1. Email your enthusiastic reaction to her full manuscript just as she's deplaning in your city (on her vacation -- she swears!).

2. Stow (or just hide really well) your stalker-phobia and agree to meet her in person.

3. Set the meeting for 10:00 a.m., so she has time beforehand to ride two trains and eat breakfast (even though she won't be able to choke it down because she's nervous).

4. Call your office the Bat Cave, so she feels like a super hero-in-training.

5. Seat her on the bookshelf side of the conference table, so she can't get distracted by the book jackets.

6. Offer her coffee (even though . . . nerves).

7. Point out the manila envelope in front of her that contains two copies of your agency contract, already signed by you.

8. Express excitement not just for her current project, but her career potential.

9. Point to the contracts again. They're signed, for crying out loud.

10. Remember all of her characters' names, as well as their goals, motivations, and conflicts. The names of stuffed animals / fantasy creatures get you bonus points.

11. Don't mention you Googled her, even though you may have stumbled on some hilarious / ill-advised / improbable fanfickery you'll someday use to roast her.

12. Be yourself, which is passionate about books and their creators, and the need to nurture both, even when the economy is tanking and publishing's future is far from known.

A year ago today, I met with Chris Richman, who was, and still is, an awesome agent and guy, all around. He sent me to Newark Airport with signed contracts and instructions for me to consider my decision carefully, advice that I squeefully ignored when I signed them myself later that evening. I may have postdated them to the 9th so I didn't look like quite such a dork, but today's the real anniversary.

Here's to a long, successful run, Chris, with many, many more contract signings to come!

**UPDATE: Chris's response at the Upstart Crow Literary blog

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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  2. AW! This is so sweet! I'm so glad you found your perfect match!

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  3. Just discovered I didn't respond. Thanks, gals!

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  1. My niece, starting her summer off right. What will you read this summer? (And where?)


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  2. So I hied myself over to Walgreens yesterday to shop the annual post-Valentine's Day candy sale. As I suspected, everything was 50% off. In fact, half the holiday merchandise area was already stocked with Easter candy. Boo: too early means stale Peeps in the Easter basket.

    ANYWAY, I got two big heart boxes -- one Whitman's, one Stover's -- filled with scrumptiousness. Of course, I opened both immediately upon reentering my home (YES I WAITED), and found that the Whitman's sampler included my current favorite heart-box offering: the molasses chew.

    Which got me thinking about changing tastes.

    Like how I used to want a log home. Now my taste tends more toward a blend of industrial and cozy: wide spaces of concrete, brick, and wood, with small islands of color, soft light, and comfy furniture.

    Or how I used to disparage romance novels. That changed last year, when I read over 30 of them. It started as research but continues as pleasure reading (no pun intended)(OK maybe a little).

    But mostly I thought about food. No molasses whatsoever passed my tongue as a kid. YECH. But now I like it. Other things I like now that I didn't then:

    • marmalade
    • greens
    • Dijon mustard
    • brie
    • currants
    • grits
    • beer
    • wine
    • olives (though, apparently, I LOVED these as a toddler, when my grandfather let me eat a whole jar under his watchful eye)


    I've tended to trade sweet tastes for bitter -- probably how most palates mature, I suppose.

    How 'bout you? How have your tastes changed? Do you think it was physical, environmental, or caused by something else?
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  3. Residency's skipping along. We're well into faculty and graduating-student lectures. We held readings as a class and have started signing up to read to the general populace in the evenings (I go Wednesday). And we've turned in a form saying who we'd like our faculty advisor to be over the coming semester. Of about 20 faculty, 1st-semester students choose 8, and we're assigned by some magical, mysterious, possibly-a-lottery system, and we find out our assignments later tonight.

    So, work for the next six months has begun, and tomorrow it really gets going.

    For now, here's something I found in College Hall. Lots of old photos adorn the walls, showing arrays of students of the many schools VCFA has been. The first shot below doesn't even encompass the whole photo, but you can see College Hall in the background. I don't remember the date on this, but I'd guess the 1930s.



    Check out the second shot below, a closeup of the far-right section. I love that the boy in the middle just couldn't keep it together. Plus, he kind of looks like my maternal grandfather, except Papaw was at least a  foot taller.


