Woven With Pixie Dust...

Another cute-ism from a school visit!

2011-11-29T09:07:00.000-08:00

I just got back from another week of visits. :-) Kids are the BEST!

And to go along with the holidays, I thought I'd share this cute-ism. When I start my program, I always ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. This varies from grade to grade, but the kindergarten and 1st grades are always funny. Usually, what one says, all the rest will mimic. "I want to be a firefighter!" And then I'll get ten more firefighters.

This time, one kid said, "I want to be one of those people who stand outside and ring the bell."

I said, "You mean, like the Salvation Army people for Christmas?"

His face brightened and he pointed at me. "Yes!"

And then I got a bunch of kids wanting to be bell ringers when they grow up. CUTE!

How Did You Become Famous? And Other Funny Questions...

2011-10-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm back from a whirlwind of five school visits last week and I must say, I've been laughing at some of the funniest things that were said to me. Kids are so perfect. I wouldn't want to write for anyone else!

Here are some hilarious things that were said to me (the funniest is at the bottom of this post):

1. CK1 (Cute Kid #1): Wow! We just saw your limosine outside. What does it feel like to ride in one of those?

Me (gasping, eyes wide): Limo? Outside? Mine? Erm...

CK2: Yeah! We saw it!

Me (gasping some more, eyes huge now): Oh, well, that wasn't mine...and anyway, people rent limos all the time. They aren't that expensive.

CK1: To YOU! I live on a street that looks like the hood. No one keeps their houses nice. It was funny when I saw a limosine drive down my street.

Me (feeling ultra stupid and tiny): Um, well, I just drove here in my very old car. Heh...

(I guess they were used to celebrities. The last author that came to visit them was Marc Brown who, btw, charged the Title 1 schools $3500 for ONE SESSION! He did two schools per day and made $70K that week last year. Yeeps!)

****

2. CK 3: How did you become so famous?

Me (barely breathing, tongue tied): Who me? Famous? I think I'm famous only to my mother.

****

3. CK 4: Are you rich?

Me (choking on my gum): Rich? Me? Nah...

CK 4 hits CK 5: See? I told you she wasn't rich.

****

4. CK 6 (pulls bangs up): SIGN MY FOREHEAD!

Me (thinking about what his mother will do to me when he shows up with my name scribbled on his head): I don't sign heads, but I will sign your arm. (I use a ballpoint pen.)

CK 6: OW!! That hurt!

Me: Oops.

****

5. I'm walking down the hallway after my presentations are over and after I signed some autographs (probably about fifty as kids surrounded me in a flurry.)

CK 7: Ms. Calvert, you signed an autograph for me, didn't you?

Me (wide eyed, had-no-idea-if-I-did, smiling): Oh, well, yeah, of course!

CK 7: THANKS!

CK 8 (shakes head): Un uh! He forged your signature and is charging kids $2 an autograph!

Me (stomach plunges)

Here are some pics of a few of those cute kids. I'm going back and doing five more visits in November. I wonder what other things they'll have to say! HA!

Princess Peepers Paperback is Here!

2011-09-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that Princess Peepers, the only princess who wears glasses, is finally now in paperback. At $7.99, it's more affordable for a princess to enjoy. In fact, if she tatters one, you can buy another one for a total of less than the list price of the hardcover!
Stock up!

And make sure to check out the sequel: Princess Peepers Picks a Pet, if you haven't already. There's lots of pets plus a BIG surprise your princess is sure to love.

Happy reading!

New Things That I'm Obsessing Over...Proceed With Caution!

2011-08-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Now that it's unplugged August, I'm plugged in more than ever (isn't that strange? Kinda like prohibition! LOL!) Anyway, I've discovered some amazing things in my self-imposed unplugged-ness so I thought I'd share.

1. Pinterest: This is for those who obsess over all things. Yeah. THINGS! Anything you can think of or care about that's in pictures, you can "pin" and share with your friends. This is good if you have a book that needs a little ambiance. You can search for mood pics, characters, anything and put it in a book folder. I haven't done it yet, but I had fun looking at my daughter's pinterest folders. AWESOME! Can't wait to start. I'll share my own later.

2. Angry Birds: Yes, I'm late to the party. I had no idea about this incredibly addicting game because as my kids would say, I have a ghetto phone. I'm one of the only holdouts that doesn't have an iphone or droid. Hubby has a droid. Kids have iphones. I'm soooo uncool. Hubby was playing this game on his phone during my birthday. I fell asleep watching him annihilate green pigs with the most dastardly birds. Fun stuff. So, I got my own game on Google Chrome. Dumb when you're not supposed to play (@!($)#*@ unplugged August!)

3. My agent: Can't help it. She rocks. I'm going to post all about her once she gives me the green light. (I haven't asked her yet.) You can read about one of her amazing deals with another client here: Jenn Johansson. I will save all my info about her (and our meeting which was miraculous, really) in my future post.

4. Water for Elephants: I saw this movie on the plane coming home from LA and now I see Robert Pattinson in a whole new light. He can act! LOL! Anyway, once this movie gets on DVD, I'm buying it. I need to read the book!

5. Princess for Hire series: I saw Lindsey Leavitt in LA and we decided to exchange books--her second book in her series for my second book in mine. And they looked peculiarly similar:

Don't see the similarities?

Well, look at the first books!

See??? I'm not crazy am I? I wonder what her third book will look like...I'm reading the second book right now! I'll write a review when I'm done.

My Most Memorable Experience of SCBWI LA

2011-08-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm going to plug in for a little bit because I have to report about my SCBWI experience before I lose the memory. When you pass 40, you never know what might fly out of your brain at any moment.

Now, you'd think my experiences would be full of things like meeting Jon Scieszka (a man whose work I admire, adore, and ~~would love to copy~~ I mean...love to cherish), chatting with Harold Underdown of The Purple Crayon (he's YOUNG! We told him to get a new picture! NOW!), seeing Judy Blume IN THE FLESH (what an amazing woman! So graceful and inspiring--I cried at the end of her talk,) meeting editors (the WONDERFUL Jenne Abramowitz--so adorable and nice,) meeting MY FABULOUS AGENT (that will be in another post), and hitting the pavement in my light up fairy costume for the PJ ball. Oh...did I have fun or what? (Um...I have NO pictures because I lost my camera after the ball...another story...egad!)

But that's not what I'm going to talk about. The most memorable experience happened like this:

My friend, Meg O Hair, and I had just finished a fun filled lunch at the Pink Taco. Earlier in the week, we'd made friends with the owner, general manager, and assistant manager. That meant free stuff for us. Yum! So, Meg and I were happily shopping at Gelson's market in the trendy mall on the Avenue of the Stars. After we'd made our purchases, chatted with the lovely cashier, and scared a few customers by our over-the-top behavior, we skipped toward the sliding glass doors. On the way, I noticed a very tiny, yet beautiful woman paying for a salad. Instantly, I recognized her as Paula Abdul. I pointed and said to Meg, "Oh, isn't she cute?"
     Paula waved at us and smiled.
     Then we walked out.
     I thought this was very strange. Why, you ask? Well, for anyone who knows my friend, Meg, you know that she's not scared of any star. In fact, the last time we were in LA together, we met John Edwards. He looked like a movie star waltzing through the lobby of the Century Plaza Hotel. Meg darted for him, told him she loved his $400 haircut and forced me (because I'd never vote for the guy) to get my picture taken with him. To be fair, he was very charming and kind.
    So, I thought Meg wouldn't miss this opportunity to meet Paula. When she didn't say anything, I shrugged and thought that was the end of it. As we ascended the escalator to the rest of the mall, in front of us stretched a huge poster with Paula's face on it, advertising the upcoming X-Factor tv show with Simon Cowell. I pointed and announced, "Oh, wasn't that cool? We just saw her."
     Meg blinked like she had a piece of fluff in her eyes. "We didn't see Paula Abdul."
     "Yes we did," I said.
     She shook her head. "No. That was just a cute girl in there."
     I laughed, wondering how she didn't recognize her. "That was Paula Addul."
     In a flash, Meg was gone. Seriously. She'd disappeared like Samantha Stevens on Bewitched.
     When I turned around, I saw a blur zip into the grocery store.
     I tilted my head, thinking, "I guess it's time to meet Paula." So I hopped on the descending escalator, hoping we weren't going to make too much of a scene.
      Meg and Paula were instant friends by the time I got back to the store. They exchanged doggie pictures, chatted about life, and Meg even prayed over Paula for help in defeating the bad press she may get if she does something like trip on a sidewalk in her four inch heels. It was surreal!

      Paula was so NICE! I can't say that enough. She made sure she stopped and took the time to be with her fans. Even though I was the sidekick in the story, Paula asked me to be in the picture with her and Meg. I couldn't get over how tiny she was. As Meg put it--she was a bone with a belt. She made me look like I needed to lose 100 pounds. Ugh!
      After we were finished, Paula had somewhere to go (she was all decked out in rhinestones and platinum). Her stretch Escalade swooped over and her assistants ushered her into the back seat. She waved at us out the window, blowing kisses. LOL!
     So, that's it. The most memorable experience. I wonder who we'll meet next time we're in LA? Snooki?

Unplugged August!

2011-07-31T10:58:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, my husband and I got sick of how our children would constantly want to watch movies, tv, videos, and play on the computer during the summer. So, we decided to unplug for a whole month just to see if we could do it. And I mean we because I'm probably the worst offender. I don't watch much tv but I'm an incessant blogger/social networker. (I also LOVE video games--I got a PS3 for my birthday. I wonder how many 40 something women ask for that from their loving hubbies?) Well, once we did it, we found we actually played games with each other at night, read more books than ever, and had real conversations with our teens. (I also got a lot of writing done, too!)

It was awesome!

Since we did it in August, that's been our tradition. The kids hate August--it means unplugged and school starting. LOL!

But I'm looking forward to it. I won't be back until September. Maybe I'll finally get that novel done. I have five chapters to go but that's been the same all summer. HA!

Wish me luck!

Cupcakes!

2011-07-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

Summer is winding down and as I'll be out of town (SCBWI LA!) and then it's family vacation, I decided to do something fun with my little girl while the big kids and dad were gone (camp and work). :-)

I bought a fun magazine with some amazing recipes entitled, Taste of Home FUN FOOD. You can access some similar recipes here: Kid Friendly recipes.

We decided to do the cute cupcakes on the cover. :-)

So here was our process!

First, we took a box cake mix and whipped up the ingredients. My daughter carefully poured the mixture into baking cups.

Next, we put them in the oven according to pkg directions!

Don't forget hot pads!

Now we waited until they were done!

Once they cooled, the fun began! We frosted!

(The lighting was very strange...sorry about that!)

Then we used Nutter Butter cookies for the monkey ears by cutting them in half. (I think a few didn't make it onto the cupcakes. Mmmmm...)

Next, we cut Nilla Wafers for the mouth!

Using M n' M eyes and gel sparkle frosting for the goofy features, my daughter used her creative talents for an assortment of faces. She's modeling one here!

And so...the finished products!

We had a lot of fun (as you can see,) but the most fun was devouring, um sampling them and sharing!

If you know anything about me, you know I love cupcakes. Here's another blog post where we make Princess Peepers cupcakes.

HAVE FUN!

When School Visits Go Wrong

2011-05-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

I was really excited last week to be going to Alabama. A bookseller who helps out his local schools by contacting and coordinating authors from all over the nation chose me to visit. I was very honored.

The first school visit went well. They welcomed me with a dazzling display in their window. The kids were so smart and I loved every moment! This was going down as one of my best visits. Here's a pic of their welcome! It says: "PAM + CALVERT = VIP" in a nod to my math books. Very clever!

The next day started out no differently. The school welcomed me with a huge poster signed by all the students and the library was decorated with TONS of cute glasses on everyone and everything. Take a look:

I knew there had been reports that we were to receive bad weather later in the day, but thought nothing of it. Of course. I'd lived in tornado alley cities much of my life and really only had one scare to show for it. But in the middle of my third session, right before lunch, we were told to go into the hallways and take cover. I wasn't frightened at this point. The librarian had the weather radar on her t.v. and we could see the red zone was to our north. Nothing to worry about.

