Author Archives

Cathy C. Hallhttps://cathychall.wordpress.com/I write, write, write. Then I rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. THEN I submit all those polished-up words out into the world and sell 'em. It's a plan that's worked pretty well.

I Have Another Book!

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Um…I just realized that saying I have another book is like saying that I have another hat. You’d think a writer could say what she means…

Which is I have another published book. And it’s from Darakwon. And the cover looks like this:

W&W 3-9

 

And it’s all about a third grader who’s a bit shy, but he decides to run against the most popular girl in his class in the school elections. So I learned a lot about the election process (and yes, I know about elections, of course I do because I always vote, but when you have to write about a subject you might be surprised to learn what you didn’t learn way back when you were supposed to learn it). And I researched campaign slogans (Bet the first one that came into your head was “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too.” But did you know that Lincoln’s slogan was “Vote yourself a farm”? It’s a wonder the man won…).

I probably shouldn’t have favorites but I really love this story; I hope the kids in Korea like it, too. And one day, I might find a publisher here in the US who might like this election story. I mean, it’s not just another book, y’all. I came up with a campaign slogan that’s a sure winner! (So if you’re ever running for president, let me know and I’ll pass it along!)

I Have a Really Good Excuse

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2011-03-30 12.54.32

It started when the county chopped down my favorite half pink, half white dogwood.

It’s the end of March and I know that means it’s time to report on my month’s doings (or not doings, as the case may be). But really, I have a good excuse for this month’s slacking off. Come to think of it, I have several good excuses.

As I mentioned above, there was the whole tree cutting debacle. The county is widening a main road up the street from me and it was bad enough when they took out enough pines to build a small village of log houses. But The Special Dogwood that makes me smile every time I pass its blooming March splendor (and I pass it a lot)? How could I be expected to write through such a blatant disregard for my tree?

Then I had that SCBWI conference, and there’s a ton of stuff to get done before a conference, right? Totally legit excuse for not getting the writing going.

And then I also had a reception in Athens at the Georgia Children’s Book Awards and Conference. Not for my books; SCBWI was there to promote our regional authors, the ones who like to network and get those school visits. Also a totally legit excuse because there was also a lot of stuff to get done before the reception.

I did manage to get several books read even though I had that very bad, horrible, no good cold (also a legit excuse for lollygagging, by the way). Let’s see, I think the total read was five, so I’m still a couple of books ahead on my Goodreads goal. I had to wait two months to get Hillbilly Elegy, a memoir by J. D. Vance, but it was well worth the wait and my good read pick of the month.

I got fired up about a picture book idea after the conference and I’ve written a rough first draft so there’s that. And I managed a couple of blog posts, too. Which brings me to today’s post over at The Muffin where I talk about “When You Don’t Want To Write.”

March was…challenging, remembering how the Beneficent Mr. Hall was so great about shoring me up during the March conference craziness. But sometimes, just when you think you want to throw in the towel, someone comes along.

So a big thank you to Lovely Lisa for a long lunch. And for being there, just when I needed shoring up. I can highly recommend long, long lunches with a writer friend for those times when you need a good excuse for whatever ails you.

And here’s hoping your March was delightfully full of words and writer wisdom; I’d love to hear all about it. It also shores me up when I hear about my writer friends’ successes (and yeah, I could use some fall back good excuses, too, just in case April slaps me upside the head. The county is not nearly done).