Had a great time at WonderCon 2022. I moderated a KidLit author panel and sold my books at a small press booth for the first time. Cosplayers were out in full force.
With fellow children’s authors (l to r): Tim McCanna, Ernesto Cisneros, Sam Subity, and Salina Yoon.
Stunning artwork inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender
Chainsaw Man. Note the safety tags on the chainsaws.
Not sure who this guy is, but he’s summoning a purple fireball, so…
This is Goat Vs. Fish. He literally walks around interviewing people, asking which animal they prefer. Hilarious.
Grogu from The Mandalorian
Jinx from Netflix’s amazing Arcane series
Another Jinx!
Kim Possible – an oldie but a goodie
Krampus is always a pleasant surprise
Kuiil (and Grogu!) from The Mandalorian
Lady Thor
Lara Croft from Tomb Raider
Merida from Brave
Daenerys Targaryen on a dragon from Game of Thrones
Oscar the Grouch and the Mysterious Galaxy devil puppet
Pickle Rick, my favorite character from the Rick and Morty series
Planet of the Apes ape. Get your damn, dirty hands off me.
Remote-controlled R2-D2 from Star Wars
Rick and Morty-inspired artwork
A rider of Rohan from The Lord of the Rings
Hilarious Saint X artwork
An awesome Sister of Battle from Warhammer 40K
Family of superheroes
Is this what Joe Satriani meant by “Surfing with the Alien”?
Tetris Man
Thor
Vi from Arcane
Jinx and Vi from Arcane
Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher
A bashful young Wonder Woman
Stunning Callisto and Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess
Mysterious Galaxy Books hosted a reading/signing of my creative nonfiction picture book, I AM SMOKE.
Acclaimed middle grade author Chris Baron graciously “interviewed” me about my book. My faithful hound Iroh also showed great interest in the book. A good time was had by all.
With many of us stuck at home with young kids, my publisher Familius asked me to make a video of my Alice in Wonderland prequel picture book, ALICE’S MAGIC GARDEN.
In this imaginative prequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice finds herself at a gray, dreary boarding school that is decidedly up the rabbit hole. From the relentless clocks to the beastly students, Alice’s world is void of color and cheer–until Alice finds a secret garden and begins tending its wilting inhabitants. When Alice’s love touches an ordinary caterpillar, a lory bird, and a white rabbit, magical things will happen–and that, as you know, is just the beginning of the story. Filled with literary allusions and clever nods to its classic roots, Alice’s Magic Garden is a delightful prequel that beckons an escape to the whimsy of Wonderland.
Click on the image below to watch the video. You can order signed copies through the BOOKS page on this website or your local independent bookstore. Enjoy!
With many of us stuck at home with young kids, Schiffer Publishing asked me to make a video of my picture book about bullying inside the refrigerator, GOOD EGG & BAD APPLE.
Not all the foods in the refrigerator get along like peas in a pod. The vegetables are steamed, and Bad Apple and Second Banana are the problem. Good Egg suggests his friends try different responses to these two bullies. They try hiding, then standing their ground. At first, Good Egg’s tactics don’t bear fruit. Only by using his noodle does Good Egg avoid getting scrambled and save his friends’ bacon. In this story told on two levels, young readers will be entertained by the hijinks of the anthropomorphic food characters and will appreciate the allegory about not letting one bad apple spoil the bunch. Adult readers are served plenty of food for thought with hilarious gastronomical idioms and puns. An author’s note explaining all the wordplay adds English language educational opportunities.
Click on the image below to watch the video. You can order signed copies through the BOOKS page on this website or your local independent bookstore. Enjoy!
You’re a writer the moment you write. But if you want to be a published author, one route is to obtain representation. That means researching which literary agent(s) seem like a good fit for your writing and sending them query letters. Literary agents are extremely helpful to a writing career because they can submit to publishers that are closed to unsolicited submissions, negotiate better contracts on your behalf, and some provide editorial guidance. The following post by Mary Kole can be read in full at Writer’s Digest.
Want to participate in Picture Book Critique Fest 2019? Do you write or illustrate picture books? This MASSIVE one-time picture book critique giveaway celebration is for you! They have 35 picture book critiques to giveaway!
