Well, it could go something like that.

Yesterday, I joined PiBoIdMo which stands for Picture Book Idea Month. The main idea is to come up with one picture book (PB) per day so that by the end of the month you have 30 PB’s that you work on the rest of the year. is the brainchild of author, Tara Lazar, who hosts the challenge on her blog. 2011 marks the third year.

It’s not too late to join. You have until November 3rd to sign up. Check out the official deets here.

Today, I’m blogging about Mike Jung AKA Captain Stupendous’ Numero Uno Fan and his May 28th Norcal SCBWI talk for writers and illustrators of YA and Kid Lit, aptly titled: DON’T BE A PINHEAD: Building an Online Presence Before Landing a Book Deal.

The gist of the talk: How Mike established an online presence which led to some very cool results. It wasn’t a how-to session as much as it was a terrific opportunity to hear Mike share his story.  (Photo courtesy of Mike Jung.)

One of my favorite moments in the talk happened toward the end when we witnessed Mike burst into a raging bonfire of kidlitosphere effervescence–for fifteen seconds–his face twitching, eyebrows arching, eyes bugging out while sputtering:  “Don’t you LOVE books and childrens literature? [Everyone nodded.] This is AWESOME! I love doing this! IT GIVES ME JOY!”

That, dear reader, is Mike’s “super power” behind building a fabuloso-bordering-on-megalomania online presence. He exemplifies passion. In an instant, my weariness from a slog rewrites dropped away and I was reminded of my own passion for kid lit. Enthusiasm is infectious.

A few anecdotes and tips on social networking from Mike:

• Join an online community of Kid Lit and YA writers such as Verla Kay’s Blue Boards where Mike is a Moderator. To get the most out of those boards: Participate. Joining is free and lurkers are welcome. But the more you participate, the greater the access to info and discussions. (Sorry, no direct quotes from Mike. I arrived a few minutes late just as he was wrapping up this part. FYI, I’ve known Mike for a while from the Blue Boards and I have a handle on the basics of that forum.)

• Facebook is an obvious way to get to know others in the world of kid lit and YA. Mike emphasized keeping it social and fun. For example, he’s used his FB Profile Pic as a way of sharing good news from others. For example, Mike posted a photo of himself holding a signed copy of Lisa Yee’s Bobby Vs. Girls (Accidentally) after he won her blog contest (more on that below).

(more…)

Hey, check it out: I’ve been interviewed by the fabulous, Nathalie Mvondo, writer and contributor to several multicultural children’s literature publications including the Multicultural Review.

I was pleasantly surprised and honored when Nathalie first contacted me for the interview. I thought: Great! It’s a piece of cake… (just kidding!)

She explained that she had a list of questions for me to look over and consider. She invited me to answer in my own time. I said: Sure, send them over!

And she did!

She sent over a list of excellent, inciteful questions which coaxed me into reflecting my background and experiences, impressions and memories of the places I lived, etc. I had to work at coming up with answers—searching for, scoping out and sorting through the dark, dusty corners of my mind.

I can only hope that I did the questions justice! Please give it a read and see what you think!

When I first set out to blog, I fancied I’d be a happy, avid blogger. As an artist and writer, I love to share and exchange information. There were no how-to manuals six years ago when my earliest efforts were on Blogger under a different name. My method of blogging comprised of “winging it” and posting topics on a whim. So, I applied what I did to Just Sketch the blog I created when my first book was published.

Over time, the lack of structure made blogging lowest priorty and “life,” work, you-name-it, took precedence. I noticed that other bloggers were doing cool new things on their blogs–using videos, dong blog carnivals, etc. but by that time I had fallen out of touch with the world of blogging. I’d procrastinated and felt like I’d failed. I was not happy, nor was I avid blogger, after all.

But I didn’t want to give up blogging. According to a 2009 State of the Blogosphere report by Technorati, “70% of all respondents say that personal satisfaction is a way they measure the success of their blog.” I realized that I liked blogging for a whole host of reasons and personal satisfaction ranked high on my list. If I could find the fun in blogging again, I could be satisfied, as well.

So, how was I going to bring back the fun of blogging? I decided to get serious. :p… I attended a SoCal SCBWI “Cyber Promo Workshop” in Santa Barbara to learn from some fantastic kid lit and online promo experts– Alexis O’Neill, Greg Pincus, Lisa Yee, Anastasia Suen and others. It turned out to be a wonderful event hosted and attended by kid lit authors and illustrators from Southern CA. (I think I was the only northerner there!) I learned so much! (And yes, I’ll post something about it in the future!) I became enthusiastic about blogging again. (more…)

I decided to modify a version of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus around the time I quit pursuing publishing. That was close to ten years ago. I spent several years prior with a very strong focus on picture books but that gradually gave way to frustration.

The industry was changing. While I was repped at the time, I had a hard time with the change. Externally, things looked all right. Internally, I was at odds with myself. I painted my heart out—pouring all my feelings onto canvas. I took three years off. When I returned, I was able to look at the painting with a “fresh” set of eyes.

Finding Your Path in Kid Lit

Sometimes I’m approached by people who want to write and/or illustrate children’s and YA books. I might sound like a broken record but I always utter the initials: S C B W I. It stands for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

One  thing I did upon returning to children’s books was join the SCBWI. It has been instrumental in helping me reach my goals. I do the work, stay focused, yada, yada. However, the SCBWI provides a ton of resources and helps me make important connections—even now that I’m published. I can’t speak highly enough of it.

Check out the SCBWI here.

Edited to Add: I’m attending the national SCBWI Summer Conference in LA in a few days. Can’t wait! Perhaps I’ll see some of you there? Cheers!

I think fondly of life in Japan and Taiwan whenever I stumble across an artifact like the above. In the 7 or so months I lived and worked there, I was tickled by all the little treasures of Engrish (or Changlish, as it’s sometimes called) that I’d see on packages, t-shirts, ads and more. Cheap entertainment for a homesick gal.

“Drifting Skills” resembles the simple sentence structure of an Early Reader book but the advanced vocabulary along with awkward sentence structure is a real giveaway. I like the notion that the language is so bad, it’s really good (said with facetious tone).

Take this line, for example:

Call for help unhurriedly while the boat turns over.

(Yikes. They’re a goner.)

Notice the spelling is flawless. Someone had obviously used spell-check. But they are way off in grammar. Given the fact that English is a universal business language, I can’t blame non-English speakers for trying.

Their Engrish is way better than my Chinese (or Japanese)!