The poor children had to wait in the hall for nearly an hour. They did so well trying to be quiet. Since there was no impending danger, I sat in the library signing books and discussed how I'd make up my last session the next day. By this time, my stomach was growling. They'd offered me the sandwiches they were giving the children for lunch, but I thought I'd get something later.

Wrong decision.

As I was dropped off at my hotel, I waved good-bye to the coordinator, and ventured into my room. I was about to walk over to Applebees when I thought, "It's raining so hard, I'll wait until it goes away and get an early supper."

So, I fell asleep.

In my dream, people I knew were hiding in the lobby of the hotel, and I was discussing things with them as a loud tornado siren blared in the background. I felt the noise was so realistic. And then suddenly, I woke up to an ACTUAL air horn blasting outside.

This was no dream.

My hotel phone rang, and I was told to go into the hallway to take cover. This lasted about two minutes as everyone congregated to the floor to ceiling window filled lobby. Curiosity sent all of us outside. Video cameras caught a large swirling wall cloud several miles away pass us by. In the meantime, the power went out. I was trapped out of my room.

During all of this, a few people came to the hotel wanting to check in but knew there was no use, so we all chatted, not knowing the horrible destruction happening around us, only a few miles away. I'd been in a tornado before--I knew when to be alarmed. Dirt clods, insulation, debris drops out of the air. I didn't see any of that.

After about thirty minutes, the storm had passed. It was time to go back to my room. The power was still not on. I was sooo hungry. But nothing around us had power. The Applebees staff went home. We watched them drive away.

And even more storms were coming.

In the darkness of my hotel room, I talked with my husband and daughter on my cell, then decided to go to sleep early. I figured someone would alert me if I had to take cover again. And sleeping would help abate my ever growing hunger. I turned on the light next to me, hoping the power would come on later, waking me.

It never did.

In the morning, everyone in the hotel was up, talking about what had happened. Reports from the hotel staff told us there was no power for miles--a major electrical artery had been severed. There wouldn't be power for at least three to five days. My cell phone wouldn't work--the cell phone towers were down. The man who was supposed to pick me up did not come at the expected time.

There I was--stranded in Alabama with no way of getting home. Everything was closed. The hotel only had a few muffins and bottled water to feed us. Before panic could set in, a man who was leaving for Kentucky with three of his co-workers offered me a ride to the Nashville airport where I could fly back home. I had to make a decision quickly. I was worried about my school visit contact, but knew it would be better for everyone if he didn't have to worry about me. So, I took the ride. On the way to the airport, I caught some of the destruction along the road. Here are some of the images I saw:

This is a billboard that was mowed down as if it were a paperclip.

Here is a mangled 18 wheeler filled with volatile liquid. You could see the dirt and grass it must have dug up as it was dropped from the sky.

This might be harder to see but the trees are uprooted, many of their tops have been ripped off and blown to bits.

The school librarian that I was supposed to visit that day contacted me yesterday. They still do not have power to the schools and are closed. She said, "(Our town) looks like a war zone where bombs have leveled blocks and blocks of businesses and homes. I just can't describe the enormity of this tragedy!" There have been 351 deaths from these storms in Alabama alone. All I can say is I feel very thankful to be able to come out of that storm alive, well, and without injury. The people in the hotel did not take that storm seriously, myself included. If the tornados had decided to come our way, there would have been nothing to protect us.

I'm praying for those who lost their loved ones and for the people who have lost homes and businesses. This will be one school visit journey I'll never forget. May God help the people suffering from this tragedy!

School visits!

2011-03-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

I have seventeen school visits this spring and I've done about twelve of them. All have gone so well, I thought I'd share a few of the photos.

From a school in College Station! Some librarians should be artists!

The next one is from Plano:

This is my Paradise visit! :-)

They went all out!

My camera broke for most of the visits and I just bought a new one, so this is all I have, but if you're thinking about doing school visits--they are really fun (as you can see!) I receive many questions from the kids, but mostly they want to know if I'm famous. I tell them I'm only famous to my mother--but that's not good enough for them. They WANT me to be famous! LOL! One kid got SOOO angry with me that he crossed his arms and "Grrrd!" at me when I said I wasn't. Then he wanted to know if I made a lot of money. Because he was so miffed that I wasn't famous, I decided to play along and tell him what he wanted to hear, so I said yes. Well, he REALLY got mad then. He yelled, "That's not fair!" and stomped away.

Kids. Hilarious!

Here are some funny fan letters I've received:

I love the line at the end: "Do you think you could come to my house?"

This cute letter warmed my heart (and I LOVE they way she spells): "Where did you get your name Pam Calvert because I think it is butiful. You are the best arther I no." Awww...

I love this line: "I haven't read all your books but I'm thanking they're still good." LOL!

Celebrity Apprentice: Children's Lit Edition--My Thoughts

2011-03-20T11:57:00.002-07:00

I was overjoyed when I finally got to see the Celebrity Apprentice episode this week. Princess Peepers did indeed receive her FIVE SECONDS of fame!! And believe me, this is five seconds more than I would have ever thought would have appeared on that show or any other show for that matter. So, I was IMMENSELY HAPPY!!

There's a lot to talk about behind the scenes--mainly that Margery Cuyler gave A LOT of advice to the contestants, but it only appeared that she quipped a few sentences. I loved seeing her sparkling face during the skits when the contestants presented their plays, and overall, thought the teams did a fantastic job in the little amount of time they had.

It's HARD to write a good children's book.

Neither team wrote a particularly charming children's story and both didn't have much in the way of creativity. I knew that Margery had given Princess Peepers as an example of story structure and it looked as if the men's team's offering was a blatant copy of that structure--(kids making fun of a child who was unsure about their looks; kid finally realizing they were great just they way they are.) Unfortunately, there wasn't anything to escalate the drama nor did the child solve the problem--the teacher did. So, don't lose heart, children's authors! They didn't produce a winning children's book in a day (as most people think it's easy to write a picture book). And neither did the women's team, but I liked their rendition better--the kids seemed to enjoy it more, and it was way more kid-friendly, imho.

Overall, I was pleased with the show--especially when the screen flashed all the Marshall Cavendish books! If you didn't get to see the show, you can enjoy it here: Celebrity Apprentice: Child's Play And you can do what I did--pause the video when all the books are being shown! Maybe obsess over Princess Peepers being on the table--in the hands of some of the contestants. LOL! ;-)

If you want to read more about some people's thoughts on the show, here are a few funny and interesting blog posts:

1. Lynne Kelly's blog: More Children's Books from Celebrity Apprentice

2. Michael Rex's take: My Time in the Tower

3. Tara Lazar's thoughts

Celebrity Apprentice!

2011-03-09T12:12:00.000-08:00

What does Donald Trump...

Latoya Jackson....

And Princess Peepers have in common?

They all might be on the show, Celebrity Apprentice on March 13th 9/10 pm ET/PT! Well, for sure the first two. I just got word that my publisher, Margery Cuyler of Marshall Cavendish, was asked to be a judge for the show's project of writing a children's book. And Margery chose to show PRINCESS PEEPERS as a good example of story structure! WOW! Of course, it "might" be mentioned. It also could get cut in the final editing. SO, now I'm praying!!!

At least Margery chose it to be a great example. I feel very blessed and honored even if it doesn't make the cut. :-D

In the past, I've watched the show incessantly, but this year I haven't simply because we moved and I don't have a good cable provider (I hate Suddenlink! We're switching to DirectTV like TODAY!) You can bet that I'll be glued to the set this Sunday night!

WINNERS!

2011-03-07T06:08:00.000-08:00

My very own Princess Peepers picked the winners today out of a pink treasure chest. And here they are:

GRAND PRIZE!

Mary Tara!!!!

Winners of the new Princess Peepers Picks a Pet:

Daisy Haffner

Becky B

Tragic Optimist

Lovingmama

Williams Family08

Congratulations!

If you won, please email me at pam@pamcalvert.com with your mailing address and I'll get those out! Thank you SOOOOOOOO much for participating. I love celebrating new books.
HUGS!

Reminder! Last day for contest entries!!!

2011-03-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I have over 100 entries for the Princess Peepers Picks a Pet contest! Wee! But you still have a little more time to earn more entries. If you had wanted to post a pic of your little princess (or prince), it's not too late.

BUT

I'll be announcing the winners tomorrow--by noon, CST.

Good luck, everyone!

Yet another Princess Peepers with her AMAZING pet!

2011-03-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

This Princess Peepers went ALL OUT to find her pet. Click here to see her in action actually painting just the right backdrop to celebrate Princess Peepers Picks a Pet. Way to go, sweetie!

A Princess Peepers and all her Pets!

2011-03-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

In honor of Princess Peepers Picks a Pet which came out today and received a glorious review by Kirkus: Princess Peepers Picks a Pet review, here's a special princess who has entered the PPPP contest!

What a cutie! I love all those glasses wearing pets and friends--just like in the first Princess Peepers book! This little darling will receive princess bubbles, a bookmark and TWENTY entries into the PPPP contest (plus she has many more entries since her mom has been flitting all over the internet spreading the news about the new book! YAY!)

If you have a picture of your little princess (or prince) holding Princess Peepers, please send it to me at my email: pam@pamcalvert.com

Have a royally splendid day!

Princess Peepers Picks a Pet CONTEST!

2011-02-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

Princess Peepers is back in a charming new book:

PRINCESS PEEPERS PICKS A PET

And I'm so excited that I'm running a contest fit only for a one of a kind princess like Princess Peepers.

Here's the Grand Prize!

A HUGE bag full of goodies for your princess worth over $100 which includes:

--a princess skirt

--matching flower headband

--matching glasses

--8 sparkly hair clips

--matching satin handbag

--princess crown

--princess bubbles

--princess candy ring

--princess candy necklace

--a stuffed dragon (guess whose pet that is?)

AND a hard cover copy of Princess Peepers Picks a Pet

But that's not all! Included is a $30 gift certificate to a bookstore of your choice PLUS a $25 gift certificate to Starbucks (for the royal parents!)

I'm also giving away FIVE Princess Peepers Picks a Pet books for the five runners up. Now what do you need to do to WIN?

Choose one or all of these ways--the more you do, the more entries you'll receive AND the better your chances of winning!

1. Just say hi here. You will receive ONE entry.

2. Announce the arrival of Princess Peepers Picks a Pet on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, or some other social network. Make sure you tell me so I can give you credit! (1 entry for each!)

3. Like Princess Peepers on Facebook (if you haven't already) here: Princess Peepers on FB Make sure to tell me on FB so I can give you credit! (You will receive one entry.)

4. Go on amazon, barnesandnoble.com, or borders.com and review the original Princess Peepers (only if you've read it!) (You will receive FIVE entries!)

5. Take a picture of your little princess (or prince) holding the original Princess Peepers book (must be a new picture that hasn't been on the web.) I will post it on my website and Princess Peepers FB throughout the contest (no names will be mentioned). EVERY child will receive princess bubbles (or prince bubbles) and a bookmark who enters a picture. If I receive MANY pictures, the princess (or prince) who has the most overall entries will receive a special place of honor on my Princess Peepers Glamour Gallery website page. (This is worth TEN entries!)

6. Get creative! Do something amazing. When Princess Peepers came out, there were SEVERAL really creative entries. Here are some links: Jeepers Peepers, Peepers Cutie (This is worth TEN entries!)

This contest will last until March 6th. I will be posting here and FB throughout the contest to remind you. Don't wait until the last minute!

HAVE A ROYALLY FABULOUS DAY!

Another Perfectly Pretty Princess!

2011-02-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a sweet girl who got all dressed up for her Princess/Pirate day at school. Which princess did she pick to emulate?

Ariel?

Snow White?

Sleeping Beauty?

Cinderella?

Rapunzel?

NO!

PRINCESS PEEPERS!

I think I'll have a smile on my face for the rest of the day!

Happy Book Release Day!

