It seems I say the same thing at the beginning of every New Year: mainly that I’m always in the middle of things and a resolution doesn’t make much sense. Well, 2021 is no exception, so my plan is to keep moving forward on what I’ve been working on.
I’m so very close to finishing this big revision of my witchy middle grade novel, which finally has a title (not sure if that will end up being THE title, so not sharing right now). I think my next move is printing out a copy to do smaller line revisions before sharing it with critique partners.
I’ll also be presenting a Virtual ShopTalk with the New England SCBWI called “What to Expect When You’re Self-Publishing” on January 26, 2021 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm. Having booked this workshop has finally given me the motivation to work on setting up a page on my website for resources on self-publishing, so keep an eye out for that.
All in all, lots of good stuff going on. I’ve thought about doing a 2020 book wrap-up post, but like everyone else, I’m kind just ready to move on and not look back. I hope the New Year brings you and yours health and happiness, and I’d love to hear your resolutions or plans for 2021.
I think we could all use a good laugh to end this year, so I’m breaking out my parody of Clement C. Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” It has become something of a tradition to post this each year. I’ll be posting about my newest book, the picture book THE BEDTIME KNIGHT (you can find more about it on my picture book page), and a reading round-up when I return to blogging in 2021.In the meantime, Happy Holiday and wishing you all the best in the New Year!
‘Twas the night before Christmas, the kids were in bed Anxiously awaiting the Big Man in Red; The stockings weren’t hung (we don’t have a chimney), We just set them down in front of the TV.
Who am I kidding? The kids weren’t sleeping, The baby was teething, drooling, and weeping; The preschooler was playing with a million toys, Driving his cars and making lots of noise.
Half an hour later, the baby passed out, His brother went to bed (not without a good pout); I let out a great big sigh of relief, Then I looked around and thought, “Oh, good grief!”
The house was a mess, the laundry never-ending, And there was still that ornament that needed mending. At least we were done hiding that stupid elf, Went back where he came from, him and his shelf;
Hours passed, we thought we were finally done; We found more gifts, the fun had just begun; We were out of wrapping paper and tape, Reused gift bags put us back in good shape;
I sat down to relax, put my feet up, Snuggled into a blanket with my tea cup; A bang outside roused me to my feet, I peeked out the curtains, looked down the street.
“I don’t think it’s the neighbors,” Daddy said; “What? You think it’s Santa in his big sled?” He went to check it out, shot me a look, And told me to go back to reading my book;
A minute later, I heard a great yell, And said under my breath, “What the hell?” I put on my shoes, grabbed the monitor, Slipped into a coat, and stomped out the door;
The clear winter night brought no Christmas snow, Instead moonlight washed the yard in a soft glow; Daddy stood there staring up at the roof; I hissed, “What are you doing, you big doof?”
He merely pointed, his face full of fear, And gave a soft whisper, “It’s a reindeer.” Now, I haven’t believed since I was six, Thought surely his eyes must be playing tricks;
Then I heard a stomping and a nicker That made my heart beat a little quicker; Looking up, I saw the brown muzzle, red nose The Fat Man himself, and I simply froze.
Daddy and I exchanged a look of wonder, The shock could’ve put us six feet under; I shook my head and came to my senses, Glared at Santa, went on the offensive;
“Get off my roof, your reindeer too,” I hissed; I glared at Santa, feeling really pissed; He laughed, “Don’t end up on my naughty list.” Clearly this guy wasn’t getting my gist.
“With all due respect, get the hell out of here; If you wake my kids, you won’t see next year.” Quiet as a shadow those reindeer took flight, Santa whispered, “Merry Christmas and good night.”
Surprise! I have a picture book coming out soon. While I wait for all the files to be finalized, I figured I’d share the journey of self-publishing this book and once again giving another one of my titles a second life.
Way back in 2012, my picture book THE BEDTIME KNIGHT, illustrated by Erika Baird, released on an ebook platform. I had entered the manuscript in a contest, and it didn’t win but the publisher offered me a contract all the same. It was really exciting to go through that process and seeing how the illustrator brought my words to life.
