblets, the floor is so slick that booths sometimes slide out into the street and the proprietor is decidedly witchy: “Sometimes Ethelmae grins at you, and you can see her tooth.” Zollars’s canted, full-bleed café scenes follow suit, with views of diners chowing down on a pig’s head, a trophy-sized cockroach fixed to a platter above the counter and basement restrooms surrounded by a flood crawling with “nefarious wigglepedes.” Still, unlike Merrilee Kutner’s Zombie Nite Café (2007), as depicted by Ethan Long, or Jane Breskin Zalben’s Saturday Night at the Beastro(2004), it’s not all bad, for “Inside the Slidy Diner, there are dark, blue secrets. / And silver whispers. / Inside the Slidy Diner there are magic trapdoors. / To birthdays and Saturdays.” Best yet, all “goodbyes have been banned!” Here’s a diner well worth repeated visits—but steer clear of the “chocolate” milk. (Picture book. 6-9)

!!!

Name drop whirlwind…

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

Wow, what a weekend…  you’ll have to forgive the name droppage, but I will only have my very first week as a children’s author once, and it was pretty exciting, so I cannot help but share!

But before the author stuff even began, there was festivity– in the form of a BAR MITZVAH!  On Friday morning I flew to West Palm, for the single largest gathering of Snyders I have ever attended, my cousin David’s Bar Mitzvah (Yasher Koach, David!).  I took Lew, and he was a doll, though a plane ride with a wiggle-worm is never a vacation. But it didn’t matter a bit.  It was wonderful to see everyone, and there is always something astounding about circle-dancing and kosher wine.

30 hours later I flew back home, to attend the Saturday night party at the Decatur Book Festival. Man, what a night!  I got to see Sarah Prineas, and ZZ Packer (it had been a decade, and we mostly swapped baby pictures) and the DBF guys, and Jamie Allen. I met fabulous folks like Rob Scotton and his lovely wife Liz (Scotton? Not sure…) and Adam Rex and Cheryl Klein .

I drank in moderation, but should have eaten more.

In any case I was tipsy enough to rant (like I do), and tipsy enough that when ZZ and Amber Dermont walked over to the Brick Store, I joined them, and so ended up ranting further, with/at some McSweeney’s guys.  I stayed out way too late and ate a soft pretzel, and it all felt very summery   very free,  and…

very tired this morning.

But that wore off when I got to have brunch with Da Chen, and Julie Bloemeke and other members of the Atlanta Writers’ Club, at Sage.  YUMMMMMMM!  Da did a lovely calligraphy inscription in my very own copy of Scratchy Mountains. He wrote, “Gold Pen.”  I will keep it FOREVER.  It was really a delight, and the members of the club were all so smart and interesting.  I need to get more involved!

After that I was off to my panel with Brandon Sanderson and Adam Rex, who are both old pros, funny and witty and comfortable on stage.  Then I stammered at Deborah Wiles, signed some books, and ate a big gyro, before I  came home on Marta.

After that I  I fell asleep on the couch until Lew hit me in the face with a toy car.  But even that was okay.  Because  I’m so so so so so satisfied right now, with everything.  I’m on a little desert island of happy.

Please don’t come and rescue me.

Blog Tour Stop #6: Old Hag…

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

One of my favorite people let me hijack her site! If you don’t know Lizzie Skurnick, You gotta!

Two Truths and a Lie!!!

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Stop by the Class of 2k8…

If you can guess the lie, I’ll send you a free signed copy of Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains!

Really!

Blog-tour stop 5: Grow Wings!!!

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Laini Taylor, whose work and spirit are a total inspiration to me, welcomes me for the day, over at her blog!

On a personal note…

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

I want to share that after 90 consecutive days without a babysitter, the kids are back in “school” once more.  This means I have eight whole hours a week of luxurious ME time again.  For fancy things like grocery shopping and showering and writing.

Hurrah!

I have been thinking a lot lately about the differences between working-motherhood and  stay-at-home-motherhood.  And about doing both at the same time.  Which I, and many of my friends, are attempting.

I have nothing enlightening to share on the topic, but I have been thinking.

What’s hard about “having it all”  is that you never ever ever ever devote yourself to anything you do. Never fully. If you are a stay-at-home-author, this means that you never devote yourself to your writing.

Not easy.

And it’s strange for me, at this weird and wonderful professional moment in my life.  Suddenly having opportunities I must turn down (events I cannot do, deadlines I cannot commit to, etc) makes me very aware of how much my professional life is compromised by my parenting.

But  also how often my parenting is compromised by my professional life (as when I have to turn on the TV to take a phone call).  Maybe if I made enough $$$ to justify a real nanny, and a work-space of my own, this would feel different. But for now, for me, writing time is naptime. And the “office” is full of duplo blocks.

Please understand that I do NOT mean to complain. I’m the luckiest woman in the world. With the two careers I most wanted. I’m blessed and happy and if there are boogers on my keyboard and peanut butter in my cleavage, it’s a small price to pay.

But still, I’m happy about my eight hours a week.

Delighted about my eight hours a week!

Today, I wasted all four of them.

It was delicious.

Review!!!

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Kidsreads on the Scratchy Mountains!

I love Enoch Pratt…

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

How the Roland Park branch of the Pratt Library made me into a writer.

Blog-tour stop #4: Baby Got Books!

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

I’m chugging a cold one and chatting it up over at BGB today. I absolutely adore this locally-run (but nationally read) litblog!  Come visit?

A big, big, BIG day!

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

Okay… so it’s officially official. I’m now an actual children’s author.  I stopped in at two local bookstores, and saw Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains face-out at both.

(here it is, at Little Shop of Stories!)

Then, in an odd coincidence, on Publisher’s Marketplace today, there was this…

Laurel Snyder’s PENNY DREADFUL, about a young girl who moves to a strange little town in the country  and has trouble making new friends amongst her rather odd neighbors, to Mallory Loehr at Random  House Children’s, by Tina Wexler at ICM (World).

So now I can shout about it. I’ve sold my third novel to my  awesome editor at Random House!!!

And to top it all off, Slidy Diner comes out in October!!!

I’m over, over, over the MOOOOOOOOOON!