In Celebration of Bloggers!

Hello friends!

Well, this is reeeeallly not my thing, but since there are prizes (for me AND you) involved, I'm going to step outside of my comfort zone.

I 'm honored to say that I have at least one devoted reader who lovingly nominated me for a Best Mom Blogger Award here in Columbus. So sweet, right?!

I'll include instructions at the end of this post in case you'd like to take 30 seconds and vote for me. I'm in among some amazing folks and feel so special just to have been nominated. (So cliche, I know, but it's actually true!)

What's cool about this blogger celebration (aside from the awesome prizes) is that it's sponsored by a local organization called KidsLinked, with whom I wasn't familiar until now. Am I the last to know about them?! I'm really impressed with the way they have organized kid-friendly events and activities, parenting resources and advice, as well as coupons and deals! Check them out.

The other cool thing is that KidsLinked is throwing a big Parent EXPO / Blogger Event at KDB Easton next Thursday. And you are invited! There will be food, games, kid-friendly vendors and giveaways. Check out the Facebook page for details and to RSVP. Giveaway donors include COSI, Fort Rapids and Tiny Turtle Photography.

So, in closing, thanks for your readership and support. It's hard to believe I am coming up on a 3 year anniversary with you all.

If you'd like to, voting can be done here, and apparently you can vote twice a day if you are so inclined! Voting ends Monday, August 15th.

Thank you!

GIVEAWAY: The Elephant Keeper

Once again Harper Collins Publishers are offering my readers a giveaway! This time it's a copy of The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson.

I wasn't familiar with the title, which is now being released in paperback, but there are a lot of positive comments surrounding it. The highly talented poet Nikki Giovanni said The Elephant Keeper is "the best book I've read in the last twenty years or so". High praise indeed!

The story is set in Bristol, England in 1766 as two baby elephants arrive from India nearly dead. An unassuming stable boy, Tom, finds himself their new caretaker and thus begins a remarkable bond.

My copy is en route and I'm anxious to read it.

To be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment sharing your favorite novel featuring an animal as one of the main characters. Charlotte's Web tops my list, which would also include Seabiscuit and Water for Elephants.

Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents. A winner will be chosen on Saturday, July 31, 2010.

Tweet this post for a second entry into the giveaway. Copy and paste the message below (and leave me a comment to say you did so):

Book giveaway from @k8ie: The Elephant Keeper http://www.dundeewriter.blogspot.com

Winner

Commenter #1 on the previous post has random.org to thank for her new copy of What He's Poised to Do. Cheryl, you're the giveaway winner!

Letters with Character

So, lately this blog has become primarily a book blog! I don't mind, do you? I think most of my readers are...readers! Anyway, I'm here today with some more book news and another giveaway!

Yesterday, I learned of a new campaign from Harper Perennial that combines two of my very favorite things: letters (or letter-writing) and books! To celebrate publication of Ben Greenman's What He's Poised to Do, Harper Perennial launched Letters With Character: An Interactive Literary Environment. The idea is to write a letter to a fictional book character. Anyone from literature that you'd love to introduce yourself to, or that you have a bone to pick with, or just have some things to say to. Isn't that a cool idea? I know there's a fair share of book characters who really stuck with me after I finished their story and I think this would be a really cool exercise.

So, read on for all the details on how to submit your letter to the project. And, if you leave me a comment telling me what character you'd write to, I'll enter you in a chance to win a copy of Greenman's book. (Big thanks to Amy at Harper Perennial for offering to give both me and one lucky reader a copy of this book of short stories!) Deadline for the giveaway is midnight on Friday, May 21, 2010.

OK, read the full project description below. I'm off to think about who I'd write to (kids lit counts too!) ;-)

Harper Perennial presents

LETTERS WITH CHARACTER

An Interactive Literary Environment

On the occasion of the publication of Ben Greenman’s What He’s Poised to Do (Harper Perennial, On Sale: June 15, 2010) we invite you to celebrate the art of correspondence and WRITE A LETTER TO A FAMOUS FICTIONAL CHARACTER

Before there was any fiction at all, there were letters. For centuries, letters were the only way for people in different locations to communicate with each other. But letters have also become a rich and complex element of the best literary fiction. The acclaimed author Ben Greenman explores how letters function in life, as well as how they function in fiction in his new collection of inter-linked stories What He's Poised to Do.

"Ben Greenman's masterwork of stories inspired by letters offers
fresh insight into the mysteries of intimacy."

--Simon Van Booy.

