How to prepare for the NJSCBWI Conference and NOT barf in the process!

After attending the June Conference for the past 4 years, I've picked up a few tips on combating this problem. Here is a simple list to help you keep your cool at the NJSCBWI's June Conference. 

* Pack ahead of time. Don't wait until the last minute or you'll likely end up with mismatched socks, one missing earring, and no toothbrush. (and since this is a SOCIAL event, you definitely want to make sure you're squared away in that department!)

* Bring copies of whatever pieces you submitted for critiques. There is nothing worse than going to your one-on-one only to realize you don't even have a copy of the original version you sent. This happened to me two years ago. After I submitted my work, I made some changes and went to the conference with the new version of my writing. Can you say embarrassing?

* Practice your pitch!  I absolutely shudder at the thought of "pitching" my book, but this is the name of the game. The thought of pitching make my intestines crawl through my esophagus and stop midway through my trachea and tongue. My advice is to practice beforehand with anyone who will listen. Dogs, by the way, are great listeners. Hey, it's a start right?

* Bring business cards! You will be networking all weekend. You can easily order a set (at a great low price) on www.vistaprint.com

* Study the faculty beforehand. Get to know their interests and what they are seeking. This will help you narrow down who will be best for you to pitch your work to. Research is the highest form of flattery with agents and editors! Take the time now so you're not wasting theirs (or yours) later!

* Last but not least, go in with only the expectation to have fun and learn something! There will be TONS of writers and illustrators there. We all want to be published. And we will all get there. Every year that I attend, I meet great people and learn so much. I know that I am one baby step closer to reaching my goal!

I can't wait to meet everyone at the conference on June 7th. Til then, happy writing!

xoxo

Tami

My Aha Moment

This is how my love affair with writing began. In 2008, I wrote a middle grade novel. It was the year after I'd just gotten married. My husband and I traveled to 5 different countries within a year to get the "sillies" out before deciding to settle down and become parents. We visited Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Paris, Panama, and Puerto Rico. (a lot of "P" countries, I know!) What an adventure! Each country I visited gave me exactly what I needed to propel my story. From lush rainforests, to waves crashing against jagged rocky cliffs, to the mouth-watering smell of croissants baking at the cafe' on the corner. All of these excursions gave me hands-on life lessons about setting and for that I am grateful.

But every story needs characters. I could have traveled to every country in the world that year back in 2008, but none of those countries had the depth and heart of the types of characters that I truly sought. Those characters could only be found in one place...my classroom!

I've been teaching 5th grade since 2003 and boy has it been a journey! There have been times when I've laughed, cried, and just plain wanted to quit! I figured, "Hey I wrote a book! I'm going to get a book deal! I can quit my job now and become the next NY Times Bestseller!"

Five years have passed since then. And like many aspiring writers, I've shelved my first novel and have moved on to new projects. And I'm STILL a teacher. Why? Because my "aha" moment helped me realize that as much as my students need me, I need them as well. I need to hear their stories of the kid who farted in the back of the room and blamed it on the class guinea pig. I have to witness them awkwardly dancing to the Cupid Shuffle next to their "crush" at the Valentine's Day Dance. These are the stories that guide me through my writing journey. And while I will continue to travel around the world (on a teacher's budget, of course), the classroom is the heart of where my writing journey will always begin.

And on that note, I wish a Happy Teacher's Appreciation Week to all my teacher friends!

xoxo
Tami

Channel Your Inner Non-Fiction Nerd!

Did you know that by now 46 states have adopted the Common Core Standards? What does that mean for writers? Teachers across America will be scrambling to stock their classroom libraries with info-rich, non-fiction books that align with the Common Core & ready students for the standardized test. Join me on Saturday, June 8 during the NJSCBWI Conference for my workshop: Channel Your Inner Nonfiction Nerd...Writing to Meet the Common Core. As a teacher and writer, I'll have a lot of insight to offer from both sides. So get ready to learn, get ready to write, and get ready to have some fun!