2011-02-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to announce that my newest math adventure is released today! It's entitled, The Multiplying Menace Divides! After being banished to the Abyss of Zero in my earlier book, Multiplying Menace: The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpelstiltskin is back! And he's got a sidekick, the diva witch, Matilda, helping him. Through the use of The Great Divide, Rumpelstiltskin seeks to divide the kingdom into frogs. Wayne Geehan did such a great job with his illustrations. I feel so blessed. I hope everyone likes it. :-D

Praise God it's finally here!

Pray with Me for Lisa Madigan!

2011-01-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

I woke up to a blog post from Lisa Madigan who is known for her award winning book, FLASH BURNOUT. Lisa wrote this eloquent, heartwrenching post a few days ago and since I hadn't been on my blog all weekend, I didn't see it: Hard News

I've seen first hand what cancer is doing to so many and am feeling for her and her family. Since I'm in BSF and we're studying the book of Isaiah, I'm using this verse and continually lifting up my prayers for her:

Isaiah 41:10 (New Living Translation)

10 "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.

Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you.

I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

Join me in lifting up prayers for her!

Also, if you want to help her in other ways, the 2009 Debutantes are running a give-away to encourage people to support Lisa's books. Check it out here: L.K. Madigan book give away

Happy Thanksgiving and PiBoIdMo post!

2010-11-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

What does PiBoIdMo and turkey and Christmas Wish lists and witches and frogs have to do with one another? Well, they're all mentioned in my blog post which came out today (not on Black Friday--I got a little mixed up.) Here's a sneak peek at the post:

I talk about something all picture book writers should have at the top of their Christmas list. You don't want to miss it! Go Shopping!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

PiBoIdMo time!

2010-11-20T12:48:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year--Picture Book Idea Month. Sorry I'm a little late in promoting this great event, BUT I've been busy with LOTS of school visits and really, when I'm working like that, I don't have much time to blog and write (so writing comes first!)

I will be posting about what helps me brainstorm through a picture book to make it more creative and visual. This post will arrive on November 25th--yes, black Friday! But if you're too stuffed to go out on Friday, pop on over to Tara Lazar's blog and check it out: PiBoIdMo. Also, you should check out all the guest posts this month. It's a treasure trove of information about writing picture books!

One thing that has been spectacular for me about being a picture book author is that I get to share what I do with children. They think I'm a rock star. They really do! And that kind of love really helps you want to write more the next day, even when you get a boat load of rejections (which I still get--even from my own publishers!!!) I'll be posting one of those school visits soon. All of the kindergarten teachers dressed like Peepers! In fact, there were a ton of Peepers wandering around the school. So cute!

Oh my!

2010-09-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hubby sent these to me...hmm...should I be offended?

He sure knows how to get me mad! ;-) But if that wasn't enough, here are some more!!!!

Okay...so I was about to get the rolling pin out (um...I wasn't going to make some cookies...) when THIS shows up in my inbox!!!!

Well, I kind of liked that one...so I forgave him. And here's the thanks I got:

Aren't these HILARIOUS??? (And sad, too...)

Oh, and the WORST one was this:

I don't think my mouth has closed after reading this! Wow.

Help for pb writers!

2010-08-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

If you're a picture book writer or you've kicked the idea around or you're a certifiable wordsmith, you should go on over to children's author, Lynne Marie Pisano's blog. She's featuring different authors and their tips to help you write the next best picture book or just help you with any kind of writing. Her blog is called My Word Playground. And she isn't kidding! It's a veritable playground for wordsmiths. I'm loving it!

The Unveiling: Princess Peepers Picks a Pet!

2010-07-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

Holy pumpkins! Last week, my editor gave the go ahead to show off my newest book: Princess Peepers Picks a Pet. So here it is!

Isn't she cute?

I love the zebra glasses. Tuesday Mourning is sooo talented!

What's it about? Well, poor Princess Peepers doesn't have a pet for the upcoming pet show at the Royal Academy for Perfect Princesses. And when she tries to find one, funny things happen. But in true Princess Peepers fashion, she finds the most unique pet fit for the world's most loveable off-beat princess.

It's coming in March 2011. I know. So far away! But it takes two years to produce a picture book. Two whole years! But hopefully, I'll be able to share some more exciting news for Peepers by launch time. We'll see!

If you want to take a peek at a few more pages in the book, just check out my website: http://www.pamcalvert.com/ And if you want to follow Peepers on Facebook, click here: Princess Peepers

Happy rest of summer!!!!

New Princess Peepers Contest!

2010-06-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

There's a new contest for Princess Peepers sponsored by a wonderful blog geared toward parents of children with glasses, Little Four Eyes.

Here are the rules:

In order to enter, you must send a picture of your “prince” or “princess.” Each picture will receive one point each for the following:

Wearing glasses (three points)

Wearing a crown or tiara (one point)

Dressing up like a price or princess (one point)

Carrying a wand or magic Stick (one point)

Having something sparkly in the picture (one point)

An extra accessory such as: a cape, necklace, wings… (one point)

Parent in the picture with at least 3 of the above items on (one point)

All the entries received by June 19th will be considered. If there is more than one picture with all 9 points, the names will be entered into a hat and drawn randomly for a winner. Of course, by sending these pictures, you are agreeing to let the Little Four Eyes Blog post them. E-mail them to ajrenchin @ yahoo. com (you must remove the spaces).

For more information, please go to this blog: Little Four Eyes

If you know of any parent with children who wear glasses, please tell them! Or if you just know little princeeses, they'd love to join as well. It's going to be fun!

Hugs and fairy wishes to all!

Saying Good-bye to California!

2010-06-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

I've lived in northern California for four years and that little adventure is about to come to an end. During that time, I've visited almost every part of this great, beautiful state, made some wonderful friends, and truly can say I "know" the people here. Before, California was always this unknown with unknown people. I thought of Hollywood stars, protestors in San Francisco, Disneyland, but it's SOOO much more. I'm really glad to have tasted its richness and feel very blessed.

Here are a few pics that I'm leaving behind here.

Happy Summer!!!!

Don't Miss Princess Peepers in the Scholastic catalog!

2010-05-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that Princess Peepers will once again be offered in Scholastic Book Clubs for the month of June! It will be in the preschool flyer, Honeybee. It's on the last page under Summer Reading Recommendations. Honeybee June 2010 Look for it if your child comes home with it this month. If you need a signed bookplate, just ask!

Also, Scholastic has chosen Princess Peepers as a Scholastic Reading Counts book!

The pic above is from a recent school visit. My very first HUGE cake with a Peepers image. It was delicious!

In Princess Peepers Picks a Pet news, the artwork is finished. Hooray! And I'm DYING to see it. I've "heard" that Peepers will be sporting some swanky animal print glasses with Princess Peepers pink lenses!

Inspiration! Liquid Story Binder XE

2010-04-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

I remember many years ago, I was reading Melissa Marr's blog (she was then just a simple struggling novelist like me). She was talking about her process while she was writing Wicked Lovely. I was mesmerised by her creativity. She would set a mood all around her with pictures taped to her monitor and desk so she could capture the scenes of her imaginary world. It was a familiar world in that it was city-scapes of today, but since she didn't live right in the heart of a major city, she needed to immerse herself in that world.

I also remember thinking that I'd love to do the same thing with my work, but I couldn't at the time. I was writing a middle grade novel set in the here and now and also set in the town I was living, but I never forgot the inspiration she shared and it followed me to my current WIP. This one needs mood because it is set in an imaginary world. And I have to be immersed in that world or I won't be able to write it very well.

I tried to use pictures in a notebook. Whenever I'd start writing, I'd open the book to the pictures I'd need, but there was always something missing when I'd get to writing on the page. It was blank. All I had was my mind to keep me there, but if I needed more inspiration, I'd stop writing and pull out the notebook. It was very cumbersome. And then someone suggested a new writing software program that has changed my writing life forever!

It's called Liquid Story Binder. And it's so modern and so inspiring that I've written over 7000 words this week. No longer do I have to stop writing and look at the pictures of inspiration--they're right there staring at me as I work. The picture to the left is an example of what my workspace looks like (although it's a sample from the product website--I couldn't take a pic of my workspace.) Black Obelisk software was kind enough to give me permission for the photos.
The features of this software are amazing and I can use it for any of my work--long or short. It has a story board feature, perfect for my picture books.

Here are my favorite features:

1. Get Organized fast! Everything is encompassed in chapters, so each chapter has its own gallery (pictures), outline, chapter writing (where you do the writing), goal word count, project stats, time it takes you to write in the session and more!

2. Outlining is easy! You can first create a folder for your book. Then you create how many working chapters you might have. In each chapter, you can write a synopsis outline for that chapter. As you write, you can refer to your notes to see if you're on the right path or you can modify what you want to happen as you go (or not use this at all if you don't like to outline.)

3. Writer's Tools at your fingertips! Every writer's feature from Microsoft Word is stepped up in this program.

Word count: Every time you open a chapter to work on it, there will be word count stats at the bottom--it will show you the total word count, how much you've written for that session, time for the session and word count goals for the chapter. If you want to see the total word count for the book itself, you can hit a tab that will give you all stats for the book as well as visualize your progress for every chapter and whether you made your goals.
Fancy thesaurus: Not only will it give you a huge thesaurus, but it will put every word in the sentence you've written for you (in a text box to the side) so you can instantly see if it's the right word.
Repeated Word visualizer: Sometimes I think I may have used a word too much but would have to reread earlier sentences to see. With this feature, all you have to do is punch a tab at the side, highlight the word in question and it will automatically show you if you've repeated it. Amazing! I'm in love with this feature alone!

4. More features!

character charts
timeline
mind mapping
professional manuscript formatting into RTX, TXT, or ZIP files
automatic backup
universal search--search your entire document for a single word!
record yourself reading your novel or picture book
music playlist--create a specific audio mood for each chapter!

5. Ambiance is breathtaking! I bought this program if nothing else but to get the ambiance stepped up for me and this program has so many different settings that you can personalize the way you write. Whenever I start on a session, I open up LSB, and it saves the way it looks for me so that if I have any pictures out or galleries, chapters, outlines, it will have it all out there for me the way I left it. Sort of like my messy desk--no one better touch my desk because I like my stuff to remind me of things, but my hubby likes it neat. Now, I don't make him crazy. My binder can be as messy as I like. And I write as I normally do in Word--my writing is on a white page with Times New Roman as my font. You can make it any color, any font you like. It's easy! The difference is that the surrounding effects make the ambiance of writing very creative. I'm no longer staring at only a white page. It's surrounded by visual details that keep me in my WIP's world.

Here are some other things I've really used that you may like as well:

You can pull out pictures and keep them out while you write.
Need to refer to several back chapters? You can pull them out and have them out while you're working on your current chapter and toggle between them at will.
Minor character giving you trouble? Sometimes I forget what my minor characters look like or how they're supposed to act if they don't show up very much in my 80K novel, so I can pull out the character charts at any time and look them up.

6. The best feature? The price! It's only $45.99 and you can try it out for free for a month. I'm still on my free month, but you better believe I'll fork over the dough when it's time. It's changed my life and hopefully, I'll get this novel done by summer. With Liquid Story Binder, I don't feel a deadline. I feel the excitement of creating an imaginary, exciting world!

Have I convinced you yet? If so, go on over to the website and check it out for yourself: Liquid Story Binder XE

ETA: If you're having trouble using the program (it takes a while to get used to), hop on over to this site. It has a nice tutorial for you: LSB Tutorial

I know I haven't been here for a while (because I've been WRITING) But I want to THANK Katie M. Stout for bestowing a wonderful award on me:

That's quite an honor since I love blogs that are creative and like to nurture that spirit in others! So...without much further ado, I'm giving this award to Brian Kell because he's about the most creative writer I know (and I haven't read a stitch of his work but I can tell...trust me.) He's going to be a household name in the future...and I can say I knew him when! HA!

Happy writing, everyone!!!!

A Tale of Two Sisters, a Pixie, and a Princess Book!

2010-03-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Ahh...two lovely sisters...but not only are they sisters, they're BFF's! Nothing could come between them. Not even boys.

