Editor, Proofreader, and NanoWriMo updates. Keeping you in the know!

#WritingWednesday was one exciting day. Here is a recap. 

Progress on the Who's That in the Cat Pajamas.  Today was a red letter day. Requested proofreaders and had 3 offer. Between the three they found several little annoying errors. They also made some suggestions that I took to heart and corrected and altered those and sent it along to its brand new editor. 

That's right! Breaking news!!

I contacted an editor that I trust with my book and she agreed to do the final edits. I trust her judgment and I have seen how diligently she works to make the finished product as polished and grammatically correct as possible. This editor has had years of editing in both magazine and newspaper as well as her own published works.  I am beyond stoked. I am ecstatic. 

I acknowledge having a less than stellar history of grammar. I like to blame it on being southern, but I acknowledge it might be more of a lack of paying attention in all those English classes I took in school.  

This journey is building momentum as Dulcey moves closer to being published. 


On the new project front: 

It is only 2 days until work begins in earnest on the project for Camp NaNoWriMo. Today and tomorrow I am finishing with my rough outline. That means I am ready to conquer the manuscript that Hiram and I have been working on.   

Hiram is going to come out swinging I can tell you that much. He is going to have his hands full and he doesn't suspect a thing. No one said it was easy being new in town.  

So here's to Wednesday and onward to the weekend!  Happy reading and writing my friends!  

Comment below if you have any exciting #writingwednesday news of your own! I love to celebrate with you. 

Exciting Changes in the Works!

Who's that in the Cat Pajamas? is complete! The first draft and first edit are over on this children's chapter book. A rewrite occurred and one chapter was completely reworked.

What changed? You might ask. It seems that when I had a good idea, so good that I wrote it twice. When I realized that, I needed another chapter. So fleshing out began and lovely, exciting, and remarkable content filled in the blank.

We have an illustrator for Who's that in the Cat Pajamas?!

Anne Carmichael has offered to be the illustrator of this children's book and her concept drawings were brilliant. They hit on the points that I loved most about the story.  So far, I have seen 3 rough drafts and I am so impressed.  It was as if we had been sitting together brainstorming.

Making plans for the mega cover reveal which will occur soon. Watch out for notices. Of course, you will all be invited!

I am also furiously working on the YA book, Blip. It is taking on a life of its own. This is the project I will be focusing on during NaNoWriMo and I feel it is going to be a real gem.

You might remember Hiram from his little blurb last week. He is coming to life with the force of a tornado. I love when a character sits me down and tells me his story.  We are meeting a new character this week and I am already quite intrigued.  Keep talking Hiram, show me what you have in store. I am already shocked at your ingenuity. Keep us writing!

Illustration experience is needed!

Today is a turning point, I am looking for an illustrator for Who's That in the Cat Pajamas?  I am checking out Fiverr and seeing what I can get. I have an image in mind for both Dolcey and Emily. I have ideas for the other pages too.  Should I go in with an expectation or leave it to the illustrator's discretion?  This is my fairy muse.

Has anyone used an illustrator before? I could sure use some helpful tips before I rush in and make myself look inexperienced or worse yet, foolish.
Here is my muse for the child.

As this is a chapter book I am wanting sketches more than artistic painting. I asked my daughter to check the multitude of chapter books in her daughter's bookcases and that has helped me some.

Any advice from other children's book writers?  I am trying to pull it all together.
Thanks for visiting, follow me, I am looking for friends and blog mates to share ideas.

Exciting News on the Writing Front

Exciting news on the writing front.

Seven years ago I wrote an article on a mining explosion in the small town where I lived near Birmingham, Alabama. Each year a new group of people find the article and pass it around on Facebook. This year it landed in the hands of the Editor of the Jefferson County Historical Society Journal.

Tom contacted me and asked if they could publish it in their quarterly journal.  I agreed and set about making sure all the i's were dotted and the t's crossed.  No typos to embarrass me on this.  When I checked my email this morning I was asked if I would like to be a contributor to the journal. Again, I had no qualms about saying yes. I look at it like "loves writing loves to research"kind of vibe.  I am a thrilled writer.

I am in the middle of writing two brand new books.

The first one is featuring a little cat who assists children in finding their happiness.  This is looking to be a series of books. I will share more about this book later.  For now, I will say, I love this cat!
Here is a little snippet from the book:

Emily brought a small shallow bowl of milk and set it in front of Dolcey. She placed it right against the little rug and Dolcey stopped padding her feet and took dainty laps of the milk. Her little cat lips turned up in a smile as she realized she would be sleeping here tonight with the little sad girl named Emily. Tomorrow she would start helping Emily find her smile again. For tonight, though, we sleep in the big toasty bed.

The second book is about a personable alien.  He is quite chatty to me when I am writing, although he speaks a different language than I, we are on the same page. So beware the alien, Hiram.

Here is a  little snippet from the book:

“My name is Hiram. Well, I go by Hiram here. My real name is unpronounceable by mere humans. It involves clicks, gurgles and a sound that only a body with two larynxes can form.“
“Seeing as you were born on this blue ball you call Earth; I will assume you have only one larynx. So you may call me Hiram. 

I hope you are intrigued about these two books and keep following the blog.