I will also offer critiques of Common Core-themed picture books during the Conference. For more info on the common core, visit: http://www.corestandards.org/

To register for the NJ SCBWI Conference, visit:

www.regonline.com/njscbwi2013conference

Freedom Soup

My latest picture book, Freedom Soup, is out on submission. (fingers crossed!) Here's a tid bit of what the story is about:

Every New Year’s Day, Belle has eaten Freedom Soup with her family. But this New Year’s is different from any other.  This year, she gets to help her grandmother make the soup. How hard can it be? Just toss in a few vegetables and meat in some water, right? Not quite. Belle soon learns that making the soup involves a dash of history, a sprinkle of struggle, and a whole lotta’ pride. And that makes the soup taste better than it ever had before!

I was first introduced to Freedom Soup by my grandmother-in-law, affectionately known as Tí Gran. As she taught me the recipe, she passed down the oral history of this soup, which I now carry on in my own kitchen every New Year’s Day.

Below I've provided a very basic recipe:

Simple Recipe for Kid-Friendly Freedom Soup:

Kid alert: Be sure to make this recipe with an adult. Let the adults do all of the chopping.

Ingredients:

·         1 pound of meat (beef or chicken)

·         1 pack frozen squash (Ti gran would whack me with a stick if she saw this, but trust me it works!)

·         2 boxes of low sodium chicken broth

·         2 carrots, chopped

·         2 celery stalks, chopped

·         2 potatoes, chopped

·         1 ½ cups of your favorite pasta

·         Spices: salt, pepper, garlic (as needed for taste)

This is a super-easy way of making a kid-approved version of Freedom Soup. My three year old son even likes it, and he doesn't eat much of anything. (except for the occasional crayon!) 

Start by pouring two tablespoons of olive oil into a large pot. Spice the meat and brown it in the pot for five minutes on each side. Then add the chicken broth and squash and bring to a boil for 20 minutes. Next, add the vegetables and potatoes. Boil for 15 minutes. Last, add in the pasta and let it boil an additional 12-15 minutes. In less than an hour, you will have a piping hot, mouth-watering bowl of Freedom Soup. Bon appetit!

Disclaimer: I, myself, am not of Haitian descent, but my husband is. He says MY soup tastes like the real thing! But shhhhh....Ti gran doesn't need to know that!

Registration for the NJ June Conference is OPEN!

I wait for this conference every year! For the past few weeks, I've been stalking the net waiting and waiting for the registration to be posted online and the day has FINALLY arrived! Hooray!!!!!!!!! To register for the June Conference, visit:

http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventId=1193012

Here are the deets:

Friday, June 07, 2013 - Sunday, June 09, 2013

Crowne Plaza & Holiday Inn Express Princeton SE
900 Scudders Mill Rd
Plainsboro , New Jersey 08536
609-936-6603

If you've been writing a winning manuscript (or a few), this is your chance to get it seen and reviewed by some of the TOP professionals in the industry. Check out a sample of who will be attending:

Jenne Abramowitz, Senior Editor, Scholastic

Heather Alexander, Editor, DIal BFYR/Penguin

Stephen Barbara, Agent, Foundry Literary + Media

Elizabeth Bird, Librarian, NYPL/SLJ

Erin Clarke, Senior Editor, Random House

John Cusick, Agent, Greenhouse Literary

Melissa Faulner, Editorial Assistant, Abrams

Liza Fleissig, Agent, Liza Royce Agency

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. The list is epic and ever-growing! The conference will hold numerous workshops that will help you tighten various parts of your writing--theme, setting, voice, etc... And yours truly will be presenting a workshop entitled: Channel your Inner Non-Fiction Nerd, Writing for the Common Core. As an elementary educator who's "in the know" with the Common Core, I can't wait to share with writers what teachers are begging for in their classrooms libraries. 

I'm looking forward to meeting new people and reconnecting with some old writing friends!

Happy writing!

Tami 

A Rejection I Can Live With!

