Mumien ved Midnat

I've been translated! Not sure as to which language into, but here's photographic evidence:

FTM review from Booklist

From today's BOOKLIST:

The Painting That Wasn't There.
Brezenoff, Steve (Author) , Canga, C. B. (Illustrator)
Jan 2010. 88 p. Stone Arch, library edition, $17.99. (9781434216083).

This title in the Field Trip Mysteries series marries the always high-interest topic of an art heist with a breezy, straightforward story just right for reluctant readers. The book opens with an illustrated dossier belonging to sixth-grader James “Gum” Shoo (“Interests: Gum chewing, field trips, and showing everyone what a crook Anton Gutman is”) and three pals. The story then proceeds to tell how he got his flatfoot moniker. In art class, the kids learn about a famous painting and are delighted to find out that they’re going on a field trip to see it in person. At the museum, one of James’ henchfriends notices that the painting on the wall’s a forgery, and the four sleuths set out to uncover the perp. It’s a quickly paced and quickly resolved caper, but what’s lacking in characterization and plot is made up for in style: Canga’s illustrations add a touch of middle-school noir to the overall handsome presentation. The can-do spirit extends to the back matter, prompting kids to solve a mystery themselves or write up a new one.
— Ian Chipman

And don't forget to read Dia Reeves' guest post and enter to win an ARC of The Absolute Value of -1, signed by myself, Dia, Jennifer Hubbard, Heidi Kling, and more Tenners!

Finn Reeder: Flu Fighter

My new laptop is due to arrive today. It might show up at any minute.

Meanwhile, Eric Stevens' latest and greatest project for SAB is now live as a free pdf download! It's only available free until the first of the year.

Click the cover below to get it. And I hope you enjoy it. I think it's pretty funny.

TKBs III

Ahoy!

Last night was our last pre-final-cover meeting with the wonderful TKBs. It was a blast, naturally, and there were even more questions and comments for me, which was nice. See, there was more time at the end before the members had to scatter because we only looked at four comps on the old overhead. Anywho, the questions and comments were mostly very flattering and I probably went red once or twice.

The point is I think most of the members who read |-1| (at least those who spoke up) liked it.

Oh! And the covers. Well, I was pretty hot on one of 'em, and pretty cold on one of them, and downright unmoved by another, but one of them in particular has me more excited than a crawfish at a clambake. Unfortunately, the AE warns me that it's nowhere near in the bag yet, what with all the necessary approvals down the road from Sales and departments like Sales. So I can't say anything specific about it. You'll all have to be patient with me. But it won't be long, mind you, as we need finals pretty right quick for the catalog.

In other news, check out this review of one of SAB's FTM titles. A classic?! Oh, go on.

In a perfect world, the picture I attached to this post would have been the cover. Alas, this will suffice.

One post, two Sams

We're skipping ECFE this morning, I'm sorry to report. Sam's fighting a cold that has his nose running like a faucet, so rather than spread the cold to twenty other toddlers, we thought it best to stay home. I'll do some laundry. We'll have a blast.

Anyway, drop over to the Stone Arch Books blog today. They've posted a guest post I did about my favorite character from the Field Trip Mysteries. (Between you and me, she was also named for after my son.)

"Self-destructive"

I have a blog? How 'bout that.

Yup, been gone a week. No good reason for it, frankly.

My last Thursday afternoon for work, with MIL sitting Sam, is today. I'll be working mostly on an SAB title, which is nice. My two most promising WIPs (aka YA MS the Second and YA MS the Third) have been gathering dust, not for lack of time (though I haven't been taking write-nights as religiously as I ought to), but for lack of get-up-and-go. I think writing a quick football title for SAB will help me to feel potent again. Let's hope so, 'cause YA MS the Third is so freakin' promising, and yet I am afraid to approach it.

This has always been a problem for me, and I assume for many writers. I write and write like a house afire, and then, upon reaching some roadblock, stop. YA MS the Second has been wallowing for some time thanks to that issue, and I am afraid YA MS the Third is destined for the same fate. Heck, YA Novel the First wallowed on and off for about twelve years. It took some interest from the AE to really bang it into shape.

This afternoon, I have contractual obligations to attack that SAB title. It's due on Monday, after all. But after this weekend, I'm getting my BIC on, religiously. In fact, here's my vow: YA MS the Third will be agent-ready by Halloween.

Not to put to fine a point on it, but just typing that sentence gave me a small anxiety attack.

