A Dry-Erase Board by Any Other Name…

I can’t really call mine a whiteboard, because it’s blue…or a dry-erase board, because I use non-smear ink pens which need to be erased with a damp cloth. It’s magnetic too, which puts it in an entirely different category. All I know is whatever this thing is, I LOVE it! It’s incredibly useful when you’re in the midst of writing a novel–for plotting, keeping track of facts and timelines, inspiration–you name it. Especially when you live in a New York City apartment where space is at a premium and your office is, literally, a converted walk-in-closet. Hanging a magical board on the door expands the work space. TAH-DAH!

[Sections have been blurred for purposes pertaining to paranoia]

For a previous book I was working on, I used a virtual “canvas service” called Lino for basically the same purpose as a dry-erase board. (A novel approach! Pretty impressive. Kinda fun.) The advantage is you can create as many online boards as you like and include links to videos and documents. (Space-saving. Transportable. So, what’s not to like?) Well, the downfall, for me anyway, is you have to view these boards on your computer, and my 23-inch screen is already jam-packed with my manuscript, notes, maps, pictures, etc. When I’m in the “sacred zone” of writing, I don’t have the patience for the 1/100th of a nanosecond it takes to click on a link and wait for something to load. I simply want to glance to my right and see the info I need immediately. (Or my left. I’m flexible.) “A tangible board that’s right there in your face at all times?” you ask. Yes, please! Not very high tech, I know, but the heart wants what it wants.

Traveling back even further in time…I remember using prehistoric index cards taped to my door to keep track of plots and timelines. A crude approach, as there was no rearranging them without having to replace the tape and pulling up paint chips. Eek! (It was a different world. We didn’t know better back then.) Post-It Notes to the rescue! The problem with these little beauties is they don’t stay up for very long. Even the new and improved super-duper strength Post-Its will eventually come fluttering to the ground like sleepy butterflies and wind up stuck to the soles of your shoes–or the cat.

Not to diss the almighty Post-It. I still use them for many different things–but for this specific purpose, they’ve been happily replaced with something called mcSquares Stickies Dry Erase Notes. A tad expensive but they’re durable so you can rearrange them at will–plus they come in different shapes and sizes. (I swear I’m not a spokeman for the company–just a fan. There are other brands out there as well, like SlickyNotes that come in different colors!) These things stick to most smooth, flat surfaces so you don’t even need a whiteboard–or blueboard–or whatever. I find that the non-smear variety of markets work best in this scenario. (Tackie Markers and Writey Liquid Chalk are my faves. Again, not a spokesman.) You’ll need to use a damp cloth instead of a dry-eraser with these but it’s so worth the iota of extra effort.

So, that’s the scoop. Carry on and HAPPY WRITING!

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Warwick Children’s Book Festival – 2017

No less than 61–count ’em–61 authors and illustrators took part in the children’s book festival in beautiful Warwick, New York on Saturday, October 7th, including yours truly.  After spending the night at the idyllic Warwick Village Bed & Breakfast (which reminded me a little of the Dragon Fly Inn from Gilmore Girls), I met up with my fellow authors at the Railroad Green in the center of town where we were greeted with swag bags, balloons, live music, snacks galore (apple cider doughnuts!) and a huge crowd of enthusiastic readers.

Such much going on! A finger-puppet making station? Even doggy volunteers eager to be read aloud to by reluctant readers.

 

And what a delight meeting renowned children’s book author Jane Yolen (who penned nearly 300 books–yikes!) and her author-daughter Heidi Stemple. Great writing genes in that family! We actually met during breakfast at the B&B and within seconds we were all three laughing our heads off. My kind of peeps.

 

Here we are at the festival looking appropriately amiable and authorly…

And here we are when a fly the size of the Hindenburg decided to photo-bomb us…

I’m summoning a volunteer with a  flyswatter to come help. (Many thanks to the many volunteers in the green T-shirts, by the way, who were super helpful–even going so far as to recharge my cell phone.)

Couldn’t leave town without a visit to Ye Olde Warwick Book Shoppe, which is just as charming as it sounds. I love things that start with “Ye Olde”…except maybe Ye Olde Sushi Shoppe.

 

Bye bye, Warwick…until next time. Back to ye olde Times Square!

Warwick Children’s Book Festival

The Inside Story on the “Inside Story” at Bank Street Books

The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators sponsored a nationwide event called “The Inside Story” and I was lucky enough to be part of it at the Bank Street Bookstore on the Upper Westside of Manhattan on Saturday…

The middle initial “J” is VERY popular amongst writers.