On the occasion of the book's publication, and in celebration of the art of the letter as a form of fiction, Harper Perennial invites you to participate in its Letters With Character campaign, and to write a letter to a fictional character. The letters can be funny, sad, demanding, fanciful, declarative, or trivial. They can be about a novel, a short story, or a children's book, works both literary or popular. There is only one requirement: They must be written by a real person and must also address an unreal one.

The best, most interesting, strangest, and most moving letters will be collected on LettersWithCharacter.blogspot.com.Visit the site to see a selection of those that have already been written: a romantic appeal to Captain Ahab, a moving consideration of middle age addressed to a Garcia Marquez heroine, a hilarious challenge to Agatha Christie's famed detective Hercule Poirot.

And feel free to submit your own letters to LettersWithCharacter@gmail.com

We Have a Winner

Thanks, all, for participating in the giveaway for It All Changed in an Instant. Commenter #8 (Sasha) was the lucky winner.

Thanks, too, to HarperPerennial for setting me up with a copy of the book to give away. There will be more in the near future, so please hang around!

Book Giveaway!

Sorry, I promised a book giveaway months ago and here it finally is!

It All Changed in an Instant is a collection of six-word memoirs, penned by authors known and unknown. Some of the more famous who stepped up to this daunting task include: Sarah Silverman, Neil Patrick Harris, Suze Orman, and Tony Hawk. The biographical blurbs are honest, open and run the spectrum of serious to hilarious to poignant and inspiring. All wrapped up into one book, it's an easy, enjoyable read and fun to just flip through and read aloud with someone.

Here are a few that made me laugh:

The miserable childhood leads to royalties. Frank McCourt

Normal person becomes psychotic on Twitter. Robin Slick

She left me for the librarian. Chris Clark

And a few that gave me pause:

Never second guessed my own instincts. Shepard Fairey

I've done it all except hear. Marlee Matlin

With deep roots, branches soar skywards. Jonathan Blum

Only I define who I am. Montel Williams

Former boss: "Writing's your worst skill!" Amy Tan

Leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway. I'll draw a winner in two weeks: Friday, April 9th.

Oh, and you can submit your own six-word memoirs at www.SmithMag.net

Karma Wilson Winners!

Thanks to all who entered my giveaway. It's clear there are a lot of Karma Wilson fans out there, and I wish I could have awarded each of you!


The lucky winner of Bear Feels Scared is Cheryl and the winner of Mama Always Comes Home is Stacy! Congrats mamas!

good news for people who love...

PICTURE BOOKS! GIVEAWAYS! AND... KARMA WILSON!

It's hard to believe it was just a few years ago, in 2002, that Karma Wilson had her very first book published, Bear Snores On. It was quite a hit and spurred an impressive writing career that has delivered some really great literature to kids, parents, teachers and librarians.


A few of my personal favorites are: Baby Cakes--a great gift for babies or mamas-to-be; Beautiful Babies--a new touch-and-feel board book; Hilda Must be Dancing; Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo; and Sleepyhead--a very sweet bedtime rhyme.


This talented, generous author is offering two of my lucky readers an autographed, hardback book! I have one copy of:




of which, School Library Journal said:

A gentle and reassuring picture book... The consistently tender illustrations follow the text's well-crafted rhymes as different animal mothers leave their offspring for a brief period and then return. Mama Bird (in a flowered headscarf) feeds her babies, then tucks them beneath a quilt in their nest before digging up more worms; Mama Cat leaves her kittens in the barn to have a sip of cream in the house; Mama Dog runs out to play with her boy. Each example ends with the refrain: "Mama always comes home." Presented with a delicate and loving touch, this book embodies the power of thoughtful text supported by insightful pictures. A good choice for parents and children dealing with separation anxiety.


as well as one autographed copy of:

To be entered in this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post before Wednesday, June 10, 2009. If you'd like to earn a second entry into the drawing, mention this giveaway (with a link) on Twitter. Then, be sure to come back and leave a comment letting me know you tweeted it.

Good luck!

Writer Mama Winner

With big thanks to all who visited and commented yesterday, I'd like to announce that the winner of Day 16's Writer Mama Giveaway is...

BonnieRose! Congratulations! You can thank Random.org for selecting the number 4! Please send me an email at katiesweb@gmail.com with your mailing address so that Christina can get a signed copy of Writer Mama on it's way to you!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in a very helpful discussion about organization. It was really enjoyable to read all of your comments, and I hope you'll stop back to The Dundee Writer again. Christina's got some talented and inspiring followers! Keep following her Writer Mama Blog Tour -- there are more chances to win!

