Choldenkoed

Eh hem.

Hello?

Is anyone there?

(Cue microphone feedback.)

I would just like to say that if anyone is actually reading, I have missed you. And...I am back!

Well kind of.

Let's see. Where to begin after such a long blogcation.

My name is Elizabeth. I write for children.

Oh, forget it.

I had a wonderful holiday season. It was filled with joyous people, fattening food, well-deserved wine, a trip to Disneyland, two kids' birthdays, the start of three, real-out-of-the-house, no-baby-drool jobs, the first days of my last semester of grad school, and the scandal of all scandals, Bunnygate 2013, involving the adoption and loss of this dude:

If you've seen him hopping around your neighborhood, please send me a message. I prefer sky-writing.

BUT, before all this craziness began, I attended my regional holiday mixer for SCBWI.

There was a book tree.

There were brownies.

(To the left. Mmm...)

And there was Gennifer Choldenko. Eep!

WE BREATHED THE SAME AIR.

As the speaker at our cozy event, Gennifer described her life experiences that led her to becoming an author. Oober interesting. All of it.

But the most memorable piece I took away from her talk was a quick, don't cough or you'll miss it, aside comment she made. She said that before she was published, she knew she had talent. She felt it.  She possessed something special.

It just made me wonder if that is what we all feel. Is each talented person born with this feeling in their gut?

I had the chance to monopolize her post-talk book signing  chat briefly with her. I giggled. I praised.  And then I looked her straight in the eyes and told her that her confession gave me chills.

(That's me. And Gennifer Choldenko. I'm the Andre the Giant look-alike on the right.)

Eh? Anyway. Back to the story.

Know what she said?

She said she had never told anyone that before.

Now, I just have to believe that this comment was meant for me to share with the world. That if you feel that warm, jittery, sometimes-you-just-might-be-sick-because-you-love-something-so-much feeling in your gut, you must follow it.

Because Gennifer Choldenko did. And look what it got her.

Povember

I am in the middle of an identity crisis.

When I started writing for children and blogging about all of my shining experiences, I was on a break from school. This fall, I have put my student hat back on and MAN, OH, MAN, am I a lost puppy.

The only other time I can compare it to is when I was a server in a semi-busy restaurant. The cups were clanging, voices muffled, Six Pence None the Richer playing faintly, seemingly on repeat in the background. The room would start to spin and I didn't know who the heck wanted what. 

Coffee? Please!

There are people on the patio? Oh yeah! 

I have to take all those dirty dishes off the table? Whoops!

And a lovely customer, screeching,  "IS SHE NEW?!" bringing the entire joint to a stop...(I'm pretty sure even silencing Six Pence None the Richer.)

That confusing, whirlwind of an expereince is EXACTLY what I am reliving now, only this time around I have kids, a muffin top, a messy house, grad courses, and a killer love for children's literature and blogging. The last couple of months, I've felt out of the loop. Due to the demands of schooling,  I have spent less time writing and reading for children than ever and I can't help but wonder, was this just a fluke thing, this whole writing for children business? Is it over? Was I dreamin'?! I mean HOW THE HECK DO PEOPLE DO THIS WITH DAY JOBS?!

And then November hit.

Thank goodness for November.

Actually, I think they should change it to Povember. We must honor the letter "P", because for many of us, it is the symbol of both community and indulgence. Besides being the month of massive amounts of pumpkin pie (double "P" goodness), November is the month of the picture book! While my picture book flame may have been reduced to slight flicker earlier this fall, Povember has really rekindled my writerly motivation, breathing oxygen with the strength of a Galaxy 9000 Leaf Blower DX.

Maybe Target does have it right. Christmas has come early as I far as I am concerned. In my world, Povember is filled with the sweetness of blog posts from children's book industry professionals, TWO FOLD.  First I have the daily posts of Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo then I click on over to Dianne de las Casa's Picture Book Month extravaganza. (And not always in that order.) The best part is, I get to take advantage of it all over here in my west coast time zone, sneaking peeks the night before. A little treat for me. I really look forward to it. Like a dessert. Just like pumkin pie. I heart Povember.

Here is an awesome video for Picture Book Month done by my amazingly talented and silly, motion graphics designer, friend CARTER HIGGINS!

Pretty inspiring, huh?

And with this I leave you, but not without a wonderfully, wacky quote from the late and great Maurice Sendak on the topic of inspiration:

"I feel it in me like a woman having a baby, all that life churning on inside me. I feel it every day: it moves and stretches, yawns. It's getting ready to get born. It knows exactly what it is."

                                                            THANKS POVEMBER!