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by Barbara Nass
First, let me start by thanking Tara for hosting me and my debut picture book, FIX AND STITCH. Tara was a gift to me. And I mean that literally. When I retired, my work team gave me consulting time with Tara as a retirement gift. I can’t think of a better way to have jump-started my journey into picture book writing.
They say “write what you know”. And for a time, I struggled with the notion of writing a STEM story about tech and especially one to inspire young girls into this field. In my previous tech career, I mentored women across my organization and the few (emphasis on few) that were in tech. I also promoted tech careers at St. Elizabeth University as well as Rutgers University. I was all in on developing a tech-related story, but ideas that were picture-book-worthy didn’t come.
Other ideas did come, though. And the one that was the springboard for FIX AND STITCH began with the question of how a porcupine gets its first hug.
That idea could have gone in many directions. But instead, wound up about Squirrel, a creative tailor, who helps solve Porcupine’s problem. But in FIX AND STITCH, Squirrel has his own need. The birds have headed south, the last of the leaves are on the ground and winter is coming. Squirrel must build his winter home before it’s too late.
Instead, he delays, again and again, continuing to help his woodland neighbors, each with their own amusing dilemma. Squirrel just can’t say “no”.
Aha! I did write what I know. Squirrel grew up in a family like mine.
And while this story offers a message of kindness and friendship, what was the message that young readers would take away? I wanted a story about empathy, not self-sacrifice. Revision was needed and an author’s note added opening the door for discussion with children. In fact, I’ve already received notes from parents letting that they’ve had these important conversations after reading the story and author’s note. One even told me that it was quite a meaningful moment with his daughter. This feedback means everything to me. So, while I hope young readers will delight in this story of a clever tailor and his ingenious designs, I also hope they walk away with this life lesson in balancing empathy with attending to one’s own needs. A lesson that quite a few adults have now told me, they wished they had learned at an early age.
I want to thank Karen Grencik and Barb McNally for wanting this story told. And to Liza Woodruff, an amazing illustrator who truly captured the spirit of the story and its characters.
Congratulations on all your success, Barbara!
Blog readers, Barbara is giving away a copy of FIX AND STITCH. Just leave one comment below to enter and a random winner will be selected at the end of the month.
The winner of the last giveaway, MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS (critique), is Ashley Bankhead. Congrats, Ashley, and expect an email from me shortly.
Barbara Nass grew up in Brooklyn, NY. married, and raised her son in New Jersey. There, the family enjoyed hiking New Jersey’s scenic park trails. A woodland habitat she used as the setting for FIX AND STITCH, her debut picture book. A tech executive, whose career roots began in early childhood education, Barbara will forever treasure those moments when her students first learned to read. Barbara now lives in Manalapan, New Jersey. Visit her at BarbaraNass.com, Instagram @barbara.nass.writer, and Twitter/X @barbara_nass.
by Christine Van Zandt
Those early, shut-in days of the pandemic fostered my upcoming picture book, MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS (Beaming Books, 2024). With everyone at home, we escaped to—I mean, we appreciated—our garden a bit more. Flowers and foliage. Bugs and birds. Bare patches calling out for some attention. So, off to the garden center where an “attracts butterflies” sign led us to buy our first milkweed plant. Why not?
Days later, we noticed our milkweed had critters crawling on it. Twenty-seven to be exact. Little caterpillars that would grow into monarch butterflies. We watched as they devoured leaves, buds, even stems. Their escapades, a fun distraction. Counting caterpillars became part of our daily routine.
Then, one morning, all were gone!
I Googled and discovered this wasn’t supposed to happen. Toxins in the milkweed plant made the caterpillars taste bad and their bold stripes warned-off predators. (Apparently no one told our local birds and raccoons.)
Without the constant crunching, the milkweed leafed out, bloomed, and a female monarch butterfly found it. The baby-factory was back in business! We learned that monarchs need milkweed—it’s the only plant their caterpillars can eat.
