Inspiring Women
Mar 09, 2020 
Happy International Women’s Day! I wanted to mention three inspiring women who have influenced me over the years. Today I’m focusing on public historical figures, because otherwise I would just post pictures of my mom, grandmother, sisters, aunts, well . . . you get the idea. So here we go!
#1: Marie Curie
The first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person ever to win a second Nobel Prize, and the ONLY person to have won two Nobel Prizes in two different sciences (Linus Pauling won one for Chemistry and one for Peace). She is one of the very few women I remember learning about in school. She knew what she loved, and she worked tirelessly to make the world a better place through her work. I could go on for quite a while about her accomplishments, because they are many, but you can read more about here HERE. Marie Curie told me that a woman could do anything they put their mind to.
#2: Mother Teresa
Her life was so filled with love for others, that you can’t help but be inspired to work harder to be a little better. If you look up quotes by Mother Teresa, you will find a plethora of inspiring words. Here is just one that I love: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” The reminder that if we all did the little that we were able to do, the world would be a better place.
#3: Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman is one of the other few women I remember learning about in grade school. What impresses me most about Harriet Tubman is that she didn’t hesitate to brave danger after danger–knowing what it could mean for herself if she were caught–to help other slaves experience the freedom that she had gotten. If only we were all so fearless, and so concerned about others.
So many inspiring women have helped change this world for the better, and it was tough to only highlight three. I think of Pocahontas, Amelia Earhart, Clara Barton, Florence Nightengale, Anne Frank, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Jane Austen, Ada Lovelace, and that is just to name a very few (and not even considering those who are still alive!). I thank them all for standing strong in their beliefs. For working hard in the face of doubt. For changing the world for the better.
Which women are you honoring today?
HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS Release Day!!
Woo hoo!! This day has been a long time coming, but it’s here! My first picture book, HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS (illustrated by Courtney Dawson) is out in the world! Because it’s such an exciting day, I didn’t want to post just any blog post. Today, you get a Vlog!!
You can read about how this story was born over on Dawn Prochovnic’s blog. So today, I wanted to give you Girlie and Mr. Daddy’s version of what happened that night! So sit back, relax, and listen to this most interesting interview.
Hope you enjoyed it! And I hope you enjoy reading HELP WANTED MUST LOVE BOOKS!!
Before I end, a big congratulations to Melanie Mortensen who won the giveaway of a copy of my book, and one book of her choice from one of my fellow Debut Crew members!
~~~
You can purchase HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS on bookshop.org, which helps support local indie bookstores. Or if you don’t have a local indie, you can always find it on Amazon or B&N.
Lost Resume #5
Welcome to the final day of my special series of Lost Resumes!
To celebrate the release of my picture book, HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS (illustrated by Courtney Dawson), on Monday, March 2nd (just 3 days from now!), I’m sharing 5 Lost Resumes from characters who both did and didn’t make it into my story.
I hope you enjoyed the other Lost Resumes. But if you missed, I’ve included a link to all of the resumes at the bottom, so be sure to check them out.
Drum roll, please, for the final addition! Today, I present you Lost Resume #5: Rumpelstiltskin
I confess, this one makes me giggle-laugh so hard. I know! I totally crack me up. It is so different than all the other resumes, but Rumpelstiltskin is quite the character, and he likes to do things his own way. This is the only version of his that made sense. And secret? Underneath that big black rectangle is his actual name. Yep. I wanted it to be authentic.
Another secret? I had to give Shailey a last name when I created this resume. She didn’t have one before that. I know, I know, characterization and all that. But it was a corner I felt okay with cutting.
The only hard part about this particular resume, was not using the Shrek version of Rumpelstiltskin (either of them . . . you know he’s featured twice, right? Feel free to watch them all again. In fact, I just might do that myself).
Once again, while I don’t know why my publisher didn’t choose this resume, I have my guesses. Rumpelstiltskin is right up there with Grandma Sweets. It’s a bit dark to be thinking about a goblin stealing away a newborn baby, and since HELP WANTED is a book for young children, they probably don’t even want to be thinking about their future children at all! I get that. I do.
But in the mean time, I’m just over here chuckling away.
Now, there are two final notes I need to make:
First, I dressed up these Lost Resumes for this series, but when I sent them to my publisher, they were nothing more than words in a Word document. Just in case you were wondering. 😊
Second, there is the little matter of the replaced characters. For those who have been dying to find out all week, here you go:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves replaced the Farmer in the Dell. He was my absolute favorite, and I’m so sad he didn’t make the cut. But let’s just say that the stinky old cheese was a big problem for Shailey.
