Hello, friends! I’m about to put together a handy list of all the places I’ll be this coming week at the HUGE Texas Library Association conference in San Antonio. But first, I’d like to shout out to all my local (San Marcos-area) friends! On Saturday, April 22, I’ll be reading my books, chatting with readers, and enjoying the glass-bottom boat rides with young readers and writers in San Marcos, Texas. I would love it if you would join me!
Here’s the poster, and I hope to see you there!
Hi, friends!
I’ve been going through some difficult times in my life, including the death of my father, and I’m not posting as much because of that. But I had such an amazing time this week in Authorlandia that I had to post some pics.
First of all, thanks to librarian Cate Sweeney at the Bee Cave Public Library for hosting my talk on writing in the Texas Hill Country!
The students in this “class” were a little older than my normal elementary to middle-school aged kids. But we had every bit as much fun!
Then, it was off to San Antonio for the big Book Festival, with my amazing writing support/marketing group, the Texas Sweethearts and Scoundrels.
So many amazing readers were there! Cambridge and Wooldridge Elementaries were well represented…
Thanks to Carmen Oliver for this snap. We’re crazy for books!
and I met readers from far away as well!
A reader from Las Vegas! He read Nightingale’s Nest, and is moving on to Sinister Sweetness. 🙂
Running into Superstar Librarian Irene Kistler is always a treat!
More amazing readers, answering the question: Are your boys for boys or girls? YES.
Love my Texas Sweethearts and Scoundrels friends, Carmen Oliver and Jessica Lee Anderson!
I even made the San Antonio paper! Thanks, SA Book Festival, for being so awesome! I’ll be back – and I’ll bring ALL MY WRITER FRIENDS.
It was wonderful.
There’s not much more that I love than books, unless it’s hanging out with other people who love books, talking about books, and book shopping.
(No, I don’t have a problem. YOU have a problem.)
This Saturday, April 8, I’ll get to do all those things with a group of authors I love dearly – the Texas Sweethearts and Scoundrels – at the amazing San Antonio Book Festival.
We’ll be in Booth #10 from 9-5. Come and buy a book, or talk writing, or get the skinny on author visits! We’ll also be giving away signed copies of our own books, raffles running all day. Then catch one of the great panels or author readings going on all day. Pretty perfect Saturday, am I right? (I am.)
See you there? I hope so!
Happy Spring, friends!
It’s been spring for a while here in Central Texas. The bluebonnets have bloomed, the mountain laurels scented the air with grape Kool-Aid, and the new baby chicks at our house have moved out to their new coop.
Nice coop, huh? It’s built by a friend at the Urban Coop Company. Best coop ever. Those raccoons don’t stand a chance!
I love springtime, oak pollen notwithstanding. And I have a bunch of events coming up this spring. But today, I’d like to invite my Central Texas friends to a special one at the Bee Cave Library on April 5, from 12-1pm. Want more details? Check out today’s Austin news!
If you’d like to talk spring, Texas, writing, reading, and the Hill Country while eating a FREE LUNCH among friends, please join me next Wednesday. There might even be an optional writing prompt… and a slightly embarrassing look at some of my poetry… and maybe even my old Master’s thesis. MAYBE.
Happy spring! May it be full of flowers, and soft breezes, and perfect writing days.
Spring Break! It’s finally here, and I had a great time wrapping up last week visiting schools and celebrating book releases with friends. Tomorrow I’m off to get some new baby chicks for our new coop (pictures in the next post, I promise!), so today I’ll just put a few pictures and some of the loveliest words a teacher has ever said about me. (Much better than the words my own teachers wrote in my report cards long ago: “Nikki talks too much” and “Nikki distracts her classmates” and “Nikki’s behavior is…” You know what? Never mind. It’s Spring Break and I don’t have to think about those old teachers any more. They were obviously so, so wrong about me. I was always perfectly well-behaved.) In any case, here are the sweetest words a teacher named Cynthia wrote about my author visit to Menchaca Elementary.