Once our eggs hatched, there were a lot of very hungry caterpillars. (Eric Carle knew what he was talking about.) Back to the garden center for more milkweed. Before long, some caterpillars made chrysalises, then, weeks later, launched into gorgeous butterflies reminding me of my childhood.
Growing up in northern California, winters brought magical moments of seeing coastal trees blanketed with western monarch butterflies. While the eastern monarch population that overwinters mainly in Mexico has suffered declines, the western monarch has been classified as an endangered species. In 2021, fewer than 2,000 of these butterflies were counted overwintering in California. Their numbers were once in the millions.
At-home pesticide use is a major factor. Gardeners want big blooms and perfect greenery, but spraying or applying systemic pesticides means we’re killing all kinds of insects and disrupting the food chain. Habitat destruction and climate change also take a toll.
While I watched the butterfly life cycle, I wrote about it, workshopping my manuscript with critique partners. My writing was trial and error: fiction, nonfiction, prose, verse. I read every book I could find about butterflies, and began volunteering for Xerces to gain insight into insects. Then back to revisions.
The manuscript that fluttered to the top was a rhyming poem supported by facts. Spare, lyrical text shows a mama monarch returning from overwintering. We follow one egg on its journey to becoming a butterfly. This engaging read-aloud also has STEM information and fun interactive questions to support classroom or at-home learning.
My first nonfiction picture book, A BRIEF HISTORY OF UNDERPANTS, sold to Quarto Kids unagented (via a Twitter pitch party) and published around the same time that the manuscript for MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS won several top awards through SCBWI. Soon after, I received an offer for representation from the amazing Liza Fleissig at the Liza Royce Agency.
In a whirlwind, Liza sold my manuscript to Beaming Books. Working with their Senior Acquisitions Editor, Andrea Hall, has been a dream. She understood my concern but also my hopefulness and she created a beautiful book. Here’s a first look at the gorgeous cover created by illustrator extraordinaire, Alejandra Barajas!
MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS is now available for preorder, for a February 6, 2024 release.
In closing, I’d like to give a big thank-you shout-out to Tara! I appreciate all Tara does for our industry and how her successful books have shown the world that funny female kid’s lit writers really do exist.
Images provided by Christine Van Zandt and Beaming Books.
Christine is giving away a 60-minute manuscript critique of the first 750 words of your book (adult or kid’s, fiction or nonfiction, prose or verse) or a picture book with 750 words or fewer. (No art please.)
Leave one comment below to enter. A random winner will be selected in September!
Good luck!
Christine Van Zandt is a freelance editor who loves helping other writers realize their dreams of getting their books published. A small-business owner, she founded her company, Write for Success Editing Services, in 2009.
MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS is Christine’s second nonfiction picture book. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and pets. Find out more at ChristineVanZandt.com.
This Sunday, August 13 at 1pm EST, please join me for a LIVE video chat on YouTube. You can ask me anything about writing and publishing picture books, like…
- How do I know my manuscript is ready for submission?
- Should I rhyme my story?
- Do I need a literary agent? How do I find one?
- What does a publisher do to market my book?
- Can I choose my illustrator?
- Does the amount of my advance truly matter?
- What can I do to market my book? What has the biggest sales impact?
- How do I secure school visits?
And whatever burning questions you have!
I’ll be on camera, but don’t worry, you won’t be. Just enter your questions in the LIVE chat and listen while I dispense what I’ve learned during my 15 years in the business. Fun and hilarity will ensue!
This will be the 1st session of at least three in support of my newest book, FLAT CAT, illustrated by Pete Oswald, due for release on September 19th.
I hope you’ll tell one person about FLAT CAT, ask for it at your independent bookstore, or request for it be carried at your local library. Your support means a lot to me! This is why I enjoy giving back to the writing community. We’re all in this [crazy and difficult world] together!
I’m not who you think I am: “the other writer”.
In writing, there is a pervasive myth of “the other writer.” In this ridiculous tale we tell ourselves, “the other writer” is an omnipotent genius who can write no junk. They never doubt the words on the page. Everything comes easy to “the other writer”: book deals, best-selling titles, accolades and awards, affection and fame.
