Betty Birney’s Blog

I bought this tiara for myself in celebration of the book’s publication!

Zounds! It’s taken awhile but Princess Egg is about to meet the world this week when THE PRINCESS AND THE PEABODYS is published by HarperCollins. I just hope the world is ready for her!

I’m particularly proud of the new Princess page on this website. By now, you’ve seen the animated cheerleading princess on my home page. Click on the book title and you’ll see a brand new web page with a knock-out design.

On all my pages, if you run your cursor over the icons, they change. On this page, they are brand new and you have to see my dog Desi’s new outfit! Woof!

Then, you can read excerpts, learn some tiara trivia and send a free e-card to your friends. I’ve been sending them out all day. Please don’t forget to take the quiz to find out if you’re a Princess or a Peabody… or something in between. It’s a kick! But whew - hard for me to write and score and much, much harder to execute.

I have to thank my impressively talented stepdaughter, graphic designer Rebecca Frank for the inspiration. Over a tasty lunch at Kate Mantilini’s in Beverly Hills one day, she came up with these great ideas. They were executed - brilliantly - by my other stepdaughter, Anna Birney Ross in Minneapolis. She’s a website designer and a fine, fine artist. Her husband, Toby, partnered with her technically and creatively. Thanks, Toby and Anna! Their company is ineye.com. Becca’s is starfuzz.com. (The whole family including son, Walshe, sons-in-law Gary and Toby, and granddaughter Remy, will be together this week to celebrate my husband’s birthday!)

Who is this book for? Well, it’s pink and features a princess, so the boys will love it! Okay, okay, it’s for girls 10 and up. The protagonists are 14 and there is very light romance in it - totally clean and wholesome and fine for young girls. Most of all, it’s FUNNY. And heartwarming, too, I hope. You can get the flavor by reading the excerpts on the webpage.

And if you’re not a princess-type - take heart! The story is told by Casey Peabody, who is a lot more like Mia Hamm than Cinderella. Princesses rule … and so do soccer-players! Last week Mia Hamm was named to the National Soccer Hall of Fame. And earlier this year, she gave birth to twin girls. Her husband is Los Angeles Dodgers third base man Norman Garciaparra … did I mention Casey loves baseball, too?

 The Princess would probably love this truck!

In my last post, I talked about the types of research I did in preparation for THE PRINCESS AND THE PEABODYS - which will be published Sept. 1 - pretty exciting!!!

This week, I put away my tiara and pom-poms to learn more about TRUCKS! Thanks to the internet, there’s a lot more to research than looking things up in the encyclopedia. Now you can connect one on one with people. I googled around for a while trying to figure out what kind of old truck I want my characters to repair in a manuscript I’m working on. Then, I had a brainstorm. Though I know nothing about cars except how to drive one, I enjoy listening to NPR’s Car Talk with those crazy brothers, Tom and Ray. I remembered that they have a website. So I went on their chat room and spelled out my plight. Within minutes, a number of very generous truck lovers got online to help me out. I am now reading a recommended book, TRUCK: On Rebuilding a Worn-Out Pickup and Other Post-Technological Adventures by John Jerome. This is definitely not the kind of book I’d normally read, but what I love about writing is all the places my work takes me, at least in my head. Actually, it looks interesting … kind of like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which is a classic. And I’d forgotten about that book until I picked up TRUCK. I may have to reread Zen again.

As you can tell by the books I’ve written, I like variety. As much as I love writing the Humphrey books, I wouldn’t want to write them exclusively. So in between, I’ve traveled to Sassafras Springs, MO in search of wonders and to Pine Glen, CA where a medieval princess meets the modern world to… well, I don’t talk about books in progress.

I’m just so grateful that nice truck-repairing men (maybe women, too) answered the plea of a children’s book author - people are pretty darn nice.

Here’s the link to the Car Talk site, in case you have any vehicles in need of repair! http://cartalk.com/

… unless you like to do research. Which I do. And lucky for me, research is a lot easier now than it used to be, thanks to the internet. On a daily basis, I can locate information I could have never accessed years ago, without leaving my office. (That’s my window in the picture. I’m sitting on the other side of it right now.)

Writers don’t just do research for historical novels. Writers research everything.

For the Humphrey books, for example, I researched such diverse subjects as hamster care and behavior, frogs, elementary curriculum and lesson plans, bulletin board suggestions, classroom pets, and most recently, how to build a model sailboat. For Surprises According to Humphrey, coming out in February, I spent a lot of time looking at hamster balls.

