This is where I was last week. Ahhhh. So a few years back, hubbie introduced me to St. George Island. It's a perfect little strip of land just off Florida's Forgotten Coast - a bridge away from Apalachicola (home of wonderful oysters and the film Ule's Gold). It's a treasure of a place. And the restaurant where Peter Fonda hung out in the movie, The Grill, is real and serves some of the best fried oysters I've ever had. (And just don't even ask about the lemon meringue pie!!) We went into town to eat several times and wandered the streets of the small town which is just big enough and not too touristy/junky/crowded/anything. Perfect. Apalachicola saw its hayday in the early 1900's when they invented refrigeration, so there's a distinct and genuine Victorian feeling to the place. Two bridges back across the scenic bay (at sunset, the marshes turn to gold) and we were back on the beach. The beach on St. George is bordered by National Nature reserves on each end, so is a sea-turtle sanctuary. Blinds must be drawn at night to keep light off the beach. It seems to be working too as we passed several roped off sea-turtle nests during our morning walks. We also saw Ospreys, seagulls, sandpipers, and a type of bird which supposedly only lives on one of the small islands in the bay - gotta look that one up. Did I say Ahhhh? So, why is there a Wee Free Man in my post? Well, hubbie and I have a habit of listening to really well acted out audio books during long drives. Last beach trip it was The Hobbit, so we spent our vacation saying, "My Preciousss." This year it was The Wee Free Men written by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs and it is laugh-out-loud-funny. The leader of the Wee Free Men, Rob Anybody, burned such a strong image in my head, I had to draw him . . . for fun . . . something I rarely get a chance to do these days. So, here is Rob Anybody, and all I can say is, "CRIVVENS! We're offski!"
I just read a fascinating article in The New Yorker called "The Lion and the Mouse: The battle that reshaped children's literature," written by Jill Lepore. In it is a brief history of children's literature and children's libraries, but it primarily discusses the battle between Anne Carroll Moore, attributed as practically inventing the children's book library as we know it, and E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web and the apparently incendiary Stuart Little. Who knew? I, like so many children, loved Stuart Little. Turns out Ms. Moore did not. And with the power she wielded at the time, she was able to make or break careers based on her opinions - but not Mr. White's (or his editor's, Ursula Nordstrom) career. A interesting power play overtook the New York publishing industry all because of this one little mouse. Wow. Anyhow, I recommend the article highly.
Probably my favorite book so far this year is Corey Doctorow's "Little Brother," followed by Sherman Alexie's "Diary of a Part-time Indian." Savvy, smart, cutting edge, and edge of your seat - I loved this read. Cool thing is, Corey Doctorow is all about open-source. So, you can actually download the book for free from his website, although I prefer holding it in my hot little hands. At his website you can also view him reading some excerpts of "Little Brother." He said some really nice words about writing Young Adult fiction recently in this article for LOCUS online. Add to that he's got a page in my latest obsession: facebook. Gotta luv this guy!
Well, I seem to be all about movies suddenly but I have to share. Pixar has done it again, they've created a masterpiece. Hubbie and I just got back from seeing WALL•E and it was fabulous. Sci Fi junkies will love the references to 2001, Idiocracy, and Star Wars. Inside jokes abound. But more amazing than anything is how they animated this little robot and make you fall in love with him . . . AND his pet cockroach. I never thought I'd say a cockroach is cute. Superb, truly superb. Click the banner to visit the official website.
It's coming! The trailer looks hilarious. Anybody have any idea how Kate DiCamillo feels about it? I hope the movie is as good as the book! Thanks to Dotti Enderle for the link - she's always in the know where movies are concerned! Click the image to visit the main site and watch the trailer.
