Betty Birney’s Blog

Cheerio! I am here in London …. all has gone smoothly EXCEPT my wireless connection at the hotel, so I’m so behind with my blogs. I’ll probably be catching up with this fabulous trip after I get back.  Just know in the past week, I’ve spoken at the Bath Literature Festival, seen a bit of Bath (at the least I did see the Roman baths), spoken at the Royal High School Junior School in Bath and the Shaw School in Wiltshire …. shared a talk with Sue Bentley at the Guardian Newsroom … had a fun experience on the kids’ radio show Go4It on the BBC … traveled to St. Albans and spoke at the Abbey School (MUCH to say about St. Albans),  had a live webcast for the popular Blue Peter show, a FAB dinner party with booksellers, more meetings, signings and lunches at my wonderful UK publisher Faber, appeared at Stratford Circus on World Book Day, and spoke at the Basildon Children’s Festival. Today, my first day off, has been spent recovering. Tomorrow, off to Orpington!

 I will have photos and details to come. Sorry about that but please know, Humphrey says the UK is FUN-FUN-FUN and apparently the feeling is mutual!

 For U.S. fans: SURPRISES ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY was published last week. TROUBLE ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY came out in paperback.

Now back to a very tense game show: DUEL!

 I’ve been playing catch-up for over a week now and finally realize that the idea of catching up is just a pipe dream. Now it’s just a matter of dealing issue by issue with an ever-growing list of Things to Do.

I spent 8 days in Florida where the weather was a little cool and rainy - just as it is here in Southern California. (Well, rainier here the last week.) The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs is a current Sunshine State book. I was in Florida 6 times in 2005-2006 when The World According to Humphrey was on the list - and Humphrey is still beloved at all the schools I visited.

My first stop was in Oviedo, next-door to Orlando. I was met at the airport by Kent Rockaway, a parent who happens to be from Missouri, too! (Rolla, not Sassasfras Springs). He delivered me to the Media Specialist at John Evans Elementary, Brenda Chapman, who took me to dinner and delivered me to my home away from home, a historic B&B, King’s Manor, which was lovely. As usual, with a long day of travel and a three-hour time difference, I woke up a lot during the night. When I awoke at 4 a.m., I was amazed to hear the unmistakable crowing of a rooster. (It was distant and didn’t actually wake me up.) Having arrived at night, I wasn’t sure if there was a farm nearby.

   Me with Elliott and Brenda                                                Don’t mess with this chicken!                      Fantastic volunteers                                                    Centerpiece

Brenda picked me up in the morning and drove me to Evans, where I met - at last - Elliott Hershey, the teacher who started the ball rolling for this visit. (Was it a hamster ball? Hmmm.) Then I did a couple of presentations and was whisked to the conference room for a wonderful lunch with the theme of : CHICKENS! That’s where I first learned about the famous Oviedo chickens, wild chickens who freely roam around the town.  There are legal implications if you harm one (don’t you touch one feather of an Oviedo chicken!) … they occasionally stop traffic a la Make Way for Ducklings … and their favorite hangout is Popeye’s! The room was decorated with old-timey Oviedo artifacts and lots of chicken-themed decorations. And lunch was - ahem - chicken, served up by three moms who are extremely good sports and who looked very fetching in their 50s-style waitress costumes in honor of the Town House, a venerable Oviedo eating establishment. Seven students read their winning essays about the wonders of Oviedo, and attendees included Mrs. John Evans (the school is named for her husband), Officer Mikey - a wonder of Oveido herself, and I was privileged to sit next to the Mayor of Oviedo … Mary Lou Andrews. During our free-ranging conversation, I learned that her now-adult daughter was a huge fan of Welcome to Pooh Corner, a series I story-edited and wrote most of the scripts)  - my very first TV series. Some of the attendees seemed a little surprised when I launched into a vocal rendition of the theme song, but at least I didn’t get up and do the chicken dance!

There were more presentations and lots of books to sign and dinner with Brenda, the hostess with the mostest.

MYTH-BUSTING: Roosters don’t ONLY crow at dawn. On the day I left, he started at 4 am and was still going strong when I was picked up at 10:30.

IMPORTANT LINK: You can see the very attractive Oviedo chickens and learn more about them on YouTube. Just type in Oviedo Chickens.

On Saturday, the 12th, I had a wonderful book signing at Barnes and Noble, Waterford Lakes Town Center, with enthusiastic fans of both Humphrey and Sassafras. Brenda and her husband Dave not only drove me and stayed for a couple of hours (and Dave took photos), but also delivered me to Avis where I picked up a car for the next leg of my trip.

The wonderful people who came to B & N gave me a wonderful send-off for my move East to New Port Richey … more about that in a day or two!

A nice quiet holiday and New Year - especially fun to talk to our son in New York  when he was already in 2008 and we were still back in 2007. (Because of the time difference, silly!)