Captain Hook replaced the Pied Piper. Since the Pied Piper stems from a true story, he was deemed too creepy. But he made things a little too lively for Shailey’s liking, anyway. 😳
I hope you enjoyed this series! If you want to see more resumes, you can find FOUR more as the backmatter in HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS. The perfect ones to match the rest of the book.
Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win a copy of my book, and a copy of a book by one of my fellow Debut Crew members! You have until Saturday, February 28th, at midnight EST.
And if you want to check out the other resumes, follow the links:
Lost Resume #3
Lost Resume #4
Have a great day!
~~~
You can purchase HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS on bookshop.org, which helps support local indie bookstores. Or if you don’t have a local indie, you can always find it on Amazon or B&N.
Lost Resume #4
Welcome back to my special series of Lost Resumes!
To celebrate the release of my picture book, HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS (illustrated by Courtney Dawson), on Monday, March 2nd (next week!), I’m sharing 5 Lost Resumes from characters who both did and didn’t make it into my story.
I hope you enjoyed the first three Lost Resumes. But if you missed, I’ve included a link to all of the resumes at the bottom, so be sure to check them out.
Today we are moving on to Lost Resume #4: King Midas!
I had to do a bit of research for this one. I mean, who didn’t grow up hearing the story of King Midas? But turns out, I was pretty clueless. I’m certain I must have learned his story came from the Greek Myths at some point. But adult me had completely forgotten that tidbit.
When I mentioned this at the dinner table, my kids (ages 16, 13, and 10) went off on a deep discussion of a plethora of minor gods, comparing the Roman versions to the Greek, and I clearly need to start reading more Rick Riordan. My husband and I just sat there with mouths hanging open. Okay, not really, because we were eating dinner, but mentally, our mouths were definitely hanging open.
As I keep saying, I don’t actually know why my publisher did or didn’t choose each resume. But I feel fairly confident that King Midas didn’t make it in because he is from the Greek Myths, and not from the fairy and folk tales they were going for. And I suppose it’s also possible that this resume isn’t as funny as the others. Maybe. But I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Be sure to come back tomorrow when I share Lost Resume #5! The final one. In the meantime, don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win a copy of my book, and a copy of a book by one of my fellow Debut Crew members! And if you want to check out the other resumes, follow the links:
Lost Resume #5
Have a great day!
~~~
You can purchase HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS on bookshop.org, which helps support local indie bookstores. Or if you don’t have a local indie, you can always find it on Amazon or B&N.
Lost Resume #3
Good morning! This week I’m gearing up to celebrate the release of my picture book, HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS (illustrated by Courtney Dawson), on Monday, March 2nd!
For those who were here Monday and Tuesday, welcome back to my special series of Lost Resumes!
As a reminder, I’m sharing 5 Lost Resumes from characters who both did and didn’t make it into my story. I hope you enjoyed Captain Hook’s and Snow White’s Lost Resumes! I’ve included a link to all of the resumes at the bottom, so if you missed them, be sure to check them out.
Today we are moving on to Lost Resume #3: Grandma Sweets!
Wait. You don’t know who she is? No, no, no. Of course you do. She is none other than the witch from Hansel and Gretel! Though really I should have made you guess based on the resume itself. Ahem. But here we are:
This one was a lot of fun to write. I mean, it’s Grimm, but there we are. A lot of fairy tale characters are a bit Grimm. (I know, I know, I’m so punny!) Maybe I shouldn’t admit this part, but it was really fun to put myself in the witch’s shoes and think about what she might do to get the job. We already know she’s pretty cunning just based on the fact that she lives in a consumable house.
Like I mentioned yesterday, I don’t actually know why my publisher did or didn’t choose each resume, but I’m guessing there were a couple of reasons for this one. First, the witch has no real name to speak of. I tried to look it up. But even if I had found something, no one would have known it. “Call me ‘Grandma Sweets'” was the best I could do.
Second, the Grimm factor. Maybe they worried parents don’t want to read a resume to small children about someone who wants to eat them. I don’t know. Just a theory.
Be sure to come back tomorrow when I share Lost Resume #4! In the meantime, don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win a copy of my book, and a copy of a book by one of my fellow Debut Crew members! And if you want to check out the other resumes, follow the links:
Lost Resume #4
Lost Resume #5
Have a great day!