“Nikki Loftin is an amazing presenter. I have been a teacher for 24 years, and she is absolutely the best children’s author that I have had the pleasure of seeing present to students and teachers. She kept the entire audience completely captivated for the duration of the 45 minute performance. Her pacing, graphic aids, and delivery were impeccable. I would highly recommend Nikki Loftin to come and present to intermediate elementary students. She has a very twisted sense of humor that children and adults can adore. Thank you, Nikki, for sharing your gift with us!” – Cynthia Alba Love, February 2017
And here are some pictures from my latest school visit at Wooldridge Elementary in Austin. Huge thanks to Librarian Extraordinaire Elizabeth Benfield-Mikeska for inviting me!
Best front door decoration I’ve seen!
Wish Girl love!
Peter and Annie in the valley. <3 this so much…
And I love YOU kids, Wooldridge Quails!
I left a little something in the Little Free Library right outside on my way home! Wonder who found it?
And last but not least, I had the fun of celebrating with my good friend and Texas Sweetheart P J Hoover on the release of her newest novel, Tut: My Epic Battle to Save the World. I adore this gal, and her books.
Now, go read something! And check back in later for BABY CHICK PICTURES!!!
Hi, friends! I’ve been slacking on the blog since I’m working on four projects simultaneously. (Don’t ask, and don’t wag your fingers. I know it’s probably against every rule of writing, but I HAD NO CHOICE. I’ll explain if and when I can!)
In any case, along with all those projects, I’ve been doing school visits. Last week, I had the most fun at Alamo Heights in San Antonio, at both Cambridge and Woodridge Elementaries.
Librarian Lori Bauml at Cambridge Elementary. What a great way to start the morning, signing all those books and more!
The librarians had prepared the kids and the teachers so well that even the one assembly where the microphone didn’t work (with 175 fifth graders on the floor of the library!) went exceedingly well.
Rock Star Librarian Alena Keene-Carlson at Woodridge. I would have killed for that library collection – and library tree house!) when I was a kid.
One of the coolest parts of the day was being greeted by the superintendent of schools, who came to watch my first presentation! Okay, sure, it’s great when the superintendent shows (and it also hints at how seriously a district takes literacy), but the best part was this particular guy, Dr. Kevin Brown, was already a friend. He was the Assistant Principal at the school where I taught many years ago, and he was as wonderful back then as he is now. Even if he’s lost a little hair. 🙂
Now, back to the current manuscript, which I am in love with, even if it’s taking longer than many of mine. It’s got a family who may be my favorite characters I’ve ever written. Oh, please, let me get this story right… I love them so.
(Of course, as an author, I still have to torture them, love them or not. Sorry, sweet fictional family I love. I’m coming for you with TRAGEDY this week. *cue evil laughter*)
My friends, I am filled with love for all of you! And because I am in such a loving mood, I am going to give one of you an incredible gift: a signed first edition of Cynthia Levinson‘s The Youngest Marcher.
Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton, this picture book tells the story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a young civil rights activist who went to jail in Birmingham during the children’s marches. She was one of many! The jails filled with children, and eventually these marches helped break the back of institutionalized segregation.
Cynthia’s books are amazing – if you haven’t read her book We’ve Got a Job, you need to drop everything and read it now. If you want a book for any age that can show you exactly what civil disobedience and peaceful protest can do – even when the protestors are under 10 years old- Cynthia’s books are the best.
So, how do you enter? Well, leave a comment on this post along with a valid email address by February 13, telling me why you or your child or your school or library needs this book! I will ask my husband to pick his favorite comment on Valentine’s Day, and it’s yours! (High likelihood of extra prizes, folks. Because LOVE!)
*This is open to anyone in North America. You don’t have to be a librarian or teacher, just need the book.
Happy 2017, friends!
I have been away in paradise, and came back with jet lag and a muddled sense of time. (Fiji time is addictive – no deadlines, no worries, no stress. Bliss!) So far this year, I’ve unpacked, written a few chapters that MIGHT even be good, and taught youth group and Sunday school.
