Call for PAL published, mid-list, #kidlit authors

#Kidlit writer/illustrator friends! I took the summer off from blogging for my own WIP and the many transitions happening in my personal world, but great books came out all summer long.

Come September, I’ll be Back-to-School Blogging and would love to focus on your mid-list PB, MG, or YA read that didn’t get enough attention because it was a late spring/summer release. I’d like to post interviews, anatomy-of-an-illustration posts with process drawings, what’s-the-seed-of-your-story posts, and more. Ideally, I’d have enough to post M, W, F throughout September starting 9/5/18. I’ll be prepping these in the next two weeks.

If you are interested in taking part, pitch me your book/post idea with a Facebook message or email. annaeleanorjordan at gmail dot com

VCFA alumni get first dibs so mention that in your note.
If I have space for fall releases I’ll add those in.
SCBWI PAL published books only.

Get ready for Melanie Crowder’s visit tomorrow!

Tomorrow!!! I’ll be hosting Melanie Crowder debut author of PARCHED (which just received the silver Parent’s Choice Award), so… all this week I’ve been posting about water.

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Water is Life infographic by oliviermarie.

Want to know more? Visit the UNICEF Clean Water Campaign site.

Read this quick summary of the book and then go HERE to read the first few chapters! Warning: You’ll want to read the whole thing!

Using multiple narrators, Melanie tells the story of two children, Musa and Sarel, who struggle to find water, forge a friendship, and survive in a land stricken by extreme drought. The book is a beautifully written, slim volume. In addition to the themes of friendship and survival, the two children and a pack of dogs, lead by the third narrator a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Nandi, delve into issues of family and loyalty. Did I mention beautifully written and wonderfully paced? Oh yes, and beautifully written. You MUST read this book and give it to teachers and librarians and middle grade students.

Water week on Creative Chaos: Melanie Crowder visits on Friday

On Friday, I’ll be hosting Melanie Crowder debut author of PARCHED (which just received the silver Parent’s Choice Award), so… all this week I’ll be talking about water.

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I do not consider Melanie’s book a dystopian or alternative world story because millions of people lack safe water right now.

42 million in Latin America and the Caribbean

355 million in Africa

551 million in South, West, and Central Asia

210 million in Southeast, East Asia and Oceania

See this map. http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/

If you’d like to follow Melanie Crowder’s Blog Tour, take a look at the schedule below:

Faithful by Janet Fox

Take a look at this book trailer from fellow VCFA student and SCBWI RA, Janet Fox! (Who says that no one will publish historical fiction?) Way to go, Janet! Find Faithful, at your local indie! (Isn’t that an awesome cover?)

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Another chapter

Don’t miss this great “Docublog” with my Chautauqua buddy Brian Anderson author of the Zack Proton books. While he makes the publishing thing sound easy, he’s had his share of headaches getting all three books through the publishing process. If your kid loves Captain Underpants, or Diary of a Wimpy Kid they’ll love Zack in his intergallactic misadventures.

And now another chapter in that timeless saga of Creative Chaos II… Will Anna and the family be moving? When last we left the Boll family they were traveling 600 miles to southern Maryland so Hubby could interview for a job.

    Young boy 1: I need to go to the bathroom.
    Young boy 2: Are we almost there yet.
    Mother: Stop eating those snacks, we just had lunch.
    Hubby: Leave Daddy’s chair alone when I’m driving. I said, Don’t kick my chair.
    Mother: Let’s put in a DVD

You don’t want to hear that part… let’s fast forward to the job interview. (squeak, whir, tape forwarding)

    Wife: They took you out to lunch?
    Hubby: Uh-huh
    Wife: They sent you to human resources?
    Hubby: Uh-huh
    Wife: So we need to start packing our stuff?
    Hubby: Uh-huh

And so the company sent the Hubby an offer and he took it and the Boll family found out that after 14 idyllic years in Maine they will be moving to St. Mary’s County, Maryland. It is a welcoming community on the confluence of the Patuxent and Potomac rivers, closer to Anna’s family.

    Anna: Good thing writing and illustrating are portable as are my lovely friends on LJ. I can always stay in touch with my writing friends using email.
    Writing friend: But what about the New England conference?
    Anna: I’ll still direct it and come back for meetings so if you want to volunteer you’ll see me through SCBWI. Actually, a lot of the conference is already planned out as I thought I might be leaving.

Next time: Will the young boys let their mother get rid of toys they’ve out-grown? How will Mom pack up her office? Will hubby melt in the hot weather? Will secret agent man make a sale this summer? Stay tune for this and other chaos on… Creative Chaos II. *

*Notice the different voice when I’m Mother, Wife and Anna? Three distinct characters really. That’s kind of interesting isn’t it.