~~~
You can purchase HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS on bookshop.org, which helps support local indie bookstores. Or if you don’t have a local indie, you can always find it on Amazon or B&N.
Lost Resume #2
Hello, friends! I know it is a Tuesday, and I am not normally here on the blog, but this week is special, being the lead-up to the release of my upcoming picture book, HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS (illustrated by Courtney Dawson).
This week I’m sharing 5 Lost Resumes from characters who both did and didn’t make it into my story. I hope you enjoyed Snow White’s Lost Resume from yesterday. If not, you can find it HERE. Today we are moving on to Lost Resume #2: Captain Hook!
I really liked this resume. The tricky part on this one was that I needed to be careful not to confuse the Captain Hook character from J.M. Barrie’s book, with the one from the Disney movie. As such, I was forced into the extra work of reading the original PETER PAN (sometimes an author’s job is tough,* but as a professional, one carries on).
The reason this resume was not included,** is because after I sent in the eight resumes for consideration, I was asked to replace another character in the book. They felt the original character was too controversial for schools.
Can you guess who that character might be? I’ll give you a hint. It involved hygiene, and it was a male character. (I’m going to be honest here, I don’t think you’ll guess who it was! 😂) Anyway, Captain Hook became the replacement. Since we wanted resumes from characters who were not already in the book, the resume fell out of the running.
Yesterday, I said I might tell you who Snow White (and the 7 Dwarves) replaced, but since no one parried a guess, I will hold off until the end of the week. I gave no hint yesterday, but I’ll give one today. She replaced someone who also brought along a group, and who was in a nursery rhyme instead of a fairy tale. (My hints don’t make it easy, do they? 😂)
Have a wonderful week! And be sure to come back tomorrow when I share Lost Resume #3! In the meantime, don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win a copy of my book, and a copy of a book by one of my fellow Debut Crew members!
If you don’t want to wait, and just want to pre-order a copy of my book (I can hardly blame you for that!), you can find it on bookshop.org, which helps support local indie bookstores. Or if you don’t have a local indie, you can always find it on Amazon or B&N.
*I’m kidding, this part of the job is not tough at all. I LOVE when I’m forced to read a good book. 😉
**Well, one major reason, anyway . . . I don’t actually know all the reasons my publisher chose the four they did. I can only guess.
Countdown to Release Day (plus a giveaway!)
I don’t know how this happened, but my picture book, HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS (illustrated by Courtney Dawson), officially releases in exactly one week from today! (Aaaaaahhh!!) With the countdown to release day in full-swing, I wanted to share a little behind-the-scenes fun (and then host a giveaway!).
The first time I chatted with my editor at Capstone, my editor asked me what I thought about possibly including some back matter in the book. She couldn’t have known, but I am a BIG FAN of all things back matter in fiction picture books. I leapt at the chance!
Ideas came swimming into my head immediately. I told her I had a lot of characters who didn’t make the cut in the book. What if we did some character resumes for those lost characters?
She loved the idea, and so I got right to work, and sent her a sample later that week. That sample—a resume for Pinocchio—is now published in the final pages of my book. In fact, there are FOUR character resumes at the end of my book. I hope you’ll love them! (Here’s the tiniest sneak peeks.)
But guess what? I wrote way more than that. Yep. I wasn’t sure what Capstone would like, so I sent them 8 to choose from. But I wrote even more resumes than that . . . because I only sent them the 8 best ones. So over the course of this week, I’m going to be sharing FIVE of those lost resumes! Eventually, they will be available for download on my website, but for now, here is LOST RESUME #1 for your viewing pleasure. May I present SNOW WHITE!
Snow White did not make the cut because I didn’t think this resume was quite as amusing as the others. Thus, I never sent this one to my editor. In the end, it was just as well because Snow White, who hadn’t been featured in my book at the time of that initial phone call, went on to replace a different character. Oh, the intrigue in the fairy tale world!
Who got replaced you ask? Take your best guess in the comments! I’d love to hear. And maybe I’ll answer that question when I share the next Lost Resume!
But now, on to more fun stuff. With my release date being so close, I must, of course, celebrate with a giveaway!
So, to one lucky winner, I am giving not only a copy of my book, but a copy of a picture book written by a member of the 2020 Debut Crew (one book of your choice!)!! You can find a list of the authors and their books HERE. If the book you choose is not yet released, I will pre-order a copy of their book for you.
