My mere polliwog of a blog has wriggled its way into a full-fledged froggy. I think that’s worth celebrating, don’t you? Let’s dust off the Dime and have a grand time with a giveaway!
Leave a comment on this blog post by 11 p.m. on Friday, December 22, and you’ll be entered to win a surprise package filled with 11 prizes designed to delight, inspire and encourage you. It’ll come your way in January to give you a (gentle!) post-holiday push.
This coming year will be filled with exciting preparation for the release of my first book in January 2025. Be sure to hop by to see what’s happening, including fresh pages and inside scoops on publication news.
And, as always, my little dew drops, words of encouragement will be waiting for you!
The secret of making progress is to get started. ~ Mark Twain
My little glistening spring peepers, Frog on a Dime is overjoyed to host the ever-delightful picture book author Kristen Remenar. Her latest book–SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK (illustrated by her talented husband Matt Faulkner)–scampers to shelves everywhere on May 7, 2024. You can preorder it now from your favorite booksellers (after you read Kristen’s post, of course!).
Comment on this post by noon on Friday, April 26, for a chance to win a personally autographed copy of SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK.
Take it away, Kristen!
Illustrator Matt Faulkner & Author Kristen Remenar (Photo credit: Scott Orser)
I was a children’s librarian for thirteen years until I had a stroke in 2016 and I was an elementary school teacher before that. I was also a national speaker on using picture books to teach reading skills. For those careers I read literally thousands of picture books which I think made me a much better writer. I learned what I liked and what kids responded to. If you need picture book recommendations and free activities for kids, go to my website: kristenremenar.com!
In SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK, Squirrel starts off very grumpy because he’s spent a long winter stuck in the nest alone with his kits. I remember my days as a single mom with little ones. Feeling like I had to do everything on my own could feel very overwhelming! I found, like Squirrel does, that having support from friends can make a world of difference. Cheers to all those who help us get through the “little kit” years!
GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA was the first book in the Groundhog & Friends world. SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK is the second book. Matt Faulkner, illustrator extraordinaire and world’s best husband, is currently working on the art for the third book, OWL, PLATYPUS, AND THE FALL FEAST FIASCO, coming in the fall of 2025!
***
Thank you, Kristen! We cannot wait to meet Squirrel and all his faithful, furry friends.
Meet Kristen and Matt, and take home a personally autographed copy of SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK, when you stop by one of their upcoming bookstore visits. (Frog on a Dime recommends picking up at least one extra copy for Father’s Day!)
In January 2025, my very first children’s book will be hurled into the world: THE BIG BOOK OF BARF – A Spewnami of Sick Science, Hurled History and Body Oddities in Ralphabetical Order. My publisher is Bright Matter, a non-fiction imprint of Random House Books for Children. Woo hoo!!
Day after day, my noggin is rumbling with random thoughts like these:
Seriously? I’m going to be a 62 year old debut author! How? WHAT?!!
Got to start a list of all of the people I want to thank for encouraging me all these years (and years and years). That’s going to be a long list.
This is real. Like for reals real. It’s actually happening. Maybe it’s finally safe to celebrate.
Publishing is one random, subjective business.
It’s true. Preparation pays off.
Got to find a way to express my gratitude to my family in a tangible way.
Wish I could reconnect with my teachers from across the years who recognized, challenged and championed my abilities.
I’m finally going to have my very own ISBN!!!
So glad I went to that SCBWI-MI workshop in March 2020 to learn how to create a non-fiction book proposal. I followed the “recipe” and it worked!
Presenting at the elementary school where I was a student and my kids went to school will be surreal.
Never ever thought I’d write a whole book about barf, but the whole process was a joy.
I need to come up with a snappy comeback for when kids inevitably ask, “How old are you?”
Better get noodling on my next non-fiction project and perfecting a new proposal.
Wondering if I’ll get to do a dedication page. What’ll I say?
Can’t believe this book was sparked by a serendipitous, random comment during an ordinary conversation. Magic!
Is it too self-centered to worry that commotion over the presidential election will interfere with my debut. (Uh. Probably!)
What if my publisher goes belly up before my book comes out?
Please oh please do not ask me to write a second book (an “eek”quel to THE BIG BOOK OF BARF) about #2. (I poo poo that idea!} Love non-fiction, but not that!
Chuckling over the thought of my obituary. “Children’s author Vicky Lorencen will be remembered for THE BIG BOOK OF BARF.” I love the thought of making people laugh even after I’m gone.
I am going to hear a ‘hurl” lot of barf stories.
My name is about to change to Children’s Author Vicky Lorencen. I sure like the sound of that.
Wonder how I’ll react when I hold my book for the first time.
Can’t wait to do school visits. (First, I need to get tips from all my friends who are pros.) It also reminds me of #16.
