Fun to have these events. I just need to get to more schools. I did meet two new fans. That is always exciting for me. I had a great time talking with them.

So, I'm at my very first signing of the new book, The Trouble with Sisters and Robots, and I take my wife to the outside window display. As we stood and admired it, a couple walks between us and the display. The woman turns to the display, points at my book and says "Man, they are really scrapping the bottom of the barrel." I turned and looked at her and she notices me. Then she turns to the man she is walking with and says "I'm such a horrible person." Enough said.

But the book signing was fun and I thank Barnes and Noble for their hospitality.

I'm thinking of sending this guy out to magazines. It is such a fun story. I would hate to see it die and not get into print. The illustrations would be so much fun. We'll see.

A friend of mine once described an event in which she was signing in front of her school when she was nine and fell off the stage. I laughed so hard that I just had to write a book about it. It now lingers in my "rejected until the cows come home" file. But I have a lot of images from it. I might put some on the web site.

Odd Stories

Here is an image that I created for a story I was working on. Now, that particular story is in several version. But for this particular version, I needed the visual for the punch line. As you can see, the aliens need a ball to start their spaceship. My kids kept asking me "couldn't they just push the button" Yes, but that's not funny. "I don't get it dad" Yeah, well it is funny to me! Now go to bed! I win. Although, I don't think this approach would work with a publisher.

Haven't done much writing this summer, but I have managed to schedule a couple of book signing here in Washington. If you go to my web site (www.stevegritton.com) and click on the Facebook link, you will find an event listing.

Today's plan is to finish a story I'm writing about how the grass is always greener on the other side (which turns out to be false). And then I think I will drop my publisher a line. They have my name linked with my old website and not the new one. Also, I want to find out about Benny (another story).

So, I've spent the last couple of days setting up emails to local school librarians and my back aches from searching and creating them. I have 93 of them ready to go. Now I'm just trying to decide if I should send them now or wait a week until schools open back up.

I'm still waiting to hear about doing another book. I sent the story to them couple months ago and they (the publisher) said they would ponder it. I would love to do it. It would require me to paint a lot of landscapes. That would be challenging and fun. I'm going to have to email them anyways, they have my website link wrong. It goes to the old site and not the fancy new one (made it myself, ahthankyou).

So, I've been trying to get this guy published for almost a year now.  He has been rejected by nearly everyone.  Publishers, agents, my dog, all have said "No thank you, but I hear gardening can be very rewarding!"  It might be about time to file him away and wait until my first book sells, hum... a billion copies.  Then everyone will be begging me for this story.  Ahhh!  No, sorry, can't tell you what it is about.  If you're an agent, I'll send it to you, then we'll both be rich.  But everyone else will just have to start bugging publishers for it.  Yeah, that might just work. 

Like I said in my last blog, I was at SCBWI (Society of Children Book Writer's and Illustrators) last weekend and I met many interesting people. I don't really feel that I learned much more than I knew before about writing picture books, but I now feel that I need to find an agent. I'm not sure if having a book coming out will help in this matter, but I'm surely going to flaunt it. Why not.

I have also set my sites on a laptop and projector for school visits. I don't know if it would be necessary, but certainly fun to show how I create images. We'll see about that one.

I always find it interesting where ideas come form. At the conference, an editor said she would love to see a book about dead animals. Now, I don't know if she was really serious or not, but I now have an idea for a book. I plan to pitch it to her some day.

Lastly, I would like to add that I am now a fan of Adam Rex. He spoke at the conference and held a breakout session on writing. Let's just say he impressed me.

Just briefly because I need to leave, but I spent the day at the SCBWI conference yesterday (that's the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators). I found it rather interesting. I'll tell you more after today's conference.

Ok gang, here's what has been happening. I got a proof copy of my book. Very exciting and it looks very good. I was surprised how much of the edges were cut off. It was more than the bleed around the edge, but it still looks good. Now I just have to wait until September when it comes out.

The other day, I was checking Google to see where my website would rank on a search. It came up first. But then I was bored, so I started checking out the other Steve Grittons in the world (surprisingly, there is more than one of me). I stumbled upon Amazon.com, low and behold, my book is on there already. That was just very cool! I now have a book that you can pre-order!

Now, I'm continuing to work on other stories and trying to find time to send them out. I am very anxious to do another book. I am trying to develop some characters that could pop up in more than one book. I have two ideas for these characters. I just have to figure out how to sell it to a publisher. I always wondered how "Don't Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus" or "Duck! Rabbit!" got pitched to a publisher.

Until next time,
Steve.

I have been trying to update the website, but haven't had much time nor energy. Yesterday, I went snowboarding for the first time in a couple of years. My friends that I went with are much better than I, so following them turned out to be treacherous. One run, I got stuck in knee deep snow. Funny as anything, but tiring. Sucked the life right out of my legs.

I haven't been writing lately and that has left me feeling a little out of it. I really need to get back to my stories and do some editing. I also have a new story floating around in my head. They don't like to stay there very long.

Hi and welcome. With my first published book, comes my first blog. We shall see where it leads us. So, an update on the book. It has been sent to the printers and I wait to see a proof. That's it. Well, I'm going to post this and then play around with it some more to figure out how this works.