Spaghetti Launched at McNally's!

My smile swallowed my face. So happy.

It happened. My ultimate writing dream came true this past Saturday.

I said it in my launch speech and I'll say it here again, for every Winnipeg writer having their book launch at McNally's is as exhilarating as being a chocolate addict and winning a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

We began with running the incredible book trailer, followed by The Drew's introduction of me. He brought

The Drew. xoxo

gales of laughter when he remarked that he had been a fan of my body of work for years and then tears when he closed with his pride in my accomplishments.

When I then stood behind that podium and saw all those faces smiling back at me, I had a full Romper Room moment. All I needed was that monstrous mirror she held and it would've gone a little like this;

"I see Sarah and Thomas and Daniel and Emma and Melody and Neve. I see Lauren, and Brynne, and Kaiya and Signy and Ella. Oh look, it's Abi
and Katya and Laura. And is that Wren and Karissa and Shay and Tait, too?"

Hello Peeps! You all Came!!!

Really, I could go on like that for hours. No jokes. But honestly, with every new face I saw, I felt a surge of joy.

The Hartmichaels on Another Grand Adventure.

McNally's, the finest Independent Book Store in all of the world, went above and beyond.

They moved book shelves out of the way to expand our space, served the most scrumptious chocolate chip cookies a kid could ever ask for (even better than mine, I've since been told), and tolerated my rambunctious children as they raced through the children's department as if it were their second home as it is mine.

Apparently watching your mom sign books for an hour and half is 100% Dullsville, when you're 8 and 12.

And McNally's graciously allowed us to sell Spaghetti book posters as a fundraiser for Asperger Manitoba. Anne Kresta was in attendance and was able to disseminate important information about the services and support that Asperger Manitoba Inc provides to Manitoban families.

My thanks to all who showed up, if not in body, but in spirit - you made me feel like the Queen of Books.

To my publisher Little Pickle Press for designing a book I am proud to call my own, with Lesson Plans, book marks and posters to accompany it - what else could I ask for? You are stupendous.

Now, about that next book...

Spaghetti Launches Today!

The day has come. The day I have dreamt of since Little Pickle Press offered to publish my book..

The Book Launch for Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food and Other Life Lessons.

When I first signed with Little Pickle, the marketing strategy was to launch digitally first, see if we had an audience, and follow with a print book if deemed appropriate. Our plan was to wait until we had a sufficiently large school order down in the states and then we'd start our first print run.

But Connor's story was a hit and ba-blam! Rana pressed the print key and voila 5,000 copies of my beautifully illustrated book were ready within days.

Joff Schmidt and I.

Yes, my outfit matches my book cover.

I started this morning with an interview on CBC Radio with Joff Schmidt. We talked about writing, kids, and Asperger's Syndrome.

Our chat, as far as I could tell, was going extremely smoothly, until a flock of runners in bright yellow t-shirts stopped to wave wildly at us through the ginormous window that faces the studio. Exactly what a person with my focus issues does not need when on live radio.

Might as well have been a tap dancing purple unicorn or an elephant sized squirrel juggling cannon balls outside that window.

Thankfully, Joff is a pro and helped me redirect my attention back into the room.

So here are the deets for today!

McNally Robinson Booksellers.

When: 2:00 pm - in the Atrium

There will be cookies, punch, coffee, tea and water. Oh, and of course paper books aplenty. And to support Asperger Manitoba Inc, McNally's is allowing us to sell book posters at the launch, with all proceeds benefiting AMI. Have I mentioned before how much I love McNally's? And what about my publisher, Little Pickle Press, who generously donated hundreds of posters?

Now it's time to get myself book launch ready. New blue and green outfit. Check. Painted matching blue toes. Check. T-Rex the Gecko earrings. Double-check!

Hugs,

Jodi

Spaghetti at #5 on McNally's Best Sellers List!

Riding a Rocket Ship

I feel a bit like Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, flying high above the earth, except my feet are planted firmly on the ground.


My space travel is one of excitement and gratitude. 

Over the past two weeks, I have been honoured with winning two awards for my middle grade book, Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food and Other Life Lessons.

The first I received was a  Gold Mom's Choice Award. I got so excited, I gave myself a migraine and ended up in bed for most of the following day.

Yes, I am made of that sort of tough stuff.

On Mother's Day, I received the second award - A Silver Benjamin Franklin Award. This time, I was able to rein in my exuberance and remained migraine-free.

I must thank my publisher, Little Pickle Press, for having the faith in my book and entering Spaghetti for these prestigious awards.

As Connor's story reaches an ever widening and growing audience, I can't think of a better partner to have in the journey.

Hugs to you, Rana, and all of Team Pickle.

Fact, Fiction, or Freaky?

