Launching Nina Seven's First Book!

Happy Launch Day to illustrator Nina Seven (wearing crown) and author Maribeth Stephens (wearing red) for their new book, Theodore the Tree, published by Think Big Media. This is Nina’s first book, and Maribeth’s first book for children. I'm starting a new tradition here at SVP. For ::first book:: launches, everyone jump up on your desk and do the Rocky Balboa! Ready? Set? Hit it! Nina, we are all thrilled for you.

From the time Theodore was a sapling, all he wanted was to be the perfect Christmas tree. But he knew he was too short and his lopsided limbs would never do. He spent every spare moment learning to hide his most distressing features. One Christmas Eve he spied a family trudging through the forest looking for a Christmas tree. Theodore employed all of his tricks. They worked! But once home and decorated, the children shun him. Dejected and droopy, Theodore learns a heartwarming lesson about what it means to be part of a family. A tender story for all ages. (Excerpt from their website)

Theodore already has his own website! Upcoming events like the two below are listed, along with coloring pages to download, and more info about Nina and Maribeth.

If you are in the Seattle neighborhood on Saturday, December 5^th, grab an umbrella and drop by.

Phinney Neighborhood Association Winter Festival

Book reading and signing 11:30 to 12:15, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle WA 98103

Santoro's Books

Holiday Party & Book Signing 5pm to 8pm, 7405 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103

Like those objects in your side mirrors, the holidays are CLOSER than they appear. Practice some good self-care, and get a headstart on your shopping! Books are the finest gift you can possibly give (especially when paired with dark chocolate). Theodore is available for purchase at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

For a chance to win an autographed copy of your own, answer the following question correctly in the comment section or send to my mailbox.

Scout and Zoey are the names of Nina's:

a. grandparents

b. kitty cats

c. live-in chauffeur and chef

d. children

e. imaginary friends

I am fairly certain that Nina and I could be the very best of friends, because in addition to her to illustrating for children, she has a greeting card and fine art company celebrating the art of coffee! Check out n7 Designs.

Lastly, congratulations to Pat Evans who has won a personalized copy of Robin's Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, hot off the press. Janet guessed correctly that Robin did not grow up with a pet dodo in her home. Janet, please email me with your mailing information, and we'll get it right off to you!

And hold on to your hats, everyone-- October is here!

Mary

Happy Launching to R.L. LaFevers!

Congratulations to our own R.L. LaFevers today on the official launching of her new series with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Nathaniel Fludd: Beastolologist, The Flight of the Phoenix.  And happy kudos to the series' phenomenal illustrator, Kelly Murphy. 

Nathaniel Fludd never dreamed that mythical beasts were real. Or that he would be the one who was supposed to take care of them.  

 “The story is packed with adventure and mythological creatures. Children who love fantasy, myth, exotic settings, and even a little dose of history will relate to Nate as he discovers his inner hero and carries on the Fludd family tradition.”

                                               ~ School Library Journal

“. . . an exciting tale.”

                                              ~Kirkus

A Junior Library Guild Selection

This is Robin's eighth book out since she first hit the scene in 2003.  I couldn't be any prouder of her if I had given birth to her myself. Her wildly festive plans for Launch Day thus far include researching the Egyptian Nationalist Movement of 1907  for her next Theodosia title, finishing up galleys for Nathaniel II, and hustling herself down to UPS. Ah, the glamourous life of an author!  (I do get to take her to lunch on Tuesday and vow to celebrate her up one side and down the other.)  To celebrate Robin's Launch Day, I am ordering a copy of Nathaniel Fludd to be sent to my local public library. As we celebrate each other's launches in the months to come, I hope that you'll consider doing the same. It's a strong way to support one another, and our libraries who are struggling during therecession.  You can click here to order Nathaniel Fludd. 

And, I'm betting dollars to doughnuts that we can get Robin to donate a signed copy of her new book to one of your favorite kids, teachers, or libraries. All you have to do is answer the following question: Name one beast that was not in Robin's home when she was growing up. :-]  Good luck!

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Contest Follow-Up!  If your  name is JESSE MARIE KLAUSMEIER , you are the  *winner*  in our most recent random drawing of followers and commenters. You have won a copy of Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life is Your Hidden Strength, by  Laurie Helgoe, PhD.   Jesse, if you will email me, I will get that off to you right away.    I am also very delighted to announce that Dr. Helgoe has agreed to do an interview with us here at SVP.  Coming soon! She was recently was interviewed by Psychology Today magazine, and her book is at the top of the Movers & Shakers List at Amazon Kindle. And she's an introvert to boot. If you have any question(s) that you'd like me to ask her, please let me know!    