Cures for Heartburn

YA MS the Third is giving me serious agita. I'll be taking a short break from it, letting it worm around in my fuzzy little mind, and maybe the problem will look less problematic when I return to it.

Meanwhile, I will be dedicating the next 30-45 days to some SAB business, including one very exciting, totally new, and mind-blowingly cool project that I can't even say anything about yet. I mean, I wouldn't want to build it up too much or anything. I can say it will likely be the longest, word-count-wise, project I've ever done for SAB.

There's still a few days to enter the Field Trip Mysteries giveaway. Give it a whirl! And if you don't win this one, I think Eric Stevens has a giveaway planned for next week. He just got all kinds of samples in, too, including Bandslam: Will's Guide to Music. He's really proud of that one--spent a good amount of time yesterday reading through it, second guessing some, but mostly just liking it. That was an insane project. Some revisions arrived, with a short turnaround requested, the morning my . . . I mean, his son was born! (That's almost one year ago, for those playing at home.) Anyway, I expect that title will be involved in the giveaway next week.

Now then. Back to the Isle of Conquest!

FTM, revealed!

Finally, if you'll glance slightly to your right, the classified acronym has been revealed. Stone Arch Books newest series of chapter books, the Field Trip Mysteries, authored by yours truly, was so fun to write, so well designed and illustrated, I can hardly bear it. In fact, I'm in the middle of submitting the next four in the series!

Seriously, I just love the art by C.B. Canga. Get a load of these covers.





































In other news, edits on YA Novel the First are done! The manuscript, still untitled, is now being sent around for blurbs. My heart is inside out with apprehension and excitement. Aforementioned Editor and I will now discuss titles and cover ideas. I also want to note that the best titles that will come from my end of that conversation were thought up by Beth. She is much better at this than I am.

Oh, also we took this little trip out to New York to see fam and friends, so there was that. Boy, did I eat. Seriously. I can hardly remember anything else. Eddie's pizza, of course (twice actually), plenty of the more typical New York-style pizza, one hot dog from Papaya King, a burger and shake from COZY Soup and Burger (best shakes in the city, hands down), loads of bagels, and plenty of other great, great food. I don't want to think about it, because I'm pretty sure I gained twenty pounds over seven days. The airline should have charged me for an extra carry-on, I kid you not.

Those people from PIX are not as excited as they should be.

We're off to New York in the morning! Pizza, bagels, egg sandwiches, Eddie's* (which will be the first pizza Sam ever tries; everything is going according to my plan) . . . a 6:30 a.m. flight! We'll have to rise early even for us (our normal wake-up time is 5:30 or so). Wish us luck, please, as Sam is teething like nobody's business at the moment and has had a screwy couple of days as it is.

Perhaps you'd better wish the other passengers on our flight luck, as well.

YA Novel the First news: I sent back my second revisions to Aforementioned Editor. Assuming he approves of the minor changes I made and the itty-bitty new scene I painstakingly crafted, I think we're about to work on a final title for this thing. Finally. I've been sweating through every conversation about YA Novel the First, just dreading the inevitable "So?! What is it called??" As if that's all that matters. Sheesh.

We thought we'd see samples of my latest series for SAB last week, but they didn't show up. It's a shame; I'm looking forward to finally dropping them on the Exile and revealing what "FTM" stands for in the sidebar. Hopefully they'll be in by the time we return from back east. They're a treat to write (I just finished another for the next group in the same series today, as a matter of fact), and hopefully they'll be a treat to read. I can tell you one thing: I've seen much of the art and design, and they're positively gorgeous. They're bound to be my favorite SAB titles.


*That picture I found is awesome.

Stand, fall, sleep, write, go broke

My goodness, I've gone clear from Monday to Friday without updating. For shame! In truth, I've been a busy guy this week. For starters, as I think I mentioned, Sam is standing with the help of anything he can find. That means he is also falling. That means I spend most of my time following him around the house, wondering what he will use to pull himself up. Some options include the couch, a toy drum, the step stool in the kitchen, an empty coffee can, the laundry basket, and my lap*.



Also, since Eric Stevens was so late with his last job, I had to make up for his lazy ass by getting my latest job in early, specifically today. I've also sent in one spec sample for some new work-for-hire stuff (I'll have to let Eric Stevens and Deirdre Black fight it out to see who gets that job--if the samples are enjoyed, that is), and been working a bit on YA MS the Second.

