These Girls Know How to Throw a Party!

       For the second year I was invited by Alana Garrigues and Nutschell Anne Windsor to be a guest at the Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles (CBW-LA) book release party.   This year's book is Story Sprouts: Voice.  It's a compilation of the works of 25 different writers with an abundance of helpful information about the art of writing.  

       Once again the ladies at the CBW-LA showed that they are not only fine writers, but outstanding event planners.    I didn't do a head count, but by my estimation there were probably about sixty folks who attended this event and a good time was had by all.   

        There was a lovely buffet table of excellent food and a lot of prizes that were given away in a drawing near the end of the party.  There were gifts for all.   Each of the authors present gave a reading of a brief excerpt of one of their works selected from the volume.  Then the epic book signing where book after book was passed around the tables to be signed by the authors.   What a book signing that was!

        But let me dispense with words to show you some pictures of this grand book release bash:

I received a warm welcome from CBW-LA board members
at the registration desk

Long view of the room looking toward the authors seated
at the front.

Anyone want a book!  (r to l) Nutschell Anne Windsor, Lucy Ravitch,
and Alana Garrigues conduct the program prior to the signings.

Each book at the party was signed by all of the authors present on that day.  I
have my signed copy and have been thoroughly enjoying it.

The mood at the authors table was jubilant and under the
circumstances one would expect it to be!

Part of the assembled audience (myself included) enjoying
 the authors presentation.

CBW-LA Board Members pose prior to cutting the celebratory cake.

 Photos are courtesy of John Hong. 

STORY SPROUTS: VOICE
A Collection of Lessons and Exercises on Voice and the Resulting Creative Works of Poetry and Prose by the Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles.

         Show your support of this writer's group by purchasing a copy of this very well-done and highly useful book.    This would be a wonderful addition to any writing library as well as providing entertaining reading for those who would rather read than write.   Don't forget those writers on your Christmas list.  This is one book that they will use and treasure for years to come.

   

          Story Sprouts: Voice is available at Amazon in both paperback and kindle editions.   After you've bought your copy don't forget to leave a review.   Story Sprouts 2013 edition is also still available.  If you don't have the first edition yet you might want to consider buying both.

          

       Have you obtained a copy of either Story Sprouts book?   If so what did you think?    Are you part of a writer's organization that has published a book?   If so, tell us about it.

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Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel and Other Stuff

Is It or Isn't It?

Taken over the wall behind my house.

        When I saw the "NOW OPEN" sign in the window of the Habit Burger last Friday I was excited, but there seemed to be a dueling message.   Was it really open or was it "COMING SOON"?   I walked over to see for myself.  The sign on the front door said they were going to be conducting job interviews from October 13th until the 17th so I guess someone put up the "OPEN" sign too soon.   That same afternoon the "NOW OPEN" sign was replaced by "NOW HIRING".   Maybe they'll be open the following week?

        If you're wondering what this is about then you might have missed my earlier post about Habit Burger which you can find here.   I'll give a report on the establishment once I've tried it.   There is another Habit Burger being constructed a couple miles away from me in Downey.  They must be doing a real push to expand the chain.

New Book Arrival

        The 2014 compilation from Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles is here.  I was fortunate to have been invited by Nutschell Anne Windsor and Alana Garrigues as a special guest to their book release party this past Saturday October 11th.   It was an event royale.  I'll be having more on the event and the book in an upcoming post when CBW-LA does their official book release blog tour.  Some of you will be undoubtedly be contacted to help out with the tour.  

        To buy the book so you can add your review and write about it on your blog, be sure to visit Story Sprouts: Voice at Amazon.   Support this wonderful group--all book proceeds go to help out with their education programs.  The book will be a welcome addition to anyone's library.

Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel

        If you follow my blogs Wrote By Rote or A Few Words you may have read about the recent release on Kindle of the children's book Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel.   The book was originally published in 2008 and has recently been released via Amazon on Kindle.

         Since I'm always willing to help out my writer friends, I've given author and my good friend Dan Holom reviews on the book as well as spreading the word on social media.

Read more about the book in my Goodreads review:

Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel by Daniel Holom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This charming rendition of the Bible story of Daniel in the lions den is one that will delight children and parents. Illustrated by renown Disney animator Mark Henn, the visuals will captivate all who enter this story. The narrative by author Dan Holom is intelligent, but easy to understand.

"Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel" is the first of what will be a series of Bible stories presented in a similar manner. Sleepy and his animal friends Sifter, a wise old horse, and Coco, a comical camel, are characters that are apt to become classics of children's literature.