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Question of the Day:  Is our new President an introvert?  What do you think?  Could an introvert survive that kind of rigorous public life?

Lastly, we will be having a bonus edition of Shrinking Violets this week on Thursday, October 1st, so we can announce and celebrate the launching of another Violet and her very first book.  Come on back by! Bring confetti. =-]

Wishing you each a seriously swell week! Make sure you've allowed yourself time in your schedule to refuel.  Solitude is oxygen for our souls.

Pax,

Mary Hershey

The Katy Challenge

As in Katy, Texas, that is.

During the last two weeks of October, I have a two week stint in Katy, Texas where I will be speaking at two schools per day, giving two talks per school. Yep. That’s four presentations a day for two weeks, plus going out to lunch or dinners with the teachers and librarians. And in spite of being an introvert, I am very much looking forward to this trip. Here's why.

1. Speaking to kids is one of my most comfortable places as a public speaker. I genuinely love being around them and their energy and their wonder.

2. I equally adore teachers and librarians, the unsung heroes of our modern society.

3. Because I am giving myself the Katy Challenge--which goes something like this:

Over the last five years I have gotten comfortable with public speaking, to a certain degree, with some venues being more comfortable than others. But now, now I want to embrace public speaking, wallow in it, and come out the other side having learned to Love It. A lot. The truth is, I am now eager and ready to get ALL the way past this issue and get it far, far behind me. I am tired of it slowing me down. And while I’ve made tons of progress, I now want to close the remaining gap. Permanently. This two weeks of visits strikes me as a wonderful opportunity to do just that. Sort of like full immersion in a foreign language.

Part of motivation comes from the realization that having someone speak effectively and movingly is as much of a gift as a great piece of writing is. It can shape and expand worlds in just the same way.

The other thing that struck me is that it is just another form of delivering story and structure and theme. And I’m all over those; those I know inside and out. I just need to get comfortable with the FORM of delivery, much like publishing is currently struggling to come to terms with e-books.

I think one important step in accomplishing the above is incorporating other passions besides writing into my presentations, so I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately--What passions define me as a writer? And of course, as usual, the clues are in the writing itself. What themes do I come back to again and again? What core issues move me, compel me?

I have a few. Stepping into one’s personal power is one (and one of the things that makes me so firmly a kids writer, I think). Another is the idea that our weaknesses are often our strengths, we just don’t recognize it yet. And while these themes are especially helpful for kids, they also apply to adults. While most adults have claimed a fair amount of their personal power, they might not have done so in some important areas of their lives, say their creative lives. Or perhaps they’ve forgotten and need to be reminded.

So I’m going to take on this challenge of claiming my personal public speaking power, and find a way to turn what used to be a major weakness into one of my strengths. Anyone else want to join me? I’ll report back here and let you know how it goes!

Shrinking Spaces

Photo credit: the aether eater
WARNING: APPROACH WITH CAUTION
This posting serves as a public warning of a growing hazard to introverts everywhere— the explosion of audible greeting cards. The card industry, once both domain and sanctuary of introverts has been seized by a band of rowdy marketing extroverts that take great delight in getting in your space when you least expect it. Opening a musical greeting card is the equivalent of coming upon a surprise party in your home with guests jumping out screaming from behind your couch. Musical greeting cards are loud, intrusive and possess the sound quality of a garage sale boom box.

Even more hair-raising than being the unsuspecting recipient of such a card is the encroachment of noise in the greeting card store or aisle. No longer a quiet, reflective time to find just the right sentiment for your intended, it has become a circus-like event while toddlers, teens and befuddled Gen B (boomers) set loose an audio mayhem of disco, pop and hip hop. During a recent shopping trip with my dear mum, who is still looking for "the nice $1.75 cards” managed to inadvertently crack open nearly every loaded card in stock. I couldn’t decide which of us should have to take a time-out.

Five years ago I wouldn't have publicly admitted this, attributing it all a rather freakish and abnormal Sensitivity to Life. Now I understand what this is about-- it’s me being an introvert. It’s me needing to control the volume and parameters of my space. Not because I’m a cranky old beast. I’m actually what Laurie Helgoe, Ph.D calls Socially Accessible Introvert in her book, Introvert Power. I like people! I’m madly curious about them and their lives. And, I’ll happily stay that way as long as I get the acreage alone I need to fuel up.