Then something arrives at the door...

But wait! It's the new princess book they've been DYING to read for months! Who will get to read it first?

"You know I asked to read this first," says H, calmly twisting it ever so slightly out of her sister's grasp.

"No, you didn't!" K grabs onto the spine a little more fiercely. "You get to read every book Mom brings home first. It's my turn!"

"But it's about princesses and you know that's like my favorite subject. Still."

"Yeah, but PINK is my favorite color and this is all pink and sparkly and PERFECT!"

All at once, a pixie appears (who suspiciously looks like their little sister.)

"Did someone say they wanted to be pink? Your wish is my command."

And she waves her magic wand...

POOF!

She turns one into a pink dragon and the other into a poofy pink poodle!

And then the pixie sees the most spectacular book just lying there on the floor...so she picks it up.

And starts to read...

She doesn't even notice tiny voices telling her to change them back and if she doesn't they're going to tell Mom and boy is she going to get it. The little pixie is too transfixed by the story about a girl who works in a pet shop. (The pixie's dream is to run her own pet shop!) And then one day in this sparkly princess story something amazing happens. A woman asks the heroine if she wants to be a substitute princess. Like...wow! Suddenly, the pixie doesn't even want to change her sisters, I mean, those stubborn annoying stuffed animals back into their original selves...

Well, she decides she will after she reads the book. But she has one last word of advice to you, dear reader...

Please don't tell her Mom!!!! Shhh!

And if you want to win a copy of this adorable book along with a lot of other princessy stuff, hop on over to author Lindsey Leavitt's blog and see how you can enter for some really COOL prizes! Here's the link: Princess for Hire

As soon as I've taken over the most fought over book in the history of the Calvert home, I will review it right here! Now, I've got to deal with a naughty pixie...

Jeepers! Princess Peepers is in Scholastic Book Clubs April issue!

2010-03-04T07:25:00.000-08:00

If you want a paperback of Princess Peepers, you can get it in the April issue of Scholastic Book Clubs' Firefly issue (pg. 9). It's only FOUR dollars! Click here: Princess Peepers in Scholastic

I had to buy one from them since I don't get author's copies. Isn't that funny? It's quite a bit smaller than the original, but it's fun to have.

If you have a child that's preschool age, they should be coming home with it next month. If you'd like a signed bookplate, just let me know and I'll send you one. :-D

Happy March!

2010-03-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

Last month started with an award and this one is starting off just as hot (although it's cold around here. SNOW!)

Thank you to Bumples Magazine's, Sandie Lee, for giving Woven With Pixie Dust a sunshine and sparkly award:

Isn't that cool?

About Bumples for all those folks who like to write for magazines. They pay twenty cents a word! That's better than Highlights for Children and they're new, so the competition won't be as fierce since not many know about it...YET!

So, I'm giving this award to the following:

1. Aspire--by a very talented young writer, Hannah. She's AMAZING. Go read her post: Tying His Shoes: My Road to Healing. I dare you not to cry!

2. PB Planet--Ame's kinda dropped off since 2010, so I want to bring her back. WE NEED MORE PICTURE BOOK BLOGS! There. I've stopped yelling. Aren't you glad?

3. Thing 1 and Thing 2--Corey Schwartz has interesting articles and hey! She's a picture book author. Go check out her blog!

4. Novels During Naptime--Karen just won a Princess Peepers book so I thought she might need to ride the wave of her luck and get this sunshine award, too! (Plus her blog is really interesting.)

5. Positively Everything--Christy Lenzi has a new blog and it's pretty and fun to read. This award will look awesome with her background, too.

And now to will MORE good news to drift down onto my month...oh please oh please oh please oh PLEASE???

Want to win a copy of Princess Peepers?

2010-02-22T17:03:00.000-08:00

Go on over the Clara Willow's blog post as she's interviewed a famous author. (Okay, fine. That's a lie. It's not a famous author. It's me! Tee hee!)

All you have to do is leave a response on her blog. That's it! (I won't even make you read it! LOL!)

Oh, and if you've come here from Clara's blog looking for my advice to picture book writers, here's the link to the post: If you wanna be a picture book writer

One lucky person's name will be drawn on Friday, February 26th! Good luck!

Give it up!

2010-02-18T08:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. That's usually the time when people commit to give up something that will help them focus on the season leading up to Easter. My denomination doesn't usually celebrate it but we have many friends who do observe the tradition and so, last year, my oldest daughter decided to give up something for the 40 days leading up to Easter. She gave up chocolate.

GASP! I know! How could she do such a thing? I knew I wasn't going to give up something as hard as that, but then she had a great experience because every time her friends offered her some chocolate (and she couldn't believe how many times they did) she could focus on Jesus and what he gave up for us.

So, this year, I've decided to participate. I was thinking about chocolate, but then I'm okay with that as long as I have Skittles. :-D I could have given up all sweets, but really, I don't need them that much. Therefore, I decided to give up this horrible vice:

I'm not sure if I can do it! Ahhhh! And I'm going to be extremely tired for about a month.

While we were discussing this in the car, my oldest asked my youngest, C, what she was giving up for Lent. She said, quickly and without any reservation at all, "School."

Ya gotta love the mind of an 8 year old!

Edited to add: My 16 year old daughter said that a girl in her class gave up...TALKING!!! How could a 16 year old give THAT up? Now, that's dedication! (I asked her how the girl was supposed to answer the teacher's questions, but she just shrugged. LOL! That's a great ploy to get out of giving answers. "Um, teacher? It's against her religion to answer your question at the moment." That's almost as good as C giving up school... ;-D)

If You Wanna Be a Picture Book writer...

2010-02-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

I remember back in the day (oh...about nine years ago), I'd struggled with learning the art of the picture book. In fact, I'd received one of the MOST discouraging rejections ever. It read:

"To avoid unnecessary anxiety and lost time in the future, we'd suggest that you reconsider submitting to us again."

LOL!

They got their wish. I was so humiliated!

But that form letter spoke volumes to me. Why would a company tell me that I should never grace their publishing doors again? What did I do (or didn't do) that made them not see ANY talent whatsoever?

So, I decided I'd better learn what I was doing wrong. I took a class with Anastasia Suen. Here's the link: Anastasia Suen's Picture Book Intensive and I'd highly advise taking all her picture book classes if you're serious about publishing in picture books. She forced...um...suggested that I read 100 picture books in five different genres. Then I took her next class and again, I had to read ANOTHER 100 picture books. Afterwards, I began to see how different picture books were set up and where my talents might fit. (And at that time I was obstinate enough to think I actually had some talent even though that other publisher thought I was crazy.) The authors I felt attached to were all visually humorous:

Doreen Cronin, Tom Lichtenheld, Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith, Tedd Arnold, Amy Axelrod, Lisa Campbell Ernst, Babette Cole, Lauren Child...oh, I could go on and on!

Many of these authors are also illustrators, but that didn't faze me. I saw in each story that they wrote the art of visual humor and knew the things children would laugh at--not adults.

Another light went on when I took a workshop given by a well known editor at Chronicle books. She took us through the editing of one of her most beloved picture books. Her beloved, I should say, but not her senior editor's. The book never made it to publication. But in that workshop, she showed us the process of all seventeen, yes SEVENTEEN, revisions. She wanted it PERFECT before she took it to acquisitions. I noticed a few things:

1. The book was FULL of puns. So full, in fact, that at the time in my inexperienced opinion, I thought it was a tad overdone. Well, that was my taste. I didn't know anything! But I never realized editors liked puns until that workshop. Um...so, you'll see a few puns in my work and I must say, children and adults like them, too! (And now I love them...ha!)

2. The book had visual slapstick. So much so, that there had to be artnotes within the text so the illustrator would know what to do. You couldn't tell it from the text. Visual irony is key to getting laughs!

3. The book used the law of threes. The law of three is inherent in all my picture books. In Princess Peepers, I wrote about three kinds of eyeglasses she particularly loves. She messes up by going to three different places before her climactic ending.

4. The book had an unseen, funny twist ending. The twist is key. And can literally sell your book. Princess Peepers was highly considered at many different publishers because of its twist.

After I came out of that workshop, I knew I had a formula that could help my writing and get me to the story I was yearning for! Now, there is one more characteristic that's a must and I think the workshopped manuscript didn't have this and that's why it failed at acquisitions:

5. The book must be unique. The workshopped manuscript was about a funny frog and at the time, the Froggy books were all over the place. It wasn't different or special enough to make it out of acquisitions and so it died there. Thankfully, Princess Peepers fit that bill. There had never been an eyeglass wearing princess in all the history of storytelling. (Belle of Disney wore some reading glasses but she wasn't known for wearing them.) She was unique. And that's one of the reasons the book has met with success in the market.

Now the above characteristics worked for me because I write visually humorous picture books. There are other types of picture books out there but you must discern what makes you love a picture book and write it. Always study the market. Always study what makes picture books saleable. If you forget that, you'll be hitting your head against a very hard and very high wall.

Happy writing!

Another Conversation with an 8 Year old

2010-02-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

So, my daughter was making Valentine's Day cards and she was thinking of things to say to her friends. She scribbled the usual sayings like she drew a skunk and wrote, "I stink you're sweet." Or she wrote, "You rock!" with lots of funny smilies. But then she wrote to a boy she particularly liked, "I love your mustache!"

When I saw it, I started cracking up.

She looked up at me and said, "You can use that one, you know. It's original."

"Original?"

"Yeah, you know, for your books." Then she went back to creating her works of art.

Eeps!

I guess I have the bad habit of laughing at her quips and saying I'm going to use that one only to find out she's lifted it from t.v. or another book. SO, I get to use that one! I'm so glad she's now trained and has my back. Plagiarism is a serious crime. But quoting an 8 year old daughter is not. Thank goodness!

I HEART February!

2010-02-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

It's only the third day of February and it's shaping up to be a sparkly good month already!

THANK YOU, Jennifer Daiker from Unedited, for giving me this award:

MY FIRST!!!

And that's one of the best ones I've seen around the blogosphere, so I'm really flattered. Check out her blog!

Now, I'm handing it to the following:

1. To Bryan Bliss--just cuz he's so darn funny! And he probably won't ever get a serious award because we all know funny people make us laugh but the awards boards never give the humorists any respect...so, here...put it on your highest shelf, Bry. Don't let it get dusty!
2. To Heim Binas Fiction--simply because I'm star struck! I LOVE all things Santa Clause (especially child actors IN The Santa Clause. Heh.) And it's fun to read her blog!
3. To Princess Bookie--well, because...yeah!!! She's a PRINCESS!! Hello? AND her blog oozes pink and cupcakes and books.

4. To The Word Crafter--at only twelve, she's an inspiration! And I used to jam to her tunes (when she had them on her blog, but she took them off! Gack!) Anyway, I know great things will come from her because they already have!

5. To Carpe Diem--because I've been loving all her character sketches and she's such a joy to read. (I'm so AMAZED at these young writers! SO TALENTED!!!) You're going places!

And now, everyone, go get yourself something chocolate, too, cuz it's FEBRUARY!!!

Then to make my February even more fabulous, I received this in the mail today:

I ADORE manga, so when I saw this adaptation of a favorite series, I had to snap it up. THEREFORE, I'm taking a break from the boy books via Kindle to sink into this paperback under a blanket of warm, pink, bubbles...ahh...

Princess Peepers Party Cupcakes

2010-01-30T12:11:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and my little one has been begging me to make those cute little Princess Peepers cupcakes. So, we decided to go PINK and have fun! The original recipe came from author Mary Ann Dames on her recipe blog here: Princess Peepers Party Glasses

Since I didn't have any food coloring paints, I decided to use something that was edible, malleable, and already in Princess Peepers pink: Laffy Taffy's!

In order to make the taffy more like dough, I put the candy in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Then we rolled it and started cutting out the lenses. We used all kinds of shapes with our nifty jello cutters (aspic) we got from this online shop:

Sur La Table!

Then my little princess cut out the lenses, and the arms of the glasses. We made about four glasses, but three got eaten. Oops!

