Pirates! Penguins! Prizes!

No matter how colorfully you paint one, a penguin will never be a parrot.

I have another book coming out!

About a pirate!

And a penguin!

It’s titled Pirate & Penguin! (Titles are hard.)

The story is about a penguin who slips off his iceberg onto the poop deck of a passing pirate ship. The captain, perhaps a bit dotty from his many months on the high seas, mistakes the stowaway for a parrot and expects his new companion to govern himself accordingly. Penguin’s well-meaning efforts to talk, perch on Pirate’s shoulder, and keep things ship shape leads to mayhem. In fact, things get so out of hand, someone might end up walking the plank.

There is no feeling that can quite replicate the joy of opening a box of author copies.

Pirate & Penguin was the most fun I’ve ever had writing a picture book.

More importantly, I love the way the book turned out. (No one can do a better job at depicting seafaring chaos quite like illustrator extraordinaire, Jenn Harney.)

Pirate & Penguin has gotten good reviews, too!

“A pirate searching for a parrot and a clumsy penguin collide in this lively tale about friendship…. Inventive pirate speak and bright colors compliment this whimsical story.” —  Foreword Reviews

“An amusing romp that will have landlubbers and scurvy sea dogs alike giggling.” — Kirkus

“Although children’s library collections are not lacking in pirate stories, this fresh and funny tale makes its case for inclusion by using a pirate-ship setting to explore the nature of friendship.”  Booklist

And Page Street, my publisher, believes in this book so much, they made up a batch of P&P buttons!

Cute, right?

But here’s the best part:

YOU CAN WIN A FREE COPY!

All you gotta do is head over to Kathy Temean’s blog and enter the giveaway.

And who knows? You may just receive a wonderful work of kid lit—a prize at least as valuable as a medium-sized chest of buccaneer booty.

So go. Good luck. I’ll be rooting for you.

Blog Loser

It happens every other year or so. I plan a little bloggy break—just a little break, mind you. Three weeks tops.

Then, about six-months-to-a-jillion-years later I think, “Oh! Right! The blog! I have one!”

That’s my problem with blogging; when I stop writing posts, I really stop writing posts. I almost aggressively stop writing posts.

I’m sorry. I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just that my mind, dazzled by the extra time on its hands, flits elsewhere. I’ll become obsessed with crossword puzzles. I’ll polish the neglected baseboards in the living room. I’ll dig into the collected works of Neil Gaiman and intimidate myself with just how awesome a writer the guy is. I’ll teach creative writing classes and (ironically) remind my students that “You have to keep to a regular writing schedule!”

Or, I’ll putz around trying to come up with The Great American Picture Book, which, I admit, has been really slow going.

The point is, I’m back now. I have things to say and news that I will dutifully report on in the coming weeks.  

The image at the top of the page is a clue as to one of those stories. Also I have more news (a sequel of sorts) regarding the image below:

‘Member this?

So, again, sorry. And sit tight. I have tales to tell.

And how have you been?

And The Winner Is…

The day is here!

The votes are recorded!

The raffle for the Sleepy Happy Capy Contest is about to begin!

And the grand prize is THIS!

WOO!

A brand new, hardcover, personalized and signed copy of Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles!

As always, the draw-er of the winning ballot is my boy, who has been selecting raffle winners on this blog for the past decade.

He is fair, decent, kind, thoughtful, impartial, scrupulously honest and… and…

And…weird. The kid is weird.

Okay. Let’s get started.

Drop the ballots in the hat and pick a winner, kid.

There you go. You’ve mixed ’em. Now pick one.

Um, no. I think you mixed them enough.

Fine. Whatever. Just hurry up. People are waiting.

Okay, now pick one.

Stop stirring and pick one!

You do NOT need to mix it with your nose! PICK A WINNER!

Okay. Here we go.

And the winner is…

The winner is…

Pam Webb!

Congratulations, Pam! You win a free copy of Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles!

All you gotta do is head on over to my Hire Me! page and send me your mailing address. I’ll get the book out to you post haste!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

And, hey, if you still want a copy of Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles (and who can blame you?), please consider buying it. Or ask your local library to stock a copy. Or maybe both?

And once you get your hands on the book, please consider leaving an online review for a chance to receive some free Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles swag! (More info to come.)

See you again soon, my friends! And, again, thank you!