My Writing Space


A listserv question prompted me to talk about my writing space today.

I have plenty of possible “offices” in my house, but I’ve always been a kitchen table kind of girl.

I remember doing high school geometry across my family’s kitchen table from my “Nonna” who lived with us.

She would ask me, in Italian. “What are you working on now, Jeanie?” And I would do my best to explain triangles to this magnificently smart woman who boasted only a 3rd grade education. She died when I was just out of college.

I’m still drawn to my kitchen table – albeit a different one – surrounded by activity and FOOD …

and often a sweet Italian angel voice saying “What are you working on now, Jeanie?”

Happy Friday!
Jean

P.S. Above is a picture of my writing space today!!

It’s never too late for TOO PICKLEY!

Thanks to all who attended the TOO PICKLEY! PARTY!!
But if you missed it OR you just want to keep on partying, the fun continues.

Congratulations to all the TOO PICKLEY PARTY winners!

The TOO PICKLEY PARTY was so much fun! Congratulations to all the prize winners.

Monday’s Door Prize, TOO PICKLEY! T-shirt and signed softcover book – Amy Dixon
Tuesday’s Door Prize, Bloomsbury Picture Book Pack – Denise Schurr
Wednesday’s Door Prize, Bloomsbury Picture Book Pack – Brigette Brankin
Thursday’s Door Prize, copies of TOO PURPLEY! and TOO PICKLEY! – Crissy Medley
Friday’s Door Prize, TOO PICKLEY T-shirt and signed book – Alexa Kaufhold
Saturday’s Door Prize, Bloomsbury Picture Book Pack – Lisa Perez

Picture Book Manuscript Critique – Susanne Drazic

30-Minute Skype Visit – Paul Hankins

TOO PICKLEY! Grand Prize Package – Janice Ostrander

Thank you to all who attended!

TOO PICKLEY! PARTY STARTS 8/23/2010!!

Please help me celebrate the release of my picture book
TOO PICKLEY!
(Bloomsbury)
It’s an online party with door prizes, party favors and more.

Kids, Parents, Grandparents, Readers – Come join the fun and win prizes.
Writers – Win a Picture Book Peek critique.
Teachers/Librarians – Win a Skype visit or the
Grand Prize TOO PICKLEY! Package.

Where: www.jeanreidy.com
When: August 23-28, 2010 (Midnight to Midnight Mountain Time)
We’ll be partying all week long.

A portion of my author proceeds from the sale of
TOO PICKLEY!
will benefit
The Children’s Hospital

Spread the word. Invite your friends.
No R.S.V.P. necessary.
I hope you can drop on by.

Title of My Next “Too” Book Contest has a WINNER!

I have to run title contests more often. There were loads of entries – and a little snark on the side. Among the incorrect – but very entertaining – titles were:

TOO CASTLEY! (great guess)
TOO PURRY!
TOO PRICKLY!
TOO PASTY!
TOO PHONY! (about politicians – see what I mean about snark)
TOO WAVY!
TOO CURLY!
TOO GIRLY!
TOO WORDY!
TOO BARKY!
TOO SCARY!
TOO QUEENIE! (getting warmer)
TOO PILLOWY!
TOO PANICKY!
TOO PUTRIDY! (um, what?)
TOO PRINCELY! (almost)
TOO PRINCESSLY! (couldn’t get any closer)
TOO PIMPLY!
TOO POMPOUSLY!
TOO PERPLEXINGLY! (does this have a Latin derivation?)
TOO POLKA-DOTTY!
TOO PEPPERY!
TOO PERFECTLY!

And while there are several “winning” titles on the list the only correct title is

TOO PRINCESSY!

Here’s the announcement in Publishers’ Marketplace:

Children’s: Picture book
TOO PURPLEY! and TOO PICKLEY! author Jean Reidy and illustrator Genevieve Leloup’s TOO PRINCESSY!, with a fussy toddler searching for the just-right playtime option, to Michelle Nagler of Bloomsbury Children’s, by Erin Murphy at Erin Murphy Literary Agency for Reidy and Michele Manasse for Leloup (World).

And many of you guessed exactly that. But alas there’s only one winner. So by random drawing … (drumroll)… the winner is

TERRY HUNT!!

Congratulations Terry! You’ll be receiving a signed copy of TOO PICKLEY!

Thank you to all contestants. And don’t forget the TOO PICKLEY! ONLINE PARTY starts this Monday 8/23/10 and runs through Saturday 8/28/2010. Log in to www.jeanreidy.com for activities, prizes, party favors and more!

You’re Invited to a TOO PICKLEY! Party!!

Please help me celebrate the release of my picture book
TOO PICKLEY!
(Bloomsbury)
It’s an online party with door prizes, party favors and more.

Kids, Parents, Grandparents, Readers – Come join the fun and win prizes.
Writers – Win a Picture Book Peek critique.
Teachers/Librarians – Win a Skype visit or the
Grand Prize TOO PICKLEY! Package.

Where: www.jeanreidy.com
When: August 23-28, 2010 (Midnight to Midnight Mountain Time)
We’ll be partying all week long.

A portion of my author proceeds from the sale of
TOO PICKLEY!
will benefit
The Children’s Hospital

Spread the word. Invite your friends.
No R.S.V.P. necessary.
I hope you can drop on by.