You know that feeling when you meet someone for the first time and you feel like you've known them all your life?

Or when you see someone's "twin" at the mall or the movie theatre and you are 100% sure they were not separated at birth, like in a cheesy after-school special?

Weird, for sure.

Something very similar happened to me, but it doesn't fall into either of those two freaky categories. It's stranger than fact or fiction.

Is it Karma? The Universe? Or the Great and Powerful Oz? 

(Yes, we watched the critically un-acclaimed Muppet's Wizard of Oz on the weekend. Twice. It was one of the world's worst Ground Hog Day moments.)

Ah, but I have drifted.

The point is, that whatever the source, what happened to be me last week was extremely odd.

It's a sort of Literary Doppelganger.

Are you ready to be slightly amused, dumbfounded, or quite possibly all-out shocked?

Mr. B.'s Doppelganger - Mr. Hoover the Principal.

When I received my eBook, back in December, I noticed a striking similarity in appearance of one of the characters in the book to one of the teachers at the school where I work.


What a cute coincidence I thought.

Mr. B IS Mr. Hoover.

Once I received the paper book, I quickly realized one of the other characters looked like another one of our illustrious teachers.

Coincidence again?  

Methinks not.

It was so eerie that the staff began to wonder if I had this done on purpose. But since I wrote the book 4 years ago, and only started at Linden Meadows last year, this is impossible.

Mr. Hood IS Mr. Cohen.

Mr. Hood's Doppelganger - Mr. Cohen the Librarian

(Plus, my cartooning abilities remain firmly in the stick people realm.)

I am now looking to find Mrs. Rosetti, Mr. O'Brien and Mrs. Chan in the faces of our staff. Who knows whose fictional twin is lurking in the halls of Linden Meadows...

Celebration Carmichael Style

The Drew never lost faith in me, even when I had.

Last night, we had a fun filled evening at Boston Pizza. We were celebrating the arrival of the paper version of, Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food and Other Life Lessons.

Here's a tribute to my most amazing family. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a family to nurture a writer.

Thank you so much.

I love you all to the moon and back. 

 

Sarah is so excited, that she  keeps offering free copies to her friends.

Emma's 2nd grade class was my fist Beta audience.

Without my mom. there would be no book. She enrolled me in my first writing course.

Judith babysat so that I could go to writing conferences & workshops.

My dad spent hours supporting me on my blog book tour, posting comments as we toured the world wide web.

Our new favourite bedtime story.

 

Hot off the Presses...

...and into my Cool Hands!

WOOOOHOOOOOO!

My box of author copies of Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food and Other Life Lessons arrived today!

So excited, I think I may stroke out. Must take a breath. Or twelve.

Happy Dancing as I type. Sounds impossible, but not when you are a pro like me.

I send a huge, heartfelt thank you to my publisher Rana DiOrio and all of Team Pickle. Most especially, Cameron Crane, Dani Greer, Khadijah Lacina, Sarah Seward, Leslie Iorillo, and Kelly Wickham. And a digital thanks to Aarti and Chintu Parikh of Kite Readers for creating the best digital book a writer could ask for.

And my congratulations to Spaghetti's talented illustrator, Sarah Ackerley. You brought Connor to life, exactly as I imagined.

I feel like that little youtube girl who sings,

"I love my life. I love my hair. I love everything."

 And to my supportive family and friends,

"I love you. I love your hair...I love everything about you!"

The Book's in the Mail

"©2012 Little Pickle Press reprinted with permission"

Just got the great news.

My book has left the printer and is heading across North America to arrive at my front door. Maybe as soon as tomorrow!

I can hardly wait to hold it. To slide my fingers across it's glossy cover, opening the book to the dedication page - to read it out loud to my family. Pretty sure the tangy smell of the ink will jellify my knees.

Yes, only a true booky would swoon at the scent of a freshly printed book.

I may even take my book out for a cocktail to celebrate. Maybe a Cosmo or Manhatten in some cozy fireside lounge in the charming Old Market Square section of downtown Winnipeg.

Uhm, sorry. I got a little carried away.

What we will have, is a night out Carmichael-Style. 

Family dining ala Boston Pizza. 

Brimming bowls of Bugs n' Cheese for the girls, the feature special for The Drew and I and icy cold cokes for us all. That's just the way The Carmichaels roll, baby. (Yes, we've been watching too many Cake Boss reruns.)

Of course, the evening will be topped of by "an all hands on deck" Happy Dance in our living room before bed.

And just guess what our bedtime story will be.

Available for order at McNally Robinson
Available for order through Little Pickle Press

How do you celebrate family achievements? I'm looking for suggestions.

(It's time to push beyond insect-shaped pasta and pizza.)