There’s so much to tell you about what’s happening in this new year, but the most important is the big Humphrey Drawing Contest! http://us.penguingroup.com/static/html/enter/humphreycontest.html

Enter your drawings and win sets of books for the whole class, your own class pet (or gift certificate) and even a visit to your school by me! You have until March 15, so get drawing! All the info is at the link above. Unfortunately, the rules say I can only visit schools in the continental U.S. and I don’t get to be a judge. I’m doing a LOT of travel this spring, but I’m excited to find out what mystery school, city and state I’ll be visiting!

 Spread the word and get out those pencils, crayons and markers!

And please, though the comments are disabled, email me any questions or comments at betty@bettybirney.com and I’ll include them in this blog.

 It’s not as jolly this year as the songs say it’s supposed to be, but we go forward.

 I’ve been terrible about posting to this blog recently, just as I’ve noticed that just chatting with relative strangers has been difficult. Every year, I have at least one holiday get-together - some have been quite lavish - but I just can’t get myself together to do that this year. It’s also the first year that our son won’t be home. It will still be Christmas, just quieter. And that’s fine with me. We’ll celebrate with daughter and son-in-law who live here in L.A. and lavish all our attention on 2 1/2 year old Remy.

 It’s been an unusually quiet season all around. My husband Frank and I attended the 2nd Annual LAYA (Los Angeles Young Adult writers) Holiday party.  You can see us above with our “Dirty Santa” winnings. In case you don’t know, Dirty Santa is a fun game where you steal presents from people you like. Pictured are Paula Yoo, Eileen Rosenbloom, Kerry Madden (with the prized Free Beer sign), Lisa Yee and Michael Reisman (yes, he’s wearing a shower cap). Behind Michael (not wearing the shower cap she won - regifted by Frank who won them last year) is Amy Goldman Koss, hostess with the mostest Sally Nemeth, Frank holding up his inflatable Knott’s Berry Farm bat, Me with bath toy and Harry Potter candy, and Mark London Williams and his son.

Becca, Gary, Remy, Frank and I attended the Studio City Holiday Parade. I always loved our community’s parade with its small town feel (the parade is one block long so you have plenty of time to watch each group). Last year, they cancelled it. I guess I wasn’t the only person who was horribly disappointed because this year it was back with its Menorah-mobile, caroling wagon, marching bands and Girl Scouts. Joe Mantegna was in the parade but the homeless dogs were missing - I can only hope they were all adopted!  There was snow (fake, yes but it was cold for L.A., probably in the 50s) the highlight of the parade for Remy was when a local realtor handed her a very nice Dora the Explorer doll. The look of amazement on Remy’s face proved it is a magical season. I’m not sure she’s tightened her grip on Dora yet.

This week, I helped friend Cynthia Friedlob celebrate her birthday with our pal Jeanne Russell at another Studio City institution, Jerry’s Deli.

Frank and I spent Thanksgiving and our anniversary on Catalina Island, 26 miles across the sea, where we were married 25 years ago. The weather was beautiful and we did all the usual Catalina stuff. We rented a golf cart (that’s what the locals use for transportation in tiny Avalon) and drove high into the hills. Fabulous views but also a closer look at the damage left by this year’s devastating fire. Luckily, it stopped right at the edge of Avalon.  We took the submarine tour and saw thousands of fish playing in the kelp forest. And we played mini-golf. It’s probably a well-kept secret that the best mini-golf on earth is located on Catalina. Not a windmill or haunted house in sight: just 18 brain-teasing holes. It’s all about strategy on this course. We played there many times when our son was growing up. Frank and I had the course to ourselves on our 25th anniversary and played the best games of our lives. We were tied at the ninth hole but Frank ended up trouncing me - he got three holes in one!

    Here’s the view from our balcony the morning we left - that’s a cruiseship in the harbor, in for the day.

We took the helicopter over because I get seriously seasick. But on our return, the helicopter wasn’t flying due to technical problems, so we took the boat. That meant an hour of me sitting outside and staring straight at the horizon - the only thing that helps. I made it, but it wasn’t pleasant. However,  I did manage to take a picture of “the groom” as we pulled out of Avalon.

Still, all the celebrations are tinged with sadness at the loss of my dad. And yesterday, our friend (and best man at our wedding) Irv Letofsky passed away, so I’m thinking of his wife and family.

In the true spirit of the season, here are a couple of not great pictures of my Dad’s famed Christmas display, which inspired Uncle Alf’s village in THE SEVEN WONDERS OF SASSAFRAS SPRINGS. Happy holidays to all and I resolve to be a more faithful blogger in ‘08. (Humphrey does better in his notebook - check it out on the Humphreyville page.) And for privacy reasons (because some readers are quite young) I don’t have comments here but email me at betty@bettybirney.com and I’ll include your comments in my posts.

                              Can you find the fireman who toppled over?

