Fall Book Events Schedule
September 14, 2011
My new picture book came out in stores yesterday! I am presently soaking in the hot springs on a much needed vacation en route to my first bookstore event.
I have events planned in Taos, Santa Fe, Durango, Boulder, Denver, Kansas City, Omaha, St. Louis and NYC, and I would LOVE to see you! Bring your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, little friends, or simply YOU.
If you’d like your very own copy and you live in one of these cities, I think it’s REALLY groovy to support your LOCAL, independent bookseller! :)
Come celebrate with me! Masala chai for all! And please spread the fun — Share with anyone you know who lives in these cities!!
Saturday, Sept 17, 10AM
MARIA’S BOOKSHOP, Durango, CO
A joint reading/signing with author Uma Krishnaswami!
Masala chai, curry puffs, and a craft for kids!
970-247-1438
Saturday, Sept 24, 11AM
TWIRL TOY STORE, TAOS, New Mexico
Reading/signing, craft for kids, masala chai and treats, and twirl-fun!
575-751-1402
Saturday, Oct 1, 11AM
BOULDER BOOKSTORE, Boulder, CO
Reading/signing, craft for kids and masala chai
303-447-2074
Saturday, Oct 1, 3PM
TATTERED COVER, (Highland Ranch Store) DENVER, CO
Reading/signing, craft for kids
303-470-7050
Sunday, Oct 9, 11 -11:30
4th Annual New Mexico WOMEN AUTHOR’s Book Festival
NM History Museum Campus, Santa Fe, NM
Tuesday, Oct 18, 6:30PM
Reading Reptile, Kansas City,MO
Saturday, Oct 22, 10am
The Bookworm (A joint event with the fabulous Laura Huliska-Beith!), Omaha, NE
Tuesday, Oct 25, 6:30PM
Kirkwood Public Library, St. Louis
Thursday, Oct 26 – Dec 29, Original Art Show at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrator’s, NYC
And, come visit my FB page for my art and events!
Collaborations.
August 15, 2011
This is a collaboration Tulsi and I did together although I only made the left eye and mouth. She is in a phase of wanting me to paint or draw with her. She knows the word “collaboration”. Ha. So I play, too, but I try not to screw up anything she has done so effortlessly. Tulsi calls this one, “Talking guy”. She loves to look at Picasso’s books. It shows. Watercolors have always been scary for me, but Tulsi is helping me get over my fear. Kids have no fear.
Here is another collaboration — she made the drawing a few months ago. It’s a family portrait: That’s me on the left, Oso got cropped off a bit up top, Tulsi is on the right with her mouth wide open, and Papa is big and center with the funny hair and big nose and smile. I added the 3 creamy collage shapes and used an antique varnish to mesh it with a wooden box frame. It was our father’s day present for Papa.
I love playing art with Tulsi. We get lost in it and forget about the world. I hope she always remembers that sacred place she can go to.
Summering.
August 14, 2011
Four months ago, I said I would post on the 13th of every month, in a countdown celebration for the release of my new picture book, Same, Same but Different. Um, while my excitement did not diminish, Summer took over. Hee.
Here’s an update:
After the smoke and wild winds left, the bears came. Patrick and I discovered our “roars” and have managed to scare many away (thank goodness, our 17 chickens have survived, too! There were some close calls). Tulsi has been developing her chicken wrangling skills and loves to watch the chicks play tomato soccer — quite a thrilling event on our littl’ homestead!
We have been blessed with another bountiful garden season that is in its most magical-stage right now. Canning season is very near. I am recruiting MY mama again this year.
I have “sorta” taken a photography course with Andrea Scher, only life got in the way of that, too. Still, I have been taking more photos than ever and learning a lot from her course emails. Just looking at the endless photos participants have posted has inspired me and pushed me to think differently when holding a camera. Andrea rocks! I highly recommend her course. This is a photo of Tulsi dancing with peacock feathers in the peacock yard at Baba’s house (the temple).
