This is a journal that tells a bit about the publishing journey of my children's books. In addition to this, I also have a blog called Tea with T. Katz that I invite you to read www.tkatz.typepad.com or subscribe to on Amazon's KINDLE!
January 2009
The Advanced Review Copies of Miss L'eau and Pythagoras went out into the world in 2008 and the books are trickling their way into stores and libraries.
By the way, I am not complaining, but gee whiz ... nobody can fully prepare you for the machine that is "press & publicity". While it is true that the writing process requires a mix of discipline and creativity (not always two ingredients that blend easily together), press & publicity requires even MORE discipline and a whole lot of patience. Big heaping doses of patience while mailings, faxes, emails and phone calls take place. Whew.
February '09
Yay! Now the fun part of having two books released begins -- school presentations! Kids are the whole reason I started storytelling in the first place, so having the opportunity to do so in person is the best ever! Giving presentations about taking responsibility for the planet (like the boys in Miss L'eau) or speaking about how important music can be in our lives (the way it is for Pricilla and her father in Pythagoras) -- is absolutely thrilling!
It is challenging to fit in presentations, press & publicity AND finishing the final chapters to DOuG -- but I find that the energy and excitement of the students I speak to keeps me going and I am so thankful for that!
Once DOuG is in the revision process (which will take a while) I am realllly excited to pour my heart into the remaining chapters for The Fallon Hotel. It is the story that keeps me awake at night with a shiver up my spine and curiousity in my heart as the characters take on lives of their own. I hope you'll have as much fun reading it as I have had writing it.
March 2009
This month certainly was named appropriately: March! I have been marching from one place to another talking to anyone who will sit still long enough to listen to how Miss L'eau came to be. Earth Day is coming (April 22nd) and it is her time to shine, giving kids inspiration and permission to be caretakers of the earth -- a little bit at a time. Great journeys begin with a few steps and taking care of the planet begins two hands (no matter how young or small) at a time.
April '09
I have heard it said, "April showers bring May flowers" and I have to be honest and let you know this month I have showered my share of tears. Tears of joy, tears of frustration and tears because I couldn't figure out how to program the GPS on my way to KMIR to tape a television segment with handsome anchorman Gino! And lots of crying and gnashing of teeth when the lovely Bonnie O'Brian of California Readers told me of the errors found in Pythagoras. I will be working on getting that fixed ASAP! Honestly, once I'd edited, re-edited, edited once again and then proof read it -- I thought my EDITOR would have found anything that had been missed. Sheesh.
Hopefully, flowers will find a way to grow in saltwater!
May 2009
Okay, so I'm a make lemonade out of lemons kind of gal and I decided to turn the whole Pythagoras Typos Saga into a contest. Any kids (or big kids) who send me email or snail mail pointing out specific errors will receive a prize package from me! The problems have been fixed for all future editions. Whew!
Speaking of errors -- I was on the "Former Friends of John Boston Show" on KHTS Monday and called Betty Smith, the author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty White! Sigh. I do love my Golden Girls, but I also know the difference between the actress and the author. Love, love, love to watch you Betty White -- but love, love, LOVE to read Betty Smith a little more.
June 09
Southern California is known for its "June Gloom" (when the marine layer comes in and gives us gray skies), but today my heart sees only fluffy white clouds and bright blue skies, such as those seen in the eyes of our Miss L'eau -- because this morning I worked on her Book Trailer with one of the most incredibly talented voice-over artists in the WORLD: Lex Lang. Truly a genius and a gentleman.
This project was a labor of love involving many people close to my heart who worked to put all of the pieces together. My husband helped me seek out footage and then sat with me while I agonized over the video clips. Then, after the timing script was completed, he artfully stiched (edited) the clips together.
After that, a very dear and talented friend, Gregory Hinde, spent the next few days watching the rough clip of the Book Trailer, returning a few days later ... with what can only be described as magic in his hands. As I shared with Gregory, for a person to have vision of a project that they really care about is a joyful thing, but to then have someone create music as though they crawled into your heart to feel what you feel, see what you see and hear what you hear is an incredibly powerful thing. I am so grateful to him for his gift of auditory "vision" (as he also found the exact sound effects that I wished for) and his ability to create that perfect match of what I had seen in my mind's eye.
Now, it will be the next big gift of magic when the director for the film comes along and sees the same vision!
