Cute animals for your Friday

I am obviously feeling the lazy days of summer. I think about blogging, nothing helpful or funny or interesting comes to mind, so I just... skip it. I've been feeling like a very small fish in the very big ocean lately anyway, and when I feel that way, blogging is not the best thing for me. Stepping away from the internet is really the best thing for me. And that's something I'm going to do in a bit here for the rest of the day because my family is gone on this beautiful, summer day, doing some work for my mom. So, I decided I'm going to take a picnic lunch and a book and hang out in the fresh air and sunshine this afternoon. Ahhhh....

So, I've heard there have been sightings of Little Chimp in bookstores! And sure enough, I checked the stock of my local Barnes and Noble and all say "In Stock." So, yay for little chimp! I may have to go and visit him later. :)

Do you like cute animals?







If so, then I think you'll like this book!!

In the jungle,
in the tree,
sits a little chimpanzee.
Mother said she'd be right back.
But now the branch snaps with a crack...

And in a SNAP, Little Chimp is off on a big adventure in the jungle.

Hope you all have a fun, adventurous weekend!!

Yay - The Contemps are here!

I've mentioned a super secret project I've been working on these past weeks, and today all is revealed!

Check it out! (If you click on the graphic, it will take you to our site.)



I'm so excited to be celebrating and highlighting contemporary realistic YA fiction with 20 amazing authors over the course of the next 12 months.

It's the contemporary novels that often stick with me long after I turn that last page. And I'm selfish - I want more! I want authors to keep writing them, I want publishers to keep buying them, and most of all, I want lots and lots of people to buy them, read them, and love them like I do, so the world of contemporary fiction keeps on turning.

I hope you'll help us spread the word!!

A treasure chest discovered

Yesterday we went to my mom's to have birthday cake for my son's sixteenth birthday. I know. 16!!!??? I don't really even understand how that is possible. Time is just so sneaky! But what a great kid, er young man, we have! I feel incredibly blessed.

Anyway, while we were there, my mom showed me the GREATEST thing ever.

A box of letters and postcards.

A BIG box of letters that my grandma had tucked away in her closet.

Letters and postcards with postmarks primarily from the 1930's and 40's, although there are some things earlier and some things later.

Oh my gosh, my grandma and her mother, Anna, were the smartest ladies ever. They knew these were gems to be treasured.

There are letters from my grandma to her folks and her sister while she was away at college. There are postcards from my grandpa to my grandma while he was in the service. And then there are postcards sent home from my grandpa and grandma shortly after they married. Beautiful, old postcards!!! There was also a stack of Christmas cards they saved from a year or two of Christmases.

I read through some of the letters from my grandma and they made me laugh - to hear her as a young adult, talking about college, about clothes, about her classes, about being sick and eating lots of fruits and vegetables to "combat the germs," about driving to Portland with some friends and "please don't worry about me, this is what kids do here and we'll be fine."

Love, love, LOVE!!! The thing that struck me was how often the letters would start out asking them to please write or thanking them for the last letter. You immediately get a sense of how important letters were back then.

My grandma and I used to write letters to each other. I didn't save them, and it is one of my biggest regrets.

This fall or winter, I may borrow the box so I can spend a whole day going through it, going back in time and taking it all in.

What a gift. Other people wanted the valuable stuff, the stuff they could sell. I wanted the recipe cards in my grandma's hand-writing, the buttons I used to play with while she sewed, and the letters written with love.

It's like going back in time

In less than a month, I have another book coming out!!



LITTLE CHIMP'S BIG DAY officially releases September 7th. I'll be signing books at the Pacific Northwest Bookseller's Association, and my publicist is working on setting up a signing at my local Barnes and Noble, so I can invite friends and family.

It's feels strange turning my attention to this book, because I wrote it many, many years ago. I remember I was baby sitting for a little boy one evening, something I did alongside my home-based business to bring in some income, and this line popped into my head: In a jungle, in a tree sits a little chimpanzee. And so the story was born. Looking at this book is like looking back at a younger version of myself. In a lot of ways, I don't feel like that author anymore.

I can remember a time when I thought, writing a novel would be way too hard, I'll never do that. Ha!! Now I'm like, I don't know if I'll ever write another picture book. I'm pretty sure I had to write 100 bad ones to write 2-3 good ones.

But you know, really, I'm all about writing what my heart wants to write. That's what I've always done. That's what I'll continue to do.

