Today's Project: New Video for Stephen King's THE STAND

 

Spent the last couple of days tinkering on a new video for the Stephen King Book Club channel... It think it turned out pretty well... 

Mackenzie and her family said farewell and spent about 24 hours on the road back to Texas. I miss them already. 

Settling into summer break; trying to stay productive. My agent and I went over some final (?) editorial notes on the Middle Grade book. In theory, it should be going out this week -- but we'll see... 

And I finished the first and second draft of the new picture book idea (about a Platypus)... but it still needs work, specifically the last act of the story. I tinkered with it today... but now I'm not quite feeling it... Too lazy after working on the video all morning and afternoon. Guess I should have worked on the book first! 

Today's Progress: 

-- Captain Trips Video ( STEPHEN KING BOOK CLUB ) 

-- Tinkered on new story ( 6 / 8  PICTURE BOOKS ) 

The Power of Being a Brat

 

I've been working on a new picture book (as mentioned in a previous post). I thought the draft was good enough to send to Abi... but now I'm thinking it needs to cook some more. The Second Act needs work. 

Still... I think there's a cool turn of events in this one... I know lots of bratty characters have been in children's lit before... but this one feels new since it explores not just the disadvantages but also the advantages of being a brat.

This is, at least in part, inspired by my mom. Not that she's a brat. But she is a "Karen." 

Karens, as you may or may not know, dear reader, have become a slang term for someone who complains about things that shouldn't be complained about... My mom doesn't usually do this (thank goodness)... but she was always willing to stand up and complain about something she felt passionate about... and that's a quality I often lack and sometimes envy... So, I guess that's what my book tries to tap into... 

I'll tinker with it some more and then (hopefully) submit it to my agent on Monday. 

I've had a leisurely day this morning and afternoon. I've basically done nothing but re-read the first 100 pages of Stephen King's THE STAND. 

I'm trying to recall exactly when I first read it... Not sure if it was the late 80s or early 90s. And I can't quite remember if I read the book first or watched the mini-series first. I'm pretty sure I read it first... I think when I was in high school... 

CJ Graduates College!

 I've been away from the keyboard for a number of days... Mainly because we traveled up to Oregon to watch CJ earn their Bachelors in Science (Physics... with a minor in Theater!)

Of the hundreds of photos we took, this is one of my favorites. 

Now that we're back home, and recovered from our road trip, today is the first day of summer break that I've felt I could relax... so what did I do? 

I wrote a tiny smidge of a beginning to a picture book (but it's a good beginning) and took a nap. 

82 more days of summer!

Today's Progress: 

-- Beginning of a new story   (  6 / 8  PICTURE BOOKS )

Working on a New Picture Book

 Thanks to my visiting grand-daughter (and her folks, of course) I've been inspired to write a funny little family poem... Maybe it's something that could become a picture book. We'll see. I finished the first and second draft today, and then sent it off to my agent. 

Keep your fingers crossed! 

Today's Progress: 

-- Wrote a new poem / story  ( 6 / 8 PICTURE BOOKS ) 

Summer Break 2023

 Let it begin! 

I'm not finished grading essays... but I am finished with classes... and so it feels like Summer Break has begun! 

And best of all, the kids are here... with my granddaughter! So, we have a week of visiting ahead of us. And then, very soon, we'll be traveling up to Oregon see CJ graduate. 

Not sure what I'll be working on as far as my writing... But I have been kicking around an idea for a children's poem. 

Oh, and I spent a LOT of time and energy on my latest Stephen King video, a historical exploration of the Overlook Hotel. 

This Week's Progress: 

-- New Video of THE SHINING ( 3 / 65 STEPHEN KING BOOK CLUB ) 

By the way, I'm not sure about my point system... I picked 65 because I thought there were sixty-five novels, but that doesn't count for his short story collections or the non-fiction stuff. I'll figure out something... 

My DODO BOOK is in GERMAN!

 Ach zu liebe! I'm so excited to present the cover of the newly translated: There's a Dodo on the Wdding Cake... translated into German! 

It's always a delight and an honor whenever my books travel overseas... I took German back in high school... but I've forgotten most of the vocabulary. Maybe I need to start some DuoLingo lessons, just in case I need to do a book reading in Berlin?