Mittens, The Vegetarian

Posted: Friday, October 5, 2012

I’ve been in the “writing cave” lately, finishing up edits on THE CLASSROOM 2. Fortunately, there were a couple of beautiful days and I was able to take my office out to the beach for my “cave time.” Awful, I know.

When I’m busy with revisions I usually don’t eat very well and order food out to save time. However, I also discovered I don’t eat well because APPARENTLY my kitty, Mittens, is stealing my healthy food from the counter. She’s totally taking advantage of me–it makes me want to start reading her journal. But I am pleased that she is turning into quite the vegetarian! Woohoo Mittens-the-thief!

In other news, I spoke at Central Coast Writers last week. They asked me to help head up the teen writers program and I was like…YES!! There were about 20 teens who showed up at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning, smiling, happy and ready to learn. I taught them the screenplay format and the 5 turning points and discussed how to use it in plotting novels. We used Harry Potter as our example so the discussion was LIVELY!! It was SO much fun! I ate lunch with them and they were downright adorable.

I also taught a class with my agent on how to break into the kidlit genre and then I taught a class myself on techniques to develop your voice in middle grade and teen fiction. It was a great discussion on how to get that “it factor.” I LOVED spending the day with other writers (and they also sold out of copies of DITCHED!).

And if you’re a writer in the SoCal area, I’ll be speaking at the SCBWI Writer’s Day in Thousand Oaks on October 27th.

Finally, I was beyond thrilled that Scholastic put together a promo video for THE CLASSROOM of me chatting about the characters. I don’t really have a “broadcasting” voice…more of a “mom” voice, but if you want to see me chatting about the series check it out HERE!

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Winners of THE CLASSROOM

Posted: Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The two winners of TWO copies of THE CLASSROOM are…

Connie Colon and Theresa Milstein!

Yay! I will email you very soon. Thank you SO much for entering and I hope the extra books find a good home.

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The Classroom Is in Scholastic…Time for a Giveaway!

Posted: Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Remember when you were a kid and your teacher would hand out those Scholastic book club order forms and you would wiggle in your plastic school seat, excited out of your mind, and you’d rip through the form circling every amazing book you could find, then beg your mama for money promising to clean kitty litter until you were thirty just so you could order ALL those books and then you’d sit on the edge of your bed not moving or breathing until the day those books FINALLY arrived at school because that was the best day ever??!!

Well, if that was you, then we are EXACTLY THE SAME.

So I can’t even explain how excited I was when I found out THE CLASSROOM would be in Scholastic’s book club. Here it is on page two!

My publisher also sent me a box of hardcover Scholastic books, so we all know what THAT means! GIVEAWAY! (Yep, I just said that in my head all sing-songy.)

So here’s what I want to do…I’m going to give TWO of you not just one book, but TWO. One book I’d like for you to keep for yourself or share with your child. But the other book? I’d like for you to donate it. You could donate it to your kid’s classroom teacher or the school library or your local public library (especially if they don’t have a copy!).

I mention the part about donating to a local public library because my father has noticed that many small libraries in my home state of Georgia do not have the funds to order my books, so he has been driving around to these libraries and donating them in my name. SWEETEST. THING. EVER. And they are so incredibly appreciative.

So if you could help me donate the book to another place that needs it, I’d be grateful!!

Okay, to enter just leave me a comment and an email so I can reach you. Contest ends in one week!

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Summer Re-Cap, In My Best Bob Costas Voice

Posted: Thursday, August 23, 2012

Oh, I wish I had a Bob Costas voice. I totally miss the Olympics. Bob Costas could make a hangnail sound like TOTAL DRAMA. And I miss having every evening from 8 to midnight all planned out. Now I have to think all the time. What do I do with my time? It’s tiring.

Anyway, I can’t do commentary like Bob Costas and make my boring summer sound riveting. So here it is, my summer…in all its plain glory.

I did this:

I’m calling it THE SUMMER OF BOOK TWO. These are revisions for book 2 of The Classroom. Obviously I took breaks to snack on Oreos. And that’s pretty much all I did this summer! I should probably eat some kale now.

I did, however, take a break from revisions/oreo eating to head down to the national conference for The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Such a blast!

A couple of pics…book signing and food eating!

With Eve Porinchak, Lindsey Leavitt, and Katie Andersen

Hope you all had lovely summers! This fall I’m editing book 2, starting book 3, and speaking at a couple of writing conferences. Busy, but it’s good.

And in the Department of Cool News…The Classroom was reviewed in this article about back-to-school books in The Washington Post!! You can check out the article HERE.

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August Updates & Scholastic News

Posted: Monday, July 23, 2012

The month of July is coming to a close and I strangely feel like I never experienced July at all this year. Now, don’t pelt me with fireballs, but here on the central coast of California it has been very cold. Most of the month I was in my warmest sweatshirt and thickest socks and yes, I even turned on the heater in my office some mornings.

I feel so bad that most of the country was in sweltering heat! But it was so cold here that we never even went to the pool. I have high hopes for you, August. Don’t let me down. Make me sweaty please.

Speaking of August, lots of things are going on! I will be at the SCBWI (short for Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) (also short for “skibwey”, I think, don’t quote me) on August 3-5 and I’ll be selling/signing copies of THE CLASSROOM on Friday night. So come find me if you’re attending! Please leave a comment if you’re going so I know to look for you.

When I get back from the conference I’m immediately heading out to a middle school to film a promotional video. Guess what it’s for!! Did you guess? (Yes, the big hint is in the title of this post. I’m not sneaky!) THE CLASSROOM will be in Scholastic Book Fairs this fall and they have asked me to create a video to promote the book that will go up on their website the first week in September. I’m so excited!

