Argh!
I have so many ideas I can’t get them all into document format fast enough.
For some reason, the picture books (PBs) have taken over my brain. I finished a church-themed one — don’t judge until you see it! — this week. It’s funny, like all the rest. It’s titled “God Is Watching You!”
So, I was doing research into where to submit this thing. Real research, checking the websites of every single Christian pub out there. I know them all, since I worked with their books for the last decade, right? Every single one is shut tight to un-agented subs. And I looked at practically every recent Christian PB in print — not one with the angle that this book has. Not one! Do you know how rare that is? Thus the “argh!”
I SO need an agent. If I didn’t have to do all this online hacking around, I could have written my Newbery-winner yesterday. (I don’t have to write “Just Kidding” for you, do I?)
So, today I’ll write another PB that sprang fully formed from the head of Zeus, I mean Nikki, last night. This one is for Drew, a story about a little boy who pesters his Mom for so many stories that she runs out, and starts saying “Duhhh…” Then he has to fill her back up with stories of his own until she’s back to normal.
Pretty much like my life.
I did write some more on “Comportment Camp” yesterday, for those nieces/nephews/sons out there who have been pestering me. It’s coming, don’t worry.
Oh, if you’re wondering about the title of this post? I get most of my ideas on my walks around the neighborhood. If you’re not careful, I’ll post my poem about the Muse here. It came to me on a walk that turned into a run to get home in time to remember it all.
But then I would be one of those bloggers who posts her poetry on the web. Oh, the horror!
Off to write….
My Daily Walk to the Idea Factory
Motherhood Finally Paying Off
Hey, you know how some people say you have to wait until the kids are grown, have good jobs, and can afford to take their elderly mothers on fabulous safari vacations to see any pay-back from this whole mothering gig?
I gotta say, those folks were wrong. (Sorry, Mom.)
All ya gotta do is write about the little darlings.
That’s right, I just placed another essay in Parentwise:Austin, out next month. This one is about Cameron, my own Mom, and the dark days of colic.
You know that expression “Someday you’ll look back on this and laugh”?
I think I might have punched someone who said that to me when Cameron was an infant. I’m sorry. You were right, whoever it was.
Believe it or not, I wrote a funny essay about the Devil Baby, and I’m going to take my Mom out for a whole lotta margaritas when the check comes in!
Now, isn’t that a nice Mother’s Day gift? I thought so!
For those of you who have been keeping up with my book submissions:
I have Soccer out there, swimming against the tide of rejection (actually, I’m getting huge positive response so far, but I’m not gonna blog about it and tip my hand yet!), and the next-to-last PB I wrote, The Best Grandmother Ever Contest, is getting some positive attention, too. If you are near and dear, and haven’t yet been subjected to — I mean, haven’t been a beta reader for any of the above, let me know! I also have another FUNNY PB, S.O.S. from S.U.E.. ready to go. I’ll start sending it out this week…
I’ll post the Parent:wise link as soon as it hits the stands!
Written on the Heart – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Happy Easter! (And Happy Birthday to me as well!)
Here is an interesting Easter surprise: an essay I submitted last fall to a magazine for Christian leaders was published last month. Interested? Follow the link and check it out.
Slightly awkward that it’s been out for a month and I didn’t know it…. better get that spreadsheet for my submissions set up tonight.
Written on the Heart – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The Latest in Nikki News
Hi again! Last weekend, I participated in a workshop. No, not for writing… for Zumba.
I am now a fully trained, certified Zumba instructor. Don’t laugh. I could be teaching your next gym class, and if you giggle at me in spandex, I will make you suffer.
All the physical activity seems to have done my writing a world of good, too. I finished another essay. (The family reacts in horror: who is she writing about this time? Will she tell lies about us all, and call it “creative nonfiction” or, worse, will she tell the truth? Wait and see…)
I also finished a picture book, titled The Best Grandmother Ever Competition. I have a “golden ticket” from the Houston SCBWI conference in February to send it to a publisher for consideration. Wish me luck!
On the “Soccer” front: it’s out to one editor, two agents, and a manuscript competition… and I have around 12,000 words written on the next book in the series!
More later….
Love to you all!
A Few Important Nikki Facts…
Hi, folks!
I assume at this point in my blogging life that almost all of my readers are family members or close friends, but on the off chance that someone out there in the wider world is curious about me, here are a few interesting facts!
1. I love to rollerblade, scuba dive, ride bikes with my kids, and run.
2. I ran three half-marathons in the past 18 months!
3. I took private Latin dance lessons from a Colombian national champion for three years. Ask me to shake my hips. Come on, I dare you.
4. I have been a popcorn girl, a hostess in a steakhouse, a primary-school music and Gifted Ed. teacher, a used book store clerk, a boutique manager, a grader for the UT Math Department, a jewelry designer/sales rep/marketer, a Director of Family Ministries for a large and a small Presbyterian Church, and a freelance writer.
5. Some of my favorite authors are David Sedaris, Christopher Moore (you must read Lamb!), Charlaine Harris, and Roald Dahl.
6. I have two bookshelves: one out in the hall, filled with fine, publicly acceptable literary works, and another one hidden in an understairs closet, jammed full of genre fiction. I would rather have strangers go through my underwear drawer than through that secret book closet.
7. I wrote for JewelryCrafts and Nomad magazines years ago, B.C. (before children).
And one more thing, for any of you who are wondering how I’m doing — I’m fabulous! I can’t wait to get out of bed each day to write. Taking this year off work was an excellent decision; I have finished two manuscripts and I’m hard at work (OK, it’s not that hard, but I’m writing a lot) on a third. In my current novel, I’m torturing Raymond Mahaney with Cotillion lessons…. can you imagine putting that snarky little guy in an etiquette class for summer camp? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Must go torment my main character now. Love to you all, N
Welcome!
Hi! Welcome to my brand spankin’ new website! Although my dear husband, Dave, would love me to spend hours every day updating this site (that’s never going to happen), I’m spending far too much time writing humorous children’s books, essays, and stories to do so. I will, however, keep you updated on recent events.
This week, I finished my manuscript, Perfect Mischief (52,000 word middle-grade fantasy), sold an essay to the excellent Texas Co-op Power magazine (over 1 million readers? I’ll be famous!), and have almost finished my next manuscript! (Raymond Mahaney, Soccer Failure, approx. 25,000 word middle-grade fiction)
Also, look for my short essay in Parent:Wise Austin (March, 2009) about my nine-year old son, Cameron, and our struggles with piano practice.