Help a friend AND get some great holiday gifts

If you're looking for a holiday gift (esp. writers & illustrators), please consider visiting my friend's Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbeco

Beckett Gladney's husband Paul was just laid off work. :-(

Beckett is a talented illustrator and writer, and was the one who convinced me to enter last year's SCBWI Illustration Portfolio Showcase (the one that ended up getting me a book contract for I'm Bored with Simon & Schuster BFYR).

She and Paul have two young kids. You can read about them in Beckett's wonderful blog:http://artbeco.blogspot.com/

Beckett makes absolutely gorgeous sketchbook covers, notebooks, craft kit covers, jewelry and other items. AND she does custom work! If any of you happen to be looking for a holiday gift , please do visit Beckett's shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbeco

Photo by Beckett Gladney

Beckett Gladney On Life, Parenthood & Mortality

My friend Beckett has a new blog. Even if you don't know Beckett personally, I highly recommend it. Why? Because Beckett writes SO well, take such gorgeous photos, is an amazing illustrator. She's a cancer survivor. She is the mother of very active twin boys. She's creative in so many different ways.

Being on opposite sides of the continent, Beckett and I don't get to see each other that often. It was a joy to be able to spend some time with her recently, though it wasn't nearly long enough.

During one of our conversations, we talked about death. It may seem like a morbid subject for some, making them uncomfortable. When you've had a close encounter, either through loss of a loved one (both of us) or a life-threatening illness (Beckett), it's not as much of a taboo topic. Or at least it's not for Beckett and me. An excerpt from her blog post:

It's not as simple as a 'bucket list', it's about making choices all the way along about how you want to live and the attitudes you choose to live by and what you see and smell and listen to and savor in your life. It's about trying the best you're capable of to find the best path through the hard places, to live a positive, loving and meaningful life on your own terms without worrying about what society thinks. It's also about how you approach dealing with losing your loved ones or your own loss of health or eventual demise. It's such hard stuff and not something people want to think or talk about and yet everyone eventually goes through it.

Read more at her blog:

ARTBECO

"Seeking beauty in the midst of busy days as an artist, photographer, craftsperson and parent of twin boys"

Beckett's Custom-Made Jack O' Lanterns Now For Sale

My multi-talented friend Beckett has added items to her Etsy shop, including her famous custom-made Jack O' Lanterns. From her Etsy page:

You pick the design you like, I carve it for you and send it out to you! These little artificial pumpkins are carved with my own drawings designed especially to show off the light from inside the pumpkin. They are about 6 inches in diameter, a compact little pumpkin shape with lots of carved detail.

These artificial pumpkins are made of dense molded styrofoam and are carefully carved with a removable lid so that you can place a light inside. No flames please, as these can be flammable! I'm including a small battery powered artificial candle light source for your convenience; simply unpack it all, turn on the lamp and place it inside the pumpkin, and enjoy the flickering light in your new Jack-O-Lantern.

These pumpkins are pretty sturdy and I have several of these that I carved many years ago now and they're still in great shape. They get used every autumn season and have become favorites at our house and around our neighborhood around Halloween time.

Designing and carving these pumpkins is quite time consuming and each pumpkin will be quite unique. These designs will never be mass produced! Each carving, even of the same design, is different and each pumpkin has its own personality.

Go ahead and treat your family or yourself to a little Jack-O-Lantern light that will last you for many years and may become a treasured part of your own holiday traditions!

Please tell me which design you prefer, and allow me about 2 weeks to carve your own custom Jack-O-Lantern to keep forever!

Price is $45, which is a deal considering you'll be able to use your cool Jack-O-Lantern every Halloween AND you'll be paying for a collector's work of art created by a pro illustrator like Beckett. You can find more info out at:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55865455/custom-jack-o-lantern

SCBWI Summer Conference report reposted for public access

It turns out that the report I posted earlier can only be viewed by those who have SCBWI website accounts, so the SCBWI Illustration Committee kindly granted me permission to repost somewhere publicly accessible. So here's the link, with EXTRA photos:

How a rejection got me a book deal: My career-changing SCBWI Summer Conference experience

No Blatherings until early August



(Above: Beckett and me)

Just a heads-up that I won't posting any Blatherings until after I get back from my trip to L.A. for the SCBWI Conference and to visit with friends.

Please don't yell at me if you live in or near L.A. and I didn't let you know I was coming -- the conference is work-related and it's highly unlikely that I'll be spending any time outside of it. The friends I'm visiting afterward are longtime personal pals and friends of the family, and I wish I could be staying with them longer as it is.

Looking forward to doing some catching up with my friend Beckett Gladney, though! We're going to be roomies during the conference.