Zombies and Werewolves and Gargoyles, Oh My

I received my contributor’s copy of An Eyeball in My Garden yesterday and I’m very happy with the final result. From the font and the typeface, to the illustrations, to the great poems themselves, this is a fine book of poetry and I’m thrilled to have been a part of it. So with Halloween right around the corner, this is a perfect time to introduce yourself to brand new monsters such as The Winking Wot, try a dish off the Mummy’s Menu, or take the lead in the Goblin Parade and pick up a copy of An Eyeball in My Garden and Other Spine-tingling Poems. This collection is available at:

Marshall Cavendish
http://www.marshallcavendish.us/marshallcavendish-us/children/catalog/poetry/978-0-7614-5655-4.xml

Barnes and Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=9780761456551

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Eyeball-My-Garden-Other-Spine-Tingling/dp/0761456554/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284567010&sr=8-1

Or ask your local book store. Be sure to check out my poems, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle.

Nice Review for An Eyeball in My Garden

A writing friend sent me this review from Publishers Weekly, which I thought was very nice.

An Eyeball in My Garden Selected by Jennifer Cole Judd and Laura Wynkoop, Johan Olander (illustrator). Marshall Cavendish, $15.99 (64p) ISBN 978-0-7614-5655-1
Gr 4-7— Readers should be prepared to shiver and shake through these 44 poems about ghosts, gargoyles, and more. Olander adorns each page with ominous ink images of spiders, monsters, and other terrors, while the verses temper horror (Craig W. Steele’s “Where Nightmares Dwell”: “I know too well/ What creatures lurk/ Where nightmares live and grow.../ The shadows found me years ago!”) with humor (Stella Michel’s “Mummy’s Menu” includes “Blackened pudding filled with flies,/ Crispy scarab beetle pies”). Whether it’s Halloween or not, this creepy collection will please readers with a taste for the supernatural.
–Publishers Weekly August 9, 2010
I have two poems in this collection, titled, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle. My poems weren’t specifically referenced, but there is a nod to The Gargoyle. I received an advanced copy of this book and read through it. I do have to say that the poetry and illustrations are top notch. Halloween will be approaching before we know it, this book might make a good gift for your favorite “trick or treater”.

If you are interested, here is a link to the book on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Eyeball-My-Garden-Other-Spine-Tingling/dp/0761456554

or ask your local book store.

Kevin

An Eyeball in my Garden-Update

I mentioned in a previous post that I was involved in a poetry anthology being published by Marshall Cavendish titled, An Eyeball in my Garden and other Spine-tingling Poems. This anthology was created by my poetry critique group. The Poet’s Garage. Well, I finally got to see the cover and the interior, and it’s really a fine piece of work. Johan Olander is the illustrator, and the illustrations he came up with are terrific. I’m particularly fond of the illustration he came up with for Winking Wot Warning by Debra Leith. I have two poems in there titled, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle. There’s already a link for it on Amazon. It’s officially due out in July, but you can pre-order it at http://www.amazon.com/Eyeball-My-Garden-Other-Spine-tingling/dp/0761456554/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270138057&sr=8-2

Poetry Anthology - Eyeball in my Garden

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was included in a poetry anthology but all the details weren’t worked out yet. It looks like everything has been finalized and we got the green light from the publisher to promote it all we want, so here it goes.

First a little background.

The members of my poetry critique group got together and decided to write a poetry anthology. We decided that the theme would be “Spooky”, probably because Halloween had just passed and a few of us wrote Halloween themed poems. We wrote and critiqued “Spooky” poems until our eyes crossed. The monumental job of assembling Project Spooky went to fellow members, Laura Wynkoop and Jennifer Judd, who then edited the project until their eyes crossed. They were also the ones who researched the markets and sent out queries, and I can’t thank them enough for their efforts. Marshall Cavendish read the sample poems and asked to see the entire thing. A few months of nail biting passed, then lo and behold…a contract. (insert sound of cheering and thunderous applause here)

Marshall Cavendish edited a few poems out and asked for some additional material. It was a tight schedule but we were able to come up with some more “Spooky” poems. I actually had about half a day to come up with a complete rework of one of my poems. But it was worth it. They took the final revisions and gave us a release date. Project Spooky is now titled…(drum roll please)

Eyeball in my Garden and Other Spine Tingling Poems.

This is coming out on Marshall Cavendish’s Fall list and will be available on July 15, 2010. I have two poems in it, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle.

When I get a copy of the cover I’ll post it here.

Things Humming Along Nicely

I’ve been digging out from the virtual book tour and other assorted matters, but here’s what’s been going on with me lately.

I received the artists’ agreement for two of my picture books, Lightning Strikes and The Soggy Town of Hilltop. Eugene Ruble will illustrate these books. Lightning Strikes is a counting book and Eugene has experience with illustrating his own counting book. Also, The Soggy Town of Hilltop has a certain wackiness factor and Eugene does wacky well. So I’m excited to see what he comes up with.

Also, I’ve seen the draft sketches for If I Could Be Anything. Marina Movshina is illustrating this and I really like the illustrations she came up with. I look forward to seeing the finished artwork. I think it will compliment the text nicely.

I haven’t heard anything about The Sister Exchange lately. That book was originally slated to be my first release. I’ll have to check to see if that’s still the case.

I’ve got some more good news to report. A poem of mine called “Welcome to My Neighborhood” is going to be included in a poetry anthology being published by Marshall Cavendish. The anthology is due out in the fall of 2010. The project is still in the editing phase and is currently being expanded. I submitted another poem to be considered for the anthology. I’ll have to see if it makes the grade. I’ll talk about this a little more when I have some details.

So things are humming along nicely, no finished products or release dates yet. But I’m getting there. I definitely feel like I have some accomplishments that I can be proud of.