Mirka Breen

I am delighted to bring you Mirka Breen's blog today. Mikra has written such books as "There's a Turkey at the Door" and "The Voice of Thunder". You can visit Mirka's blog here: http://mirkabreen.blogspot.ca/ And her website here:http://mirkabreen.com

I'll have to say that Mirka's "About Me" page on her website is one of the best I've read. I'm not sure if it was the writing style, or the fact that she keeps a copy of "The Little Prince" by her bedside... okay maybe it is the fact she keeps "The Little Prince" by her bedside as she says, "the way some keep the Bible". By the way... I love "The Little Prince". If you have not read this book go read it now! Well maybe after you have finished reading my review and Mirka's blog. Where was I? Oh yes, it isn't just her choice in books. Mirka's "About Me" page is very well written. While being well written is nice, it doesn't beat the fact of how open and honest she is on this page.

I will admit that I got lost for some time in Mirka's blog. This is far from the first time this has happened. Actually, this happens every time I go to review a blog! Of course she brings her strong writing skills into her blog, but also that openness and honesty follows as well. I read every article from this year and would have read more but I got sidetracked with a screaming kid and the need to finish this article before dinner. Mirka's articles are very engrossing. So big warning: You will get sucked in to her blog!

Mirka writes a lot about her writing life and other things related to this. Her first article is about shyness and the published author. She talks about how shy she was at the beginning and how she overcame much of this. Mirka's articles are rich, engaging and very entertaining. I can't stress enough how insightful Mirka's writing is in her posts. I'm sure you will be like me and keep reading, and reading, and reading and...

I think that I'm very lucky. I have so many great Writers and Illustrators who have me review their blogs and websites. The quality of these websites and blogs are very high. Each week I can't wait to review the next one. Thank you so much Mirka and everyone else who has allowed me to review their blog.

An Apple

An Apple

Pretty apple in a tree
Hanging, swinging, oh so free!
So shiny, round, sweet and red
I'd rather have pear instead!

SCBWI Here We Go Again!

Last year I went to my very first Writing/Illustration conference. I loved the SCBWI Canada West conference so much last year that this year I'm going again. This year I know what will happen so things will be a bit different. There are a few things I need to do before I go to the conference.

This year I may or may not do a portfolio review, but I'm definitely going to take the opportunity to have a table with my artwork on it. I may instead do a manuscript consultation, because I'm not just an artist and I'd like some feedback to my writing.

1. Post Cards/Business Cards I've been needing to design new post cards for some time now (not long after getting them made my phone number changed). This will give me the kick I need to finally get them finished.

2. Prints I need to get some prints made of my portfolio. I took the advice of my last portfolio reviewer and got a small portfolio, but now I need some new prints made to fill it.

3. New Artwork I don't know how much new things I will finish, but I'd like to have some newer things to show.

4. Dummy I would love to finish my picture book dummy. I may or may not be able to finish this in time, but I do want to work on this so I can send it into a publisher later this year.

5. Fun Surprises I have an idea of something I'd love to do for the conference, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to do it. I'll see how things go to what I'll do, because I may get some more ideas before the conference.

I may not be sure about all the things I'll do for this conference, but I will be giving a full report of the conference including photos of my table set up. I'm so excited!

Anyone else have conferences they've attended recently?

I ENTERED THE 12 BY 12!

Last night before I went to bed I signed up for the 12 by 12. What is the 12 by 12? I want to write 12 picture books in 12 months. Julie Hedlund started this in 2011 and there are so many people who do this now. There is a huge support group and lots of nice people to work with. You can read more about it here: http://www.juliehedlund.com/12-x-12/

There are several levels you can choose to join. I've been busy and haven't known which level to sign up for, so I put it on the shelf. Yesterday I signed up for the Margaret Wise BRONZE. I so wanted to sign up for the Little GOLDen Book Level. I think the highest level is well worth it if you have a lot of manuscripts to review, or if you can write really quickly. I have a few manuscripts and I'm not sure how much time it will take me to write up more.  I have tons of ideas, but I have such little time (she types as her 2 year old knocks over the TV tray). You know what the best part is? I can sign up for the gold level within 30 DAYS OF SIGNING UP!  So if I find I do have the time I wont miss out, otherwise I'll do it next year. Yay!

I am going to do my best to write all 12 books. I'm an illustrator as well, so it's tough to balance these things. It's definitely less time consuming for me to write over illustrating, but I enjoy painting just a bit more. I hope everything works out so I have some great stories to send out soon.

Want to join the 12 by 12?  You only have until MARCH 1st TO SIGN UP! You can sign up here: http://www.juliehedlund.com/registration-for-2013/ I hope to see a lot of you signing up so we can chat on the 12 by 12 forums! If you are joining leave me a comment here! Hope to see you in the 12 by 12 this year!

Blog Updates

I've been working today to get my blog more well known. Every little bit helps right? Put in some badges and I hope they don't look too awful. Even though these things might be on my site I don't want them to take over. I hate seeing sites (especially ones with little to no viewer ship) overrun by ads and whatnot. Even too many badges can detract from what is otherwise a nice site. My viewer ship is a long way from warranting ads, and even then I don't think I'd ever use them, because they're ugly. Sorry it's not a great new post today. Hopefully soon I can post another illustration!

Picture Book Workshop

If you don't yet know about this yet, please check out J.C. Phillips blog "Ninja Woman". She has a wonderful picture book workshop that she updates often. Her most recent post is the fourth instalment but you can't start there! To start at the beginning you should click on this link and scroll to the bottom: http://ninjawoman.blogspot.ca/search/label/Picture%20Book%20Workshop If you want to become published or just want to learn more about picture books you can't go wrong reading J.C. Philips' Picture Book Workshop!

I Won Some Books!

Shannon Grogan recently had an ARC give-away:  "The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door" by Karen Finneyfrock and "Surfacing" by Nora Raleigh Baskin. I got an email today saying that I've won! I'm so excited! You can read about it here, http://shannongrogan.com/2013/02/17/arc-giveaway-2/

I was not awake (and still am not now) when I received Shannon's email. I do what I do every time I find out I win a contest. I stare at the letter (or person if they are in the room) and think a mistake has been made. It wont be until I actually receive the items that I'll actually believe it! Thank you so much for your contest, Shannon! If you missed entering keep checking back to her website http://shannongrogan.com/ She plans on having another one soon (which I will try to announce here or on twitter)!

You may have noticed that I have been posting more about contests and events related to the world of children's literature and art. I don't believe I'm going to stop any time soon! As for the book reviews, well that is going to be shelved for a while. I'll still be posting my artwork from time to time, and as always there will be website reviews on Thursdays!