I

MARKETING.

To some people, this word causes headaches and panic attacks. How does it make you feel?

This is where Linda Dreiling is headed: stickers, downloadable paper dolls, shoestrings, mini books, t-shirts, super hero capes, postcards, party-for-one packs, bookmarks, water bottles, checkerboards, and "I Can Illustrate" theme pages for children.

On another note...
"I covered up his belly button so they wouldn't know he's an airplane."
-my daughter Julianne, talking about a special toy.

Currently working on Hexabones and a new series of books for the very young. Carry Me is in process. Next up: Hug Me and Tickle Me.

We have a guinea pig. Her name is Flarna. Let me tell you about her.

Flarna has nicknames: Fat Pig and Nugget (my 6 year old thinks she looks like a piece of chicken!). She eats constantly. Her favorite foods are hay, romaine lettuce, spinach, and carrots. The kids created a guinea pig taco: a baby carrot wrapped in lettuce. This is a cool snack. She squeals like a pig and, I found out, children mimic the sound better than adults. She's funny— and I am glad we have her around .

Everyone needs inspiration... and today, mine's from Flarna.

I am so ready for winter to be over. As much as I love the look of snow covering the world, I am aching for the sun to shine and warm me up! I've had enough of scraping windows at 4 AM, plenty thick coats and missing gloves, and one too many slippery turns in the car.

Give me sun! Give me heat! And pass the sunscreen... or I'll be as red as a lobster.

The research I've done for Hexabones has made me want to take Geometry all over again! Maybe I shouldn't go that far. It is so exciting to revisit this subject in an attempt to bring it down to a seven year old's level. I can already see little boys checking this out of their school libraries because of the bones and shapes involved. Hexabones is a skeletal look at polygons. I'm sure I would've done better in Geometry if I had a book like this to excite me!

On another note...
Do you guys know the song Starry Eyed Surprise by Paul Oakenfold? It's on a Coca Cola commercial. Well, for some reason it inspires me! I guess it makes me think about following your dreams and keeping the mood light as you go along. Listen to it. I'm sure it will make you think about something all your own.

With the onslaught of work in my "day" job, I've had to focus on adding to my idea list rather than seeing a lot of progress in editing and submissions. Wrapping up Wish I Could soon. It's next on my list of stories to submit. After that, I will work on Hexabones and Late Night Crazy.

Reading Carolyn See's Making a Literary Life changed my outlook on writing and the business of it. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the dream to become something that requires focus or determination. It will make you laugh, too!

I just registered my youngest child for kindergarten. I think the process is more traumatic for the mother than the child (especially my daughter!). She is a very opinionated, well-spoken four year old who says she wants to be a "cooker girl," a princess, and a manager. She has qualities for being large and in charge, that's for sure. She inspires many of the stories I write simply by being herself. I'm certain that, one day, lots of people will know her name. For a pretty accurate example of what she is like, read David Shannon's Alice the Fairy. The only difference is that Julianne loves broccoli. Enjoy.

Working on a new story about wishes... wishes that most little children experience at some point. I'll post a small portion of Wish I Could under the writing samples page. Julianne, my 4 year old daughter, inspired this story when she was sick with the flu— all she wanted to do was play with the moon. Don't you feel like this as an adult too? Oh, if only we could...

Check out Shel Silverstein's new book that features spunny Foonerisms... I mean funny Spoonerisms. http://shelsilverstein.com/

Drop me a line if you need more help understanding Spoonerisms. His book is going to be a great and, I imagine, very complicated read-aloud.

So, tonight I got my Publishers Weekly from the mailbox and found out that the editor who I sent my query to JUST LAST WEEK is in a new position. Believe me, I had done my homework to make sure she was still there by calling. (You know it's a death threat to a manuscript to address it to the wrong person!) Happily, my fears subsided as I read that she will still oversee her former imprint in addition to her new role. It felt rather cosmic that she was reassigned possibly on the exact day that I sent my communication. Hope for Big Day Baby? You bet there is!

My daughter is the subject of Late Night Crazy, a tale about the imaginative adventures that take place when Mom thinks you're sleeping. What Mom doesn't know won't hurt her.

I found out a few nights ago that Trina Schart Hyman passed away last November. It broke my heart. Her influence on authors and illustrators has been extensive. Personally, I had a goal to meet her and tell her about how, in my late teens, her work inspired me to be an illustrator. I learned an important lesson... again... DO NOT WAIT. To view a sampling of her art (simply as an homage to her amazing talent) click here. ©Trina Schart Hyman

I have seven days off, which means that, for a whole week, I will smell like a normal person rather than a coffee addict! That's good. I am also happy about another round of The Apprentice starting soon. I don't care what anyone says— Donald Trump and Carolyn are very interesting to me.

Professionally, it's refreshing to have two book projects competed: Big Day Baby and A Job for Sally. Big Day Baby has been a great experience. The limited word count creates a challenge to make each word add something very specific to the story. This is common with children's literature, but in a very young picture book, it is essential.

A Job for Sally is a fun and spunky story about a girl who is used to winning at everything... until she tries to build a fort on a hill in her backyard. So funny that I laughed out loud while revising it!

What do YOU want to do with your life?

I sat for 8 hours in a business meeting today. Yes, there were some fun, educational, and inspiring moments... but it took EIGHT hours! I guess I'm just wondering... if we actually spent a bit more time enriching ourselves by doing what we want... would we be happier? I have nothing against hard work or my job. But it is a new year, and reflection comes on very hard and heavy right now!

Happy New Year! I have one thing on my mind as I think about this year. It is one of Carolyn See's writing mantras, which I choose to adopt for 2005:

"My ideas come faster than I can write, and they're all good ideas."

Isn't that perfect? When I recall this past year and the experiences I've had, I KNOW this is true. My ideas actually come so fast now that I have a file on my desktop just to keep a running list of them. Good practice so far!