NEWSFLASH! Just this morning, a new addition to my repertoire of silly nicknames: YA MS the Third! It came to me in the last couple of days, and, as I lay awake in bed this morning from 2 to 3:30, I wrote the first page or so in my head. Upon crawling out of bed at a little before 6 (thank you, Misters Sam and Goddamn Cardinal in the Lilac Bush Outside Our Bedroom Window), I typed it out, mostly as I had planned, I think, and it came to three pages. Clearly not an auspicious, mindblowing start to a new project. But it does feel right, and frankly brilliant, so although it can't get my attention right away, keep your eyes peeled for more on YA MS the Third.

And finally, the engine light. $2100 later, the light is now off. I made the guy behind the counter promise to give Sam a job when he turns sixteen so he can pay for his own college tuition. Zing!

*The video title was not my idea, but Beth's, so don't think I'm judging my wife because Sam fell. Babies fall; Sam is a baby. Ergo, not the worst mother by any measure.

"And who should I make it out to?"

(Or is that "Out to whom should I make it?"?)

I'm going to try to write an entry, even though Sam is not currently napping. He seems pretty focused on the rug in the hallway.

Big day! I had my first-ever book signing! It was at the International Reading Association north convention in Minneapolis, at booth 1526, to be specific. I must have signed about forty or fifty books. Maybe? I'm not sure; should have kept track. It was pretty thrilling, though. Now, I'm no fool. I know full well that most if not all of the people I signed for today were responding to the big "FREE" on my placard. Still, it was really flattering. Most visitors (librarians and teachers, most of them) were genuinely glad to meet me and have me sign their free book. One teacher said her ELL students had read Mummy at Midnight already, and had liked it a lot. AND one librarian said her boys love the Jake Maddox books. Eric Stevens will be so proud when I tell him. By the way, of the two available books, I Dare You! was the more popular choice by far. We ran out of stock. I think people are looking for "boy" books, and the male narrator and spooky cover fit the bill.

In other news, Beth's mother-in-law is still town, living in the attic. She and Sam get along like a house afire. Tonight, she will babysit so Beth and I can go out for supper. We're thinking Tanpopo. And tomorrow afternoon, in celebration of Mother's Day a little early, we're having Beth's family (or some of it) over for a cookout! Turkey burgers! Turgers! And one veggie burger.

A short break

I just noticed my last post was my 100th on this blog. Oh well. Pretend there was fanfare.

Sam is napping at the moment, so I should be scrambling to get some words down on a freelance job for the SAB. But the next scene I have to write will be of a dejected teen covering up his fear of failure in front of his parents, and it seems like it might be fairly trying, so I'm taking a short break while I decide if this should include just Dad, Mom and Dad, or just Mom.

I have a tendency to create characters with only one parent. In YA Novel the First, actually, all three MCs have two parents, but the constant threat is "Yes, but for how long?" I've heard the theory as to why this--that is, absent parents--is a frequent theme in children's lit: to do with ensuring that the protagonist is independent. Pragmatically, too, a story isn't bogged down by niceties like what is being made for supper, and who's making it, and what these people do for a living and what cars they drive, if they do, et cetera. Still, I feel the need to buck the trend to some degree. I'm a trend bucker.

No I'm not. But "trend bucker" sounds neat.

Actually, in YA MS the Second, we've got a missing parent, haven't we? Yes.

In other news, the longest semester has finally ended. My only class's last meeting was last night, and I think I even passed. The next class begins two weeks from tonight, and I can't wait for it: Adolescent Literatures. Can you stand it? I can't. Is it wrong, by the way, that I am sort of looking forward to the first class (on my birthday, p.s.), when during introductions I can say I'm a YA author? I predict a spit-take. I should remember to buy coffees* for everyone to be sure it happens.

Mom arrives tomorrow afternoon. I plan to make appointments to take Harry to the vet and my car to the shop while the live-in babysitter is in town.

*I tried for quite a while (too long) to find a photo of Julia Louis-Dreyfus doing the spit-take from that '80s SNL skit in which she was a talk-show host a little too fond of coffee and feigned surprise. Couldn't find one. So this photo had to do. No idea what it's from.

A great review for my alter ego

Eric Stevens just got a wonderful e-mail from SAB! Booklist Online had this to say about his latest release:





Maddox, Jake (author) and Eric Stevens (author).
Illustrated by Sean Tiffany.
Feb. 2009. 72p. Stone Arch, hardcover, $17.99 (9781434212009) <http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9781434212009> . Grades 4-7.
REVIEW. First published March 19, 2009 (Booklist Online).