I don't usually talk about politics on my blog, but this particular issue directly affects me as a freelance illustrator. Have you heard of the Orphan Works Legislation that's been sneaking through the House of Representatives? Well, if this Bill goes through, it could directly affect my business - not in a good way. Right now, when I create, I own my creation. It's an automatic copyright. Seems logical. I created it so I own it. I make my living by people paying me to use my art. But sometimes when a person wants to use a piece of art, nobody knows who the artist is, or they can't find them. That's an Orphan work - a creation (music, art, a photograph, etc.) who's creator can no longer be located and therefore permission cannot be saught or compensation offered for usage of their work. Orphan works do exist, and libraries and schools do have legitimate reasons for wanting access to be able to use these works. But that's not what this Bill is about. It started out that way but quickly morphed into a way for commercial businesses to use artwork without much research and without much recourse for the artist. Here's the gist: Let's say there's a big t-shirt company (I mean really big) - that wants to use a piece of art for their company logo which they found on Google Images - a great sketch of a happy sun - they want to use it on everything they produce. They can do what they call "due diligence" (this term has not been defined in the Bill) to find the artist, and if they can't find the artist, they can declare it an orphan work and use it anyway. Say the artist finds out, because the image is now in every store in America. The artist can sue the company for damages, but there's a cap on how much the artist can sue for (not a very high cap). And here's where the Bill protects the abuser and not the artist: the Bill is so loosely defined, loop-holes abound, and if the big corporate lawyer is better, and more powerful than the lawyer a poor little freelancer can afford - the company doesn't have to pay the artist a dime and the artist is out the legal fees they spent and time wasted (which translates to income in a freelancer's world). Most of the time it will literally makes no sense for an artist to go after an abuser (this is true even in today's system). One argument to protect artists against abuses is to create a database for all works to be registered. Sounds logical? Well, this database does not exist yet. The software to search the work in a database does not exist yet. (I'd like to see it search for abstract art.) Whether or not this would be a non-profit or profit driven database has not been determined. In other words it could cost me money to register every single thing I draw or I don't have any rights to my own creations. Let's say that unlucky artist drew that happy sun on a cocktail napkin - there's nothing in this Bill saying how much that artist would have to pay to register that cocktail napkin. Reality check - people illegally download my work for their personal use all the time. Yes, I make my coloring pages available and free for non-profit uses, but I have other images on my website that have been downloaded literally hundreds of times (I can follow this in my stats) - work that I never gave permission for and was never compensated for. So why do I have my artwork online? Because I'm a freelance illustrator and to get new work, I have to advertise myself with an online portfolio. So while it's really rotten, theft happens. Beginning to get the picture? This Bill protects the abuser, not the creator. It could severely cut into my ability to charge for what I do and how I make my living. So what can you do to help stop this Bill from going through? SIGN HERE. Our biggest enemy on this legislation is that nobody has heard of it. One Congressman supposedly thought it was about orphan children. Another was quoted as saying "we must protect the consumer" (implied: not the creator). What!? So, please SIGN HERE. It's time to get as many people aware of this bad legislation as possible and start shouting about it to our representatives. The ability for me to continue creating art could hang on this - so please go SIGN.
I've told y'all I used to hang-glide, yes? Still have dreams about it. You think chickens and penguins dream of flying too? In this bizarre business of children's books, do you sometimes feel like a bird that can't fly? Like if somebody could just give you a hand or cut you a break, you'd be soaring? Yeah...
There's a debate going on in Georgia right now. Y'all may have heard we're suffering from quite the drought. It's bad enough that they almost didn't let people fill their pools this summer - but threats of riot and a few thunderstorms later, they backed off that idea. So, another idea is to go back to the 1818 survey of the state when the map makers flubbed up and drew the Georgia line just short of the natural border of the Tennessee River - water we could sorely use today. But this would affect a town near and dear to my heart - two towns really, McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. Along with living nearby for four years and enjoying the quirks of living on a state line, this is the home of my first novel (and my second work in progress). In fact, my protagonist and his best friend do exactly what so many visitors have done - straddle the state line with a foot in each state. I've done it too. Anyhow, there's a cute video accompanying this AP news story. Have a looksie (click the image).
This is cool - it's kind of like UTube but for the smaller set. No worries running across something inappropriate here. As they describe on their website (click the logo to visit): Totlol is a brand new community-moderated video website designed to be enjoyed by those between the ages of 6 months and 6 years.
