Maureen Bush

O Frabjous Day!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
She chortled in her joy

Eric Orchard is doing the cover for the soon-to-be-renamed There’s a Witchdoctor In My Grandmother’s Bathroom (Orca, Fall 2010). He did Feather Brain, and I adore it. I begged for Eric again, and it’s finally organized. I’m so pleased.

http://ericorchard.blogspot.com/

Maureen

Character Murder

I’ve just finished the first round of editing for There’s A Witchdoctor In My Grandmother’s Bathroom (which will definitely be renamed).

My editor said “I think you should get rid of Miri.” (She’s a minor character in the story.) Since my first response was, “Who’s Miri?”, I decided I couldn’t argue with the idea. (Yeah, that was a bad moment. In my own defence, I hadn’t read the manuscript for a while).

So I cut her out. Deleted her. It was strange and sad and absurdly powerful. It was also easy, so I guess she really didn’t need to be there.

Another weird writing moment.

Maureen

Monsters and Metaphors

Metaphors are unfortunately literal to my younger daughter. If someone says, “It’s raining cats and dogs,” she looks up at the sky and imagines puppies falling.

I asked her for an example, and she said, “It’s hard to pull off the top of my head.” I was grossed out. Then she added, “Keep your eye on the ball is agonizing. But Keep your eyes peeled is worse.”

Now I’m doing it too.

And she’s infected me with monsters.

She draws monsters, especially in the corners of her school notes. I’ve been knitting monsters, and now they’re inhabiting the corners of our living room.

We’re living surrounded by monsters and metaphors.

Maureen

My Stories Are Nagging Me

This morning I want to settle in and focus on three different projects. The kids at Lakeview and a brainstorming session with my younger daughter have inspired me to start on a sequel to Feather Brain. I want to get back to The Veil of Magic book III for another round of editing. And I received the first editing comments for Witchdoctor last week, so it’s time to launch into that.

It’s like having three little kids tugging at my pants wanting attention, and I have to choose one.

I know which it has to be – editing to a deadline comes first. But I’m really pumped to settle in for weeks of focused work on each one. I guess I’ll just have to be thankful I’m feeling inspired, pat my darlings on the head and tell them, “Later, dear one. Later.”

Maureen

Another One School, One Book

Thursday I spent another day in Lethbridge, at Lakeview School. This is the second school I’ve visited using Feather Brain for a One School, One Book project.

All the kids in the school received a copy of the book (in a bag with dinosaur goodies, packed in an egg for each classroom to open.) The parents were asked to read Feather Brain to their kids (and siblings), one chapter a night. Reading ahead was not allowed!

Then the school launched into all kinds of projects – decorating the entire school with dinosaurs, including one that roared; a classroom door decorating contest; novel studies. Papier maché dinosaurs are on display near the front door. These are wonderful, with pistachio shells and golf tees for texture.

One of my favorite ideas was smart and sneaky: the teacher had his kids begin making papier maché dinosaurs before they started the book, so that by the time they were reading about Lucas making a dinosaur, they had already been doing the same thing.

I met with all the kids, in five sessions through the day, and signed their books. I talked about where the idea for Feather Brain came from, and explained my writing process. We made up our own stories, sending kids to other planets, inventing androids taking over the school, and playing with the  idea of living shadows.

Parents came, too, and often took time to introduce themselves and thank me. One couple said that reading Feather Brain as a family had made an enormous difference to their family life, and they planned to continue reading together. Then the dad asked if I’d intended that when I wrote Feather Brain; I had to admit I just tried to write a good story, and had no idea it could be used this way.

After seeing two schools using Feather Brain for One School, One Book, I’m totally impressed with the program. The energy in the schools is amazing, and the excitement about reading and books tremendous.

Maureen