Betty Birney’s Blog

Humphrey’s friend, Bobbi!

Awesome author and fellow LAYA Paula Yoo just blogged a SCARY-SCARY-SCARY story about her intrepid hamster, Bobbi, who recently interviewed me. (Bobbi’s a good writer, too. So is Paula’s cat, Oreo, who is writing a novel!)

Bobbi experienced a rather dramatic experience at the vet’s office this week. I have to tell you it has a happy ending or you’d be chewing your paws in suspense. All I can say to Bobbi is: keep on spinning that wheel! Whew!

In two weeks, I’ll be meeting another hamster – Smudge – who lives in Surrey, UK. She had an unsqueakably scary experience last weekend but I’ll tell you more about it when I get to hear her side of the story!

As Richard Peck said at the SCBWI conference week before last, “friend … is not a verb.” I agree. But I took the plunge anyway and put myself on Facebook as another way to communicate with friends and fans. So check me out, friend me – “friend” will be a verb in the dictionary very soon I predict. (But I only wish everyone could have heard Richard’s moving speech.)

The conference is behind me and right in front of me is a month-long trip to NY/UK/NY. Everything’s in place – a mixture of pleasure and book promotion (which is pleasure) and time with the wonderful people at my UK publisher, Faber & Faber. If you haven’t checked out their Humphrey website, please go to http://funwithhumphrey.com/. There’s a brand new Humphrey story in the Hamster Zone.

We’ll have two different chances to see our faraway son Walshe in NY, nephew/niece Michael and Claire in Glen Ridge, NJ, great-nieces Rita and Josie, my agent, Nancy Gallt and her new agent Marietta Zacker whom I met at SCBWI, Humphrey editor Susan Kochan, Humphrey paperback editor Jen Bonnell, wonderful friends Betty and Alex, and cousin Reed Birney in a play – he works all the time in NY and it will be treat to see him onstage at Playwrights Horizon in Circle Mirror Transformation.

Oh, and I also have a bit o’writing to do!

I had a very relaxing day on Sunday (unusual for me=relaxing). Granddaughter Remy and her parents Rebecca and Gary came over and we pulled the table out under the trees, had a Mediterranean feast (Greek food is my favorite) and talked ourselves silly.

Remy pulled out her usual collection of toys, including Humphrey and Og puppets,  and also did a LOT of drawing. I particularly like her drawing of – well you can guess who it is (above). There are books about him. He has a cage with a lock-that-doesn’t-lock. He lives in Room 26 of Longfellow School. Okay, enough with the hints.

I’ll put up my schedule for London, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Bath very soon. We’re also looking forward to time in Surrey with friends Min (and Johnny and Suzy), and Wendy and Roger. But I must say a month-long trip takes a lot of planning as far as clothes.

(Take a deep breath, Betty.)

Me at the Faculty Party

I may have only been staying 20 minutes from home, but for my five days at the SCBWI Conference in Century City, I might as well have been on another planet – all populated by people who are passionate about children’s books! It’s a lovely place to live, at least for a little while.

Thursday night’s faculty party got things rolling and it was fun to hang out with Marietta Zacker, from the Nancy Gallt Literary Agency (Nancy is my wonderful agent), Michael Reisman and April Halprin Wayland, also clients. And there were new people to meet and a chance to rub elbows with the likes of Linda Sue Park and Richard Peck.

There were too many highlights to mention them all. Sherman Alexie (The Absolutely True Confessions of a Part-Time Indian), started the conference with a hilarious and heart-rending speech. Now that’s hard to pull off. Knowing I was giving the closing keynote of the day, I was about ready to turn tail and go home. But first, I had to present a workshop on School Visits – a difficult subject and I had a lot of information to cram into an hour.

Humphrey and Me on the big stage

Late that afternoon, with great trepidation, I stepped onto the giant stage in a humonguous ballroom with an audience of hundreds and hundreds and one of those 20 foot screens behind me. SCBWI President and co-founder, Lin Oliver, gave me just the kind of introduction I needed to present a lighthearted look at creating a humorous series. Once I started talking, all fears melted because (as any speaker at this conference will tell you), the conference attendees make the most generous and responsive audience a person could dream of. With their support, we all had fun, I think – and I could relax a little for the first time in many days!

There was a wine and cheese reception where published authors and illustrated displayed their work (and I stood in two different lines for cheese but somehow never got any) and then Marietta, Michael, April and Scott Bly -whose first book comes out in 2010 – walked over to the nearby food court for sustenance and fun.

More highlights to come (including the amazing Blue Moon Ball)  ….. but let me just say if you want to write children’s books, are trying to write children’s books or already write children’s books, come to an SCBWI Conference. Your creative spirit will thank you!

I’m leaving home for five days and going to the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) annual conference! I’m going all the way from my house in Studio City to the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City – it should take me about 20-25 minutes to get there! It seems odd to be packing my bags when I’ll be so close to home but these conferences are jammed pack with events and it will be nice to have a place to put up my feet, work on my presentations … and I can have a glass of wine at the parties and dinners because I’m not driving!

I’ll be giving the School Visit workshop tomorrow at 11:45 … then a keynote on Committing Serial Fiction with a Smile at 4:30.

Tonight – it’s party time for the faculty which includes, agents, editors, all kinds of experts and, in no particular order, Richard Peck, Sherman Alexie, Linda Sue Park, Ingrid Law, Holly Black, Dan Yaccarino, Karen Cushman,  Kathleen Duey, Ellen Hopkins, Marla Frazee to name a few…. the mind reels!

I’m going to try really hard to blog every day (emphasis on try).

Who says Los Angeles doesn’t have seasons?
In addition to four seasons (earthquake, mud, fire, flood), we also have spider season.

I love to see the huge, elaborate webs they spin at this time of year.

I hate where they spin them. There’s one every morning across the opening in the hedge which I must break to go out and get the paper. It doesn’t hurt the spider – there’s a new web in the same spot the following morning. (And consistently, year after year.) They love to build around our patio and the one above is just outside my office – happily, I could walk around that one.

The worst part is when you accidentally walk through one without seeing it and the whole thing ends up in your hair. Icky!

But … those webs are definitely works of art.

Charlotte lives!