Despite what most people think, Cinco de Mayo is not a celebration of Mexico's independance from Spain. That's September 16th. Cinco de Mayo is instead a celebration of the victory of the Mexican militia over the technologically advanced French army. It's also not celebrated as strongly in Mexico as it is in the US where Cinco de Mayo has become a day to embrace Mexican culture. I know I plan to over some kickin' enchiladas tonight! Read more about the history of Cinco de Mayo here.
Celebrate! El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day), known as Día, is a celebration EVERY DAY of children, families, and reading that culminates every year on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
or more appropriately:
Celebremos! El 30 de abril es una fecha muy significativa para los niños. Se celebra el día de los niños y de los libros. Esta celebración se conoce como El día de los niños/ El día de los libros, y celebra la alegría y las maravillas de la infancia y la importancia de los libros en nuestra vida.
Update: We had a muy divertido time yesterday. The auditorium was decorated to the hilt thanks to the efforts of the Decatur librarians and Joe of the Georgia Center for the Book. Patricia took tons of pictures for me to choose from, although I must admit I make a lot of silly faces when I'm talking to kids. She was good, she got every one of 'em! (And no, I'm not going to share - you'll just have to catch me in person one day!) I really do love sharing stories with kids - they ask great questions and offer hilarious input. So even though this first picture is blurry, I love the joy in it. I let the kids come up on stage with me, so they were all over the stairs and we had a great time. Rosebud the vaca ended up being yellow this time (she's turned into a cow of a different color). Here are some of the brilliant gals who answered my Spanish quiz questions correctly at the end - they all got sombreros! Yo y mis tres amigas!
Author/Illustrator Barbara Johansen Newman over at Cats and Jammers Studio tagged me for a fun game. Here's what I was told to do:
1. Pick up the nearest book. 2. Open to page 123. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the next three sentences. 5. Tag five people and post a comment to the blogger who tagged you.
(You can also do the PB version - go to page 23 and just write the text.)
So, if I follow the directions to a t - the nearest book to me is one I'm using for research on my second novel, "Ducktown: Back in Raht's Time" by R.E. Barclay. It details the history of, you guessed it, Ducktown, Tennessee and some of it is purty derned funny. Let's see how this turns out:
pg. 123 Okay, I got creative on the sentence picks - didn't want to bore you. But this is pretty good: Raht defended the quarterly paydays on the grounds that they tended to reduce lost time from payday celebrations and carousals, and that the fewer times the money was brought to Ducktown the less the chances were of hold-ups along the lonely stretches of the copper road.
You've probably already seen this floating around the internet, but I wanted to keep it in my "online diary" so I could look at it again. It's really an amazing photo, by Shane Durrance, of the tornado that hit Atlanta a few weeks back. Driving close to town there are still so many blue tarps on roofs and huge trees down in people's yards. Crazy enough, hubbie and I slept through the whole thing.
Yup - that's him, right there, speaking to a packed house at Little Shop of Stories (probably the last big event before they move to their new location). Turns out Mo is VERY sensitive to camera flashes, so I didn't get any pictures with him (didn't want to stress him out over the possibility my flash might not be off). But wow, is he "flashy" (sorry) with the kids - he's so funny! Okay, maybe us adults were laughing just as hard, maybe harder. Mo shared his latest pigeon book - and only three days old we now know that . . . Pigeon Wants a Puppy!! (This has been a big, big secret.) Several writer/illustrator buds showed up and we waited a LONG time to get our books signed. I like to wait until the very end when things have quieted down a bit when you can get a chance to actually talk with the creators - and I did! Mo is super nice (and obviously patient) and actually asked to see Paco! Wowsa. We talked about our creative communities and how people in this biz tend to hang out and how nice they usually are. 'Twas nice. Hope to run into Mo again as the circles in this biz just seem to get smaller and smaller. What a great time!
It's International Children's Book Day today. What's that? Well it's hosted by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) and they describe it thus: "Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, 2 April, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books." Click the image to go learn more!
I must admit this one snuck up on me. (And me with all this new Easter-themed art to share. This is from one of three Easter coloring book covers I created recently.) Easter is early this year. But as it seems to happen every Easter, it is a beautiful morning. So, to help celebrate, I'm including a bonus coloring page - this is my "hip hop bunny." Get it? Just as with regular coloring page Tuesdays, click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send me your colored version (less than 1mb) to coloringpages@dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog! For more coloring pages, go here.