Other than my family, what has filled my summer mostly, is goddesses and mama-meditations and research and collage and stories and collaboration. I’ve been painting my heart out on an oracle deck, coming your way Spring, 2012! It has been a challenging and beautiful project on many levels that I will share about in the future. I’m nearing the end and looking forward to seeing it come to life AND for a much-deserved, family vacation. Feels like I’ve been running a perpetual marathon. I haven’t painted this much since finishing Same, Same but Different.
And so, the countdown now is 30 days! THIRTY days until my new book is released! Whew! And a really exciting thing just happened — I found out Same, Same but Different got into the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators in NYC! I am happily in shock and feel so honored :). OK, actually, I cried when I found out because I was in awe reading the list of illustrators who are in the show (you can download it on the show’s link page) — SO many of whom I adore and respect. Eric Carle, Maurice Sendak, Tommy de Paola, Giselle Potter, Calef Brown, David Wiesner, to only name a few — really, I could name them ALL. I can’t wait to see their art in person in NYC in October and visit with my editor and friends. I know it will inspire me like crazy.
I will be posting a schedule soon of book events this Fall in NM, Colorado and the Midwest, so stay tuned. I hope to see some of you who live in those cities!
Hope your summer has been beautiful!
smoke.
July 6, 2011
The bottom photo was taken by Colin Dullaghan back in October, 2010 — paradise on a clear, Fall day! The top photo was from last week.
Ahhh, it’s been awhile. There is a big fire in New Mexico, about an hour and a half south of us, and the winds have filled our valley with smoke. So many people and animals have been affected, as well as sacred sites. We are in such a drought. The sky wants to rain so badly, the clouds drum and echo their music across the mesa, but their rain evaporates before ever touching the earth…there are some 10-second sprinkles that Tulsi and I were lucky to dance in, naked. Yeah, that is the cool thing about living in the mountains on private land with few “surprise” visits from neighbors.
The smoke was so thick last week that we packed up and headed north to higher ground, good friends and barefoot picnics in the grass. One surprising and comforting thing was the answer to the question, “If our house burns down, what would we want to take with us?” Our answer as we looked around our house, very little.
I’m also in the THICK with my card deck project and was kinda exhausted, so a forced, otherwise impossible spontaneous roadtrip, was re-energizing. And the “distance” was just what I needed to gain perspective. I’m pretty happy about it so far and am having fun. This deck is a “dream job” in a lot of ways. I love the project and there is no art direction. This is rare — nearly unheard of in the publishing world. It feels both empowering (to be trusted) and scary (to have such a wide open sky). Although I wish I had more time, I see how I’m being “pushed” and am growing a lot from creating a large number of pieces in such a short amount of time. And, it is fun how inspiration (for other projects) seems to pour like monsoons when I am painting this much. A little glimpse…
I’ll post a garden update soon! Every year is different and full of curve balls and new learning. As for Tulsi, I love that she loves the garden and chickens and dirt as much as ever.
Let’s make something, she says.
June 10, 2011
So we made a mask and she sat in front of a mirror on the floor holding it up, yelling, “CAAAAWW, CAAAAAAWWW!” for fifteen minutes. She reminded me how much I love corrugated cardboard and tape.
simple sweetness.
June 9, 2011
“Living simply isn’t necessarily simple…you strive for understanding what sacred is…”
from 23 Feet, a film by Allie Bombach
We’ve been racing against the clock, preparing a garden once again — and attempting to plant an entire year of food in a teeny window of time — and grow it within a wildly short, 90-day season. It’s been kinda crazy around here, trying to “get it all done”.
I heard this quote and related 1000 times over and feel especially grateful for sweet, simple moments like this recent one to PAUSE from the races of keeping up. An evening of letting go of all thoughts and worries and schedules. Drumming, singing, a droning didgeridoo, bird whistles, flutes, kazoos made from gourds. Bathing in dusk at a sacred site. Dancing around, within the circle of sound with Tulsi on our shoulders or in our arms. It’s good to know what is sacred to us. It keeps everything in perspective. Feeling so thankful for Patrick and Tulsi and community and family. Feels like we are in a super-period right now of creating, being challenged, learning and growing.
adobe day! (as in, “mud” play…)
May 29, 2011
Springtime always wakes me up in the best way. I feel so alive communing with dirt and chickens and our garden! On a typical day, Tulsi is laying in dirt playing within 5 minutes of getting out of bed snuggles. Makes sense that one of her first words was “dirt”.