I’ve always tried to keep my blog upbeat, but this has been a difficult time, so please bear with me. First there was my father’s illness and death, the funeral and cleaning out the apartment, returning home, grieving and trying to catch up  … and then I got hit with a lulu of a gastrointestinal something that knocked me out for the better part of the week (though I managed to honor commitments in Upland and Burbank, where the enthusiastic fans gave me a life)…. and now it’s turned into a horrible lower back something-or-other that makes it difficult to sit at my desk. All this is something less than a month.

I definitely do NOT like to talk about my aches, pains and problems and probably never will again in this blog, but I just wanted to explain the lack of posts and if you’ve written me a snail mail fan letter, I WILL get to it.

 Many thanks to all of you who have expressed your condolences. Your enthusiasm for my books has meant so much to me. And next week, I plan on being back to speed! Meanwhile, scroll down and read some of my past posts and remember, you can always contact me by using the CONTACT ME at the bottom of the page.

I am understandably in a bit of a state about my dad, but I know that Judy Schachner will understand that in my previous post, I mis-typed the name of her much beloved character, Skippyjon Jones!

She was a bit upset at getting tangled up in her microphone during her (standing ovation) talk at the Washington Library Media Association luncheon yesterday. Believe me,

everybody loved it and the tangles only made her more endearing.

So … my typing fingers malfunctioned. It’s Skippyjon Jones - you’ve got to love that Chihuahua … I mean cat! If you don’t know him - you must!

More about all of this later but now, back to St. Louis.

 P.S. I have disabled comments on my blog due to the young age of many of my readers, but feel free to email me through the Contact Me link on my website to comment or ask questions.

It was wonderful to receive the Sasquatch Award in Yakima, Washington on Friday. I met the most wonderful people …. and you’ll hear and see more about that soon. Folr now, thanks so much for the warm welcome. And you’ll hear more about my plane trip with Judy Schachner , yep, that Judy Schachner of Skippyjones Jon!

For now, I am, for the second time in two weeks, spending 24 hours at home and then returning to St. Louis. My father is very ill. He is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday. I was originally in NY to see my wonderful Humphrey editor, Susan Kochan, and paperback editor, Jen Bonnell. When I got a call about my dad, Susan turned her office over to me to make arrangements to hurry to St. Louis. I was there Saturday to Wednesday. There was a lull in his treatment and with Dad’s heartfelt approval, I went to Washington as planned. I got home late last night and am leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow for as long as I need to be here.

No great options here, but Dad is a trouper and a fighter - always.

I’ll catch up when I can. Until then, if I don’t get to your email or request, please understand.

My dog, Desi, has had several jobs. Her first job - and she understood this from Day 1 - was to be friend, confidante and guide to my son, Walshe. He was 11 at the time. (He’s about to turn 23.)

The other job, self-appointed but appreciated, was to provide home security. Desi is a people-friendly job, so security to her means keeping our property free of squirrels, skunks, rats, possums and any other marauding animals. Without her guidance (according to her), our yard and house would be overrun with these pests. On the other hand, I’ve looked out and seen a stranger wandering through our backyard (usually just the gas meter reader) while Desi lets out nary a peep. People are her friends.

Lately, I’ve been reminded time and time again of the work of dogs. When I was in Oklahoma City last winter and visited the bombing memorial, there was a section dedicated to the valiant rescue dogs who worked themselves until exhaustion, never giving up their search. The same went for 9/11. There are fire dogs and wonderful sheep herding dogs, too. (Think of Babe. If you haven’t seen it, do.) And don’t forget Nana in Peter Pan.

I saw another kind of working dog on our recent visit to the Rankin Ranch in Caliente, CA (see previous post). I became absolutely fascinated with Sassy. Sassy accompanies the three-times-a-day horse rides, and also the hayrides. I had a good chance to watch her carefully. Once a group of riders returns, Sassy races across the road and takes a quick nap in the shade. While she appears to be sleeping soundly as each rider is saddled up, just at the time the very last rider is ready to go, she leaps up, trots across the road and moves to the head of the line to guide them on one of several trails. She seems to know which trail they go on at any given time.

After her work, Sassy waits for a treat while Remy pets her. I’m in the cowboy hat with the red badn.

I have to admit, my riding days are over (and besides, somebody had to stay with granddaughter Remy while the others were riding) but I was gung-ho for the hayride on Sunday. As the tractor pulled the haywagon to a lovely, shady meadow, where we enjoyed the quintessential California barbecue (followed by a highly satisfying game of horseshoes), Sassy ran right along the rear of the wagon. She brought up the rear because she knew a reliable human was in front on the tractor. It was up to her to protect the rear flank. She trots along at an even pace (though I notice she takes an occasional shortcut). The work looks hard, tiring, hot …. but I could tell that Sassy could not live without her purpose in life.

I think the greatest frustration humans go through is not knowing or finding their purpose in life. Sassy doesn’t have that problem.

I know Desi would love her job and felt a little badly that she only has a large, highly-manicured yard to protect. But first thing in the morning and last thing at night, Desi checks the entire perimeter of the yard, blade of grass-by blade of grass. It’s work, all right, but she doesn’t mind.

It’s her job.

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/