I was raised in a big herd, and I didn’t have a space of my own until I was a teen. I became a expert tent builder as a kid. In the absence of supplies, or if pressed for time, I would climb into the tiny crawl space in the garage behind the chimney. I thought I’d come upon Paradise Lost when I found some abandoned cars behind an old warehouse. It was a great place to read and daydream. (And consume massive quantities of candy—extreme bliss.)

It’s critical we recognize that introverts are territorial. We need space. Protected space. Inviolate space. Some of us are able to maintain that simply as interior space. I’m quite visual and I want to see mine-- my desk, my chair, my cup of favorite pens, highlighters and Sharpies. I was reminded of this once again as I recently reread David Keirsey’s groundbreaking book Please Understand Me. Space is such an important issue about which to educate your family. It’s not you being selfish. It’s simply doing what you need to survive in cohabitivity.

The more deeply you *get* your unique style and nuances, the more successful you'll be in the world promoting your work. You'll recognize your simple truth that people tire you, and you'll need to plan and pace your promotional efforts. You'll find the places of intersection in the world that excite you, and jump in with both feet. You'll approach with caution those activities that lead to de-energizing. If you know that you're going to be in an overwhelming promotional situation for an extended period of time, you'll have your SVP First Aid Kit and defibrillator standing by. The good news is that while people/noise/space infringements may knock us flat, after a period of regathering, violets always rise.

Raffle! Raffle! We've got a raffle! If you'd like to win a copy of one of the fabulous books mentioned in this post, all you need to do is be one of our SVP followers. If you haven't signed on yet, you can do so in the right sidebar. Our followers are always automatically entered! If you'd like to be in the raffle but your system won't allow you to join, leave a comment with this post, or send me an email by clicking I'd like a chance to win!

May all your spaces be sacred, deep and wide--

Mary Hershey

A Monday Marketing Extravaganza!

We read about Darcy Pattison’s terrific idea about designating this as Random Acts of Publicity Week and thought this was such a FABULOUS idea we wanted to jump on the bandwagon and invite SVP readers to play along!

Wanna guess what we like best about it? Yep, you can promote someone else’s books rather than your own.

Her suggested activities for the week:

* Tuesday: Word of Mouth
* Wednesday: Reviews
* Thursday: Links
* Friday: Social Media

And, because karma can be a wonderful thing, now that you’ve committed to promote all those books you love, one of our blog readers is offering you a promotional opportunity. (Don’t you just love how that works??)

SVP reader, Jim Whiting (a prolific childrens’ nonfiction author who has just complete his 100th book! Congratulations, Jim!) invites you to become part of Kids’ Book Author of the Week, his regular feature for Grand (as in grandparents) e-zine. Each week he’ll highlight an author’s recent book, and everything will be archived.

To participate, send a blurb about the book, your bio, a cover image, author photo and list of other books to Jim. For the book itself, include the name, publisher and pub date, genre, number of pages, recommended ages and price. You can also provide links to a sample chapter, reviews and/or your website. Perhaps the most important element is the hook: Why would grandparents want to buy your book for their grandkids? To whom would the book especially appeal?

Check out the feature at www.grandmagazine.com. For questions or to submit (in general, submissions will be posted in the order in which they are received and I am currently booked through early December), contact Jim.

Thank you, Jim, for being so generous with your offer! We hope you find tons of fabulous books that are perfect for grandparents to enjoy with their grandkids!

And lastly, in a pop quiz, Have you put up your Amazon Author Page yet? Now I know we are all about the Indies here, but Amazon is also a fact of life these days and really, we can’t afford to leave any promotional stone unturned—especially when they are such turn-key, no brainers for us in terms of effort. In fact, when I was putting up my page, I stumbled upon a discussion by readers who were concerned that my new series, Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, meant I was no longer writing Theodosia books. SO not true! And I was able to discover their concerns and put them to rest, planting two potential book sales for when Theo 3 comes out.

So get on over there and set up your author page. You can even count it as one of your Random Acts of Publicity for the week!

(And yes, for those of you who thought to check my author page, I have submitted it but it hasn’t been confirmed with the publisher yet—which is why it doesn’t show up yet.)

!!LATE BREAKING NEWS FLASH!!

We have a winner for last week's drawing for a copy of The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z to be donated to their library. The winner is . . . JUSTINE MUSK!!

Justine, email Mary and she will get that out to you!

Happy Launching to Kate Messner!

Congratulations to Kate Messner launching her new middle grade title tomorrow!  

