Laura Bowers

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Woo-HOO, registration is now open for SCBWI MD/DE/WV's summer regional conference, "Creating Sparks: Kindle the Fire of Imagination!" I'm so excited about this conference because once again, we have an amazing line-up of speakers, including . . .

. . . the lovely Deborah Wiles,whose book, Love, Ruby Valentine, is one of my all-time favorites! (I've heard her speak before. She's such a great motivator!)



. . . the amazingly-talented James Proimos, my friend/mentor/therapist who I love, love, love, and adore and is the author of Knuckle and Potty Destroy Happy World. (So hilarious!)



. . . and finally, our keynote speaker. . . <swoon, swoon, try to contain my happiness> . . . RICHARD PECK! Yeah, I know. RICHARD PECK! He's one of the reasons why I fell in love with young adult novels, after reading A Long Way To Chicago.



(My other reason is Joan Bauer, after reading Hope Was Here.LOVE that book!)

Anyway, it's going to be a great conference. For more information and a complete list of speakers, go here. Hope to see you there!

Happy Writing! :)

Write!

I finally sent a new manuscript that I love, love, LOVE to my awesome agent! Fingers crossed she likes it.

(Fingers, toes, eyes . . .)

I have a bad habit - I always cling onto manuscripts and try to make them perfect before sending them to my agent because I'm so afraid she's going to reject it and dump me as a client. But that's wrong. She's my agent, not my editor. It's her job to tell me what's wrong with the story near the beginning of the process, so I don't waste time spinning wheels in the wrong direction. She's the one who will help me create something that will be loved by my editor.

Besides. She wouldn't dump me over one bad manuscript, right? Right??? Fingers crossed she doesn't.

(Fingers, toes, eyes . . .)

Run!

Last Saturday, I ran my second 5k for the year! This one was at the always-wonderful Frederick Running Festival, which is such a blast. Great course, great band, great goodie giveaways at the end, and bonus . . . two included beers! My goals were to pace myself, to be a passer instead of a passee, and to finish in 31 minutes. The humidity really got to me, as you can see here . . .



. . . so my ending time was 33.20. I was kind of dissappointed with that, but I did reach my other goals and ended up running the second half faster than the first half. (11:14 pace first half, 10:10 second.) Oh, and did I mention the included two beers? :)



Next up: The Baltimore Women's Classic 5K on June 24th! My goals? To finish in 29 minutes. :)

Rejoice!

The young adult author in me loves the sweet, romantic way my youngest son asked his girlfriend to prom last night!



I still have splinters in my fingers and I'd rather not confess how long it took my husband and me to make this work, but it was worth every second! We had neightbors taking pictures and waiting for her to arrive and everything.

Say it with me. Awwww! :)

And finally, to all you awesome, splinter-wearing mothers out there . . .

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Have a great weekend! :)

Yep, it's been a while since I've posted.

Well, here, at least. I've been blogging my rear off over at our regional SCBWI blog, As the Eraser Burns. I've let this one slip, though, mostly because I've been writing a ton, and also because I've become a bit online anti-social. It's just hard keeping up and I can never seem to find that right balance! But I do miss blogging, so I've giving it another shot with a very important announcement:

I, Laura Bowers, am now a runner.

.

Sure, right now, I'm only running twelve-minute miles . . . on a good day.

The fartherest I can run is three miles . . . on a very good day.

And truth be told, I more resemble this woman instead of the gal above:



But that doesn't matter. You have to start somewhere, and this weekend, I'm running in my very first 5k race since having my surgery last December! (Hysterectomy - no more tampons, woo!)

And in exactly 320 days, I'm going to be running in the Disney Princess Half-Marathon along with forty-some awesome women and a few brave gents!



Yes, I will be wearing pink! I will run through Cinderella's castle! I will get a picture with Captain Jack Sparrow, and I'm even considering wearing a tiara! But a tutu? Eh . . . nope, that's a bit much even for me.

More posts on running, writing, reading, and rejoicing to come! :)

Congratulations and a mighty woo-HOO to all-around great guy James Proimos, author of several books including Scholastic Book Fair pick, SWIM SWIM, for the release of 12 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU CRASH AND BURN!

Hercules Martino has until the end of the summer (i.e., two weeks) to accomplish these twelve tasks. The tasks will take him to the far reaches of Baltimore, lead him to a Beautiful and Unattainable Woman, and change the way he sees his past, present, and future.

Day One: Choose a mission.

Day Two: Find the best pizza joint in town.

Day Three: Clean out the garage.

Day Four: Muck the stalls at Riverbend farm.

Day Five: Read a complete book under a tree.

Day Six: Go to a place of worship and pray.

Day Seven: Go on seven job interviews.

Day Eight: Spend the day thinking big thoughts. Write them down.

Day Nine: Make your uncle something.

Day Ten: Eat a meal with a stranger.

Day Eleven: Recite a poem at Blake’s Coffee Shop.

Day Twelve: Complete your mission.

“Time and again, picture-book creator Proimos has demonstrated a rock-solid sense of humor and outside-the-box thinking. His first book for teens is no different, opening a promising new chapter in his career… Proimos fully inhabits the mind and voice of his hero, whose almost mythic journey offers moments hilarious, heartbreaking, and triumphant.”–Publisher’s Weekly, starred review. 