Learn about my bilingual picture book Paco and the Giant Chile Plant ~ Paco y la planta de chile gigante - click the cover.
I have to share this awesome invention. Is there anybody on the planet who owns a dog and doesn't want one of these? (Not sure I'd let my kid that close to it though.) Anyhow, thanks to cuteoverload.com.
This was getting silly - I have mucho to share and only so many days in which to share everything, so here's a round-up! Horn Book is starting a new free e-newsletter beginning this March. It will cover children's book news and reviews (I imagine something similar to PW Children's Bookshelf), but these guys are top notch, so it's not to be missed! (Click the image to go sign up.)
Hubbie and I saw Spiderwick last night - and buying our tickets through movieticket.com made it so easy. I didn't know theaters did this, but there were a bunch of free posters available at the will call pick-up counter. So I am now the proud owner of a Spiderwick poster! (I'll have to get Tony and Holly to sign it when they visit my local indie bookstore again.) The movie definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. And while I wasn't impressed by the acting, some of the imagery was stunning - especially at the very end. (Click the poster to watch a trailer.) But I really enjoyed following Holly's blog and Tony's blog surrounding the whole affair - what a complete wowsa!
I've now been awarded the "You Make My Day Award" twice by fellow bloggers, Phyllis Harris and Kim Norman. Per the rules, I'm to award five of my spectacular friends. So here we go. These people Make My Day:
Kerry Madden - I know this is a second for her as well, but she had a big announce this week with the release of "Jessie's Mountain"!! And she's having this hilarious contest on her blog for people to send in their old school photos. (I'm in this round - can you pick me out without looking at the names? Gotta luv the teeth.)
Liz Conrad - illustrator extraordinaire. I got a peek at her upcoming books over lunch the other day and they are unbelievably adorable - so y'all keep an eye on her!
Diane Capriola of my favorite indie bookstore, Little Shop of Stories. They have a new blog which I'm having a great time following. Especially when they post my coloring pages or talk about new friends like:
Denene Millner (check out a review for her new YA novel (April), "Hotlanta")!
Sarah Dillard who was just such an awesome roomie at Kindling Words and who is just so danged clever, I can't get over it! She's also hosting me on her blog for my Blog Book Tour next week!
Janee Trasler who is an amazingly strong person and is also one of the awesome interviewers on my Blog Book Tour next week! That's five, but since I was named twice, I think I get more!!
Ruth McNally Barshaw, creator of "Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen Will Travel" - yup, her too!
Wowsa, I'm really looking forward to my Blog Book Tour next week (Kim Norman is hosting me too). What the heck is a Blog Book Tour? Check out my article about them from the SCBWI Bulletin. And y'all check back next week to join in!
The Cybils were announced this past week. This is the first online book award and in its second year, is already getting some great notice. Click the award to go check out the winners!
In celebration of the SCBWI Bologna 2008 Children's Book Festival, Cynthia Leitich Smith is focusing on the international scene this week. She's featuring interviews with agents, editor, authors, and illustrators about the US and international youth publishing scene. Cynthia's blog is a great one to follow any day of the week, but how about subscribing to her blog through Jacketflap.com? They have a snazzy new design they just launched this week!
*Whew*!! I think that's all for now. See what I mean? Lots o' stuff to share - thanks for reading!
How cool is this!? You can make your own Valentine's Day candy for your sweetie - awwwww!!! (Click on the hearts to go make your own.) Happy luv day to all! (Thanks to Cynthia Lord for the link.)
Teatrio Children's Book Int'l Competition Exhibition
I've been invited to attend the opening reception for the 30 winners of the 2007 Teatrio Children's Book International Competition Exhibition at the Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta campus) tonight. SCAD students participate in this competition every year and this year not only are twelve of the 30 winning pieces by SCAD students or recent alumni, but the Grand Prize Winner is also a SCAD illustration graduate, Suzy Maier. Even better, the opening show is in America this year at SCAD-Atlanta. The artwork for this competition is always fresh and cutting edge, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what these new talents have come up with. I'm also happy to see several of my friends (Rick Lovell, Julie Mueller-Brown, and Jay Montgomery), the illustration teachers who have invited me back again this year to speak to children's book illustration undergraduate and graduate students (March 3rd). This is my favorite age group to talk to as I feel they can best use the practical, real working advice I can give them. At this stage, they are bundles of potential bursting to discover what creative voice they will shout to the world - it's an exciting time.
