This Week’s Interview-O-Rama and
How I Plan to Contribute
November 16th, 2009 by jules
Happy Monday to one and all…I say that with my best attempt to get rid of a morning scowl, as I’m still on only the first cup of coffee and, despite the blog’s title, it takes me a while to wake up.
I feature a lot of book-creators here at the blog, and it just so happens that I’m doing some writing of my own right now. One thing that’s interesting to me is that, when I think back to all the times I’ve read and heard authors talk about their work, I don’t have a lot of memories of them talking about one pesky little thing: Eye strain. From staring at the computer so long, that is. They tend to talk about craft, but HOLY WOW and sweet sugar monkeys (as Eisha would say), my. very. eyeballs. hurt. from a weekend of writing and editing and monitor-staring. Who knew? So, this week, I’m going to generally take it easy.
Lucky for us all, some folks in the kidlitosphere are engaging in yet another blog blast tour. If you’re not familiar with those, it’s a multi-blog interview-fest, authors involved in Q&As at a handful of blogs, and folks try to link to each other so that it’s easy for you, the reader, to find these interviews. Lately, for blog blast tours, I have—not surprisingly—tried to represent the illustrators and have conducted interviews with them.
So, this week, I’ll be welcoming illustrator and writer Jim Di Bartolo. Thursday, to be exact. This week, Jim and author and artist Laini Taylor, his wife, are in New York City, I believe, as Laini’s Lips Touch: Three Times (Arthur A. Levine Books), which Jim illustrated, has been nominated for the National Book Award in the category of Young People’s Literature! (Here’s Laini’s interview with Willie Perdomo/the National Book Foundation.) Wednesday of this week is the 60th National Book Award Ceremony and Dinner, during which winners will be announced.
Laini’s been here at 7-Imp before, sharing her art, and I’ve always wanted to interview her about her writing. Well, for this Winter Blog Blast tour, it turns out that Kerry over at Shelf Elf (wonderful blog with the wonderful Jeremy-Tankard banner) is interviewing her on Thursday, the same day Jim will be here, so that worked out well. (We meant to do that, though we didn’t call each other and coordinate outfits. Hey, we should.)
If you’re so inclined, come back on Thursday to check that out.
Below is the blog blast tour for Monday. I’ll post each day’s schedule this week. And, again, I’ll be hosting Jim on Thursday. The master schedule for the week is here.
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Winter Blog Blast Tour —
- Frances Hardinge chats with Elizabeth Bird at A Fuse #8 Production
- Derek Landy chats with Sarah Stevenson and Tanita S. Davis at Finding Wonderland
- Jim Ottaviani chats with Colleen Mondor at Chasing Ray
- Mary E. Pearson chats with Miss Erin
- Courtney Sheinmel chats with Little Willow at Bildungsroman
- Megan Whalen Turner chats with Vivian at HipWriterMama
Schedule for Monday, November 16, 2009
Must go now. Words … jumping … on … screen.
Pictured at the top of the post is a detail of Jim’s book jacket work from Laini Taylor’s Dreamdark: Silksinger, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons this year. Image is © 2009 Jim Di Bartolo. All rights reserved.
I feel ya; sometimes I get little pre-migraine black dots, and it’s like, “RUN AWAY!”
Thanks for posting the gorgeous Di Bartolo artwork close-up. I am thinking that would be quite something, framed…
My arms and back give out on me before my eyes do. I find I have to take LOTS of breaks and stretch and do something else for a while, which is kind of hard when you’re on a deadline.
I’m excited. I’ve always thought her covers were stunning.
My thesis advisor/friend Lyrae was nominated in the poetry category. Here’s hoping they both win big on Thursday!
By all means, take it easy!