BookLust

Tag I'm It!

I haven't been tagged for a book meme for a long time, and then out of the blue last week, I get tagged by two different book bloggers, for the same meme! So here ya go, Sara and Lizann– my response to the page 123 book tag!

It goes like this:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

I'm not one for tagging others, though, so anyone who wants to take part, be my guest!

The book I've got is Ghosting by Jennie Erdal (a wonderful book!) And here's my sentences:

This was a high point for Tiger. The procedure was greatly ritualised, carried out with sacramental solemnity. First the three dogs would be shut in their kennels by the gardien, a preliminary to the feeding exercise.

Why Mommy Looks So Freaky

I just had to mention this gem. Apparently Michael Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon in Bal Harbour, Florida has written a self-published book for kids all about plastic surgery, so that when mommy comes home all bruised and covered in bandages, the kiddies will understand that it's simply because mommy needed to fork over a wad of cash in order to look hot. The title of the book? My Beautiful Mommy, of course. You can see more pages from the book on the Newsweek gallery site. If you've got the time, it's fascinating reading some of the reader's comments – some people actually think a book like this is a good idea. Worth reading the comments from BoingBoing as well, where I first found the story. Also another interesting perspective from a blogger who feels that Newsweek (where the story originated) was basically just "yanking our chains", making a mountain out of a small self-published molehill.

Whaddya think?

Ghosts of Deadlines

Gaaaaaahhh....I know I've been a lousy blogger. But I'm haunted by those dreaded deadlines!! Please be patient. And yes, I know, I know, I've missed two Silly Poetry Fridays, too. Oy.

Will this make you feel any better? I found out that 13 Ghosts of Halloween was chosen as one of Resource Links' Best of the Year 2007 in the area of picture books (just scroll down until you find the author's name, 'Muller' on the list). "Resource Links is Canada's newest national journal devoted to the review and evaluation of Canadian resources for children and young adults."

I also found a great review of 13 Ghosts on this site, KidsWWwrite, an e-zine for young authors and readers. You know you're doing ok when a kid gives your book their stamp of approval!

Well, I know I feel better now. Ok, back to work.

You're My Guy Book Draw Winners!!

Ok, it's almost midnight, and the draw is done. Here's photographic proof:

I wrote all the names on pieces of paper. That was a hell of a lotta names!

Then I folded up all those damn little pieces of paper. See all the work I do for you guys?

Then I sprinkle all the names in my empty coffee tin. Mmmmmmmm....sprinkles....mmmmmmmm.....coffee....

See? There are all those lovely names sitting in the tin! Are we having fun yet?

And then like a crazy wild animal, I shake that tin with the strength of ten Grinches, plus two! (My brain is a little loopy right now, 'cuz I'm freakin' tired...which is also why most of these photos are out of focus...)

And then, drumroll please.....the first winner is....Ellen!

And the next winner is...Aurora Fox!

And the final winner is....Bambi-Really! Yes, really!

So there you have it! Congratulations, Ellen, Aurora, and Bambi! I really was very honest in pulling the names out, so guys, please don't think it was a fix. But it is kinda neat that all girls won, since it is a book for a guy and all...

I'm sorry that I couldn't give a book to every one of you – I really do appreciate that you all took the time to add a comment on my blog (so that's how you get lots of comments – give away free stuff! Why didn't I think of that earlier?) And if you didn't win a copy of the book, I do hope you'll order it from Amazon, or if you live in Toronto, you can get it at the fabulous Book City in the Bloor West Village.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Now I'm going to bed. I'm pooped.

You're My Guy Because...Book Draw!!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner...wouldn't it be fun to get a cute book all about loooooooove? I'm holding a You're My Guy Because... book draw, baby! And this contest is easy-peasy. All you have to do is write a comment in this post. Doesn't matter what. Just say hello, or tell me about your day or if you're feeling just a teensy bit creative, you can write something about why your guy or your gal is your sweetheart, and why they make you get all mushy and gooey inside. Or, you can say something real sweet about your favourite pet, or maybe tell me why you hate Valentine's Day so goddam much and can't wait to see all those bloody hearts get replaced by the Easter Bunny. Just write something! 'Cuz if you don't comment, you can't play.

Comments on this post will be open until 11:00pm EST on Valentine's Day (I've got a busy day that day, and won't get home until after 10:30pm). Once comments are closed, I'll get all the names, write then down on pieces of paper, and put them in an empty coffee tin. I'll draw three names, so three lucky people will get a signed copy of my book. The winners will be announced as soon as I'm done the draw, probably sometime close to midnight EST. I'll even take photos of some of the draw, so you can be assured it's legit. (I was inspired by the clever Kimbofo of Readings Matters, who once did this in a very fun book draw of her own). Now how cool is that?

Oh, and the always effervescent and energetic Debbie Ohi  has posted a little interview with me about the creation of this book on one of her other wonderful sites, Inkygirl. She also hosted a book draw for my book, but she's announcing her winners tomorrow, so I didn't want to overshadow her book draw by having mine overlap hers too much. The bottom line is...there's books to be had, baby!

UPDATE: Plus Sameer Vasta has written a little plug for me and my book on Blog TO. Thanks Sameer!

So c'mon! Would it kill you to comment? Pleeeeeaaassssseee???

Do Ya Dig Democracy?

So how cool is this? My pal Liam O'Donnell, a very talented author of kid's books and graphic novels, wrote a hilarious educational book about the history of democracy, and guess who got to illustrate it? Why me, silly! The book is called Democracy and is part of the Cartoon Nation series, which is published by Captstone Press.

