Interview in "Sprouts" Magazine - NJSCBWI

An interview about Tonight You Are My Baby recently appeared in the latest Sprouts journal. Sprouts is the journal published by the NJ Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. The talented Shannon Hitchcock wrote the article. Thanks Shannon! Any aspiring writer/illustrator should join SCBWI (http://www.scbwi.org/) and attend as many workshops/first page sessions as possible. The website discussion boards have fabulous information for newbies and published authors both. The workshops are chock full of information and it's worth the price of admission to have a manuscript critiqued by an editor.

Ocean City Book Signing

Thanks to Sun Rose Books for the great day on Saturday. We had a table of seven authors/illustrators during the one-mile block party. It looked like the middle of July on Asbury Avenue! The sun was hot and the crowd was buying! A terrific day of sales for Tonight You Are My Baby. Thanks Roz and Nancy - Sun Rose owners.

HOORAY! IT'S RELEASED!

Tonight You Are My Baby is finally out there! October 1st was the official day - and I'm happy to say it's flying off the book shelves at Amazon. Many thanks to my good friends and family who have pre-ordered the book. So many of you were kind enough to call when the books arrived in the mail on Wednesday. Such fun! Amazon had to restock before the day was out and now they are restocking for a second time. Don't I have great people in my life? Lucky, lucky me!

Monday Mornings...

I think this photo is a perfect example of how we all feel on Monday mornings! I have to say though , I jumped out of bed this morning. It's finally here - the week Tonight You Are My Baby will be released! Yay! The big day is on Wednesday.....

New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Meeting

Great time at the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers meeting in Cherry Hill, NJ. I was at the HarperCollins booth, signing Tonight You Are My Baby. Met lots of great people who are definitely excited about books! I was excited too - not only to be signing, but I also met Jackie Urbanovic, author/illustrator of Duck Soup and Duck at the Door. Her books are such fun and I am in awe of illustrators - an amazing talent! I managed to get a signed copy of her latest book for my kids. Many thanks to all those Indie bookstores owners who told me they will be stocking Tonight You Are My Baby! Music to this author's ears!

Magazine Articles

Many authors (and aspiring authors) supplement their income and practice their craft while

writing magazine articles. It's also an excellent way to get published. Adding writing credits to your query letter shows an editor that you are serious about your craft and good enough to be accepted by a magazine. Many local magazines/newspapers pay well and the article can result from a fun family outing. I recently submitted a magazine article on "Lucy the Elephant" in Margate, NJ. Lucy is the world's largest elephant. She was originally built as a tourist attraction and has since served as a tavern, private residence and hotel. I haven't visited Lucy since I was little, and I wanted my kids to see her. A fun family outing turned into an article! Be sure to take photos when submitting your article. Most magazines want the author to write a first-hand experience.

Where did the summer go?

In a blink, the summer is gone. I'm definitely behind on my blog updates, but we spent the last few weeks enjoying everything summer has to offer. I can't say I regret it for a minute! Our days were filled with biking, playing and swimming. Even though the summer is always busy, I find it restorative. We spend so much time outside and the days are so long. I wish summer came twice a year! Some photos of the kids as they looked most of the summer.....