Starting the Year with Gratitude

After spending a lovely holiday with my husband, this week I've been back in the guide-crafting saddle again and loving it. I've also been taking some time to plan for new projects such as a public speaking opportunity and working on a brand-spanking new creative piece. The VCFA 2016 AMR is well underway. The SCBWI Wild Wild Midwest Chicago or Bust Conference social media campaign is gearing up nicely. Plus, I've got a number of Playing Like a Girl ideas rolling around in my brain just waiting to be born. For all of these prospects and projects, color me grateful.

Grateful for so many things - my home, my friends, and my work. In this moment, I'm appreciating the authors, illustrators, and publishers who I've had the great privilege to create guides for. It's just awesome to think that a simple act of making a Reader's Guide for a friend years ago has morphed into an enterprise of sorts! It makes me very, very happy to be of service to others in this way.

So, thank you to those whom I've had the joy of crafting a guide for and to those who are lined up in the queue to do. Your fascinating topics, innovative illustrations, and rocking writing continue to enrich my life. I look forward to each and every day getting to work with your masterpieces. Thanks!

Let's have some serious fun in 2016. Want to?

Adventures of a Debut Author - In Gratitude for...

I’m including this commercial announcement for the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program as part of my Adventures of a Debut Author posts because I owe a great deal to the school, the staff, and the incredible faculty there. At VCFA, I discovered my voice, my passion, and I found my agent at the AMR! Hallelujah! Saints be praised!

An observation I’ve made over the years is that many successful writers continue to support organizations that helped them along the rocky road to publication. Be it SCBWI, a local writing group, or other esteemed writing programs, some of the finest authors and illustrators I know seem to find a way to “dance with the one that brought them.” While I’ve got a lot of two-stepping down the bumpy road to publication success ahead of me, I plan on demonstrating my gratitude to VCFA and SCBWI by chipping in any way I can.

Read the little ditty below if you’d like to know more about the upcoming VCFA WCYA Alumni Mini-Residency. If you have any questions at all, shoot me note and I’ll be glad to answer it!

Hey, alums! Hope to see you there!!!!

The annual WCYA Alumni Mini-Residency, known as the AMR, is a weekend conference that mirrors the VCFA residency experience while focusing on the professional aspects of one’s writing career.  During the event attendees participate in a Master Class presented by the industry’s finest award-winning authors; interface with editors and literary agents; are coached by publicists; attend lectures and workshops led by VCFA faculty members; and are given multiple rich opportunities to elevate their writing careers to the highest level possible.

Every year WCYA alumni – from recently graduated to those from residencies long passed – return to campus for inspiration, collaboration, and in celebration of one another’s successes. The dates for AMR 2016 are June 17 to 19. Registration opens on February 15.

Please take a moment to review the AMR 2016 information posted on the VCFA website. You’ll find that the faculty and programming planned for this summer’s event is incredible. Whether you’re pre-published or have a series of books with your name proudly printed on the spine, the WCYA Alumni Mini-Residency is perfectly suited to support your writing career, no matter where you are in the publishing business.