Hello again

It has been so long since I last blogged. There has been a lot going on in my life, but most of it is not what I want to write about. Work wise I have been busy experimenting with combining my own handmade paper with handmade paper from a great paper shop in Ann Arbor. I am dying to share my results, but then again I want the style to be a surprise when the books come out. I also am tweaking the cover of my next book which will be out in late 2012 with Beach Lane books. That book is a combination of pulp painting, pastels and copy transfer. I still will be working with Holt, as I have two books under contract there. I decided at this point in time I needed more than one publisher.  The publishing world has been constantly changing and then there was all of the "chicken little" thinking that PB were dead. It had me rattled for a while. And the fact that Holt became an imprint instead of a publisher did not seem to work in my favor. But, hey, life goes on.

People often ask me if I have an agent. I don't now and I never have had an agent. Agents can be great, it is just that I started without an agent and have continued that way. I place my own books, but I do use an attorney, Mary Flower, who looks over contracts and negotiates for me.

It is strange that with all the turmoil that has been going on in my personal life my creative writing side blossomed. Ideas were just floating around as I sat and stared and dropped out. Three of them became strong ideas/manuscripts. So even in difficult times, if you let your mind wander, ideas may appear, you just have to grab them. Sometimes I think I try too hard to make things happen.

Well, I will try to keep up on my blog and post exciting and interesting thoughts along with pictures.

November—Picture Book Month

I decided to celebrate Picture Book Month by plucking a few of my favorite picture books from my bookcase(s) and sharing them.

A Poke In The Eye, a collection of concrete poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka, is a delight. You may know concrete poems as shape poems—poems where the words or letters of the poem are placed in a particular pattern that echoes the content. This book is a playful introduction to poetry with simple but amazing illustrations. A torn piece of patterned paper with a few brush strokes becomes a fish or a twirling child. I would definitely try writing concrete poems with children and providing paper, paint and glue to try Chris's style of illustration.

Snow Folk Invade Port Clinton, Ohio.

On Feb. 3rd David and I visited Port Clinton Ohio, which is located on Lake Erie. We read books, did body movement to books, and had drawing lessons at Bataan School, Danbury School and The Ida Rupp Library. The Ida Rupp Library was donated to the community by Mr Rupp in honor of his wife. Originally the library was painted blue to match Mrs. Rupp's eyes—very romantic.

Before my visit, the library hosted a snow folk craft day (instructions on denisefleming.com) to celebrate my book, The First Day Of Winter. The snow folk were on display at the library. What a cast of characters! There were snow folk of every shape and size with a host of different decorations from feathers to sequins. There was even a bridal party. 

In my instructions I suggest using beans to weight the snow folk. The library crafters found that rice works just as well and is cheaper. Thanks for the tip, Jennifer.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our visit so enjoyable. We appreciated your enthusiasm. Port Clinton rocks! 

We also want to thank the people who made our visit possible.