Support your local bookstore!

My favorite local bookstore* is Schuler Books & Music.**
It's just a 20-minute drive from my house.

My critique group (The World's Greatest Critique Group -- that's its name but it's also true) has met at Schulers for the 10 years since I joined them.

Before the Eastwood Towne Center store was built, and before the Okemos store moved into Meridian Mall, Schulers had a lovely store next to Meijer, and I visited often.

Over the years we've gotten to know the staff at the various branches.
I put one staff member, book buyer Rhoda, in the art for my Leopold the Lion book.

If you know real-life Rhoda, you know that this doesn't quite look like her.
Real Rhoda has glasses but the publisher wanted no glasses on Mom and no facial hair on Dad.
Real Rhoda is blonde, and I wanted darker-skinned, darker-haired characters for this book.
Otherwise that is definitely Rhoda.
And it's her on the page where she's fixing a bike, too -- Real Rhoda is tough and she plays sports.

If you want to buy any of my books, Schuler Books is likely to have them in stock.
They always do.
Thank you, Schulers!

To buy online -- only $1 per book for shipping! -- go to
http://www.schulerbooks.com/search/site/barshaw

To buy one of my books at the store, just walk in and find it on the shelf.
If you want, Rhoda will probably autograph it for you.

*actually two bookstores -- one Schuler Books & Music is 20 minutes away and the other is about 25 minutes away.
**I love Schuler Books. I love a lot of other fine bookstores, too. Schulers is closest.

Literary Pumpkins!

Check this out: Pumpkins modeled after kids' books.
And -- bonus -- one of the books is the brilliant and wonderful Debbie Diesen's fun rhyming read-aloud book, The Pout-Pout Fish!
'Tis the season to carve a pumpkin; why not get your inspiration from a kids' book like the kids at that cool school did?

Does life ever slow down?

Does life ever slow down? And would I want it to? No, and no, I guess.

(from an Attwood Elementary School Field Day 2008 sign; this year's theme was Ellie McDoodle! Last year's was Dr. Suess)

Ellie 2 is out! Ellie McDoodle: New Kid in School is on bookstore and library shelves right NOW. Buy it! Borrow it! Read it!

I think it's a better book than the first. The first reviews are in, and they agree. It's the best I could make it... which means there's plenty of room for improvement. ;)

The book launch party at Schuler Books in Eastwood Towne Center last weekend went FANTASTIC. We had more people than chairs -- I was truly heartened (and surprised -- expected about 3 people there, and even told Jim at Schulers to only set up 3 chairs. He laughed and set up 40). My friend Lori reports on the event here.

Ellie and Er-ick play tug-o-war on a sign at the Attwood Field Day

I'm working on a few other book projects right now. When my wonderful-beautiful-brilliant (honestly, she is all that) editor says those magic words, "What do you have for the next Ellie book?" I'll be ready. In the meantime, I'm working on a book for older kids and a book for younger kids.

I've done a zillion sketches this summer, but haven't scanned many in because I've been too busy with other obligations.
Here are two sketches from my cousin's Ordination as a Priest, in May.

It was a fascinating ceremony, held in downtown Detroit at a lovely cathedral. Here's Father Charles, no longer Chuck:

Our car is in the shop, the first loaner car died (same problem as our car, ironically), and now the second loaner car is dead. I'm distressed; I missed a crit group meeting this morning and will probably miss my friend's birthday party this afternoon.

Crying doesn't help, so I'm writing (working on a book about a kid in NYC).

And, when I need a break, I pull pranks on my kid.

I'm laughing at the moment, because she just walked into my studio dressed like me! And talking like me! And it's hysterical.

Got time on your hands because your car isn't working?

Read this: Debbie Diesen's blog

Her book just went into a second printing -- and it's only been out a couple months.

And read this: Ann Finkelstein's blog.

And this one: Lori Van Hoesen's blog.

And check out this site: http://runamokink.com/ That's April.

These are all brilliant writers in my crit group. (Tim, Amy and Kay don't have blogs yet)

I love them so much I put their pictures in my second Ellie book. Page 7.

Catching up

I've been working on a new book, and lots of author presentations, and trying to keep up with my kids' busy schedules.
The end of the school year is always so crazy...
Next week I'm off to camp with the fourth graders. I don't expect it to be a vacation. (I'll post the sketches)
Here are a couple from last year's camping trip:

That's me in the bottom right corner, completely exhausted from hiking in the dunes.
Unfortunately I am not in much better shape this year.

Oh, this is too funny. See the date on that last sketch? 2005? It should have been 2007. I guess I really was tired! Funny that nobody apparently noticed. These sketch composites were copied and distributed to the kids who went.

Other Kid Stuff:
My 10-year-old won a local school district writing/illustrating contest. I took a hands-off approach to her entry, because I didn't want to use unfair influence. Besides, she didn't want me involved. She barely let me read her entry.
I'm so proud of her, and how much work she put into her book! She tells me she wants to be a singer when she grows up, but I know her real aptitude is for writing and illustrating. I'm trying to let her discover that for herself.

Tonight my son's fiancee showed me her wedding gown. I'd post pics here (I sketched it and also took photos) but I'm supposed to keep it a secret from him. I won't jinx their happy life, so I'll just say this: It's beautiful. So is she.

My oldest daughter is having a baby in Sept/October, and we've found out it's a girl. Her 5-year-old son is nonchalant. He was hoping for both a boy and a girl, both -- so they could play with each other and leave him alone.
He has a funny sense of humor. He told his teacher he wanted to change his name to Tylenol. He doesn't even know what Tylenol is. I guess he just likes how it sounds.

My middle daughter is home from college. It's fun having her around. She heads back in a month for summer classes. She's hoping to buy an old car, soon, so I don't have to keep driving her. If you have a lead on a cheap car, let me know.

For Mother's Day two of my kids (the middle ones) wrote long letters that made me cry. (Joy, not pain) And the youngest wrote a lovely song which she sang and played many times on her cornet for me. She also gave me a long list of coupons (backrub, clean house, mom/daughter time, all sorts of goodies!). And she made me a beaded bracelet. My oldest bought a game for us all to play on Family Night, and she brought a balloon that plays You Are My Sunshine (amazing what balloons can do, nowadays). That was our song back when she was 2. My son gave me a new digital camera -- I accidentally broke the LCD screen on my fancy camera last month, to my great distress. My future daughter-in-law gave me a necklace. They all took me out to dinner -- Chinese, our favorite.
I am sure I have the best kids in the world, but I'll try not to brag, because it will only make you want to borrow them, and I like having them here.

Author Stuff:
I've done some fun school visits this spring. Elms Road Elementary in Swartz Creek, near Flint, sold 155 copies of Ellie McDoodle! Amazing!! After signing, my hand hurt for a week.

My work-in-progress is officially submitted and looking for a home. It's hard to type with fingers crossed.

My critique group writer friends and I have begun a group blog, here. Most of them have separate blogs also, and they're very entertaining.

More later. Off to bed...

A brilliant child

I have the best critique group ever.
Evidence:
- They helped me through a tough revisions process
- They're unfailingly supportive of me and my work
- They're very smart writers, themselves
- They snap candid photos of their kids reading my book.

This is Claudia, age 3. She's too young to read but I hear she enjoyed the pictures.
(That's my ARC in her hands, the uncorrected advance proof)