The vision for this event is to celebrate the critique and revision process and to help build the KidLit community. It is hoped that actual, living, breathing books will be birthed out of this process.
The festival is happening October 3rd-25th. The deadline to enter the raffle will be October 25th 9AM CST. 35 winners will be randomly selected and then “paired with their person” based on information provided on the registration form. Winners will be announced the evening of October 25th on Twitter, Facebook, and on a Picture Book Spotlight blog post.
Want more info on how it all came together and why it’s happening? Go to PBSpotlight.com!
Here are the industry professionals who’ll be providing the critiques:
I’m thrilled to reveal the cover of my next picture book, 2 PIRATES + 1 ROBOT, coming from Kane Miller next month! Art by Shiho Pate.
Space pirates Flotsam, Jetsam, and their robot’s rejoicing at their newfound plunder is cut short when they’re attacked by other pirates. They evade by flying into an asteroid field, but their ship is damaged. Despite the robot’s repair efforts, they don’t have enough fuel to reach port. Will Flotsam and Jetsam accept his valiant offer to be jettisoned in order to save them? It’s Firefly meets THE GIVING TREE. An author’s note explains some of the math and physics behind the shenanigans. My engineering degrees finally paid off!
I had a great time attending the 2019 Charlotte Huck Children’s Literature Festival at the University of Redlands. I saw friends Joe Cepeda, Dianne White, and Carmen Oliver, and met new friends:
Joyce Sidman is the Newbery Honor-winning poet/author of Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, and two Caldecott Honor books: Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems (also a Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award winner) and Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors (which won the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award).
Bethany Hegedus is the award-winning author of Grandfather Gandhi, co-written with Arun Gandhi, grandson to the Mahatma.
Mrs. Nelson’s Book Fair sold books. Mine had very nice company from Doreen Cronin’s classic.
Richard Michelson is the poet/author of The Language of Angels, which won the National Jewish Book Award, the Junior Library Guild Gold Medal, and the
2018 Sydney Taylor Gold Medal.
Doreen Rappaport is the award-winning author of 48 children’s books, including BEYOND COURAGE: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust.
Called a “born storyteller” by the media, Marsha Diane Arnold’s picture books have sold over one million copies and been called, “whimsical,” “inspiring,” and “uplifting.” Her books have garnered such honors as Best First Book by a New Author, Smithsonian Notable, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and state Children’s Choice awards. Recent books include GALÁPAGOS GIRL, MAY I COME IN? and LOST. FOUND, a Junior Library Guild selection illustrated by Caldecott medalist Matthew Cordell, which received three starred reviews. Marsha was born and raised in Kansas, lived most of her life in Sonoma County, California, and now lives with her husband in Alva, Florida, near her family.
For what age audience do you write?
The best stories, those that hold enduring truths, are really for all ages, so
I like to say I write for all ages. (My publishers usually note my books are for ages 4 to 8.) Before moving to picture books, I wrote an award-winning, syndicated column entitled homegrown treasures. My column was read by grandparents, parents, teens, and toddlers, all sitting together, enjoying “story.”
Mostly, I write picture books. I also write board books, like BABY ANIMALS TAKE A NAP and BABY ANIMALS TAKE A BATH, and am working (from time to time) on a chapter book and middle-grade novel.
Henry: I’m in the same boat. I’ve published only picture books, but am trying my hand at middle-grade.
Tell us about your latest book.
GALÁPAGOS GIRL began as a tiny seed in 2007, when I visited the Galápagos Islands. My naturalist guide was Valentina Cruz, whose family were some of the first inhabitants of the remote island of Floreana in the Galápagos.
Through email and video chats, Valentina shared her adventures growing up on Floreana with her parents and eleven brothers and sisters – stories of living with wild nature, of swimming with sea lions, of finches flying into their house to sample her mother’s homemade jam. Her idyllic life led her to become a biologist and naturalist guide so she could share with the world her knowledge and love of the islands and their unique flora and fauna. She’s the inspiration for my fictional character Valentina in the book.
