A Satisfying Summer

When I last talked about my writing projects, I was mulling over an ending for Anna Mei: Cartoon Girl. A lot has happened since then, so I thought it was time for an update. Here’s what I’ve been working on lately:

Anna Mei
I completed rewrites on the book, including that new ending my editor had requested. I knew it would be a short passage but an important one, and I considered several versions. The one I chose came to me as I was drifting off to sleep one night (as excellent ideas often do!). It’s no “Tomorrow is another day,” of course, but I’m delighted to report that my editor liked it. In fact, “I love the new ending,” she wrote. “Just a lovely, lovely way to wrap up the book.”

I thought we might be tweaking things for a bit longer, but in that same email she said, “As far as I'm concerned, you are finished. ANNA MEI, CARTOON GIRL IS PERFECT.
Whee!” Never having considered a single thing I’ve ever written to be “perfect,” I had to resist the temptation to ask her if I could take another crack at it. Instead, I echoed her “Whee!,” only I did it out loud in my family room, which made the dog jump up and rush to the door, intent on thwarting the impending invasion she was sure must be lurking outside. It was a great moment anyway.

Since then, PBM has held a “positioning meeting” to discuss details about Anna Mei’s publication. They determined an official release date (April 1, 2010) as well as book size, cover finish and illustration style. They also released the information to Amazon.com, where you can officially see a page for a book that doesn’t exist yet! Apparently this serves as a place holder, and the publisher will feed them more information as it becomes available. Even with nothing on the page but the book title and an ISB number, it’s still thrilling to log on and see it there.

Anna Mei, Part 2… and 3?
It’s a good thing I like my little character because I haven’t seen the last of her yet. My next task is to send the editor some ideas for a sequel, to be published next year. Here’s part of her request: “People here are very, very enthusiastic about Anna Mei. It would be fantastic to come out with another book in 2011... If by any chance you’re overflowing with ideas and want to shape them into two books, so much the better.”

I've been jotting some ideas down but nothing is solidified yet. Maybe I should start keeping a notepad by the bed, in the hopes that night time inspiration will strike again...

Friends Story Collection
The first Pauline Books & Media short story collection, Friend 2 Friend, came out on June 1st as scheduled. It includes the two short stories I wrote about a few weeks ago, along with 10 others by various authors. To date, it has four ratings on Amazon, all of them 5-star, so someone likes it! I think it’s ideal for kids in grades 4-7. I’m hoping schools will pick up on it and order some copies this fall. In fact, it’s on my to-do list to send the names of my local schools to the PBM marketing department.

Christmas Story Collection
Although the weather has been gorgeously summery for the past few weeks, I’ve been busy writing a Christmas story! With Friend 2 Friend completed, PBM has started working on another collection, to be released in August 2010. They commissioned a story from me, asking for a Christmas theme and a male main character. I’ve written lots of stories about boys but have never done a Christmas one before—in fact, most of my boy characters have been playing soccer
(right, David?). Anyway, it was a little weird thinking about twinkling Christmas lights while watching the fireflies come out, but I think it turned out well. It’s due in a few days and I’m just letting it simmer a bit before I give it a final polish.

A Second Serving of Soup
Since five makes a nice round number for a list, I’ll end by mentioning a story I just submitted to Chicken Soup for the Soul. They post upcoming titles on their website, and as I learned with Empty Nesters, they get thousands and thousands of stories for each book. But I’ve really enjoyed my association with them and thought it was worth a shot. If and when I hear anything —many, many months from now—I’ll be sure and let you know.

It’s been a busy, productive and satisfying summer of writing so far. But I’ve made sure to sip a little lemonade (just for you, Jodi!) and to stop and smell the roses here and there. So unless those evil invaders actually do penetrate my dog shield, I should be in pretty good shape come fall.