I need to get in better shape so I’ll have energy to enjoy what’s ahead.
Hoping kids will really, really, really like my book. Yes, really.
Wouldn’t it be cool if my success encourages another writer who is still in the “waiting room.”
It’s so weird how this feels inevitable. Why or how, I don’t know, but it does.
Sure this sounds crazy, but I fantasize about speaking at the SCBWI winter conference in NY and wonder what song to I want playing as I approach the podium. (No point waiting till the last minute–or for an invitation to speak.)
BONUS! Everyone who entered Frog on a Dime’s 11th Birthday Giveaway can look forward to receiving a very special surprise in February. Thank you so much for your patience and encouragement!
So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you’ll move mountains. ~ Dr. Seuss
When your work-in-progress refuses to, well, progress, give yourself permission to call a TIME OUT. Sure, for some, a physical activity (e.g., taking a quick walk) can do the trick. I guess I’m a little different. I find much-needed mental refreshment from letting my brain go out to play (so long as its well supervised!). For example, engaging in a simple writing exercise can (re)invigorate my imagination and remind me how fun writing can be.
Recently, I challenged myself to play with the lyrics of a famous song, syllable by syllable. It felt like real exercise for my gooey gray matter dipped in a sweet sugar coating of zero-pressure pleasure. Why not give it a try, my little pumpkin spice biscuit. If you dare, please share the results.
Sound of Silence Night
(Apologies to Mr. Simon)
Hello Feedback, my old friend–
You’ve come to toy with me again
Words of derision swiftly heaping
Grow like weeds while I am sleeping
And the revisions that are ranting in my brain
Still complain–
With this next round, try silence.
***
In ripped up jeans I walk alone
To buy a bar of Toblerone
‘Neath the beam of a gooseneck lamp
I scroll the pages till my fingers cramp
When my eyes are stabbed by a plot so flat and trite
A wasted night
Even my muse is silent.
***
And in my lava lamp I saw
Ten thousand people I may bore
People banning without reading
Critics speaking without thinking
Authors writing books that agents never share
No one dares
Curb the sound of silence.
***
“Dudes,” say I, “You do not know
Silence like my word count grows
Hear my words through this blue kazoo
Read my texts that I might reach you!”
But my work like sweaty high tops smells
Say geckoes in the wells of silence.
***
And the writers bow and pray
Over critiques for which they pay
Spellcheck flashes out its warning
After words they are misforming.
***
And agents say, “The words of this novel
Should be written on subway walls
And bathroom stalls
And whispered—no, drowned!—in silence.”
Stepping out of a normal routine, finding novelty, being open to serendipity, enjoying the unexpected, embracing a little risk, and finding pleasure in the heightened vividness of life. These are all qualities of a state of play. ~ Stuart Brown,Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul
And now, for a short and sweet cinnamon sugar, pumpkin spice announcement!
Congratulations to the winner of the So Long to Summer Open House prize drawing–Meline Scheidel. Thank you to Meline and everyone who stopped by to leave a kind comment (or 2 or 3!) It’s always delightful to hear from you! Really. Really.
Meline, a special prize package will be winding your way soon. I hope it helps to make your autumn awesome!
I look forward to baking up fresh blog posts to fill everyone with encouragement. But first, I need to gather more chestnuts, share a snack with the squirrels (will they ever say thank you?) and sip another cup of tea.
More soon!
I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion. ~ Henry David Thoreau
My little blueberry scones, it’s been far-too, much-too, too-too loooong since Frog on a Dime has hopped into your inbox. Technical torments have slowed me down. BUT THEN, (hark!) just yesterday, a shiny, newborn computer was delivered. HURRAH!!!! Now, I have ear-poppingly high hopes to be back in the blog writing business again soon.
Before summer melts into glorious autumn, I want to welcome you to my annual open house. By “open house,” I mean, come as you are, snoop around this site, see what’s new (at least to you!) and soak up all the encouragement your heart can hold.
If you’ll be kind enough to leave a comment on this post (or any of my posts, really), you’ll automatically be entered into a So Long Summer Open House Surprise Package Giveaway. Since it’s a “surprise,” you can’t exactly be privy to the particulars, but rest most assured I will do my best to make sure the lucky prize winner is delighted, amused, inspired and encouraged by this special prize package. I hope you’ll enter. If you care to leave two (different) comments, you can double your chances.
To enter, please leave your comment(s) by noon (Eastern Time) on Friday, September 22–the day we say so long to Summer. (I’m a fan of fall, so bring on the autumnal equinox. It’s fine by me!) I’ll announce the winner on the first day of fall! (I wish every season started that way!)
Can’t wait to hear from you, my buttered pumpkin muffins!
