Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Mercer Mayer and I share some news!

Hello everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have news to share!

(This post has been brought to you by Little Critter. Author illustrator Mercer Mayer publishes these with Golden Press and Random House. We have a huge collection. They seem to fit every occasion.)
 
Anyway, NEWS!!
I got a wonderful phone call from my editor Shana Smith a few weeks ago. She says she did NOT hear me yelling at my children as someone handed me the ALREADY OPENED CELL PHONE.
At least, I'm pretty sure I was yelling. I might have been saying something loudly for all to hear. Something about their mess of a room. But, I digress...
I've always wanted a book contract for more than one book. Maybe even one that wasn't written yet. It's called a blind contract and that means you sign on the line and PROMISE to write a book. How fun is that??? And Shana offered one! The wonderful folks at Love Inspired wanted to buy the book I'd sent as a sequel to Season of Joy (Nov 2012) AND one of those grown-up deals for a book that didn't even exist yet!
Hooray for me!!!!
I babbled on and on and on. Poor Shana. Anyway, I finally let her off the phone.
I felt like this for a whole five minutes!!!
And then I started to worry. Mr. Big Bad Joy-Stealer started to whisper in my ear. Didn't I have enough on my plate? Boy, was I going to have my hands full! (Which I might point out, no one ever says to the President of the United States because it's rude. It implies you are inherently incapable and will FAIL.)
Mr. Doubty-Pants is a bully who likes to remind me of all the things that must be done around here and how I am the only who can do them.
Uh oh, the children will go without shoes! (Wait, they usually run barefoot anyway.)
We do have frogs. If they get out, I'm not going to go looking. (If the turtles get loose, then we'll probably have to find them. That big one likes to bite.)
We've got a newly potty trained kid and one just starting out. Don't their bathroom needs come first?? What if setting up a new writing schedule puts them years behind their peers? What if they're wearing diapers at the prom??? (Hm. Mr. Whispery Voice of Doom, I have to say the prom was overrated. Try again.)
Won't my six beautiful darlings hate me forever because I'm working on a project wholly unrelated to their needs? (Actually, most of these smallish people understand the direct correlation between my typing frantically at a keyboard and the number of cool trips we get to take. For the ones who miss the point, there is always candy to win back their fickle little hearts.)
What about home schooling? They'll get years behind if I try to take on any more than I already have! They will never get a job and will live in my house FOREVER! (Mr. Fear-of-the-Future, you obviously haven't seen us in action. Every time we have a newborn, I face this fear and stomp it into the ground while clutching their awesome test scores. Try again.)
What? Already? No more whispery-worries-in-the-dark? Well, now that we've got the cowardly doubts put to bed...
We can take a good hard look at the situation and see what's actually true.
Contracted books mean revisions, first (ARG!!! Pain!! Torture!! Mayhem!!.. Ok, done whining. Sorry.) It also means excellent time management, scheduling, planning, and perseverance.
A contract means understanding there are only so many hours in the day. It means we have to sleep, eat, and pray without ceasing. (And I mean only that last part without ceasing. Although I do like to eat without ceasing. And nap intermittently.)
It means encouraging small people to help themselves, even when I do love to brush their hair and pick out matching socks and wipe noses. (Can you tell which one is a BIG LIE. Hint: it's not the socks.)
It means letting other people do a job that I could do better, because I need their help. I think this is good for everybody, really.


So, now that I've signed on the line (whee!), just in time for Speedbo, I've got lots of work to do. And there are still people to feed around here. So, here's a super quick warm-you-up snack. It's silly simple, but hey, remember that contract. We're on Speedbo time here.
So, chop a few Granny Smith apples.
Per one apple, add 1 tsp water, dash of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp sugar.
Zap in the microwave for 3 minutes.
Ta-dah!  Compote de Pommes a la Maison. heehee! Seriously, they're pretty tasty. And don't take a lot of time. and kids can make them ALONE. Bonus. If you don't want them to handle the knives or have an older kid to chop (or trust them with the sugar) you can always prepare a bunch in a bag for the freezer. Even in smaller bags, for each portion. But let's not make it complicated, right?
So, thanks for sharing my good news with me, Yankee Belle Cafe folks! I'll see you around the 1k1hr group on facebook to keep myself accountable (Away with you, Pinterest!) and on track. :)
And if you haven't guessed, the next book will also be a Christmas book! I've never loved Christmas so much in my life!

 Until next time, when Julie Hilton Steele will be posting some great tips from the World War II era!


 

28 comments:

  1. Awww. Love this...every single bit of it is marvelous!!! Thanks for sharing your magical news. Having always wanted a book deal (I'll have one, one day!) I can totally relate to your joy! And I LOVE how you've described the juggling kiddos, house, and career. Lovely!

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    1. Thanks, Elise! We'll have to do another book signing article when the time comes! I so appreciate your time and talent on the home-town front. :)

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  2. I never thought of using the microwave for the compote! Great idea and congrats on the contract!