Much of the research for The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs came from my own brain, where I had stored away Grandma Mohrmann’s tales of growing up in Lonedell, Missouri. But I also double-checked farm life in the 20s, how a musical saw is played, how an applehead doll is made, plagues of grasshoppers, clothespin dolls, general stores, rainmakers - a lot!

Even the cowboy fantasy, Tyrannosaurus Tex, led me to a museum to look at a real chuck wagon.

But the most interesting hodge-podge of research I’ve done is for The Princess and the Peabodys, coming out September 1. (This is a funny book with touches of magic and romance for girls 10 and up …. basically if you like High School Musical, you’ll like this book.) A modern fantasy about an arrogant medieval princess who gets warped into a nice American family, the book traces the Princess’ comical adjustment to the modern world and contemporary school life. Let’s just say, she does it on her own terms.

When I started, I didn’t know much about soccer or cheerleading, but I so loved the idea of a soccer-playing girl having to room with a genuine princess, I was happy to dig in and do the work. For this book, I researched:

Soccer (particularly girls’ soccer) - which is an important element in the book. Girls’ soccer didn’t even exist when I was growing up - which is too bad because it’s a great sport! And now that David Beckham and wife (former Spice Girl) have moved to L.A., soccer has been front and center in our local news.

Cheerleading - I actually made it to the finals of my junior high tryouts - but I wouldn’t want to attempt to do a split today. By the way, cheerleading has gotten a lot more challenging than it used to be.

French - Because there’s some French in it. I don’t know much French but the Princess does.

The Lady of Shalott - a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, which I read in junior high and referred to in the book.

Medieval life, clothes, castles, wizardry - the story takes place in present time, but I had to do light research on these subjects - which was great fun.

What have I googled as I write today? Superheroes, outsider art, some really cute shoes (oops, that was personal, not for work), and I’m about to try to find out how to fix up an old truck. That’s definitely new territory for me … but the book I’m working on requires it. I’m going to have to check out horses and ranching, too.

Writing has definitely made me a more well-rounded, well-informed person. Thanks to the internet and my own extensive library, I don’t have to leave my wonderful office and its wonderful air conditioning during this very hot August!

 Here’s Bob again, just because it was a great day for him!

What a day! I was still reminding everybody that my friend Bob was going to be on the CBS Evening News today when my friend, Cynthia, let me know that here in the Pacific Time Zone, the news was going to be on at 3:30 because of an NFL game. (It’s still summer - right?) Weird things happen in this time zone, especially when it come to award shows and football games - live events. Anyway, I saw it and it was great! It’s now on the CBS News website but a little hard to find.

 http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3156955n&channel=eveningnews

The above is the link to the videos.  They rotate the videos, so the first time I looked, there was Bob’s story. The next time, it was a story about vodka that did not involve anyone I know. So look for the tab that says “Top Videos.” You’ll get a list with photos and Bob’s is labeled: “First Look - Assignment America.” It’s just a couple of minutes long.

By the way, Katie Couric really did like Jovan’s artwork - hope she buys a couple of paintings.

I don’t think this story is finished yet!

Please note: because so many of my readers are quite young, I have disabled the comments so nothing inappropriate slips in. However, I’d love to have your comments (and share them). You can email me through the website. Just hit the Contact link.

This Friday, August 10, a the end of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, there will be a segment on my high school pal, Bob Hansman, and his son, Jovan. There was a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch early last week, followed by contact from CBS. Last Friday on the news, they “pitched” three ideas for stories and asked viewers to go online and vote for the story they wanted to see. Right before the show, I said to my husband, “Bob will probably win … unless he’s up against a puppy story.” He was up against a story about a little old lady and a story about puppies. But Bob’s legions of friends, fans and students (he’s a professor of architecture at Washington University) got online, as I’m sure tons of others did, and the story won. And it deserved to win.

Here’s the link to the article and a great picture of Bob and Jovan. You really do want to read this.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/B9EECECD17C7AE4E862573280011B8E8?OpenDocument

Bob and I were friends in junior high, high school and college. I was drawn by Bob’s quick wit and amazing artistic ability. He also played several parts - brilliantly - in a production of Spoon River I directed - and designed an awesome program (watch this spot to see that in the future). He became something of a hero when he sneaked some subversive drawings into the high school yearbook. But as things go, we drifted apart. I reconnected with him at a high school reunion in 2005 and this time, we’ve stayed in touch. And when I was inducted into my high school Hall of Fame last year, I chose Bob to introduce me. He had been inducted the previous year (the first year) and was introduced by Jovan. I wish I’d been there for that speech because I’ve heard so much about it.