Do you remember making mud pies when you were little? Or just sitting in a mud puddle and painting tribal-like designs on your face and arms and legs? And the feeling of cool, squishy wet mud and how it makes you seriously HAPPY?
Tulsi and I know. So what would be a more perfect day together than taking a women’s adobe mud brick workshop? A couple weeks ago, our very inspiring and talented friend Alice Ko hosted a class. She is a mama, designer, architect, and super green, earth buildin’ goddess. And a total purist, building with only natural materials.
She held the adobe-day on her and her husband Sam’s land — a gorgeous acre that they are caretaking and sculpting in a unique way. They aren’t building one home for their family of four. Alice’s vision is a group of small buildings that will inspire a life of outdoor ‘being’. It’s awesome, too, that Sam and Alice are building it together — by hand — brick by brick, rock by rock, strawbale by strawbale. Their land will consist of a kitchen-house — with a star-observatory loft for after dinner constellation gazing (!), a sleep house, a greenhouse, and more, perhaps. WOW, right? Might not be everyone’s idea of ideal, but I am so into it!
Back to the mud play…around the world, people have been building houses from earth for…ever. Clay dirt is abundant, STRONG, and a sun-heat magnet. Here in the dry, hot high desert, many houses are made of mud, including the Taos Pueblo which was built between 1000 and 1450 AD. I’ve been wanting to learn how to make mud bricks, and when Patrick talked about ordering some to create the central, circular bed in our greenhouse, I answered, “no way, you can’t buy them. let’s make them!” A week later, my friend Alice invited me to her workshop.
First, we built mud brick frames (one is really all you need) and Alice shared all about mud, and building with natural materials. Then, we learned the simple art of “baking” bricks. Mix your dry ingredients together — clay dirt and sand — in a wheel barrel. Create a ‘bowl’ in the center. Add water, and mix into a mud pudding. Slide it out onto a tarp and stomp to your heart’s content with bare feet. Sprinkle some cut straw on top for tensile strength, and squish some more. (Be sure to sing and dance, too — Tulsi’s special, added ingredients.) Then, check to make sure it’s just the right consistency. Wet the inside of your brick form just as you would butter a bread pan, and start packing in mud with your hands. When it’s packed and full, wipe the top of your brick with a wet rag, and pull your frame straight up and off. And, wal-lah! A 4x10x14 inch mud brick weighing 30 pounds that is ready to bake in the hot sun-oven! Alice gave us a trouble-shooting guide to test the strength of our bricks after they dry. Tulsi loved helping, as you can see.
Below are a few pictures from Alice and Sam’s land: 1. Sam creates the building’s foundations by dry stacking rock and filling in with cobb (a wetter mud mixture that you can use as mortar or when you are making more curvy walls and forms). The bricks are stacked on top of the foundation, up off the ground. 2. Their greenhouse. They are building the West and East walls with mud bricks and the north side with strawbales (for insulation — while mud bricks attract heat and store it to release at night, they make poor insulation, so a combination of natural materials is best for a building).
Alice used to work as an architect in an office. She was frustrated that she didn’t understand the building part of what she was drawing on paper and wanted to get her hands dirty. Her boss encouraged her to be at the sites, which is where she was inspired to build with natural materials instead. I agree 1000% with Alice — building with natural materials, and with your own hands, is not only really exciting, but very feminine and feels so, um, “natural”. Hee. She is enjoying the experimental part of building, too — the mixing and matching of natural materials, to best suit their needs, climate, and land. She also shared the problems that occur when a structure is made with natural material and then covered with man-made materials (like adobe covered with cement stucco). The two don’t mix well. This day has really got Patrick and me excited to experiment, too, and to dream.
AND, is this playground AMAZING, or what???! Alice designed and built it with adobe bricks and cob and said it’s a continued work-in-progress. She has two very happy girls. I want to build one for Tulsi!
