Futons. What a fabulous word. Go on, say it: Fuuuutonnnns. Can you hear it? Doesn’t your mouth love making those sounds? Ain’t it just plain fun? And isn’t it completely spectacular that there is a person in this world who could, in all seriousness, give a piece of furniture such a delightfully quirky name? I […]
Pickin’ Bones
I’ve got a bone to pick with New Line Cinema. There I was, so excited to be playing on their “Golden Compass” movie website and getting “matched” with my personal daemon that I wrote a blog post telling the world about the great site (okay, so maybe the whole world doesn’t read my blog, but […]
I Need an Extra Head … Or Seven
The late 19th century ushered in some big things for the USA: the concept of Manifest Destiny, the abolition of slavery, the opening of the U.S.’s first hotel in Saratoga Springs…important stuff like that. The 1880s, in particular, were quite interesting: Americans cheered the publication of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Treasure Island, they […]
My live tv interview Nov 3, 2007
I’ll be interviewed live on San Diego’s Fox6 News in the Morning Weekends on November 3, 2007. The show airs 7-9:00 a.m., with me tentatively scheduled to appear between 7:30-8:00. If you can’t see the interview live, you can watch it on my website www.DeborahHalverson.com. Just select “About Deborah” then “Interviews.” I’ll be discussing my […]
A Presidential Kind of Day
My third teen novel, now in progress, is flavored by the ultra-paranoid mindset that saturated our country in the days immediately following 9/11. In creating that flavor, I researched trivia about President George W. Bush this morning. I now know, thanks to the always credible Internet, that Bush’s SAT score was 1260,
Big Burgers, Big Eater, BIG MOUTH
Even if my second novel, BIG MOUTH, wasn’t about competitive eating, this news would’ve caught my eye: Joey Chestnut just ate 103 hamburgers in 8 minutes to win the Krystal Square Off IV World Hamburger Eating Championship. You read that right: 103 hamburgers in 8 minutes. That’s a world record. Or does that go without […]
Honk If You Love Biological Billboards
Biological Billboards. Human Directionals. Banner Shakers. Sign Twirlers. Whatever you call them, they’re eye-catching. And they’re in Honk If You Hate Me.
Hangin’ with the Girls
Last night I hung out with a great bunch of girls in a beautiful home built in 1893. Girl Scout Troop #6493 invited friends, moms, teachers, and a dad to join us in that grand house atop the hill for an evening of book talk, bookmark making, and cookies and lemonade. I’ve always loved talking […]
Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers
Hot diggity dog! A friend of mine just reported the third Wal-Mart sighting of HONK IFYOU HATE ME. Amazing. It’s still so incredibly strange to know that a book with my name on the cover sits on venerable bookstore shelves, but in Wal-Mart, too? Gosh. From my decade as an editor at Harcourt, I know […]
Honk If You Love Meat Mobiles
When I left the house tonight, I had every intention of going to the gym. But instead of pumping iron, I found myself on a dark street corner with the Meat Man. Uh-oh, that sounds bad…. But don’t worry, this is a G-rated post, I promise. On my way to LA Fitness this evening, I […]
Watch My KUSI TV interview!
Today was my first TV interview–*live*. I have to say, it was fun to do. KUSI’s “Inside San Diego” hosts Sandra Maas and Joe Lizura are just as friendly and easy-going offscreen as they are on. In fact, everyone I met at KUSI today was incredibly nice and welcoming. It really was a great experience. […]
Will My REAL “Debut†Novel Please Stand Up?
I confess: I’m lying when I call HONK IF YOU HATE ME my “debut” novel. It’s not. My first novel actually flowed from my pen a while back . . . twenty-six years ago, to be exact. When I was ten.
Another Manuscript Bleeds?
I did it again. More than halfway into writing a novel, I knifed it. This time, I lopped off the entire first chapter of my Teen Novel #3. Ahh!
“Inside San Diego” TV interview Aug 23, 2007
I’ve just been scheduled for a live interview on San Diego’s KUSI News program “Inside San Diego.” What fun! The TV interview will be on Thursday, August 23, 2007, in the 10:00-11:00 morning hour. We’ll be discussing Honk If You Hate Me and the challenges of writing with young triplets running about. Hope you can […]
Power in Numbers
I spent yesterday with thousands of other children’s book writers at SCBWI’s summer conference in Los Angeles. And I came away with the renewed conviction that, if you are writing for children and don’t already belong to SCBWI, you must join. Now.