Not quite sure why my heart wanted to write about a baby chimp all those years ago, but it did. And now it will be a book that I hope some children enjoy!!

Write On Conference

Are you checking out all the great information at http://writeoncon.com? If not, you should!!

I love THIS POST by editor Molly O'Neill about giving yourself permission. Like I got goosebumps and teared up a little, that's how much I loved it. Here are just a couple of the gems you can find there:

"Permission to wander your way into telling stories completely unlike those you perhaps once thought you would write.
Permission to start writing something new—totally, gloriously new—even if the thought terrifies you. Especially if the thought terrifies you.
Permission to admit that a story you’ve been trying to write isn’t working, or isn’t actually something that you love writing anymore, and to liberate yourself from it. And then, to start something new. (See above!)"

There's SO much more, so go and read it.

Lots of other helpful blog posts and vlogs. I even did one - on romance in YA, complete with a cupcake theme.

I think it's a really cool idea - an on-line conference that offers a variety of topics from authors, editors, and agents. The organizers have done an AMAZING job! I can't even imagine how much work has gone into it. 

Anyway...write on!

Where have I been?

I've been reading. (Note: All three are excellent in their own, unique ways)









I've been taking my kids to the DMV, the eye doctor, and the orthodontist. As a result, I have one kid with his driver's permit and another kid with newly acquired contacts and braces.



I've been eating pie.



And muffins.



I have been exercising a lot so I can eat said pie and muffins.



I've been watching my beloved TV shows (Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, Big Brother, and Project Runway) as well as a few movies. Have you seen INVICTUS? If not, I think you should.



I've been attending tea parties.



Checking out houses.



And meeting famous people.



I think I've been filling the well. And it's been really, really wonderful!

What about you? What have you been up to?

It's Raining Cupcakes Questions and Answers

Question #1 - Why didn't you include more recipes? All those cupcake flavors sound SO good!

I didn't include more recipes because every recipe we put in the book, I had to make up myself. My publisher wouldn't allow me to "copy" recipes from any cookbook or from the internet. While I love to bake, I'm an author, not a professional baker.

If you would like to make more of the cupcakes you read about in the book, try doing an on-line search of the cupcake flavor you are interested in. There are all kinds of great recipe sites, www.allrecipes.com being one of my personal favorites. More than likely, you will find a recipe for the cupcakes you'd like to make. If not, you might find something close, and then you can experiment and see what you can come up with! Happy baking!!

Question #2 - What is wrong with Isabel's mother? Why did you make her that way?

There are all kinds of people in this world. And sadly, not everyone is a great parent. I think Isabel's mom, Caroline, probably needs some professional therapy. But sometimes families have a hard time recognizing that and seeking it out. Does Isabel take on more than a 12-year-old girl should in regards to her mother's issues? Yes, she does. And so do millions of other kids across our country who have parents who are alcoholics or drug addicts or any number of mental illnesses. I'm not advocating that children take on their parents' problems or take on the parental role as children. But I am acknowledging that in some families, this happens. And I hope some kids read this book and feel a little less alone in the problems going on in their homes.

Question #3 - I would love to have a discussion guide for my students or book club members. Is this something you might be willing to provide?

Good news! The fabulous Tracie Vaughn Zimmer helped me prepare one. If you'd like a copy, just e-mail me at lisaschroederbooks(at)gmail.com and I'm happy to send it to you.

Question #4 - Did Isabel win the baking contest? Why didn't you tell us if she won or not?

Isabel wanted to travel more than anything in the world. She wanted to get out of her small town of Willow and see other interesting places. The baking contest was a way for Isabel to do that. Sometimes I don't like how our society is so focused on WINNING. Isn't the journey to the final game, contest, show, whatever, really what's important? We learn things about ourselves, our world, and other people through those journeys, and I wanted readers to see that. As for whether she won or not, see the next question and answer.

Question #5 - Is there going to be another book?

Yes!!! I'm so excited, there will be another book! It's going to be a companion novel rather than a sequel, told from Sophie's (Isabel's best friend) point of view. It's scheduled to come out September 20, 2011, and is called SPRINKLES AND SECRETS. And yes, I will make sure you find out if Isabel won the baking contest or not, okay? Okay!

Thanks to those of you who have read IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and enjoyed it. The fact I get notes from readers, even if some of them are a bit unhappy that they have questions left at the end of it, shows I did what I set out to do - write a book that people would enjoy and remember.

Here you go - have a cupcake, awesome readers!!