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  4. There's my own shot of College Hall at Vermont College of Fine Arts, taken this morning.

    Arrived last night just in time to grab some dinner. Then we met with the program director and graduate assistants for a welcome/icebreaker meeting. VERY friendly group. My class has 23-25 people. Two are men.

    Today was orientation day, during which we got thoroughly oriented in every way possible: non-academic stuff, academic stuff, library stuff (interlibrary loan is VERY COOL)(so is RefWorks, a service that helps you record and cite your research bibliography)(NERD NERD NERD).

    Between residencies, the bulk of our work will go into packets we send to our advisors once a month. Each packet will include (roughly) 40 pages of creative work (some combo of new and revised), 2 short critical essays, and an annotated bibliography (a citation-style list of books we've read toward that packet's work, with brief descriptions).

    Author Sarah Ellis gave our first lecture, using examples from the history of children's literature to discuss the phenomenon of flying. Takeaway: in many classics, the power to fly is something that must be grown out of to become an adult (such as in Peter Pan). Sarah challenged us to delve more deeply into the deep canon of our field by including in each of our packet's reading assignments at least one book published before we were born.

    We also had faculty readings -- middle grade novel excerpts, poetry, creative nonfiction, picture book. Then the graduating class did a great presentation thanking their advisors.

    So! The ball is rolling, and a look at the schedule shows a steep slope -- that ball isn't going to slow down any time soon.

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  5. [photo via Ingrid Sundberg]

    Got the call November 1 that I've been accepted into the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. It's a limited-residency program, which means I'll attend five 10-day residencies over the course of two years (bookending the semesters). I'll do the bulk of my work at home, sending assignment packets to my advisor about every four weeks. I start in January, so three of my residencies will look that photo up there, and two (in July) should look something like this. (Aw, she's so smiley!)

    I'm super-excited about the work I'll do, and it feels like the right time in my life to do it. I've been busy getting forms and other prep documents to the program office and they've been great to deal with. Can't wait to meet them.

    To make time and mental space for school work, I'll leave Magik at the end of December. (An extremely capable person will replace me, but I can't tell you who until said person says so.) Magik has taught me a lot about writing and listening and playing well with others. A big thanks to everyone there for supporting my work over this past 6-year stretch.

    Thanks also to the two awesome gals who wrote letters of recommendation for me to the VCFA program. I emailed them right away, but it bears repeating.

    And biggest thanks to Dave, who is behind me 100% and pushed me to apply when I waffled. I wouldn't be able to do this without his support. I've turned out to be sort of an expensive wife after all, babe.
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  6. Author Gary Schmidt gave the closing keynote at this year's SCBWI Summer Conference. His advice to each of us was: Remember your kid self and write for that person.

    More than any other piece of advice* I've heard at a conference, that one resonated with me, and I left L.A. with a specific goal: to write for this person...



    My 5th-grade self. I sat down with a photo album last night and chose this one to put above my writing space. Why her?

    New Physical World
    We had just moved from the county into town. For the first time, I lived in a neighborhood, with networks of streets and bike paths to explore, and a lot of kids my age to play with.

    New Imaginary Worlds
    My 5th-grade reading curriculum had no textbook -- another first for me. Instead, my teacher had two floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in her classroom, filled with books. We could read any books we wanted; to get our reading grade, we just had to sit down with her and talk about the books. I had read throughout elementary school, and liked helping out in the library, but this accessibility and freedom of choice accelerated  my reading like crazy.

    Ten-Year-Old Me
    I was basically a good kid. Intelligent but very naive.** I loved my family. I missed my old friends and tentatively reached out to new ones. The braces were new, too; every three months the orthodontist tightened them, and my teeth ached so bad for the following week I pretty much ate just soup. I wore my hair short, my socks tubed, and my shirts (at least on picture day) frilly.

    When I look at this girl, I see someone who was eager to learn. Friendly but shy. Completely without cynicism. Vulnerable to the same peer crap as every other kid but basically safe and strong enough to handle it.

    So I put her on the wall above my desk. When I write, it's for her. Sometimes I talk to her.