What we do know is that the New York Public Library sold the building housing the Central Children's Room, otherwise known as the Donnell Library Center. What we don't know is the future of the Central Children's Room. So, librarian and blogger extraordinaire, Elizabeth Bird (of Fuse #8, syndicated on the School Library Journal website) has put out a call for your good memories of this famous library location. I have to say I am completely bummed that I don't have any memories of the library, only hopes for the future. Since diving into this business I have dreamed about sharing my books with children at the Donnell Library Children's Room. It is the heart of the New York children's publishing world, and I sincerely hope that heart keeps beating for a very long time.
Editorial Anonymous is exactly that - a mysterious children's book editor who has chosen to remain anonymous so that she can give honest (sometimes harsh) feedback to writer's questions. Well, she's been looking for a logo for her blog, and I couldn't resist throwing my hat in the ring. While she didn't think it fit the mood she was going for, she did love it and posted it to her blog - groovy! Maybe if I drew him eating manuscripts . . .
Drum roll please . . . This is big news! Jon Scieszka, author of such classics as "The Stinky Cheese Man" and creator of Guys Read, has been named the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Wow!! Read more about it at the Washington Post. (The image is from Jon's website which you can visit here.)
Want to track how close Santa is to your chimney? Visit the Santa tracker at NORAD. They've been doing this since 1955, so they have the skinny on the big guy! Curious about how NORAD started tracking Santa? Go here for the whole story.
Did you know that Santa has a blog? He's hip with the 21st century, so go check it out! He also has fun activities at his main website, Santa.com, which I must say is beautifully designed. Enjoy!
I signed the contracts yesterday - "Oscar the Badger" is a go! Written by Karin Slaughter (yes, thatKarin Slaughter), it will be published by MacAdam Cage Publishers (publisher of my picture book, Glitter Girl and the Crazy Cheese), and should come out in Fall of 2008 - wippee!!! So Hubbie and I went out to dinner last night to celebrate, and I ordered a salad for dinner... but then I had two glasses of wine which made me throw all caution to the wind so we ordered the bread pudding. And then our lovely waiter, who knew we were celebrating, brought us two glasses of champagne! Oh yeah, we did it up RIGHT! And oh yeah, I'm paying for it today... But y'know, you've got to celebrate when you jump the hurdles in this business. So often we have our sites set so far ahead, it's easy to forget to acknowledge the hurdles we have jumped that we once thought we never would. Cynthia Leitich Smith said it well in an interview at Through the Tollbooth:
"I have found that it helps to celebrate every victory no matter how small. You finished your draft? Celebrate! You received a personal rejection letter? Celebrate! Your workshop leader says your story arc is stronger? An agent asks for the whole manuscript? You’ve sold your first book? Your fiftieth? Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate!" Allow yourself to be happy! Be your own best cheerleader!
So yeah, I'm celebratin' baby! And I'll let you know more about Oscar soon. In the mean time - Woohooooo!!!
Two of my favorite things together at last (click the image). It's amazing how well they work together and it just makes me happy! Thanks to Brooklyn Arden for the heads up!
Well, I am the luckiest girl! Elizabeth Bird, New York librarian and famed author of Fuse #8, sometimes gives out review copies of books after she's had a chance to read them. I've put my name in the hat several times, but today I scored! Elizabeth is sending me my very own copy of The Qwikpick Adventure Society by Sam Riddgleburger! I've seen this book at my local indie and been intrigued, but Sam has especially been on my radar lately. Have you seen his awesome blog post to create oragami Christmas ornaments advertising Robert's Snow (Blog for a Cure!)? What a dude! So, I can't wait to receive the book and I'll have to report back with a review! Thank you Ms. Bird!