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~ Albert Camus
Let’s say you’re between writing projects or you are clueless as to what your next one will be. Rather than roll yourself into a beach ball of bewilderment, here’s what you do: do something else.
Learn to make scones. Experiment with watercolors. Try a new type of yoga (goats optional). Throw your first pot. Pick up golf (miniature golf, for starters) or ax throwing. Read a classic you’ve somehow missed. Hike a trail. Rearrange a room. Adopt a ferret. Plant veggies. Climb your family tree. Visit a new city. Play!
In other words, devote yourself to something unrelated to your writing.
As you reorient your mind from writing mode to [FILL IN THE BLANK] mode, you give your brain a break. With time, tender new green leafy ideas will emerge while you’re cruising in your kayak or knitting another mitten.
Giving yourself permission to go on a mental vacation may sound like a coy way to slack off. But it’s not. It’s really not—IF you do it with intention. Block the time on your calendar for your mental-pause, cerebral siesta, noggin’ nap, rejuvacation or whatever you want to call it. Then, decide what you’d like to do and choose a backup activity in case your first plan goes wonky. Call it “unravel insurance.”
Oh! And be sure to keep a journal handy in case any new ideas sprout while you’re out!
Enjoy, my little strawberry parfaits! And send me a postcard (or a message), won’t you?
Change your mind and the rest will follow. ~ Songwriters: Gerald Edward Levert / Denzil Delano Foster / Thomas Mcelroy
My little polka dot bumper shoots, it’s finally spring! There’s no better time of year to remind you of the payoff for your perseverance.
What a joy to see shy green leaves, long stemmed tulips and curlicued ferns burst into life like nature’s popcorn–seemingly overnight. But we know that fresh explosion is only possible after months of rest, coupled with preparation and determination. The same is true for you and me.
You may be reflecting on your progress (or lack thereof) as a creative person and feel frustrated or discouraged today. It’s possible you let yourself be victimized by the “Comparison Game” (again). Everyone else is so far ahead of me. (You know that’s a lie, right?) Phooey on those energy drainers. Don’t let those thoughts or feelings drag you down for too long. Keep working, experimenting, growing . . . all that behind the scenes struggle may be preparing you for an opportunity or a break through beyond your imaging. YOU will be spring!
Please know this is the voice of experience talking, not a hollow motivational speech. Your magnificent, obsessive perseverance will prove its worth. Watch for signs of green, my little peepers!
The trumpet of a prophesy! O Wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley
Many thanks to everyone who hopped by to celebrate Frog on a Dime’s 10th Anniversary.
Special congratulations to lucky giveaway winner — Pam Patterson! Be watching your mail box for an extra special, tintastic package packed especially for you!
My heart is filled with gratitude and joy because of the kindness and encouragement all of you have given me. You make me look forward to the year to come.
Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.
DYK the traditional 10th anniversary gift is tin? You know, the stuff used to make green beans cans and Dorothy Gale’s heartless friend. I know. It surprised me too.
Then I did a little digging about what makes tin so special. Turns out, tin has a lot going for it.
Tin is pliable, flexible and adaptable. G’head—Roll it! Spin it! Extrude it!
Tin protects other metals like steel from corrosion and boat bottoms from barnacles. (I mean, who wants bottom barnacles?)
Tin may be weak on its own, but it can be tintastic when it is alloyed with other metals in materials like bronze and pewter.
And you know what, my little sugar crystals? You and I are a lot like tin. We creatives need to adapt and be flexible in order to learn, grow and develop our skills.
By offering empathy and encouragement to one another, we help to protect one another from the corrosion of disabling discouragement.
And when we “alloy” ourselves (work together), our strength is multiplied. How is that not tin-tastic?
[BONUS info: One other way we’re like tin—did you know when a bar of tin is bent, it makes a crackling “cry”? Who knew metal could get emo? We can all relate to that when we’re hunched over in despair or disappointment.]
My wee tin cups of tenderness, I cannot thank you enough for your TEN years of you being you-ness. Your encouragement, participation, comments, willingness to be my guest from time to time, and kind words have made my life sweeter by tenfold. To thank you, I’m offering my finest giveaway in a decade.
Enter to win an extra special, one-of–a-kind 10th anniversary memento designed to serve as a source of encouragement. I’ll include extra goodies too—like a coupon for critique of up to TEN pages of your work. To enter, leave a comment on this post by Friday, December 16/10:10 p.m. (EST).
When I left Queen’s, my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don’t know what lies around the bend, but I am going to believe that the best does. It has a fascination of its own, that bend, Marilla. I wonder how the road beyond it goes – what there is of green glory and soft, checkered light and shadows – what new landscapes – what new beauties – what curves and hills and valleys farther on. ~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
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