Of course my list is growing of things Patrick and I want to make! Here is an orno (mud oven) our friend Jon Jaques built. So beautiful, right? He baked us asparagus pizza in it last month. OH MY! And, he said he’d help me build one. Wooohoo! He built the base out of adobe bricks and the oven from sculpted willow branches and cob. YUM.
And, so I don’t get too distracted with my ambitious mud-makin desires, of course we’ll start with the center bed in our greenhouse so Patrick can plant his tea bush and medicinals and tropical fruits. Here is a photo from this morning in the dome. I’ll share more as we build it. 
Life is just so…awesome. Hope you are feeling just as happy this Spring! What is inspiring you lately?
Same, Same but Different: from Idea to Book
May 13, 2011
One of the most interesting things about picture books is the story behind the books — where the seeds of ideas came from and how they grew. As promised, I am posting about how my new book, Same, Same but Different came to be. I hope it gives you some good book-energy and that hearing about my work-process is helpful.
Unlike some tales I’ve heard of children’s book authors who woke up from a dream in urgency to scribble down a story appearing to be a gift from the beyond, I had to travel to the other side of the world 3 times to find this book. The first time, I found only the title. The second time, I found the experience. And the third time, I found the content and research.
In 2000, eleven years ago, my friend Maria and I wandered around SE Asia for a month, and I jotted down a saying, “Same, Same but Different” that we heard in Thailand. My favorite part of the trip was playing with kids in a remote village in Northern Thailand — which inspired me to return.
In 2002, I traveled to Nepal to volunteer at a school. I lived with a family of 14. Everything seemed SO so foreign to me, and I LOVED that. On the second day with my family, I was given a bucket of cold water and soap. Hmmm…did she want me to clean?
“Bucket shower,” she said. “Same, same but different.” There was that saying again…
I had been collecting M. Sasek’s “This is…” book series and had a secret daydream of picking up where he left off. I doodled ideas for “This is Nepal” in my sketchbook. I knew I wanted to make books from my travels.
I feel like it took me a while to find my way at the school — what did I have to share? I wasn’t an English teacher or a musician (like the amazing previous volunteer I heard so many stories of). So for awhile, we simply played and became friends with each other. We became a beautiful part of each other’s worlds.
After observing an art class with twenty 4th graders copying Mickey Mouse in their notebooks that the teacher had drawn on the blackboard, I decided to ‘play’ art with them every day, all day. The school building was dark. The rooms were small and cramped. There were even rats the size of obese American cats lurking in the playground corners. So we went on walks everyday to draw temples, people, chickens, cows, mountains, Buddhas, flowers, and more. We painted self-portraits and each other. We painted a 60 ft long mural in the playground. The school was buzzing with art. I emailed my friends back home and asked them to send postcards of their lives in America. Soon, photos and drawings of landscapes, families, pets, art, schools, food, gardens and cowboys showed up with messages to the kids. I thought Same, Same but Different could be a fun idea for a children’s book. When I was back in Kansas City, we had an art show of the students’ art sharing all about their country and culture.
Four years went by, and I kept in touch with my ‘new’ family in Nepal. Patrick and I decided to visit them and travel in India for several months on another book project. I also planned on writing a story to go with the title, Same, Same but Different, which was still in my list of books to write. And I could draw and shoot photo references for the book! So away we went. And what a FULL ride it was. Everyone who knows me or reads my blog knows I long to go back again.
After we returned home from traveling, I painted My Travelin’ Eye and let this idea incubate for awhile. Eventually, I began writing. Draft after draft after draft. Some long, some short, some in first person, some in 3rd person, some as a story, some as penpal letters. I tried out different ‘voices’ and names for the two boys while I walked. It took some months and a REALLY simplified version for it to finally sound right. I had shared the basic idea of the book with my editor who seemed to like it.
—>this is one of the many ‘story sketches’ i wrote down in a notebook.
Then I tackled the dummy. The idea called for art with tons of little details, so I knew I’d have to ‘show’ the book, not just have a manuscript. Plus, I knew drawing it would help edit the text and idea. The hardest part was editing out content. I had too much. The most helpful part was layering the edited-out ideas back into the backgrounds of other pages. I drew very rough sketches with my left hand. I didn’t want to get too serious/tight with the imagery yet.