Here I am “waiting in the wings” next to Paula J. Freedman, author of My Basmati Bat Mitzvah (note her middle initial). She’s a fun lady who used to work with my friend Linda at Scholastic, who was in the audience beaming and snapping these pix with her phone. The lovely redheaded woman (Mackenzie) was timing our presentations on her tablet. It was kinda like the Quick-Fire Challenge on “Top Chef”–only with words instead of prawns.

Now Paula is doing her thing while I munch away on popcorn. Not really. I was sucking on a Ricola cough drop. Just getting over a cold. (sniff-sniff) Hey, how’d I end up going last anyway?

My turn! (My backup dancers didn’t show.) I blabbed on and on about how it was a mystery that I wound up writing a mystery. (I still think it’s weird to be able to see faces in the audience. When I used to perform in musicals, the audience was always just a giant dark blob.) Suddenly I realized I was finished because I heard cheers and WILD applause. Well–polite clapping. Hands up, utensils down!

One of my official photographs taken by the ever-patient Primwatee Groover. We had the hardest time getting a squintless shot. Every time I smiled, my eyeballs disappeared! She’d say, “Okay, I think we finally got a good one this time…eh, nope.” I couldn’t help laughing my shiny round head off.

Then there was mingling, and book signing, and chocolate chip cookie eating, and since it’s nearly impossible to walk out of a bookstore empty-handed, I wound up buying a copy of Maryann MacDonald’s Odette’s Secrets (we share the same agent!) and Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. (He’s a hoot and a really nice guy.) So, THANKS AGAIN, Bank Street Bookstore and SCBWI! Until next time…

MAD About MADHATTAN Tour Stop #3: Central Park Carousel

Continuing the MAD About MADHATTAN tour of the coolest spots in New York City that are featured in my middle-grade novel, MADHATTAN MYSTERY, let’s go to Central Park and ride some horses! Like Lexi McGill, you might be thinking, “But don’t we need special boots and an insurance policy?” Nooo. Not those kind of horses.

The Central Park Carousel is one of the largest in America with 57 hand-carved painted horses. It was originally created for Coney Island in 1908 by the Brooklyn carousel makers Stein and Goldstein. Over 250,000 people ride the carousel each year and at $2.50 a pop who could resist? Did you know that there were several carousels in Central Park that came before this one? The very first was in 1870 and was turned by a crank (and probably a very cranky crank operator). The second, in 1873, was turned by a horse (which is really sad—especially since it’s said to have been a blind horse hidden under the platform. Good grief.) In 1924 a humane mechanical version came along but it burned down, as did the next one in 1950. (I’m thinking the horse did it.) The Central Park Carousel is pretty spectacular but it’s not the only carousel in Manhattan.

Right next to the New York Public Library on the southernmost side of Bryant Park sits Le Carrousel, a scrumptious little French carousel. Consisting of fourteen colorful animals, it was specially created to complement the park’s French classical style. At two bucks a ride, grab your child and a chocolate croissant and hop aboard this confection of a carousel. You’ll instantly be transported to Paris as you revolve to the sound of French cabaret music. Très magnifique!

Then there’s the new Pier 62 Carousel in Riverside Park, next to Chelsea Piers, the humongous sports complex located along the Hudson. This modern industrial-ish looking carousel opened in May 2010 and features 33 animals indigenous to the Hudson River Valley. There’s a turtle, a turkey, a seahorse, a raccoon, a unicorn… (Wait, I’ve never seen a unicorn galloping along the Hudson. While I was a awake, anyway.) No matter. This carousel is definitely worth checking out. Where else can you ride a fish wearing a saddle?

Anyway, circling back to the oldest carousel of the three and the most famous, the Central Park Carousel, here’s an excerpt from MADHATTAN MYSTERY…

“This goes a lot faster than your average carousel,” Kim Ling had to go and say when they met up with her at the ticket booth. “A lot faster. And no brass ring. That’s ’cause they don’t want kids reaching for it and busting chins.”

“What?” Kevin turned that greenish shade again. “I don’t know about this, Lex.”

“C’mon, Kev, it’ll be fun.”

“Geez, man up!” Kim Ling said to him, handing three ticket to the ticket-taker. “It’s not like it’s a mechanical bull—it’s a baby ride.”