Here we are …. back in high school (dig that corsage)!

This whole flurry of coverage is providing terrific publicity for Bob and Jovan’s work in the Peabody public housing complex and their Faces in the Loop Gallery (in the Delmar Loop for those of you who know St. Louis) … and a couple of local bookstores are now collecting donations to replace the children’s books that were recently stolen during a break-in at the studio at Peabody. Read the story, watch the piece on CBS - it’s as good as any book you’ll pick up this week!

We saw WICKED at the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Boulevard on Sunday and it was wickedly wonderful! For those who may not know, it’s the smash Broadway musical, now playing in L.A. I think it will be here quite a while - I could tell that many in the sold out audience had seen it several times before. It’s based on the book by Gregory Maguire which takes THE WIZARD OF OZ and provides it with a great backstory that shows the Wicked Witch of the West was terribly misunderstood! The two characters of the not-so-wicked Elphaba and the goody-goody Glinda who is not quite so perfect, make a perfect pair. Great music, great sets, flying monkeys, delicious dialogue, strong story line that has you pulling for both witches, a delightful Carol Kane as Madame Morrible - the time flew by. I was wishing I had a 9-15 year old with me. It’s not appropriate for younger children (could be scary and just a little long) but perfect for 8 on up. The young people in the audience were clearly delighted - as I was, too!

HOLLYWOOD BOWLING - Last night we were at the Hollywood Bowl with daughter and son-in-law. They had box tickets from a friend (you can’t buy them - the season tickets are passed on generation to generation) and it was a great box - dead center. A beautiful night. You don’t go to the Hollywood Bowl just to see and hear music performed. You also go to eat. If you have a box, as we did, you bring picnics (some quite elaborate), wine, cloth napkins, even flowers. There’s a whole summer business of upscale restaurants selling Bowl baskets. Daughter and son-in-law brought those. I was assigned to bring wine and fruit. I forgot the fruit - it’s still in the fridge - but had tucked in some chocolate. Not to worry, it was great. They have little tables they hang on the sides of the box while you eat. Then right before the concert, they remove the tables, you turn your chairs around and voila - a concert.

But even if you don’t have a box, it’s still great to go to the Bowl. Most everyone else brings a picnic and there are a number of picnic areas They also have concession stands that sell food from hot dogs to upscale gourmet food. The only hassle is getting there and maneuvering the crowds - almost 11,000 last night. We went to a parking lot near us and took the bus to the Bowl - a popular choice. That’s easy and you don’t have as far to walk when you get there. The problem is waiting for the busses going back - but it’s okay. Otherwise you’re sitting on the lot, waiting for the cars around you to move so you can get out. Luckily, everybody comes with that great relaxed L.A. attitude - and why not? The summer sky and cool breezes last night were intoxicating and this time, I really did need a sweater.

The program was all-American: Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story), Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, narrated by American man of letters Gore Vidal,and George Gershwin’s An American in Paris. I especially enjoyed seeing Michael Tilson Thomas, of the San Francisco Symphony, conduct. He has not been at the Bowl for 22 years and he’s great fun to watch.

Over the years I’ve seen numerous fireworks displays (1812 Overture, Evening in Italy, etc.), Luciano Pavarotti in his prime, Garrison Keillor, Cleo Laine, Carlos Santana and Andre Watts, to name a few. And that’s Bowling, Hollywood-style.

READING RECOMMENDATIONS: If you love The Wizard of Oz movie (and who doesn’t), but never read the book, try picking up the original WIZARD OF OZ by Frank L. Baum. It’s a bit rambling with a number of adventures not in the film. Despite a lot of problems in filming, they did a great job with the movie and the really wicked Margaret Hamilton still can’t be beat! “I’ll get you and your little dog, too!” When you read the book, you can see what a screenwriter adapting a book has to deal with to shape a two hour movie out of an episodic story. By the way, I haven’t read WICKED, sorry to say, but I think it’s a little more “adult” than the musical. I wonder what Frank L. Baum would think about the afterlife of his wonderful creation!