I’m here to tell you “the other writer” doesn’t exist. (Well, except for Stephen King.)
But really, when was the last time you heard a writer brag about how easy they have it?
If you did hear such drivel dribble out of a writer’s mouth, you’d immediately block that person and label them as a poseur.
So why do we allow ourselves to believe that the flawless “other writer” truly exists?
I think it’s to soothe our tortured brains—it MUST be easy for SOMEONE, right?
Let’s hear what YOU think. Please comment below…and I’ll do a recap post in a few weeks.
(P.S. I don’t think it’s easy for Mr. King, either.)
Given that we’re about halfway through the year, it’s a good time to introduce THE HALF BIRTHDAY BOOK by Erin Dealey, illustrated by Germán Blanco.
As author Erin Dealey tells it, “In the first few drafts of THE HALF BIRTHDAY BOOK (Genius Cat Books), the Half-Birthday Buddies were gnomes! My editor at Genius Cat Books pointed out (wisely so…) that people either really love gnomes or they hate them. She asked me to rethink who these characters might be.”
OK, so now I know why my own gnome manuscript went nowhere!
“It was just before Christmas time and the weather was crazy, so I was getting my exercise “jogging” around the house. I happened to pass a star ornament—with a Santa face and hat—on one of our windows, and suddenly I pictured the Half Birthday Buddies with star bodies of different colors! The whole team agreed that this change made the whole book a celebration!
“I love how Germán Blanco brought the Half-Birthday Buddies to life! And when he added “Easter eggs” (½ objects in every spread for readers to find), the book became a fun STEM way to introduce fractions and the math concept of half & whole.”
Erin, we’re always talking ideas here…where did the idea for this story originate?
The Vice Principal at the school where my daughter was teaching 2nd grade had been searching for a book about half birthdays and couldn’t find one. Teachers celebrate 1/2 Birthdays of students with summer birthdays, and those on the big holidays. Usually my answer to “You should write a book about…” is: “What if you write that one?” but something made me check for comp titles, and the most recent books I could find on half birthdays were the Berenstain Bears, and a Max & Ruby (Rosemary Wells) leveled reader! So I got to work.
Thanks for stopping by halfway through the summer, Erin! Best wishes with THE HALF BIRTHDAY BOOK!
by Charlotte Offsay & Abi Cushman
Thank you Tara for having us on your blog today and for agreeing to let us interview one another in celebration of the cover reveal of our upcoming picture book, THE QUIET FOREST! A big thank you to you as well for creating such an inspiring Storystorm event every year—without it THE QUIET FOREST wouldn’t exist! You are a kidlit treasure, and we are endlessly grateful for your support!
[Aww, gosh, I’m blushin’, thanks!]
THE QUIET FOREST is a cumulative picture book in which one mischievous mouse’s mishap quickly snowballs into a chain of outrageous events, causing a whole forest full of animals to have a very loud day indeed! Can the animals now find a way to bring calm and quiet back to their home?
Abi: Charlotte, this is such a fun, clever book. And it’s a Storystorm success story! Where did the idea behind THE QUIET FOREST come from?
Charlotte: Wow, thank you Abi, I really appreciate your kind words! Before I answer your question, I have to say what a treat it is to get to partner with you on this book in particular. I was already a big fan of your hilarious and huggable characters long before editor Catherine Laudone suggested partnering with you on our book–I squealed with delight when she did! I’m absolutely blown away with what you have come up with and I love it even more than I knew I would!
Now, back to your question… Where did the idea behind THE QUIET FOREST come from?
I participate in Tara’s Storystorm event every year in an attempt to mine as many story ideas as I can and fuel my writing throughout the year. Some ideas are concepts or phrases that make their way from one year’s list to the next, waiting for their turn… a.k.a waiting for inspiration to hit. I had been wanting to write a story about spreading kindness for a few years but had never quite found the right way into the story.