That remark got Kevin unstuck somehow and he followed the girls onto the carousel platform with the enthusiasm of someone boarding the Titanic II.

“That’s what they said about the Haunted Mansion ride at Kingsley Park,” Lexi whispered to Kim Ling. She helped Kevin onto the smiliest horse with the shiniest gold mane and just as she was about to mount the one next to it, a boy in a plastic fireman hat beat her to it. “Shoot. Are you going to be okay by yourself, Kev, or should I—?”

“Just go already,” he said, wrapping his arms around the shiny pole.

“I’ll be on this one right in front of you. Hold on tight.”

A rinky-dink rendition of “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” began playing loudly and Lexi quickly hopped onto the horse Kim Ling was saving for her. As soon as the carousel came to life, Kim Ling leaned over to her and shouted, “So, what’s the scoop?”

“Shhh! Kevin fell off a ride. He was around five. Split his head open.”

“No way.”

“Way. They had to shut it down and everything.”

_______________________________________________________

That’s it for now. Thanks for joining me on this Carousel-ebration through Manhattan!

 

“MAD about MADhattan” tour stops at Grand Central Station

 In anticipation of the May 2012 release of my middle-grade novel, MADHATTAN MYSTERY, I’m taking you all on a virtual tour of the many spectacular Big Apple sites that pop up in the book. So, grab your camera and a light snack, hop on the tour bus and LET’S GO!

HAPPY SPRING! Blossoms are popping up everywhere you turn in New York City and tourists are arriving in droves once again. One of the major New York portals that’s always buzzing with excitement is the famous Grand Central Station on 42^nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Actually, its proper name is Grand Central Terminal since it’s a final destination as opposed to just a stop along the way, but most folks call it Grand Central Station regardless. Not simply a transit hub, this 48-acre site is reportedly the world’s sixth most visited tourist attraction boasting approximately 21,600,000 visitors annually. There’s just so much to take in! First off, there’s the jaw-dropping ceiling of twinkling stars and zodiac symbols. In 1998, after a 12-year restoration of the train terminal, it was returned to its original glory. At Christmastime, just look up and you might catch a laser light show dancing across the ceiling timed to your favorite holiday music.

But don’t stop there. Venture on through and you’ll find a variety of shops, bookstores, banks, special exhibits, the Grand Central Market, the New York Transit Museum, and an entire dining concourse ready to please any hankering you’ve got.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dare to venture even further and you may discover secret places—like the unmarked “Whispering Gallery” just outside the Oyster Bar & Restaurant. Because of a series of arches in the hallway, the acoustics are great, and a gentle whisper in one corner can be heard in the opposite corner as clear as a bell. That’s what sets the heroine of my novel, Lexi McGill, off on the craziest adventure of her life. It all starts with a whisper she was never supposed to hear.

Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 1 of MADHATTAN MYSTERY.

Lexi swept her sweaty curls up the back of her neck and leaned into her corner to give the Whispering Gallery a try. “Hellooo,” she sang like a bashful ghost. “How are yooou?”

Kevin squealed. “I heard that!” he cried out over his shoulder, then turned back to the wall. “Testing, testing. Do you read me?”

“Totally!” She heard him as clearly as if he were standing right in front of her. “How amazing is this?”

“Okay, listen,” Kevin said, dropping his voice an octave, “I have top-secret information for agent Alexandra McGill. But first you must prove that you’re really you—her. Over.”

“Huh? Oh. I am prrrepared to answer any and all qvestions,” Lexi replied in her best Russian accent, holding in her laugh. “please to prrroceed.”

“Only the real Alexandra McGill would know her home address. Over.”

“Wait, that’s not true, but—okay, it’s tree-tventy-tree Barrett Pond Rrrroad. Cold Spring, New York, von-o-five-von-six.”

“Roger that. Only the real Alexandra McGill would know—her favorite color. Over.”

“Pink. Pale, not hot.”

“Only the real—”

“Just get on with it already, bonehead!”

“I’m thinking.” Kevin cleared his throat. “Your mission, Miss McGill, should-a you choose-a to accept,” he said in an even goofier accent than Lexi’s, “is to carry out the original plan—you know, as planned, but—oh, never mind, there’s Aunt Roz! Abort. Abort.”

For more info on Grand Central go to www.grandcentralterminal.com. And be sure to come back to check out Mad About Madhattan Tour Stop #3: The Central Park Carousel.