Utah/Southern Idaho SCBWI Conference, Sept 11

I'm so excited about speaking at the Utah/Southern Idaho regional SCBWI Conference on Saturday, September 11. I get to do a breakout on nonfiction for reluctant readers and one on school visits, and I think I'm well prepared, which means I think I have material to truly help other writers pursue those endeavors, too.

The more the merrier. That's what my mom always said, and I totally agree.

I often say, when one of us succeeds, we all do, and it's never been truer. We are in this together, we children's writers -- especially nonfiction writers, who sometimes feel undervalued. Agents don't always represent us. Librarians sometimes forget we can give school visits, too. It feels bad. But don't let it. Agents love us too, but they have to make a living, and fiction pays better. Librarians love our books, as do the kids. So they just need a gentle reminder.

So if you're in Boise on Saturday, September 11, I hope you'll stop by. I'm just one of a bunch of powerful speakers. Also on schedule:

Chris Crutcher, YA author sublime

Cheryl Klein, Editor at Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic

Jill Corcoran, Agent at the Herman Agency

A brilliant team of first time novelists to show you how you can publish your first

And more.

For more information, contact Neysa Jensen or visit this website and scroll down:

http://chinookupdate.blogspot.com/

How big is something 7 feet tall?

It's THIS big. Actually, this guy may be slightly over 7 ' -- I'll have to measure him. But the banner is 8 feet tall, there is a little space at the top, and the SASQUATCH lettering at the bottom is at least six inched tall. Maybe he's about 7'6". Point is, he's life-size, according to most eye witness reports.

I'd heard "seven feet tall" for years, and had always pictured a creature a little taller than a human, adult male. When my banner, illustrated by Rick Spears, arrived today, I saw just how big BIG really is. WOW.

Needless to say, I love this guy. I love how the kids at my school visits will react to him even more. Man, that's going to be fun. I picture whole classes posing in front of him, to remember how big he really was -- or might be.

The banner is great for my book TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS, Darby Creek 2006. But it's also PERFECT for IN SEARCH OF SASQUATCH, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. So I'm excited for now, and for later.

Now, if I can just get him on the airplane as carry-on. : )

Grandmother's die, memories don't.

A few weeks ago, my grandmother died. It was sad, but it was also a relief. She was born in 1907. She was 103 years old. All of her friends were gone. All of her loved ones were gone, including her husband and her daughter (my mom). Her half brother and I were pretty much all she really had left, and she no longer knew who I was. So in a way, it was a release. She's free, and that makes me feel a lot better than thinking of her lonely and afraid in her confusion.

Her half brother is handling the probate of her will and estate, and it's a long process I think. But a few days ago, they sent me two boxes of photos and letters my grandmother kept all these years, and it was like buried treasure. She kept and I received lots of pictures of my mother, for example -- my mom as a baby, a shot of her from junior high, her 1950 high school graduation announcement, her prom picture, her wedding book. There were also pictures of me as a baby, pictures of my babies she'd kept close to her heart all those years.

So while I miss having my grandmother in this life, I feel reconnected to her now, because of the keepsakes they passed on to me, from her. Odd to feel closer, with her so infinitely far away.

Not much point to all this, other than to say love your loved ones, every minute, every day. You'll miss saying it as they listen, once they're gone and such affections can only be imagined.

Thanks, MiMi, for being my grandmother. I'm glad I knew and loved you for so long.

Kelly

MUFON was great!

On July 23, I headed for Denver, Colorado and the MUFON Symposium. MUFON is the Mutual UFO Network -- a scientific approach to UFO investigation and research. I wanted to get straight to the science of the subject as research for my new book for Millbrook (fall 2012). Exceptional speakers including Dr. Stanton Friedman, Dr. Kevin Randle, John Greenewald, Nick Redfern and Richard Dolan offered cutting edge theory and evidence perfect for my project and agreed to give me interviews for my work in progress.

Thank you MUFON for making it possible for me to give kids strong information about a topic that both scares and excites them. If we want the world to take the topic seriously, doesn't it make sense to start with the kids? I don't propose lying to kids -- not EVER. But they are asking questions and I think they deserve answers -- answers these experts can skillfully answer most of the time.

Great experience...hopefully will translate too a great book.

Kelly

Yeti Lovin'

Two fun Bigfoot/Yeti topics. First, my daughter Kerry is headed to ComiCon in San Diego as we speak and I've begged her to snag me Shawnimal's Yeti special for the conference pictured here. Man I LOVE this guy and he's 7" tall. WANT. She has the cash. Hopefully, she can get one of the 50 available. HOPE. HOPE. HOPE.

Second, I found a neat "I Love the Yeti" blog and that's so fun. I'm now a follower, but not in a bad way. Just in a Google blog way. Thanks for creating such a cool blog!

Kelly

Saving the Baghdad Zoo on NPR

NPR's Animal Authors interviewed Major William Sumner about our book SAVING THE BAGHDAD ZOO, and what a delight it turned out to be. Please check it out if you have time. Talk about a great American hero -- William Sumner is IT!

Here is the LINK.

Kelly

Auntie's with friends!

On April 27, I joined Chris Crutcher, Terry Davis and Claire Rudolf Murphy at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane for a great panel on writing for children and young adults. It was a really rewarding discussion of some of the deeper elements of finding voice and purpose as a writer, and it was great. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to make the night such a good one. I'm grateful!

Chris, Claire and I also shared the Chapters & Chocolate event for SAC IRA on May 4, which was also delightful. Terry should have been there too. He's fantastic. BTW, where are you, Terry Trueman? Seemed weird not having you there.