Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 11

I'm in Burlington, North Carolina to visit the kids of Holt Elementary School today.

Yesterday on my flight to Greensboro, NC, the pilot came on and said the usual beginning things and then said, "Our flight today to Raleigh will take just over two hours."

The plane erupted with passengers saying, "Raleigh? Did he say RALEIGH?"

Then the pilot came on laughing and said, "April Fools!"

Well played, Pilot. Well played.

April is also Autism Awareness Month and School Library Month.  The American Association of School Libraries asked me to tell a short story about a special moment that happened to me in a school library.  Here's my story.

I sent off my revision for my 2015 novel this morning (which currently has no title, because my publisher wasn't keen on the one I chose). One hard part of sending off a novel draft is there's a big hole left behind where all that push and last-steps work and intense emotion went. Suddenly, the book is gone, but the emotion hangs on. I always feel a little lost right afterwards.

The second hard thing is seeing everything that I've put off to make that deadline happen is now sitting there Waiting. For. Me.

But I feel like this revision took the next big step for this book. And that's a good feeling. When I was in this book's setting last summer, I stopped at a local pottery store and bought myself a mug. There are themes and symbolism in this book about wild blueberries: how they are actually different colors (pink, red, purple, blue, sometimes, even striped!) and there's a five-pointed star where the berry was connected to the plant.

So when I was back in that area a couple weeks ago, I bought each of my editors a mug, too. Because now the work on this book shifts to them for a while. They will be the ones drinking coffee or tea and thinking about the next step for it.

Stonington, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

Wednesday, April 2, School visit, Holt Elementary School, Burlington, North Carolina

Friday, April 11, School visit, Haycock Elementary School, Falls Church, Virginia

Tuesday, April 15, "Meet the Author" library event, Hampstead Public Library, Hampstead, New Hampshire, 7-8 pm, open to the public

Friday, April 25, 27th Annual Conference on Children's Literature, Broward County Library, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, open to the public

Pemaquid Light, Maine. Photo by my husband.

1. Here's a (whole!) chance to read the first chapter of Half A Chance from Scholastic's blog.

2. My backyard is so icy. I can't wait for it to melt so I don't risk falling every time I go out to my writing shed.

3.  I'm getting my next book in shape to go back to my editor on Monday. I made some really good strides with this revision, though we'll have a few more, at least.

4.  A lovely review of Hot Rod Hamster Monster Truck Mania from one of my all-time favorite bloggers.

5. And finally, today is the last day for one of my editors at Scholastic. She has a shiny new job at FSG, and I'm so happy for her. But sad for me, because I will miss her. It's been a real joy to work with her on our Hamster books.

I love this ad that Scholastic placed in Publisher's Weekly.

Hot Rod Hamster Monster Truck Mania is officially out today!  Good food! Fun! Rides!

"Anderson's bright-eyed, expressive acrylics extend Lord's enthusiastic rhyming tale to perfection. A treat for Hot Rod fans as well as lovers of trucks and carnival rides."  Kirkus Reviews

"The bright, boldly colored acrylic illustrations of funny, silly animals perfectly match the text's high energy level, and the background action is entertaining without overwhelming the story. A fun read with broad appeal."  School Library Journal

You can see a sneak peek inside at Scholastic's Story Hour website.

I went to see my mom in Massachusetts yesterday, and on the long highway drive home I stopped to walk on the beach at Ogunquit for a few minutes to break the trip up.

Just before beach parking lot is a little bridge. In the water beside the bridge were five beautiful loons. I gasped to see the change from the last time I saw them. Their winter grays are shifting back to summer black and white. In this photo, you can see the spots on his back forming.

I imagined Lucy, my main character in Half A Chance, waiting for the ice to leave her lake, wondering, "I'm here. Where are you?"



And his answer, "I'm coming."

We adopted our two bunnies, Blueberry and Muffin, over a year ago now. They are such sweet pets, and I love how much comfort they take from each other.

Muffin (left, with the white paw) and Blueberry (right)

Bunny Yin Yang

Last night's sunset was just beautiful. It reminded me of the Beatles' song,  "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."



Tangerine trees and marmalade skies.

In honor of Hot Rod Hamster Monster Truck Mania, my editor and I went to a MONSTER TRUCK SHOW yesterday!



OH MY! It was fun and crazy and heart pounding.