Author Blog Hop + a Winner

Thanks to everyone who's been reading my blog and entered the give-away for Linda Ashman's The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books! I'm excited to announce that our WINNER chosen by Rafflecopter is VIRGINIA RINKEL! Congratulations, Virginia! I know you'll really enjoy Linda's fabulous guide. 

Last week I was tagged in the Author Blog Hop by my wonderful writing critique friend, Laura Sassi. Thanks, so much, Laura, for your friendship and writing advice. In this blog hop, I'll answer four questions and tag three other great writers. But first, let's hear it for LAURA SASSI! YAY! You'll enjoy her blog, Laura Sassi Tales. 

Laura is a children's writer and former teacher. Her poems, stories, articles and crafts have appeared in many publications including Highlights for Children, Cricket, Ladybug, Spider, Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr., FamilyFun, and Pack-O-Fun. She has a passion for playing with words and rhyming and is delighted to announce that her first picture book, GOODNIGHT, ARK, will be published by Zonderkidz, a HarperCollins Company and is scheduled to debut in August 2014. She is represented by Lara Perkins of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Laura writes from her century-old home in New Jersey where she lives with her awesome husband, two adorable kids, and a black cockapoo named Sophie. She can be found on the web at:  www.laurasassitales.wordpress.com.

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Here are my answers to the blog hop questions.

What are you working on right now? 
This past summer and early fall I've been able to dedicate to picture book writing. I took two picture book classes + read Linda Ashman's e-book mentioned above and in the previous post. 
 
How does it differ from other works in the genre?
The two picture book manuscripts I'm working on would be classified as multicultural, and to my knowledge, one hasn't been done before and the other I'm writing in a unique way. Living in another country gives me interesting ideas from time to time.

Why do you write what you do?
I fell in love with picture books many years ago when I taught kindergarten. I loved the Scholastic Book Orders because as a teacher I could get so many for free. But little did I know I'd actually write them. In 2008, I felt God's call to change careers. So now I use my educational background and write for the educational market as well as the children's market. 

What is the hardest part about writing?
I think the hardest part is making sure that my stories don't have any holes, meaning---that the plot and characters work seamlessly together. I can't wait for the day when my critique buddies have nothing to change!

And now, I invite you to meet 3 wonderful authors from 3 different continents, their books, and blogs.

Renée M. LaTulippe (Italy)

Renée M. LaTulippe writes children's poetry and is co-author of LIZARD LOU: A COLLECTION OF RHYMES OLD AND NEW and seven early readers for All About Learning Press. Her children's poetry blog at No Water River features poetry videos, poet interviews, poetry activities, and other poetic goodies. 

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Emily Lim (Singapore)


Emily Lim is an award-winning author of several children’s picture books. She is the 1st outside North America to win 3 medals for children’s books at the IPPY Awards (the world’s largest book awards) and also the 1st in Southeast Asia to win the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award. Her books have been published in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and China, and crossed platforms into animation, Apps, e-books, and adapted for children's theatre. She has also written seven illustrated books which are used for social studies across all schools in Singapore.

Emily’s personal memoir, Finding My Voice (a true story of setbacks, new beginnings and toy characters), is based on her personal journey of losing her voice and discovering a new voice in writing and publishing. For more about Emily, hop to her blog http://mummumstheword.wordpress.com/

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Stacy McAnulty (U.S.)


STACY McANULTY: Stacy writes funny children’s books that usually star dinosaurs or dragons or dogs. DEAR SANTASAURUS, published by Boyds Mills Press 2013, is her debut picture book. She has two additional picture book deals in the works. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. And when she’s not reading, she’s tweeting, or playing around online. (She tells her family it’s “marketing.”) Stacy lives in a cluttered house in Kernersville, NC with her 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 1 husband. www.stacymcanulty.com

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