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z

Walker Books, September 1, 2009

Gianna Zales is a star runner with one more hurdle to jump before she goes to cross-country sectionals ­ a monster leaf collection project. To get it done, she'll have to survive a rival who desperately wants to take her place at sectionals, a grandmother who leaves her false teeth in the refrigerator, and a best friend whose feelings about her are changing like the leaves.Gianna Z needs a stroke of brilliance to make it work!

"Gianna Z. is total best friend material ­ full of energy, humor, and heart."  ~Linda Urban, author of A Crooked Kind of Perfect

"Laced with humor and heart, this is an insightful and affecting read,offering a compassionate portrayal of a family member's illness and the discovery of beauty and inspiration in nature and poetry."  ~Booklist Review

Kate's bookstore launch will be held at The Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelbourne, Vermont this Saturday, September 5th. In addition to reading and signing, they will be serving Nonna's famous funeral cookies from the book, and the kids will be taking the Great Tree Identification Challenge.  And, the Flying Pig will be hosting a virtual book signing for Kate through Friday. If you'd like your own personalized book, you can call the store at (802) 985-3999 and place you order.  The book will be mailed to you. This is a fabulous way to let remote your FFF (family, friends, friends) participate in the festivities.

Check out Kate's Book Trailer

Kate is generously donating a signed copy of her new book to one of our reader's local library. We'll hold a drawing at the end of the week.  All SVP followers will be automatically entered, or you can leave a comment to get entered as well. Best of luck to you each!

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As we mentioned a couple of posts back, as a *new* feature to Shrinking Violets, we want to celebrate our readers' launch days this year. Whether it is your first book or your fifty-first, a launch day ought to be celebrated.  If you'd like your title to be featured this year, please email me!  We can post a simple shout-out, introvert-style with no actual shouting, but we'd also love to post your book cover, a photo of you, your blog and/or website info, and any special plans you have to celebrate your launch.  If you don't have any plans, and would like some ideas, let us know that as well. :-] Finally, we invite you to share a signed copy of your book to be raffled off one our readers/followers for donation to their local public library in their name.  

And, on the day of your launch, we'll also sent out a ShrinkngViolets tweet in your honor!

As follow-up to last week's post New York v. Introverts, I want to let you all know that I will phone my editor this very morning at 11:00 a.m.  And I swear I won't hang up on her like I've been known to do a few (read forty) times in my life when the mere answering hello sent me into a lather.  I did email her Friday and asked if I could talk to her on Monday. So this isn't exactly a breezy Gosh, I need to run something by my editor-- I think I'll give her a ring-a-ding. It's completely pre-meditated and I've had all weekend to perseverate about it.  But the Bellagio was not built in one day!  Casual and breezy bound to be next on my list.

In the random but interesting category,  I recently read an interview with actor Ryan Reynolds, who co-starred in the film The Proposal with Sandra Bullock.  He was describing the challenges he faces being in the limelight.

"I feel like a flesh-covered antennae processing way too much information, reading into everything. As I get older, I've learned to control that better."

Ryan is the winner of today's Shrinking Violet "Oh Yeah, Probably an Introvert" Award. We'll be sending Ryan a gas card to drive up from Los Angeles to take Robin and I out to lunch. Afterwards, we'll head and over to our local indie where Ryan will be given the opportunity to hand-sell our books in front of the store.  Congrats, Ryan!  If you'd like Ryan to hand-sell any of your books, just let us know.

Lastly, for those of you looking for some tips for handling Big Talkers at parties and social events, here are some great ready-to-deploy tips from Ellen DeGeneres. 

Here's to a great September to us all--

Mary Hershey

New York v. Introverts

Photo "Random House" by ChangeinCareer

It’s three weeks post-SCBWI Nationals, I’m still feeling buzzed by the Morning-Afters. I haven’t quite yet moved all the way back into my life.  It is rare an hour goes by that I don’t have some flashback to a speaker or workshop, or even one of Lin Oliver’s fastbreaking witticims.

One of the sessions that has packed a punch for me was Elizabeth Law’s PROtrack session entitled “How to Broaden Your Audience, Navigate Different Houses and Other Thorny Questions.”  Elizabeth Law is the VP and Publisher of Egmont Books USA launching its first USA list this Fall.  Egmont, based in Copenhagen, celebrated its 130^th birthday recently and it a non-profit publishing company with supports children’s charities.  (Anyone else out there want to drop everything and go get a job at Egmont?? I'll drive.) 

