An Excellent Sign

This past week Ballard School hosted the annual Scholastic Book Fair. When I saw the signs go up advertising the book fair, I got excited because a book by my buddy Val Hobbs was featured. Being the dork that I am, I whipped out my cell phone and took a picture of the poster and emailed it to Val and a few other friends.

Val's response? She offered to come sign books after school! Woo-hoo!

The kids were so excited they bought every copy of Sheep that the book fair had in stock. They lined up at the library, eager to meet Val, tell her how much they loved the book, and have her sign their copies. It was so very cool!

Not everyone needed to buy books. I know for a fact that some kids brought copies they had already read when Sheep first came out in paperback. All of them were pretty awestruck to have such a celebrity in their presence.

Being there for the book signing made me think. I know there are days when the unpublished among us get depressed. We worry that we'll never get an agent, never see our books on shelves. But I truly believe that the more you write, the better you'll get. And even if the book you're subbing now doesn't get picked up, you have to keep believing in yourself. Because someday it will be YOU sitting in a library while kids line up to have you sign their copy of YOUR book.

Don't just take my word for it. Read this inspirational post by Mandy Hubbard, author of Prada & Prejudice. Then make your way back here so you can celebrate the Fifth Day of Christmas!

The winner from the Fourth Day of Christmas is:



Congratulations, Yat-Yee! Email me at solvangsherrie at gmail dot com and let me know which prize you'd like me to send from Day Four!

Today is the Fifth Day of Christmas and I'm sorry to say, I don't have five golden rings to offer. Okay, I'm not actually sorry because I've got WAY better gifts than golden rings!

Choice #1: an autographed copy of Sheep by Valerie Hobbs. All those kids lined up in the Ballard library can't be wrong! This book recently won the California Young Reader Medal and has been recommended School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. Yay Val!

But if you're really jonesing for a ring, Choice #2 is like a ring, only bigger. Bigger is better, right? Sales of these cool bracelets from Ubuntu benefit women and orphaned children devastated by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

I'll be randomly picking a winner at 10pm on Sunday night, so get your comment in before then. On Monday I'll be interviewing a fabulous author and you'll have the chance to win a book OR a critique from her. How's that for a sparkly door prize?

Hope you're enjoying the party! Have a great weekend!

Interviewing my Author Friends

Look what arrived for me today! Yay!

If you're not familiar with Beth Kephart, you can read my interview here. And over at My Friend Amy's blog, Amy and Lenore throwing a book drive party with fabulous prizes. They are trying to get 200 sales for Beth through their blog, so if you haven't bought the book yet, do it through their link.

I've enjoyed interviewing authors on my blog, and I have to say, I've noticed a trend...these friends of mine are doing well, winning awards and gaining momentum in the marketplace. And who, you may ask, is this happening to? Well, since being interviewed on my blog:

• Jessica Burkhart's Canterwood Crest series has been optioned for a TV series or movie, and the first book of the series has gone to reprint.

• Thalia Chaltas was named as a Flying Start author by Publisher's Weekly. Her book, Because I am Furniture, is also going into a second run.

• Val Hobbs' book Sheep was chosen as this year's California Young Reader Medal winner for intermediate readers. Sheep was extremely popular in hard cover and was reprinted in paperback in April.

I love success stories. I'm so excited for all of them and thrilled that I got to share their stories here on my blog. Now, I'm off to the sofa. The kids are gone, the house is clean, and I can't wait to read Nothing but Ghosts.

Have a great weekend!