In which I share the Brazilian book cover for SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY

Very excited to see the cover for the Brazilian edition of SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY, which will be out in April. The translated titled is CLEAR SIGNS OF MADNESS. I wish I knew how to read Portuguese so I could see how Sarah Nelson's personality is translated. It's really incredible to think about a young Brazilian girl reading about a young girl from Texas. What would they have in common? What would she find interesting? Would she, like Sarah, adore Atticus Finch? Keep a diary? I love thinking about these things.

Until next time!

kh

In which I post an update (Or, where I've been.)

Whew, this blog needs some spring cleaning and refreshing. In my defense, I haven't been a complete scobberlotcher in every area of life.

First off, I was getting in ARCs of my next novel COURAGE FOR BEGINNERS and starting a little pre-launch planning after spotting this beauty on the Little, Brown Books at ALA midwinter.

But then I fell into a giant plot hole broke my arm and had to wear this magnificent arm brace.

(The true story of this breakage is only known to me and the floor I broke it on, okay?) It was my good arm, too! My right arm, aka, the one I use the most. So I sat around and read a ton of books and watched a ton of movies. (It felt slightly wrong to eat ice cream while watching THE HUNGER GAMES. Slightly.)

Fortunately, I'd sent in a new book proposal the day BEFORE I broke it. (News about this soon, I hope.)

And then, I had to console my third grade daughter after this crushing conversation.

ME: Well, I bet Hilary Clinton is our next president.
HER: Is she a woman?
ME: Yes.
HER: So she'll be the FIRST woman president?
ME: Yes.
HER: But I was going to do that!!! (sob, sob, sob...)

Oh, to be young and hopeful and live in a world where everything is possible. I think that's my favorite quality in children.

So this week, I was able to stop wearing the magnificent brace. (Even though my daughter had discovered that parts of the brace are magnetic and was plying me with magnets.)  She even put a Vermont magnet on it. VERMONT! I was gifted with this wonderful basket by my writer friend, Polly Holyoke, who'd heard that SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY was recently recognized on the 2014-2015 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Vermont reading list!

Find the entire Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award list here. I was so honored to hear this news! The list has so many of my favorites like COUNTING BY 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan and THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING by Linda Urban!

So to celebrate, I bought myself these interesting spring flowers yesterday. It's nice to finally be able to drive and pick up fruit and flowers. It's the little things in life, right?

So you see, I haven't been a complete scobberlotcher.

Hope your spring is going great! Don't be like me and take spring BREAK literally, okay?

-- 

Wordless Wednesday: Scenes from Caddo Lake - Texas

Recycled/Repurposed stump

Along the lake

Monday Morning Inspiration: Perseverance

Such a great example of love, support and perseverance.

In which I reveal my new book cover

Pop over to my group author blog to see the marvelous cover for my forthcoming novel, COURAGE FOR BEGINNERS, out August 2014. Love, love, love this design and I'd love to know your thoughts on it, too.

Here's the back of said cover just to tease you.

Cheers,

kh

Giveaway for SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY by Karen Harrington

Hi friends, I'm giving away two, signed hard copies of SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY on Goodreads. Enter before December 14, 2013.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Sure Signs of Crazy

by Karen Harrington

Giveaway ends December 14, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

NaNoWriMo Encouragement: Part 2

I'm a three time National Novel Writing Month participant and finisher. I watch the film FINDING FORRESTER every year, but I especially treat myself to watching it during NaNo years. This short, powerful scene illustrates why.



Good luck, NaNo writers! Write your heart out!

See also, NaNoWriMo Encouragement, Part 1

NaNoWriMo Encouragement: Part 1

Hey, out there,

Maybe you're considering participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this November?

Maybe you think it doesn't help your path as a writer? You'd be wrong. It's a great exercise in discipline. After all, you don't know IF you can write a novel until you DO.

So here, have a little encouragement from my own writing in the trenches.