With a winning combination of fast action and intense personal drama, this chapter book in the Jake Maddox Sports Fiction series will draw even reluctant readers. On the first page, Kenny is in big trouble at school again, and his dad has been called in to see the principal. Ever since his mother died, Kenny gets angry very easily; he even yells at teachers. He is furious when Dad signs him up for karate class, and the full-page, comic-style pictures in gray wash show him seething, and then slowly gaining control as he practices the technical moves and also learns calming exercises from Sensei, his karate teacher. Readers will enjoy the details of Kenny’s meltdowns as much as the karate specifics, which build to the climax, in which Kenny overcomes his anger and wins the class tournament. Back matter includes discussion questions, writing prompts, a glossary, and more information about karate.— Hazel Rochman

I'm afraid I can't link the article, since I don't subscribe to Booklist Online. But anyway, woo! Thanks, Hazel!

SOLD!

This had been a pretty stellar day.

First of all, my latest Eric Stevens/SAB title, about basketball, BTW, is nearly done. It's due tomorrow, and I shouldn't have a problem wrapping it up before lunch. Tomorrow, that is. I would have finished it today, perhaps, but for. . . .

Lunch with Roo. That was great! Great conversation, great food even at Pizza Luce (apparently the vegan food is also quite good, as Roo was happy with his), and great to feel a sort of connection to back east. Though I know Oz would be better all around, it might be pretty cool to have a dude like Roo in the neighborhood. Okay, in the state. Of course, the downside of lunch, besides not finishing my Eric Stevens work, was missing a phone call.

From my agent! But after some email and voicemail and receptionist back-and-forth, we finally spoke, and YA MS the First is officially SOLD! I'm over the goddamn moon, and sorry to say "goddamn," but I think protagonist would have wanted me to say "goddamn." If not worse.

So yeah. Big day! The above made it fairly easy to ignore the fact that it snowed here on the last day of March. Some lamb.

Band practice tonight. I will celebrate the day with a couple of beers. Better hit the package store on the way to pick up some Two Hearteds.

Mmmmm . . . literary hops.

One for you, nineteen for me

I know you're all itching to hear how it went with the tax professional yesterday, so here's the scoop: excellently!

Our last two visits to the tax professional left us in small panics about getting our taxes paid. Since I work for myself and have no money automatically deducted, we always owed. (Also because I couldn't get my act together with the whole quarterly-estimated-payments thing.) This year, though, I was very good, and at the end of my meeting yesterday, we just about came out even. After paying the tax pro himself, we stand to get back about a hundred bucks. That's pretty damn perfect.

See, sure, everyone likes to get their tax refund. It's like free money, after all. But in reality it's the government paying back an interest-free loan you made to them over the course of the whole year. That doesn't seem fair! So the ideal situation, I think, is ours: I deduct my own taxes, put them into a savings account, and only pay what I have to. It really worked out great! My goal for next year is a big fat "zero" at the end of the appointment. Or better yet, the exact amount the tax pro charges.

(Of course, as it happens our government needs all the interest-free loans it can get right now, so maybe I'm thinking about this wrong.)

In other news, if Sam and Beth ever wake up from this nap, we're going out to lunch today. I'm supposed to be thinking of a place to go, but all I can come up with are burger places, like The Nook, Blue Door, Groveland Tap, Highland Grill . . . and I have a feeling Beth won't be feeling any of those. My guess is she will suggest Tanpopo, the Japanese noodle shop she swoons over. I like it too, very much, but I am just obsessed with burgers lately. Maybe I'm anemic.

After lunch, I'm doing some write-time, though I think it's will have to be 100% Eric Stevens work. He's got this basketball title due on Tuesday, and it just refuses to write itself.

Oh, and finally, my next break from WoW begins Wednesday. Why do I keep scheduling my last day to be on server-maintenance day?! Why?!

Dreamland

Two days in a row! Now we're talkin'.

Sam and I just returned from an hour long walk, all across Midway and back, essentially. It is nearly the perfect temperature out there, in my humble opinion (I wrote it out!), and the cool breeze is even nice if one has a brisk pace and needs some air on one's neck now and then.

Christy Raedeke asks on her blog today about ideas for books coming in dreams. My bio with Stone Arch Books highlights my tendency to get ideas in my sleep, and of course MG Book was so inspired. In fact, that book came up in dreamland several more times, leading to additional scenes and so many great concepts that MG Book is now MG Trilogy, woefully unfinished.

Beth will no doubt recall the night, back in 2004, I think, that I jumped up from the bed and ran to my computer. I'd been inspired in dream to write an adult piece of fiction, one that I still believe has a lot of promise. If I ever really feel like working very, very, very hard on a very, very complicated literary novel, I'll return to it. If I can find it! Uh oh. Anyway, in future, it's LF MS.

