Betty Birney’s Blog

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.)

Last night, Amy Goldman Koss (The Girls) hosted an awesome farewell party for Kerry Madden (Harper Lee) who is leaving L.A. to teach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It’s a wonderful opportunity for Kerry, who is a born teacher as well as writer, and a great boon for Birmingham,  but we’ll definitely miss her smiling face at our LAYA events. (She’ll come back to L.A. as her family is temporarily divided.)

Kerry and me at Mrs. Nelson's

Lisa Yee and Kerry Madden at Kerry's signing at Skylight Books earlier this year.

I took my camera and then proceeded to have such a good time, I didn’t take any pictures of the folks my husband Frank and I hung out with: Kerry’s husband, Kiffen,  Lisa Yee (Absolutely Maybe) and her husband Scott, Michael Reisman (Simon Bloom, Gravity Keeper), computer guy Scott Bly (YA book coming out soon), Sally Nemeth (The Heights, The Depths and Everything in Between), or fellow “starter LAYA”  and future bride, Eileen Rosenbloom (Stuck Down).

Above is a picture of Kerry and me at a signing about 4 or 5 years ago. Goodness, we both look so much better now! Funny how that happens. We’ve signed together a couple of times and in fact , we met at a disastrous event (in terms of turnout) where we got to spend the entire day talking (due to lack of turnout), and had a fun time kibitzing away the day with Alan Zweibel of Saturday Night Live fame and many, many other stellar accomplishments. (Maybe he’ll become a senator one day.)

LAYA stands for Los Angeles Young Adult writers and Kerry and I were at the first informal meeting, hosted by our guiding light, Cecil Castellucci, who also attended Amy’s party last night. (But of course, I didn’t take pictures.)

There was the obligatory tour of Amy’s amazing bomb shelter – a book in itself. Amy hates it, but liked the house so much she and Mitch bought it in spite of the shelter.

So, bye-bye Kerry and don’t forget to write (more books)!!!
Weather alert: it’s HOT in L.A. – even in the shade of our patio.

You’ve got to love summer! Even though I have more work to do than ever, summer just naturally feels more laid-back and fun than any time of the year – even here in Southern California where it’s kinda summer all year long. I guess I’ve never gotten over summer vacations. (And we’ll find out what Humphrey does on his summer vacation in SUMMER ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY -aka HOLIDAYS ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY in the UK) next February. Still, I have a lot on my plate.

Maybe I’ll chuck it all and create a work of art … like this clever installation I just saw at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Frank and I couldn’t resist walking through this colorful maze with all the other little kids. Look familiar? It’s plastic kitchen stuff. So if you have a closet full of Tupperware collecting dust, you, too, could create a colorful curtain. I have to say, everybody there was smiling.

We were actually at the museum to see their ticketed exhibition called “Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture Around the Bay of Naples.” The Romans in the 1st Century B.C. – that’s a long time ago yet they were very modern. I would gladly wear any of the jewelry and feel completely 21st century. A lovely exhibit but quite a far cry from plastic kitchen wear … and yet it’s all pleasing to the eye.

Now back to work … or not. After all, it’s summer!

Even though I’m home for the summer, I’m busier than ever, mostly trying to write a book …. but also having quite a bit o’fun! Here’s what I’ve been up to in the last few weeks….

Jumpin' jellyfish! Granddaughter Remy's fabulous 4th birthday party at the aquarium on the Santa Monica Pier.

Prima ballerina! Remy's 1st dance recital - her pirouettes were perfect.

Bloomin’ brilliant! Michael Reisman’s exceptionally cool and fun book launch party at the Bungalow Club on Melrose. Later, Michael donned his bathrobe and did a reading in 1) a British accent and 2) an Irish accent. He also juggled. Ah, Hollywood!

And there was also an unforgettable encounter with Dame Edna … Frank and I saw her most recent show at the Ahmanson. Some years ago, I got some Dame Edna videos which my husband, son and I loved so when she came to town we had to see her. Son – now living in NY – was a little wistful about missing her. Don’t know Dame Edna? Check this link to get a hint of what the show is like. No, we didn’t get called up on stage.
Since then, we took a short trip to Pompeii… but more about that later.

Living in southern California, we get a lot of interesting visitors throughout the year. Our most recent guest was a charming guy named Flat Stanley. Stanley was sent to us from cousin Katherine Wilbraham of Connecticut. It was fun for Humphrey to meet another character from a book.

I was very privileged to have such a famous visitor. I’ve always loved Flat Stanley and know that through the years, many classrooms have mailed their own Flat Stanleys around the country.  Here in L.A. he visited Disney Hall, downtown, Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier. But maybe his greatest adventure was right here, in my own back yard office!

I was a little surprised, though, because when I wasn’t looking, Stanley took a peek at my manuscript for the book that comes out in February.

I guess he just couldn’t help himself!

My husband Frank will be delivering Stanley back home this weekend when he is on the east coast.

I do hope he comes to visit again!