 

Now Digitally Advanced

Yup. That's me. On the leading edge of digital technology. Sort of.

I'm actually describing my tech-genius husband, The Drew.

Thanks to his computer wizardry my website address: www.jodicarmichael.com now magically transfers you here to my blog.

Coincidentally, my blog is my website. For now. One day soon, The Drew is going to share his knowledge and guide me through creating my own site.

As long as I don't need an advanced degree in HTML, I'm good to go.

Manners - Don't Even Get Me Started!

Yes I did. I went there. Manners. Booyah! Sexy blog topic, for sure.

It's a culture of disrespect, we're living in people. Rudeness, I tell ya', is everywhere.

Cutting in line at the grocery store, stealing a parking spot, leaving the toilet seat up, NEVER saying please or thank you. Where will it end?  (And might I add there should be huge fines for that whole lavatory issue.)

If I hear one more person place this order, "I want the Super Colossal Artery Busting Burger, hold the mayo," I may in fact, lose my last remaining ounce of patience. Although their selection of grease on a bun is a concern, it's their under-use of the undervalued, but much appreciated magic word, please, that has my nickers in a knot. 

Please.

Every third grader has it memorized. It is only one syllable. How hard can it be to remember?

I think it all stems from the hyper-focus we place on our own needs, with a blind disregard, an inattention if you will, to what matters to others. (Splashing into a cold bowl of water at 2am is never pleasant.)

Why am I on a politeness rant this morning? Because I am 100% guilty. My telephone manners slipped to an all time low. I was firmly entrenched in Blogger Brain, writing this very post, when the telephone rang. (I do believe that is a strong case of irony.)

And how did I answer the phone, greeting the caller, making them feel as if I welcomed their call? Not, "Good morning," or "Hello" or even touting our multicultural community did I sing out "Bonjour."

No, deep in my own world, completely forgetting all decorum, I picked up the phone and uttered, 

"Hey."

Followed by,"What"

And my final feeble attempt of, "Uhm, hi this is Jodi."

Of course the caller, was silent not knowing what nut house she had called.

Good grief.

What I did score full marks on was inattention. But that's a whole other blog post.

And I ain't got nothin' on Thomas C. Farley, a.k.a. Mr. Manners.

Click here to get your manners' clock cleaned:

What Manners Most 

Gestures of Kindness

As a writer, I have a natural and often insatiable curiosity about people.

What motivates others to act the way they do? Say the things they do? I'm also intrigued by how other people see the world and each other.

Many years ago, I read a newspaper article that featured a homeless man. When asked what was the worst thing about living on the street, he didn’t answer what many of us would think the obvious - the cold - the hunger - the danger.

Nothing even close.

He said something along the lines of,  

“When people see me, they no longer see a human being. When folks toss money into my can, they never look me in the eye. I’m no longer worthy of a smile.”

Such a tiny gesture of kindness. A smile. A friendly, “Hello.” To be given the common courtesy of being looked in the eye. Treated like a fellow human being.

That stuck with me. The need to matter – to count as important. How hard is it look someone in the
eye?

I changed the way I treated those with their hands outstretched. I stopped judging and starting smiling. It made me look for the good in people.

All people.

I'm not perfect, nor do I ever aim to be, and I'm certainly not 100% at finding the good in people. Trust me, it can be a challenge. Sometimes I'm too cranky or self-involved with my own life to be the kind of person I want to be.

But, I'm trying. I'm still a work in progress, as we all are, really.

Has there been a moment, an event, in your life that made you change your viewpoint? 

I'd love to hear about it.

Central Canada Lit Fest

I'm growing more excited about presenting at the first Central Canada Lit Fest in Winnipeg.

My topics: 

Creating Characters with Special Needs in MG/YA Fiction; The Importance of Blog Book Tours; and Kindle, KOBO, and NOOK - Reading in a Digital Age.

Central Canada Lit Fest

Young Adult | Fantasy | Paranormal Romance | Science Fiction | Horror

April 20th & 21st

Central Canada Lit Fest

April 20th & 21st 2013

Place Louis Riel

190 Smith Street

Winnipeg, MB.

Canada

Come join us for two days of learning and sharing the craft of writing.

Follow this link to the schedule:

C4 Lit Fest Schedule 

The Careful Critique

Critiquing another writer's work is tricky. 

It's a fine balance of compliments and criticism. If you're really good at giving feedback, you offer gently worded suggestions.

I like to think I've gotten pretty good at giving honest, useful, suggestions that don't wound the recipient's soul.

  

A careless critique can damage a writer's self-confidence. 

A vicious one can inflict deeper injuries that may cause creative paralysis, preventing them from taking pen to paper for weeks, months, or possibly years.
 