For all you international blog followers, this giveaway is open to every country where Book Depository delivers. If you aren’t certain about your country, check it out HERE.
For any U.S. followers, I will gladly send a signed copy of my book upon request. If you win, just let me know!
Just use the handy dandy Rafflecopter link below to enter. Good luck, my friends!
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Author Interview: Aya Khalil
I’ve always said that one of the best part about being an author is meeting other authors and getting to read their books and stories (sometimes a little early!).
With my own picture book coming out in 2020, I was fortunate to meet several other debut picture book authors. One of them is Aya Khalil. Her book THE ARABIC QUILT: An Immigration Story, illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan, releases February 18th.
I got to read her book in advance, and am so excited to have her on my blog today. So please welcome Aya Khalil! (As always, I’ll be in bolded green text.)
Hi Aya, Welcome to my blog!
Hi! Thanks for having me.
I’d love to learn more about you. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Sure, I am a freelance journalist and educator with my debut picture book coming out in February. I live in Northwest Ohio with my three children and husband.
Wow, three jobs (counting author)! That is not easy, especially with kids. And huge congratulations on your book. I’m so excited for it’s release. Please tell us about it.
My book is about a beautiful girl named Kanzi who recently immigrated to the US from Egypt. She tries so hard to fit in but the teasing really gets to her. With the help of her teacher and mom, she learns to appreciate her language and culture.
It’s so hard to remember what’s important when you’re young . . . especially in the face of teasing. I loved that Kanzi had so many supportive adults in her life. Kids need that! I’d love to know what inspired you to write The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story.
My picture book is based on true stories growing up as an immigrant. I moved to the US when I was one with my parents and brother. We attended a mostly all-white school in a rural town in North Dakota. We had incredible teachers there and especially this one teacher who thought of this lesson one day. She asked me, with the help of my mom, to write down our classmates’ names in Arabic. My classmates thought their names in Arabic were so cool! So they each copied their names on their own and the teacher hung them up as a quilt. This happened over 20 years ago and just comes to show how powerful teachers can be, especially to their minority students.
What a lovely and inclusive lesson plan! Teachers have such an influence and can do so much good. And I love that you used your own life stories to inspire you. What advice would you give to beginning writers about finding ideas?
Write down ideas all the time! Whether it’s a blog or even on your Notes app, write down encounters or situations. Maybe you will end up making it into a book some day.
Great advice! You never know what might inspire a story.
Above you mentioned you do freelance journalism. Have you always wanted to write? And how did you get into writing picture books?
I read to my kids often and used to review picture books and I always thought it would be so neat to get my words out there to young children. With my background in journalism my published work was usually geared towards adults.
Well, I’m so glad you took the plunge! The Arabic Quilt is a beautiful story that will no doubt resonate with a lot of kids!
Thanks!
As a new author what is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about being an author?
That it takes A LONG TIME! I was always so used to the fast-paced world of journalism and quick responses and quick edits and quick publishing times! Ha! That’s not always the case in the picture book industry.
Haha! No, it is not. Such a stark contrast between the two industries. Patience is definitely needed for the book publishing world.
Okay, one last question. Here on my blog, I have a fascination for personalized license plates. What do you think Kanzi would put on her license plate (even though she’s definitely too young to drive!)?
QuiltTheHate (Like quit the hate but with the word quilt instead)
How perfect! And I’m guessing that after your book releases, there will be a lot of classes making their own quilts, just like Kanzi’s class.
Thank you again for stopping in and answering some questions!
Thank you so much for asking these great questions!
Best wishes for your book! And to all my readers, please find Aya’s social media links below, as well as links for where you can get your own copy of THE ARABIC QUILT!
~~~
Aya Khalil is a freelance journalist and educator. She holds a master’s degree in Education with a focus in Teaching English as a Second Language. THE ARABIC QUILT is based on true events growing up, when she moved to the US from EGYPT at the age of one. Her articles have been published in The Huffington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The Post & Courier, Toledo Area Parent, and more. She’s been featured in Yahoo!, Teen Vogue, Verona and more. www.ayakhalil.com
You can follow her on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, and Instagram
THE ARABIC QUILT: an immigration story is available for pre-order from your local indie book store (find it at IndieBound), from Amazon, B&N, and wherever books are sold.
Conquering Fears
Over the holiday break, my boys and I had a chance to do some rock climbing on a climbing wall. You pull on the harness. They clip you in. You choose “Easy,” “Medium,” or “Hard.” And off you go.