This world of children's publishing truly has its ups and downs! But, one thing is for sure: it is REFRESHING to receive a rejection that is NOT written as a form letter. That feeling of "Wow, he really read my work!" is blissful. With that said, I've been plugging away submitting my latest manuscript entitled "Freedom Soup." Here is what the agent had to say:

Thanks for sharing your picture book. You are right that there aren't
any French-Creole picture books.

I do like the color (and the flavor) of your story. But I feel as though
this is more of a short story than a picture book. There isn't enough
action to make this a picture book, which needs illustrations to really
work. And an illustrator needs simple action to portray in pictures.
Too much dialogue can be problematic.

That said, I do think you have a nice tone and some interesting use
of language.

Hope this helps. And thanks again for contacting our agency.

Honestly, I can live with that. Just when I was ready to exhaust this story and move on to the next, I followed one of this agent's key pieces of advice: slash the multitude of dialogue to provide more action. So off I went, trimming and cutting and styling until I can up with a sort of "dialogue-less" (is that a word?) story. So, I thank agents and editors (like this unnamed one above) who take the time to give valuable feedback to improve our craft.

Back to work I go!

Book Review: The Farming of Bones

Anyone who knows me well, knows how much I love to travel—especially to the Dominican Republic. I visit on average twice a year and if God willing, my husband and I will live out the rest of our days there once we retire. So when a colleague recommended that I read the Dominican/Haitian-themed novel, The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat, I couldn’t resist. A lyrical story set in 1937 in the most beautiful place on Earth? Sign me up!

From the start, Amabelle, the main character hypnotizes you. Her story is heart-wrenching; at age 8 she sees her parents drowning to their untimely death in the Massacre River. Rescued by a wealthy Dominican family, she is raised alongside their daughter, Valencia, and later becomes her maid. Years later, Amabelle solidifies her role as an integral part of the family when she singlehandedly delivers Valencia’s twins.  Rafael is named after Generalissimo Trujillo, the president of Dominican Republic. Much to his family’s approval, his skin is as white as the Conquistadores traced back to 18 century Spain. Roaslinda, however, is bronze-toned much to their dismay. Her “dirt behind the ears” skin is an all too unwelcome reality of how racial mixing can taint the bloodline.

As whispers of racial slaughter float in the Caribbean wind, Amabelle ignores the rumors. In an effort to “whiten” the population, the president orders that Haitians are to be massacred by Dominican soldiers and civilians. They are given a menu of three choices of death: stabbed by the needle point of the soldiers’ rifles, climb the mountains and fall to their death into the ocean, or to be butchered with machetes by Dominican civilians. “Don’t even waste a bullet on them,” it is rumored that the President stated. It can’t be real, Amabelle brushes it off. Besides, her life’s path is already set. When her lover, Sebastien, finishes cutting sugar cane in the field at the end of the season, they will marry and move to Haiti.

But when the rumors surface as reality, Amabelle is forced to flee the place she’s called home since she was a child and return to Haiti. In the midst of her escape, Amabelle loses Sebastien. Here, the plot becomes a perfectly woven battle of self-survival mixed with the search for her true love—wanted dead or alive. Along the way, Danticat infuses terror in her every written word as we see the persecution and slaughter of a culture simply because of the darkness of their skin.

Danticat takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. We follow Amabelle through her joys. We mourn all that she has lost. We suffer with her as we feel the indescribable pain of thousands dying around her. But most of all, we applaud Amabelle’s courage in the end to stare in the face of danger, unflinching and boldly overcoming its infectious grips.

I must admit that when I finished reading the book, I was overcome with anger. How could this happen in a country that I call my second home? The same country that embraces me the minute I sink my feet into the crystal sand?

 I am immediately reminded of Rosa Park’s words, “We must correct the mistakes of our past.” The Dominican Republic that I know today is not the Dominican Republic of 1937. Like many countries around the world, it holds an era in history in which I am sure they seek to correct, learn from, and move forward to propel them in the right direction.

I am thankful that the Dominican Republic is the beautiful sea of creams, browns, and blacks that it is today. This is the Dominican Republic that I know—a place with a dark past, yet with a future that outshines everything else.