My point, though, if I have one, is that I haven't had a really excellent dream inspiration in too, too long, and I think I can safely blame the fact that I'm just not sleeping as well as I used to.

They say parents should expect to remain exhausted for the first twelve months of their baby's life, and that the overwhelming tiredness begins to fade (who knows how quickly?) thereafter. If that's true, maybe I'll be able to rely on dreams for inspiration again someday.

Meanwhile, I better get back to work on YA MS the Second. And Eric Stevens' next project. Oh, and maybe some Mad Libs. And the next FTM. And . . .

Spring in the air!

Another five days have past. So sad.

Here's the news:

It's spring-like here, freakin' finally. I've given Harry three baths in as many days, therefore, because long walks with the family all over our defrosting neighborhood leave his shaggy underbelly terribly muddy. But the walks have been delightful. In fact, after Beth got home from work yesterday, we all four walked (well, Sam rode in the stroller) to Dairy Queen for ice cream cones. And yeah, neither Sam nor Harry had any ice cream.

I have a tremendous amount of work to do right now. Much of it is for the one class I'm taking and have been effectively ignoring while not actually in the classroom. It's time to catch up. Beyond that, I've got a title for SAB due in a couple of weeks, as does Eric Stevens, and hopefully I'll be working on revisions of YA MS the First fairly soon too.

Neil Gaiman was on Colbert last night. I'm embedding the video!

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Neil Gaiman

Colbert Report Full Episodes
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Rap Battle
NASA Name Contest

Silent night

It's even quieter in the Brezenoff household than usual right now. Somehow or other, Sam missed one of his naps today, and, despite a very long nap in the afternoon, he has drifted off to sleep in his mother's arms about an hour ahead of his normal schedule. So now, we're all quietly finishing our nights, letting Sam sleep, still in his mother's arms.

He's in his newest pj's. They're pretty cute.

Not much else is happening. There's no news on the YA MS the First front, and frankly I haven't done much in the way of work on anything else, outside of a SAB job due on Friday. It's a football book that Eric Stevens is writing. He's a goddamn machine, that Stevens. I'm telling you. BAM! BAM! BAM! Book after book, like shotgun bullets. It's pretty awe inspiring.

And look at that; Sam just woke up. Which of course means it's time to get him ready for bed.

Recap at 5 in the mawnin.

I skipped a day again. This five per week thing is harder than I thought it'd be. Still, the idea behind it--the spirit of the resolution, if not the letter--was to ensure I kept my blog well up to date, which I think I have been.

Anyway, this post, though dated for Friday, should totally count as Thursday, because it's like 5 in the morning and no one in their right mind is awake and thinking "Hey it's Friday." No. Those in their right minds are asleep, smiling happily and knowing "Ahh it's Thursday night."

Well, I have a lot on my mind, much of which I am not going to say a single thing about.

I will sum up Thursday as best I could, and that's all:

The living room of our cozy bungalow is now mostly baby friendly, and it's become Sam's new playroom, such as it is. (My new favorite overused phrase is "such as it is." Watch for it!) Yesterday, in fact, Sam entertained himself for hours on end, simply rolling around and tugging at things hanging down from the arch of his activity mat. Then, when it was nap time, he started dozing off right there, so I just had to move him to his crib! I guess I didn't really even have to do that, but we're working on getting him accustomed to sleeping in his own room, so I did.

Yesterday, I got confirmation that I will be continuing on as one of the Jake Maddoxes, too, as well as continuing with a couple of other SAB projects I really enjoy. Some new stuff, too, is in the works, for one of my names to do, and I'm excited about those too. But most exciting is that I'll be re-signing my yearlong contract and can let out a sigh, knowing we don't need to make any desperate adjustments to our current financials.

Last night was also my meeting with Aforementioned Editor. It went well. More on that soon, but I will say that the supersecret epilogue is becoming the supersecret prologue, which just hit us both like a wet sock, and is clearly a huge solution, especially since it makes room for the new supersecret epilogue, which is shaping up to be way better.

And now it's Friday. With any luck, the FIL will be feeling better soon, for his own sake, natch, but also for ours: I really want the in-laws to babysit on Sunday so we can go see Coraline in 3D before the Jonas Brothers come along and gross up the 3D screens!

Eric Stevens is enjoyed!

A little back patting for one of Eric Stevens's DC titles from SLJ, and on the same day that a review of The Mummy at Midnight appears on the website, too.