Here's the finished product:

The hardest part about making these is NOT, I repeat, NOT to eat the glasses before they can go on the cupcakes! But at least we had one finished cupcake to show you.

Now, I'm off to eat another cupcake because I have a cold and I deserve it...tee hee!

A Book Written with REAL Pixie Dust

2010-01-18T15:54:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to review this book for a while--ever since I read it last summer, but I've been busy writing my own books (and reading.) But today is a holiday (kudos to Martin Luther King and his holiday commemoration). So, I have time.

This story was the best of 2009 for me. Actually, the best I've read in quite a while. It was true in pacing, storyline, and voice. It was one of those books that I tried to slow myself down in reading because I wanted to savor every word. That doesn't happen very often for me. I'm a skimmer. If the author starts boring me with unnecessary characterizations of minor characters or they get off-plot or they go on a boring journey to get from plotpoint B to plotpoint C, I can spot that a gazillion miles away, and I'll skim.

That didn't happen even once.

This marvelous book was written for the tween market but can hold the attention of my teens (my sixteen and seventeen year old daughters.) This author happens to be a Christian as well. I didn't know that reading the book, but could tell that her characters had great faith. They honored their "Great Gardener", their maker. I really appreciated that.

What book is this?

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter.

It follows a faery named, Knife, and her quest to become an integral part of her faery world. But she notices that something's wrong in the Oak--her home. She sees that her people are in effect "dying" and she's spunky enough to find out why. Through fast paced adventures, charming wit, and breathtaking creative characterizations, Knife finds out a missing key that could be the answer to save her people, and that's where the mystery begins.

I won't shed anymore light on the plot. I loved it that I hadn't read spoilers, but just know, if you like faeries, magic spells, and adventure, you'll love this novel.

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter was nominated for a Carnegie Medal in the UK (under the novel title of Knife)--an honor it wholeheartedly deserves.

The next installment in the series is Wayfarer. It will be released this summer. I can't wait to read more from this talented debut author!

Little Stinker!

2010-01-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

Here is my little dog. She's a bit angry with me since I've been taking her on runs...yes, runs. Don't most dogs run? She zips around the house, catching balls, jumping on strangers, and charging around playing tag with my kids, so I thought a 5 mile jaunt would be no big deal.

Well, it wouldn't have been a big deal except for the fact that once was fine with her. We went out last week and she kept up pretty well. But then I took her out the next day. She did great until we were about a mile and a half into it and then she started putting on the brakes. I encouraged her along for a bit. She seemed to be okay except for the little hobble in her steps. I didn't want to hurt her, so I turned back.

I waited two days. Surely her little pads on her feet were healed. They looked normal to me!

She seemed excited to go this morning, so I laced up my shoes and off we went on the pine-lined trail out my backyard. After one hundred yards, she put on the full stop, digging in her heels. I slowed for her, hoping she'd do her business or smell something spectacular, but she didn't. She stared me down as if saying, "How dare you make me do this again!" She's a toy fox terrier with a mind of her own and I knew she was just being stubborn. She's young--not even two--and she's been out on a 12 mile hike before, blazing the trail ahead of us. A tiny five mile jog shouldn't be too tough. She was just being a baby. So I pulled her onward, seriously, encouraging her the whole way. But she trailed behind me, pulling back as hard as she could.

After 2 and a half miles of this, I couldn't do it to her anymore. So I turned around. She'd won. I felt really guilty that she'd been so out of shape, that I'd pushed her way too hard, that I was the model citizen for the cruelty to animals poster. I was ready to walk back and even hold her if I had to, when she bolted ahead, tongue hanging out of her mouth. Then she proceeded to drag ME the whole two and a half miles home!

Was she out of shape? No way. I had a heart attack keeping up with her. Was she being lazy. Maybe.

Is she smart? You be the judge.

I decided to give up. She's a trail dog but not a runner. I'm okay with that. At least she's still cute and I love her anyway. I can always borrow a big dog from one of my neighbors if I want canine companionship on my runs.

A Decade of Rejection...

2010-01-01T12:08:00.000-08:00

Every year, I turnover the Inksplaaat part of my website and start fresh for the new year. This time I realized it's been a decade since I started tabulating my rejections and wow, what a difference ten years make. I decided to encapsulate what happened in this list:

1. Received 164 rejections! That proves you need to persevere in this biz if you want to see a book published!

2. Sold nine print book manuscripts. I dabbled in e-books at first when Jean Chalopin, creator of Inspector Gadget, emailed me and asked if I would take a chance with his company. E-books didn't work out back then, but I learned a lot about writing. It took six years to see that first print book contract. Lots of years of perseverence!

3. At the end of the decade, I finally found an agent. Yes, I was published and agents still said no. I was very close with many, but things somehow didn't work out. And I'm glad. I needed someone passionate about all my work. Since I'm a picture book author, an agent has to represent it all and there aren't many out there willing to do that. They all want YA these days. I am writing YA now, but my earlier work has been middle grade and under. Agents don't see many $$$ when it comes to younger books. I'm glad my agent is taking a chance on me.

4. I am a full-time writer. When I started this journey, I had one goal that needed to be accomplished or I'd eventually have to quit. And let me say, at first, it looked BLEAK for me to make any money at this as a bonafide J-O-B. As of now, it's looking like I'll be able to stay home and write. I have four kids and the first one is about to go to college. College is a $$$ black hole. If writing didn't come through, I'd have to go back to teaching. At this point, things are working out, although we'll see if it holds up. I may still have to go back when the three oldest are in college at once. Eek!

5. God sent me on this journey. In 2000, I remember being so depressed about writing, I was definitely GOING to give it up. I'd received so many rejections, I couldn't take it anymore. Seriously. Rejection is hard! I'd even obsessed over it to make myself feel better, saving every rejection letter, perusing every rejection website, and creating my own rejection website because I had to journal my story to keep me sane. One day as I stooped over the 15th rejection from Highlights for Children, I cried and cried, wailing, "That's it! I'm done." But then an overwhelming glow washed over me and I felt in my spirit a voice saying, "It's going to turn out better than you expected."

I knew it was God speaking.

It wasn't an audible voice, but it was real. He was telling me to persevere. If things actually happen the way it looks like it could with my books, I will shout it to the rooftops that His word came true. Already, my books have surpassed my dreams. I praise you, Lord! Thanks for helping me stay the course!

So now, we venture into the new decade. I have many hopes and dreams and I know with God all things are possible.

May your next decade be full of fabulous, dear friends!

Snow Bunnies and some specs to die for!

2009-12-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

What do teenagers do when the sky dumps a foot of snow on their house?

Build a snowman?

Go sledding?

Snowball wars?

No.

They model!

I got up in the morning thinking the girls would be bustling about trying to find all their ski gear to go sledding down the street. When I entered their room, they were busy curling my 8 year old's hair. She smiled real big and said, "We're gong to have a modeling session, Mommy!"

Well, at least they had fun. Here's some pics of the "session":

All that snow puts me into the Christmas mood! I had a google alert the other day for some interesting specs. If you're getting Princess Peepers for a princess on your Christmas list, you may consider choosing from some really unique eyewear to go along with the book. Here's a fun one I found that I can't wait to get:

These are butterfly glasses--Princess Peepers wears some in the book AND they're made out of her favorite colors! They come from Dr. Peepers for only $7.99!

Another favorite pair of mine are from Dr. Peepers too:

My daughter has a great time with them.

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

Last night, my daughter had a Christmas party. She was dreaming about it for weeks and it seemed like it was going to be spectacular. We prepared and decorated and couldn't wait for all the 8 year olds to swarm the house!

Here's some pics of the preparation!

(My daughter loves to cut cheese! HA!)

To the right is the place where the kids would create Christmas ornaments and decorate cupcakes.

I think we're ready!

Now, if you notice in the background, the clouds are looking a bit stormy...and the trees are still evergreen...

Yep! A huge snowstorm hit shortly after this picture was taken. So, only TWO children braved the storm to come.

But THEY HAD FUN!!!

To fully appreciate what the girls braved last night, this is what the outside looked like this morning:

No school today!

Now where did I put my piles of coal, carrot stick, and magic hat...

Princess Peepers Recipe!

2009-11-16T08:26:00.001-08:00

Check out this scrumptious recipe fit for little hands. It's written by dietitian and author, Mary Ann Dames: Princess Peepers Party Glasses

Can't wait to try this myself! I'll post the pics when my little princess and I are done. :-)

What a Turnout!

2009-11-14T11:06:00.001-08:00

When I headed over to Modesto last night, I was praying there would at least be five children there. I have this fear of crickets playing as I'm sitting at a signing table, twiddling my thumbs in a huge Barnes and Noble. People might squint at Princess Peepers, make a quick smile, then slide away so I won't force them to buy my books.

Well, that nightmare didn't happen! Thank God!

I knew things might be going well when I approached the store. I could see the bright children's center teeming with kids. I couldn't believe it!

Most of them were wearing sparkly specs and adoring eyes for their favorite book, Princess Peepers. It brought tears to my eyes. A dream come true. Really. I never imagined children would want to see me read a book that I wrote. It's something I'd hope would happen one day, but never allowed myself to believe it.

Now I've been a children's author for a while. I've done school visits. I've had book launches with children lining up to get my autograph. But this time it was different. Maybe it was the place or the children or the book. I don't know...

When I was finished with the reading, it was time to sign. The children crowded around and it seemed like forever until they cleared out enough for there to be a real line.

What fun!

If you're reading this and wishing it could happen to you one day, I'm here to say it can. Your dreams can come true. It just takes perseverance! Princess Peepers was rejected 13 times before Marshall Cavendish picked it up. Thirteen! And I'd submitted it for over two years. I'd actually almost given up on it until a friend told me to send it to her publisher.

I want to say thank you to the children of Our Lady Fatima school who made me feel very special last night!

HUGS TO ALL!

Oh, and one more thing...check out THE BOOTS!!!! YES! I broke down and got them last week...tee hee! ------->

Book Signing!

2009-11-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

I'll be in Modesto, CA tonight at the Barnes and Noble on McHenry Avenue, doing a book signing and reading for Our Lady Fatima school students. They will be wearing their royal peepers and far out wacky specs in celebration of Princess Peepers and their book fair!

I'll post pictures tomorrow.

If you happen to be in the area, stop by!

I love being a picture book author!!!

2009-11-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

I just got in the new sketches for Princess Peepers Picks a Pet! Oh MY!!! Peeper's pet is ADORABLE and Peepers' face when she discovers this pet...well...I want to say I have THE most talented illustrator! I wish I could give you a sneak peep! But since the book won't be out for at least a year, I can't...sigh...

But know that all you PP fans out there will want to wrap your arms around the book because I do and it's not even finished. HA! (And no...the horse to the left is NOT Peepers' pet. That is too normal for my unique princess!)

Fans...for all my books! Wee!!!

2009-11-04T15:21:00.000-08:00

Today was a great mail day. After the events of the past week, I really needed some cheering up and that happened with a 10 x 13 manila envelope! In it was a whole class full of letters, each saying which of my books were their favorites. I've never had this happen before. Usually, I get letters about my latest book, but this class read all of my books at once and then chose. Way cool!

Which book won their heart? Well, since I LOVE statistics, this is how it played out:

Okay...to be FAIR, there were 13 boys and 7 girls...and you KNOW that little boys are NEVER going to say they love Princess Peepers (I mean, with all that glitter and pink? No...not gonna happen.) So, really there isn't a clear winner because each of my books appeal to a different sex. And that was so true in the voting!

That said, this is how it played out amongst the gender differences:

Multiplying Menace came in as the ClEAR winner among the boys. Ten votes! They seemed to like the multiplication, the king getting his nose multiplied, and Rumpelstiltskin getting his in the end. There was one little boy who really liked the Rumpelstiltskin! HA!

Mystery at the Ballpark got three votes--all boys. Most of them loved the humor, that it was a mystery, and yes, because they love baseball!