Happy Halloween, everyone!

A belated woo-HOO to Mary Quattlebaum for the September 27th release of The Hungry Ghost of Rue Orleans!

Fred the ghost loves his leaky, creaky old house in New Orleans.  But when Pierre and his daughter Marie turn it into a jazzy-snazzy restaurant, Fred makes a haunting appearance.  Instead of being scared, though, the diners are entertained!  Dejected, Fred decides to leave--until he gets a whiff of Pierre’s new sweet-and-spicy dish.  A charming tale, infused with New Orleans atmosphere and cuisine.

“The interplay among the characters is great….  [E]thereal, quirky [illustrations] … help anchor the New Orleans setting.”--Kirkus

“A good story for both storytime and a one-on-one read.  The painterly illustrations, rich in color and detail … [convey] the atmosphere of the old house and the New Orleans setting perfectly.” – School Library Journal

Congratulations, Mary, your book looks awesome! :)

A mighty woo-HOO also to Julie Dunlap, for the October release of her book, Parks for the People: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted, published by Fulcrum Publishing of Golden, Colorado, with new and updated text and historic photos and other illustrations!

Olmsted designed parks in Maryland and DC as well as NYC and around the country, and Julie hopes that her book will remind teachers and children how important he was in shaping the best parts of our cities today. Maybe it will even encourage a few kids to go outside and play! 

Congratulations, Julie, and best of luck with your lovely new book!

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH

Okay, how many of you wonderful writers are braving NaNoWriMo?

Every year, I'm always so tempted to join in on the challenge. There'd be something so magical about thousands of other writers from around the world slaving, sweating, and (possibly) swearing right along with me as I crank out 50,000 words in only thirty days. The timing has always been bad, however, so I've always passed. This year is no exception, but seeing as how I'm scheduled for a December 7th surgery and will lying on my rear for weeks afterwards, I'm so in!

What about you?

If you have signed up at their website and are currently girding your loins and begging those pesky characters to please be cooperative for the next month, then share your user name in the comments below! Mine is Laura Bowers.

Good luck to all my fellow Nanowrimo's and happy writing, everyone! :)

(Cross posted from As The Eraser Burns.)

Happy Thursday!

If you're going to the Roads to Publication conference on November 11 - 13th, (or if you just enjoy a good author chat,) then check out the pre-confererence interviews that I've posted on the SCBWI MD/DE/WV regional blog!    

   Jacqueline Adams

   Sandy Asher

   Jim Murphy

   and Alexis O'Neill

Have a great day! :)

If there ever was a good reason for me to start blogging again, it's this:



The galleys for my second book, JUST FLIRT have arrived!!

Wow. When I look at the gorgeous cover and flip through the freshly-printed pages, it's hard to comprehend that after four years, fourteen drafts, hundreds of lessons learned, and buckets full of blood, sweat, and tears, this book is actually real! And I must confess that my first thoughts were, "Dang, I better kick my marketing plan in gear now," and, "I also need to finish rewriting my next novel asap," and "Yikes, my website needs some major updating as well . . ."

But no. That's tomorrow's worry.

Today, I'm going to enjoy this moment and the fact that I wrote a book! And it's funny, sweet, and . . . hopefully . . . one readers will love.

Have a great day! :)

Can't believe I'm leaving for the BEA tomorrow!

I'm so not ready.

So, SO not ready.

Off to do a major Wal-Mart run. 

My father had open heart surgery this week, (he's doing great, THANK GOD,) so I'm a few days late with this, but . . .

Congratulations, Jeri Smith-Ready, for Tuesday's release of your amazing book, SHADE, and for your PW starred review, woo-HOO!!!

Love ties them together.
Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift.

"Smith-Ready changes the world simply by changing our ability to see." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"SHADE is a hauntingly good story and an intriguing beginning to a new series. Jeri Smith-Ready proves again why she is one of my very favorite reads!" — PC Cast, New York Times-bestselling author of the House of Night series

"The perfect combination of mystery, ghosts and romance, SHADE left me breathless." — Lisa Schroeder, author of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME and CHASING BROOKLYN

~~~~~~~~~~

I'm reading it now and I'm LOVING IT so far!!!  And, I need to get back to the hospital, but next week, I'll blog about Jeri's awesome book signing party . . .



. . . at Constellation Books . . .



. . . where Jeri also took the time to absolutely make my son, Cooper's day when she gave him a signed copy of D.J. MacHale's latest book, MORPHEUS ROAD!!

 

Cooper loved this book and said it was one of favorite books EVER, which is pretty dang cool considering the kid reads like a maniac! (He got to read an arc.)

More on that and his review later.  (In fact, a lot more of everything--my blog has seriously been sucking lately!  Baseball season.  I blame it all on baseball season! :)

Have a great weekend!  And hey, check this awesome SHADE trailer:


 

 

 Oh, and a sequel, Shift, will be released May 2011.  More WOO-HOOS!!

First it was Snowpocalypse 2010 . . .



. . . then a bunch of starlings tried to move in.



Poor thing. I think I'll go out and buy it a brand-new cover to make up for all this.

And then I'll actually keep the cover on for a change. Hmm, might be good idea, you think?  ;)