The Writer Mama is Here!

Welcome to Day 16 of the Writer Mama Blog Tour!



I'm honored to have been selected to host Christina Katz, author of Writer Mama, today. If you haven't read Writer Mama, it's a must. (Read on to see how you can win a copy!) This little book, just shy of 300 pages, packs a punch! Christina guides readers through the writing process with wisdom and advice, humor and clarity, confidence and encouragement.



One point from the book that really resonated with me was the idea of hats. (Yes, hats!) As mamas, we are used to wearing different hats as our children grow: disciplinarian, cheerleader, nutritionist, storyteller. Christina realized that the same is true of writers. As your writing career grows, you've got to be your own disciplinarian and cheerleader while also trying on the hats of: accountant, researcher, editor, marketer.



Christina's daily posts throughout this blog tour not only express this concept but also explore how to succeed in each of those roles throughout the book-writing process. And, today it continues with advice on first drafts. Enjoy!

The Writer Mama Two-Year Anniversary Blog Tour Giveaway! (Catch up on the past posts here: http://thewritermama.wordpress.com/)

Post #16: The Nonfiction Book Writing Process: The First Draft

I can’t presume to know what works best for everyone when it comes time to draft your first book. But I have written a couple first drafts of nonfiction books and I have also been privy to the processes of other successful authors.

I say “successful authors” intentionally because the fact is not all books that are contracted make it across the publication finish line. Now, I imagine no writer wants to talk about this but we must. The fact is: when it comes to following through on a book contract, some writers won’t deliver. My editor, Jane Friedman at Writer’s Digest once shared with me that she kept a “book graveyard” on her bulletin board for books that were conceived but not delivered.

Feel free to shudder. What a discouraging experience! I hope it never happens to you.

Suffice it to say, you don’t want to be that writer who doesn’t deliver and you can avoid it by setting yourself up for success. Here are some of the ways I’ve seen success happen:

Don’t disappear

Keep in touch with your editor from the verbal offer all the way through the delivery of the partial first draft. Editors typically ask for a partial draft to assess that the book is on track, as agreed, and to have an opportunity to offer editorial direction before the book is complete. This is a good thing. Listen to your editor and try to find the wisdom in her suggestions. I can tell you from my experience that this collaborative attitude will create a better book.

Steer the ship

Even though you keep in touch with your editor, be careful not to imagine that she is overly consumed with your book’s progress. She isn’t. It’s quite likely that your editor is juggling many book projects on top of additional, and likely increasing responsibilities related to the overall success of the publishing company. With the economy being what it is, don’t be surprised if your editor’s job is in a precarious position. She may still be your editor by the time your book is done. Then again, she may not. Don’t worry, book projects get handed off from editor to editor. Once you get past a certain development point with your manuscript, your editor might hand you off to another editor so she can focus on acquisitions and new book development. Hang steady and roll with it. Your responsibility is to complete your book to the best of your ability no matter what is going on at your book’s publishing house.

Refine the focus

The more clear and refined your book proposal table of contents, the easier it is going to be for you, as the writer, to write the book in an orderly manner. Don’t forget that most nonfiction books require tons of research, interviewing, and compressing of information, so even if you have a solid TOC, you’ve still got your work cut out for you. If you didn’t refine your TOC, your book will likely benefit if you pause before you start drafting to refine it to the best of your ability. Be sure and run your revised TOC by your editor before you dive in and start writing.

Proceed in an orderly fashion

Sure, you want to take advantage of content discoveries as you go along in the book writing process. But you’ll be in a better position to capitalize on those discoveries the more organized you are. I proceeded in a much more orderly fashion on my second book by creating a file system just for my book research separate from all of my other projects. That way when I got my hands on new research, I could either file it according to chapter or put it in a pile to file later. This way, all of my research was always in one place and close at hand.

Remember that a nonfiction book is not typically “personal experience,” unless it’s a memoir. Most nonfiction books respond to many issues and questions, even after the central thrust of the book has been determined. The more you consider the reader’s questions and concerns as you write the book, the better you can address them in the book.

To say how to best succeed at book drafting, I would repeat my oft-repeated advice that writers are partnering with others, not hoping to be discovered by others. Your job is still your job, even after you sign the contract. I suspect that the writers who didn’t deliver on their manuscripts may have assumed that after landing the book deal, they were home free. But now you know, that once you get to this point, the really hard work has really just begun.