Princess Peepers was the CLEAR favorite among the girls. It got 6 out of 7 votes! They all loved the happy ending, the humor, and it had a princess in it who wore "glasses that matched her dress" in the end. That's what it's all about, people!

Multiplying Menace got one vote among the girls. This girl touched me because I loved how artistic she was. Here's a picture of her letter--don't you dig the six noses? I also really liked her fancy script.

Yay for kids who love books (and those teachers who encourage them)! They really warm my heart.

Peanut Butter Bread Mold??? NO! It's PiBoIdMo!!!

2009-11-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

What's that???

Well, it's the picture book author's valiant attempt to get rid of the greenies during the month of November. You know what I'm talking about--those novelist-who-get-to-do-everything-fun-in-November blues always hit this time of year. When NaNoWriMo happens and you only write pb's? Well...yeah, I know you...

Anyway, here's your antidote for those blues right now!!! It's PiBoIdMo!!! In order to play, all you need to do is come up with ONE picture book idea each day for the month of November. By the end of it, you'll have THIRTY ideas to choose from to develop throughout the year! If you'd like some inspiration, just go to Tara Lazar's blog here: TARA THE STAR!!!

Here's to some FAB picture books happening! Cheers!!

A Sorrowful Day...

2009-10-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

With woeful regret I report to you that my mother-in-law passed to be with God today. As I posted earlier, she was much beloved by all her family, including her two daughters-in-law and son-in-law. She really had been doing so well and yesterday was her best yet. She was breathing very well and was so strong, visiting with friends. But this morning, she fainted and never recovered. After she was admitted to the hospital, she was gone. I know she didn't like going to the hospital. God was being gracious to her. She was peaceful.

We shared something together that was very special. She loved to write! Here is a poem that I think she would love for me to share. She wrote it in 1993--the year my sixteen year old daughter was born.

I am human
I want to transcend
And yet that is not me
I transcend the flesh with power from on high
A power which eludes me unless I am bonded with this force
Each moment, each day, each year
Jesus cries out--latch on, give up
I will carry you--your thoughts--your desires can be mine
Desert the earthly, come up high with me
Move about below, but live on high with me

She is living on high with Him and she showed me this whenever I was around her.

Live on high, Kay. Live on high!

All I Want for Christmas...

2009-10-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Are these BOOTS!!!

I went to DSW for the first time ever--if you haven't been, DON'T!!! You'll save a lot of money...

I have a hard time even finding boots that fit because I have exceptionally...um...well, I'll say it...LARGE calves and nothing ever fits. I haven't worn boots like this since the go go's in the 70's. (And I was 10). So, can you imagine my DELIGHT when I tried these on? They FIT!!! But they were a bit pricey and I had a friend with me who is my conscious. She said, "Oh, you can get those back home if you want." A DSW at home is about 45 minutes away from me. We were in Denver at the time.

And guess what? I can't find these boots. And they're about $50 more expensive online...

Sigh...maybe I should start believing in Santa Clause now and I'll get them by Christmas. Tee hee!

A Pixie of a Peepers fan...

2009-10-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Isn't she darling? She's so small, her little glasses are basically wrapped around her tiny head, but look! Princess Peepers wears them happily and so is she!

It's seeing a smile on a child's face, reading my book that make writing books a dream come true.

Thank you, God, for these precious ones!

May I See the King?

2009-10-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

May I See The King?

I was so glad to receive this book in the mail yesterday! It's by a new team of picture book authors, Vince and Julie Daubenspeck. This is a beautifully rendered take on the age old Humpty Dumpty story but with a twist that is sure to touch your heart as well as the heart of a child. The bright vivid images of Mark Pendergrass goes along perfectly with the whimsical tale. The Daubenspecks do a fabulous job of using words sparingly with a large amount of impact. The meter is perfect: "But Humpty Dumpty prayed a great thing. He humbly asked, 'May I see the king?' "

I'm so thankful to have this treasure of a book in my library!!!

Looking for New Books to Read!

2009-09-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

I'm about done with all of my new books from fellow online authors I know...has anyone read anything lately that is a MUST READ that's been published in the last two years? Don't worry if you think I've read it, just share.

I'm desperate!

Princess Peepers Coming to Scholastic Book Clubs!

2009-09-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

For all of you who haven't had a chance to get Princess Peepers yet, it's coming out in paperback through Scholastic Book Clubs next month in the Seesaw pages...that's for the Kindergarten/1st grade set.

If your school doesn't get Scholastic Book Club order forms, here's the link: Princess Peepers on pg 4

Happy first day of Fall!

My Beautiful MIL

2009-09-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

Over the Labor Day holiday, my family and I flew to the Hill country in Texas to meet up with my hubby's family at a fun dude ranch resort. My mother-in-law received news this summer that she has CUP--cancer of unknown primary and it's hit her very hard and quickly. She wanted us to surround her with love as she goes through...well, how should I describe it...all I can call it is hell. Chemo has taken a very strong woman and turned her into a tiny weak kitten. But she kept up with all of us remarkably well--even staying up until 11:45 at night playing Apples to Apples.

I've been very blessed to have her as my mother-in-law. Her sharing with me and treating me as a friend when I was dating her son gave us a great start for our relationship throughout my 20 year marriage. She also was the one to invite me to her Bible study group where I felt Jesus wrap His arms around me in nonjudgemental love and I accepted Him.

I owe her my wonderful life.

And so it's been hard to think that her life may be taken away ubruptly. She's only 67.

I'm holding out for a miracle.

Grand Magazine!

2009-08-25T10:29:00.001-07:00

Princess Peepers made Grand Magazine this week! What a welcome semi-late birthday present. If you're a grandparent, check out this very informative website (or tell a grandparent you know about it). Also, look up some of the other books highlighted over the weeks.

Here's the article if you're interested: Princess Peepers on Grand

More Conversations with an 8 Year Old

2009-07-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

So, I was following my daily regimen of dabbing lotion on my face. Ahem...well, it was a particular KIND of ointment:

My 8 year old daughter walks in and eyes my activity. Then says abruptly, "That's to get rid of your wrinkles, right?"

I look rather sheepisly at my botox-in-a-bottle and say, "Uh...yeah..."

She shakes her head and says, "Too bad they lie to you like that." She throws her hands up in the air. "They just LIE!" Then she turns on her heels and leaves me with my lie-in-a-bottle.

Sigh...

Tee hee!

A Conversation with Two 8 Year Olds

2009-07-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was driving home with my youngest daughter and her VBF (very best friend). This was their conversation. My daughter is C and her friend is H.

H: Do you know how old Barbie is?

C: Um....29?

H: NO! FIFTY!

C: OMG!!! How does she look so young?

H: I don't know...it's creepy!

C: What the heck is with that name anyway? Barbie. It's so weird.

H: Yeah...

So, when we got home, I showed them the REAL Barbie:

My daughter looked at the picture and said, "Makes sense to me!" and skipped out of my room. Tee hee!

A Whole School of Royal Peepers!

2009-07-11T09:17:00.001-07:00

This Canadian school loved Princess Peepers SO much, they gathered all their royalty who wear glasses for a pic with one of their favorite books! It brought tears to my eyes to see all of them. In fact, the one boy who is holding the book JUST got a pair of glasses a few days ago and wasn't sure if it was "cool". But now he knows it's the coolest thing in school!

Thank you, librarians and teachers, for bringing this book to your students and helping them with their self esteem. I feel honored to see their bright faces and especially, their royal peepers!

What a Beautiful Princess!

2009-07-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

I opened my email today to find this lovely lady! And one of her favorite books. ;-D Isn't she cute? She's the daughter of my very talented blog designer.

I'll be adding her beautiful picture to Princess Peepers' Glamour Gallery!

Looking at this little princess reminded me of when I was about her age. I used to wear glasses that looked almost exactly like those. I remember my mother clipping on a black eye patch and I was always trying to see around it. Since I'd get teased so much, I gave up wearing it. My bad eye isn't correctable now and I only truly see out of my left eye. I guess I had amblyopia. There's a blog about this disorder with many pics of the beautiful children and their amazing patches! Long gone are the days of the black plastic clip on patches!

If your child is struggling with "lazy eye"and their patch, you can get many ideas on how to cope. Just pop on over to Adventures in Amblyopia.

If you have a picture of your child with their patch, I'd love to add them to the Peepers Glamour Gallery. All are welcome!

Found a Friend's book today!

2009-06-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

I love shopping at my local indie bookstore. They always have the best books in stock and today was no exception. Look what I found? One of my very special friend's book, Me With You, by Kristy Dempsey.

The story is a child's journey with her grandfather and how she is different from him but how they can share each other's special moments. I dare you not to get teared up by the ending! This would be a perfect book to give any child as a special gift!

And my daughter found another special book...she wanted it in the picture, too. ;-) If she looks like she's not smiling, it's because she just had a cavity filled and her lips weren't working. It was her idea to go to the bookstore. I wasn't going to say anything to the store owner about Princess Peepers, but she proudly went up to the counter and bragged. It's nice to have an instant fan around. Tee hee!

Pretty Pretty Princess!

2009-06-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

Here's another pretty Princess Peepers! I love getting pictures of princesses wearing glasses! If you'd like me to post your pretty princess, just send me a jpeg of your little darling and I'll post her right here as well as on my Glamour Gallery on my website. Here's a link to that page: Princess Peepers Glamour Gallery. You may email me at pam@pamcalvert.com

I must have your permission to post so don't forget to let me know!

I also love getting fan letters. Recently, a mother told me that her child received an award for reading from her librarian. Since she's the only kindergartener who wears glasses, they decided to put a dedication to her in a Princess Peepers book in the library. It was a special honor for the little girl and I feel honored to know about her!

New Blog Design!!!

2009-06-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Becky Bilby of Busy Mama Blog Design for creating this fabulous blog-revamp. And boy, did it need revamping!

If you want Becky to custom design a blog for you, just hop on over to her site and see what she can do! She has an amazing portfolio and will do whatever your style is! I just happened to want big princessy designs in a nod to Princess Peepers and my other fairytales.

Click on my name to go to her website!

Little Girls, Big Smiles!

2009-05-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

I'm amazed every time I open my mail and see a sweet face who is wearing glasses and loves being Princess Peepers. Here's one! Isn't she cute?

Recently, I was told about a beautiful story where a poor family came into an independent bookstore and the daughter was wearing glasses. She immediately went to Princess Peepers and wanted it. Unfortunately, the family could not afford the book. So, the gracious owners gave her the book! Two weeks later, the family came back to the store. The little girl was cradling the book as she always does. The family wanted to thank them. It's her very favorite!

Of course, we're sending that store a copy! And I'm very thankful that the book means that much to some little girls' self esteem. 8-D

Happy Spring!

Pam 8-D

Princess Peepers Nominated!

2008-10-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to announce that Princess Peepers was nominated for the Cybils 2008 Award: Fiction Picture book category. This is a list of the best picture books released in 2008 that not only encompasses literary merit but lots of parent and kid appeal. The Cybils Awards were formed after some frustration with traditional awards in the children's publishing realm that seemed to forget kid-appeal as a redeeming quality. That left out many humorous books, such as the kind I write! :-) So, I'm very thankful to be on the list with lots of other wonderful picture books.

The next step is a board of children's literature aficionados from the blogging world will read all of the nominations and will whittle them down to about 5 to 7 worthy offerings. Then they will choose the winner!

I'm also pleased to report that Princess Peepers was chosen as a Picture Book of the Day by Anastasia Suen. She gives teachers a few educational tips when reading Princess Peepers in the classroom. Check it out! Princess Peepers: Picture Book of the Day

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Pam

Princess Peepers Helping Princesses!

2008-09-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

In 2003, I got a frantic email from a mother whose 6 year old daughter refused to wear glasses because princesses don't. She asked if I knew if there was a book about princesses wearing glasses and if I didn't, would I write one. I couldn't believe there weren't any princesses with glasses out there, but once I started thinking about it, I felt she might be right. So, I searched the internet, bookstores, and libraries and found nothing. In fact, there were hardly any books about kids wearing glasses.

And so Princess Peepers was born...

