And the winner is ...

The winner of the original artwork draw is ... Kim Ardelian! If you see this post before I message you, please send me your address for mailing, in an email. Congratulations and I will be doing more giveaways in the future.


We are deep in winter in Maine. The snow is sparkling and we hit the minus' this week, the only way is UP. I have a little pot of spring bulbs on my mantel and the green spikes sticking through give a hopeful promise of spring. It's a nice thought. But at the moment it's about keeping warm and the pipes unfrozen, the horses fed and gathering with friends in cozy kitchens for laughter and games.


I finished my showcase piece for SCBWI Winter Conference (Yeah!) Here it is ... it's the most complicated piece I have worked on in a long time and I had a good time. I hope it shows. Let me know what you think:

Wish me luck! I'll be leaving on the 27th Jan ... and if you are going to be in NY too let's have a drink!

Just about ready to start on the Charlesbridge book ...yeah! I got a peek at the M/S.So I have a little breathing space. I've been thinking alot about my MG adventure novel. Perhaps I will get my writing head on and press on with it this week. It's been a long time since I visited it.

Also thank you to everyone utilizing the 'KID'S CORNER PAGE' on my blog; it's success has been amazing, the pages are getting lots of hits!


For now - back to the drawing board ...


Hazel
aka
The Wacky Brit


On the bedside table this week:
HOOKED - Les Edgerton (I am so enjoying this! A great book about Novel beginnings.)
MIRROR - Jeannie Baker 
INTERRUPTING CHICKEN - David Ezra Stein

Original 'Art work Giveaway' held over for another week!

Yes, there's still time to enter for the art work giveaway ... join the blog and leave a comment (or just a new comment if you are already one of the rogues gallery) and the pencil original below called 'Running Home' will be yours :-)

The storm is raging right now. The house is creaking, wind gusting down the chimney. It's 'reeght' wild.I'm cloistered in the studio, fire burning, dogs snuggled up on the sofa and bread baking in the stove ... ah the idyllic life of the home worker. Yeah, it's days like this your glad you don't have to battle with the weather.

I've been working on my piece for the SCBWI Winter Conference Art Showcase. It's taken me a huge amount of time, so it's a good job nothing urgent has plunked into my inbox. I've had a lot of fun with it ... here's a teaser .. I'll be posting the whole painting, but not until after the conference come end of January.

I am looking forward to going down to the 'smoke' and being in the city again. This year I'm going visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art the day before the conference and can't wait. The conference is going to be a riot, I feel I know so many people who are going this year, there will be chat, stories, laughs and BEER. (and martinis) Last year I was a newbie ... what a lot has happened in a year!

This week I received the crit I won in a prize draw with Senior Editor at Arthur A. Levine, Cheryl Klein (aka Harry Potter!!). I sent her the PB about a girl and her horse. It was a pretty awesome crit, some lovely comments on my artwork - but some strong advice too. The crit was three pages long. Thanks Cheryl! I feel honoured to have you spend so much time looking at this dummy. So I am digesting it and then will see what I will do.

Also on HORSE, some news ... I submitted to several agents before Christmas and one of them got back to me. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, as the agent wants just to submit this one book at present to a new imprint that deals with horses. At first I was a little unsure ... but what have I got to lose? So I figure we will wait and see how it goes in it's present form and then move forward. If they don't bite I can incorporate some of the changes Cheryl suggested.

Seems this time of year many illustrators and authors are considering which project they want to concentrate on (if they are not on a deadline/s already) and it can burn a lot of people out. I for one have post it notes around my window frame and I shift the priorities around. Which one will it be next? They wait with baited breath.

That's it for now. I smell the delicious crusty smell floating up the stairs, so I am off to have some scrummy melting, buttery, naughtiness ..... ;-)

DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT FOR THE COMPETITION!

AND congrats to Caldecott and Newbury medal winners, announced at ALA this week. I will be off to the library to seek them out.

ta ta
Hazel
aka
The Wacky Brit.

On the bedside table this week:

'April and Esme - Tooth Fairies' - Bob Graham
'I Know Here'- Laurel Croza/Matt James
'Me and You' - Anthony Browne
'The Village Garage' - G. Brian Karas
'Nini Lost and Found' - Anita Lobel

KID'S CORNER COLOURING PAGE - A CRAZY DAY

Every week I post a colouring/activity page for you to print out and give to children - yours, someone else's or to use in a school or library. All I ask is that it is not used for commercial purposes.

Simply click on the image below and print  for your children to colour.

Don't forget to follow my blog so you will receive the latest Kid's Page on a weekly basis.

Hazel