LIST OF WORKS I'VE WRITTEN AND SUBMITTED FOR REPRESENTATION/PUBLICATION IN THE PAST 20 YEARS
(includes novels, short stories and screenplays)

The Mists of Glencoe (1st screenplay. Set in Scotland and based on a true story. Very bad. Very, very bad)
Going Native (1st novel - college professor used lines from this piece to illustrate what NOT to do. Ouch! Also, this was about the time in my writing "career" when people were asking about "my little hobby." Annoying people.)
The Fuhrer's Barber (1st short story submission to a major journal)
Remnants (Honorable Mention; Hemingway Short Story Contest. Hey, a little progress!)
Last Free Exit (My fave failed, overly ambitious screenplay that calls me to write in prose form. Didn't have the skills to do it back then. Maybe now?)
Corporate Casualty
The Corporate Line
Corporella (Here, we conclude a trio of scripts about the hilarity of being a corporate speechwriter. Guess I REALLY believed in this idea. Corporella, my fave of the 3, is a corporate Cinderella tale. Who doesn't like that? Oh, wait, look at these rejection letters. I guess the answer is: many)
The Burgermeister's Daughter (what a mess)
Dysfunction Junction (hilarity at a funeral/laughter through tears. I loved writing this script! My hair stylist at the time inspired a lot of this.)
Telemarketer (screenplay that came very close to acceptance, then dropped. Fun fact: I wanted Colin Farrell for the role.)
No Teddy Bears (1st NaNoWriMo novel - I really liked this story. It was inspired by an investigative news report about the foster care system from journalist Brian Ross. Thanks, Mr. Ross. My daughter wants me to finish it.)
Prodigal Son (This is the story I still think is solid no matter what others say. So there.)
Fidelity for Beginners (a fantastic experiment in co-writing a novel with another writer just to see if we could do it and dream about being interviewed by Oprah. Hey, delusions of grandeur are a necessary writer trait.)
Mrs. Boyd (3rd NaNoWriMo novel - waiting to rewrite this one. Want to do it now!!)
There's A Dog In The Doorway
Princess Rufflecuffs (written for my tiny daughter, the original Princess Rufflecuffs)
Me Without You
60 Miles To Empty
Fool The Eye
Note To Self
Not Walter McShane (Man, this rejection stung! Learned a lot, though. Also, I wanted Colin Farrell to be main character. Does that jinx the work? Nope. It's the work itself. Darn!)

I have rejection notices for most of the above 22 works. Now let's see how many I've published.

LIST OF PUBLISHED NOVELS

Janeology 

Sure Signs of Crazy (2nd NaNoWriMo novel; received FOUR STARRED REVIEWS) 

Courage For Beginners (2014)
(first review received from my daughter)

Her: Mom, I don't want to hurt your feelings.
Me: (cringing because you never completely get over your insecurities, published or not)
Oh, it's okay, honey, I want to know what you think. Tell me.
Her: Well, um.....I think it's better than your first novel.
Me: Wait. What? (dancing on the inside)
Her: Yeah. It has a little mystery.
Me: You're very observant.
Her: I know.

25 works written and submitted. 3 published.

What have I learned from the millions of words I've written? Well, I love to write. That much is clear. This is no hobby for me. It's a passion.

But the most important thing is that all of it matters. Every word counts. Everything on the first list helped me get to the second list. If not for those first efforts, I wouldn't be where I am today.

May you go forth and create your own lists!

2013 Texas Book Festival Highlights

Back from the marvelous Texas Book Festival in Austin! Had a great time meeting so many authors I admire and making new friends. Here are my top 5 festival highlights:

1/ Attending the announcement of the 2014 Texas Bluebonnet Award list and cheering on friend and author Polly Holyoke, Author - whose book THE NEPTUNE PROJECT is on the list!

2/ Meeting readers of my book! There is something deeply satisfying about knowing words you've written in your quietest moments have resonated with a friend you've never met. I've always said that reading a book is an interactive experience between writer and reader so it's wonderful when that experience comes full circle for a brief moment.

3/ Meeting a special reviewer. (I hope you read this Alyson!)

4/ Meeting Lemony Snicket, which in turn, gave me a little cool cred with my kids. (Thank you for signing their book, Mr. Snicket!)

5/ Hearing my exhausted daughter say, "No offense, I just don't want to be with my family right now." (This was about the point where that "cool cred" wore off and I was just a mom who drags her kid around to large open spaces with tents and books. Nothing a blue raspberry Snow Cone and a hug couldn't temporarily fix.)

Wordless Wednesday: Kid Art

I live with talented artists. Happy Wednesday!