After reading a Storystorm post on playing with picture book structure, I wrote: kindness—cumulative structure? on my Storystorm list. One September morning when I was looking for a new writing project to work on, I decided it was time to try a cumulative story about kindness and feature animals as my characters since I had been itching to write an animal-themed picture book! I then pulled every cumulative structure picture book off my shelves and sat down to write what would eventually (after many, many revisions) become, THE QUIET FOREST!
Abi: On top of a cumulative structure, you’ve also incorporated onomatopoeia and alliteration into the story. It’s quite the writing marvel! What was the writing process like for THE QUIET FOREST?
Charlotte: You are too kind! THE QUIET FOREST was simultaneously one of the easiest and hardest books to write—allow me to explain… Writing a cumulative structure picture book has a set structure to it which made a nice frame that felt easier to start from. It allowed me to use the frame even when selecting the animals for the story, as the cumulative structure built, the animals I selected increased in size. Having the animals in place allowed me to see that onomatopoeia would help increase the fun of the read aloud and alliteration even more so. But as I moved on to editing the manuscript, my desire to have all of these pieces in place while creating a story that built logically in chaos became one of the bigger brain teasers I have had to battle in my writing. I needed all the pieces to feel natural and not forced which led to a large number of hours of my manuscript chopped up on my office floor moving pieces around while simultaneously scouring wordhippo.com for a word or phrase that would fit my strict parameters. Writing THE QUIET FOREST felt like solving a puzzle to write and it wasn’t until I saw your brilliant illustrations that it finally felt solved.
Image © THE QUIET FOREST by Charlotte Offsay, illus. by Abi Cushman (Paula Wiseman Books, 2024)
Charlotte: In the book, we get to see the mischievous mouse swinging into a pile of pancakes, a deer picking flowers, and a moose painting. How did you dream up all of the fun antics for these characters? Where did you draw your inspiration from?
Abi: When I first read your manuscript, Charlotte, I could see the potential for really fun action scenes. You left me room to explore exactly what those animals were doing when they each got interrupted, which was amazing. My first goal was to think of what action could go with each sound word that would be the most visually fun for kids. I wanted to err on the side of going BIG.
So I printed out the manuscript and made doodles in the margins with some possibilities. What goes splat? A tube of toothpaste? A bottle of ketchup?
I decided on pancakes because I thought a scene of a mouse flying into a stack of pancakes would be the funniest for kids.
Image © THE QUIET FOREST by Charlotte Offsay, illus. by Abi Cushman (Paula Wiseman Books, 2024)
But once I had brainstormed activities that would be the most fun when they got interrupted, I also had to consider how these activities might come together at the end. This story is so wonderful because just as one mischievous act can snowball into a chain of outrageous events, one simple act of kindness can also spread and change the course of the day. I really wanted to show in the illustrations how each animal’s individual activity at the beginning comes together at the end to contribute to a sense of community.
So now, without further ado, we are thrilled to present the cover of THE QUIET FOREST, which was edited by the incredible Catherine Laudone and beautifully designed by art director Krista Vossen. THE QUIET FOREST releases March 12, 2024 from Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster and is available for pre-order now.
Charlotte Offsay was born in England, grew up in Boston, and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. Through her work, Charlotte hopes to make children laugh, to inspire curiosity, and to create a magical world her readers can lose themselves in time and time again.
Charlotte is the author of The Quiet Forest, illustrated by Abi Cushman (Paula Wiseman Books, 2024), Challah Day, illustrated by Jason Kirschner (Holiday House, 2023), A Grandma’s Magic, illustrated by Asa Gilland (Doubleday Books for Young Readers, April 2022), The Big Beach Cleanup, illustrated by Kate Rewse (Albert Whitman, 2021), and How to Return a Monster, illustrated by Rea Zhai (Beaming Books, 2021).
Learn more about Charlotte’s work at charlotteoffsay.com and follow her on Twitter and Tiktok at @COffsay and on Instagram at @picturebookrecommendations. Charlotte is represented by Nicole Geiger at Full Circle Literary.