The first reviews I received was from teachers in elementary school. A few months ago, I pulled out the 1st books I'd ever written - circa 1979.

Over three decades ago, I was an eager fifth grader and these first works were school projects. I vividly recall their creation and how at first I felt proud, followed by frustrated, and finally ashamed.

I eagerly wrote each story and submitted them for the teacher's review. She had me re-write them numerous times. Not for the content, but because my printing was nearly illegible.

I'd squish all my words together, making each sentence resemble one elongated word. Supercalifragilciousexpialidocious had nothing on 10 year old me.

Saying printing was a little difficult for me, is like saying a little chocolate is never enough. 

During the previous year, in fourth grade, Mrs. Burmeyer took me to task nearly every day for my poor penmanship.

She had a menacing German accent, kept her grey hair pulled into a severe bun, not one hair dared stray. Do I need to mention she wielded a wooden meter stick? Well, she did. With fury. In outrage she broke it over my best friend's desk. But that's another story.

If I close my eyes I can hear Mrs. Burmeyer yelling, "Spaces, Jodi. Spaces!"

One day, when I began to cry she chastised me for my tears. You see, when they dropped to my page they smudged my pencil marks, making my work even messier. For shame. Uh huh, that was sarcasm.

Needless to say, fourth grade was not my favorite. But back to these books and onto fifth grade. I painstakingly rewrote each book, writing in my absolute best longhand, and submitted them with fingers crossed.

When the teacher returned my masterpiece, The Ghost Host, I flipped to the last page, searching for her comments. My heart sunk.

Rather than focus on what I had done well, she drew special attention to my faults, underlining the word, "neater", as if somehow that would finally make me say, "Aha! Now I get it. My handwriting is sub par."

What her words did quite successfully was make me feel horrible about myself. I handed in my best work, but apparently my best was not good enough. My pride turned to shame. 

Thankfully between then and today, word processors were invented. Both my editor and I are grateful, as my printing and handwriting never improved much beyond my middle school abilities. And thankfully teaching has come a long way in thirty years.
 
When I give feedback, I bring my life experience with me and I leave my red pen at home. My goal is to uplift, support, encourage, direct, and inspire my fellow writers to create their best work.

Shame never enters the picture. Not does a measuring stick.

Spaghetti Dinner a Success!

Charlene and I, with a visit from Gavin.

What a night!

Charlene Walberg, President of Asperger Manitoba Inc, and I were overwhelmed with the incredible turnout for our 1st Annual Spaghetti and Potluck Dinner.

We planned for 85 and served over 150, running out of cutlery and plates! The Drew ran to Safeway to replenish our supplies so we could feed the starving masses.

Ok, so maybe they weren't starving, but still they devoured the scrumptious spaghetti and tasty treats.

DeLuca's pasta was DeLicious!

I need to extend an enormous thank you to Rosanna Deluca-Poole, of DeLuca's Specialty Foods for her generous donation of the best spaghetti I have ever tasted. 

My Rocking Book Trailer.

I was too busy to actually eat at the event, but I scarfed down a mounding plate of spaghetti once I got home. (I did not, however, morph into a cavewoman and dump any noodles on my head, Ala Connor.)

The evening went off without a hitch - beyond the mid event supply run.



Sarah & I getting crafty with signage

All thanks to Charlene, her husband Ryan, my husband Drew, my great friends Brenda and Laura and all my parents - especially my mom who thought of every last detail.

Mom, organizing the troops

And of course to Charlene's son Gavin and my girls Sarah and Emma who helped prep the tables and the kids craft section.

6 year old McKenna's picture she drew for me.  

We sold close to 40 posters, that were donated by Little Pickle Press, making $300 for Asperger Manitoba. 

Again my thanks to Rana DiOrio and her whole team for supporting not just me as a Little Pickle Press author, but also Asperger Manitoba and by extension the Aspergers' community in Manitoba.

But the best part by far?

Nearly blew a gasket, dreaming up witty messages!

Meeting so many incredible kids; Tait, McKenna, David, Alex, Gavin, Sam, Agustin, Cooper, Eric,and Carter. I know there were more, but I lost my paper with all the names written on it. I am a bit disorganized that way. Frustrating, but true.

I hope to see them all again at the book launch in spring, and I'll make sure to include their names when I blog about it!

I was able to squeeze in two readings and the kids had lots of questions for me when I signed their posters.

Looking out to the packed room and seeing my friends and family smiling back at me was my dream come true.

The Best Dad. Ever.

My fellow Anita, Pat.

The Original Anita.

My PR guru pal, Tish.

It takes understanding, compassion, and acceptance to build an inclusive community and this was a much appreciated way for you to show your support. 

Cyber Hugs for you all!

Meeting wonderful people, always makes me happy.