Anyone looking for values based stories that interpret the Bible in a way suitable for children will welcome this book and the others to follow. The message is not heavy handed so it should not be particularly offensive to those who are not religious. This is the kind of book that will do kids good without being too serious in doing it.

View all my reviews

          Dan and Mark hope to see a series of books after this, but a lot depends on the market.  If you'd like to support this kind of series I hope you will purchase a copy and then leave a review on Amazon and wherever else you think might help.  Check out the book on Amazon and see what you think.

          And don't forget to help us promote this by sharing this post and all of the other pages on social media as much as you can.    If I can convince Dan of the power of social media I might even be able to talk Dan into starting a blog so you all can communicate with him.

           Do you tend to leave book reviews and the like?    Where do you leave most of your reviews?   Has anybody tried Habit Burger yet?

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Special Editon!!! Story Sprouts Launch!

           If you're looking for my IWSG post you can scroll down below this post, but I hope you'll take a look at this post first.   It's mostly pictures with some explanations about what we're looking at.

"Story Sprouts" Book Launch
Saturday November 2, 2013





           I'd say that the Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles is just about the best writers group anywhere.  For one thing, check out that logo.  What a piece of work!  And so professional.   The CBW-LA is a fine bunch of writerly folks under the leadership of a highly efficient, creative, and all around top notch team of board members.  But my effusive praise is just starting.  By the end of this post you're going to be wishing you lived in the Los Angeles area so you could be a part of this amazing group.





































        So what prompts todays post?  This past Saturday was the launch party for Story Sprouts, a collaborative effort of members who participated in a writing anthology day where those present spent a single day of writing based on prompts presented to them.  The contributors to the anthology are both aspiring and published writers.  The content of the finished book consists of poetry and prose--fiction and non-fiction--as well as the workshop exercises and tips that provided guidance for the authors.  The party was to celebrate the release and honor the writers who were involved.





         The success of the CBW-LA group is largely due to the current board members pictured above.  Some are bloggers that you probably know through their blogs.  From left to right we have Angie Flores, Lucy Ravitch (Kids Math Teacher), CBW-LA founder and president Nutschell Anne Windsor (The Writing Nut), Alana Garrigues (Writercize), and Tiffani Barth who came in from Utah to be at the party.   They are one of the hardest working and  most together teams I've ever seen.  Great job keeping this group so successful!   You can see more about the party if you visit the links to their blogs.





         Here all of the contributing writers from Story Sprouts pose with book cover promotional poster.  They represent a fraction of the members of CBW-LA.   This is a very friendly and supportive group.  They're kind of like the Insecure Writers Support Group live in person.




        What a spread of food they had out for the guests in attendance!




       Seems like I'm fixated on the sweets    They also had a great selection of cheeses, meats, breads, veggies, and fruits.   They even had a bar set up where we could mix our own mocktails based on famous author recipes.  No alcohol since we all had to drive home.  These ladies really know how to throw a swanky shindig.



      What about this cake decorated to look like the book!   And it was darn tasty too!



 

         Plenty of books were on hand for purchase and given as prizes.  And there's a lot more where these came from.   See the links at the bottom of the page if you'd like to order your own copy.  I highly recommend it.




          Balloons especially printed for the occasion!  I just had to show you these.  What did I tell you about the party planning skills of CBW-LA.   This is big time folks!

  Honorary launch guests past CBW-LA speakers (l to r) Carmen Rodrigues, Samantha Combs, and Arlee Bird

         I thank CBW-LA for inviting me as one of the honorary guests.   We each got a Certificate of Appreciation as past speakers at meetings in 2013.  Pictured from left to right are published authors Carmen Rodriguez and Samantha Combs and yours truly, Arlee Bird.   During the course of the day I had very nice chats with both authors pictured here as well as others.   I won a copy of Samantha Combs's book Spellbound which she autographed for me.  They had drawings for a number of great prizes.  Nobody went home empty handed.




           Here are a few of the writers signing book copies.  All of the honored guests received a gift copy of the book signed by all of the authors.  We were also among those who received mention in the book acknowledgements for our roles in 2013 at  CBW-LA workshops.  What unexpected surprises!





        CBW-LA president Nutschell Windsor raises a glass as we toast the newly published authors.  An exciting day for all of them I'm sure.




           The book authors pose with the cake.   What a happy looking bunch they are and I can't say I blame them.   Hopefully this will be the first of many books to come from the CBW-LA.

All photos courtesy of Nutschell Anne Windsor




Story Sprouts (2013)
Support your fellow bloggers and writers by buying a copy.  It would make a great Christmas gift for your writer friends.
For more information visit the Story Sprouts Website

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