Abi Cushman is the author-illustrator of SOAKED!, ANIMALS GO VROOM! and WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD. Her upcoming book, THE QUIET FOREST, written by Charlotte Offsay, releases in 2024. Abi has also worked as a web designer for over 15 years, and runs two popular websites of her own: MyHouseRabbit.com, a pet rabbit care resource, and AnimalFactGuide.com, which was named a Great Website for Kids by the American Library Association. In her spare time, Abi enjoys running, playing tennis, and eating nachos. (Yes, at the same time.) She lives on the Connecticut shoreline with her family.
To learn more about Abi and her books, visit her website at AbiCushman.com. If you like secrets, exclusive sneak peeks, wombats, and special giveaways, subscribe to her newsletter.
by Marzieh Abbas
Before I jump into my guest blog post, I want to thank you for having me, Tara! It’s such a pleasure to be here talking about my debut picture book for the traditional US market. Your blog has been a favorite ever since I began writing in 2019.
Now, let’s talk about how A DUPATTA IS… came to be:
Long before I began writing for children, I came across a photograph when my mom was cleaning out her drawers. It was one of us sisters wrapped in a dupatta, an oversized South-Asian scarf, that had been tied like a sari. It was from the time we were visiting Karachi to see my Dadi, my grandma. She always wore saris and loved to dress us girls up in pseudo-saris, using fancy dupattas.
A few years later, she passed away. My father, the youngest of three sons, along with us, moved back to Pakistan to be with her in her last years. A few weeks after she passed, we noticed my dad had been sleeping with her dupatta tucked beside his pillow. He had asked my mother never to wash it, as it held her scent and helped hold her memory close.
Not only did this stay with me for a long time, it was the spark of an idea for my debut picture book, A DUPATTA IS… (illustrated by Anu Chouhan) which releases today, April 11, 2023!
Once Anu started sharing her illustrations, I was moved to tears. Her detailed settings, inspired by her own childhood with her grandma, resembled my Dadi’s home, right down to the bangle stand and wooden cupboard.
The story came full circle when my mom cleared out a cupboard of my Dadi’s dupattas and saris and sent over one of her favourites for me. It was almost exactly the same as the dupatta Anu had illustrated in her first spread. Have a look! I used it as a backdrop for this shot:
Thank you, Marzieh! What a beautiful story behind your story!
Blog readers, Marzieh would love if you could join her for virtual book launch tomorrow, April 12, 2023 at 10 a.m. EST. You can register here.
Marzieh is also giving away a 30-minute AMA session!
Leave one comment below to enter. A random winner will be selected in two weeks!
Good luck!
Marzieh Abbas is a baker-turned-award-winning author. She loves adding magic to her creations- whether that’s a seven- layered rainbow cake or the books she writes for children all over the world. She enjoys learning new skills, jumping rope, sipping chai, and observing nature. A DUPATTA IS… is her debut picture book in the traditional American market. She has several upcoming children’s books including AWE-SAMOSAS (Clarion, 2024), HENNA IS…(Feiwel and Friends, 2024) and YASMEEN LARI, GREEN ARCHITECT (Clarion, 2024). Marzieh is a member of SCBWI and a graduate of the Lyrical Language Lab and Children’s Book Academy. Marzieh dreams of owning a talking parrot someday. But, until then, she lives in Pakistan with her husband and children who inspire her every day. She is represented by Lynnette Novak at The Seymour Agency. Visit her on the web at MarziehAbbas.com, Instagram @marziehabbas_author and Twitter @MarziehAbbas.
Thank you for patience! Every year after Storystorm, I vow that I will get to the prizes right away, but every year I take a loooong break.
Many thanks to Urania Smith for helping me with this. She got her part done long ago but I’ve been dragging my feet. And away we go…
Two of the Grand Prize Winners, Melissa Koch and R.G. Spaulding, already have agents, so they are passing on their prizes to two others. I allowed them to choose any daily prize they wanted instead, and they chose a signed ABSURD WORDS and a critique from me, so those daily prizes are now off the table. (Can I use any more clichés in this post???)