Well, I managed to back up my blog, my website, and change over to a new server with my hosting company without blowing anything up or losing any information - WHEW!! So, dulemba.com is back, new and improved, although it doesn't look ANY different. I have lots more room to share art and coloring pages easily. I'd like to thank the amazing customer support at my awesome hosting company, directnic.com, especially Marc who spent no less than 45 minutes with me on the phone this weekend literally walking me through everything, not to mention his helpful emails. If you're in the market for a new hosting provider, I HIGHLY recommend them!
dulemba.com may experience some technical difficulties this weekend as I have to upgrade my hosting service to handle all you lovely visitors. I'll be backing up my site and my blog, so there's a chance subscribers to my blog may receive some strange emails during this transition (like repeats of old blog posts). I apologize for any confusion or trouble in advance. Now, let's see if I can do this without blowing anything up!
As you have probably guessed, I am completely obsessed with books – their writers, their illustrators, their creators, the process, everything. So, while I illustrate I am often either listening to an audiobook, listening or watching authors at book festivals and signings, or following book trailers. Well, this is my latest discovery, BookVideos.tv. These are book trailers (mostly adult books vs. children's lit) which seem to be more focused on the authors than the actual stories within the books. Most are interesting and fun to see. However, this one with wrestler Chris Jericho is a complete kick in the pants - hilarious! If it weren't for the mile high stack of YA's next to my bed, I'd be sorely tempted to read his book. I couldn't get the embed to work, so swallow your coca-cola (I warn you - you're screen will be a mess if you don't), thengo take a gander.
I was reminded this morning of those great shorts created by Schoolhouse Rock. Remember those? "Lolly, lolly, lolly get your adverbs here." And "The Preamble"? And "I'm just a bill. Yes, I'm only a bill." And "Conjunction Junction." Gads they were great, weren't they? Well, they're still around. You can buy them on DVD and listen to snippets of those classics online (which I am still known to sing when nobody can hear me . . . okay, when they can hear me too). Go to the Schoolhouse Rock website!
If you read below, my snowflake, "Give a Little Push," was in the first round of auctions for Robert's Snow. LindaBudz was kind enough to leave a comment that she is the "winner" of my snowflake! She blogged about it as well. Linda made the highest bid for my snowflake, so this was an expensive "win," but Linda's generosity will go towards funds for the Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute, a highly worthwhile cause. Linda, thanks so much for your kind words about my work, but especially for helping raise money to find a cure for cancer. I can't think of a better way to kick off a season of good cheer. My warmest wishes for a happy holiday go out to you, your family, and your new little nephew. I'm so pleased my snowflake found a great home.
I just sent out my latest newsletter, which you can view here. To receive your very own copy of my newsletter in your in-box, sign up here. Thank you, thank you very much.
I have remained woefully behind the times, but am once again making an attempt to get more comfortable with MySpace. I'm duplicating my blog posts over there and would love to make friends. So, please friend me if you're there too: http://www.myspace.com/elizabethdulemba. See you there!
This is where I was last week. Ahhhh.
So, why is there a Wee Free Man in my post? Well, hubbie and I have a habit of listening to really well acted out audio books during long drives. Last beach trip it was The Hobbit, so we spent our vacation saying, "My Preciousss." 
We had a muy divertido time yesterday. The auditorium was decorated to the hilt thanks to the efforts of the Decatur librarians and Joe of the Georgia Center for the Book. Patricia took tons of pictures for me to choose from, although I must admit I make a lot of silly faces when I'm talking to kids. She was good, she got every one of 'em! (And no, I'm not going to share - you'll just have to catch me in person one day!) I really do love sharing stories with kids - they ask great questions and offer hilarious input. So even though this first picture is blurry, I love the joy in it. I let the kids come up on stage with me, so they were all over the stairs and we had a great time. Rosebud the vaca ended up being yellow this time (she's turned into a cow of a different color). 
Here are some of the brilliant gals who answered my Spanish quiz questions correctly at the end - they all got sombreros! Yo y mis tres amigas!
I've now been awarded the "You Make My Day Award" twice by fellow bloggers, 
I signed the contracts yesterday - "Oscar the Badger" is a go! Written by Karin Slaughter (yes, that 
If you 
