Ruta Sepetys Rocks Books and Books . . .

Last week, I had the great pleasure of hearing author Ruta Sepetys give a talk at Books & Books.

Hubby and I drove two hours through rush hour traffic on a weeknight to be there.

Why?

A little more than a year ago, Steve Watkins, Julia Durango and I judged the Golden Kite Awards.  We read through 450 books . . .

And ultimately chose Ruta's Between Shades of Gray as the winner of the Golden Kite Award. 

Not to be confused with that masterpiece of literature, Fifty Shades of Gray.  Even though Ruta's book does start with:  They took me in my nightgown.

Here's a blurb about the book:  Fifteen-year-old Lina Vilkas is arrested by the Soviet secret police and deported to Siberia with her mother and younger brother. Lina fights for her life, vowing that if she survives she will honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her complete story in a jar on Lithuanian soil. Lina’s writings chronicle her experience, her struggle to accept help from a kind Soviet guard she’s supposed to hate, and retain her dignity without losing faith in mankind.

Between Shades of Gray has been published in 41 countries.

So, when Ruta's follow up, Out of the Easy, came out, I had to get it.

And when I found out Ruta would be at Books & Books at the beginning of her 10-week tour, I had to get there.

She was worth the trip!

Ruta gave the best author/book talk I've heard at a bookstore.  Her stories were fascinating, funny and harrowing.  They involved American idol, being in a prison camp and spending a day with a mafia boss.  Her personality is warm and genuine.  And she stayed until every last question was answered and every book signed.

I'm an even bigger fan now!

Donna & Ruta Sepetys at Books and Books

Ruta's tour will take her to many places in the United States, London, Paris, several locations in Lithuania and she will be speaking to the European Parliament! 

Here's her touring schedule.  If you get a chance to see Ruta speak, don't miss it!

It's Okay to Be Chicken . . .

especially when you're at the amazing 2013 Florida SCBWI Conference in Miami.

For example, I'm sure the five people speaking on the "First Books" panel (Laen Ghiloni, Shannon Hitchcock, Nicole Lataif, Rob Sanders and Jessica Souders) were chicken, but they got up and made inspiring speeches anyway about the experience of publishing their first books.

Shannon Hitchcock telling the touching story of why she dedicated THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL to her son, Alex

Then we were off to Books and Books in Coral Gables where being chicken wasn't an option.  I thanked owner, Mitchell Kaplan, for his wonderful store and for being so supportive of authors.  I met with writers/illustrators/editors, etc.

Becky and Aaron from Books and Books operated the bookstore at our conference.

Aaron and Becky from Books and Books.  This photo was stolen from Augusta Scattergood's blog.

Saturday was filled with wise words from authors, illustrators, editors and agents.  We had the pleasure of hearing Bruce Coville, Rubin Pfeffer, Michael Sterns, Toni Buzzeo, Ellen Hopkins, etc.

Here's Bruce Coville, talking about the ripples that extend from what we do.  What a wise and witty speaker!

The evening found us at the Barnyard Stomp.  We were dressed as hillbillies, farm animals and even Honey Boo Boo Child. 

Becca Puglisi, Stacie Ramey, Me, Jill Nadler

Jill Nadler, Fred Koehler and me!

Sunday workshops included a workshop by Becca Puglisi, who, along with Angela Ackerman, are the authors of The Emotion Thesaurus.

One of the highlights of the excellent workshop was connecting with Augusta Scattergood, author of the highly acclaimed novel, Glory Be.

Augusta Scattergood and me, after a long, wonderful conference

As always, the conference tired me out and energized me.  It was GREAT to connect with old friends and make some fine new ones.  THANK YOU to Linda Bernfeld and all the people who worked so hard to make this conference so memorable.

My life is far richer for our Florida chidren's literature community!

Books & Books Event

Holy hamsters! What a fun event at Books & Books yesterday!

There were some firsts at this event.

This is the first time I had an equal number of girls and boys in the audience. That was cool.

It was the first time my dad was able to hear me speak at an event. (He's visiting from New Jersey this week.)

Here's Dad with hubby, Dan, who drove and snapped photos and (most importantly) bought be a gigantic milkshake and fries when I was done. Thank you, guys!

It was also the first time anyone arrived with a LIVE hamster. Mhmm. Here is Reece, with his hamster, Buddy, hanging out with my hamster, Hammy, who is, um, a stuffed toy.


Here's Sofi, who happens to be a writer, too.


Thanks, Sofi, for the countdown e-mails until the event. You rock!

If you'd like to be a writer, like Sofi, here are two suggestions (besides read a lot and write a lot):

1. Get your hands on a copy of Writing Magic: Stories That Fly by Gail Carson Levine.

2. Subscribe to Funds for Writers: WritingKids by Hope C. Clark. Every two weeks, you'll find opportunties and contests for young writers in a wonderful e-newsletter.

Thanks to EVERYONE who came out to Books & Books Sunday to meet me and Hammy and have a fun time!

Places To Go And People To Annoy . . .

UPCOMING EVENTS . . .

April 24th -- FAMILY READING FESTIVAL at the Mets Stadium (Digital Domain Park) in Port St. Lucie from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. (I'll be speaking from 11:30-noon and will be signing books before and after.) The first 300 kids get FREE tickets to Saturday's game. (Baseball and books -- What could be bad?)

April 28th -- Storm Grove Middle School sixth graders, look out. Here I come! And my hamster, Hammy, might be coming with me. (This event is not open to the public.)

April 28th -- VERO BEACH BOOK CENTER will be hosting me in their Teen Loft at 5:30. I'll be meeting and greeting and having a fun time at an amazingly cool independent bookstore! Please stop by at your earliest inconvenience.

April 29th -- SUNFEST!!! This has nothing to do with books, but I'm super excited to go to this awesome venue -- "Where music meets the waterfront" to see and hear THE FLAMING LIPS perform. The whole family is going -- Whee! (Thanks Melissa. You are filled with wonderful!)

May 1st -- Hello, Michigan! SCBWI MICHIGAN'S SPRING CONFERENCE sounds like it will be a blast. I'll be talking about writing humor for children, creating quirky characters and my rubber chicken necklace. I'm just sayin'. There are oodles of cool presenters, like Jay Asher, Ruta Rimas, Jim Tobin, etc. (I think registration is full now. Are you going to be there?)

May 12th -- I'll have the great pleasure of speaking to the 5th grade students at GREENACRES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. (This event is not open to the public.)

May 16th -- BOOKS & BOOKS in Coral Gables! Stop by and browse this amazing bookstore. Grab a drink and snack in their cafe and enjoy it at their outdoor seating area. And if you happen to be there at 3 p.m., stop by and say HELLO! I'll be speaking and signing, but not singing because that would drive people from the store.

May 17th -- I'll be speaking at INDEPENDENCE MIDDLE SCHOOL, which has a special place in my heart. (This event is not open to the public.) It's just going to be me, a few teachers and, oh, 400 sixth graders. (And I'm going to tell them a secret.)

May 18th -- Collapse, with a big smile on my face!