TOO PICKLEY! Release and a Favor to Ask


Next week on 7/6/2010 TOO PICKLEY! hits bookstore shelves. If you’ve been following my blog, you already know that on release day I’ll be at Musana Children’s Home in Iganga, Uganda, mending mosquito nets, tutoring, playing, singing, dancing, reading and helping the kids there tell stories.

While I plan to hold a TOO PICKLEY! ONLINE LAUNCH PARTY in early August, I’d love a bit of buzz next week. Unfortunately I can’t do it myself since I’ll have very limited internet access at Musana.

So if you have an extra minute, I’d so appreciate a tweet, post or message about TOO PICKLEY! It should be on sale at all major bookstores including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

And remember, a portion of my author proceeds benefits The Children’s Hospital in Denver.

Thanks so much, friends. Looking forward to reconnecting on my return.

Congratulations to all the Colorado Book Awards Winners!

ASPEN, CO – A standing-room-only crowd, including Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, celebrated the 19th Annual Colorado Book Awards on Friday, June 25, 2010 at the Doerr-Hosier Center in Aspen. Hickenlooper, a long-time collaborator with Colorado Humanities and Colorado Center for the Book, spoke to the 200 attendees about taking the One Book, One Denver program statewide, and about the importance of the writing community in Colorado, which Hickenlooper said creates a momentum for literacy.

The Colorado Book Awards, one of the oldest state book award programs in the country, recognizes outstanding contributions by Colorado authors, editors, illustrators, and photographers. Vectra Bank representatives Tom Griffiths and Rick Sullivan and Outskirts Press CEO Brent Sampson joined Colorado Humanities Executive Director Margaret Coval and Board Chair Judy Casey to announce the winners.

The winners of the 2010 Colorado Book awards are:

Anthology/Collection
a Dozen on Denver: Stories
, Rocky Mountain News (editor), Fulcrum Publishing

Biography

Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy: The Activist Who Saved Nature from the Conservationists, by Dyana Z. Furmansky, The University of Georgia Press

Children’s Literature

Grandmother, Have the Angels Come? by Denise Vega, illustrated by Erin Eitter Kono, Little, Brown and Company


Creative Nonfiction

Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America by Helen Thorpe, Scribner


General Nonfiction

Voices of the American West by Corinne Platt and Meredith Ogilby, Fulcrum Publishing


Genre Fiction – Historical & Romance

A Land Beyond Ravens: Book 4 of the Macsen’s Treasure Series by Kathleen Cunningham Guler, Bardsong Press


Genre Fiction – Mystery/Thriller & Science Fiction/Fantasy

The Radio Magician and Other Stories by James Van Pelt, Fairwood Press

History

First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army by Peter Eichstaedt, Lawrence Hill Books

Juvenile Literature

Artsy-Fartsy: An Aldo Zelnick Comic Novel by Karla Oceanak, illustrated by Kendra Spanjer, Bailiwick Press

Literary Fiction

Spoon by Robert Greer, Fulcrum Publishing

Pictorial

Phlogs: Journey to the heart of the human predicament by George Stranahan and Nicole Beinstein Strait, People’s Press

Poetry

Theory of Mind: New & Selected Poems by Bin Ramke, Omnidawn Publishing

Young Adult Literature

The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau, Delacorte Press


About Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book
Colorado Humanities supports high-quality literary, cultural and historical programs throughout Colorado in an effort to bring the humanities to life across the state. The mission of Colorado Humanities is to inspire the people of Colorado to explore ideas and to appreciate our diverse cultural heritage. Our programs, including Motheread/Fatheread Colorado
ã, Writers in the Schools, Hispanic Heritage Live! and High Plains Chautauqua, encourage and enable people to read, listen and learn in cultural activities, and to participate in civic dialogue. Colorado Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Colorado Center for the Book is a program department of Colorado Humanities, affiliated with the Library of Congress. More information about Colorado Humanities can be found by visiting http://www.coloradohumanities.org. Follow us on twitter http://www.twitter.com/cohumanities or Facebook http://bit.ly/9SJ7JZ

Traveling and storytelling and the right to dream.

In less than a week, I head off to Iganga, Uganda to spend two weeks with the kids at Musana Children’s Home. While I’m there I expect to be doing a little sewing, a little dancing, a little mosquito net mending, a little netball playing, a little tutoring, and a lot of loving those kids.

But one of my projects has me a bit intimidated. Along with my daughter, Molly (a photography hobbyist and fellow kid-lover), a couple of netbooks (long battery life is a must as power is spotty) and a couple of digital cameras, I’ll be helping the kids of Musana tell stories. Fiction? Factual? Illustrated? Photographed? I’m not certain. I’m approaching the project with few rules, few expectations, and a very open mind and heart.

I’ve heard from one of the directors that for some of the kids, their childhood imaginations may be locked away behind the bars of their past tragedies or abuse. It’s hard to imagine a child who finds it difficult to dream. Hence, my intimidation.

Dreaming filled a huge space in my childhood. It was part of my learning and loving and life in general. Dreaming is a like a periscope to happiness and, at the very least, a survival skill every kid deserves to master.

I’m taking loads of picture books with me – thanks to all my dear friends who have donated – hoping to do a lot of reading with the kids. It will be fascinating to see how they respond to our mostly American stories. Then we’ll chat and we’ll play … and hopefully, with some divine inspiration, we’ll dream.

And maybe tell some stories along the way.

I know that “Musana” means “sunshine.” And sunshine spells hope.

Looking forward to 14-days of radiant sunshine!!