Today's Book Drawing: To enter to win a signed, numbered copy of Writer Mama, answer the following question in this blog's comments:

How organized of a writer are you? Do you have an orderly writing practice that works for you?

Thanks for participating! Only US residents, or folks with a US mailing address can participate in the drawing. Please only enter once per day.

Where will the drawing be tomorrow? Visit http://thewritermama.wordpress.com/ to continue reading the rest of the Writer Mama story throughout March 2009!

********************************************************************************

Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids by Christina Katz (Writer's Digest Books 2007)

Kids change your life, but they don't necessarily have to end your career. Stay-at-home moms will love this handy guide to rearing a successful writing career while raising their children. The busy mom's guide to writing life, this book gives stay-at-moms the encouragement and advice they need including everything from getting started and finding ideas to actually finding time to do the work - something not easy to do with the pitter-patter of little feet. With advice on how to network and form a a business, this nurturing guide covers everything a writer mama needs to succeed at her second job.

all a-twitter!

Happy Almost Spring! We're in Daylight Savings time; temperatures are rising; birds are chirping; and it seems everyone is all a-twitter!

Are you on twitter? When I first heard about it, I thought to myself, "Do we really need another venue to make ourselves seem more self-absorbed? Do people I know and/or don't know need (or even want) to know what I'm doing at random moments throughout the day?" But, I gave it a fair shot for the sake of a work project and what do ya know, this girl is hooked! It's an easy and fun way to connect with friends and co-workers. It's become a great way to discover events around the city. It's a free advertising tool for your blog, and an extra way to chat, share links, etc with other bloggers. I even get occasional updates and glimpses into the lives of biggies like @halseanderson and @realjohngreen!!

Check it out. You may be surprised to find out who's tweeting. Everybody's doing it; why aren't you? ;) The Library of Congress, School Library Journal, The Columbus Dispatch, President Obama, The Today Show, CNN, and countless other radio, news, social, and community organizations. And those are just the "serious" ones! There are also plenty of tweeps out there doing it for fun and laughs. (Not convinced? Read this article. And this one. And, lastly, this one.)

So, aside from being all a-twitter about twitter, I'm also feeling so giddy and excited about my latest blog news. As you know from some of my posts, as well as my blog header, I'm a wanna-be writer. :) For now, it's mostly this blog and book reviews and product reviews, but I do dream of being a published author one day. A major source of advice, information, and encouragement is Christina Katz, who blogs at The Writer Mama, and is the author of several books on the business of writing, one of which is so perfectly titled The Writer Mama: How to Raise A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids. So clever!

Well, the book was a great jumping off point for me, and one impetus that brought me to blogging. After reading the book, I checked her web site, found the blog, subscribed to her newsletter and found a couple other great "writer mama" blogs from her blogroll. A few months down the line, I stumbled across her on twitter, which makes it very easy to see what she's up to and get much-needed reminders to write!

So, the news. I've taken a very roundabout way to get here, but here we are. During the month of March, Christina is celebrating her blog's 2 year anniversary, and she's doing it up big with a blog tour and giveaway -- every day in the month of March. And, drumroll please, she'll be stopping by this very blog on Day 16!!! I'm thrilled to have been selected to participate. You'll be thrilled too because on Day 16 (Monday, March 16, 2009) you'll have the chance to win a copy of The Writer Mama!

Hope you'll check back! tweet, tweet!

It's a ... Giveaway!!!

I hope you're as excited as I am! It's my first bloggy giveaway, and a pretty fab one for moms, dads, and parents-to-be in the Central Ohio area.

With big thanks to founder Kendra, I have a pair of tickets to give away to the 2009 Baby Bonanza! The EXPO will be held at the Aladdin Shrine Center on Saturday, March 14, 2009 from 10a-4p.

Baby Bonanza is geared toward families with children aged 0-6 and promises "everything from pregnancy to preschool". It offers exhibitors, educational seminars, entertainment, unique baby and toddler products, door prizes, even diaper derby baby races! Check out the full line-up at babybonanza.net.

So, for the giveaway: check out the Baby Bonanza web site and then post a comment here sharing what exhibitor, seminar, or activity you'd most like to attend. Be sure to leave your email address within the comment should you be the lucky winner!

Also, for a bonus entry into the giveaway, tweet about it with a link to either my blog or this post. Then stop back here to leave an additional comment letting me know you tweeted!

Have fun, and thanks for playing!

GIVEAWAY WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2009!