I was so excited to show it to my editor when I finally finished it. Her response in short: I can’t publish it. The ending doesn’t work. She was right, the ending was cliche and weak. So I played with it more and shared the new ending idea with my sister who is an assistant principal of a gradeschool. In talking, she casually threw out one of those, “What if you did this…?” (What would I do without my sister, Patrick and close friends to help??) Within 2 weeks, I reworked the dummy, sent it to my editor, and she loved it. Hooray!
…some rough drawings from my book dummy in no particular order:
My editor said she’d like me to do a square book instead of the horizontal book I had imagined. My editor is the best, so it is easy trusting her. Again, she steered me in the best direction. I looked at some books for composition inspiration and thought about how I wanted to create the illustrations.
When I have visited schools, students have always liked seeing my hand-written drafts and my drawings. They have so many questions about the “how” part. I thought it would be cool to have a sketchbook for working out my drawings, collecting research and inspiration, and experimenting with medium. This could be a good way to show students my process. That was my initial motivation — very quickly, though, it became so useful to me!! I took it everywhere I went and wrote down ideas I didn’t want to forget. I also taped inspiration to my wall — photos with beautiful color combos, color studies, patterns, etc. I gathered lots of fun collage (some from my travels), refined drawings, painted little color comps and started painting. The entire journey is exciting, but painting is my favorite part!
I painted my first book in 4 months, but this one took much longer. I took a few month pause when Tulsi arrived, and then painted with her in my pouch…or on my back…or asleep nearby. I wondered how the stop-and-go would affect the energy of the book, but I know that becoming a mother added a new kind of wonder to the book.
Here are a couple photo references I took in Nepal and India and the finished illustrations.
ONLY 4 months until it’s in bookstores! Yeah! Leave a comment if you’d like to be included in the drawing for a signed copy when the book is released. :)
my flower child.
May 3, 2011
Tulsi, I never questioned whether we gave you the “right” name or not. I always knew it was perfect. You are a rare and beautiful spirit. I see the Divine every time I look into your eyes and heart! I have treasured every moment of your first 2 years with us, watching who you are today and who you are becoming. Thank you for taking my hand and showing me how to draw flowers (again) for the first time. For pointing out the fish swimming in the orange clouds at sunset. For giving me spontaneous love, always a hug AND a kiss, never just one. For looking me in the eyes. For asking to hold my hand. For insisting on long walks in the woods when I’ve been inside for too long. For inviting me to lay down on the ground so close next to you to say, “HI BUG!” at the long-legged, glistened winged insect walking by. I am so excited for who I have become, and who I am becoming, too, because of this gift of being your Mama. I love you all the way up to your toes!
Children’s Book Publishing FAQ
April 25, 2011
“I have this idea for a children’s book, but how do I get it published?” I have heard this so many times over the past few years — from dear friends and family, family members of childhood friends, girlfriends of ex-boyfriends :), blog friends, students, and strangers. I am no expert on this. My own entry into publishing is a bit fairytale-esque. But I do have a lot to share — from my experiences and what I’ve learned from working with my editor and publisher, and from friends who write and illustrate books. Still, I always wish I could share more.
When talking with some book friends last week about this, we all related. So we compiled links, advice, and thoughts that we’ve gathered along the way — so we could have it on hand to give to anyone who inquires. For any of you reading this who “have an idea for a book”, or who have a burning passion deep down to create children’s books in this life, we hope this provides you with answers to your questions and inspires you to make your books. Feel free to ask more questions in comments or share advice of your own!
Publishing FAQ: The Complex and Tricky Road to Getting Published:
Listed below are some very helpful websites, organizations, and tips that have been compiled by writers and artists working in the design, art, and children’s book world. This information will help you on your way to publishing your children’s book.
Writing, Illustrating, and Publishing Children’s Books: The Purple Crayon
This is written by an editor in the business and is very thorough and full of information!
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
This link will take you directly to the FAQ list and covers so much information.