The two alternate Grand Prize Winners are:
Dawn Prochovnic: Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
Stephanie D. Jones: Sean McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Literary Agency
Congratulations! Be on the lookout for an email from me!
And here are the rest of the daily winners!
Day 2: Mirka Hokkanen–MOSSY AND TWEED plus a picture book critique
Winner: Cait Darfler
Day 3: Monica Acker–Non-rhyming picture book critique under 600 words
Winner: Ashley Chance
Day 4: Abi Cushman–WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD
Winner: Abby Mumford
Day 5: Megan Litwin–TWINKLE, TWINKLE, WINTER NIGHT
Winner: Maria Bostian
Day 6: Picture Book Junction
David McMullin–PB critique
Winner: Colleen Owen Murphy
Lisa Varchol Perron–Poetry bundle (3 children’s poetry anthologies: Things We Eat, Things We Feel, Imperfect II: Poems About Perspective)
Winner: Pat Haap
Ana Siqueira–PB critique (fiction and non-rhyming) or Zoom “Ask Me Anything”
Winner: Sharon Langley
Suzy Levinson–Children’s Poem critique (rhyming)
Winner: Sandy Belford
Aimee Isaac–picture book critique
Winner: Amanda Zeigler
Marie Boyd–PB critique
Winner: Teresa Robeson
A.J. Irving–Fiction PB critique in prose
Winner: Sarah Skolfield
Carrie Kruck–”Ask Me Anything” Storystorm edition! 30-minute Zoom
Winner: Kelly Vavala
Gabriela Orozco Belt–PB critique
Winner: Srividhya Venkat
Astrid Kamalyan–30-minute Zoom “Ask Me Anything” focusing on the process of creating PBs
Winner: Delia Ruiz
Sarah Hovorka–“Anything Goes!” 30-minute Zoom talk and/or critique of PB, query, first five pages of CB or MG, or outlines/prep work
Winner: Charles Trevino
Jack Wong–Publisher/agent query critique
Winner: René Bartos
Day 7: Laura Zarrin–WALLACE AND GRACE TAKE THE CASE
Winner: Diane Mittler
Day 8: Kathleen Doherty picture book critique, fiction, up to 650 words
Winner: Colleen Owen Murphy
Day 9: Natalie Rompella–MALIK’S NUMBER THOUGHTS: A STORY ABOUT OCD
Winner: Linda Kulp Trout
Day 10: Justin Colon–The Kidlit Hive webinars, as well as a 30-minute AMA session to discuss querying, submission, ideas, etc.
Winner: Rosemary Basham (Supermario6)
Day 11: Lydia Lukidis–DEEP, DEEP DOWN
Winner: Joy Wieder
Day 12: Jewish Board Books Group
Vivian Kirkfield–PB Critique OR Copy of PIPPA’S PASSOVER PLATE
Winner: Mona861
Nancy Churnin–copy of COUNTING ON SHABBAT
Winner: Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod
Sarah Aroeste–MAZAL BUENO
Winner: Sara Ackerman
Ann Koffsky–15-minute Zoom Critique
Winner: Jennifer Vose
Varda Livney–CHALLAH!
Winner: Jilanne Hoffmann
Day 13: Dianna Murray–PB critique
Winner: Sophie Furman
Day 14: Hillary Homzie–IF YOU WERE A PRINCESS
Winner: Claire Bobrow
30-minute Zoom critique of your picture book manuscript or the first five pages of your novel
Winner: Sue Macartney
Day 15: Rebecca Gardyn Levington–BRAINSTORM! (US)
Winner: Reed Hilton-Eddy
WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW
Winner: Bethanny Parker
30-minute Ask-Me-Anything Zoom Session!