It was a positive experience in general, but a few years later when that company got bought out by a bigger publishing company, I opted to have my rights reverted back to me. There were several factors for that, but mostly I didn’t care for the terms of the contract and made the tough decision to walk away.
Fast forward a few years, and I had self-published my middle grade novel PIRATE ISLAND and found I really liked the process. I thought about doing that with THE BEDTIME KNIGHT. But publishing a picture book required design skills I did not have and I would have to get the rights from the previous illustrator or hire a new illustrator. I was also focusing on self-publishing my YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND and writing the sequel ELIXIR SAVED. So once again, my little picture book about being scared of the shadows in the night was set aside.
Then one day, my sister and I were out on a hike with our families. We got talking about what writing project I was working on, one of which was a picture book inspired in part by her family. The conversation turned to what had ever happened with THE BEDTIME KNIGHT. I don’t remember her exact words, but she said something about how she had really liked the book and hoped it would be available again one day. I know she’s my sister, but we’re not the kind of people to compliment each other and not mean it, so I knew she was being sincere in her praise.
As a traditionally published author turned self-published one, it’s been hard not to doubt myself. Hard not to wonder if my work is good enough. And very hard to find an audience. So many books come out every year, and it’s often hard to find readers even with the backing of a publishing company, never mind when you’re doing it all yourself. So the fact that my sister enjoyed my book and wished it to be out in the world again meant something. It reminded me that my books–even when they’re only reaching a small audience–are important.
So I slowly started thinking about republishing THE BEDTIME KNIGHT. This time I wanted to have a print version, not just a digital one. I eventually reached out the to the illustrator and asked if she’d be willing to negotiate for the rights to use her illustrations. And she was!
We came to an agreement, and I taught myself how to design and format a picture book. This was all done in between other projects, and learning a design program can be a time-consuming process, so writing out the process sounds much less complicated than it felt while doing it. But I did it.
Now I’m super excited to announce that THE BEDTIME KNIGHT will be coming out in paperback and ebook very soon. Stay tuned for links!
First off, I know a lot schools started back this week (in one form or another), so I wanted to send good wishes out to all the teachers, parents, and students embarking on this new school year. My kids don’t start until next week, and I’m having a lot of feelings about it, many of which I’m keeping close to the chest because I want to stay as positive as possible for the kiddos. I wrote a post about change back in 2015 and find much of it is relevant to the year 2020.
This was the school year where all three kiddos were supposed to have some form of formal schooling. The year where I would have a little more time to write. The fact that this isn’t happening is a small thing in comparison to a lot of other problems, but I’m still trying to allow myself to feel some resentment about it without wallowing. I’ve had a ton of writing ideas lately, so at least my creativity is flowing again.
In bookish news, I have a secret project I’ve been working on. Some of you may already know this one, and it’s getting a second life! It’s a project I’ve been working on in the in-between spaces. I was stuck on it for a little bit, but now that I’ve solved a particular problem, it’s well on its way. I don’t have the timeline pinned down yet for a release. Maybe I’ll just do a surprise release with it whenever it’s done.
Here’s an adorable teaser image for it that I cannot take credit for as it was done by an illustrator. I’ll let you know all the details soon!
It’s a sad fact that I don’t give nearly enough love here on the blog for my picture app THE BEDTIME KNIGHT. It really is a fun, imaginative story (with some insight into what I was scared of as a child), and I love how illustrator Erika Baird brought it to life with pictures. The blurb reads:
When this mouse’s nightlight turns off, shadows turn into scary things in the dark. But when Daddy shines his flashlight on them, they disappear and turn into friendly things! Read along to find out if this tiny mouse can overcome her fear of the dark.
The thing that got me thinking about THE BEDTIME KNIGHT is that it now has a new home! It was originally published by MeeGenius, a children’t eBook subscription service, which was recently acquired by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (who earlier this year acquired Scholastic’s Educational Technology and Services business for $575 million).
THE BEDTIME KNIGHT will be and is still available through the MeeGenius platform. I’m excited about this new partnership and am hoping it will help my picture book app find new readers.