The Children’s Book Insider
http://write4kids.com/collect.html
http://cbiclubhouse.com
The Heartland Writers Group
(for those in the Kansas City area looking for a critique group)
“The Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market” is a book that should have all the information on what the different publishing houses are accepting these days, how they like to receive their inquiries, and who to address them to. It should also be able to direct you toward writer and illustrator agents.
Some helpful websites for self-publishing:
http://www.ehow.com/how_107987_self-publish-book.html
lulu.com
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
*Don’t be too eager to “just get published”. It’s important to learn your craft. Write and draw a lot so you can figure out your style and get really good at it. If a weaker story gets published but it doesn’t sell well, they won’t ask you for a second. If you put out an exceptional manuscript and it sells great, the publisher starts asking you “what are you going to do for us next?”
An editor likes to nurture relationships with authors and illustrators and build a career. Taking the time to finesse your manuscript at the beginning will really pay off because quality work always finds a good home.
*Take a writing or poetry class at your local University
*Take a field trip to your local library or bookstore and look for books that speak to you and are in the style and spirit that you’d like to pursue.
Take note of which publishing houses publish those stories. Those are the editors you’ll want to get in contact with. (See “The Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market”)
*Join a local critique group (or start one!)
Try to be open to other people’s critiques and suggestions. Build up a thick skin. If something in your writing raises a red flag it’s worth revisiting even if you decide not to change it. Writing is a process so you can’t fall in love with your own words too early. Don’t make a manuscript precious…make it malleable so it can be reworked from front to back and from inside out. You shouldn’t have to explain a thing—the words should stand on their own. Say what you’re trying to say in as few words as possible.
Keeping in mind that writing is a process, don’t share your idea too soon. Make sure it is fully formed before you get feedback. Create a little distance between yourself and the script before presenting it to a group. Sometimes putting that story away for a while can be revealing when you bring it out for a fresh look.
*If you are a writer AND illustrator, it is really helpful to make a ROUGH (B&W line drawing) dummy of your book. This will help you edit, see what is and isn’t working, and will help develop your story. Refine and revise this version and submit it to an agent or publisher with your proposal. This will show your vision in the best and clearest way. Be sure to follow the submission guidelines according to the SCBWI website (listed above). Here is my example of the book dummy process.
*Keep your query short and start it with the most exciting excerpt from your manuscript. Hook them right off the bat. Keep your letters professional without trying to sound clever or cutesy. Don’t add copyright signs (circle c) on each page because it is a sure sign you’re an amateur (heard that from an editor at a conference). Send in manuscripts with artwork only if you’re doing both. You can suggest an illustrator but leave that decision up to the editor. Most likely they will want to pair a new author with a seasoned illustrator and vice versa to help the sale of the book.
*Many writers and illustrators have an agent who takes care of their publishing connections, job inquiries, billing, contracts etc. If you plan to write more stories, you may consider getting an agent. Many editors will not look at a manuscript unless it is vetted through an agent, though this is not a hard and fast rule. The main reason an agent is helpful, (for both writing and illustrating when just beginning) is that they can give your manuscript priority over the “slush pile” since most editors have a huge stack of inquiries from writers of every level. Although an agent may require a 15-35% commission, (depending on whether the agent represents writers or illustrators) many writers and illustrators find it helpful to have someone else marketing their work, finding homes for their manuscripts, and taking care of the business end of the book world so they can concentrate on their art.
Publishers are being very careful about what they’ll accept these days because the future of the book as we know it is changing. But they will ALWAYS need new ideas and stories in one form or another!
*Attending an SCBWI conference is also a great way to make personal contacts with editors. There are usually one or two editors speaking at these events and most conferences have “pitch sessions”, one-on-one time with the editor, available for attendees.
Hopefully this information will be helpful to you on your journey toward becoming a published author. While the road to publication is tricky, remember that no two roads are the same, and with hard work, revision, and time, that road can ultimately be rewarding. This is best evident when you get to share your book with a child!
Here’s wishing you all the BEST in your endeavors!
Sincerely,
Betsy Snyder
www.betsy@betsysnyder.com
Elizabeth Haidle
www.ehaidle.com
Jenny Sue Kostecki Shaw
Jenny Whitehead
www.jennywhitehead.com
Laura Huliska Beith
www.laurahuliskabeith.com
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