E is for "Esben", F is for "Fazzle Dove"

I finished my final edits of the typeset version of North! Or Be Eaten, and they were approved by my kind editor, which meant it was time to continue work on the encyclopedia. If you ever need a refresher on the First Books, or fazzle doves, or "The Fisherman's Elbow", look no further.Don't forget, if you want to send any drawings of your own Skreean creatures, email them to [email protected]. I can't seem to locate Pembrick's drawings of a fazzle dove or a flabbit, so your help would be appreciated.AP

Fangs on the Playground: A Letter from a 4th Grade Teacher

swingsetI got a great Facebook message today from a teacher in North Carolina who's been reading On the Edge to her 4th graders. I don't think she'll mind me sharing a portion of it here:Recess activity for Miss Robb's 4th grade girls: All GIRLS line up in a straight line. Each girl steps forward, and when her turn comes she acts out her favorite character from On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. My job was to guess each character. It was priceless. I just LOVED that it was my girls--they loved pretending to be Slarb, Pete the Sock Man, Oskar Reteep. We are in a major hurry to finish the book. Last day of school is Wednesday. One of my boys raised his hand this morning and said, "Miss Robb, I had a bad dream last night that we didn't finish the book before school ended." Thanks Andrew--you have been oh so special to our class this year.No, thank YOU, Miss Robb, for making my week with this email.Ssssincerely,AP

The typeset version is on its way...

I got an email from my production editor at Waterbrook today, with the news that the typeset version of North! Or Be Eaten was finished today. Being the excellent person that she is, she put a copy in the mail to me before the day was over so I'll have it in hand Monday.When you turn in a manuscript for a book, there's not much to it. You have this gigantic Word document on the computer that represents hours upon hours of work. You attach it to an email, take a deep breath, and click "Send". The story zaps through the internet and is in the virtual hands of the publisher before you inhale. (It's really, really amazing if you think about it.)At that point, all the editing happens electronically. The editor sends me my book in an email with her changes highlighted, then I either accept or reject the fixes or make changes of my own, and I email it back. That happens a few times. Then last month I sent my drawings of maps and chorkneys and quill diggles (oh my!) in a big black portfolio folder to the art department. I don't know exactly what the art folks do, but they scan the pictures and put them through their own kind of editing filter.Then comes the typeset version, or (as far as I know) the "galley". It's printed on copy paper and bound like it would be if you took it to Kinko's. But within the boundaries of the 8.5x11 paper you can see a grid that shows what the actual size of the pages will be. So it's not the final book, but it gives you a good idea of what it will be. And that's fun.So Monday I'll gleefully tear open a package and hold an almost-finished version of the book I spent a year writing. Then I'll do a happy dance.

Cave Blats! Slime! See-through Skin!

I just posted about 25 pictures drawn by young readers, and I'm afraid I might have nightmares. Be sure and click on the thumbnails on the Art by YOU page so you can read the fascinating details. Here's a picture of me with Mrs. Pahl's 5th grade class, the most artistic and literary bunch of 5th graders in these United States. In my opinion.Mrs. Pahl's 5th Grade ClassAlso, if you're a parent, be sure and read the "Note to Parents." It's for you.Thanks for reading!AP

The stories are true.