We love our PEEPs.

If you haven't seen the Washington Post's PEEPs Diorama Contest, be sure to check it out. There are several references to kid lit books. Goodnight Moon. Madeline. Where the Wild Things Are. And Pixar's UP.

Splendid. And Sugary.

Ramona & Beezus. THE MOVIE.

I'm Back

I took a week off to play with my family.

We headed to the mountains and had some serious fun.

Now it's back to reality and loads of laundry.

I took my laptop but never pulled it out of the bag.

Funny how that works sometimes.

It reminded me of a post by Maggie Stiefvater where she says "we are observers of the world, writers, and we can only make so many biscuits out of one batch of dough. . . Go somewhere, do something new, see someplace different. . . I'm a writer, yes, but it's also crucially important to me to keep being a musician, a composer, an artist, a mother, a wife, a dog-walker, a fast driver, a nature-lover, a horseback rider, a -- fill in the blanks. Everything that I do other than writing, things that are me."

So that's what I did last week.

I lived.

Hugged on my kids.

Dodged two snowstorms. (Thank You, God.) Laughed with my husband. Shopped with my mom. Bemoaned sore muscles. Inspected snowflakes with my oldest. Wiped the runny noses of my two youngest.

Cheered on my middle.

And read Treasure Island for the first time thanks to countless hours in the car.

Book Cover Design

Want a behind the scenes look at an amazing job that requires a lot of savvy?

I don't know about you, but often times, I'll pick up a book based on the cover alone. After reading the flap copy or the first few paragraphs, I'll make a decision on whether or not to purchase. But the cover is usually what grabs me - if I haven't heard anything by word of mouth.

Agent Kristin Nelson posted a video last week on the making of the cover for BLAMELESS—Gail Carriger's third book in the Alexia Tarabotti Parasol Protectorate Series.

Watch closely to see how the designers caught a mistake.

Impulsivity & New Ideas

Inattentiveness, impulsivity. Or ADD for writers. I have it.

I start one project. Struggle to finish. Get swept up in Sparkly New Idea.

Make furious notes.

While my real manuscript languishes on my hard drive.

I'm also out of chocolate chips. Perhaps there's a connection.

Regardless, the chocolate bit is inexcusable.

Wait! I have cocoa. The day might be saved after all.

Edited to add: Author Jody Hedlund has a motivational post on making dreams come true.

Warning!

Some of you may break out in hives.

I am a neat person. Really.

When my mother visits, she is amazed by my pantry.

All the cereal boxes are grouped together on one shelf. The pasta. The canned goods. (Of course, she remembers me as a teenager. That could be some of her shock.)

All our beds are made in the mornings before we walk out the door. It's a sickness. Truly. And I blame it on her. Growing up, we would be late before we left with an unmade bed.

However, my husband is the true neat-freak of the house. Which is funny that he STRAIGHTENS teeth for a living. He walks through the house, righting crooked picture frames. His hangers are perfectly spaced in his closet. Mine? Not so much. I usually pull out two blouses when I'm reaching for one.

Do not even get me started on the huge sock problem. We are a family of 7. Single Sock Syndrome is taking over my life. Along with Legos.

Do you want to hear what makes my husband's skin crawl?

The junk drawers. I try to tell him everyone has one.

To which he replied, "You have three."

Um, yeah.

(I just located my garlic press in the above photo. It's been missing since, oh, I don't know 2008. FYI the lime green slotted thing under the Tupperware box (that used to hold my corn pokers until the two year old stuck the dog with them. She survived. The dog, I mean.) is an avocado slicer. We love avocados. Have we ever used said slicer? No. I forgot we had it.

But it's not all my fault.

I have minions little helpers that organize at will. And torture our mutt, who is the best natured little dog ever. She puts up with so much.

As does my husband.

So, friends, I double dog dare you to post a pic of your junk drawer online. My husband needs to know I'm not alone.

Query Blunders (Don't mail your query in a coffee cup)

Old People Writing for Teens has a great series on agents' worst queries to date.

