Forever Julia wins McNally Robinson Book Awards for Young People (older categor)

In fact the road was a lot like this,
minus the mountains & the arid landscape.
Otherwise identical, but metaphorical.

It's been a long and winding road, back to this blog!

Apparently moving to another county across an ocean is sort of a big deal. Sometimes it even interrupts your life, even if you are not an organized type A personality. It seems a transatlantic relocation will put a bit of a kink in your everyday goings on.

Go figure.

Sunrise over our Pier in Ponemah.
(The Drew snapped this photo!)

Now we are back to the cottage in Ponemah, Manitoba for the summer, where I get to complete my middle grade novel; Ford and Ellie: Family of Spies along the shores of Lake Winnipeg.

While in England I had the extreme honour of receiving two nominations for Manitoba Book Awards; The John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer and the McNally Robinson Book Awards for Young People (older category). The first award went to the talented Chantal Fiola, but I won a Manitoba Book Award for Forever Julia! 

                              Crazy, right? 

Super bad image, but that signature doesn't lie!
Much Happy Dancing was done.

Come August 30th we head back to our final year in England with full and heavy hearts. Our Winnipeg and lake-time fun with our friends and family will fuel us for further adventures in Europe and carry us back to our new friends and dear family in England.

How can it be, that in 12 short months we now find ourselves stretched between two countries, thousands of miles apart? If only the Concord would come out of retirement and fly to Winnipeg every four months, life would be sublime.

Hmmm. There may be a story in there...

Forever Julia Wins Bronze Moonbeam Award!

Happy Dancing in my English Garden!

Thrilled to learn that Forever Julia won a Bronze Moonbeam Award in the category of Young Adult Fiction - Mature Issues 2015.

And by lucky coincidence The Drew has the day off, so we will wander into town for a latte and sticky bun to celebrate.

Thanks again to Great Plains Teen Fiction for seeing the importance of Julia's story, providing outstanding editorial suggestions, and designing a book cover that still takes my breath away.

Look what arrived today!

Step 1,052 Complete! Forever Julia is off to Layout!

They say it takes a village to raise a child. I say it takes a community to support a writer.

Now, on the cusp of the publication of my second book, I am quite sure it takes 3 to 33 years, 385 pots of coffee, and 1,064 steps to publish a book. 

That's right, I have zero conclusive evidence, actual facts, or statistics to back that up. Call it a hunch, if you will. Or hyperbole. Whatever floats your boat, canoe, or catamaran.

All I know is that sometime in January I will load up Lexy with my family, including the dog, and head down to Altona to watch Forever Julia fly off Friesen's printing press. My mom is sure to scrapbook this milestone in my literary career. This is the only proven fact I have.

Edits, Revisions, Rewrites. Fun.

Not sure why I thought I was done editing Forever Julia. Maybe because this summer I strengthened Julia's relationship with her boyfriend, tweaked her interactions with her best friend Annika, and merged two characters into one new, uber dude?

Maybe.

More likely it is because I am often a completely unrealistic dreamer. Somehow I thought I would skip merrily over the copy editing step.

Ou est copy editing you wonder?

It is the joyful line by line analysis of every single sentence.

I wish I could say this news filled my heart with a joy only writers can feel. Even more, I wished I Happy Danced around my laptop. I do love a Happy Dance. But I would be lying.

Sort of.

I do want Forever Julia to be the best book I've written, thus far. I want readers to pick it up and think,

"This is the BEST BOOK EVER, I need to read more of Jodi Carmichael's works!" 

But there is this tiny and almost impossible to hear voice, sucking its thumb and hiding behind my left rib cage*, whining,

"Come on. When is this ever going to be done?!"

Thankfully, I am a grown mature woman. I am married, with two children, and a healthy mortgage so sadly it must be true.

Naturally, I can shut up that whiny voice - fast. 

I only need to get myself in writing mode complete with fuzzy slippers, a pot of coffee, and half a pan of Nanaimo Bar. 

(Who am I kidding. I'll eat the entire tray.)

Nanaimo Bars at the ready.
(New York Slice for my American Pals.)

*That is right, that whining voice hides behind my left rib cage. This is also where one of my lungs went to recover after I played that extremely exhausting parents vs kids soccer game. Apparently it is a good place to chill.

SAGE - Here I Come!

My check list has begun for the MTS SAGE 2014: Special Area Groups of Educators Conference on October 24th. 

Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food books to sell. Check.
Spaghetti book marks and Lesson Plans: Check.
Stuffed Charlie Dog: Check.



Forever Julia book marks: Half a check. (In process.)

Stoked to be manning The Manitoba Writers' Guild table with friend and fellow author, Susan Rocan.

Wish us luck as we promote the Guild's resources, fellow Manitoba writers, and ourselves, too!

Mom's Choice Matters

Mom's Choice Matters!

As many of you are aware, I have been guest posting about Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Mom's Choice Matters Blog for a few months now.

It has been a privilege and honour to work with Terry Doherty the Director of Social Media for the Mom's Choice Awards. She is a true professional and a strong supporter of children facing all sorts of challenges. In addition to her work with Mom's Choice, she is also the Executive Director of The Reading Tub, an online book review site that is a must view for parents looking for great books for their children.

Terry Doherty

Sadly, I have now written my last guest post for Terry as my work with Rebelight Publishing and my upcoming book release of Forever Julia has erased all free time. However, great plans are in the works to continue the "All About Aspergers Syndrome Series" with a new contributor who will make you laugh, cry, and grab a pen and paper to take notes.

Once the official announcement has been made, I will write a quick post to introduce this most marvellous writer.
I know you will enjoy her writing as much as I do!

You can check out Mom's Choice Matters here!

And The Reading Tub here!

These are the links to my "All About Aspergers Syndrome Series":

Aspergers Syndrome and ADHD - Understanding the Difference

Helping Kids with Aspergers Syndrome in the Classroom

Making Friends 101 - Everyone Needs a Friend

Autism and Play Dates - Visiting a Friend's House 

Quote to remember:

"Autism is not a disease. I think of Autism as a different kind of operating system."

– Audrey Lintner, Special Projects Coordinator, Little Pickle Press

Kill Your Darlings. Check.

And kill my darling Tyler I did. 

In my first crack at edits for Great Plains, I merged two beloved characters into one to tighten the protagonist's character arc and strengthen plot lines.

Gulp.

Although difficult to bid adieu, it was the right step to take.

Next up for review; Forever Julia's time line.

Peace of cake, right?

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