[

mood

|

happy

]

First we tallied the entries and put the names in a basket.




Then my daughter closed her eyes to pick a winner....
.
 .
   .
     . (insert drumroll)
       .
         .
           .
             . 
And the winner of the Star of the Show contest and a BIG congratulations to...  :)

lorrainemt    

[

mood

|

happy

]

A reminder about the STAR OF THE SHOW contest.
Here's the scoop: http://volleypop.livejournal.com/31294.html 

Just go there and comment, and you're in! If you share a childhood anecdote your entry is doubled. If you spread the word about the contest or my book, you get more entries. Winner picked on September 1st - the official release date. 

I've won so many great books from LJ, so it's nice to give back! I hope you'll enter! Thanks!!

~Della

[

mood

|

jubilant

]

To celebrate the September release date of my forthcoming picture book, I’m holding a contest and hope you’ll enter to win a personalized copy of STAR OF THE SHOW!  Like Lindsey commented, “it’s like throwing a party without having to clean your house.’ 

 

HERE’S HOW TO PLAY:

1.    You get one entry just for commenting here on my blog. Easy peasy, right?

2.    That entry is automatically doubled if you share an anecdote of sibling rivalry or fun imaginative play. In STAR OF THE SHOW, Francine and her little brother, Max, put on a circus, but Francine has trouble sharing the spotlight. She appoints Max her assistant and makes him hold the flashlight and cheer. Max eventually gets fed up, and walks out. Despite their moments of disagreement and conflict, they eventually come together to stage a wildly successful circus. So, to have your comment count twice, share a childhood experience (yours or your children’s). For example, boreal owl shared in an earlier post: “Um, I was kinda like #1 kid , but my friends put up with my bossiness. I wrote, directed and starred in plays we put on for the neighbours on Friday nights. We charged 5 cents a person.” (Yes, boreal owl, that counts. You’re automatically in!)

3.    You get another TWO entries if you share the news about this contest on Twitter AND follow me on Twitter @DellaRF.   (Yes, you can already be following me. Just Twitter about the contest with a link to my blog.)

4.    You get THREE entries if you do either of the following:  (A) give a shout-out to this contest on your blog, including a picture of the STAR OF THE SHOW book cover, and link to my blog OR (B) if you’re familiar with the story, I’d love if you give it a mention (a positive one, pretty please?) on your blog, amazon or B&N review, or any other on-line site.

5.    You get a bonus entry if you recommend STAR OF THE SHOW to your favorite children’s librarian at a local library or elementary school. If it would help, here’s the ordering info:

Title: Star of the Show

Author: Della Ross Ferreri

Age level: 4-8

Release date: September 1, 2009

Publisher: Shenanigan Books   www.shenaniganbooks.com

ISBN: 9781934860038

Also, will be available from Baker&Taylor

So that’s a maximum of 1+1+2+3+3 = 10 possible entries. Phew, follow all that?

6.    For one more bonus point, let me know if you own a copy of HOW WILL I EVER SLEEP IN THIS BED?  
I wouldn’t want to ignore my very first picture book from Sterling, now reprinted as a board book for chubby toddler hands.  

So there you go. 11 possible entries.

#1 and 2 above can go right on my blog as comments, but please email me your other entry information (#3,4,5,6) and let me know the links to your shout-outs, and/or the name of the library at drferreribooks at optonline dot net with your point total at the bottom. You can send more than one email as you earn more entries, but it would be helpful if you give me the total number of points at the bottom of each email.

My kids and I will tally up all the entries and write down everyone’s names the old-fashioned way. We’ll draw a winner at random on TUESDAY NIGHT, SEPTEMBER 1^st, 2009 - my official STAR OF THE SHOW release date.  

Winner will be announced on LiveJounal on Wednesday. 9/2/09.

THANKS FOR READING THIS FAR. I’D LOVE FOR YOU TO ENTER, AND IF YOU DON'T - FRANCINE WILL MAKE YOU WALK THE PLANK!

[

mood

|

happy

]

lindajsingleton

     asked about the story behind my picture book, STAR OF THE SHOW so if this post is incredibly boring, blame her  :)

STAR OF THE SHOW was inspired by my oldest daughter. (And please don’t tell her I’m writing about her. Lol)  At age 6, or so, she went through a bossy phase and took it out on her good-natured little sister.   They’d play store, perform dance routines, and put on circus shows, with #1 always taking the lead role. They’d play school where daughter #1 was the teacher and #2 was the student in the ranks with the stuffed animals. Complete with chalkboard and easel, #1 would teach letters, numbers, etc…all the pre-K stuff and assign worksheet upon worksheet until #2 finally got fed up and walked out.

Thus, the idea was conceived for STAR OF THE SHOW. In the book, Francine is actually waaaay bossier and more obnoxious than my #1 ever was, but I figure it would be more fun and interesting to exaggerate her character.

The original version of STAR OF THE SHOW started out as an assignement for the Institute of Children's Literature. It went through a couple revision requests w/an editor, but ultimately was passed on. Then I shared the revision w/my Sterling editor and she loved it and brought it to acquisitions. But Sterling already had a circus themed book (Tightrope Poppy) and a book with a similarly bossy character (Mine, Mine, Mine.)

Then, STAR got critiqued at the Rutgers one-on-one conference and that helped bring it to a whole new level. Among other changes, Francine didn’t have a strong reason/motivation to change her mind and let Max participate in the circus show. With my mentor’s advice, I had Max get so fed up that he walks out, leaving Francine to struggle and feel the pain of failing to be able to put on a circus by herself.

Then after another round of suggestions from my incredible critique groups (A big shout-out to Meg for helping me amp up Francine’s attitude even more! ) I came across somewhere on Verla’s board,  a mention of the Children’s Book Council list of publishers. That’s where I discovered Shenanigan Books. I submitted STAR in September 2007, and got a ‘we’re interested’ email a couple months later. Once the illustrator was finalized, I was offered a contract.  Fast forward two years, and here we are, just two weeks til the official release date!

Ta da!

Mandy, Cyn and Lisa....we'll be taking your books on our next vacation!

~Della