When I set out to write the book, I knew all too well what wearing glasses did to your self esteem. I was a little girl who wore glasses and remembered the teasing I suffered as a child. Maybe the comments weren't always there, but somewhere deep inside, I didn't like myself because I was different.

Here's my little spectacled self at age 9:

Now that the book is out, there are a lot of people searching the internet for a princess who wears glasses and they find my website. I think they've always been searching for a book like this, but never found it. I think that's sad. And it says something about our society.

I've been amazed at how many people search about this problem. I've found blogs from mothers and fathers who have wondered why there aren't princesses with glasses. In fact, one father, who is a radio host, implored Disney to create one princess who wore glasses to help his little girl's self esteem. Other stories are heartbreaking. Some parents have little girls with horrible scarring from eye surgeries, patching, and near-blindness and yet, these girls are yearning to look and feel like a princess! As they should!

I'm happy to say some girls are hearing about the book. I got a note from Scotland the other day from a very thankful mom with a three year old princess who has to wear glasses. I hope the book helps her self esteem. I really do.

Here's a link to a blog from a mother with a princess who has to wear a patch. I was thankful to read it! Princesses DO Wear Glasses!!!! And Patches, too.

If you know about any princesses who need glasses, please let them know there is one princess who understands. :-)

And one author...

PRINCESS PEEPERS is here!

2008-09-02T16:59:00.001-07:00

I've been out of town this weekend, but I woke up to some amazing soup that Jama Rattigan ( ) whipped up in honor of Princess Peepers! If you want to taste, go here: Princess Soup! Thank you, Jama!!!! If you'd like to order a book, support your local independent bookstore: Indiebound

To celebrate my little princess' birth, I want to offer this sparkly gift:

The bag is filled with all things sweet little princesses need to get through their day whether they're 5 or 50! (There might be some Starbucks and bookshop gift certificates in there, too!) Plus a signed copy will be included. I'm also offering two more signed books. What will you need to do to play? Just post a blog about my little princess. The most creative will win the gift bag/signed copy and I will put all other blogs in the raffle for two signed books.

Just post here that you want to play. Blog posts are due by next Monday, September 15th. Email me to say when it's up at pam (at) pamcalvert.com

Have a Royally Sparkly Day!

Quickie Interview of Princess Peepers!

2008-08-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Oh...I love the new look of Susan Meyers' blog, Thoughts and Ramblings. And she's posted a quickie interview for Princess Peepers. Yay! Thanks, Susan!

Kirkus Review!

2008-08-17T12:45:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited! I woke up this morning to an awesome review in Kirkus for Princess Peepers!

"Calvert's tale of a bespectacled princess's rocky road to self-acceptance is rollicking good fun. Princess Peepers adores her plethora of eyewear, with what seems to be a pair of glasses for every occasion. However, when she attends the Royal Academy she is astonished to discover her spectacles are far from au courant. In a misguided attempt to satisfy others' expectations and fit in, she doffs her lenses. While the ensuing mishaps are appropriately silly and lighthearted, they do not conceal the compelling message that being true to one's self paves the road to happiness. Mourning's mixed-media illustrations of graphite and digital/collage present an intriguing blend of texture and color. Readers are bound to relish the interplay between what the text describes and the reality of the illustrations as Princess Peepers stumbles about sans specs. The ironic denouement is bound to please princess fans and their practical parents alike."

Hooray!!! Since I write humor (mostly), having someone say one of my books is rollicking good fun is a dream come true! YES! And they GOT my book. A reviewer actually understood it! Oh, I'm crying tears of joy!

Check it out!

2008-03-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

I just got an email from the blog author of Miss Rumphius Effect and Open Wide, Look Inside. She teaches elementary math pedagogy--they are studying how to bring math literature into the classroom and each chose a favorite title and guess what? One of her students chose Multiplying Menace. Here's the podcast if you're interested: Podcast

In Princess news, my illustrator, Tuesday Mourning, was interviewed on a Style show and believe it or not, that is not her real name! HA! Check out the short clip and see if you can find Princess Peepers cover (I haven't revealed it yet--you've only seen the title page.) If you're curious, check it out here (click on "watch video" to the upper right of the screen) : Tuesday Mourning on STYLE

If you haven't seen the title page of Princess Peepers (without the title, but you can imagine where it will go! LOL!), just click below:

http://tmourning.blogspot.com/2007/10/sneak-peep.html

The First Snow: Don Tate

2007-10-21T14:18:00.001-07:00

When the call went out across the kidlit-blogosphere to highlight Robert's Snow for Cancer Cure Snowflakes, I couldn't wait to put my blog into the ring. After all, I'd witnessed the marvelous talent of several years of snowflakes. I knew whomever I'd get to highlight would be brilliant.

I was right.

As promised yesterday, I am very honored to introduce the immensely talented illustrator, Don Tate! (And he's talented in more ways than one--did you know he was an award winning, drug-free BODYBUILDER??? Wow! If you're kind of nosy like me, you can see his award winning, ahem, body here: bodybuilding) I chose him because I'm an avid reader/fan of his blog, Devas T. Rants and Raves ! I'm one of those wish-I-coulda-been-an-illustrator-but-doggone-it-I-got-no-talent types, so I read lots of illustrator blogs who show how they work. And Don's work amazes me!

As an illustrator of over twenty-five trade and educational books, Don's bold style and deft writing has won him many honors, including, most recently, Lee & Low Books New Voices Honor for a picture book biography that will be coming out in the Fall of 2009.

When I asked him why he wanted to participate in this campaign to rid the world of cancer, he said he understood what it feels like to watch a family member go through a harrowing disease. His two nieces were born with sickle cell anemia--a painful inherited blood disorder that affects mainly African Americans. "Two years ago, one of my nieces underwent a bone marrow transplant which eventually cured her of the disease. It was very expensive, but my family — especially my mother — did a lot of fundraising. Between family contributions and fundraising campaigns, enough money was raised for the procedure. My contribution was small, but collectively, the money added up. Great things can happen when individuals ban together and put their talents to work for them. I feel the same way about the Robert's Snow fundraiser."

And so, here is his snowflake entitled, "You'd better duck!"

Remembering the winter fun he'd had as a kid in his Des Moines, Iowa neighborhood, his design choice was simple. "We took our snowball fights seriously. If you didn't duck, you'd get decked."
Now, if you're like me and you want to witness genius in action, go to his blog to see how he made this snowflake masterpiece: Painting the Snowflake

Wondering where Don's amazing talent comes from? He actually inherited it from his aunt, Eleanora E. Tate, who is a writer of young adult novels. She inspired him to illustrate one of her books entitled, RETOLD AFRICAN MYTHS and he fell in love with children's illustration. Don went on to illustrate his first trade picture book, SAY HEY! A SONG OF WILLIE MAYS by Peter Mandel. "I was honored and excited to work with Andrea Pinkney, then a senior editor at Jump At the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children. I'd been a huge fan of Andrea and Brian Pinkney's works, so getting a chance to work with her was a dream come true."

Some of his other books include, SURE AS SUNRISE (Houghton Mifflin 2004), BLACK ALL AROUND (Lee & Low, 2002), THE HIDDEN FEAST (August House, 2006), and THE LEGEND OF VALENTINE (Zondervan, 2002), which is a Christian Bookseller Association best seller!

If you'd like to own "You'd Better Duck" by this award winning illustrator, the bidding starts on November 19th: Robert's Snow for Cancer Cure Auction.

Oh, and please visit the other blogs today that are highlighting snowflakes. Here's the schedule:

Rick Chrustowski at laurasalas
Diane DeGroat at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup
Ilene Richard at Something Different Every Day
Brie Spangler at Lectitans

Let it SNOW!

My day...

2006-12-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

Meg asked me to come have lunch with her and to see her "in action" and oh, btw, why not read your book to our whole first grade class! HA! We had so much fun and I was sent home with a bundle (80) thank you letters. There's nothing sweeter!

I wanted to share a little of Meg's life with these pics:

Meg and me! (Notice those wonderful winter scenes behind us!!! Meg's so creative with her class!!!)

This is the left hand corner of Meg's first grade classroom. There's the "author" chair where I read the story.

Here's Meg at her desk. Isn't she so organized? You should have seen her students--they were all very respectful and full of joy. They love her! AND she writes thousands of words on her novel a day. She's a superwoman!!!

Thanks, Meg
bluemalibu
for letting me see your kids!!!!

YAY!! Miracles DO happen!

2006-11-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

I just got an offer for my Princess picture book by Marshall Cavendish. I'm in heaven...

Thank you,
bluemalibu for giving me a recommendation. Many kisses and heartfelt thanks!!!!

Go! Jo! JoNo Mojo!

2006-10-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was wondering, "What's up with this JoNoWrimo stuff?" and then Liz set me straight. I joined! Yay! Thanks, jadedmetaphor !

My goals are: 1. To finish the revision of my current novel.

2. Pray.

3. To start on my brand new novel WIP.

Hmm...do I need better objectives? Okay, to write the synopsis and chapter by chapter outline AND start my new WIP. How's that? I've already done a character chart, but I'll revise that since I've brainstormed more stuff. This will be a girl mg novel--quite a change from my current wip. It was going to be paranormal/portal-ish, but it's turned into an interesting contemporary preteen something-that-I-can't-reveal as yet. I can't wait to get started.

Almost finished the new chapter and another has emerged. HA! I knew that would happen, but more is good for this book. Very happy about today.

Innovative Kids

2006-09-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

I just got a copy of the first mystery of Clue School--the series that I'm writing and I must say that I'm so impressed with the quality of the book. It is an easy reader (for grades 2nd and 3rd) and attached is a 64 piece puzzle. My 10 year old son LOVES it because it is a fun mystery and the puzzle is hard enough to challenge him. He hasn't read my mystery yet (I worked on several versions of two books) so I'm going to surprise him with it.

My five year old daughter said, glumly, "Mom, I want you to buy me the one you wrote for MY AGE!" Tee hee. Um, well, I had to tell her my books aren't for her age. She wasn't happy about that. There are some puzzle easy readers by them for her age so I'm going to get them. They make great presents. And FYI, this is not an ad for my books. It's work-for-hire for me, so I don't make royalties off of them. I'm just thoroughly impressed. :-D

Funny stuff!

2006-08-22T23:32:00.000-07:00

That Heritage thingie is hilarious. Heritage.com
I've put in about three pics of myself and others and the ranges are laughable, but the closest match is always Kim Cattrall for me (although on my best day, I couldn't look like her, but one can dream...)

Now, the funny thing was one pic with me and my daughter came up with me being Beyonce and my little one was Mariah Carrey. HA!

The Big 4-0

2006-08-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a bittersweet day.

I did okay in the triathlon this morning but because I'm now in the master's division...

I WON! (Well, in the master's division that is...heh...)

And my sweet new neighbors gave me a surprise birthday party complete with a HOMEMADE cake with *gasp* 40 candles on it. It took forever to blow the durn things out. AND the doorbell rang, showering me with a dozen roses (from sweet hubby) AND my wonderful kids treated me to breakfast (they had made) when I'd shuffled home from the race. Sigh...it's been a great birthday. Too bad I'M FORTY! Wah...

I don't know if any of you are forty (all of you seem like sweet young 20-somethings) but it's kind of depressing. I don't quite understand it, but everyone's been really great about making me feel special so I won't grumble about it anymore. :-D

Whew!

2006-08-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

I'm finally done with the first mystery and it has been approved. Editor even said the illustrator has done a mock up of the cover and said this book is gonna be "awesome". Hooray for that!

They're giving me a break for a few months (hooray for that, too), so I don't have to worry about writing more right now. That's great news for me since I REALLY don't have time. I'm still settling in and getting the kids transitioned PLUS I've got that novel revision the agent is waiting on (I'm sure she's totally forgotten, but I haven't. Tee hee!)

In more good news, I'm going to get to meet beachalatte! Wee!

Lovin' California already!

