ABA Silent Auction at BEA

Here's my contribution to the ABA Silent Auction: The Unstoppable Nellie Bly (and McGinty). The auction will be held on Wednesday May 25 and will benefit the ABFFE Fund for Free Speech in Children's Books. I'll be there ogling the art and bidding with or without noise. Say howdy if you see me.

Here are the rest of the auction pieces... Wow!

TLA Recap (plus Around the World Cover!!)

The cover for Around the World was unveiled at the Texas Library Association conference a few weeks ago. Candlewick was handing out free advanced reading copies which had the color cover, but unfortunately only lowish resolution black and white scans of the color interiors. It's a necessity at this stage, but I can't wait for people to see the full color version.

At any rate, I had an absolute blast in Austin. The Maverick graphic novel panel went very well (with a pretty large crowd in a gargantuan conference room). It was great to chat with Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, and Hope Larson and learn about their process.

I signed boxes of Around the World, Storm in the Barn, Flora's Very Windy Day and more. Conferences are always a whirlwind, but everyone there couldn't have been nicer and it was truly fun. I particularly lucked out at the Bluebonnet luncheon, where Elizabeth Bluemle and I got to sit with a table of students who had entered an essay contest to attend. Keep writing, all of you!

Below are some moleskine sketches from the plane ride home. Now that I look at them again, I think my subconscious was summing up the trip for me.

And the winners are...

This morning I put all of the names into the traditional hat and had my intern pick the winners. And those winners are...

1) Run goes to Jeannie Birdsall!

2) Leap goes to Jarrett Krosoczka!

3) Play goes to Abigail Halpin!

Thank you to all who threw their name into the hat and/or contributed to Team Nora!!!!!

CHF Fundraiser #3: Play

pencil & watercolor on Magnani paper (7"x6")

Price: $150. If you would like to purchase Play, please leave a comment here or on Facebook. I will pick a name from those interested tomorrow and contact you if you win.

All proceeds go to the Children's Heart Foundation via the Congenital Heart Walk and Team Nora. Your donation is also tax-deductible!

THANK YOU!

CHF Fundraiser #2: Leap

pencil & watercolor on Magnani paper (7"x6")

Price: $150. If you would like to purchase Leap, please leave a comment here or on Facebook. I will pick a name from those interested tomorrow and contact you if you win.

All proceeds go to the Children's Heart Foundation via the Congenital Heart Walk and Team Nora. Your donation is also tax-deductible!

THANK YOU!

CHF Fundraiser #1: Run

pencil & watercolor on Magnani paper (7"x6")

Price: $150. If you would like to purchase Run, please leave a comment here or on Facebook. I will pick a name from those interested tomorrow and contact you if you win.

All proceeds go to the Children's Heart Foundation via the Congenital Heart Walk and Team Nora. Your donation is also tax-deductible!

THANK YOU!

Original Art Sale for a Good Cause

Each year, my family is involved with raising money for the Children's Heart Foundation. This time I thought I'd try something a little different. I'm offering three original pencil and watercolor drawings for $150 each with every penny going to our team in May's Congenital Heart walk.

How it works:

Here are the drawings (pencil & watercolor on Magnani paper) created specifically for this cause:

On Thursday 4/19, I'll post each drawing individually here on the blog and on my Facebook page. If you would like to buy one, just leave a comment on either post.

On Friday, I'll randomly pick a name (if there is more than one name) and post the winning bidders on the blog and Facebook. Then you can email me your address and we'll work out the details. Note: This isn't an escalating auction. If your name is selected, then the price is $150 for the drawing you chose. And remember 100% will be donated to the Congenital Heart walk.

If $150 is too steep but you'd still like to donate, you can do so here. We personally appreciate each donation for this great cause.

Occasional Plum #4: Mr. Mulliner

A typical evening at the Angler's Rest: hot scotch and lemon and a few stories from Mr. Mulliner. See Meet Mr. Mulliner, Mr. Mulliner Speaking, and Mulliner Nights.

Kingly

Storm on the Stage!

I am thrilled to announce that the Oregon Children's Theatre will be mounting a stage version of The Storm in the Barn in April of 2012! My book will be adapted by playwright Eric Coble (who's previous credits include an adaptation of Lois Lowry's The Giver for OCT) and will feature music composed by Chris Funk (guitarist for The Decemberists) and his band Black Prairie. Storm is in fine hands and I cannot wait to see this production!

The plan is for this to be a play with music, not a musical. For more on Black Prairie (and to see why they are perfect for this) check out this piece from NPR. Better still, listen to their album Feast of the Hunter's Moon. It only took me a few seconds of Track 1 to be utterly convinced.

The show will run from April 28-May 20, 2012. I'm sure I'll be posting more about this as it develops (although my actual role is limited). I can guarantee you I'll be in the audience on opening night. Who's up for a trip to Portland?