Loree Griffin Burns: A Life in Books

I can’t even bear to mention what project I am working on this week, because I have worked on it for years, because I have mentioned it two-hundred-and-forty-two times before and, most importantly, because it is still not done.

Big. Fat. Sigh.

Rather than dwell on all that negativity, I’ve decided to share some writerly inspiration. These particular links of motivation spoke to me because of the very project I did NOT just mention …

First, an article from the October 2009 issue of BookLinks (Talking with Jonah Winter by Sonja Cole), in which one can learn how to write a picture book biography … or, at least, how Jonah Winter writes a picture book biography. In answer to the question “What is your process for researching and writing your books?” we get a sense of Winter’s sense of humor (“I read a bunch of books, sometimes do online research, then just haul off and write the darn things.”) and, more importantly, his simple, powerful approach to the form. Do check it out.

Next up, an interview of author M.T. Anderson over at Cynsations. His answer to the question “What have you learned from writing in a variety of formats?” delves deep into the heart of what makes a picture book biography sing. Great stuff.

Finally, some good, old-fashioned writing classes. Well, not exactly old-fashioned, because they’re all offered online—but they are very, very good. I know because I took one myself back in 2004. It was called Write a Successful Book Proposal, and my homework became the book TRACKING TRASH. ( I kid you not!.) Patricia Fry is a knowledgeable and inspiring teacher; I highly recommend her online writing courses.

Happy writing!

Two weeks until SPRING!

That’s a crocus image from last year, but I think this year's crop will be poking through the snow pack in my front yard any day now ...







Four weeks until the softcover edition of TRACKING TRASH is released!

I’m happy that my first literary baby will soon be available in a lower-priced, easy-to-tote-to-the-beach version. (Hey, someone might do it!) To celebrate, I’m going to link back to a series of blog posts I wrote in 2007, when the hardcover edition was first published: The Stories Behind TRACKING TRASH







Eight weeks until THE HIVE DETECTIVES is officially released!

To celebrate, the lovely and talented Kathy Erskine invited me over to her blog. You can read our interview (and see some bee guts!) here. Thank you, Kathy!

I’m just about done processing the piles of notes and ideas that I brought back from Costa Rica last month. I’ve shared highlights from the beginning of the trip here, and my sense of balance won’t let me move on until I’ve shared a bit from the end, too.

So … after four days on a butterfly farm in Guanacaste, my traveling companions and I set out for San Jose, where we would help collect, sort, package, and ship butterfly pupae from farms around Costa Rica. We took the long way in to the capital, though, in order to see more of the country. I was happiest here:




© Ellen Harasimowicz


That’s the volcano called Arenal, and I thoroughly enjoyed admiring it from the warm hot pools at its base. Thoroughly. I could have soaked there for days. Sadly, Ellen and Lea are CRAZY, and insisted that we dry off and go do this instead:




© Ellen Harasimowicz

Ziplines!

Oh, the stories I could tell! The pictures I could show! Zipling was absolutely the craziest thing I have ever done, and I struggled through every single moment of our eight zip descent. But I did it. And I think I remember a moment or two of pure exhilaration. (Okay, maybe it was only a few seconds. But I will remember them always.)

Once we were safely back in San Jose, I got to do things more my speed, like play with piles of pupae. Check it out:




© Ellen Harasimowicz



Ellen and I have put together a book proposal based on the story we documented in Costa Rica. Here’s to catching the eye of a publisher with it!

Thanks to author Mitali Perkins, I am getting my goodreads groove on this week. Check it out:






On the top is a widget of books I’ve read and blogged about recently, and on the bottom is a button that brings you to my new goodreads profile page. I've posted a few paragraphs from the first chapter of THE HIVE DETECTIVES there, in case you need a little something to read. ;)

If you are an author, I highly recommend you check out all of Mitali’s great recommendations for buzzing your book.

© Loree Griffin Burns

“It is vital that we understand how and where bees are declining in order to start to help them. Having healthy pollinators is important for both natural systems and our food supply.”

Dr. Gretchen LeBuhn, a professor at San Francisco State University, is the wise woman behind these words. She is also the creative mastermind behind The Great Sunflower Project, a simple and powerful initiative to get men, women and children outside helping our bees.

How exactly do you help bees?

It’s easy, really:

1. Register yourself The Great Sunflower Project website.

2. Order some Lemon Queen sunflower seeds.

3. When the time is right where you live, plant your seeds.

4. When your sunflowers bloom, watch them for fifteen minutes each week, recording how many bees that visit while you do.

5. Send your data to Dr. LeBuhn and her team.



In just two years, the Great Sunflower Project has recruited over 50 thousand participants, and the data they've collected is helping Dr. LeBuhn document bee pollination in the United States and develop strategies to protect and restore native bees where they are threatened.

Do I even need to tell you that I’m in?

And why not? I like to eat, and bees are a pretty crucial part of food production. I've also written a book about honey bees; helping bees feels like a fine way to celebrate its upcoming release. As luck would have it, I'm in the process of writing a book about citizen science, too; GSP will be great field research (er, backyard research?) for me. Above all, what’s not to love about fifteen minutes of forced downtime –in my own yard—every week?!

So, what do you say? Wanna join me? (You can say no, of course. But I'll undoubtedly be blogging about our Great Sunflower Project experience in the coming months. Your sort of in-by-association whether you like it or not!)