Winner: Jennifer Jahn
Day 16: Karen Henry Clark–LIBRARY GIRL and Nancy Pearl librarian action figure
Winner: Rozanark Rozana Rajkumari
Day 17: Patricia Tanumihardja–RAMEN FOR EVERYONE
Winner: Suzanne Lewis
Day 18: Jessica Shaw–THE GREAT COOKIE KERFUFFLE
Winners: Lauren Barbieri and Amanda Backof
Day 19: Kidlit in Color Group
Valerie Bolling–15-minute AMA
Winner: Jennifer Blanck
Kaitlyn Wells–15-minute AMA or picture book manuscript critique
Winner: Janie Reinart
Alyssa Reynoso-Morris–30-minute AMA or a picture book manuscript critique
Winner: Bonnie Lambourn
Natasha Khan Kazi–15-minute AMA or a PB non-rhyming fiction manuscript critique
Winner: Johanna Peyton
Aya Khalil–15-minute AMA or a PB non-rhyming fiction manuscript critique
Winner: Ana Kelly
Alliah L. Agostini–15-minute AMA or a copy of Big Tune or The Juneteenth Story
Winner: Rebecca Gardyn Levington
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow–15-minute AMA
Winner: Kirsten Bock
Day 20: Jill Davis–signed ABSURD WORDS
Winner: (Kidlitgail) Gail Handler
Day 21: M.O. Yuksel–ONE WISH: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University
Winner: Judy Abelove Shemtob
Day 22: Jackie Azúa Kramer and Jonah Kramer–MANOLO AND THE UNICORN
Winners: Deb Adamson and Kathleen Clark
Day 23: Lauren H. Kerstein–30-minute video-call consultation
Winner: David McMullin
Day 24: Louise M. Aamodt–picture book critique
Winner: Shyrelle
Agent, Emily S. Keyes of Keyes Agency LLC–feedback on a picture book manuscript plus its accompanying query
Winner: Jennifer Cowan
Day 25: Marzieh Abbas–picture book critique (under 650-word fiction and non-rhyming manuscript)
Winner: Beth Pollock
Day 26: CK Malone
Ask Me Anything Session with myself and my agent Dan, founder of Page Turner Literary (30 minutes)
Winner: Carlisle Malon
Critique of a Fiction PB up to 2,000 words with multiple revisions (just me)
Winners: Sylvia Mary Grech and Melissa Kay Valente
CHARLY Signed Prize bundle of book and LGBTQ+ Items + A surprise book not by me: 3 winners
Winners: Carol Gwin Nelson, brennajeanneret, and Natalie Lynn Tanner
Day 27: Ebony Lynn Mudd–scholarship to her upcoming course: How to Find the Right Picture Book Structure to Save Your Story
Winner: Pamela Harrison
Day 28: Kirsten Pendreigh–picture book critique, or a virtual classroom visit to read LUNA’S GREEN PET Winner: Stacey Gustafson
Day 29: Laura Lavoie–30-minute Ask-Me-Anything Zoom chat
Winner: Karin Larson
Day 30: Corey Finkle–YOUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Winner: Hilary Mankovsky
Manuscript review and/or Zoom career consultation
Winner: Danya Vasquez David
Phew! That’s alotta prizes!
Please be on the lookout for an email from me within the next week!
Congratulations to all AND SEE YOU for STORYSTORM 2024!
by Molly Ruttan
Hi Tara! Before I begin, I want to take a moment to thank you for having me on your incredible blog! I am a big fan of yours—it’s such a pleasure to be here!
The roots for my new picture book SOMETHING WILD (Feb 28, 2023, Nancy Paulsen Books), which is about overcoming stage fright, go back to my childhood. When I was in second grade, my mother signed me up for violin lessons. I loved playing, but the stress of performing was too much for me—I ended up quitting the orchestra and sadly giving up the instrument altogether.
Fortunately, stage fright didn’t stop me from loving music and performing, and I’ve enjoyed being the drummer, back-up singer or both in many rock bands over the years. But the days leading up to performances were always (and still are) full of anxiety for me. What finally helped me manage was when I realized that I could rely on my muscle memory and my discipline to pull me through, in spite of my mind, which was busy panicking. This awareness has given me a great sense of comfort. It especially has helped once I am on stage—even to the extent that I actually can enjoy being there!