I took very few notes from this session because Elizabeth was blowing my mind with her answers to said “thorny questions”.  I can’t recall if we ever got around to the “broadening” or “navigating” part of her presentation. We were derailed on an issue that many of us appeared to have trouble with—fear of bothering our editors, otherwise known as Editusphobitus. The assumption behind this phobia is that all editors are busier than God Herself, and we shouldn’t interrupt them in their Very Important Work.  Unlike our own work, which is leisurely and less important-- merely creating the books that they are very busy with. 

We were all shocked by the number of us that were caught up in this mind game. It isn't just me? Elizabeth heartily encouraged us to get over it, and recognize that our editors (and agents!) are our business partners. 

Business partners? Wow. That really hit me.  Not demigods? She said she welcomed hearing from her authors, as it gave her a needed break from the left-brained side of her work. She reminded us that editors do have modern technology at their disposal, and can easily let their calls go to voice mail and ignore their email/TM/Twitter, if they don’t want to be disturbed.  Oh! Right. 

I’ve been chewing over my own reticence and reluctance in this matter. It has a eerily familiar feel to it.  In the five or so years that I’ve worked with my editor, I can’t think of a time when I have ever spontaneously called her, unless we had a phone date set up. I’d be just as likely to pick up the phone and call Michele Obama or Oprah, or Stephanie Meyer.

Would I have liked to talk with her?  Yeah.  There have been a number of times when I’ve been perplexed by an editorial direction, and I bulldogged my way through it. Even though she has continued to extend herself to me in the most gracious way possible over the years. Or, I've contacted her on email because calling just seemed so hard.  Though, I would have loved to do some of the kind of brainstorming that doesn't translate well on email.

The eerily familiar piece?  While I know that there are some funny, perceived inequities in the author/editor relationship supported by the historic language of the process, e.g. submit, reject, solicit, acquire, rights for sale, work as slush, payment in royalties-- I don’t think that is the whole story. This isn’t the first time I’ve been actively practicing avoidance with someone. In fact, it is the once dance that I have completely mastered.  Heck, I’m ready for Dancing with the Stars! Any other agile and accomplished avoiders out there want to be my partner?

I know I've shared here that in my lifetime I've been afraid of Santa Claus and my own grandmother, but I've also avoided a host of others that were important to me... teachers, bosses, people I've had crushes on, and my college advisor (that was such a bad idea). Needless to say, this has caused problems, and more than a few misunderstandings.  Now I'm doing the same thing with my editor.  Why? I know better. It's because I'm shy, which seems like such a funny thing to still be saying at this decade in my life. It's as true now as it was when I was three and hiding in the closet.  Not all introverts are shy-- I just happen to be both. But because I have to live and work in the world, when I need to, I can behave as if I'm not.  Some days, though, it is like walking over hot coals in a pair of Crocs.  Safer to stay in the shadows and corners.

Marketing and promotion begin even before we sell a book. It begins when we choose this profession, and type Chapter One on a blank page, or pick up a paintbrush.  It continues when we attend a conference, a book-signing, a critique group.  Yes, New York is overwhelming, and its inhabitants seem so very sophisticated and glamorous.  And busy. I suspect some of them might be just like us-- introverts that worry about interrupting writers and artists in their Very Important Work.  It always comes back to the advice that we give here time and time again. How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  New York is huge. My editor is not.  Nor is yours.  She or he is just one person in a giant building making books for kids.  They're a lot like us.  

If you're not talking to your editor or agent and bookseller and you need to, or you're not following up on a query that's nearly geriatric, let's borrow from the collective strength of the tribe here. We owe it to our work to make sure we get the input and attention we need for success. As introverts, one of our most important self-care skills is knowing where and when to invest the finite energy we have for engagement.  New York and the members of our current or future publishing team is THE place.  Elizabeth, thanks for the wake-up call!

Dare me to call my editor this week? Double dare me, and I just might.  (Just so you'll know, I'm going to need a lot of dares to do this.)

:-)

Mary Hershey

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Thanks to all of you that have signed on as followers here at Shrinking Violets.  One of the benefits of being a "follower" is that you can finally be eligible to win our frequent prizes without having to make comments.  We appreciate that some of you just won't ever want to do that, and that is perfectly okay with us.  But we hate for you to  miss out on the prizes!   

And, yes, we are back on Twitter and hope you'll come by and say hi!    @ShrinkngViolets

Lastly, a number of you sent me your book launch information, and I'll be posting that in the sidebar each month.  I think we have a couple of you with September books ready to be heralded so stay tuned.  Appreciate all the info.  Keep it coming!

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