    Piper

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    1. Thanks, Piper! I stole this from my sisty ugler. She's got a talent for making things simple and delicious!

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  3. OH HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!!!!! I'M SO STINKIN' EXCITED FOR YOU, MY FRIEND!!!! OH, WOWZA, THERE IS JOY IN MUDVILLE!!!!!

    HAPPY DANCING IN UPSTATE!!!!! TWIRLING!!!!! (YOU KNOW I'M REALLY SUPER-DUPER HAPPY WHEN I TWIRL!!!!!!!)

    I love Mercer Mayer and I'm laughing at the adaptations of titles! Hooray for you, the children will survive or be eaten by a pack of rogue coyotes.... stuff happens.

    :)

    Hugging you from afar! Like almost across the stinkin' globe!!!!!

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    1. I think if I get them to link hands, we can almost make it to your house! And that's becuase I have a lot of kids, not because you're so close geographically. :D

      Honestly, the 'where's my sneaker?' is my favorite. And I don't just hear that from small kids. When a nine year old asks me where is shoe is, I give 'the look' that precedes chore assignment.

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  4. Love this post. One of my favorites and it barely involved food!

    Peace, Julie

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    1. I know, can you believe it? How can anything great not really have food in it??? :D

      Man, I've been craving Nutella. Is there a diet version of Nutella?

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    2. Nutella is a diet food.

      Silly you. (smirk...)

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  5. Diapers at prom!! LOLOL!!

    CONGRATULATIONS!!! Woo hoo! Celebrating for you!! :)

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    1. You know that stage where you think they will NEVER get out of diapers and it must be your fault and you should take them to the doctor and have their little bladders checked and then to the psychiatrist to have their little brains checked and then turn in your mommy license?

      Yeah, I'm there.

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    2. And then all of the sudden, one day they look at you with that "don't you dare try to put a diaper on me" look, and you've got it made!

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  6. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS! Just loved Season of Joy! And loved your madcap blog a la Little Critters! I bet your kids are crazy hyped over their famous, hot-in-demand mom!!!!

    And thanks for the apple recipe tip. I make applesauce on the stovetop, but never thought of zapping an apple in the microwave. Duh.

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    1. My sister's a genius. She comes up with all sorts of great ideas.

      And my kids have no idea what this is about. I mean, the older two means it they'll get paid!

      They're very savvy beta readers and as long as they don't have to read any smooching, I pay the $3 a chapter. ha! Total deal for everybody!

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  7. WOO HOO! A grown-up book deal!!! Congrats!!!!

    And this means we have two more books from you to look forward to :)

    Now THAT'S worth dancing for!

    Oh, and apples...I haven't had breakfast yet. Wouldn't that little compote go great with my cereal?

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    1. Mmmmmm. I just thought of crunchy granola over this... YUMMY!!

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    2. Mmmmm...

      I actually made it with a Gala apple, cinnamon, Truvia (instead of the sugar) and a smidgen of butter. It was delicious!

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    3. Isn't it great? We always have tons of apples, and in the winter, it's so nice to have something warm. Plus, cinnamon is a favorite spice of mine. :)

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  8. Cute post! I even know who Mercer is.

    Congratulations!x!x!x! Well deserved!

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    1. Thanks, Christina! And thanks for stopping in even though you already KNEW this!

      And, that pm you sent on facebook about your friend who works with street people? Totally stealing that idea. Tweaked and adapted, but love that story.

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  9. Virginia, posts like this are why you got that multi-book contract. Way to go, girl!!!! Mega congrats. No go celebrate. But only for a few minutes because you have to get back to work:-)

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    1. Hahahahaha! Agreed.... we are allowed SHORT celebrations. Same with Whining Sessions.... Abbreviated and then we move on. But I'm still happy dancing, chickie!

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  10. Haha! I wrote it on a slip and put it in our 'good things' jar. And maybe I'll get my hair cut. That's always a treat!

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  11. Wow! You are so busy with all those kids and homeschooling and writing and... You just put all my silly excuses throughout the years (I'll wait until the kids are in school, I'll wait until I don't work anymore, I'll wait...) to shame. ;-)

    This is such terrific news! Congratulations! (I need to find SEASON OF JOY at Goodwill or somewhere...) May the writing blessings overflow!

    BTW, we have always loved Mercer Mayer in our house! You show some I've never seen, so that means I'll be looking at kids' books at Goodwill, too (oh, wait...that's a given with 4 grandkids and another due in June!). :)

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    1. Melanie, send me your address and I'll send you a copy. :) And they're still on Amazon, but you have to pay full price plus shipping.

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  12. wow that is great. you need to write a bathroom book of this kind of writing. Too funny, It's me the one who shares your Tuesday evening for an hour or so:0)

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    1. Thank you, Patty!!! You get to hear all the good news FIRST. :D

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