It is amusing, frightening, and inspiring at the same time.

Amusing that people would such things.

Frightening that people do such things.

Inspiring that people who follow guidelines might actually rise to the top.

I actually won something.

Oh my goodness! I even think it's signed!

Thank you to Ally Carter and Diana Peterfreund.

Tuesday Teaser

Garrett stooped over to retrieve the dollar. Bam! A hot pink high top slammed down, covering all of George Washington.

“Looking for something?” a dripping sweet voice asked.

“Give me the money, Mirabelle.”

“Finders keepers.” Her nose stuck up in the air. “Losers weepers.”

“Come on, Mathis. It’s not even his money,” Zach spouted. “It’s crazy old Mrs. Hegg’s.”

Garrett stood and watched as the muscle to the right of Zach’s jaw pulsed. It always pulsed when he was steamed.

“Whoa!” Mirabelle began. “You’ve lost old Mrs. Hegg’s money?”

“I haven’t lost it. It’s right here, under your foot. I’m returning it.” Garrett chewed on his lip, trying to keep his cool. His father's words, never hit a girl, flashed in his mind.

Mirabelle tossed her head back and laughed a wicked sort of laugh. Like the Wicked Witch of the West who had creepy flying monkeys as pets. Garrett never wished for scary mammals to do a flyby, but right now he’d like Mirabelle whisked far, far away. If creepy monkeys got the job done, even better.

He needed that dollar.

Discouraged?

I was discouraged two days ago.

A wee bit last night.

Then I read about people like Stephen Parrish.

Wow.

Thanks, Janet Reid, for the link.

The Numbers Game

Corey from Thing 1 and Thing 2 has a motivational post about wanting to be a writer. It puts some numbers to the whole "well then, just write" mantra.

Her first picture book, Hop! Plop!, released in April 2006, the same month that Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen's debut picture book, Tightrope Poppy, released. Well, Corey just sold her 2nd manuscript (which is nothing to sneeze at), but Sudipta just sold her 15th!

The difference? Corey writes one solid manuscript per year and says that Sudipta writes 10. But Corey goes on to give even more crazy percentages, but I'll let you read them for yourself.

The bottom line? Write.

And submit. For me, this is hard, hard. As one writer friend told me, "They won't come knocking on your door." I have to take a deep breath and go for it.

To quote my mother-in-law: "Can't never could do

anything, but Try did."

Or something like that.

Amazima

A serious topic today, then back to regularly scheduled programming.

If you haven't met Katie behind Amazima, let me introduce you. Start by reading her blog entry My Heart Spilled. Grab a tissue and be prepared to have your eyes opened and your world rocked. This gal is doing hard, amazing, things.

For my local friends,

Jenny W. and I have talked again regarding the immense need of some students in NWA, and we intend to deliver blankets to a local elementary school in a couple of weeks.

If you have any new items you'd like included please get them to us at church on Sunday, March 7th, or Sunday, March 14th (Daylight Savings). You may also drop the items by either of our homes or Jesse's office off Mission (across from McNair Middle School).

We hope to deliver the items after the 14th, before the students go on Spring Break, as they will not be present for school lunch, often the only meal they receive.

What is needed:

*clothing (boy or girl, sizes 4-5 to small adult). I'm sure underwear and socks would be appreciated, too.

*shoes

*packets of food the kids can open and/or prepare themselves

*blankets

Jenny has instructions on making your own polar fleece blankets. This is very economical, especially now that fleece is on sale, and can provide for more kids at once. Most of these kids have NO bed covers and have been sleeping in donated sweatshirts.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is appreciated and will bless these kiddos who are often left home alone.

God bless,

Kristin Gray

Feel free to email me for more specifics.

March Madness

Starts over at Denise's Livejournal. If you need to kickstart your writing this month, join in the fun!

I pledge to have my rewrites done for my middle grade by 3/31.

This is the kick in the pants I needed. That, and realizing, that 2010 will be one-fourth of the way over?!

Get to writing, and I'll see you there!