Two Blogs for Writers and Illustrators

Today's post is brief and to the point: If you're serious about writing and/or illustrating for children, you need to subscribe to these two blogs. Both are packed with useful and practical information about agents, writing, illustrating, contests, submission policies, publishing house personnel changes, queries, critiques, interviews with authors & illustrators and much, much more.

Writing and Illustrating. Kathy Temean is an illustrator, writer, web designer and past SCBWI Regional Advisor for New Jersey. In addition to her weekly illustrator showcase, she generously shares writing tips, contest information, critiques, illustration tutorials, and author and agent interviews.

Casey McCormick and Natalie Aguirre are the driving forces behind Literary Rambles, a blog that spotlights children's book authors, agents, and publishing. Literary Rambles is especially helpful if you're searching for an agent. LR profiles a different agent each Thursday, spotlighting that agent's likes and dislikes, submission policies, and what they're looking for. The agent interviews are archived and catalogued alphabetically for your convenience.

I always look forward to opening my email box and reading the latest publishing news from these helpful bloggers. I've learned so much from them, and I know you will, too.

The "Ice Castle" Debuts

The Ice Castle, the second installment in the "Lexicon" series by Pendred Noyce, finally hit bookstores this week. Yay!

In this latest adventure, Daphne and Ivan discover their spoiled cousin, Lila has disappeared through a magical portal into the harsh and frigid Land of Winter.

They set out to bring her back, only to encounter bears and a gang of nomadic kidnappers. The three cousins soon find themselves thrust into a tumultuous society where social standing is determined by one's muscial abilities. This particular world is sharply divided between haves and have-nots, and reverberates with hidden plots and rebellious rumblings.

The Ice Castle was great fun to illustrate. It's a tale full of adventure and drama, memorable characters, emotion, humor, and wonderful imaginary places.