    Things I Say to 5th-Grade Me:

    • Hey, kiddo.
    • What makes you happy?
    • What makes you sad or angry?
    • What scares the pants off you?
    • What do you think will happen next? What if it doesn't?
    • This scene's gonna hurt. I'm sorry. Keep reading.
    • This character's about to do something really dumb. Keep reading.
    • I could tell you exactly what everything looks and smells and sounds and feels and tastes like in this book, but that would take a bajillion words and you might forget what was happening in the first place, so fire up your imagination and let's work together.
    • The braces will be worth it.
    • Sit up straight.
    • I love you.
    • Keep reading.

    Verdict: I like writing for her, and I like having a visual reminder. Thank you, Mr. Schmidt!

    Question of the Day
    Who do you create for?


    * Gary Schmidt gave me (us) the second-most resonant advice from a conference, too: All plot emerges from character. I've taken it to heart and am working to focus more on character than I ever have.

    ** One day, our teacher asked the class what a stereotype was. I raised my hand, planning to guess it was a type of machine, like a double typewriter or a typewriter with speakers. I've never been so glad not to be called on.
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  7. Yes. This.
    Taking the leap! Starting in February, I'll write full-time. In fact, the upcoming SCBWI Winter Conference will mark my transition into the career I've chosen. I love working the conference as an RA; this time will be extra sweet. As fortified as I was after the Summer Conference, I can only imagine how I'll charge home from Winter, writing tools brandished.

    Mayor of Nerdville
    Looked at my daily schedule spreadsheet (you know it's true) and the writing time it shows right now, then revised it to show a full-time writing schedule. Watching that green block take over the sheet spurred me to push up my last day at work. Plus, I'll need time to do homework because...

    Shhh, Don't Tell...
    ...but I'll soon apply to the Vermont College of Fine Arts limited residency MFA in writing for children and young adults. I have so much to learn about writing and children's literature, and the program's alumni and their recommendations of it are impressive. I'm ready to do the work.

    Question of the Day
    Any big moves -- literal or figurative -- in your near future?
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  8. Yes. This.
    Danced my booty off at SCBWI's conference party tonight. The theme was the 60s, so...



    Mayor of Nerdville
    Those boots are really good for sauntering, by the way. And the dress is old-school polyester -- pretty sure you had one just like it, Mom! I'll totally be dressed like a librarian again tomorrow, but so will everyone else.

    Shhh, Don't Tell...
    ...but I wore my one-piece bathing suit under the dress. Made a good foundation garment.

    Question of the Day
    When was the last time you danced for an hour or more?
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  9. Yes. This.
    My go-go boots and dress still fit. Good thing, since SCBWI Summer Conference is having a 60s-themed party next Saturday night. I'm totally going to this conference for the professional advice, I swear.

    Mayor of Nerdville
    The prospect of 65-degree L.A. nights has me swooning.

    Shhh, Don't Tell...
    ...but I'm gonna miss Dave a lot. It's a week long, dudes.

    Question of the Day
    What was the last thing you did to get closer to your dream?
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  10. Yes. This.
    Played Geeks Who Drink trivia last night at Southtown 101. Here's the recap. Our team, Cupcake C, tied for 2nd place. The crowd decided there should be a dance-off for the rankings. A guy behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said his whole table would vote for us if I danced.

    So I did. That recap has a YouTube link. The video's sideways, but if you break your neck to the left, you can enjoy my mad moves (I'm on the left). Got some great applause, but my opponent's moneymakers won the night (by which, of course, I mean 2nd place).

    Mayor of Nerdville
    Forgot my bag when we left, but going back gave me a chance to apologize to the Quiz Master for using his glasses as a dance prop. He didn't seem to mind.

    Shhh, Don't Tell...
    ...but my boogie shoes are fueled by Shiner Bock.

    Question of the Day
    When was the last time you pushed your comfort zone?
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Pie Maker
Pie Maker
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San Antonio, TX, United States
I write novels for middle-grade and young-adult readers. I serve as Regional Advisor for the Southwest Texas chapter of SCBWI. I'm working toward an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. When not writing, I love to read, run, cook, and travel.
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