Lots of fun to illustrate, and so cool to get to work on a project with someone I know and like! Mind you, it ain't like we really got to literally work together – he wrote the script a while ago, and in the mean time I had contacted Capstone Press with an interest in doing any kind of cartoon work for them, and as luck would have it, I got a job, and it was to illustrate Liam's book! But it's still a wonderful feeling to be able to put our talents together for a book, especially one that has a sense of humour. Here are a few more of my fave pages from the book.

I'm especially thrilled that I got to do a cartoon about Johannes Gutenburg. Thanks, Liam, for stressing the importance of the creation of books in the development of democracy! And doing caricatures of various politicians was a blast!

Though I suppose that Giuliani is really a non-issue now, isn't he? And um...I would suggest that the paragraph below could really be considered fiction as opposed to non-fiction, but hey, that's just me....

I think little bit of Twister in the the U.S. election would jazz things up a tad, don't you?

This Lady Ain't Singing the Blues

A while back I wrote a post about my mom's cousin Georgie Ziadie, otherwise known as Lady Colin Campbell (that's her pictured on the left). Lady Colin Campbell has written quite a few books, mostly dealing with Princess Diana and the royal family. Her latest book received a lot of attention, because it is a fictional story which apparently mirrors the life of Lily Safra (the lady on the right), one very rich and powerful widow. Ms. Safra did not take too kindly to Georgie's novel, Empress Bianca, and so rather than deal with a nasty court battle (libel laws are pretty strict in the UK) the publishers decided to pulp Lady Colin Campbell's book. But that wasn't the end of the battle – I had read in Dominick Dunne's column in Vanity Fair that Georgie was going to sue, but until yesterday, that was the last I had heard of the story.

So yesterday my dad emails me the latest news on Georgie from Page Six in the New York Post – it looks like Georgie's found an American Publisher for Empress Bianca, and she'll soon be coming to New York for a book party to be hosted by her U.S. publisher, Dynasty Press.

Damn, I'd love to go to that party! Hey , we're related – d'ya think she'd invite me?

The Granny Diaries

All grannied out yet? Hope not! 'Cuz guess what...? Yup – I went and illustrated yet another granny book for Chronicle Books, and it's available now! This one is quite different from Good Granny/Bad Granny, but different in a good way. It's called The Granny Diaries: An Opinionated How-To Guide, and is written by Adair Lara, an award-winning columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle.

There's not as many of my illustrations in this book compared to Good Granny/Bad Granny, but that's because the tone is much more sophisticated, and a little bit more serious, but still full of lots of good humour. The book is divided into five major parts, with many subsections in each part. Some of the headings in the book include: Parent, Schmarent: You and the Kid and The Paternal Grandmother and Cutting Grandma Some Slack.

I think Granny Diaries is a nice foil for Good Granny/Bad Granny – one you can read for total laughs and silliness, and the other you can get good down-to-earth advice, while still having a chuckle at the same time.

And I must say that the fellow who art directed this book – a very talented guy by the name of Jay Salvas – did a fabulous job. The book is a visual joy from beginning to end. I can't say it enough – the folks at Chronicle are amazing people to work for. If you are an artist or a writer and you want to work with super-creative, professional, fun and dynamic people, then get thee to Chronicle Books, baby.

The Power of The Chomsky Effect

Ok. This story is just too funny. Even I can't believe it's true.

In 2005 I wrote this post:

Well, last year I get an email from Robert F. Barsky, who is Professor of English, Comparative Literature, French and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University (The fact that someone with so much intellectual chops would contact me is pretty darn amusing in itself). Apparently Mr. Barsky (who is a Noam Chomsky expert, since he's friends with the guy and all) was writing a new book about Noam, called The Chomsky Effect: A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower. Part of the book deals with Chomsky's popular appeal – the fact that people outside of the 'Ivory Tower' are also talking about this outspoken political dissenter. So Mr. Barsky thought that my silly post about Noam would be perfect for the book, and asked if he could use it in one of his chapters (it's actually in Chapter 1 on page 4).

I got a copy of the book last week. It's 381 pages, hardbound, and chock full of great material about Noam. And it's published by MIT Press. And my writing and art is in it. I even get listed in the index at the back. So...even though it's my husband Guy who is the real Noam aficionado; Guy – who taught me everything I need to know about Chomksy, and who thinks Noam is an intellectual God – it's me, the smart-ass cartoonist and writer of all things light and fluffy who gets into an academic book about Noam Chomsky published by MIT Press. Thankfully Guy can see the humour in it as well. And I think he thinks it's kind of cool, too. (I think. I mean – he hasn't strangled me yet). Of course what's really embarrassing is that I never did another 'I'm Drawn To You' post after the Noam drawing! But I promise that will change, since I have now been shamed into doing more sketches, having got that post printed in a book and all.

So there you have it. Read it and laugh (or weep at the utter irony of it all). I'm sure though, that this will be the first and last time that I ever get published by MIT Press. That is, of course, unless they start publishing kid's books. Stranger things have certainly happened, haven't they?

Granny Crosses Over!

No, she's not speaking to the dead. But Good Granny/Bad Granny did get a positive review in of all places, CM Magazine! For those not in the know, CM Magazine is a publication which reviews books and other types of media which would be of interest to teachers, librarians, parents and kids. So yeah, usually the books are geared towards kids and young adults. But for whatever reason, the reviewer of GG/BG thought the book worthy of their publication, with the suggestion that perhaps it could "be used by teachers as a model for student writing activities." Cool!

The best line in the whole review though, is the final line, written in bold: Recommended with reservations. So watch out, kiddies! This book could be a bad influence! Bwahahahaha!!