July
Oh, the dog days of summer! It has been 108 (or so) every day here in the dessert and I nearly finished with DOuG. It is a good time to write, with the extreme quiet -- NObody goes outside when it is this hot -- with a fan whirring madly in the background and a glass of iced tea at my side. I'm not a pool kind of person, so my "monitor tan" serves me well this time of year.
In addition to DOuG, I have also been busy blogging about Miss L'eau on various websites around the country and my personal Tea with T. Katz blog. Switching between those gears has been like running three kinds of races at the world's wackiest family picnic.
Mid-July has my mind in a Back-to-School mode, as my kids go back the books the second week of August. They might not be thrilled, but I absolutely LOVE that time of year with the newnesss of everything and the promise of cooler weather down the road (not until October for us, really -- but by September the nights are cool again). Plus, I live for the structure that the school year provides: calendars, projects, deadlines, etc. Whoohoo! It will come as no suprise then that Monday is my favorite day of the week, for many of the same reasons. I realize, that I am probably quite alone in that.
August
The SCBWI Conference has just ended -- and what a ride! If ANY of you have ever wanted to dip your toe into the pool of writing or illustrating for children, you need to check out this incredible organization: www.scbwi.org.
September
Spent a lot of time organizing materials and lining up volunteers for the California Dictionary Project - since the dictionary is one of my most favorite books ever![www.CaliforniaDictionaryProject.org]. Also, spent time working on my more "grownup work" Tea with T. Katz Blog [www.tkatz.typepad.com]. The month FLEW by faster than the leaves could leave their trees.
October
My most favorite month of all! I love the magic that hangs in the air when the weather turns cooler. I don't think wishes fly as well in the heat.
My first A.B.C. (Appetizers & Beverages for a Cause) to benefit the California Dictionary Project raised $300 and a good time was had by all. My hope is to double the event every year and hope to inspire others to host the same event in their homes.
The Duarte 7th Annual Festival of Authors was a delightful event and I look forward to going again next year. Such a fun time meeting my readers, their parents and grandparents -- all the smiles, handshakes and hugs I could carry home to keep me warm. Lovely, lovely, lovely.
November
It is still 2009, but the end is in sight. Next month I have a really exciting event -- the 3rd Annual Santa Clarita Literacy & Arts Festival on December 5th from 10am to 3pm where I will spend the day reading in a Story Tent from my two children's chapter books Miss L'eau and Pythagoras and walking about the grounds handing out booksmarks and goodies.
I am a little extra excited about the festival because the event will be held at Wm. S. Hart Park in Newhall, CA -- a location that features prominently in my next book No Family Tree for Me. In the book, Tessie Tremaine and her "honorary Grandma" attend the Annual Wild West Rose Show at this lovely location.
While I am excited about the SCV Literacy & Arts Festival, it seems that no good deed goes without a hitch in the giddyup, at least in my corner of the world. There was a misunderstanding with the availability of the books at one of the warehouses, which means there might not be enough copies available for the event ... and on and on the story goes. Hopefully, all will be corrected by 12/5. Argh!
December
A car crash on 12/4 wiped out my car, my ribs and a good chunk of my spirit ... but I'm here to tell the tale! The SCV Literacy & Arts Festival was a wonderful success and it was about 45 windy degrees out, so it numbed some of the pain and I had a smile frozen on my lips (hard not to, all of the kids were super and their love of books and storytelling evident). Thank goodness I got to spend most of it in a big cozy rocking chair in the tent where I read -- that was a big help! Looking forward to the event next year and plan to stay from the very beginning to the very end!
January 2010
I cannot believe the new year and new decade has arrived. For everyone, I hope this is the beginning of a new and exciting chapter -- out with the old and in with the new and whatnot. For me, I not-so-jokingly referred to the last decade as the Decade of Darkness and I am happy to put it behind me. My replacement car is black (having had green cars for years and years) and I've told everyone that it should be the darkest thing to happen to me from this month forward!
The publishing industry continues to struggle and I have watched so many independent bookstores close since I began my journey -- it's just terrible. It's not the best time to be a bookseller or a bookMAKER for that matter (big publishers suffer, but watching my little publishing house go through it is so painful to see -- such wonderful folks). But, storytellers tell stories and that's what I will continue to do -- even if I only get paid in tea and cookies (not that there's ANYthing wrong with that. If anyone is listening, I'm fond of lemon cookies).
Once exciting bit of news: my toe is in the electronic world (whirled?) pool now, as my Tea with T. Katz blog is now available on Amazon's Kindle. Very fun!