Betty Birney’s Blog

Another year, another birthday, another Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

My signings were on Saturday … my birthday on Sunday … my postponed birthday dinner was last night. This year’s FOB was special because my sister-in-law Jane is visiting from Massachusetts and is a devoted bookophile and former bookstore owner.  It was also special because my granddaughter and fellow booklover Remy (almost 4) came for the very first time!

I started off signing at the Whale of a Tale bookstore booth, which hosted the Penguin authors. I was paired with Ingrid Law, (above) author of one of this year’s Newbery Honor Book, Savvy, which I can’t wait to read. I don’t like the photo but I like Ingrid … and she’ll be on the faculty of this summer’s SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) as will I!!

Remy and me

Judy Shachner and Remy (Remy loves Skippyjon Jones ... just not the camera!)

Due to a wonderful serendipity, following our signing was Judy Schachner (Skippyjon Jones – yea!!!!), whom I met in late 2007 and with whom I shared a mind-bending and memorable flight from Yakima, WA to Seattle.  I think we are bonded for life thanks to that flight and it was great to see her again. I had a second signing with Ed Decter, screenplay writer extraordinaire and middle grade and YA author fantastico.

I also got to schmooze with writer friends Lisa Yee, Julia DeVillers, Michael Reisman and got to meet the awesome illustrator Jarrett Krocosczka and family who, it turns out, live fairly close to sister-in-law Jane.

Julia DeVillers, caught mid-Twitter

The family (husband Frank, sister-in-law Jane, daughter Rebecca, granddaughter Remy) segued to Kate Mantilini’s in Bev Hills for dinner, minus son-in-law Gary who was ailing with the flu but NOT the swine flu. We missed him but soldiered on without him.

However, my birthday took a sad turn when our next door neighbor, Donald Specht, passed away early Sunday morning. Don was a jazz musician and composer as well as a writer and he will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to his wife, Mary, our dear, dear friend. In addition to writing a kabillion arrangements and commercial jingles, Don once penned The Betty Song, for which I am eternally grateful. And there was also Tropical Nights at the Birneys (a tango).   I will share soon.

 Last year with Michael Reisman (Simon Bloom, Gravity Keeper)

It’s time for the L.A. Times Festival of Books this weekend - always a great time! I’ll be signing there on Saturday, April 25 on the UCLA campus at:

11:30-12:30 – Whale of a Tale Bookstore booth #816

2:00-3:00 – CM School Supplies booth #839

It’s free, there’s a wonderful crowd of booklovers and stage shows, etc., so do come and meet me!

Here’s the link: http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/

I’m still in DePere, WI where it might SNOW today while it’s in the 90s in L.A. I’ll catch up blogging about my great trip soon!

Library hamster Dewey

S.S. Golden Hamster from Adventure According to Humphrey

I’ve been GONE-GONE-GONE from this blog for a while now. My trip to Omaha was too busy, too whirlwind (and too tiring), for me to keep up. Now I’m in DePere, WI (outside Green Bay) for a couple of days of Sassafras presentations.

The week  started at Prairie Wind Elementary (great name) with media specialist Annette Luedtke. I got a warm prairie welcome there and the next day moved on to Picotte Elementary, thanks to an invitation from Kathy Day. I saw a great video of kids and last year’s hilarious hamster races and met some of the school hamsters. Last year, they decided to get a hamster for the school, thanks to THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY, which won the Nebraska Golden Sower Award. That hamster gave birth to 8 hamsters the very next day. Now those hamsters are in various classrooms and students’ homes and I have to say, they were among the friendliest and easiest to handle hamsters I’ve known.  Of course, like Humphrey, they do occasionally doze off during the day.

Can you find the napping hamsters?

The next day, I was at St. Vincent de Paul School where I didn’t meet any hamsters but I ran into a very sweet dog named Sierra! Oh, and some GREAT-GREAT- GREAT kids, thanks to media specialist Carol Nish. At St. Wenceslaus School on Thursday, I had another eventful day (once media specialist Mary Stratman calmly “talked me in”  – Mapquest failed me). Lots of Humphrey fun as well as an interesting script writing session with 7th and 8th graders. On Friday, I was at Montclair Elementary School where, after my heart recovered from a tech problem with my own projector, I had a rollicking day with the avid Humphrey fans there and had a great time with reading specialist Ellen Miller and the friendly staff there. Thanks to all the helpful and supportive Omahans who made my visit there so easy.

As if I hadn’t signed enough books already, I finished the week at the Bookworm in Omaha, a great independent bookstore, thanks to Ellen Scott and some intrepid fans who braved a rainy Saturday morning. Okay, it was Omaha so they’re used to rain. (At home in L.A. everybody pretty much stays inside when it rains, which is a good thing because those who venture out go insane and completely forget how to drive. Sort of like bumper cars.)

And now, I’m in beautiful DePere on a not-so-beautiful day and a busy schedule at Foxview starting tomorrow and a signing at the Butterfly Bookstore tomorrow night (Monday) at 6!

Next … a very special evening in Omaha.

I have been so very quiet lately … and that means I’m writing on an undisclosed manuscript. I don’t have any idea how it will turn out but I’ve made some progress.

I am a social person who loves to get together with friends, loves to talk BUT I need lots of space and lots of quiet to write. You can’t write and talk at the same time – a point I tried to make recently to a group of rowdy kids in a writer’s workshop.

I leave Sunday – Easter – for Omaha for a full week and then on to DePere, WI. The trip was booked so long ago, I didn’t realize I was leaving on Easter. (Last year, the same thing happened with Mother’s Day.) Hopefully, I’ll have some quiet time on the road.

Check out my schedule under School Visits on my website for book signings in Omaha and DePere.

And now … back to work!