1. Monday, March 4:            Laurie J. Edwards, Author Blog

2. Tuesday March 5:            Keyboard & Camera

3. Wednesday March 6:       Ann Eisenstein, Author Blog

4. Thursday March 7:          CYNSATIONS

5.  Friday March 8:               Kristi’s Book Nook & Word Wrangler

6.  Monday March 11:           The Brown Bookshelf

7.  Tuesday March 12:           Carol Baldwin, Author Blog

8.  Wednesday March 13:     The Neophyte Writer

9.  Thursday, March 14:        Of Thoughts & Words

There will be a few book giveaways along the way, but you have to visit each stop to find out when and where.

Happy reading…and see you out on the tour!

(Woo-hoo! Happy Dancing! Woo-hoo! Happy Dancing!)

The Next Big Thing Hop: the traveling blog that asks authors whom they consider the NEXT BIG THING, and then has them pass along the questions for those authors to answer in their blogs.

These are the rules: Answer ten questions about your current [book or] Work in Progress on your blog. Tag five writers/bloggers and add links to their pages so we can hop along to them next. Here are my answers…

What is the title of your book?

My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood

Where did the idea come from for the book?

From me thinking to myself one day, “Boy, am I in a mood.”

What genre does your book fall under?

Picture Book

Which actors would you choose to play your character in a movie rendition?

Hmmm…I have no clue. They’re all younguns, so I’m sure they’d be up-and-comers. The dad looks like the book’s illustrator, Shane Evans to me. Maybe he’d be up for the gig.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

It’s a journey through the multi-colored moods of Jamie, and his attempt to get back to the happy-colored mood his brothers are trying to keep him from. (If the grammar police are reading, yes I did end this sentence with a preposition. Creative license.)

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will published (very soon) by Viking Children’s, a Penguin imprint.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The very first draft only took a couple of days.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’ve heard Dr. Seuss’s My Many Colored Moods mentioned.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

This one just came from a random thought that sounded like it would make a good title or first line. However, I hope it inspires readers to embrace the full emotional range that lies within each of us–the good feelings and the not-so-good ones, too.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It is illustrated by 2012′s Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner, Shane Evans; the artwork is absolutely amazing!

Below are my tags of other authors:

Kelly Starling Lyons

Don Tate

Kristy Dempsey

Donna Earnhardt

Vanessa Brantley Newton

This year’s schedule of features is as follows (Vanguard authors in bold; Illustrators in italics):

Feb. 1 – Malaika Rose Stanley (MG)

Feb. 2 – Christian Robinson– (Illustrator)

Feb. 3 – Alaya Dawn Johnson – (YA)

Feb. 4 – Glenda Armand – (PB)

Feb. 5 – Glennette Tilley Turner – (MG)

Feb. 6 – Traci L. Jones – (YA)

Feb. 7 – Brynne Barnes – (PB)

Feb. 8 – Brian F. Walker – (YA)

Feb. 9 – Veronica Chambers – (MG)

Feb. 10 – B.A. Binns (YA)

Feb. 11 – Donna Washington – (PB)

Feb. 12 – Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams – (MG)

Feb. 13 – Octavia Butler – (YA )

Feb. 14 – Ann Tanksley – (Illustrator)

Feb. 15 – Lyah Beth LeFlore – (YA)

Feb. 16 – Tololwa M. Mollel – (PB)

Feb. 17 – Arna Bontemps – (MG)

Feb. 18 – Jasmine Richards – (MG)

Feb. 19 – James Ransome – (PB)

Feb. 20 – Ashley Bryan – (Illustrator)

Feb. 21 – Nalo Hopkinson – (YA)

Feb. 22- Daniel Minter – (Illustrator)

Feb. 23 – Angela Shelf Medearis – (PB)

Feb. 24 – Linda Tarrant-Reid – (MG)

Feb. 25 – Willie Perdomo – (PB)

Feb. 26 – Chudney Ross – (MG)

Feb. 27 – Becky Birtha – (PB)

Feb. 28 – Jaime Reed – (YA)

MY COLD PLUM LEMON PIE BLUESY MOOD!

Contest ends January 31, 2012. Good luck!