I’ll keep you all posted and link to it as soon as it’s live on their site.

Meanwhile, I hope you all are staying cool. Unfortunately, I’m staying waaaaay too cool…

Hugs,

~Robin

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Writing in the Summer With A Kid

Posted: Monday, July 16, 2012

Surely I’m not the only mother who has shouted these wise words: “There are sticks and dirt outside…GO DO SOMETHING.” I’ve been yelling that to my son quite a bit more often lately. Mostly because I never got around to signing him up for summer camp. Oops.

That first week after school was out was a bit rough. I needed to write and my son kept flopping around saying “I’m bored” but in a couple of long drawn out syllables that lasted for 2-3 hours.

I kept explaining to him that when I was a kid, I never went to summer camp. I just got creative and kept myself busy. At one point, there was a group of kids in the neighborhood that even tried to put together a newsletter. We started writing “stories” and figured out how much we’d charge for it and got excited about how rich we were going to get. Then we quit about twenty minutes later because we discovered a kid down the street had a trampoline. But STILL. We were creative about how to spend our summertime. And something deep inside of me wished my son would do the same thing.

Remarkably, I’ve noticed that–week by week–he’s been getting dirtier. Sweatier. And more creative. He’s made an obstacle course for his scooter in the driveway. He’s been playing TONS of basketball. And he and his friend have built a fort in the trees. So I’m happy to report his knees are all skinned up and he stinks.

Finally. This is summer.

Ahh…now I can get some work done.

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Why I Stopped Blogging, And Why I’m Going To Start Again

Posted: Saturday, July 14, 2012

Some of you have known me for a while, and you know that I used to blog. A lot. Before I was published I blogged over at DiscoMermaids and then I started blogging regularly here on my own site. But lately I’ve rarely pulled up the ol’ WordPress website to chat about stuff.

Part of me wants to talk about why and part of me wants to keep hiding my head under a pillow. But today I was talking to my editor on the phone about various things (i.e. Robin and her issues) and he said, “Why don’t you blog about it?” As if that would be like therapy for me. My first reaction was that I didn’t want to share stuff that might sound like I was whining and complaining. Because the last thing I’d want is to seem ungrateful. Which simply isn’t the truth.

So here is the truth…the truth as to why I’ve stopped blogging.

I’ve been overwhelmed. Very overwhelmed. I was thrilled when I sold my middle grade series after the teen books. But what happened was this: I ended up with deadlines that backed up so closely that I was SWAMPED. It got to the point where I was writing seven days a week, into the night, and my husband was doing all the cooking and cleaning.

And then…the migraines. The added stress led to 2-3 migraines a week sometimes. They became impossible and my doctor is now helping me manage–I’m much better–but in the end I had to make some BIG decisions and change my writing schedule instead.

So here are the big decisions…

I’m only going to write one book a year. For now I’m going to focus on the middle grade series and then get back to the next teen book when I have a break in my schedule. I’m going to help my husband with the laundry. I’m going to make time for my family.

I may even have time to get back to blogging again.

I miss it.

So check in more regularly. I’m back!

Hugs,

R

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The Classroom Launch Party

Posted: Friday, June 29, 2012

This past weekend was the launch party for THE CLASSROOM at the Barnes & Noble in San Luis Obispo. The managers were awesome and the event turned out so great—they even made the cookies for it!

Just before it got started, they pulled out chairs for the audience. I was getting organized and when I looked up, this adorable thing suddenly happened…all the seats filled up with KIDS. Every. Single. Chair. And all the adults stood around the outside so the kids could get a front-and-center experience. They were so attentive and asked great questions!

The best part was that my family came into town so it was wonderful to spend time with them. And the next best part was California Pizza Kitchen being located directly next door to the bookstore.

Anyway.

Here are some launch pics!

With my Uncle Martin!

Such a blast! For now, I’m back into the writing cave to finish up book 2 of THE CLASSROOM. All I can say about it is that there is an election, emotions run high, and Trevor ends up in a hairnet. Awkward.

Hope you’re enjoying your summer. Go get splashy!

~Robin

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The Classroom Book Trailer!

Posted: Wednesday, June 13, 2012

I must admit, I totally cried when I saw this book trailer. Hearing the voice over and seeing the book come to life like this was so emotional! I love it! And I hope you do, too.

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The Classroom Releases in less than 2 Weeks!

Posted: Thursday, June 7, 2012

So we’re getting closer! THE CLASSROOM releases on June 19th and some fun things will happen in the coming weeks. I’ll be doing some interviews around the blogosphere and we’ll reveal some inside pages of the book over at Mundie Kids.  Recently, I did an interview with Susan VanHecke over at Author Link where I talked about the process of writing THE CLASSROOM series and you can check out that interview HERE.

Later this month I’m also doing a (gulp!) TV interview for my local NBC news station. Holy Crest Whitestrips, y’all!! Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out how to upload a link to the interview for you (you know…or not.)

The other crazy cool thing happening? My publisher is making an animated video book trailer! It should be ready very soon so stay tuned. Woohoo!!

And finally in the Department of Good News, I found out THE CLASSROOM was named as Barnes & Noble young readers booksellers’ top pick for June. So incredibly exciting!

Oh, and if  you’re in the Central Coast area of Cali, please stop by the launch party on Sunday June 24th @ 2 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in San Luis Obispo. I’m giving away these rockin’ wristbands to the kids (and adults too… if you’re young at heart).

That’s it for now. Hopefully I used enough exclamation points. Sometimes they’re like my morning caffeine!!

!!!= triple shot  (nah, who am I kidding? It’s not working)

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