2006-08-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Wow. What a difference a week makes. The transition/trip to California was hard, toting four kids, a dog and a cat via the floods in El Paso (yes, we just so happened to hit El Paso just as they closed the roads for the worst flood in 50 years) and surviving the WORST pet friendly military assigned "motel" in my experience (in military-ese, we call them a TLF--temporary living facility). Oh, would you like a tour? Come with me to the motel of your dreams...

A used tampon greeted us at the door. :-P

The lovely stuffing of the pristine couch.

The beautiful cabinets complete with pet scratches for added artistic touch!

Tired of straight shelves? Broken ones for your family's pleasure.

Burnt sienna stains for added ambiance.

Who needs working shades anyway?

Bonus carpet stains with a splash of ode de pet urine (instead of splash, make that a tidal wave).

I realize that my base house can't compare, but I'm truly elated to be out of there for some weird reason...

California schools are awesome and I'm settling in quite well. I was going to homeschool my high functioning autistic son, but talking with the school officials, I know he'll get the best services. They have a perfect class for him--it's a combination 4th/5th grade classroom with a teacher that has a special ed. background. Wow.

AND I even have TWO neighbors who run eight miles a day for kicks plus come over to invite me to do jumping jacks, weights, and squats at their house three days a week. I think I like this place. WEE!!!!

Author plogging...

2006-06-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

Entering the realm of the author plog--what fun!

Check it out!

LOL!

2006-05-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Found this on Snark today:

Little Rejection Video

Jobs, jobs, jobs!!

2006-05-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Wow.

You know, I've sat here many a month with nothing. No one and nobody emailed or even asked, but here I am with tight deadlines, and I have yet another company asking me to write some fun stuff for them. (This is that comic book company I tried out for last fall.) If I wasn't moving, I'd be kicking up my heels! This is great money, too. URGH!!

I will have to pray about this. Hubby says I can always write and boost my resume, but they need a wife and mommy now--two months before our big move. (Being a mommy IS the best job in the world.)

I guess I'll be sending myself a rejection.

Adventure Race!

2006-05-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some photos of last weekend's adventure race. I had the priveledge of being the captain of Team Perseverance--an all ladies team! We had such a blast and let me say this--we were tough! We beat out about 26 other men's teams (all were in the Air Force, so this was no small feat!) I was so proud of the comaradarie. Second to none--I know. I had been on all guy teams before. :-D

Here, we've just finished. Four members did the last leg of the raft.

Team Perseverance--That's me, sixth from the left (or third from the right). My team!!!

We're running to the finish! Whoopie!

Our shirts had a verse on it that was most fitting:

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Hebrews 12:1

Cute stuff...

2006-05-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

My little daughter helped me with this.

Leaving for TLA tomorrow

2006-04-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited and busy. I'm leaving for Houston tomorrow, driving almost seven hours. On Thursday, I'll be doing my very first large school visit. I'll be speaking to three groups of 150 kids. I've finished my power point presentation, now I just hope it all works and comes together. Not sure if I'll have any pictures to share but my sis-in-law likes taking them, so maybe.

On Friday, I'll be meeting with Randi Rivers and catching up. That will be fun. I haven't seen her since the Chautauqua retreat in 2004. She was a blast to hang around. After that, I'll be signing from 11-12. I really don't know what to expect. It's at the end of the conference so maybe there will only be crickets chirping as I twiddle my thumbs. I asked for this slot since I'd originally thought my family could spend the weekend there with my brother's family but my kids have other plans (the life of teens!) So, this might have been a dumb idea.

Anyone have any experience about these things? I've never been to one. I will try to peruse as many booths as I can. If I learn anything new, I'll certainly post it here. Randi should be telling me more about their new Bridge book line.

My illustrator...

2006-04-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

As I was talking with my editor yesterday, she told me that Wayne Geehan was probably going to illustrate all of my books. They like to "marry" an author with an illustrator if the team works. I was delighted as his illustrations are very funny and he's good at fairytales. All of my books are fractured fairytales.

This morning, I found a Google Alert that showed me he has a website. I love looking at his work. Here it is:

http://www.waynegeehan.com

I finally got to thank him as I've wanted to for the past two years. :-)

A Breakthrough...

2006-04-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

After months and months of writer's block (and brainstorming), I finally started my new mg weird, contemporary fantasy! HOORAY! It's the first novel I've started since I began my second novel over FIVE years ago. I will NOT be doing that this time. It better not take me five years to complete it. Uga.
After I write five chapters, I'll start using the WIP-O-METER. (It's disheartening to see micrometers of progress on that thing right now.)

I feel good. Take THAT rejections!

Happy Easter!

2006-04-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

In Isaiah of the Old Testament, he writes 700 years before Jesus' birth:

"But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us
peace was upon him,
and by his wonds we are healed...

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Isaiah 53:5-6

"After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and
be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous
servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities."

Isaiah 53:11

May all Christians delight in Him who was prophesied about so many years ago.

I leave you with His words of peace:

"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

---Jesus

Busy...

2006-04-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

I just found out that I have been picked to write a series of read-aloud stories for an educational company. The assignment is to write 12 to 20 read alouds in 6 weeks.

Yikes!

I can't believe this has happened, really. I've tried out for FIVE of these types of jobs and each time, I wasn't chosen. REJECTION! WAH! But luckily, I didn't give up. If I heard of a job opening, I always sent my resume and tried out. Because of this, I had samples that fit perfectly for this company, so it wasn't a waste of time like I'd thought when reading those horrible rejections in my in-box. Tee hee!

But beware what you wish for! After I received the email from the ed, I panicked. Do I really have time for this? I'm in the middle of an agent search (which takes time), it's almost the end of the 6 weeks and I have HUNDREDS of papers still to grade (these are writing papers and take FOREVER), I teach a Bible study, and I'm helping direct our Vacation Bible School this year, NOT TO MENTION I have four children to mother AND I'm in the middle of brainstorming my WIP.

EEK!

But God is good. The ed emailed me and said the subject that he's thinking about giving me isn't finished and so, I'll get it later. Whew! Hopefully, I'll be caught up by then.

Setting the clock...

2006-04-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Okay...this rarely happens to me because hubby always takes care of this, but he's gone this weekend, SO, I wake up and get a ring from a friend. "Did you set your clock?"

"No."

"Did you know church is starting, like, NOW?"

"Aack!"

Luckily, I wasn't doing children's church. (Praise God!) And thank the Lord for late service. Tee hee! I may sleep in next week. That was nice!

Your catnip or your lives!

2006-04-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

Heh...heh...

And the winner is...

2006-03-31T19:18:00.000-08:00

The Castle Cant. Ohhhh, I'm LOVING it! I absolutely think the voice is incredible and the plot captivating. Tee hee! But then, I love mg fiction over YA since that's what I write...you guys might get bored with this stuff. Thanks to Amanda for suggesting it!

Went to the library...

2006-03-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

I'm revving up for my new WIP and I always do that by reading. Here are some books I found. I'm having trouble deciding what I want to read first:

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

The Secret of Castle Cant by K.P. Bath

Traitor by Andy Mc Nab and Robert Rigby

I've always wanted to read Funke but her voice is off putting depending on her translator.

Still waiting on the agent front. The crickets are getting louder and louder...sigh...

You KNOW you're a redneck when...

2006-03-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

You win third place in the Wild Hog Festival World Championship!
I got the belt buckle to prove it! *spit* Ding!

This is down-home Texas culture.

(I think I'd better move to CA...FAST!)

The above is a movie but it won't upload here. I'll try to put up pics later.

Take this kite and...

2006-03-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

I took off from writing yesterday to spend time with my 4 year old. It was out of guilt because she had told my hubby a few days ago that all I do is "play on the computer". So, my plan was to take her out to eat, go buy a kite, and spend the rest of the afternoon giggling in the wind. Ahem...I should have revised that dream into "crying in the wind." You guessed it, 30 seconds into the air, the kite dove for the tallest, branchiest tree in the field. (Yes, field! There weren't supposed to be any trees there!!!) As soon as Courtney figured it was stuck, she burst into tears. My heart broke.

What did she think of her day when I tucked her in last night? "It was horrible, Mommy. I think next time we should play on the computer."

So much for trying to spend some quality time with her...sigh...

For those of you thinking about doing the same thing--buy two kites!

We're moving to CA!!

2006-03-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

We got the official word that we are moving to CA. Hooray!! I can't WAIT to go to the SCBWI National conference. Too bad it won't be this year. I'll be moving right around that weekend. But I'll be there in 2007!

I also heard that the base houses are quite a bit bigger than what I'm in. Thank the Lord! Housing aside, I'm just ready to be around a metropolitan area. I'm a city girl, after all. I was raised in a suburb of Dallas and this desert remote area is very hard. There's just nothing to do except count rattlesnakes! At least I'm not scared of them anymore. HA! (I wonder if that's a good thing?)

Book Signing a Success!

2006-02-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share my pictures with you! The book event was such a success, I'm really overwhelmed. I love talking with children! There's nothing like a wide eyed surprise or a bubble of laughter to melt my heart. I can't wait to do another one!

Starting my talk

In this picture, I'm telling them how I started as an author. I'm about to do the science experiment that blows a balloon out of "my" head with a story. Tee hee!

Trying to amaze with my balloon story idea!

A little one has a question! (in red!)

reading!

The big kids are getting into it...

Nice bulletin board. :-)

Zap! You have SIX noses!!!

signing...whew!

Tee hee! It looks like no one is at the signing, but there were many children and we sold a lot of books! One thing I want to share is that you are under TREMENDOUS stress when you see a long line of people waiting on you to sign. In the middle of the signing, I realized I wasn't speaking to any of the children. I'd just sign and sign and sign. I wondered if they thought I was a stoney faced author who didn't love them! So, I decided to make an effort to look each one in the eye and say something to them before I signed. That made a huge difference. They beamed when I did this. Too bad I didn't realize it in the beginning. Sigh...

I made "Menace Mix"--a trail mix that was inhaled right down to the last peanut. I also served "Palace Punch". They loved it. I know you can't tell from the pictures, but I had a red elf hat with a yellow feather, much like Rumpelstiltskin's in the book. At the end of the reading, I had two children act out Rumpelstiltskin zapping a child's nose. He would say, "Nose times six!" and I popped a picture of the king's noses on the child. It was a hoot! Too bad it didn't come out very well in the picture.

You know, events such as these make me feel so blessed to even have the chance at becoming an author. It's a perk that I never dreamed about when I started this venture. What an amazing day! I praise you, Lord!

Eek!

2006-02-23T17:12:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is my very FIRST book signing and I've been fidgeting all day. I've got a new novel idea, and I started the character charts yesterday, but can't do anything today. Ugh! I'll post pics of the event tomorrow. Now if only I'd stop dreaming that I've lost all my pens or my hands have fallen off...

Cool blog...

2006-02-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

I love librarians and here's one who'd like to be snarky. Tee hee! She makes me laugh!

Fuse Number 8

Thanks goes to Linda Zinnen for sharing this on the blue board!

Weirdo alert! Tagged!

2006-02-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

Tagged by jengt!

Ground Rules: The first player of this "game" starts with the topic "5 weird habits of yours" and people who get tagged need to write a LJ entry about their 5 quirky habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 5 people to be tagged and list their names.

5 Weird Habits...

1. I HAVE to gulp down Rockstar Energy drink every day. Doesn't matter the time. AND people make fun of me for doing this, so I hide it in a nondescript cup. Urgh!

2. I check for gray hairs every single day and pick out a few that are getting out of control. This is a majorly DUMB habit because it just encourages more to sprout. URGH!

3. I have to run or bike almost every day, even when my foot is begging me to stop. DOUBLE URGH!

4. I have to play THE SIMS 2 on PS2. Can't help it. Love to escape and it helps me play with my teen girls.

5. I can't wait to check the mailbox. I'm in LOVE with it. And I get disappointed if I don't see any envelopes from a publisher or agent. I receive satisfaction even when it's a rejection. I have NO idea why. But the satisfaction doesn't last long because the disappointment from the rejection will set in about 15 minutes afterwards.

Okay, I tag...um... cynthialord , beachalatte , cammykitty, melissa-writing , laurabowers

Have fun!