WOTD: SILLY

Posting a fun poem I wrote a long while back. I still really like it. Hmmm–maybe it will turn out to be the first piece for a future book of kid’s poetry….

Anyway, here’s hoping it gives you a little chuckle…and full permission to be as silly as you want to be!

Agape

P.S.  Hi, Jean!

THINK

by Tameka Fryer Brown

I’m mad at Mom. I’m mad at Dad.

They took out every toy I had

and left me in here

all alone

to “think” they said.

I should have known

that when they huddled up

and talked

my goose was cooked.

I should’ve walked—

no ran outside and down the street

to A.J.’s house.

We’d hide and eat

up in his room.

We both like cheese

so we’d eat that

and play with Weeze,

‘cept he’s

a dog that likes to drool

and when you’re eating, that’s not cool.

So nix the dog.

A.J. and me,

we’d eat and then we’d try to see

Trey’s house

(which sits on Main and Pope)

through A.J.’s brother’s telescope.

But as we did,

we just might spy

his grouchy neighbor, Mrs. Blye,

do something that is really gross—

like pluck her chin or

pick her toes

or worse…

hock in her witches brew

and pour it in a bowl marked “STEW”

that looked just like the stew she’d brought

to cure the cold AJ had caught

last week.

He’d scream

and then we’d duck

too late.

She’d see us—

More good luck!

Then she’d come over, ring the bell

looking mad and

quick to tell

his mom

that we were peeping through

her window—

which would not be true—

but even still, she’d call MY mom,

who’d tell my dad,

who’d seem real calm…

but then, they’d huddle—

and today,

I’d still be in here anyway!

So while I’m “thinking”, guess I ought

to think about

not getting caught!

]]> http://www.tamekafryerbrown.com/2012/11/a-wayback-piece/feed/ 0 http://www.tamekafryerbrown.com/2012/07/illustrator-love/ http://www.tamekafryerbrown.com/2012/07/illustrator-love/#comments Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:32:32 +0000 Tameka http://www.tamekafryerbrown.com/?p=1075 Continue reading →]]> I love picture books…which I’m pretty sure comes as no surprise, seeing that I write them.

But since I’m only a wannabe visual artist, it’s the illustrations that I find myself in awe of most often. Soaking up page after page of the most gorgeous, colorful, imaginative artwork fills me with a certain soda pop-bubbly feeling I just don’t get from anything else.

These are a few of the artists whose work never fails to touch me:

Vanessa Brantley-Newton

A Vanessa Brantley-Newton Illustration

Frank Morrison

Frank Morrison's THE QUEEN ON THE SCENE

Kadir Nelson

Kadir Nelson from HENRY'S FREEDOM BOX

I really do love picture books.

Who are some of your favorite illustrators? Treat yourself to some of their work today!

Agape.

WOTD: Summer Reading List

One of the most important jobs an author has is reading. Now that school is out, my kids and I will be able to do lots of that.

I’ve decided to post a running list of the books I read (or re-read) during summer vacation. They’ll include books for all ages; I’ll add to it each time I finish reading one.

I’d love to hear what you’re reading! If you really like it (and I haven’t already read it), I’ll add it to my reading list, too.

Tameka’s Summer Reading List

The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon

The Death of Yorik Mortwell by Stephen Messer

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Neville by Norton Jester; illustrated by G. Brian Karas

A Good Day written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Book 2 in Hunger Games series)

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Book 3 in Hunger Games series)

Animal Farm by George Orwell

FYI–The Brown Bookshelf recently posted three, separate summer reading lists: Picture Books & Early Readers, Chapter Books & Middle Grades, and Young Adult. Check them out!

Coincidentally, I know of the PERFECT picture book title for this time of year. It’s a lively, rhythmic tale full of culture, community, and summertime fun!

Around Our Way on Neighbors’ Day
by Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrated by Charlotte Riley-Webb
Abrams Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 978-0-8109-8971-9

Click here to check out “the buzz”!  Click here to purchase!

WOTD: Psyched

My upcoming book is now called: MY COLD PLUM, LEMON PIE, BLUESY MOOD  (Viking Children’s, Spring 2013).

Doesn’t that just sing?

Agape!

…the best place to be.