It sounds so simple, and really, the wall isn’t that high. But about halfway up, I caught a glimpse of the down. I had to refocus myself on simply finding the next handhold. Conquering my fears one step at a time.
My 13-yo got to just about the same point when he called down, “I think I have to come down!” He’d hit that same wall. But he didn’t know how to get past it.
Now, I knew he was safe. He was buckled in. The rope and mechanisms would catch him if he fell. I’d already done it myself, and I knew he could do it.
So I called to him, “Keep going! You’re almost there. You can do this!”
That is too hard for you.
You should stick to what you know.
But those are lies. If we refocus ourselves, take things one step at a time, and stop thinking about those fears, we can conquer them! Maybe not on our first try, but if we keep trying, it will happen.
Sometimes we need outside support, and that’s okay! That’s why you should surround yourself with people who build you up. People who believe in you. People who can see things from a different perspective. Find those people! Search them out, then hold them close. I know it’s made a huge difference in my life.
Conquering fears is hard. It can be scary. It can take time. LOTS of it! But I tell you what, that feeling you get when you finally make it is worth it.
Remember.
You ARE good enough!
Nothing is too hard if you’re determined.
Learning new things is amazing!
What fears are you hoping to conquer?
The Art of Trying Something New
Good morning all my wonderful friends! I hope you had a fabulous weekend and a terrific holiday break, whatever you may celebrate.
With the new year (not to mention new DECADE), it’s certainly a time of reflection. Looking back over the past ten years, a lot has changed for me. I moved from DC to Missouri, to Oregon, and now Utah. I began taking writing seriously. I signed with an agent. I sold a middle grade book. I broke up with my agent, and signed with another agent. I started writing picture books. I sold a picture book.
But life is way more than just books. I raised three kids from toddlers to teenagers (well, tweenager for the youngest). I struggled with feeling lonely and like a failure. I left my job of 15 years as translator. I watched my mom go through a stroke. I lost my last two grandparents. . . .
Life is full of ups and downs, and stress, and hard things. And while I used to turn to writing to escape it all, writing has become it’s own kind of stress now that I’m published. It took me a while to realize I needed a new creative outlet, but I do.
In the past I’ve done scrap-booking. I’ve played piano and guitar. I had a brief stint at taking violin lessons. I’ve tried wood-carving, cake decorating, toll painting, and even photography. There are so many options. I certainly don’t expect to become a master at any of these, but trying new things brings so much joy. It gets me excited. And just for an hour or two, it takes me away from the hard things of life.
Most recently, I signed up for a lovely webinar titled Watercolors with Jessixa Bagley, through Storytellers Academy. I haven’t gotten to the watercolor part just yet, but it’s been so fun (and humbling) to learn just what goes into an illustration.
She has us block in the basic shapes using bluelines. Did you know there was a pencil color called “Non-photo Blue”? I did not know this. But it’s a shade that can’t be detected by graphic arts camera film, or can be made to disappear by adjusting the contrast and brightness. Here is my attempt (covered with the mess of my transfer attempts from later on, so just ignore that). Hard to see, yeah?
Once we had the general shapes, we moved to more detailed sketching. I mean, mine could definitely be worse.
Next we used tracing paper to capture the main elements. Tracing is also a time to clean up your lines. Haha! Well, I did try.
And finally, we transferred the image to watercolor paper, and commenced with inking.
These efforts may not look like much, but that was a time-intensive activity! Major concentration involved, and all kinds of new appreciation for what goes into illustration. I haven’t completed the course, but I’ve already learned so much. AND I’ve had fun doing it. Seriously, I highly recommend Jessixa’s class. Check it out at the Storyteller Academy page.
But let’s get real: I’m never going to be an illustrator (because frankly, I don’t intend to put in the time to hone that ability . . . it just doesn’t call to me the way writing does). But trying makes me happy. It relieves my stress. It makes me appreciate illustrators even more . . . and it makes me appreciate writing even more.
If you find yourself in a funk, don’t be afraid to try something new! Maybe it’ll be sketching and watercoloring, like I’ve chosen. Maybe it’ll be dance. Maybe it’ll be gardening or ice sculpting or baking macaroons. Whatever it is, allow yourself to be imperfect and just enjoy the doing. Because the art of trying something new is not about being or becoming an expert. It’s about finding things that bring you joy. And who knows? Maybe you’ll discover something that you do want to become an expert in. 😊
What new things are you trying lately?