A lot of people make resolutions at the start of a new year, and I do, too – writing ones, anyway. (I’ll be making that list this weekend at a writing retreat! Lodge of Death, here I come.) But this year I chose a word, an intention, as well:
Light.
(Even more fun: “Light” followed by a drawn heart. #light<3 !)
I hope this year to remember to be lighthearted, and to turn to the light when times seem dark. To be a bringer of light into dark places. To remember the Light of the world. To shine my own light, even when it’s raining. This little light of mine?
I’m gonna let it shine. Because even on a stormy day, a little light can make a miracle.
Here’s a year full of rainbows, miracles, stories, and light. Write on!
Happy December, friends! I’m taking off for a couple of weeks, and was trying to think of a worthwhile post to mark the end of this very difficult, very strange, and sometimes wonderful year.
And then my teenager asked me about my writing. Actually, he asked me why I write the books I do.
I get asked all the time at school visits what inspired me to write books, and my answers range from “fairy tales” to “I like to imagine scary stuff” to “I like to make children cry or laugh or scream.”
And that’s all true.
But I realized there was a pivotal moment a few years back that started my writing engine up after years of idling. My stepfather Chas, who I loved dearly, passed away from cancer. When it was time to clean out his office at the University of Texas, I went with my sister and mom, and we worked for hours. And what I remember was that, aside from three things, everything was either given away or thrown away.
The three things we kept were:
1. The artwork he had made. Wooden sculptures he’d carved, metalwork and leather work he’d done, that somehow had made their way to his office.
2. The books he had written. These were all highly technical, as he was one of the smartest men in the world. (I believe he had an Erdös number of 2. ) Still, we kept them because he had made them. They were receptacles for his spark, and contained a part of him outside of our memories that was lasting, that remained.
3. A Starbucks gift card.
The gift card was converted to caffeine in days. But the books and the art? We still have.
I had a head full of stories at the time, and hadn’t begun to tell them. That day in Chas’ office, I realized my mark on the world had yet to be made. And I wanted to make one. To be exact, I wanted to write something that would last, that would change hearts, soften the hard world somehow, that would help kids like I was see a kindred spirit/story. It was and is my Big Dream, even though it’s a hard one to bring into reality. But it’s worth fighting for, worth the struggle. every day.
I promise you this: When you meet the person who needs your Big Dream to see the light of kindness, or hope, or joy? To keep from giving up, from losing faith? You will thank every star in the sky that you persevered.
This holiday season, I wish you your Big Dream come true. Make art. Make literature. Make something that matters. Change the world. We are the magic makers, friends. We are the dreamers of dreams.
Hey, San Antonio area friends! Last year, along with hilarious author James Kennedy, I had the great pleasure of hosting the first ever 90-Second Newbery film festival for San Antonio. (It was terrifying – I didn’t realize when I agreed that it meant singing and dancing on stage, as well as extemporizing an extended comedic sketch with James – and glorious. Those talented kids! Those amazing films! The fistfights with James!)
This year, I’m doing it again… and if you know a kid in the San Antonio area, it’s not too late for them to send in a film! The deadline is December 16. Check out the link here for all the groovy details. And this one for the rules about the actual films.
The deal is, kids read a Newbery winning or Newbery honor book, any one they like. Then, they turn it into a very short video, sort of like a book report on film except the very best ones add MORE. More pizzazz, more sparkle, more special effects or Lego animation, more humor, more horror, MORE!
The films last year were wonderful, and the afternoon was one I’ll never forget.With HEB as the major sponsor again, the event itself was also fabulous… and will be again!
This year, the awards ceremony and film screening is at San Antonio’s Charlene McCombs Empire Theatre (224 E. Houston St.) on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 3pm.
Come dressed to the nines, and be prepared to eat, drink, and laugh your heads off. (And if your kids don’t make a film this year, they’ll have fun AND learn what to do for next year’s festival.) Join me!