Here I am with The BumbleBeez, a kids rock band, circa mid 90s. Even though we performed for kids, I would still have anxiety on the days leading up to performances. I was the drummer and backup singer, (but not the original one; I recorded some singles, but I’m not on the albums) with Leanne Sterling (l) & David Scheffler (m). You can find the music on Apple Music & Spotify.
When it was time to create the final art for Something Wild, I began listening to a lot of violin music to get into the flow. I became totally inspired to pick up where I left off as a kid, and start playing again! I had a viola that had belonged to my mother, so I started taking lessons. I’ve been learning for about two months now. Here I am, playing the violin as a kid, and playing the viola now.
The book itself started to take form when I was pre-published and taking a class with Marla Frazee. She had given us the task of illustrating a sequence, and since I was performing a lot at that time, I was inspired to try and illustrate how stage fright felt for me. I painted a short narrative about a girl who was afraid to perform, but when she took the stage and remembered how much she loved to play, the world around her transformed into something wild and beautiful. It felt like the beginning of a book, but I couldn’t figure out what came next.
Several years later when I was working on my author/illustrator debut THE STRAY (2020, Nancy Paulsen Books), an SCBWI regional mingle coordinator asked me if I would present my “Path to Publication”. I said yes, but I was terrified. My stage fright kicked in, and I had many sleepless nights leading up to the event. To calm myself, I decided to use the strong emotion I was feeling to try to generate a new book. I started writing down how I was feeling, and all of a sudden I remembered my illustrations. The sequence I had drawn was the end of a story, not the beginning! I feel forever grateful for that presentation experience, which caused me so much anxiety—without it I would not have discovered the beginning of this book.
Presenting my “Path to Publication” at the SCBWI Regional mingle, 2018.
Some of the members in my Illustration Collective The Mullberries at a book-signing for Marla Frazee’s book Little Brown (2018, Beach Lane Books). Left to right: Helen Yoon, Judy Faulkner, Gail Buschman, myself, Annelouise Mahoney, Joy Dabby and April Zufelt. Not pictured: Jackie Huang, Danielle Heitmuller, Heidi Aubrey and Tricia Candemeres.
I spent the next several months working out the details with the help of a group of fantastic, talented friends. (We are now an Artist’s Collective called The Mulberries.) I am so grateful for them, and for my agent, Rachel Orr, for supporting me all along the way. And of course I am deeply thankful to Nancy Paulsen, for publishing it! Her wonderful expertise along with my brilliant art director Cecilia Yung—and the whole amazing team at Penguin—brought it to life! I hope that Hannah’s story will provide a comforting and entertaining journey for other anxious kids (and adults) to embrace, and an inspiration for them to try allowing something wild happen for them, too!
Interior spreads from SOMETHING WILD written and illustrated by Molly Ruttan. Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Random House ©2023.
Thank you for sharing your wild journey with us, Molly!
I think many introverted writers can relate to the SOMETHING WILD story.
Blog readers, Molly is giving away a delightful prize pack: a book, a sticker sheet, a round sticker & a bookmark. Just leave one comment below to enter and a random winner will be selected next month. (How about telling us if you get stage fright?)
Good luck!
Molly Ruttan grew up making art and music in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and earned a BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art. Molly now lives in the diverse and historic neighborhood of Echo Park in Los Angeles. She played violin as a child, plays drums, sings in a community choir and has just started learning the viola. She loves exploring all kinds of fine art and illustration mediums, including making her own animated book trailers. Her life is full of art, music, family, friends and all kinds of pets and urban animals.
Molly’s titles include her author/illustrator debut, THE STRAY, (Nancy Paulsen Books); I AM A THIEF! by Abigail Rayner, (North South Books); and VIOLET AND THE CRUMBS: A Gluten-Free Adventure by Abigail Rayner (North South Books). SOMETHING WILD is Molly’s second author/illustrated book and has received a starred Kirkus review. She has two additional books forthcoming.
Molly is represented by Rachel Orr at Prospect Agency. To contact Molly, purchase books & view her book trailers, go to Linktr.ee/mollyruttan.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 