this is why I love them

I was at the local bookstore this afternoon - you know, one of those where the aisles are crowded with overflowing bookshelves, the floor creaks and dips in the middle, and the resident cat weighs 25 lbs. because he's been there forever.  I noticed that some of the books were new, some of them were very old, and some of the dust jackets had served their country well because there was enough residue on them to prove they arrived the same day as the cat.

I had a gift certificate, which is clearly the best form of cash.  I made my way through the store, wandering through novels, classics, paperbacks and the like.  But before long, the magnetic pull to the children's section drew me in like it does every time.

I started to quietly flip through the picture books. As I did, two women walked by on the other side of where I was standing and immediately began to "ooh" and "aah".  One woman picked up a book and without hesitation began to read it aloud to the other as if she were reading it to her own child.   I paused and listened and realized that there is something that makes us do that- we see the beautiful illustrations and the touching story with its bit of wit and humor and it hits us like a greeting card on steroids.  We are compelled to read it cover to cover to whomever is standing by, or to ourselves if no one else is around.

I could hear the smiles in their voices as she laid the book back down and reminisced with her friend about how she had read that one to her children years before.  It brought back only good memories of a time gone by.  As they started to explore other books on the shelves, the picture book lover in me wanted to leap over to them and start vocalizing recommendations and personal preferences but then I thought, "Who DOES that? They'll think I'm crazy......." and I remained silent.

Silent, but happy.

It just confirmed to me that I'm not crazy for loving picture books. 

I'd be crazy not to.

time flies

Three years ago today, I started this blog and wrote my first post.  I cannot believe it's been that long.

Since February 7, 2009, this blog has veered off course from its original intent plenty of times.  And that's okay, because I was exploring different avenues of what I wanted to write about.  But for quite some time I've been wanting to come back around and write a post that speaks to that very first one.

The one where I was starting a journey on the road to publication.

I won't go into all the details, but I will happily report that after beginning this blog, I met and co-authored a book (a fractured fairy tale, to be exact) with Corey Schwartz of Thing 1 and Thing 2 titled "Goldi Rocks and the Three Bear Band".   Corey and I wrote the entire manuscript online and didn't meet each other until after our manuscript was purchased by Putnam.  It will hopefully be out on bookshelves (if they still exist by then) sometime in the spring of 2014.

Amazing!

We are excited about this, and will keep you updated as the date for publication draws near.  The publishing industry moves slowly, so there is a lot of down time/wait time between a publishing house's purchase of a manuscript and someone holding the complete, ready-for-sale book in their hands. 

So, there it is.  I've come full circle; my blog has come full circle.  And where writing and picture books and continued pursuits and endeavors will take me from here, I have no idea.  Only time- and God's plans - will tell.

Thank you for your support of my blog- I love writing and I love being here. 

Blessings to you!

changing me

I get up early...just in time to see the dawn breaking. 

I watch the sky and clouds turn different colors as the sun threatens to push over the horizon.

One recent morning the clouds were nothing more than brown, sullen stripes across a still dark sky.  As I watched, the brown turned to a soft hue of pink that complemented the new-day blue all around it.

Same clouds, but this time reflecting light instead of darkness.

I thought of the things on my mind... the concerns that stretched like brown sullen stripes across the horizon of my next 24 hours.

They were reflecting the dark, and were just waiting for some light to shine on them.

The kind of light that comes from prayer.

So I talked to God and told Him what was troubling me....and felt the brown turn to pink, the tense turn to calm, and the fear trade places with trust.

Prayer changes me.

just wait...

I had something I wanted to share with you.

As a matter of fact, I still have something I want to share with you.

But I discovered a reason tonight to wait a little while longer.

Not a lot longer, just a little.

Like, until next Tuesday.

Wait for it.....