I’m thankful to have Lee & Low as my publisher and Angela Dominguez as my talented illustrator. GALÁPAGOS GIRL is bilingual with an author note and back matter that includes information on each of the animals mentioned in the book.
What do you hope readers will get from reading that book?
In general, my wish for my readers is that my books give them some whimsy and fun, a lot of enjoyment and entertainment, heaps of inspiration, and something to ponder.
I hope when my readers read GALÁPAGOS GIRL, they will feel the joy of being in nature. From a unique perspective, they will glimpse a way of life different from their own. I hope they’ll close the book with a desire to help keep all wildlife safe.
What aspect of writing do you find most challenging?
Those rejections! They always make me question my value as a writer, but eventually, “I pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.”
Henry: Yes, the two most valuable author attributes (after writing ability) are being thick-skinned and indefatigable.
What is a powerful lesson you’ve learned from being a writer?
I can do it. Being an introvert and filled with self-doubt most of my life, that’s a powerful lesson. Each of us can do it!
What has been a memorable experience that you never would have had if you had not been a writer?
Author visits! What wonderful times I’ve had visiting schools from California to Puerto Rico, from Germany to Kenya. In Alabama, I had to run three miles at a school where they’ve been celebrating THE PUMPKIN RUNNER with a day of races and games for six years! At one Kansas school, they built a tornado on the school’s roof to celebrate THE BRAVEST OF US ALL. One librarian called my visit a “Big Vivid” for the school community, an inspiring memory that will stay with them forever. In truth, my visits to schools have always been “Big Vivids” for me.
Henry: Run three miles!? Now, that’s a commitment to a school visit!
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Think of rewriting as polishing a stone until it’s smooth and bright and beautiful.
Do you have any favorite quotes?
I have two that come back to me again and again over the years.
“You must concentrate upon and consecrate yourself wholly to each day, as though a fire were raging in your hair.” Taisu Deshimaru
“We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals… In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.” Henry Beston
Henry: Lovely
Do you have any strange rituals that you observe when you work?
No strange rituals here. Maybe a walk in nature, which, sadly, for many today, may seem like a strange ritual.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
The power to let everyone see that all humans, all creatures, and all plants are part of a precious web of wonder. Then maybe we’d respect and care for one another as we should.
Henry: I’m reminded of the Tree of Souls in the Avatar movie.
That’s my serious answer. My not-so-serious answer is to be a Teleporter! Is that a word? What fun to be able to transport instantly to any place on this magnificent planet. As inhabitants of Earth, I think it’s our responsibility to experience as much of it as possible. My air miles aren’t stretching far enough, so to be able to instantly move from place to place would come in handy.
Henry: Plus, it would be easier to conduct school visits!
If you could have three authors over for dinner, who would it be?
I must choose naturalist and writer Henry Beston. Afterall, he’s responsible for one of my favorite quotes.
Charles Dickens – because he’s the master of creating fascinating characters and he still influences the way we celebrate Christmas, what with “A Christmas Carol” and all.
J.R.R. Tolkien – for his brilliance.
Wait! That’s not right. I need some women at our salon.
Henry: You had me at Tolkien
Let’s include Emily Dickinson. She won’t take up much space. “I’m Nobody!” she wrote, “how dreary to be Somebody.” I have always loved her poetry.
To round things out, let’s invite two more. Eudora Welty, Pulitzer Prize winner and lovely Southern lady. Her ON WRITING is so readable, so excellent.
Sheila Turnage, another writer who is a master at creating characters, like her Miss Moses LoBeau, would be my living author. I want to learn from Sheila how to write great middle-grade novels.
What is your favorite creature that exists only in literature?
Dragons, for certain. The Galápagos marine iguanas on the Galápagos reminded me a bit of dragons.
Henry: “My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, THE HOBBIT
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
Travel! When I’m traveling, I love to hike, scuba dive, snorkel, and see new sites and sights. I also love being home, surrounded by my family, exploring the rural roads in our golf cart, swimming, and investigating the natural world.
What would you like it to say on your tombstone?
A Kansas farm girl, protector of nature, lover of family, whose writing was enjoyed by all ages.
Where can readers find your work?
Readers can find my books in libraries, bookstores, and online.
henryherz.com 