Friday, December 4, 2015

Time to Celebrate Again

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day. We had a great day with my god family. Good company. Good food. Good memories.

I am finally back to celebrating again, but first, hats off to co-hosts for this blog hop,  Lexa Cain @ Lexa Cain , L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog  You can go to any of these sites to get all the links and add your name to the links. 

Meanwhile, what am I celebrating? Two things:
1. The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators' Book Launch. The actual kick-off day was Tuesday, December 1st, but it will be going on until the next launch in spring.

You can go HERE to see a wonderful collections of children's books, from picture books to MG to YA novels, all of which would make great Xmas or birthday presents for a reader you know of the appropriate age. (My MG mystery, Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls, is being launched there, too. You can go directly to that launch HERE.) 

2. My second thrill was going to Pacific Grove and Carmel last week-end to celebrate my birthday. My husband and I love that area. He's into black and white film photography. I take my little point and shoot digital camera. You can see pictures I took of that beautiful area next door on my 4th Wish blog

A few questions for you: What is your favorite type of children's book? Are you into picture books? YA? MG? Fantasy? Mystery? 
What is your favorite spot for special occasions?

20 comments:

Linda Kay said...

A dear friend and fellow writer wrote a children's book and it was recently published..."Where's My Hug?" It's a flip tab book, and very cute. Lots of pictures and the illustrator did a good job. I do love Carmel and Pacific Grove, have visited there when seeing my friend in Watsonville at Pajaro Dunes. Makes me want to jump on a plane to go see her.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

A group of book-loving friends and I used to go to Pajaro Dunes once a year for a long week-end of books, gossip, and great views. There were about 8 of us who went each time. Your comment about Pajaro Dunes made me miss those days.

Tonja Drecker said...

Happy belated-birthday, and so nice you got to spend it that way.
I love kid books, picture books. . .honestly, if a book is well written, I'll probably enjoy it no matter what the intended audience or genre.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

I'm the same way, T. When I was a kid, I read older books, and even now I read kid books. Several books I read as a child I love to this day, A Little Princess, anything by Edith Nesbitt or Edgar Ever, and the older Nancy Drew mysteries.

Jenni said...

Good luck with the SCBWI launch! Your book sounds fantastic. I love mysteries and historicals, especially if they're combined like the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency and The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. Happy Birthday--and enjoy your time away!

DA Cairns said...

My children have grown up so I don't read children's books although for a uni assignment last year I had to find some good ones and research them. One that stood out was The Worst Band in the Universe by Graeme Base. So funny, clever and awesomely illustrated. Perry Angel's Suitcase by Glenda Millard is also brilliant.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Oh, I read The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place and really liked it! The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency sounds interesting. Thanks for stopping by.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Thanks for the good recommendations. I'll look into both books. Thanks for stopping by.

Rosi said...

Congratulations on both. I love all kinds of children's books. Don't make me choose!

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

I so understand what you mean. I love all kinds of books, not just children's books, and I really wish I had more time to read!

Unknown said...

Congrats on your book launch for the holidays. I'm happy to hear your birthday went well. I think my fav MG books were horse ones (Black Beauty and The Black series) and mysteries (I loved the Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series.) Have a lovely weekend!

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Oh, Lexa, I forgot about Black Beauty. Yes, that was a wonderful book! I've enjoyed reading it again as an adult, as that's one of "Imogene's" favorite books. :-) Have a great day.

Sandra Cox said...

Belated Happy Bday. Sounds like all kinds of good things going on.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Thanks, Sandra. It's been a nice period of time.

Meradeth Houston said...

Oh I do love the Carmel area--it's where my mom and sister go for girls only get-aways. Such a beautiful spot! Hope you had fun!

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Hi, Meradeth, thanks for stopping by. Carmel area is a wonderful getaway spot indeed.

Sharon Himsl said...

Exciting news. I'm not surprised that 'Imogene...' is part of SCBWI's book launch. Have not been to Pacific Grove or Carmel. Good to know next time I'm in Calif. Happy Birthday too!!

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Thanks, Sharon. If you get a chance to go, I'm sure you will love the Pacific Grove/Monterrey/Carmel area.

Janet, said...

Hi Elizabeth! I love picture books and middle grade. They are my favorite books to read and write. Congratulations on your latest book. Happy belated birthday.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Hi, Janet, thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the follow and good wishes. Hats off to you if you can write picture books as well as MG. I've tried them, and they are not easy. I seem to have settled into MG and older. Have a great day.