What I would tell graduates today

It’s been, um, decades since I graduated from high school, but I still remember my graduation speech.

I wrote about a tree, using it as a metaphor for life. Just thinking about it makes me yawn.

B-O-R-I-N-G.

If I could go back in time, here’s what I’d say.

1. Work hard. This might seem like a no-brainer, but plenty of people break from the gate too slowly and never catch up to the pack. Just because you’ve worked hard for more than a decade doesn’t mean you get to slack off for the next four years.

I know, I know. It’s not what you want to hear. But believe me when I tell you that too many people make this mistake and regret it later. It’s not easy bringing up a GPA that you tanked your first year in college; so don’t tank it.

Read the rest

Writer's Digest competition has $3,000 prize

The deadline for Writer's Digest's 82nd Annual Writing Competition is June 14. The grand-prize winner gets  $3,000 first prize and a trip to New York City to meet with agents and editors.

Here are the categories:

• Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
• Memoirs/Personal Essay
• Magazine Feature Article
• Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
• Mainstream/Literary Short Story
• Rhyming Poetry
• Non-rhyming Poetry
• Stage Play
• Television/Movie Script
• Children’s/Young Adult Fiction

Poll: Vote for your favorite Maurice Sendak book

Today would have been Maurice Sendak's 85th birtday. It's hard to believe he's been gone a year. He was born June 10, 1928 and died May 8, 2012. If you haven't seen the animated Google Doodle, make sure you check it out. It's very cool. In honor of the great American author and artist, vote in my poll.

poll by twiigs.com

Other links: 
Goodreads author quotes
  Biography.com

PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts future of ebook and print markets

PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that trade ebooks sales will surpass print book sales by 2017. Read the report the future of ebooks.

Does the report surprise you?

Writing exercise

Here's a writing challenge. Construct a sentence of 26 words where the words begin with the 26 letters of the alphabet in order.

Post in comments.

Quirk seeks love stories in writing contest

Here's the deets on the "Looking for Love" writing contest by Quirk Books. The grand prize is $10,000 plus publication.

From Will, Middle Name Trouble

I love Will Moran from my middle grade, Will, Middle Name Trouble. Here is a snippet.

...

And I was the  only eight-year-old who didn’t have an adult at the bus stop.

The first time I had to go to the bus stop in the rain, I got soaked. After that, whenever it rained I’d wait on my front porch. I could see the bus stop from there and when the bus pulled up, I’d run as fast as I could to catch it. I missed it once. I stumbled and fell and tore a hole in my jeans and cut my knee. That day, Mom found an umbrella at Goodwill.

“Got you an umbrella good as new,” Mom told me when I stumbled in the door. She pointed to the kitchen counter.

I gulped. “But it’s pink. No way am I carrying a pink umbrella. Everyone will make fun of me.”

“Listen here, Will,” said Mom, shaking her finger. “It was the only one they had. A pink umbrella is better than no umbrella.”

I knew better than to argue. Later, in my room, I took a permanent black marker and drew designs all over it. I figured if I disguised it, maybe no one would notice. I was wrong.

“Hey Moron,” gorilla Nate from the next street over said the next day on the bus.

I clenched my teeth. “My name’s Moran.”

“Well, you’re a moron for carrying a girl’s umbrella.” Everyone on the bus laughed.

That was the only time I used that umbrella. I decided that getting wet was better than getting laughed at.

What's on my mind right now

Here’s what’s on my mind right now:

• I wish there weren’t so many goodbyes in life. Sometimes I feel like it’s all I get done doing.

• I would love to have a home in the Truman Annex in Key West. It’s such a beautiful neighborhood with tree-lined streets and white picket fences.  

• I’m proud of my friend, Sharon Kirchoff, who started Cause a Ripple website to recognize those who inspire and help others.

• I can’t believe my baby is going away to college. Where did the time go? Just yesterday I held him in my arms and  breathed his baby smell. Just yesterday he wrapped his tiny fingers around mine and cooed and giggled. I wish I could bottle the smell. I wish the coos and giggles could be kept in a box to open when I need them most. Like now.   

Photos from Book Expo America

Here is a slideshow of photos coming from the Javits Center in New York where BEA is under way. I will be adding to this slideshow so check back often.

I wish I could undo certain things

There are some things that I’m just not cut out to do. Take gardening, for example. I stink at gardening. Today, I trimmed my swirl topiary. It looks terrible. Not only are the swirls gone but the dang thing resembles a male body part. Ugh! I so can’t wait until it grows. It looks so bad I considered covering it with a sheet, but decided that would draw even more attention. (And, no, I’m not about to post a photo of it here!)

The trimming started off fine, but the more I tried to shape the swirls the worse it got. I wish trimming was like revising a novel. If you screw up, you can just start again or use the back arrow or whatever. There’s no undo when it comes to trimming. You can’t paste the parts back together. Even a sculptor can take his lump of clay and if he doesn’t like what he made he can mash the clay together and start again. But trimming is unforgiving.  And I hope the passers-by are, too.

What are some other things that you can’t “undo” in life?

Does this gross you out or make you want to read more?

Here is the opening of an MG I'm working on. If you were a kid, would you want to keep reading? 

                                                        Chapter 1

 The man looked like he was having some kind of seizure. His body shook like the paint mixer in the hardware store. His eyes rolled in their sockets. It freaked me out that no one in the room rushed to help him.

They just watched. Like they expected it. Like it was no big deal. Completely normal. And, let me tell you, this was anything but normal. This was as far from normal as you can get.

I spied on the group through a cracked door. Eventually, the man stopped shaking and his body went limp and thudded to the floor. Ouch! It had to hurt.

 Then something really disgusting happened. His tongue started to grow. It got longer and longer. I rubbed my eyes. No, it wasn’t his tongue. It was something else. Some sort of creature. Gross! It slithered out of his mouth and onto the floor. It reminded me of a giant slug.  It was light brown with dark and green spots. Like camouflage.  

The thing was about as long as a ruler and had two tentacles. I had never seen anything so ugly in my life.

Each time the bingo caller shouted a number, another person stood and ate a bingo chip. They got the shakes, their body went limp and fell to the floor and one of these giant turd-like things crawled out.

My stomach was queasy. I thought I was going to barf. Bodies were scattered all over the floor. The creatures writhed and slithered. Their tentacles quivered.

EPCOT International Garden and Flower Show features characters